Under relentless pressure, continuing can begin to feel inevitable. An ancient story reveals how interruption, shared responsibility and passing of the burden creates enough breathing space for judgement to return.
When Momentum Becomes the Governor Read Post »
In Book VII of The Iliad, the Greeks begin to understand that resolution is not as close, or as simple, as they hoped. First they face what has been lost. Then they begin to make the place survivable.
This Is My Life Now, For Now Read Post »
Every so often you watch someone make a decision that makes no sense. Not because they are confused. Not because they lack information. In Book 6 of the Iliad, Hector and Andromache reveal a more uncomfortable truth: some of the most consequential decisions in life are governed by something deeper than love.
The Things That Govern Us Read Post »
A reflection on Diomedes in Book V of The Iliad, and the danger of believing true things about ourselves too completely.
When the Evidence Is True Read Post »
Pandarus steps forward and at first it doesn’t fell like a decisive moment. But almost immediately, everything around him begins to move. A Conversations essay on The Iliad, Book IV — and how little it takes for something already unstable to start again.
