The Scarf, 8 Ways
If you are absolutely clueless when it comes to accessories, like I am, you’re going to want to read ahead. To look forward, try looking back. History is steeped with...
The Common Cause
Ancient Divination: The Oracle at Delphi
She was called Pythia, high priestess, or Oracle, and she lived at the center of the world. The Greeks thought Delphi to be the omphalos, or “navel” of Gaia, the...
Guest Post: Ariana Sorkin
Two poems, inspired by ancient mythology by Ariana Sorkin: "Every Goddess" It was as if she was every goddess With features from each one Although she wasn’t flawless She never...
Artemisia Gentileschi: Artist, Muse, Huntress
I met Caravaggio in Italy. He lives on in galleries and museums, haunting the corridors lined with his works, in those deep shadows and in the light draped over the...
Classical Sexism and Some Thoughts on the Death of the Author
“The Death of the Author” refers to a 1967 essay of the same name by French literary theorist Roland Barthes. The essay centers around the idea that one can, and...
Iphigenia, Polyxena, and Female Sacrifice in Patriarchal Structures
When we think of the women of the Trojan war, we think of Helen, maybe of Hecuba and Andromache. We think of women deprived of their agency, watching behind the...
Rococo Art, Briefly
I love autumn, but I am loath to let go of the pleasures that come with the summertime. The heat of the afternoon allows for little more than leisure, lounging...
Historical Jewelry: The Chatelaine
For whatever the reason, women’s clothing has not always had pockets. The tiny, unusable pockets—or, gasp, fake pockets—we find on our pants today are not just a modern problem. If...
Legends of the Thirteenth Zodiac
Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer, is a constellation shrouded in mystery and legend. He is painted across the sky between Scorpius and Sagittarius, best viewed late at night in the summertime....
