Citation

Brown, Andrew James. “‘By Superstition We Are Driven to Deeds of Such Great Evil.’—From the Sacrifice of Iphigenia to Iran, Israel and the USA.” Blogspot. Caute, 20 Mar. 2026, https://andrewjbrown.blogspot.com/2026/03/by-superstition-we-are-driven-to-deeds.html.

Quotes

• species:
• themes:

Collations

Literature notes

Prompts

Lucretius' most popular poem. :: De Rerum Natura

De Rerum Natura author. :: Lucretius

De Rerum Natura English translation. :: On the Nature of Things

How old is Lucretius' De Rerum Natura? :: 2,000 years old

During spring, Andrew James Brown reads what part of De Rerum Natura? :: Proem to Venus at Book I

People that the Hebrew Bible mandates for total eradication and that Netanyahu invokes. :: Amalekites

Iran's fundamentalist state ideology. :: Welayat al-Faqih

Welayat al-Faqih English translation :: Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist

In Iran, the Khamenei governs as the representative of who? :: Muhammad al-Mahdi

In Iran, Muhammad al-Mahdi is the Twelfth Imam.

In Iran, where is Muhammad al-Mahdi? :: In hiding.

Per Iran's fundamentalist state ideology, what will Muhammad al-Mahdi do at the end of time? :: Establish Islamic justice.

Story that Lucretius uses to illustrate how superstitious religion has led to crimes. :: The sacrifice of Iphigenia.

Tell the story of the sacrifice of Iphigenia.
1.
2. An unnatural calm stalls them.
3. Seer reveals that the goddess Artemis was offended because Agamemnon killed a sacred deer.
4. Artemis demanded that Agamemnon sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphigenia.
5. Agamemnon succumbs to the pressure.
6. Lures Iphigenia by claiming she will be wed to Achilles.
7. Iphigenia killed.
8. Clytemnestra murders Agamemnon years later in revenge.
?
Greek fleet sails for Troy.

Tell the story of the sacrifice of Iphigenia.

1. Greek fleet sails for Troy.
3. Seer reveals that the goddess Artemis was offended because Agamemnon killed a sacred deer.
4. Artemis demanded that Agamemnon sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphigenia.
5. Agamemnon succumbs to the pressure.
6. Lures Iphigenia by claiming she will be wed to Achilles.
7. Iphigenia killed.
8. Clytemnestra murders Agamemnon years later in revenge.
   ?
   An unnatural calm stalls them.

Tell the story of the sacrifice of Iphigenia.

1. Greek fleet gathers sails for Troy.
2. An unnatural calm stalls them.
4. Artemis demanded that Agamemnon sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphigenia.
5. Agamemnon succumbs to the pressure.
6. Lures Iphigenia by claiming she will be wed to Achilles.
7. Iphigenia killed.
8. Clytemnestra murders Agamemnon years later in revenge.
   ?
   Seer reveals that the goddess Artemis was offended because Agamemnon killed a sacred deer.

Tell the story of the sacrifice of Iphigenia.

1. Greek fleet gathers sails for Troy.
2. An unnatural calm stalls them.
3. Seer reveals that the goddess Artemis was offended because Agamemnon killed a sacred deer.
5. Agamemnon succumbs to the pressure.
6. Lures Iphigenia by claiming she will be wed to Achilles.
7. Iphigenia killed.
8. Clytemnestra murders Agamemnon years later in revenge.
   ?
   Artemis demanded that Agamemnon sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphigenia.

Tell the story of the sacrifice of Iphigenia.

1. Greek fleet gathers sails for Troy.
2. An unnatural calm stalls them.
3. Seer reveals that the goddess Artemis was offended because Agamemnon killed a sacred deer.
4. Artemis demanded that Agamemnon sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphigenia.
6. Lures Iphigenia by claiming she will be wed to Achilles.
7. Iphigenia killed.
8. Clytemnestra murders Agamemnon years later in revenge.
   ?
   Agamemnon succumbs to the pressure.

Tell the story of the sacrifice of Iphigenia.

1. Greek fleet gathers sails for Troy.
2. An unnatural calm stalls them.
3. Seer reveals that the goddess Artemis was offended because Agamemnon killed a sacred deer.
4. Artemis demanded that Agamemnon sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphigenia.
5. Agamemnon succumbs to the pressure.
7. Iphigenia killed.
8. Clytemnestra murders Agamemnon years later in revenge.
   ?
   Lures Iphigenia by claiming she will be wed to Achilles.

Tell the story of the sacrifice of Iphigenia.

1. Greek fleet sails for Troy.
2. An unnatural calm stalls them.
3. Seer reveals that the goddess Artemis was offended because Agamemnon killed a sacred deer.
4. Artemis demanded that Agamemnon sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphigenia.
5. Agamemnon succumbs to the pressure.
6. Lures Iphigenia by claiming she will be wed to Achilles.
8. Clytemnestra murders Agamemnon years later in revenge.
   ?
   Iphigenia killed.

Tell the story of the sacrifice of Iphigenia.

1. Greek fleet gathers sails for Troy.
2. An unnatural calm stalls them.
3. Seer reveals that the goddess Artemis was offended because Agamemnon killed a sacred deer.
4. Artemis demanded that Agamemnon sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphigenia.
5. Agamemnon succumbs to the pressure.
6. Lures Iphigenia by claiming she will be wed to Achilles.
7. Iphigenia killed.

?
Clytemnestra murders Agamemnon years later in revenge.

Tell the story of the sacrifice of Iphigenia.
?

1. Greek fleet gathers sails for Troy.
2. An unnatural calm stalls them.
3. Seer reveals that the goddess Artemis was offended because Agamemnon killed a sacred deer.
4. Artemis demanded that Agamemnon sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphigenia.
5. Agamemnon succumbs to the pressure.
6. Lures Iphigenia by claiming she will be wed to Achilles.
7. Iphigenia killed.
8. Clytemnestra murders Agamemnon years later in revenge.

Lucretius closes the proem for Venus in De Rerum Natura Book I with what line? :: By Superstition we are driven to deeds of such great evil.

Lucretius' nationality. :: Roman

Lucretius lived in what century? :: 1st century BCE

What is the primary subject of De Rerum Natura? :: The hold of superstitious religion upon the mind.

What is Lucretius' antidote to superstitious religion? :: Clear-eyed observation of the world to truly see the nature of things.