Aeschylus I (the Oresteia) probably best epitomized Greek tragedy. This compelling trilogy told the stories of endless cycles of violence in the House of Atreus that stretched across generations and only ended when peace and harmony took its place.

In "Agamemnon", the king had just returned from Troy when he is murdered in his bath by his wife and lover. Aegisthus, the son of Thyestes, sought revenge for his father, whom his brother, Atreus, killed two of his sons and fed him to Thyestes. Aegisthus, the surviving son returned to Argos to marry the queen after Agamenon left for Troy. This would make Aegisthus the ruler of Argos. Clytemnestra agreed to this because she hated her husband for sacrificing their oldest daughter, Iphegenia, to appease Artemis.

After Agamenon's death Orestes, only a child at the time, received a decree from the oracle to kill his mother to take revenge on behalf of his father. This is the theme of the "Libation Bearers." But when Orestes kills his mother it unleashes the Furies, primordial goddesses, who avenge Clytemnestra.

In the third play, "The Eumenides" Orestes is put on trial by Athene and is acquitted of the murder of his mother but the Furies are not satisfied. Only a peace-making offer from the goddess to the Furies ended the endless avenging approaches to justice.

The Oresteia centered on the concept of justice. How should a wrong be punished? What Aeschylus pointed out in his plays was that there were always two sides to every story. But it seemed man's fate to only see one side. Neither Orestes nor his sister, Electra, could see the anguish their mother experienced. They could not understand how she could slay their father because they saw no justification for such a brutal act. It was the same argument the Furies made to Athene when they concluded that the slaying of a mother by her son could not be justified. Yet, each time justice was meted out a new need for justice was its outgrowth.

We are faced today with issues much the same as the characters in Aeschylus' plays faced. Is an "eye for an eye" really a valid form of justice. In our own look at terrorism today could Greek tragedy point the way out of the endless cycles of violence?

Time travel is one of the most compelling sci-fi topics in Hollywood. Michael Crichton, a highly successful writer, took a more modern look at time travel. The premise of the story is based on the research done by theoretical physicists who speculate that there may be an infinite number of universes containing every alternative event that can exist across all time frames. By accessing these universes one could literally step into a past event. In the story a mythical company, ITC, is doing experimentation in three dimensional teletransportation. When they tried to send an object to a distant location it turned out that it wound up in the past-to be precise: 1357 in a place called Castlegard.

Robert Doniger, the CEO of ITC, saw an opportunity to make a ton of money. He wasn't really interested in the past but in the present. By knowing everything about Castelgard and the battle about to be fought there he could bring this knowledge to the present to create a life-like replica of the castle and village. He brought in archeologists and historians to rebuild the site without letting them know what was really up. When they began asking too many questions they were used as guinea pigs and were hurled back in time-or to another universe to be specific and suddenly were confronted with an alien culture that they were ill-equipped to handle.

The book is outstanding, keeping the reader constantly on edge as our heroes get themselves into and out of one jam after another, while trying to rescue the professor who wanted to know too much for his own good. Meanwhile, Doniger had little concern for his historians, considering them quite expendable so long as the press doesn't ask too many questions. He was such a despicable character one can almost guess he'll get his in the end.

If you saw the movie you don't truly know the story. The movie changed many important details to make it more entertaining for movie-goers, but I found the movie pretty silly and not terribly exciting. The book, however, is terrific!

The ten plays Paul Roche translated consisted of some of Euripides' finest plays and some of the lesser known plays. I particularly liked Alcestis and Hippolytus and cared less for the last three plays in the book. The one thing that struck me about Euripides is the inconsistency of some of his characters from the way Homer or Sophocles depicted them and his own depiction. Furthermore, in the case of Iphegenia in Aulis and Iphegenia Among the Taurians the character of Iphegenia changes from a heroic figure in Aulis to a bitter one in Taurus. Even the details between the two stories differed. True, they were written in different times but an author ought to keep track of the details of each play. I also felt Roche should have pointed these things out in the introduction to the plays but he did not.

Euripides was criticized in his own time while being praised more in modern times for his desire to make his characters conform to the way people behave in real life. Most of Euripides' characters were often flawed such as Iphegenia and Admetus in the play, Alcestes. They were portrayed as basically good people that had a dark side to them. Iphegenia, who came to accept her fate (she was to be sacrificed by her father, Agamemnon, to Artemis in return for a fair wind to Troy) was whisked away by the god to Tauras. In the sequel to the play she became a bitter priestess who sacrificed all Greeks that wandered into the country.

Admetus was a man who treated Apollo well when Zeus punished him by making him serve Admetus. Apollo rewarded him by allowing him to live if he could find someone to die in his place. He asked his parents but they refused; only his wife agreed. When she died he mourned her death and truly loved her but he would not allow his parents to mourn because they betrayed him. His father countered by saying that each must take responsibility for their own lives. A good point that Admetus never understood.

