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Joel Christensen, Professor of Classical Studies, Brandeis University

Tallying the dead is one thing, giving them names would take an 'inexhaustible voice,' as the ancient Greeks knew

Thucydides Homer Achilles Patroclus Pericles America
'Antigone leads Oedipus out of Thebes' painting by Charles Francois Jalabert. Collection Musée des Beaux-Arts de Marseille via Wikimedia Commons

The official count of Americans lost to COVID-19 has surpassed 1 million. It is the latest grim milestone that has marked the progression of deaths and infections since the virus took hold in the U.S. in March 2020.

Such numbers make it hard to memorialize individuals – a problem that has existed throughout the ages.

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