Gossip was a powerful tool for the powerless in Ancient Greece

Through calculated use of gossip, women, non-citizens, or slaves wielded a potent weapon against those who wronged them.

Photo credit: Nicholas Tsikourias / Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty Images

At the heart of the greatest works of Ancient Greek literature are mighty acts of revenge. Revengers overcome their enemies through superior physical prowess, as when Achilles kills Hector in a single combat to avenge the death of his comrade Patroclus; or through their employment of trickery and deceit, as when Medea slays Creon and his daughter by using poisoned clothing in revenge against Jason, her unfaithful husband. But how could a person lacking in physical strength, magical abilities or supportive friends take revenge?

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8 Yale University courses you can take online, for free

"The value of a college education is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think," Albert Einstein said. So go back to school, Ivy League style.

Photo: Jonathan Daniels on Unsplash

The idea of continuing to learn new things after leaving school is an attractive one, but one that can seem daunting. Finding both the time and the proper resources to learn something new can prove difficult, and leave us with unsatisfied curiosity. Even if we find a class we might be interested in, the cost can be prohibitive.

So, to help you curious cats out, we present 8 online classes from Yale you can take right now, at no cost.

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The Economic Glory That Was Greece

What made the Golden Age of Greece, and Western Civilization, possible? One author says "free trade". 

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