Aeschylus' "Oresteia" is one of the most extraordinary works of literature to have come from Ancient Greece. It's a story about murder, revenge, and the birth of justice itself.
We are joined by Doug Metzger, host of the "Literature and History" podcast to explore how the ancient Athenian tragedian Aeschylus turned a bloody family feud into a vision of civilization, and offered the Athenians a new foundation myth for their democracy.
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Recommended translations of the Oresteia:
For readability and beautiful language, you can't go wrong with Fagles.
For accuracy and faithfulness to the original Greek syntax, go with Sommerstein.
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To support this show and our mission to bring the classics to the general public, please visit https://patreon.com/greecepodcast
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You can find Doug's incredible podcast on all major platforms and at https://literatureandhistory.com
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Introduction to the “Oresteia”
05:22 Agamemnon in the Iliad and Odyssey
12:17 Life of Aeschylus
14:00 The 1st Play: “Agamemnon”
20:03 Sacrifice of Iphigenia
26:58 Agamemnon’s Arrival
34:56 The 2nd Play: “Libation Bearers”
41:35 Orestes kills Clytemnestra
51:40 The 3rd Play: “Eumenides”
59:12 The Trial
1:06:58 The Areopagus and Ephialtes’s Reforms
1:10:24 Main Takeaways
Plato’s Republic isn’t just a cornerstone of Western thought—it’s a mirror reflecting the challenges of our own time. In this episode of Ancient Greece Declassified, host Lantern Jack teams up with scholar Gina White to deliver a one-stop, accessible guide to this timeless work—exploring its big ideas, enduring impact, and eerie relevance to today’s world.
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Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/greecepodcast
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Timestamps
[00:50] Introduction to the Republic
[05:35] A bird's-eye view of the entire work
[15:20] Book 1: What is justice?
[20:56] Book 2: The immoralist challenge
[25:33] Book 3: Building the ideal city
[34:00] Book 4: Justice defined
[43:10] Book 5: Philosopher kings
[49:30] Book 6: The Form of the Good
[56:33] Book 7: The Cave
[1:02:44] Book 8: Bad constitutions, bad souls
[1:05:23] Book 9: The secret misery of tyrants
[1:07:17] Book 10: The Myth of Er
How did Sparta—a mere city-state with an agrarian economy and barely any economic growth to speak of—rise to become the supreme power in ancient Greece? We investigate in conversation with renowned historian Eric W. Robinson, author of the forthcoming book "Spartan Legend."
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Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/greecepodcast
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Timestamps
[03:28] Origins of Spartan power
[12:26] Democratic aspects of the Spartan constitution
[17:25] Athenian admiration of Sparta
[23:00] How good were Spartan armies?
[27:05] Robinson's theory of a Spartan "Mystique"
[44:04] Why Sparta won the Peloponnesian War against Athens
[48:46] Why Spartan power declined
Marcus Aurelius became emperor of Rome in 161 AD and went on to win several wars against the northern barbarians. But it wasn't his military exploits that earned him everlasting fame. Rather, it was his philosophical mind and the writings he left behind. In this episode, we are joined by author and scholar Judith Stove to explore the character, writings, and legacy of Rome's "philosopher king." Stove's latest book is called Marcus Aurelius and His Legacy: Seeking Rome's Kingdom of Gold.
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Support the show on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast
Some announcements for those of you who care about what's happening at AGD behind the scenes...
I chat with friend and fellow podcaster Doug Metzger about how I first became fascinated with the ancient world and share some of the adventures I had on the way to getting a PhD in Classical Philosophy.
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Support AGD on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast
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Timestamps
[01:25] Why I started AGD
[05:15] Why Stoicism is misunderstood today
[11:20] Debunking two big myths about the ancient world
[14:45] How I got interested in ancient Greece
[19:58] Reggie Foster, renegade priest
[25:08] What makes Ancient Greek a precise and musical language
[33:57] Hitchhiking adventures
[44:27] AGD tours
[53:35] The genius of Aeschylus' "Oresteia"
During the Persian Wars, the city of Athens was completely razed to the ground by the Persian army. And yet, from its ashes, a new Athens was born, more powerful and magnificent than any other city in the Mediterranean. How did the Athenians pull that off?
In this finale to our Persian Wars saga, we explore the final battles of the conflict and the clever machinations of Themistocles—one of the chief masterminds and architects of Athenian power.
