Looking Back is a podcast written, produced, and edited by myself and three classmates, Sabeena Ali, Sydney Koshefsky, and within the class Body and Soul in Ancient Greece during the fall semester of 2023 at Skidmore College.

For this assignment we were meant to choose a topic from ancient Greek society and compare it with a related modern topic. In our case we chose the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and compared modern retellings of the myth, in order to make a broader point about ancient Greek perceptions and practices surrounding death which we then compared and contrasted with modern preconceptions surrounding death. For the purposes of this podcast I did extensive research on Athenian burial practices and different interpretations of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. My classmates and I presented our research in a discussion format on the podcast, which we then edited in post-production. Through this experience, I learnt new skills I never thought I would have when pursuing a Classics education gaining technical skills as well as experience in a new form of presenting research.

If I could do it again I think our section on modern deaths could have been strengthened with more research, rather than being a conversation section based purely from our own experience. I think we had some great conversations because we were just coming at the topic with our own personal knowledge and beliefs, but I think having some statistics or facts about modern deaths to back up our arguments would have strengthened them considerably.

Oral, Information, and Technology Literacy

• present orally and in written form an argument supported by primary and secondary sources
• develop multi- and cross-cultural perspectives and apply them to gender, ethnic, and social issues.

Abigail Adriano as Eurydice (left) and Noah Mullins as Orpheus (right) in Opera Australia’s production of the musical “Hadestown” by Anaïs Mitchell at the Theatre Royal Sydney. Credit… Lisa Tomasetti/Opera Australia

Maria Dizzia as Eurydice descending an elevator to the Underworld in Sarah Ruhl’s play, “Eurydice,” at the Second Stage Theater. Credit…Sara Krulwich/The New York Times