Anthony Shadid

The death of Anthony Shadid, 43, of asthma, as he was working undercover in Syria, was an enviable one in a classical-Greek sense, in that it was so glorious—a kind of dramatization of his bravery and commitment, when he was at the height of his powers as reporter and writer. For the rest of us, it's pretty bad news. Partly because of his knowledge of Arabic, but even more because of his curiosity about and concern for ordinary folk in the war zones, he captured again and again the things we really needed to know about Baghdad and the other dangerous places where he made himself at home, in a way hardly anybody else came close to. 

Achilles and Ajax playing dice. Black-figure amphora by Exekias, late 6th c. B.C.E., from Heritage Key.