Plagiarism detection tricks

Heraclides amazingly proposed (back then) that earth has a 24 hour cycle of revolution on its axis.  However  he wasn’t as perceptive in other matters: “Dionysios had written a tragedy which he called Parthenopaeus.  As a practical joke, he put Sophocles as the author when it was written .   When Heraclides quoted as if… Continue reading Plagiarism detection tricks

Make books, not war

When Athens was captured by barbarians, all the books were gathered from the city in one place so they could be burnt.   But one of the barbarians changed the minds of his fellows by saying that it would be best if the Athenians read all day as they liked, so they didn’t fight.  It… Continue reading Make books, not war

How long does a dramatist have to wait?

Sophocles career started with a victory from his first play.  But Euripides started competing but didn’t win first prize until the 14 year of efforts.  Aeschylus had to wait even longer, he wrote plays for 15 years before finally winning!

Tragedy saves lives

After the disastrous events in Sicily, many Athenians were saved thanks to Euripides.  The Greeks that lived far from Athens yearned for his poetry.  Sicilians were no exception.  Even a small sample of his poetry recited by a traveler pleased them a lot.  They memorised it and passed it on with great pleasure.  Many of… Continue reading Tragedy saves lives