Homer presents a world-view in which death represents the end of consciousness and total annihilation of personhood. Yet in Odyssey, Book Four, he contradicts this by saying that one man at least will not die, but will be transported to Elysium, where he will have a blessed existence forever. In Mummy Wheat R. Drew Griffith argues that this shocking violation of Homer's normal world-view comes from Egypt, where more than anywhere else in the ancient world people firmly believed in life after death.
Homer presents a world-view in which death represents the end of consciousness and total annihilation of personhood. Yet in Odyssey, Book Four, he con...
Ancient Greece and Rome aren't usually remembered for their sense of humor. However, in reality the ancient Greeks and Romans often refused to take themselves seriously. The authors chronicle the more bizarre activities of the ancient world, venturing out as far as Egypt, Babylon, and Scandinavia, ranging everywhere from moochers to quacks to shrews to perhaps the oldest laundromat joke in history. 316 pp.
Ancient Greece and Rome aren't usually remembered for their sense of humor. However, in reality the ancient Greeks and Romans often refused to take th...