#if you know of any short articles pls feel free to send the link or you can write one yourself if you really wanna teach students something

[that-was-anticlimactic]

friends!!! what is a writing skill you wish you learned in school? like... it could be something specific in grammar/grammar-related, maybe about how to revise, maybe you wish you learned about different/specific genres, maybe how to write setting... whatever it may be!!! i'm doing a thing on tuesdays and would LOVE y'all's opinions on what kind of stuff to find to add for them to choose!

[amphitritie]

MYTHOLOGY MASTERPOST

In response to an ask, I’ve compiled this masterpost of mythology resources. It’s by no means comprehensive, as myth is an extremely broad subject, and I’ve mainly focused on Greco-Roman mythology. I’ve tried to include a range of websites alongside books and original sources, so you can get by without spending anything. The upside to Classics being a kinda dusty subject is you can find so many texts online for free!

THE ESSENTIALS

If you’re just starting to get interested in mythology then it can be pretty daunting & it’s hard to know where to start. So, to help, here’s some recommendations for websites/texts that lay out the information without assuming any previous knowledge

theoi.com is an absolutely brilliant resource for anyone interested in mythology. It is stunningly comprehensive, with information on every god, goddess, nymph, monster and hero appearing in Greek mythology! Every entry has so much well researched information about the god and stories they appear in, and even includes excerpts from the original sources.

There are, of course, countless books dedicated to telling, or retelling, myths, and everyone seems to have their favourite. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton is a popular one, and is really good at telling the stories without dumbing them down, and I really like the way Hamilton writes too. It also has some bonus Norse mythology at the end! 

Alternatively, Robert Graves’ The Greek Myths is also really good, and very comprehensive, although fairly hefty at about 800 pages. 

Stephen Fry recently released his own retelling of the myths, entitled Mythos, which I really need to get around to reading. It’s a bit of a random selection of myths, but includes quite a few of the LGBT ones from what I’ve seen. You can also pick up an audiobook of him reading it – if you grew up listening to him narrate the Harry Potter books, I would definitely recommend this.

INTERMEDIATE

If you enjoyed those, and want to learn more about ancient mythology, I would really recommend then starting to delve into the original source material.

Ovid’s Metamorphoses is a pretty good place to start. It’s a collection of over 250 stories from creation to Julius Caesar, all linked by the theme of transformation, but it’s fairly easy to dip in and out of – think of it kind of like a short story anthology. Here is the entire work online for free, and I also found another site here which is Dryden’s translation - a little more old fashioned but closer to the poetic style, so it just depends what you prefer. If you wanted to buy

Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca is another great ancient compendium of myths. It covers the gods taking over from the titans, Hercules’ labours, and finishes at the Trojan War. Which brings me to…

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. With 24 books each, Homer’s epic poems can look pretty intimidating. But I would really, really recommend reading them. There are a myriad of different translations, which I will get into later, but to start off I would suggest either Fagles or Lattimore. I found full texts of both online, here and here although I'm not sure what translations they are.

EXTRA RECOMMENDATIONS

At this point I got a bit carried away. If you’re scrolling through this thinking you’ve already read a lot of these, here’s some extras.

I love the Homeric Hymns. Anddd I found a website here which has all the hymns – and displays with the original Ancient Greek and English translation side by side, which is really handy if you, like me, are attempting to learn Ancient Greece.

If you feel like you’re used to all the weirdness of Greek myths, boy have I got news for you. Ancient Egyptian myths make Pasiphae look tame. Try reading a very serious story about a god jizzing into a rival god’s salad in order to become king. If that sounds interesting: get help! Just kidding, read this book: The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt by Richard Wilkinson. It’s very comprehensive, and also has lots of fantastic illustrations.

If you want an original source to read for the Egyptian myths, I’d suggest The Egyptian Book of the Dead, translated by Raymond Faulkner and Ogden Goelet

Kevin Crossley-Holland’s The Penguin Book of Norse Myths: Gods of the Vikings is another good introductory book to another set of myths, this time Norse. He’s a novelist in his own right (anyone else read The Seeing Stone?) and this comes across clearly in the ways he tells the stories.

TRANSLATIONS

Please bear in mind that there are lots of different translations of ancient texts. I am not an authority in which one is best, and there isn’t a simple answer in any case, but I made my above suggestions based on either what I’ve personally read, or a translation I’ve heard good things about. That said, if you are interested in translation theory pls send me a message and we can yell about it together then here’s a few more recommendations.

Above, I recommended Lattimore or Fagles as a good starting point for Homer. If you don’t know which to pick, as a very broad generalisation Lattimore’s is more like poetry, and Fagles’ reads more like prose. (I may get people who disagree. Everyone has an opinion on translations.) Lattimore stuck to the original daxylyctic hexameter of the Ancient Greek text and, perhaps most impressively, stuck to the same line count as Homer. Fagles is more readable, but perhaps loses something in this. I honestly haven’t decided which I prefer yet. But for a first read of Homer, I would definitelty recommend one of these two – it just depends whether you are reading more for the poetry or for the story.* Robert Fitzgerald’s translation of the Iliad is also very popular, although it’s far looser a translation than the above two. This makes it kind of easier to read, but I personally think it’s a bit too loose to be perfectly honest.

