Surviving Two Thousand Years: understanding the role of power in shaping the textual record

Four depictions of Orpheus and Eurydice: a relief, an engraving, a painting and a still from a film.

Why do some stories survive thousands of years while others are quickly lost? Many factors affect an ancient text’s chances of survival, but most important is power. If we understand how texts have survived with the aid of each generation’s most empowered, can we then predict which modern classics will survive? From the Classic to … Read more