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Ancient Greece Declassified

The podcast that transports you to the ancient world and back, with some good conversation along the way. It's not just about ancient Greece. It's about a huge chunk of human history that the Greek texts give us access to: from Egypt and Babylon, to ancient Persia, to Carthage and Rome, we'll sail the wine-dark sea of history with some expert guides at the helm. Topics include archaeology, literature, and philosophy. New episode every month.
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Ancient Greece Declassified
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Now displaying: Page 1
Jan 1, 2024

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

Aug 21, 2023

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

 

Jul 27, 2023

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

 

Dec 1, 2022

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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Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast

Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast

Nov 1, 2022

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

Anacyclosis, Act 2: The Rise of Republics

Anacyclosis, Act 3: The Rise and Fall of Democracy

Oct 19, 2022

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

Oct 1, 2022

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

Jul 31, 2022

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

Jun 4, 2022

An update on the AGD Tour happening in Greece from August 16-24

For an outline of the itinerary click here

Jun 1, 2022

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

May 13, 2022

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. 

May 4, 2022

An announcement about the upcoming Ancient Greece Declassified tour in Greece this summer. 

Apr 30, 2022

The cave analogy, which takes up the majority of book 7 of the Republic, is one of the most famous passages in all of western philosophy.

In this episode, we are joined by Ben Morison, professor of philosophy at Princeton, to dive deep into the allegory and unpack its various levels of meaning. 

Apr 29, 2022

Plato is at once the most loved and possibly the most hated philosopher of all time. This episode explores five reasons why he drives some people mad.

Contents of the episode, with timestamps:

Reason 1: Who should rule? [7:30]

Reason 2: What political system is best? [12:20]

The Ship of State [15:10]

Reason 3: What is truth? [20:20]

Reason 4: What is knowledge? [30:35]

The Divided Line [40:25]

Reason 5: What is good?

Jan 27, 2022

Where does the notion of 'moral duty' come from? In this conversation with Simon E. Drew we dive deep into the history of the concept and discuss my recent book The Invention of Duty

This episode was originally published on The Walled Garden podcast and is here republished as a crosscast. 

Dec 12, 2021

Book 6 of the Republic is the work’s core section where Plato lays out his metaphysics. Appealing to his signature Theory of Forms, Plato offers a transcendent vision of the Good as the ultimate source of human knowledge.

Joining us to help us unpack this theory is Gabriel Richardson Lear, professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago and author of the book Happy Lives and the Highest Good: An Essay on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.

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Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast

Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast

Nov 28, 2021

Was Homer was influenced by the stories of civilizations to the east of Greece? Joining us to discuss the Hittites and their potential (direct and indirect) influences on the Greek epic tradition is Mary Bachvarova, professor of classics at Willamette University and author of From Hittite to Homer: The Anatolian Background of Ancient Greek Epic

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Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast

Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast

Oct 18, 2021

The most controversial part of Plato's Republic is its fifth book, wherein Socrates argues for the political equality of men and women, the abolition of the nuclear family, a strange eugenics program, and the idea that philosophers kings and philosopher queens should be put in charge of political affairs. 

With us to discuss book 5 is Mary Townsend, assistant professor of philosophy at Saint John’s University in Queens and author of the book The Woman Question in Plato’s Republic.

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Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast

Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast

Sep 24, 2021

In book 4 of the Republic, Plato sets forth perhaps the most famous psychological theory from Greco-Roman antiquity: the tripartite model of the human soul. But how good of a model is it? How does it hold up from the perspective of modern psychology?

With us to discuss these questions and more is Jonathan Lear, professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago and a practicing psychoanalyst who serves on the faculty of the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis. His article "Inside and Outside the Republic" remains one of the most important pieces of scholarship on the psychological theory offered in book 4. 

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Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast

Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast

Sep 7, 2021

What do Plato's Republic, Sigmund Freud, and the Harry Potter saga have in common? Find out in this episode, which offers an exploration of book 4 of Plato's Republic and its many parallels in modern literature and psychology. 

Jun 18, 2021

Was Alexander the Great really that *great* on his own? Or did he owe much of his success to the work of his father Philip II of Macedonia? Joining us to discuss the matter is Adrian Goldsworthy, military historian and author of the new book Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerors.

A video version of this episode is available on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/zZwyvimmX3k

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Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast

Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast

May 15, 2021

In the second half of book 3 of the Republic, Plato lays out the controversial theory of mimesis, which states that all art, man-made objects, and cultural products in our environment have profound effects on the health of our souls. 

With us to help us unpack, analyze, and evaluate Plato’s arguments is, once again, Angie Hobbs, professor of the public understanding of philosophy at the University of Sheffield, England. 

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Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast

Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast

Apr 30, 2021

Following Socrates' claim that the ideal republic should be ruled by a class of "guardians," the question naturally arises: Who or what will keep these guardians in check? How do you prevent the government from becoming an unaccountable and oppressive regime?

Our exploration of Plato's Republic continues, this time with Angie Hobbs, professor of the public understanding of philosophy at the University of Sheffield in England. She has written several books including Plato and the Hero, which touches on a lot of the topics we will be discussing today. Her latest book is a short guide to Plato’s Republic in the Ladybird Expert Series. Stay tuned at the end of this episode for a chance to win a copy of the book.

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Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast

Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast

Apr 30, 2021

Following Socrates' claim that the ideal republic should be ruled by a class of "guardians," the question naturally arises: Who or what will keep these guardians in check? How do you prevent the government from becoming an unaccountable and oppressive regime?

Our exploration of Plato's Republic continues, this time with Angie Hobbs, professor of the public understanding of philosophy at the University of Sheffield in England. She has written several books including Plato and the Hero, which touches on a lot of the topics we will be discussing today. Her latest book is a short guide to Plato’s Republic in the Ladybird Expert Series. Stay tuned at the end of this episode for a chance to win a copy of the book.

***
Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast

Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast

Apr 15, 2021

This episode is a crosscast in collaboration with the Classical Wisdom Speaks podcast. Anya Leonard, host of that pod and founder of classicalwisdom.com, interviews me about my new book The Invention of Duty: Stoicism as Deontology. 

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