Send us a text Valerius Publius, aka Publicola, topples the tyrant Tarquin with Brutus and founds the Republic on better justice than the Roman kings had exercised. Like his parallel Solon, his obsession with justice makes him seek the happiness of his own people all the way to his death. Remembering Solon's examples of happiness, does Publicola die a happy man? Parallel - Solon Important People Tarquinius Superbus - The seventh, and last, king of Rome. Thrown out because of his refusal to punis...
Apr 11, 2021•44 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Send us a text It is the happy fate of all good and just men to be praised more after they are dead than when they lived Plutarch, Life of Numa 22 Parallel - Lycurgus Important People Pythagoras - the Greek philosopher and mystic mathematician who lived on the southern Italian peninsula and started a school of philosophy obsessed with simple living, observation of the created universe, piety to the gods, and justice to all men. Egeria - the second (and supernatural) wife of Numa, a nymph who tau...
Mar 11, 2021•35 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Send us a text The Agōgē (ἀγωγή) [16-19] Those Laconic Spartans [19-21] Military Maneuvers [22-24] Education never stops [24-25 Blessing of scholē Freedom and restraint Political Setup How someone elected to Gerousia [26] Over 60 Group of candidates selected Assembly called, and votes decided by length of shout and volume of shout Burying the dead [27] NO injustice or inequality in these laws [28] Those who criticize (cough cough: ARISTOTLE + PLATO) for lack of Justice Krypteia ! And treatment o...
Feb 11, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Send us a text Lycurgus was once asked why Sparta had no defensive wall around its perimeter. He responded, "A city is well-fortified with a wall of men instead of brick." Parallel - Numa Important Places Sparta Crete Asia Minor Egypt Important People Homer Alcander Lysander Outline Uncertain origins: second son of King of Sparta Expected to become king when father and brother dead Chemical Abortion or Infanticide? Charilaus born - joy of the people 8-month reign as regent incites envy Lycurgus ...
Jan 11, 2021•28 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Send us a text Parallel - Theseus Origin Stories Rome: What's in a name? From Aeneas to Alba Longa Romulus and Remus: Childhood Left to die by a river Wolf and woodpecker Romulus and Remus: Off to Found a City Rome is for runaways! Open the gates and seize the...day? Location, location, location! Vultures? 6/12? First/Second? Walls and Ditches – death of Remus Plows the circumference: pomerium etym . Rome's Birthday - April 21, 753 BC Roman Customs: More Etymologies and etiologies Legion v. Popu...
Dec 11, 2020•36 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Send us a text Although Theseus never actually existed, Plutarch, in documenting his life, wants to cull important lessons for Greeks and Romans. Just as Theseus wrestles with villains threatening civilization, Plutarch forces his readers to grapple with the role of virtue in politics, or, less abstractly, the role the virtuous man has to play in his polis: i.e. how to be a citizen rather than a subject. This becomes explicit at the end of Theseus's life when he ceases to be a good king and beco...
Nov 11, 2020•35 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Send us a text We are not born for ourselves alone; a part of us is claimed by our nation, another part by our friends. De Officiis, I.22 Parallel - Demosthenes Cicero lived and died as a political failure. In what ways, then, is his failure worth studying. In what ways did he succeed? In many ways, he and Vergil become the teachers of Western Europe all the way down to the present day. Can we declare Cicero a victor in the long-run, or should we study only his failures as a warning? Outline Cic...
Oct 11, 2020•45 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Send us a text Wise men profit more from fools than fools from wise men; for the wise men shun the mistakes of fools, but fools do not imitate the successes of the wise. —Plutarch “Cato the Elder” Para. 9.4 Parallel - Aristides Sometimes called Cato the Censor or Cato the Elder because he is the great-grandfather of the more famous Cato the Younger who resisted Julius Caesar in the first century civil wars. This Cato (234-149 BC) sets the standard for the old Roman agricultural and military virt...
Sep 11, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Send us a text ῥᾷστον ἁπάντων ἐστὶν αὑτὸν ἐξαπατῆσαι: ὃ γὰρ βούλεται, τοῦθ᾽ ἕκαστος καὶ οἴεταιNothing is easier than self-deceit, for what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true.—Demosthenes “Third Olynthiac” 19 Parallel - Cicero OUTLINE Introduces both Cicero and Demosthenes Learned Latin Late A good city for research Why stay in a small town? Rise to Political Power Philip Alexander and Exile Antipater and the End Important People Philip – Demosthenes strongly resists Philip's incur...
Aug 11, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Send us a text Aristides acts as a great introduction to the wars that made Athens great, the defensive wars against the Persian invaders, occurring between 490 and 479 BC. Plutarch admired Aristides immensely, so he serves as a great introduction to the standards Plutarch holds up for the other leaders he studies. The outline of his life pretty much follows the important events of the Persian Wars: Marathon – 490 BC Political Height eponymous archon ostracism ( etymology !) Salamis – 480 BC Pla...
Jul 27, 2020•23 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Send us a text Solon was not only the wisest man to be found in Athens, but the most profound political genius of antiquity; and the easy, bloodless, and pacific revolution by which he accomplished the deliverance of his country was the first step in a career which our age glories in pursuing, and instituted a power which has done more than anything, except revealed religion, for the regeneration of society .... By making every citizen the guardian of his own interest Solon admitted the element ...
Jul 27, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Send us a text In this podcast, I introduce you to Plutarch, the man and the biographer. We answer questions like: Who was Plutarch? An ancient biographer who wrote almost 50 biographies comparing Greek and Roman heroes. While his focus in on virtue, his characters are all human and their vices appear alongside their virtues. Why should I read him? He gives three reasons in three separate biographies! I put them all together here in one place. What's the format of this show? One episode per life...
Jul 27, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 1
