At least 10 times a month I find myself in a book and they make a reference to some ancient concept, like Narcissus, or Oedepus, or whatever.
I’m usually familiar with the concept to some degree, but it always makes me question how well I know it. And I wish I had a list of all of these concepts, along with their source material, so I can go read them.
Well, here’s a great start.
PROMPT: Give me a list of the most timeless, ubiquitous, and commonly referenced stories and parables that appear in today's art. I want them ordered by prevalence and importance, and the output should be the concept/lesson itself, followed by the source material. Give me the top 50. 1. The Tragedy of Fate and Free Will
– Source: “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles
– Source: “The Ring of Gyges” from Plato’s “Republic”
– Source: “The Iliad” by Homer
– Source: “The Odyssey” by Homer (The story of Circe)
5. The Fleeting Nature of Life
– Source: “The Epic of Gilgamesh”
– Source: “Antigone” by Sophocles
7. The Dangers of Playing God
– Source: “Prometheus” from Hesiod’s “Theogony”
8. The Value of Wisdom Over Strength
– Source: “The Odyssey” by Homer (The story of the Cyclops)
9. Persistence and Ingenuity
– Source: “The Aeneid” by Virgil (The story of Aeneas)
– Source: “The Odyssey” by Homer (The story of Odysseus and Polyphemus)
– Source: “Narcissus” from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”
12. The Consequences of Greed
– Source: “King Midas” from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”
13. Pride and Consequences of Disobedience
– Source: “Icarus” from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”
14. Revenge and its Consequences
– Source: “The Oresteia” by Aeschylus
– Source: “Orpheus and Eurydice” from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”
16. The Nature of Reality and Illusion
– Source: “The Allegory of the Cave” from Plato’s “Republic”
17. Excess in Anything is Dangerous
– Source: “The Bacchae” by Euripides
18. Fatal Attraction and the Perils of Curiosity
– Source: “The Odyssey” by Homer (The story of the Sirens)
19. Love and its Consequences
– Source: “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare
20. The Inevitability of Change
– Source: “Pygmalion and Galatea” from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”
21. The Consequences of Deception
– Source: “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” – Aesop’s Fables
– Source: “Apology” by Plato (The story of Socrates)
23. Understanding Human Nature
– Source: “The Prince” by Niccolò Machiavelli
– Source: “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville
25. The Struggle for Identity
– Source: “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare
26. Dangers of Blind Ambition
– Source: “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
27. Evils of Racism and Prejudice
– Source: “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee
28. Religion and Morality
– Source: “Paradise Lost” by John Milton
29. Importance of Being True to Oneself
– Source: “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde
30. The Cycle of Life and Death
– Source: “The Bhagavad Gita”
31. Unintended Consequences
– Source: “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley
32. Consequences of Ignorance
– Source: “The Allegory of the Blind Men and the Elephant” – Buddhist Parable
33. Nature of War and Peace
– Source: “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy
34. Perils of Absolute Power
– Source: “1984” by George Orwell
35. Resilience in the Face of Oppression
– Source: “The Diary of Anne Frank”
36. The Cost of Social Conformity
– Source: “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
37. Dystopia and Loss of Individuality
– Source: “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
38. Human’s Relationship with Nature
– Source: “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau
39. The Pursuit of Happiness
– Source: “Candide” by Voltaire
40. The Complexity of Human Emotions
– Source: “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen
41. The Thin Line Between Civilization and Savagery
– Source: “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding
42. Man’s Inhumanity to Man
– Source: “Night” by Elie Wiesel
43. Value of Friendship and Loyalty
– Source: “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
44. Death as a Part of Life
– Source: “Because I could not stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson
– Source: “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
46. The Illusion of Free Will
– Source: “A Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess
47. Balance Between Passion and Reason
– Source: “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë
48. Chaos and Order in Society
– Source: “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens
49. The Search for Meaning
– Source: “The Trial” by Franz Kafka
50. The Role of Memory in Shaping Identity
– Source: “Remembrance of Things Past” by Marcel Proust