Perhaps the most spectacular of all Greek vases, the Sarpedon krater depicts the body of Sarpedon, a hero of the Trojan War, being carried away to his homeland for burial. It was decorated some 2,500 years ago by Athenian artist Euphronios, and its subsequent history involves tomb raiding, intrigue, duplicity, litigation, international outrage, and possibly even homicide. How this came about is told by Nigel Spivey in a concise, stylish book that...

A first and thorough look at the Mexican celebration of the dead, the sacred days when the souls of the departed return to visit the living. Tracing the Days of the Dead tradition from its roots in Indian culture to its manifestations in contemporary Chicano communities, this unconventional and visually arresting documentary contemplates the loving and sometimes humorous Mexican cultural attitudes toward "that constant companion," death.