The Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries

In the 20th century, new technical advances such as the typewriter, photography, xerography, and above all the computer, have enhanced the ability of scholars to create new critical editions of extant ancient texts, as well as new types of publications and teaching aids. Classical scholarship has experienced significant growth during the last forty years, thanks at least in part to the fact that technology has provided scholars with new ways of accessing, analyzing, and studying ancient artifacts.

But at the same time that new technologies have revolutionized our world, contemporary artists, translators, typographers, printers, and designers have been inspired by ancient Greek texts to create contemporary works of art based in these timeless writings. In some cases, traditional technologies such as letterpress printing, wood engraving, and handmade bindings are used to honor past bookmaking traditions. In others, new digital technologies are utilized to cut new typefaces, etch new modes of illustration, and precision print ancient texts. In each of these works, we see the marriage of old and new technologies and ideas in the service of literary and artistic expression.