Alexander Pope’s translation is a much earlier translation, published in 1720, and the language shows. However his translation is brilliant at conveying the drama and grandeur of Homer’s work.

There was a lot of excitement on Tumblr at announcement of Emily Wilson becoming the first woman to translate Homer’s Odyssey into English. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet (and I want to so badd) but from the excerpts I’ve seen and all the interviews and articles I’ve read it looks absolutely stunning. Please read this.

There is a super handy Wikipedia page which shows the first few lines of the Iliad/Odyssey as translated by every English translator ever. It makes for super interesting reading, but can also help you choose one to read that appeals to you!

For other texts: I’m currently studying The Aeneid using David West’s translation, Medea and Hippolytus as translated by Edith Hall, and Bernard Knox’s translation of Oedipus the King and Antigone. I’ve been enjoying all of these. If you’ve been following me a while, you’ll know I’m a big fan of Anne Carson. She translated Sappho, and some tragedies as well. Her translations focus more on conveying the poetry or feelings behind the words rather than an exact translation of the words themselves, which makes for electrifying reading if you’re used to perhaps more staid translations. Antigonick was a particular favourite of mine, probably because I knew the play so well so I was able to really appreciate the changes and decisions she made, although it was more an intepretation than a translation. This difference, as brilliant as it is, is why I would, however, suggest you read other translations first before attempting Carson.

I hope this was helpful! A second masterpost focusing on more general Classics resources will be coming soon.

[mortedesiderio-blog]

Why We Love General Guidelines (And You Should, Too!)

Why We Love General Guidelines (And You Should, Too!)

General Information

Participation in the Morte Desiderio website constitutes an agreement to the following guidelines, which apply to posts, profile information, avatars, signatures, any other content on this site and participation in general.

This includes private messages, which we have the ability to read, but only do so when a violation is reported to us or we have a legitimate reason. Although rare, it does happen.

Because of the live nature of the discussions in this community, it is not possible for us to review and/or confirm the accuracy or validity of a message before it is posted. If you believe that someone has violated our User Guidelines or you have spotted content that may otherwise require attention, please send a private message to me or a staff member with a link to the content and a brief description of what you believe is wrong. Notification is voluntary and anonymous, but in no case should a user respond to a situation personally, thereby aggravating the situation further. Responding to a violation in an inflammatory manner is a violation in itself and will result in appropriate action.

This is a non-profit website that will attempt to generate revenue through avenues that we deem appropriate. Any content that violates our User Guidelines will be removed. Interpretation of our guidelines is at the discretion of the staff.

General Rules

Cross posting is not allowed and will result in the removal of one or more posts. Cross posting is defined as posting the same information in two or more locations. When posting your topic, please try to post it in the most appropriate place within the organizational structure of our community. Identical topics posted in the same or different forums will be removed.

While member post count has to mean, it should not be taken too seriously. Attempts to artificially increase your post count are prohibited. This includes the mass creation of short or meaningless posts. When participating in game threads such as “Word Association Game” or “What song are you listening to right now?” please do not post consecutive replies within a short period of time.

Advertisements are not allowed. Generally speaking, posts made specifically for the promotion of a website, product or service are considered advertising or, at least, posts made that unnecessarily send people to a website that you are in some way affiliated with. It does not matter if it is a commercial website, a personal website, a nonprofit website, etc. We do authorize and/or sell advertisements on a case-by-case basis. If you are interested in utilizing this option, please contact us.

All signature links must be kept in your signature in your profile. Anyone found to be posting excessive links to their websites or suspected of using “sneaky” advertising methods is in violation of this guideline. You may only post a link to your site/a site that you are in some way affiliated with if the link specifically answers the question that is being asked and the answer cannot be simply posted without the link. Even then, link directly to the page where the information can be found. General and unnecessary links will be tagged as advertising. If you are found to be excessively posting links to your site (or you appear to be seeking out threads where your link may be relevant, so that you can post it), you may lose the ability to post links to your site.

You are not allowed to post an affiliate URL that leads to you earning cash, banner impressions, credits, points, etc. Such links are only allowed in signatures and profiles, but may not be referred to in posts.

Forum Rules

Do not post personal, real-life information such as home addresses and home phone numbers.

As this is an English-speaking community, we require that posted content be in the English language so that it can be well received and properly monitored.

Vulgar language and inappropriate material is not allowed and will be removed. Abbreviations, self-censoring and attempts to circumvent the word censoring feature of the community software also violate this guideline. If your post contains a word that is censored by the software, you must remove that word or the post will be removed. If you feel that the sensor is acting in error, please contact us.

We try to maintain a family-friendly atmosphere whenever it is possible within the main subject matter of this community. Please keep this in mind when participating.

