BiblioVault - Books about Zeus

The Craft of Zeus

Myths of Weaving and Fabric

John Scheid and Jesper Svenbro

Harvard University Press, 1996

The fundamental gesture of weaving in The Craft of Zeus is the interlacing of warp and woof described by Plato in The Statesman—an interweaving signifying the union of opposites. From rituals symbolizing—even fabricating—the cohesion of society to those proposed by oracles as a means of propitiating fortune; from the erotic and marital significance of weaving and the woven robe to the use of weaving as a figure for language and the fabric of the text, this lively and lucid book defines the logic of one of the central concepts in Greek and Roman thought—a concept that has persisted, woof and warp crossing again and again, as the fabric of human history has unfolded.

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From the Temple of Zeus to the Hyperloop

University of Cincinnati Stories

Edited by Greg Hand

University of Cincinnati Press, 2018

As the University of Cincinnati celebrates its bicentennial, students, faculty, staff, and alumni look back on the university’s remarkable past and its progression as a pioneer in higher education. From the Temple of Zeus to the Hyperloop: University of Cincinnati Stories reflects the breadth and diversity of the University of Cincinnati over its rich and eventful history, emphasizing just what makes UC’s history so special and inspiring—its stories.

Former Ohio Governor Bob Taft remembers his law school days in a building named for his great-grandfather. Broadway star Faith Prince recalls her musical theater start at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music. More than thirty-five contributors provide their own unique perceptions of this extraordinary urban university. Some are well-known names like Taft and Prince, while others are current students and alumni whose education and futures were profoundly shaped by memorable experiences connected to UC. Clark Beck recounts the struggles he initially faced upon coming to UC and offers readers an inspiring story of perseverance and tenacity. Sid Thatham gives a captivating tale of his move from India and the home base he made in Cincinnati with UC graduate students. Other contributors celebrate the relationships, such as that between the strong-willed duo of Jack Rouse and Helen Laird, that give UC its storied past.

In From the Temple of Zeus to the Hyperloop, anyone can find a person, whether it be the trailblazing Lucy Braun or the celebrated Carl Blegen, or a place, be it the changing landscape of Ludlow Avenue or the new frontier for the DAAP College, to which he or she can relate. Such figures, places, and stories present a sampling of the UC experience. From the Temple of Zeus to the Hyperloop offers readers an inside look at the many lives that have influenced UC and the opportunity to envision how their own stories can be a part of its future.

Just as Hand titles his introduction, “a dedicated crew of bearcats assembled this book,” the University of Cincinnati and its story continue to be a community effort, deeply intertwined with the lives of the people who have made up the university and its two-hundred years.

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Zeus in the Odyssey

J. Marks

Harvard University Press, 2008

This book makes the case that the plot of the Odyssey is represented within the narrative as a plan of Zeus, Dios boulē, that serves as a guide for the performing poet and as a hermeneutic for the audience. Through occasional participation in events and pervasive influence, the character of Zeus maintains thematic unity as the narrative moves through a mass of potential narrative paths for Odysseus that was already dense and conflicting at the time the Odyssey was taking shape. The “Zeus-centric” reading proposed here offers fresh perspectives on the tenor of interactions among the Odyssey’s characters, on the relationships among traditional accounts of Odysseus’s return, and on long-standing problems of interpretation.

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