Edith Hamilton

 I took Latin in High School - even then I longed for a classical education. One of our textbooks was Edith Hamilton's "Mythology." I remember being mesmerized by it, by the complex interactions of the Greek and Roman gods, and the stories spun around them. 

I've kept the book ever since, and I recently pulled it out to re-read. For the first time, however, I thought, "Who was this Edith Hamilton, who gave the world such a compilation of ideas and stories?" I had a feeling there might be an empowering and inspiring story there, as well. I had an idea there might be a woman ahead of her time, paving the way for others.

I wasn't disappointed! She was born in Germany, but raised in Indiana. Her parents gave her and her siblings a classical education at home, and they all went on to achieve roles of distinction. 

Edith was head administrator at Byrn Mawr Shcool, a preparatory school, for many years before retiring - and in her fifties - starting her own quest to learn and write about the ancient world. 

She celebrated the mind - rising above oneself - being educated. "To be able to be caught up into the world of thought - that is being educated."

"A people's literature is the great textbook for real knowledge of them. The writings of the day show the quality of the people as no historical reconstruction can."

"None but a poet can write a tragedy. For tragedy is nothing less than pain transmuted into exultation by the alchemy of poetry."

For a list of her books: Books by Edith Hamilton (Author of Mythology) (goodreads.com)