I believe Euripides challenged his audience to ask themselves what they would do if confronted with similar circumstances. How would one react if you knew you could live if someone else died in your place (the subject of an old Twilight Zone episode, by the way)? In the case of Media (the wife of Jason-who got the Golden Fleece from Media's father) what would you do if you gave up your country and everyone you knew to marry a man and then ten years later you're thrown out of your home? What would you do if you were Phaedra (wife of Theseus in the play Hippolytus) and a god put a spell on you to make you fall in love with your stepson? These are the challenges that Euripides makes to his audience. He does so in an engaging manner with good interaction between the characters. The Chorus plays less of a role than it does with Aescylus or even Sophocles but as a modern reader of these ancient play I find Euripides great entertainment.

Very few extant works remain on the life of Socrates: mainly the works of Xenophon and Plato. In "Conversations of Socrates" Xenophon writes extensively on the philosophical thought of the master in a forthright and simple manner. Xenophon has not always been praised for his writing style but he covers the Socratic principles thoroughly. The subjects aren't organized particularly well with examples of Socrates' views on certain virtues scattered throughout the text. Nevertheless, since Socrates didn't write his own thoughts we are very fortunate that we have these works.

Xenophon divided his works into four books: Socrates' Defense; Memoirs of Socrates; the Dinner-Party; and the Estate-Manager. Xenophon writes in the second and third person so that we "hear" the Socratic Method throughout the text. We see how Socrates used questions of his followers to teach them to think. His method thoroughly flushed out the truth and often revealed the flaws in the arguments his opponents and followers made.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Xenophon. One could almost imagine being right there with the master as he shredded the weaknesses in faulty arguments and uncovered hidden truths. His opinions on virtues may be dated to Twentieth Century people but one must remember that it was largely his teachings that had such a great influence on Western thought and ideas.

As someone who has been trading options for a couple of years, mainly has a hedge against adverse price moves in stocks, I wanted to try my hand at a more aggressive strategy, using options to make money, and possibly become wealthy. I knew that a thorough understanding of volatility was necessary for options trading. I was drawn to this book because I had previously bought the Options Course from George Fontanills and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Volatility Course has two themes: Understanding volatility and integrating volatility into your options strategies. There isn't a lot of theory to bog the options trader down but good examples to bring home his points. While I may have wanted to see a little more theory for handling the futures market, the book is excellent and would recommend it for the beginning options trader.

In the concluding story of the Ramses saga the middle-aged king is under pressure from the Hittites to prove peace is at hand by marrying the emperor's daughter. This would mean renouncing Iset the Fair, who became the queen after the passing of Nefetari, the beloved queen of Egypt. This presented a real dilemma for the king: nothing short of peace was at stake but the king must uphold the law of ma'at. What is the king to do?

Ramses would also have to deal with Uri-Teshoop who's scheming to undermine the peace and a growing threat from the Libyans, who would love to conquer Egypt. Ramses continues to steer the ship of state through these turbulent waters relying on leadership, genius, magic, and a little help from the gods to defeat the forces of evil that threaten to undermine Egypt.

The story ends almost where it began with the king slumped beneath the acacia tree he planted in the first year of his reign. His faithful sandal-bearer, Ahmeni, was at his side writing down the story of the life of the greatest pharaoh, Ramses the Great.

Sophocles was the greatest of the three great tragic playwrights of ancient Greece. He wrote over 100 plays of which only seven survive. Paul Roche has done a superb job in translating the extant plays in the same book. They include "Ajax", "Electra", "Philoctetes", "The Women of Trachis", and the three Oedipus plays: "Oedipus the King", "Oedipus at Colonus", and "Antigone."

Sophocles was a master at understanding human nature and the consequences one faces when we don't act in a virtuous manner. In "Ajax" the hero at Troy becomes a raging terror when he is not awarded Achille's armor. He seeks a murderous revenge but a trick of Athena causes him to confuse sheep with men. His friends and family can only stand by while Ajax creates the ultimate revenge on himself.

In "Electra" the daughter of the murdered Agamemnon seeks her revenge on her mother and paramour with her brother's help. It leads to tragic consequences when people can't learn to forgive. The murderous revenge was in response to the same murderous revenge her mother felt when Agamemnon sacrificed their infant daughter to gain a favorable wind to get to Troy.

"Philoctetes" is a study in what happens when care, friendship, and trust disappears. Philoctetes was abandoned by his shipmates years earlier because he was bitten on the heel by a poisonous snake. The moaning and stench from the festering wound caused his shipmates to abandon him on a deserted island. His only protection was a magic bow from Heracles that never misses its target. Years later Odysseus and Achilles' son, Neoptolemus returned to the island to get Philoctetes' bow. Neoptolemus tricks him by pretending to help him and then steals his bow. A change of heart and Heracles' intervention saved the day.

In "The Women of Trachis" a jealous wife's remedy for her philandering husband has tragic consequences. When Deianeira found that her husband, Heracles, had sent a bedmate home to the palace it was the last straw. She gave him a cloak soaked with a potion that was supposed to make Heracles fall madly in love with her. What she didn't know was that the potion was designed to kill him.

