Literature is a labyrinth — intricate, beautiful, and sometimes bewildering. Through its winding passages runs a golden thread: the classical ideas that echo across centuries, shaping characters, themes, and narratives in ways both subtle and profound. The Golden Threads is one former teacher’s attempt to follow that line wherever it leads, tracing ancient patterns beneath modern texts, uncovering the mythic architecture of stories, and illuminating the deeper structures that guide the reader through the maze.
This project also moves beyond the walls of the classroom, opening the labyrinth to every traveller. You don’t need specialist training or a classical education to follow these threads; the ancient world belongs to all of us and you have as much right to this literary heritage as anyone else does. By demystifying the discipline and widening its gates, The Golden Threads aims to show that our literary heritage is not the preserve of the privileged but a map anyone can read. It is my firm belief that classical knowledge should never be the guarded treasure of elite institutions or private schools, but should be open and available to all who appreciate storytelling.
Ariadne's Thread: The golden thread is used here as a way of identifying the key idea that runs through a myth, character, or story — the element that helps make sense of everything else. Just as Ariadne’s thread guided Theseus through the labyrinth, this thread highlights the central concept, pattern, or classical influence - our eureka! moment - that shapes the material being discussed. It acts as the main takeaway: the strand you can follow back to its origins and forward into its later echoes across literature.
The Tarot Deck
These cards act as a guide to the different ways you can explore heroes, myths, and classical ideas on this site.
Each card represents a particular approach: quick myth summaries, in-depth walkthroughs of ancient texts, deep and comparative analysis pieces, individual character studies, or practical classroom tools and resources. These cards won’t divine your future — they’re simply a visual way of navigating my blog. Choosing a card takes you to a section that helps you follow a different kind of thread. It might explore the origins of a symbol, the pattern behind a theme, the structure of a narrative, or the traits that define a hero. Literature is a rich field with so many varied lenses to view works of art through.
Unsure where to begin? Follow The Thread, because every thread leads somewhere worth finding.
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