Cross Reference image

Introducing Cross Reference

The new JSTOR Daily crossword puzzle is here to entertain and educate you.
Tantalus

Tantalus, Pac-Man, and Unsated Hungers

What does a violent, ancient Greek myth reveal about our modern addiction to technology and the enduring power of stories?
Alastair Sim as Scrooge in the film of the same name, adapted from Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol

Annotations: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Scrooge became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.
Crowd entering the stadium at the 1896 Olympic marathon

The Invention of the Marathon

The Hellenic inspiration for the 26.2-mile races which draw over a million runners yearly worldwide had nothing to do with sport—but everything to do with war.
Lord Byron's Maid of Athens

When Lord Byron Tried to Buy a Twelve-Year-Old Girl

The English poet fell in love with Teresa Makri while he was traveling in Greece and subsequently tried to purchase her from her mother.
Christ's Descent into Hell by Hieronymus Bosch

Fire and Brimstone

If our conception of hell was absent from Christianity at the time the religion was born, whence exactly does it hail?
A promotional image for Yellowjackets

Girls Gone Greek

The most influential character on Showtime’s Yellowjackets is the one who goes unnamed: Dionysus.
A gold coin commemorating the assassination of Julius Caesar

Beware the Ides of March. (But Why?)

Everybody remembers that the Ides of March was the day Julius Caesar was assassinated. But what does it mean, and why that day?
Sunlight and Shadow by Albert Bierstadt

Do We Actually See Shadows?

In a blackout, you do not hear or taste the darkness; you see it. It looks a certain way. On the philosophy of shadows.
The Jewel Casket by John William Godward

Recipe for an Ancient Roman Glow Up

Start by saying yes to antioxidant-rich barley pap, and avoid wine tainted with newts.