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Continuing on from last time, Greek drama rooted itself in the same acceptance of human limitation as did Greek myth and history. I don't have space for a proper survey here, but we can at least examine a representative sample or two. Let's start with the most famous Greek tragedy of all—Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. It's been big for 2400 years. No less a theatre critic than Aristotle rated it the best tragedy of all time (as of the 4th century BC). Let's see what it suggests about the worldview conveyed by the Greek playwrights. When the play opens, the...

Sophocles, Euripides, and the Greek epic poets, historians, and tragedians explore the idea of hamartia. Such an innate character flaw, such as Oedipus’s self-regard or Jason’s obtuseness, can be repressed, but it will inevitably resurface at the most inopportune moment. *** The next step in the slow cycle of classical self-destruction is koros—a greed or overreaching ambition that is the result of hamartia. It thus deludes the apparently successful into believing there will be few consequences to their excess. Koros makes self-reflection impossible. *** The final act in a multistoried Greek tragedy is the advent of Nemesis or divine retribution....

Donald Trump Jr. is in the process of divorcing his wife, Vanessa Trump, and reportedly has a new girlfriend. According to Page Six, the 40-year-old Trump has been dating Fox News 'The Five' host Kimberly Guilfoyle, 49, for the past few weeks. The new couple is “having a great time,” a source told Page Six. “While he wants to respect the privacy of his family, he is getting divorced, and he enjoys Kimberly’s company,” the source added. However, people have been pointing out on social media that Guilfoyle bears a strong resemblance to Trump’s stepmother, Melania, 48. Kimberly, 49, is...

Excavations could reveal much about a little-explored archaic Greek settlement. It was in July 1984 when rescue excavations conducted by Dr. Elena Korka, now Director of the Ephorate of Private Archaeological Collections and Antiquity Shops, turned up an ancient sarcophagus of the Greek early archaic period near the town of Chiliomodi in Greece. The sarcophagus contained a female skeleton along with offerings. The interior of the sarcophagus slab was adorned with a composition consisting of two lions of monumental character. It was a remarkable find. But this was not altogether surprising, as archaeologists and historians believed that somewhere in the...

Police: Mich. Woman Had Sex With Biological Son By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS September 12, 2009 WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- A Detroit-area woman accused of having sex with her biological son after finding him on the Internet has been charged. Police say 35-year-old Aimee Louise Sword of Waterford Township is facing one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct after two counts were dropped earlier this week. Authorities haven't said when or where she and the teenager met, but said she gave him up for adoption more than 10 years earlier. She surrendered to police in April. Sword is free on...

I am going to shift gears a little bit, so please bear with me. This is a strange post, but one that I think might shed a little light on mystical incense that is the Obama Administration. I need just a little breather from the bread and circuses of a media/government complex that is literally driving America toward the edge of insanity. And so, I am going to entertain myself with my own playful thoughts here. Where would I be without my humor? Honestly though, I can barely write a word. Is this writer’s block? I don’t think so. I...

HUMBOLDT, Kansas, May 06, 2005 -- Last week, police say a 10-year-old boy shot and killed his adopted father. The grisly murder took place inside their rural home near Humboldt in Allen County. Now a grieving widow and mother shares her feelings for her son. "Family, friends, anyone -- if he was needed, he was there -- a very dedicated father, said Debbie Hamlin about her husband Bob. After 21 years of marriage, Debbie says she is glad for the memories with Bob. She just wishes she could have more. Bob and Debbie adopted Debbie’s grandson when he was just...

The temple of Apollo, cradled in the spectacular mountainscape at Delphi, was the most important religious site of the ancient Greek world, for it housed the powerful oracle. Generals sought the oracle's advice on strategy. Colonists asked for guidance before they set sail for Italy, Spain and Africa. Private citizens inquired about health problems and investments. The oracle's advice figures prominently in the myths. When Orestes asked whether he should seek vengeance on his mother for murdering his father, the oracle encouraged him. Oedipus, warned by the oracle that he would murder his father and marry his mother, strove, with...

FORT WORTH - A man who beat his elderly mother to death, sliced her open and ate some of her heart was sentenced today to 30 years in prison. Joseph Frank "Joey" Cala II pleaded guilty Monday to murder in the 2001 death of Lydia M. Cala, 79, a retired teacher who volunteered for her church and the county registrar's office. After a three-hour hearing today, state District Judge George Gallagher chose the maximum of the 20- to 30-year sentence range contained in a plea agreement. "My goal is to make sure Mr. Cala is never allowed out again," said...

You can never account for taste... by Mia T No one who ever passed through an American public high school could have watched William Jefferson Clinton running for office in 1992 and failed to recognize the familiar predatory sexuality of the provincial adolescent. Joan Didion     Joan Didion turns on the boy president Clinton and bites off a chunk most likely from his fat tush! dennisw   "Fat tush," indeed. You can never account for taste... I never did understand what Tina, Barbra, et al. see in the rapist. Personally, I find him profoundly estrogenic; (check out the hands...