If, like me, you're still sore about what they did to the Gladiator franchise, let this episode be part of your healing journey. It's certainly part of Aeneas': with the fleet grounded back in Sicily, the crew realizes it's been one year since the death of his father Anchises. This is the occasion for a good old fashioned fight night, with funeral games in honor of the great patriarch. It's a connection between Rome's gladiatorial entertainments and the heroic passtimes of yore, a way for Aeneas to seek closure after his year of grief, and a pause between the emotional tryst with Dido and the biggest challenge yet: the descent into the underworld.

More on ancient sports: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/young-heretics/id1513602173?i=1000661793645

Check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/heretics

Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): https://a.co/d/2QccOfM

Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com