"Oedipus the King" was clearly the play Sophocles was most famous for. This is the tragic story of a man fated to kill his father and marry his mother. His denial of this truth would have ruinous consequences that would span through the next generation. Oedipus would become a ruined man who would only find salvation at the end of his life in "Oedipus at Colonus", but tragedy would spread to those of his children in "Antigone". Death would take the lives of the two sons of Oedipus as they fought over the throne and when Creon, the new king, dishonors the dead the gods mete out justice.

At twenty-three years of age Ramses becomes pharaoh but will it be a short reign? His brother, Shanaar, hasn't given up hope of being pharaoh and is poised to use the king's friends against him. But Shanaar isn't alone. People close to him want to weaken him and an outsider wants to challenge him with black magic. Ramses is young and inexperienced but seems to have the gods on his side. What is needed now is the power of the eternal temple.

In Volume II of Christian Jacq's five-volume set The Eternal Temple brings to life the struggles of the young king to rule a divisive country. Seti I, who is seen as the gentle and wise ruler imparting his wisdom to his son, has died suddenly and now the young Ramses must steer a country alone with dark forces converging on him. Moses is beginning to hear God's call and questions the role of religion in Egyptian society. Yet he is loyal to Ramses, his boyhood friend. To make matters more difficult on Moses a stranger is encouraging him to accept Aton, the one true god. Now forces beyond Moses' control will force him to choose his own way. The Hittites are also stirring in Syria and the Nubians are rebelling. Ramses must be careful and he can't trust anyone.

The Ramses set is very easy reading and Jacq's writing style is crisp and keeps the action moving. The exciting characters such as Moses, Homer, Menelaus and Helen of Troy make this period one of the most exciting in the ancient world.

In the fourth volume of the five-volume Ramses series, Asha, the king's Secretary of State and childhood friend travels to Hatti with a peace proposal only to be caught up in a vicious power struggle to which Asha and Egypt could be the big losers. It would take much cunning to pull this off. Meanwhile, the king's brother, Shanaar, is still plotting against the king in Nubia where he lures the king into a trap that threatens the life of the Pharaoh. Only a miracle can save him. As if all this wasn't enough, Moses, Ramses boyhood friend, is threatening to take all the Hebrews out of Egypt as commanded by Yahweh. When Ramses refuses Egypt is hit with ten plagues until Ramses relents and expels Moses from Egypt.

Throughout the struggles of the now middle aged king brews an ever deepening love affair between Ramses and Nefertari, the Great Royal Consort. Ramses dedicates a great temple to her in the sacred land of Abu Simbel, which was to be her lasting tribute. So close are the king and queen that to get at Ramses Nefertari was a frequent target as was Ka, the king's oldest son.

I only give this book three stars because, even though it is written in the direct and fast-paced nature of his other books, the treatment of Moses troubled me. The true relationship between Moses and the pharaoh may never truly be known but Moses was portrayed as mad and wicked; which I find to difficult to believe. In the Ramses series, Christian Jacq has him in league with Ofir, the Hittite spy and sorcerer. Furthermore, Ofir suggests and may have been responsible for some of those plagues, thus undermining the role of God in all this.

In the "Golden Age of Pericles" Athens was a Mecca for the world's great thinkers and artists. Democracy was flourishing and demand rose for the kind of education to take advantage of it. Enter the Sophists! Sophist means master of intelligence. The Sophists, such as Protagoras, Gorgias, Prodicus, Hippias, and Thrasymachus introduced intellectual education for a fee. They taught the would-be Athenian aristocrat how to speak well and out-think their opponents. Rhetoric and politics were closely connected since rhetoric prepared the Athenian with a way to enter public office. In an emerging democracy the Sophists offered a means to power.

Jacqueline de Romilly, a former Professor of Greek Language and Literature at the College de France, has written a compelling book on these interesting yet controversial thinkers in Fifth Century Greece. It is a difficult subject to write on since most of the writings of the Sophists has been lost. We largely rely on Plato and others who wrote of the Sophists to get an idea of their methods and ideology. We know that they were rationalists as opposed to metaphysical thinkers. Philosophy shifted from the cosmos to man. Protagoras wrote "Man is the measure of all things." It was a revolutionary departure from anything up to that time. To the Sophists, there was no objective truth, justice or virtue. It was whatever man determined they were. Truth could change depending on time and circumstances. Every argument had two sides and a Sophist could take either side and be effective.

To the students of the Sophists this new thinking offered an education that was superior to what others had and it was fast and paid immediate dividends. It became a powerful movement that effected Pericles, the historian and general, Thucydides, and Xenophon. Playwrights such as Euripides was also greatly influenced by the Sophists, but they had their critics as well. Aristophanes lampooned them and Socrates criticized them for taking virtues that bind a society together and reducing it to a utilitarian means of seeking power.

Probably no single idea had a greater impact on the classical period of ancient Greece than did the Sophists. De Romilly has done an excellent job in presenting their views. The casual reader may have difficulty with concepts presented here and may require a couple of readings but for those who want to truly understand one of the most focused periods in ancient studies this book should be a requirement.