ABSTRACT
This chapter describes “Warrior Chorus,” a veteran–civilian public engagement, dialogue, and performance program established in New York in 2012 by Aquila Theatre and New York University, that uses ancient Greek literature and drama to facilitate community, discussion, and presentations on the experience of veterans in America. This program, funded primarily by the National Endowment for the Humanities, grew directly from an earlier national public program called “Ancient Greeks/Modern Lives,” which toured to 100 underserved communities in the United States with a performance and discussion program based around Homer’s Iliad, begun in 2010. It became clear as the program developed that members of the veteran community gravitated towards this material as a means to start to discuss their experiences of combat, post-conflict issues, and the relationship between American democracy, the military, and war.
