Homer adaptations
The Penelopiad by
"Homer's Odyssey is not the only version of the story. Mythic material was originally oral, and also local -- a myth would be told one way in one place and quite differently in another. I have drawn on material other than the Odyssey, especially for the details of Penelope's parentage, her early life and marriage, and the scandalous rumors circulating about her. I've chosen to give the telling of the story to Penelope and to the twelve hanged maids. The maids form a chanting and singing Chorus, which focuses on two questions that must pose themselves after any close reading of the Odyssey: What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to? The story as told in the Odyssey doesn't hold water: there are too many inconsistencies. I've always been haunted by the hanged maids and, in The Penelopiad, so is Penelope herself." -- from Margaret Atwood's Foreword to The Penelopiad
Location: Mugar Stacks PR9199.3.A8 P46 2005Publication Date: 2005
Songs on Bronze; The Greek Myths Made Real by
A vivid, uninhibited retelling of the classic Greek stories "Songs on Bronze is the first major retelling of Greek mythology in half a century; a set of lively, racy, dramatic versions of the great myths, which, in a multicultural society, are recognized more than ever as stories without equal. Most of us would like to know the Greek myths better than we do, and books like Seamus Heaney's Beowulf have demonstrated the power of ancient texts to enchant and enthrall us. And yet the modern translations of the Greek myths have sought to instruct, to edify, or to impart a personal philosophy. "Songs on Bronze is different. With this book, Nigel Spivey--a young Cambridge classicist and rising star as a documentary host--gives us the Greek myths as the spellbinding stories they are. In bold, sensuous prose, he tells of Demeter and Persephone, of Jason and the Argonauts, of the wrath of Achilles and the travels of Odysseus, of Oedipus's crime and Orpheus's excursion into the underworld. In his hands, these stories are revealed anew as outsize tales of love and strife, of secret compacts and open rivalries, of lust and desire. "Songs on Bronze is a fresh revision of the classics that is likely to become a classic in its own right.
Location: Mugar Stacks PR6119.P585 S67 2005 and OnlinePublication Date: 2005
The Odyssey: A Stage Version by
With its inspired counterpointing of Homeric and Caribbean themes, Derek Walcott's play The Odyssey, commissioned by Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company, springs from the same imaginative sources as his epic poem Omeros. "[The Odyssey features Walcott's] voluptuous metaphor making and severe truth telling."--Time Episodes of the story of Odysseus' protracted wanderings from fallen Troy to his island home of Ithaca are pungently interspersed with a commentary by the blind singer Billy Blue. Proteus, the Old Man of the Sea, the giant Cyclops, Circe and her revelers, ghosts, and mermaids are among the cast. With its vast sweep and richly figurative language, The Odyssey confirms that Derek Walcott is as compelling a playwright as he is a poet.
Location: Mugar Stacks PR9272.9.W3 O297 1993 and OnlinePublication Date: 1993
Audio & Video
- "The Odyssey: The Journey Home from Troy." , directed by Homer, and Jean-Claude Bragard. , produced by Jean-Claude Bragard, British Broadcasting Corporation, and TLC. , BBC Worldwide, 2004. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/ancient Greek mythology has intrigued audiences for 2,000 years. Now we can enjoy the stories of The Odyssey (Homer) and Jason and the Argonauts, re-told for modern audiences with the help of dramatisations and CGI. These films look beneath the surface of each myth to unveil some surprisingly modern themes: Odysseus is torn between glory at work and happiness at home, while Jason's journey symbolises the battle of the sexes. Many of the women Jason meets are murderous, yet without the help of women he will never seize the Golden Fleece and return home.
- "In The Footsteps Of Ulysses." , directed by Jean Baronnet. , Ampersand, 2013. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/in-the-footsteps-of-ulysses. Following the capture of Troy, Ulysses didn't return home for ten years. The Gods argued over his fate: should they impede or ease his return, did he himself wanted to go home? Either way, that was an excuse for a great sea adventure: the Odyssey. From that story, Homer created a literary genre that has delighted readers for centuries, but an archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, was convinced that Homer’s work was based on historical facts. Accompanied by photograph Victor Berard, he followed on the footsteps of Ulysses across the Mediterranean to discover if the places described by Homer in the Odyssey had really existed. This is the film of their findings...
