Spencer McDaniel
@spencermcdaniel.bsky.social
Studies ancient Greek cultural and social history, BA history and classical studies @IUBloomington, MA @BrandeisCLAS, she/her.
Cat wailing and scratching at my bathroom door to be let in, we call that convention a para-claw-sithyron.
ㅤ Paestan red figure fish plate [detail] — attributed to the Binningen Painter, third quarter of 4th century bce ㅤ
I don't think I have an accomplishment that quite matches this, but, when I was in undergrad, I did get interviewed on NPR about a blog post I wrote in which I pointed out that the Latin motto on the front cover of a certain Fox News host's book was nonsense and clearly made using Google Translate.
Anna Kornbluh@annakornbluh.bsky.social · 6d agowhat's your emily wilson onion accomplishment, mine is a peer-reviewed scholarly article with footnote to Dwayne The Rock
No professional accomplishment has ever made me happier than this. theonion.com/translator-o...
Translator Of Original ‘Minions’ Epic Poem Slams ‘Sexless, Bloodless’ Film Adaptation
PHILADELPHIA—In a 4,500-word essay published in Harper’s Magazine, Emily Wilson, known for her popular translation of the Minions epic poem, blasted the latest film Thursday as a “sexless, bloodless” ...
theonion.com
[repeated a thread from the other place] Five (ok, six) ways in which Nolan's Odyssey is Homeric. 1. Narrative structures: a thematic ring with multiple flashbacks and timelines that unfold and entwine. Hello Homer's Odyssey
There is no one original review of Nolan's Odyssey, they’re all the product of an oral tradition of going “hmm, not quite right" at Classics conferences.
Fire in the sky, political fracturing, a reduction in naval trade, economic uncertainty, agriculture is suffering due to plague, and the Odyssey is premiering? Welcome back, Greek Dark Ages.
My favorite depiction of the Trojan Horse, and the earliest known version. I love the windows, like an airplane, and that the windows go up the neck too.
“So did you like Nolan’s Odyssey?” Much like Odysseus himself, it’s complicated.
I wrote a thing! My take on Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is up at @foreignpolicy.com foreignpolicy.com/2026/07/23/o...
Odysseus at the End of Civilization
Nolan’s film confronts the betrayal of the West’s own values.
foreignpolicy.com
In my latest for @pghreviewofbooks.bsky.social I look beyond the question of casting in Nolan's Odyssey to what kind of story Nolan is trying to tell, and whether it will ever be possible to tell that story with the Odyssey. pghrev.com/nolans-odyss...
All kinds of reviews of Nolan's film have been written (including by me) but if the kind you want is an expert meticulously detailing departures from/similarities with sources (and who's also smart about the political implications of those choices) no one is better than @spencermcdaniel.bsky.social
Spencer McDaniel@spencermcdaniel.bsky.social · 2w agoI have a master's degree in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies, I've studied the 'Odyssey' in Ancient Greek, and I've been writing about the ancient world for over a decade. This is my exhaustive review of Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey'. #Odyssey #classics talesoftimesforgotten.com/2026/07/23/a...
Also, the “Our age of bronze is collapsing” line is the equivalent of “Somehow Palpatine returned” for Classicists, Ancient Historians, and Archaeologists.
Eduardo García-Molina@egarcmol.bsky.social · 2w agoTLDR: A good Odyssey, a great American war film.
Searching and informed discussion of Nolan's Odyssey from @spencermcdaniel.bsky.social talesoftimesforgotten.com/2026/07/23/a...
An Ancient Historian's Breakdown of Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' - Tales of Times Forgotten
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is perhaps the most highly anticipated new film of the 2020s. It has already received near-universal acclaim from film critics and earned more at the box office in its ...
talesoftimesforgotten.com
I have a master's degree in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies, I've studied the 'Odyssey' in Ancient Greek, and I've been writing about the ancient world for over a decade. This is my exhaustive review of Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey'. #Odyssey #classics talesoftimesforgotten.com/2026/07/23/a...
An Ancient Historian's Breakdown of Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' - Tales of Times Forgotten
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is perhaps the most highly anticipated new film of the 2020s. It has already received near-universal acclaim from film critics and earned more at the box office in its ...
talesoftimesforgotten.com
Got out to see Christopher Nolan's take on the Odyssey. Fascinating movie, but to use a metaphor - it is a remix, not a cover; it has its own themes and ideas. Which is fine - folks have been remixing Homer for basically the whole of the western literary tradition.
Odysseus in Ancient Greek Literature Versus Odysseus in Modern Screen Media
On the language of Homeric Greek, and the language of a certain forthcoming film: here are a few simple observations.
My favorite take on the interminable Helen of Troy casting controversy. (Those who know about ancient Greek theater will get this.)
Dragons in actual medieval literature and art looked and acted very differently from how you probably imagine and from how they are portrayed in modern fantasy. In some cases, they had fur and feathers! #dragons #medieval #HotD talesoftimesforgotten.com/2026/07/12/h...
How Medieval Are the Dragons in 'House of the Dragon' Really? - Tales of Times Forgotten
The new season of HBO’s epic fantasy series House of the Dragon is about to release its fourth episode. The show is set in the fantasy land of Westeros, which is loosely inspired by England in the Hig...
talesoftimesforgotten.com
The dragons in 'House of the Dragon' are awesome to see on screen, but they are very different from dragons in real medieval literature and art. Learn the real history of how humans have imagined dragons in this post! #HouseOfTheDragon #dragons #medieval talesoftimesforgotten.com/2026/07/12/h...
How Medieval Are the Dragons in 'House of the Dragon' Really? - Tales of Times Forgotten
The new season of HBO’s epic fantasy series House of the Dragon is about to release its fourth episode. The show is set in the fantasy land of Westeros, which is loosely inspired by England in the Hig...
talesoftimesforgotten.com
To be a historian is to speak ill of the dead and the rest of you should take more history classes and join us.
You can say a lot about Lindsey Graham but at least he got to see the thing he most wanted before he died, bombing school children in Iran.
More people need to read this. There is no such thing as a "historically accurate Odyssey," because the 'Odyssey' is not set in a real historical time. It is set in the mythic Age of Heroes, not the real-life Bronze Age. #Odyssey #Homer #classics kiwihellenist.blogspot.com/2026/07/odys...
History and the <i>Odyssey</i>
The Odyssey is not set in the Bronze Age. It is totally flooded with classical-era motifs, with a smattering of archaic touches.
kiwihellenist.blogspot.com
Been too long since I did a big silly ancient history 🧵so let's bring an old one back over from the Bad Place: It's time for ::air horn:: Publius Ventidius Bassus, the coolest Roman you have never heard of and the only person to walk in a triumph first as captive, then as triumphing general. 1/
A game board from the forum of Timgad (Algeria) is a more Roman spin on the trite ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ sign. Replacing hunting w/cheese & and I am in, y’all. ‘venari lavari / ludere ridere / (h)oc{c} est / vivere’: ‘to hunt, to bath, to play, to laugh — This is to live!’ (CIL VIII, 17938). 🛁
A good day to remember that one of the indictments against George III in the Declaration was, "He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither"
This 1679 “Sabionari” Stradivarius is the only playable guitar by Antonio Stradivari left in this world.🤗 So take just a moment to hear a sound that’s well over 300 years old! @55SweetThing #globalmuseum #music #guitar #Stradivarius