Exploring the Links Between Today's Vets and Warriors of Classical Lit

Brooklyn Public Library will present the traveling humanities series "Ancient Greeks/Modern Lives: A National Conversation" Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Dr. S. Steven Dweck Center.

The series’ mission is to inspire people to think about classical literature "and how it continues to influence and invigorate American cultural life," according to library historians.

The presentation at the library will explore the theme "Homecoming: The Return of the Warrior," aiming to understand and appreciate veterans and to learn from their experiences in the context of these classical works.

The Aquila Theatre will perform a staged reading of scenes from "Agamemnon" by Aeschylus, "Ajax" by Sophocles, "Herakles" by Euripides and "Odyssey" by Homer, followed by a “town hall”-style discussion with Peter Meineck, the Program Director, as well as Artistic Director of Aquila Theatre, and a Clinical Associate Professor of Classics at New York University.

"A play becomes ‘classical’ because we recognize after a time that it transcends the culture it was created for," Meineck said. "It has the power still to provoke that central question of what it means to be human."

The Central Library is located at 10 Grand Army Plaza.