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- Academic Video Online This link opens in a new window Academic Video Online delivers more than 67,000 titles spanning a range of subject areas including anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more. It includes documentaries, films, demonstrations, and other content types. Films in the Boston University Libraries catalog are licensed to Boston University for educational and research use only, for BU students, faculty, and staff.
- Kanopy This link opens in a new window Kanopy is a provider of documentaries, training films, and theatrical releases available as streaming video. Clips from the videos can be embedded in presentations or shown in class. Films in the Boston University Libraries catalog are licensed to Boston University for educational and research use only, for BU students, faculty, and staff.
- Music & Performing Arts (Audio & Video Collections) This link opens in a new window Music & Performing Arts' collections include American Music, Classical, Contemporary World, Jazz, Popular, Smithsonian's Global Sound, Ethnographic Sound Archives, American Film Scripts, Asian American Drama, Black Drama, North American Drama, and Theatre in Context. Search results include links to the full text of the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online (1997-2001), with additional audio examples.
Exhibit Sources: Images
- ARTstor This link opens in a new window ARTstor is a database of images from museums, artists, libraries, colleges and universities, scholars, private collections, and photo archives available for teaching, education, and scholarship, with all images cleared for educational use.
- Associated Press Images Collection This link opens in a new window Associated Press Images Collection is a searchable collection of recent and historical photos from the Associated Press, plus AP graphics, articles, and brief sound clips.
- AskART Academic This link opens in a new window AskART Academic is a database of information about artists, including names, birth and death dates, state or local affiliation, fields in which artist worked, book and periodical references to artist, dealers and museums where works may be viewed, auction prices of works, and some biographical details.
- Berg Fashion Library This link opens in a new window The Berg Fashion Library includes the Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, an e-book collection, and an image database. This database covers all regions of the world with content from pre-history to the present.
- Smithsonian Institution Collections Includes millions of records, including images, of resources in the Smithsonian collections.
- Library of Congress - Digital Collections The digital archive from the Library of Congress has over 100 thematic collections of historical documents, maps, moving images, sound recordings, and photographic images.
- The Amica Library The AMICA Library contains over 108,000 works of art from the collections of contributing museums worldwide. Cultures and time periods range from contemporary art, Native American and Inuit art, to ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian works, along with Japanese and Chinese works. Types of works include paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, and photographs, as well as textiles, costumes, jewelry, decorative art, and books and manuscripts.
Exhibit Sources: Newspapers & Magazines
BU Newspaper Databases
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window Full-page images and article images (PDF) with searchable full text from the following newspapers: Boston Globe; New York Times; Washington Post; Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Chicago Defender. See listing for each individual newspaper for date coverage and to search that publication separately.
- PressReader This link opens in a new window Full-page images and article images with searchable full text of international newspapers and magazines from the last 90 days, in the original language. Includes computer-generated translations to English and other languages for some publications.
- Access World News This link opens in a new window Find full-text current and archived articles on issues, events, people, government and more. Includes local news, editorials, announcements and other sections from more than 10,000 sources.
- International Newsstream This link opens in a new window International, searchable, full text coverage of selected newspapers. (Text only; does not include images, charts.) Date coverage: 1977 - present.
- Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window Full text articles from newspapers and periodicals published by ethnic, minority and native presses in the U.S. Includes both historic publications, starting in 1959, as well as current ones.
- Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window Nexis Uni is a source for newspapers and magazines, trade journals, wire services and transcripts, as well as legal sources for federal and state cases and statutes, including U.S. Supreme Court decisions since 1790, and information on U.S. and international companies and executives.
- Readers' Guide / Reader's Guide Retrospective This link opens in a new window Readers' Guide indexes hundreds of general interest and specialized magazines dating from the late19th century to the present with full text of articles for more recent publications. Date coverage: Indexing - 1890 - present; full text - 1994 - present.