Contents of the episode, with timestamps:
[05:35] Aftermath of Salamis
[15:50] Xerxes Goes Home
[23:20] The Final Battles (Plataea and Mycale)
[39:08] The Themistoclean Walls
[46:05] Themistocles' Exile and Death
[55:50] Conclusion
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Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast
Unveiling the wild world of ancient Greek and Roman novels with Doug Metzger, host of the "Literature and History Podcast."
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Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast
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Contents of the episode, with timestamps:
04:22 When did novels first arise?
09:12 The four genres of ancient novels
11:39 The typical plot (Callirhoe)
17:55 Daphnis and Chloe
21:10 Euripides' romances
28:17 Narrative in the Bible
32:43 Evolution of the ancient novel
34:27 Leucippe and Clitophon
35:47 Heliodorus' Aethiopica
37:35 Lucian and the influence on modernity
43:08 The Second Sophistic
47:14 Greek VS Roman novels
53:44 The X-rated stuff
What did ancient music sound like? In this episode, you will hear three songs that are over 2000 years old! Few people in the world today know more about ancient music than our guest in this episode. Claire Catenaccio is an assistant professor of classics at Georgetown University who specializes in the study of ancient drama and its modern reception. Her recent book "Monody in Euripides" explores monody – namely solo actor's song – in the tragedies of Euripides. Her scholarship is informed by her experience as a director and historical consultant in many modern productions of ancient Greek theater plays.
Contents of the episode, with timestamps:
[02:07] What evidence do we have for ancient music?
[13:05] What kind of musical notation did the ancient Greeks use?
[13:51] The Song of Seikilos (oldest surviving song with musical score)
[20:30] What the aulos (the main musical instrument on stage) sounded like
[23:21] The origins of music in Greek tragedy
[31:30] Cash prizes and the professionalization of acting/singing
[34:45] The incredible popularity of Euripides' new music
[37:20] How and Why Euripides' "Orestes" completely rewrites Aeschylus' "Eumenides"
[52:30] What Euripides' songs sounded like (Electra's monody from Euripides' "Orestes")
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Even after thousands of years of supposed progress in philosophy, there are still some who maintain that the entire history of western philosophy consists of footnotes to Plato. But who was Plato the man? If there is anyone who can answer that question, it's our guest in this episode. Robin Waterfield is a renowned scholar of antiquity who has written the first ever full biography of the ancient philosopher in English. Check out the book here.
Contents of the episode, with timestamps:
[04:10] Plato's early life
[06:46] Relationship to Socrates
[12:27] Philosophical method
[14:53] Theory of Forms
[18:27] How Plato became famous
[23:42] Sophists VS Philosophers
[31:55] Founding the Academy
[35:25] Relationship to Aristotle
[47:07] Political intrigues in Sicily
[48:51] Disilusionment and later works
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Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon:
patreon.com/greecepodcast
Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast
In 480BC the Persian Empire invaded Greece with the largest military force the world had ever seen. Meanwhile in Athens, a man named Themistocles had spent the last ten years preparing for this moment. He had come up with a plan to defeat Persia, but it would require a mix of strategy, intrigue, deception, and plain old good luck...
Contents of the episode, with timestamps:
[05:45] How to Win Friends and Influence People
[13:10] The Mines of Laurion
[19:30] Athens VS Aegina
[25:10] Battle of Thermopylae
[32:00] Battle of Artemisium
[40:10] The Wooden Wall
[49:55] The Battle of Salamis
[53:30] Conclusion
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Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast
The three decades from 508-478BC were possibly the most consequential in all of ancient history. In this episode and the next, we tell the story of the Greco-Persian Wars through the eyes of Themistocles, the Athenian mastermind who guided the Greeks to victory.
Contents of the episode, with timestamps:
[04:50] Themistocles' Childhood and the Athenian Revolution
[10:40] Democracy's Early Challenges
[16:10] The Demagogue
[26:35] The Ionian Revolt
[31:25] Marathon
[43:05] "Rejoice! We Are Victorious!"
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Find out more about the upcoming AGD "Persian Wars" Tour in Greece: greecepodcast.com/tour4
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Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast
Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast
AGD is going back to Greece this January 3-11 for another epic adventure! This time we'll be exploring the Persian Wars and the profound effect they had on Greek civilization. We will visit all the major focal points of the Greco-Persian showdown (Marathon, the Acropolis, Eretria, Salamis, Thermopylae, Plataea, and Delphi) as well as a wide variety of other fascinating historical sites.
