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Coming Soon |
 Sirius Chasing the Pleiadesby David Sheppard "I’ve always viewed the constellations as rather paper doll-like, static images pinned against the blackness of the night sky, but a few evenings ago while surveying the heavens for a night’s viewing, I spotted the star Sirius and started wondering about a passage in Euripides’ play, Iphigeneia at Aulis, that seemingly serves no narrative purpose. The tragedy concerns the Greek fleet prior to sailing for Troy to fight the Trojans. At the beginning of the play, Agamemnon, commanding general of the Greeks and father to Iphigeneia, paces outside his tent just before daybreak. He calls to an old servant to join him, and this short exchange occurs before more weighty concerns: Agamemnon: What star is that, steering his course yonder? Old Man: Sirius, pursuing the Pleiades sevenfold path, still traveling high at this hour. I finally surrendered to the temptation to investigate this seemingly trivial passage, and since my inclination is to think in astronomical terms..." |
 Encountering Hermesby David Sheppard "Not many will go it alone in a foreign country, particularly if they can’t speak the language. Still one day I found myself wrestling with plans for a ten-week odyssey about Greece, the mainland and islands. I was on a spiritual quest, planning to look within myself while at the mythological sites but not really expecting anything other than a good encounter with the country, its people and a peek at the archeology. I was particularly interested in Thebes, the land of Oedipus; Ithaca, the island of Odysseus; and the religious sites: Delphi, Patmos, whatever. I certainly didn’t anticipate an encounter with an ancient Greek god." |