When linking to outside websites, you must ensure that the content of the link is appropriate for our community, in line with the guidelines laid out here. This includes mentioning or referencing a site, even if the mention is not hyperlinked. If you post a link and that link is automatically censored, it is considered to be an inappropriate link and you should remove it from your post immediately. If left, all posts that feature inappropriate links will be removed.

Posts that discuss illegal activities, transactions, or websites such as warez, cracks, etc. will be removed. This includes the posting of information that you have obtained illegally.

Political and religious discussions are not allowed on this website. If it is believed that the end result of a discussion will be political or religious, the post may be removed. Likewise, strong political and religious sentiments should be kept out of profiles, signatures, and other content.

Site Wide

Do not post copyrighted materials (articles, videos, audio, etc.) that you do not have permission to reproduce or distribute. For text articles, most of the time you may quote a small portion of the article (usually no more than 1/5 or 1/6) and you must link to the source (if online) or provide the source (if offline). Posting the entire article, even with the source, constitutes copyright infringement. This is not the place to illegally trade or distribute copyrighted (or those with questionable copyright status) video or audio clips.

When posting and linking to images, videos, files, etc., please refrain from hotlinking. This is the direct linking to images (.jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .png, etc.), video (.avi, .mov, .mpg, .mpeg, .wmv, etc.), audio (.mp3, .wav, etc.), archives (.zip, .rar, etc.) or otherwise downloadable or streamable files, on servers that you do not have permission to link to, instead of linking to the page where the item can be found. This includes providing a direct link to the file, even if that file is not embedded into your post. This practice costs the server owner money and resources.

Respect is the name of the game. You must respect your fellow members. Please refrain from inflammatory and defamatory comments as well as flaming, taunting, and general disrespect. Do not simply put down the opinion or advice given by others. If you don’t agree with it, say why – respectfully. Don’t just tell them they’re wrong. Do not make uninvited remarks about typos, duplicate posts, posting styles, etc.

When an opinion-based discussion is being had, do not state things like “there is no argument” as if your opinion is the only one or the only one that matters. When someone has clearly stated their opinion, do not say things like “Are you serious?” and “Are you kidding me?” Remember, this is not a debate club. This is a friendly discussion community. Allow people to have their opinion. No one is to act as some sort of opinion judge, responding to each one to say whether they agree with it or not or whether or not it is a valid, well thought out opinion.

We do not allow threads to be started to discuss who or what is the most overrated, who or what is your least favorite, etc.

Signatures are limited to 4 lines of text. This includes blank lines. No images. The text in the signature may be customized by the BBCode in use on the forums. It is recommended that you stick with readable fonts and colors and that the size is not too large. You may mention websites and ventures that you are in some way related to, as long as they are otherwise appropriate for this community. Focus on things that you like, not things that you don’t.

Membership

Each user is allowed to create one account. If you would like to change your username, please contact us and, most likely, we can do it for you while you can keep all of your profile data, posts, and other content.

Automated account creation, participation, and content scraping is not permitted.

We know that people will have to leave our community (of their own free will or otherwise) from time to time and to that end, we do not delete accounts, posts, or other content posted on our community. All content is granted to us with perpetual electronic publishing rights because any content posted on this community becomes a part of the community, even if you no longer are. You may request an item to be removed at any time, but we will decide when and if to remove content from our community. If you wish to no longer be identified with our community, we will be glad to close your account and alter your profile information to remove all identifying characteristics. After account closure, you will no longer be able to participate in this community and this action is not reversible.

Moderators and I have the final say on anything. If you have a problem, you may make a complaint to them directly and not publicly on the website. Creating threads or posts that question or reference administrative decisions or potential administrative decisions, such as post removals and thread closures, is not permitted. We are not perfect and if you feel that we have made a mistake, please privately contact a staff member and we will review the situation. If you would like a copy of your removed post so that you can adjust it and repost, please contact us. As long as we wouldn’t prefer you to simply start over, we’ll be glad to send you a copy.

Whenever you are participating in this community, please keep in mind that we strive to create a fun, friendly and inviting atmosphere. So, please have fun and enjoy the forums!

Publishing Content

All content must be of the following:

Original with source linked

Own content with rights to share-a-like.

Verify ownership rights if posting on be-half of someone or a company.

Must respect the copyright laws and requests of the content source(s).

Notice 101

Freedom of speech rights do not extend to privately owned websites, such as this one. These guidelines detail the types of behavior and activities that are allowed here.

If a user violates our guidelines and shows a disregard for them, our staff and our community, they run the risk of losing their account. We reserve the right to deactivate any account and to edit or remove any content without warning. These guidelines are subject to change at any time without notice.

Do you have a question about our User Guidelines or anything else? Do you have a suggestion? Do you want to offer some feedback? Or are you experiencing some trouble with the site? Well, no matter what it is, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will be glad to help in any way that we can.

Thank you for visiting Morte Desiderio.

https://goo.gl/ifGkxu