Check out our highlight reel from the first tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g-w7u6aQz0
To reserve your spot, email us at greecepodcast@gmail.com
For the itinerary visit https://greecepodcast.com/tour4
Bret Devereux is a military historian at North Carolina State University and author of the recent viral article "Spartans Were Losers: The US Military's Admiration of a Proto-Fascist City-State is Based on Bad History." He joins us to explain why he thinks that the traditional image of Sparta as an egalitarian society of warrior badasses is a lie. You can find his blog, where he writes extensively on Sparta, here: https://acoup.blog/2019/08/16/collections-this-isnt-sparta-part-i-spartan-school/
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This episode is available in video format on the Lantern Jack YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/VngbinpNGIE
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Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast
Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast
As our world becomes increasingly hi-tech, more and more people have been turning to ancient wisdom traditions in search of meaning. There are two schools of ancient philosophy in particular that have seen a meteoric revival in recent years: Platonism and Stoicism. Cognitive scientist John Vervaeke joins us to explore why this is happening.
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Join the upcoming AGD Tour in Greece: greecepodcast.com/tour
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Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast
Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast
AGD is going back to Greece this fall (Oct. 11-19) for another epic adventure! This time we'll be exploring areas that in ancient times lay in the shadow of – or in direct conflict with – the Athenian hegemony.
Check out our video from the first tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g-w7u6aQz0
To reserve your spot, email us at greecepodcast@gmail.com
For the itinerary visit https://greecepodcast.com/tour
This time we're taking a little break from Greece to explore the broader history of democracy. Was democracy really a Greek invention? Historian David Stasavage, author of The Decline and Rise of Democracy, thinks it was not. And in today's episode he explains why.
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Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast
Polybius' theory of anacyclosis is the most sophisticated theory of political (r)evolution to have emerged from ancient Greek and Roman political thought.
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To watch the highlight real from the last AGD tour in Greece, click here.
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To read the passage in Polybius where he discusses anacyclosis click here.
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If you'd like to read more about the theory of anacyclosis, I've written a few blogs on the subject:
Anacyclosis, Act 1: From Monarchy to Tyranny
AGD is going back to Greece this winter (Jan. 3-11) for an epic tour of Greece's northern regions, focusing on mountains and oracles. For more information or to reserve your spot, email us at greecepodcast@gmail.com
Plato argued that the inevitable next step in political evolution after democracy is tyranny. Many political thinkers throughout history agreed with him. Were they right?
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Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast
Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast
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A full transcript of this episode with references can be found on our website at greecepodcast.com
Was Marcus Aurelius really the enlightened ruler that history books and modern movies portray him as? And is his brand of Stoic philosophy applicable to the modern world?
With us to discuss these and other questions is Donald Robertson, a psychotherapist and the author of How to Think Like and Emperor and Verissimus.
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Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast
Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast
An update on the AGD Tour happening in Greece from August 16-24
For an outline of the itinerary click here.
Thirty three scholars, philosophers, and archaeologists answer the question: If you could time travel to the ancient world, who would you want to meet?
Scholars featured + the timestamps when they appear:
2:10 Edith Hall
3:36 Eric Cline
4:30 Andromache Karanika
5:45 Josiah Ober
6:48 Rush Rehm
7:30 Ian Morris
8:02 Rebecca Newberger Goldstein
9:20 Patrick Hunt
9:46 Raffaella Cribiore
11:04 Mark Adams
12:20 Peter Adamson
13:47 Richard Martin
15:08 M. M. McCabe
16:37 Zina Giannopoulou
18:45 Greg Nagy
19:43 Caroline Winterer
20:04 Melissa Lane
22:28 Alicia Stallings
22:57 Rhiannon Evans
24:04 Barbara Graziosi
24:54 Walter Scheidel
25:12 Matt Simonton
26:30 Emily Greenwood
27:57 Olga Levaniouk
30:00 Steele Brand
32:55 Rachel Barney
33:36 Angie Hobbs
35:31 Adrian Goldsworthy
36:30 Mary Bachvarova
37:42 Jonathan Lear
39:40 Mary Townsend
40:31 Gabriel Richardson Lear
42:14 Ben Morison
Philosophers today often dismiss Plato's Theory of Forms as an outdated and failed attempt by a pre-modern thinker to explain knowledge. However, cognitive scientist John Vervaeke offers a radically different take on Plato's theory and how it ties in with recent debates about the nature of intelligence.
John Vervaeke is a professor at the University of Toronto and the creator of the popular YouTube series Awakening from the Meaning Crisis.
An announcement about the upcoming Ancient Greece Declassified tour in Greece this summer.