Western literature week 2

The Norton Anthology of Western Literature

The Norton Anthology of English Literature 

is an anthology of English literature published by the W. W. Norton & Company. First published in 1962, it has gone through nine editions in a half-century;as of 2006 there are over eight million copies in print, making it the publisher's best-selling anthology. M. H. Abrams, a critic and scholar of Romanticism, served as General Editor for its first seven editions, before handing the job to Stephen Greenblatt, a Shakespeare scholar and Harvard professor. The anthology provides an overview of poetry, drama, prose fiction, essays, and letters from Beowulf to the beginning of the 21st century.

Helen of Troy

In Greek mythology, Helen of Troy was the most beautiful woman in the world. A daughter of the god Zeus, she is best known for the part she played in causing the Trojan War, a story told by Homer in the Iliad and the Odyssey. Some scholars suggest that Helen was also a very ancient goddess associated with trees and birds.

Read more: http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Go-Hi/Helen-of-Troy.html#ixzz4V3mHmpGk

Helen and Menelaus: Menelaus intends to strike Helen; captivated by her beauty, he drops his sword. A flying Eros and Aphrodite (on the left) watch the scene. Detail of an Attic red-figure krater, c. 450–440 BC (Paris, Louvre)

Greek stamps

Postage stamps have existed since 1840. All countries issue stamps and many of them use stamps as a way to publicize their culture or special occasions. Stamps are also issued on almost every subject you can think of.

Classical Greek stamps first appeared in 1861.  A used Block of the 1861 Paris Printing of the 1 Lepta denomination is shown above.  

Plates identical to those of the classic 1849 Ceres Head postage stamps of France were used for the first stamps of Greece, with the only difference being in the Greek inscriptions and in the vignettes showing the profile of Hermes, instead of the profile of Ceres.  Hermes (Roman: Mercury) was the ancient Greek messenger of the Olympian gods, a very appropriate personification for the first adhesive letter postage stamps of Greece.

Further explain of Postage stamps and postal history of Greece

Alexander

Alexander (2004) Official Trailer

The true story of one of history's most luminous and influential leaders, Alexander the Great--a man who had conquered 90% of the known world by the age of twenty-seven. The story chronicles Alexander's path to becoming a living legend, from a youth fueled by dreams of myth, glory and adventure to his lonely death as a ruler of a vast Empire. Alexander is the incredible story of a life that united the Known World and proved if nothing else, fortune favors the bold.

I came, I saw, I conquered.

"Veni, vidi, vici"  is a Latin phrase popularly attributed to Julius Caesar who, according to Appian, used the phrase in a letter to the Roman Senate around 47 BC after he had achieved a quick victory in his short war against Pharnaces II of Pontus at the Battle of Zela. The phrase is used to refer to a swift, conclusive victory.

Homosexuality in ancient Greece

 The most widespread and socially significant form of same-sex sexual relations in ancient Greece was between adult men and pubescent or adolescent boys, known as pederasty (marriages in Ancient Greece between men and women were also age structured, with men in their thirties commonly taking wives in their early teens).

 Though sexual relationships between adult men did exist, at least one member of each of these relationships flouted social conventions by assuming a passive sexual role. It is unclear how such relations between women were regarded in the general society, but examples do exist as far back as the time of Sappho.