Ancient World

Ancient World

By Richard EmersonSociety & CultureReligion & SpiritualityEducationArts
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Ancient World episodes

  • Episode 45 - Dante travels through the center of the Earth, and escapes the Inferno. Canto 32-34.

    In the last part of the Inferno, Dante and Virgil meet Lucifer in the center of the planet, half frozen in ice. He is gigantic in size, and his head has three faces eating the three traitors Judas, Brutus and Cassius (who plotted against The Roman Emperor Caesar.)

    From the opening of the last poem, Canto 34:

    A far-off windmill turning its huge sails

    when a thick fog begins to settle in,
    or when the light of day begins to fade,

    that is what I thought I saw appearing.

    And the gusts of wind it stirred made me shrink back
    behind my guide, my only means of cover.

    And then in the astonishing last four lines of the whole book, they are again, set free:

    We climbed, he first and I behind, until,

    through a small round opening ahead of us
    I saw the lovely things the heavens hold,

    and we came out to see once more the stars.

    v.136-139, Canto XXXIV



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    13 min
  • Episode 44 - The Well of the Giants. Dante is almost at the center of the Inferno, and meets the Greek Titans.

    After seeing the "falsifiers" in the last part of Circle 8, Dante encounters the Well of Giants, where biblical and Greek Mythological figures are bound with chains. They represent the betrayal and the combination of strength, intellect and evil will.


    Dante reflects:

    for when the faculty of intellect
    is joined with brute force and with evil will,
    no man can win against such an alliance.

    Verse 55-57, Canto XXXI

    The end of this canto ends with Dante and Virgil being lifted down to a lake of ice, and the 9th circle of Hell. Deep in the pit.

    Here is the giant Antaeus bending down, and then rising up again afterwards, like a ship's mast:

    As the Garisenda looks from underneath
    its leaning side, at the moment when a cloud
    comes drifting over against the tower's slant,

    just so the bending giant Antaeus seemed
    as I looked up, expecting him to topple.
    I wished then I had gone another way.

    But he, most carefully, handed us down
    to the pit that swallows Lucifer with Judas.
    And then, the leaning giant immediately

    drew himself up as tall as a ship's mast.

    Canto XXXI, verse 130-145



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    6 min
  • Episode 43 - Lower Part of the Inferno, Canto 9-28. The scenes get more graphic.

    In this episode we give a broader overview of the Lower Inferno from the City of Dis, down through the waterfall, and deep into the 8th circle.


    The three main parts of the inferno is the incontinence (lack of self-restraint), violence (to self or others), and different forms of fraud in the deepest part journey.

    From the scene of the waterfall, into the abyss:
    I saw a figure coming, it was swimming
      through the thick and murky air, up to the top
      (a thing to startle even stalwart hearts),

    like one returning who has swum below
      to free the anchor that has caught its hooks
      on a reef or something else the sea conceals,

    spreading out his arms, and doubling up his legs.

    Canto XIV, verse 130-136.



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    10 min
  • Episode 42 - Reason, Emotion and Music.

    A reflection on the timeless balance and sometimes contradiction between reason and emotion, in human nature and also in contrasting strains of history. 


    The quote was the following:
    "Emotions of any kind can be evoked by melody and rhythm; therefore by music a man becomes accustomed to feeling the right emotions; music has thus the power to form character, and the various kinds of music based on various modes may be distinguished by their effects on character.
    - Aristotle



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    6 min
  • Episode 41 - Ancient World as inspiration for Writing

    In this episode we'll talk about the Ancient World as inspiration for writing, and our new podcast devoted to this writing here: https://apple.co/2GG7Go6.

    The excerpt, as a person enters a new life - through the discovery of the deeper history, is the following;

    "A little book could change your life, or change the direction of your life, and give you gifts that might stay with you forever. I looked at the front cover, and then slowly opened the first page. The Divine Comedy. I was expecting an archaic tale and style that would be difficult to relate to from my current times, but from the very first line I was fully absorbed in a way that I had not experienced before. It was a work with a strong feeling of being outside of time, and of being deeply human, from the very first phrase. And there was already something new in my life, that had not been there this morning. I had to stop, take another sip of the espresso, and then read the opening words again. As the sun was shining warmly, and some peaceful birds were gliding across the skies."



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    5 min
  • Episode 40 - The Treasures of the Ancient World

    A quick review of the last 40 episodes, and reflections on why and how the Ancient World is a treasure trove for our understanding of the world, and a deep source for inspiration.


    Today's quote is:
    "I care not where my body may take me as long as my soul is embarked on a meaningful journey."
    - Dante



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    5 min
  • Episode 39 - Canto 7 and 8, at the gate of City of Dis, in the Inferno.

    After presenting three more of the deadly sins - avarice, sloth and wrath, Dante and Virgil reach the gates of the City of Dis which marks the transition from Upper to Lower Hell in the Inferno.


    They try to get in, but:

    Our adversaries slammed the heavy gates
     in my lord's face, and he stood there outside

    Verse 115-116, Canto VIII.

    But then someone is coming, already come past the main gate in Canto III, where all hope shall be left behind.

    This insolence of theirs is nothing new; 
      they used it once at a less secret gate, 
      which is, and will forever be, unlocked;

    you saw the deadly words inscribed above it; 

      and now, already past it, and descending, 
      across the circles, down the slope, alone,

    comes one by whom the city will be opened."


    Verse 124-130, Canto VIII.



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    6 min
  • Episode 38 - Canto 5 and 6, Inferno

    In this episode (Part 1 of 2 from Upper Hell), we are going through the rings of Lust, and of Gluttony.


    We are introduced to the seven cardinal sins in the catholic faith;
    Lust, Gluttony, Avarice, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride.



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    6 min
  • Episode 36 - Inferno, Canto 3

    In this iconic Canto of the first book, Dante and Virgil passes through the gate of Inferno, which has the following inscription:


    I AM THE WAY INTO THE DOLEFUL CITY,
    I AM THE WAY INTO ETERNAL GRIEF,
    I AM THE WAY TO A FORSAKEN RACE.

    JUSTICE IT WAS THAT MOVED MY GREAT CREATOR;
    DIVINE OMNIPOTENCE CREATED ME,
    AND HIGHEST WISDOM JOINED WITH PRIMAL LOVE.

    BEFORE ME NOTHING BUT ETERNAL THINGS WERE MADE,
    AND I SHALL LAST ETERNALLY.
    ABANDON EVERY HOPE, ALL YOU WHO ENTER.

    Canto III, verse 1-9.



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    9 min

About Ancient World

From the publisher's feed

The Ancient World Podcast is about the deep Treasures of the Past, the Greek Tradition, the Biblical Stories, the Roman Empire and the Great Rebirth of the Florentine Renaissance. Enjoy!