Niketas Eugenianos's Drosilla and Charikles is one of four existing Byzantine (12th-century) Greek novels. These novels represent the rebirth of the ancient novel after a hiatus of eight centuries in the deeply Christian world of Constantinople. Written under the Komnenian dynasty and during the time of the crusades these novels revived the pagan Greek world with its pagan gods and beliefs, and also reflected the customs and beliefs of their own time.

Seven Against Thebes captured first prize for its playwright in its premier performance at the 467 BC Athenian drama festival. A veteran soldier who lost a brother in combat, Aeschylus vividly evokes the tangible terror, the scent of slaughter and the complete rout of the body and spirit that are the awful spoils of war. From the heart of the battle to the heart of the city, the cost of bloodshed is devastating and inescapable.

How can I overcome stage fright?
What should I look for in a wife?
Is the world going downhill?

Ancient authorities from the Western classical tradition offer opinions on these and other burning questions. The advice is often astonishing-for its wisdom, its entertainment value, or its complete lack of concern for modern sensibilities. The author, who collected these fascinating tidbits as she worked her way through many of the extant classical sources, can't help but enter the discussion with her own thoughts as well.

Eurpides' Bakkhai presents the inner conflict between the untamed, irrational side of man, represented by the god Dionysos, and the rational side, represented by the god Apollo. Dionysos, whose mortal mother Semele was impregnated, then incinerated by Zeus, returns to his home city of Thebes to reveal himself and to claim his rightful dominion. This ancient Greek play also foreshadows the New Testament treatment of Christ, especialy his interchange with Pilate. Originally commissioned for a London theater group, Robert Emmet Meagher's translation made its American debut at the Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, MO.

Euripides' Hekabe presents a spectacle of suffering, rage, and revenge that offers compelling witness to the courage and solidarity of those who suffer the most from violence. Meagher's brilliant translation is accessible yet does not diminsh the powerful impact of this extraordinary and timeless play.