My friend Mariana recently asked me to share three favorite books. It’s always difficult for me to pick favorites, as a general rule. I love so many books, for such different reasons. The moment I commit to one, I think about all the others I didn’t pick and wonder why.
If you’re here at this site, you already know that Homer is my favorite, full stop (today, the Iliad specifically). So Instead of repeating the obvious, I want to highlight three other ancient works that I adore:
Euripides’ Heracles
Sophocles’ Ajax
Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War
I’m already thinking of so many other works that I could swap them with. But when I asked myself to pick, without thinking, three favorites, these three came to me intuitively. Just thinking about them, the way they explore the tragic self, fills me with awe and emotion, and I’m very grateful they have survived to the modern day.
What are some of your favorites?