Reading Art

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Valerio Chimentelli's Search for the Classical Past, and My Search for Valerio Chimentelli
Or, that time I accidentally discovered an obscure Renaissance humanist hiding in the Getty Research Institute's Special Collections and embarked on a…
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Mary Anastasi
6
Reading Art Book Club: Introduction to Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy
Make philosophercore your vibe this summer :)
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Mary Anastasi
2
You've Heard of Roman Orators Like Cicero, But Have You Ever Read a Roman Declamation?
Ranging from the serious to the ridiculous, declamations were rhetorical exercises for budding and experienced orators looking to sharpen their skills…
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Mary Anastasi
5
Swimming the Hellespont for Love: The Tragic Romance of Hero and Leander
This lesser-known myth about two young lovers separated by a four-mile stretch of sea was even more compelling to early modern artists and critics than…
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Mary Anastasi

May 2025

Announcing the Reading Art Book Club
Read Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy with me this summer!
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Mary Anastasi
Penpals with the Past: Petrarch Writes to Cicero
On being friends with long-dead philosophers and other intellectuals
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Mary Anastasi
2
Is ChatGPT the Fake Friend that Ancient Philosophy Warned Us About?
Thoughts on Plutarch's iconic philosophical treatise How to Tell a Friend From a Flatterer, AI, and the role of honesty in true friendship
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Mary Anastasi
1
The Table of the Sun: The Wonders of Ancient Ethiopia, as told by the Greeks
A place between myth and reality in Herodotus' Histories
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Mary Anastasi
Heracles: Hero, God, and...Philosopher?
Heracles' infamous choice between the good life and the easy one in mythology and philosophy
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Mary Anastasi

April 2025

How to get dressed like an Ancient Greek woman
It's more than just slapping on a glorified bedsheet and some strappy sandals and calling it a day
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Mary Anastasi
Artemis of the golden quiver: a closer look at this goddess full of contradictions
The wild goddess of the hunt, maidens, fertility, and childbirth was a force of nature in the Ancient Greek and Roman pantheons
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Mary Anastasi
What to do if all your bees die, according to Roman mythology
These small paragons of cosmic order and harmony have a rich history in literature, art, and material culture
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Mary Anastasi
© 2025 Mary Anastasi
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