H. K. Riikonen
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Quaderni di Palazzo Serra 15 (2008): 181-194.
The last two decades before the First World War mark an interesting period in the history of the classical tradition. The writers of this generation had still received an education based on a solid learning of the classical languages and of classical literature. This is attested by their constant allusions to and quotations from Greek and Roman poetry. Classical allusions, however, were not mere testimonies to the modernists’ education; indeed, such an education enabled them to interpret the culture of antiquity in fresh new ways and to use various aspects of the classical heritage for their artistic purposes. Due to new archaeological discoveries, they had
access to material which was unknown to previous generations and which changed the general conception of Greek and Roman culture, which had been based on Winckelmannian
ideals. Arthur Evans’s excavations on Crete yielded new
information for the use of the writers who were interested for
instance in the story of Daedalus, the constructor of the
labyrinth and of the wings used to escape the island. Evans, a
former war correspondent, also efficiently communicated his
discoveries, sending for instance reports and telegrams to The
Times (Cottrell 87-88, 113-130). Needless to say, James Joyce…
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