Ancient Greece Declassified

By Dr. Lantern Jack

Education History

What's Ancient Greece Declassified about?

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 Persia, to Carthage and Rome, we'll sail the wine-dark sea of history with some expert guides at the helm. Topics will include archaeology, literature, and philosophy. New episode every month.

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52 A New Theory of Democrac...

12.01.2022

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 ...

Ancient Greece Declassified episodes:

12.01.2022 52 A New Theory of Democracy's Origins (It Wasn't Greece) w/ David Stasavage 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 ...
11.01.2022 51 Anacyclosis – Polybius' Grand Unified Theory of History Polybius' theory of anacyclosis is the most sophisticated theory of political (r)evolution to have emerged from ancient Greek and Roman political thought. ------------------ To watch the highlight real from the last AGD tour in Greece, click here. ------------------ To read ...
10.18.2022 Announcing the "Mountains and Oracles" Tour in Greece! Jan. 3-11 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 [email protected]
10.01.2022 R8 Does Democracy Lead to Tyranny? \| Plato's Republic, book 8 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? ------------------ Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast --------------- ...
07.31.2022 49 When a Philosopher Ruled the World \| Marcus Aurelius w/ Donald Robertson 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 ...
06.04.2022 AGD Tour Update – Only a Few Spots Left! An update on the AGD Tour happening in Greece from August 16-24 For an outline of the itinerary click here.
06.01.2022 48 Time Traveling to the Ancient World 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 ...
05.13.2022 R7.5 The Forms, the Matrix, and AI w/ John Vervaeke 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 ...
05.04.2022 AGD Trip to Greece! August 16–24 An announcement about the upcoming Ancient Greece Declassified tour in Greece this summer.
04.30.2022 R7 The Cave \| Plato's Republic, book 7 w/ Ben Morison 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, ...
04.29.2022 R6.5 Why People Hate Plato 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 ...
01.27.2022 44 The Invention of Duty 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 ...
12.12.2021 R6 The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful \| Plato's Republic, book 6 w/ Gabriel Richardson Lear 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 ...
11.28.2021 42 The Hittite-Homer Connection? w/ Mary Bachvarova 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 ...
10.18.2021 R5 Philosopher Queens \| Plato's Republic, book 5 w/ Mary Townsend 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 ...
09.24.2021 R4.5 Anatomy of the Soul \| Plato's Republic, book 4 w/ Jonathan Lear 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 ...
09.07.2021 R4 Hogwarts and Kallipolis \| Plato's Republic, book 4 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.
06.18.2021 38 Alexander the Great: Inherited Glory w/ Adrian Goldsworthy 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 ...
05.15.2021 R3.5 Food for the Soul \| Plato's Republic, book 3 w/ Angie Hobbs (pt. 2) 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. ...
04.30.2021 R3 Who Guards the Guardians? \| Plato's Republic, book 3 w/ Angie Hobbs 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 ...
04.15.2021 35 Stoic Duty: The Formula for Living Well 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.
04.04.2021 R2.5 The Justice Loophole \| Plato's Republic, book 2 w/ Rachel Barney Our exploration of Plato's Republic continues with this discussion of book 2 with philosopher Rachel Barney. Is the fear of God necessary for morality? How can you educate people so that they value and practice justice? Rachel Barney is professor ...
03.19.2021 R2 All Men Would Be Tyrants \| Plato's Republic, book 2 The third installment in our ongoing series on Plato's Republic. Use the following timestamps for easier navigation: 2:40 Introduction to book 2 11:35 Glaucon's speech in favor of injustice 20:00 Adeimantus' speech on the weakness of pro-justice arguments 26:30 Socrates ...
