This TEDx talk focuses on three points: First, the attraction of mythology as a core course in the Humanities curriculum in universities abroad and how myth can become a powerful analytical tool of the contemporary world. The second point emphasizes the importance of looking closely how ancient (and in particular archaic) texts present heroic speech, a reflection of deeper social structures with an approach from speech act theory. What is said becomes the reality. Through brief examples of three Homeric heroes, Agamemnon, Achilles and Odysseus, one can see the strategy and definining (or re-defining) of identity, something that can inspire even the business world today. Thirdly, going from men to women and the myth of Callisto/Arctos and rituals, the focal point is transformation. Callisto is transformed not into a star but into a constellation in a most mysterious and enigmatic myth that transforms darkness into light, the “one” into “the many.” Andromache Karanika grew up in Volos, right next to the fabled Mount Pelion, the mountain of the Centaurs, a place filled with tales, myths, history and the magic of a unique landscape. She is a graduate of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki where she studied classics and Princeton University where she got her Ph.D. She has taught at many universities in the US such as Princeton, Stanford, Temple and is now an Associate Professor of Classics at the University of California, Irvine. Her research interests are orality and women’s presence in Greek literature. She has written many articles on Homer, Homer’s reception in Byzantium, lament and children’s songs, pastoral poetry, among others, and is the author of Voices at Work: Women Performance and Gender in Ancient Greece. She is the editor of TAPA, (Transactions of the American Philological Association), the flagship journal of the Society of Classical Studies (SCS). From Callisto to Arctos and to the galaxies, Andromache Karanika will speak to us about arctos as a primordial symbol of transformation and power. She will take us on a journey of analyzing myths and ancient games with arctos as our guide. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Tags: tedxtalks greek education ancient-world classic