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Purification Rites
The tiny orphan Charilla sat down in the dust by the side of the road holding out her empty bowl and waiting for the King from Delphi to pass by. She heard that he was giving away sacks of legumes and...
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Sacred Speeches in 24 Rhapsodies
Dawn arrived with rose-red forearms and finally there was no more to see or remember. Through that night that felt like it would never end Philip and his royal rival were visited by many a soul come...
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On Pandemic Diseases
Oh, hey there. It’s me, Arlecchino! Yay! Yaaaaaaaaay. This would be a good time to get up, stretch your legs, take a piss or get something to drink. An intermedio, as we like to say in Eye-talian. Ha...
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Triads
A fortunate conjunction of the fête de la Vaisselle and the Lupercalia found Hadrian and his men embedded in Lavinium so the elder emperor decided to consummate a sacred marriage for the benefit of...
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Cosmic Calls
1969. A damp and overcast February in France, and Morrison is banging away on an old piano, between swigs of whiskey and tokes on a joint. He looks up into the mirror with one eye, the other closed,...
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The Circuits of the Apostles
Cumbricius, governor of Sozopolis and the whole Phrygian district woke pissing himself early on Chutroi, for round about him, still, were the men he’d blessed with the crown of martyrdom. There stood...
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Hunting Advice
For there was a feeling as if taking hold of the God of clearly perceiving that he himself had come, of being midway between sleeping and waking, of wanting to look, of struggling against his departure...
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On Incredible Things
They say that after being locked up with his family all that time Orestheus the son of Deukalion had a powerful longing to set out and explore the world, taking with him only a sackful of possessions...
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Exhortations
Black faces in the dark, covered in ash of past sacrifice, and Dionysos is seated at the heart of them, come the long way through the swamp to be with them, carrying a torch to set the world ablaze...
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On Non-Existent Things
“the best laid men of plans and mice” and all that. I mean, shit. I was hoping to churn out this whole book of Anthesteria-themed poetry during the festival but then, well, shit happened. A sensible...
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Sayings of the Seers
All this mess, this muck, this madness – where do you think that wine you’re drinking comes from? You think it’s the culmination of a long process, ending at your cup – but have you ever wondered what...
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Aitia
The morning of the broaching of the Jars, and the feast of hanged Erigone, a white day for slaves everywhere, had come round again, and the Greeks in Egypt, from lowest farmhand to Alexandria’s...
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On Those in Haides
It’s always then, it’s always now when the underworld flows into our world everything gets jumbled and difficult to differentiate. I’m sitting here at my computer, but I’m also sitting on the steps of...
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On Irrational Numbers
Euenos – whether of Paros, Askalon or three-cornered Sicily; even he has forgotten – stumbled out on stage, looked around, looked some more, and finally said, after clearing his throat: The best...
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The Spurious Letters
Through the streets of Eugene I run as if I’m hunted, though to passersby there’s nothing behind me – and that’s the problem! Where is my history, everyone I used to know, the man I once was? It’s...
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On the Principle of Anomaly or Irregularity
I’m on the floor, curled into a ball, and even though I should be getting ready to go hang paper dolls and swing in the park with the perfect willow tree we found on one of our magic rambles, I just...
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Female Advice
I come around the corner and find Samba Ja, the local Afro-Caribbean drumming ensemble, setting up in Kesey Square. This should be good. A little spider has been whispering in my ear for months that I...
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On Strange Animals
Though there are so many flowers out that we had to limit ourselves to collecting tree flowers to bring to Dionysos on the mountaintop yesterday, today it is bitterly, bitingly cold and I’ve got my...
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On the Plots of Tragic Plays
I’m a big guy. Playground swings weren’t made for people like me. The hard plastic bites into my side, I’m always sure the chain is moments away from snapping, and equally sure I look utterly absurd....
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On Marvelous Things Heard
I cross the street, and I’m in a little Delphic coffee house in the 1930s, listening to Ángelos Sikelianós recite one of his new works. We’re still almost a decade from the publication of his three...
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