Paul Salmond

Anselm Feuerbach’s depiction of Medea, circa 1870: the play is particularly cogent today in the context of the #MeToo movement’s assault on patriarchal power. Wikimedia Commons

November 19, 2018

Guide to the classics: Euripides’ Medea and her terrible revenge against the patriarchy

Paul Salmond, La Trobe University

Euripides’ dismissal by some as a misogynist sits uncomfortably alongside his complex and sympathetic female characters.

A central convention of Greek mythological narratives called katabasis, the hero’s journey to the underworld or land of the dead. Marcella Cheng/The Conversation NY-BD-CC

January 12, 2018

Essays On Air: Journeys to the underworld – Greek myth, film and American anxiety

Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation

Journeys to the Underworld – Greek myth, film and American anxiety The Conversation36.9 MB (download)

Our new podcast, Essays On Air, features the most beautiful writing from Australian researchers. Today, classics expert Paul Salmond explores how modern cinema directors borrow from Greek legends.

Gil Birmingham (Cory) and Jeremy Renner (Martin) in Wind River: grieving fathers who come together in the realm of the dead. Production Co: Acacia Filmed Entertainment, Film 44, Ingenious Media

September 21, 2017

Friday essay: journeys to the underworld – Greek myth, film and American anxiety

Paul Salmond, La Trobe University

American cinema mines Greek myth most strongly at times of profound social anxiety. In the age of Trump, we are already seeing key political battlegrounds framed as underworld quests in film.

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Guide to the classics: Euripides’ Medea and her terrible revenge against the patriarchy

Essays On Air: Journeys to the underworld – Greek myth, film and American anxiety

Friday essay: journeys to the underworld – Greek myth, film and American anxiety

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