The Healing Power of Ancient Literature

Time heals all, said Sophocles some 25 centuries ago. Taking the Greek dramatist at his word, two investigators-one a classicist and the other a licensed psychologist-organized a symposium to explore the capacity of the past to cure the ills of the present.The symposium’s premise was that literature, especially ancient literature, possesses a profound power to heal our souls, a power that is especially needed today when the rapidity of change and the force of world events combine to make peace of mind an ever more distant and seemingly unreachable goal. Featuring nationally-renowned scholars, the meeting explored the wisdom literature of Egypt, the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, the Biblical books of Ecclesiastes and Job, the poetry of Homer, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, and the teachings of Lao-tzu as sources of enlightenment and inspiration for the modern world.The present anthology incorporates all six of the symposium’s formal presentations-by Stephen Bertman, John Foster, David Hicks, John Maier, and Rami Shapiro-as well as an additional essay by Lois Parker on the symposium’s humanistic theme.