02.21.2021 R1 The Hunt for Justice \| Plato's Republic, book 1 The second installment in our 11-part series on Plato's Republic. Use the following timestamps for easier navigation: 0:22 Introduction: virtues vs values 7:10 The beginning of the Republic 13:50 Cephalus’ “definition” of justice 15:10 Polemarchus tries to define justice 29:30 ...
11.16.2020 R0 Plato's Republic, or: How to Stop a Civil War A foundational text in both ethics and political thought, the Republic was shaped by Plato's traumatic experiences as a young man witnessing civil war and the collapse of Athenian democracy. This is the first installment in an 11-part series on ...
03.17.2020 30 Rome's Most Lethal Weapon w/ Steele Brand Rome conquered the Mediterranean world without a professional army, relying instead on its citizens to take up arms when necessary. How did these part-time soldiers defeat all the great powers of the ancient Mediterranean? Our guest Steele Brand offers an ...
02.01.2020 29 Penelope: Weaver of Fate w/ Olga Levaniouk Penelope is one of the most compelling characters from ancient Greek mythology. And yet her intelligence and agency in Homer's Odyssey is seldom appreciated. Towards the end of the epic, Penelope comes face-to-face with Odysseus, who has finally returned home ...
11.24.2019 28 Thucydides: A Historian for Our Time? w/ Emily Greenwood The Athenian historian Thucydides observed and chronicled the greatest military conflict of his day: the epic contest between Athens and Sparta known as the Peloponnesian War (431-404BC). Much more than just a straightforward history, his work is a study of ...
10.01.2019 27 Oligarchy, Part 2: Nemesis w/ Matt Simonton What methods and institutions do oligarchic regimes use to maintain their power? How do they fend off the threat of democratic revolution? What happened to the many oligarchies of the ancient Mediterranean? All of these questions and more are explored ...
09.01.2019 26 Oligarchy, Part 1: Genesis w/ Matt Simonton How do ancient oligarchies compare with modern authoritarian regimes? How did civil war in oligarchies differ from civil war in democracies? What does the age-old ideological struggle between democracy and oligarchy imply about our future? These are just a few ...
08.01.2019 25 The Origins of Philosophy w/ André Laks (Presocratics, Parmenides, Heraclitus) According to the historical evidence, the first stirrings of philosophical inquiry began 2600 years ago in ancient Greece with a group of thinkers known as the Presocratics (or pre-Socratics). In this episode we try to shed light on these early ...
06.01.2019 24 A History of Inequality w/ Walter Scheidel We live at a time of increasing economic inequality worldwide. What is driving this trend? And what are the factors that can stabilize or even reduce levels of inequality? Answering this question empirically would require a deep dive into the ...
05.01.2019 23 Greek Religion and Its Discontents w/ Barbara Graziosi How did the ancient Greek religion evolve? What was the meaning of sacrifice and other rituals? Did atheism exist back then? How about alternative religions? We explore all these topics and more in conversation with Barbara Graziosi, professor of classics ...
04.13.2019 22 Rome's Lost Epics w/ Rhiannon Evans (Ennius, Gnaeus Naevius) The oldest Roman epics we have were produced during the Roman Empire. But before becoming an empire, Rome was a powerful republic for hundreds of years. What happened to the Roman epics from the republican period? In this episode, we ...
03.22.2019 21 How to Succeed in the Iron Age w/ Alicia Stallings Hesiod's didactic epic Works and Days is probably most famous for containing the stories of Prometheus and Pandora. But these tales are part of a greater mission of explaining how one can live justly and succeed in a harsh world. ...
02.22.2019 20 How Democracies Fall Apart w/ Melissa Lane (stasis, Thucydides, Plato) Hundreds of city-states in the ancient world experimented with democracy. Most of them experienced some kind of civil strife at some point. What caused these breakdowns of social order, and are we headed towards a similar fate? In this episode ...
01.03.2019 19 America's Greco-Roman Legacies w/ Caroline Winterer At a time when kings and emperors ruled the world, the Founding Fathers of the US were striving to resurrect a millennia-old dream: that of a free republic. Drawing inspiration from ancient Athens, the Roman Republic, and Carthage, they helped ...
