Tag Archives: Philoctetes

Heaney and the Good Friday Agreement

By Robin Bates | Published: April 12, 2023

Looking back at Northern Ireland’ Good Friday agreement, Clinton has cited a Seamus Heaney poem. There’s good reason for this.

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Ukraine Must Unite Athena with Poseidon

By Robin Bates | Published: September 20, 2022

The ancient myth about Athena and Poseidon, historian Snyder argues, captures what Ukraine needs today in its battle with Russia.

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The Sexual Politics of Circe-Odysseus

By Robin Bates | Published: November 30, 2020

Miller’s novel “Circe” engages with a long tradition of Circe and Odysseus depictions, including those of Homer, Virgil, Euripides, Sophocles, Dante, Tennyson, and Atwood.

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Seamus Heaney’s Healing Vision

By Robin Bates | Published: November 8, 2020

Seamus Heaney’s “Cure at Troy” points toward a country’s possibility for healing, a powerful vision as America emerges from the Trump presidency and a contentious election.

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Hope for a Great Sea-Change

By Robin Bates | Published: November 1, 2020

The Seamus Heaney poem that Biden quotes in a new ad is itself taken from Heaney’s verse translation of Sophocles’s “Philoctetes.” It’s perfect for the current moment.

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What To Make of a Hero That Lies

By Robin Bates | Published: February 23, 2020

A student wants to know what to make of Homer’s apparent approval of Odysseus’s lying. The question doesn’t admit of an easy answer.

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Lit Opens Minds to Suffering of the Other

By Robin Bates | Published: October 23, 2016

Philosopher Martha Nussbaum argues that literature is essential for creating good citizens in a diverse society, turning to Sophocles’s “Philoctetes” and Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” to make her point.

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Solace for Vets from Sophocles

By Robin Bates | Published: September 13, 2016

A group has been giving dramatic readings of Sophocles plays in order to reach veterans suffering from PTSD. The results have been astonishing.

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