09.11.2018 18 A History of Epic w/ Gregory Nagy and Leonard Muellner (Homer, Iliad, Gilgamesh) What can anthropology tell us about the origins of humanity's oldest epic stories? And what can these epics, in turn, tell us about our undying fascination with heroes? Joining us to explore these topics and more are Gregory Nagy, professor ...
07.22.2018 17 Platonic Love w/ Zina Giannopoulou (Plato's Symposium) 'Platonic love' is one of the most fascinating (and misunderstood) concepts to have come down to us from the ancient Greeks. Classicist Zina Giannopoulou joins us to set the record straight about the origins of the concept and what Plato's ...
02.04.2018 16 Dialogue and Dialectic w/ MM McCabe (Philosophy, Plato, Socrates) Philosopher MM McCabe joins us to discuss the art of the philosophical dialogue, both as a literary form and as a practice between people in real-time conversation. What makes Plato's dialogues, for example, worth reading? And is there anything we ...
01.05.2018 15 Homer's Meta-Odyssey w/ Richard Martin Mythology expert Richard Martin joins us to discuss why the Odyssey has been considered great story-telling by audiences across millennia. As we talked about in episode 2 (on the Iliad), the Homeric epics came out of a long tradition of ...
11.21.2017 14 Did Aristotle Hold Science Back 2000 Years? w/ Peter Adamson Did you know that Aristotle is to blame for the sad state of science during the Dark Ages in Western Europe? We could have colonized Mars by now if it weren't for Aristotle's disastrously wrong scientific ideas holding back the ...
10.27.2017 13 Decoding Atlantis w/ Mark Adams (Plato, Timaeus, Critias) No other story from ancient Greece has fueled so many controversies, theories, investigations, novels, movies, and documentaries as the story of Atlantis – that grand civilization that supposedly flourished thousands of years before the pyramids were built, and was completely ...
09.21.2017 12 The Comedy of Democracy w/ Edith Hall (Aristophanes) World-renowned classicist Edith Hall joins us to discuss the relation between entertainment and politics in ancient Athens, particularly on the comic stage. Theatrical comedy, which was invented in Athens after the city's democratic revolution, was at first highly political. Comedy ...
07.18.2017 11 Caves and Classrooms w/ Raffaella Cribiore Papyrologist Raffaella Cribiore on education in the ancient Greco-Roman world---- Much of our modern educational system – from the names of our institutions to the books we consider the “classics” – derive from Greco-Roman antiquity. But what was it like ...
06.14.2017 10 Hannibal Takes On Rome w/ Patrick Hunt (Carthage, Polybius, Livy) Archaeologist Patrick Hunt joins us to discuss Hannibal - the infamous Carthaginian general and one of the greatest military strategists of all time. Having witnessed Carthage's defeat by the Romans as a child, Hannibal dedicated his life to thwarting Rome's ...
05.19.2017 09 The World's Oldest Computer w/ Xenophon Moussas (Antikythera Mechanism) Xenophon Moussas, physicist and member of the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project, sheds light on the mysterious device that has been described as an “ancient computer,” an “astronomical calculator,” and a “mechanical cosmos.” For more information on the mechanism – including ...
04.06.2017 08 Plato Strikes Back! w/ Rebecca Newberger Goldstein Rebecca Newberger Goldstein joins us for a discussion about Plato, Socrates, and the legacy of Greek philosophy. Goldstein is one of the most acclaimed and widely-read philosophers today. Her most recent book, Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won't Go ...
02.27.2017 07 The Persian Wars w/ Ian Morris (Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon) Ian Morris, archaeologist and professor of Classics at Stanford University, joins us for a discussion on the Persian expeditions against Greece in 490-479 BC. How did the Greeks pull off a totally unexpected victory against the biggest invasion force that ...
01.29.2017 06 What Is Greek Tragedy? w/ Rush Rehm (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides) Rush Rehm, professor of classics and of theater and performing studies at Stanford University, joins us for a discussion about Greek tragedy. The origins of tragedy (and theater in general) can be traced back in time to one city in ...

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