Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan are reunited to intro Aeschylus, the Father of Greek Tragedy.

Aeschylus (b. 525 BC) was a warrior, statesman, and the father of Greek tragedy. Born into nobility, he grew up in Athens during its pivotal transition from tyranny to democracy. Furthermore, he famously fought in the Battle of Marathon (490 BC), defending a nascent Western civilization against Persian invasion. Aeschylus died in 456 BC, leaving behind a legacy that shaped the foundation of Greek drama.

Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more information.

From our guide on the Oresteia:

1.        What is the Ionian Revolt?

To understand Aeschylus, we must first understand the Greco-Persian War (c. 499 BC to 429). In sum, what is called the “First Persian Empire,” founded by Cyrus the Great around 550 BC, stretched from modern-day Iran, Asia Minor, modern day Israel, and Egypt. In Asia Minor, this Persian empire ruled over Hellenistic city-states. One may recall that Troy, a polis with both Hellenistic and eastern traits, was also located in Asia Minor. In 499 BC, the city-states rebelled against their Persian overlords with the support of Athens in what is known as the “Ionian Revolt.” The revolt failed and the Persians retained control of Asia Minor; however, King Darius of the Persian Empire believed Athens should be punished and elected to invade Greece.

2.        What was the first invasion in the Greco-Persian Wars?

The Ionian Revolt sparked the larger Greco-Persian Wars and led to King Darius’ invasion of ancient Greece in 492 BC. Athens led the federation of city-states against the Persians, and Aeschylus fought for the Athenian army. Notably, Aeschylus and his brother both fought at the famous Battle of Marathon in 490 BC at which the first Persian invasion was defeated.[1] Aeschylus’ brother, however, died in the conflict.[2] The Battle of Marathon is often held as a watershed moment in the birth of Western culture. The battle is also the namesake of running a marathon, as the legend has it that an Athenian runner ran the twenty-six miles from Marathon to Athens to tell them of the Athenian victory.

3.        What was the second Persian invasion in the Greco-Persian Wars?

Ten years later, a second Persian invasion was headed by King Darius’ son, King Xerxes. This is the setting for the famous Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC), in which the smaller Spartan force of approximately 7000 men under King Leonidas held off 120,000-300,000 Persian invaders. The word Thermopylae means “hot gates” and takes its name from the hot springs in that area—it is also fittingly one of the mythological entrances to Hades. After Thermopylae, the Athenians won a great naval battle against the Persians at Salamis in 480 BC. Notably, Aeschylus is said to have fought in this battle as well and wrote his play The Persians about the conflict. The Greeks, led by the Athenians and Spartans, would eventually expel the Persians and bring peace in 449 BC.

4.        What do we know about Aeschylus’ writings?

Aeschylus is the “earliest Greek tragic poet whose work survives,” and “he wrote some seventy to ninety plays.”[3] Aeschylus is considered the “real founder of Greek tragedy.”[4] He won his first victory as a tragic poet in 484 BC. It should be noted that the competitions for best tragic play were religious and civil festivals; thus, the plays have deep ramifications for the spiritual and political realities of the Athenians.[5] Only seven of his plays still exist: the Persians (472), the Seven Against Thebes (476), the Oresteia triad (458), the Supplicants (463), and Prometheus Bound—the last of which has disputed authorship and was produced after Aeschylus’ death.[6]

5.        Why do we read the Oresteia?

Aeschylus is a teacher. He is a teacher of justice, suffering, and order. The Oresteia is a triad or three plays telling the story of the death of Agamemnon, the death of Clytemnestra, and the trial of Orestes. Aeschylus takes a story well known in Homer and masterfully moves it into a story revealing how Athens matured in its understanding of justice. The execution of justice moves from a familial blood avenger model to a more procedural model of the polis. It represents a considerable step forward in the Greek understanding of justice. In many ways, Aeschylus’ Oresteia gives us a more robust ending that what we received in the Odyssey. Looking forward, it brings us one step closer to considerations of justice in Plato’s Republic. The Oresteia, like all great books, comments on the human condition, and offers perennial truths for those with the patience to listen.

Coming up! Join us in reading the Oresteia:

• Agamemnon Part I
• Agamemnon Part II
• Libation Bearers Part I
• Libation Bearers Part II
• Eumenides Part I
• Eumenides Part II

Footnotes:

[1] Companion, 15.

[2] Companion, 15.

[3] Companion, 15.

[4] Companion, 15.

[5] Companion, 16.

[6] Companion, 15.

Dcn. Harrison Garlick, Dr. Frank Grabowski, and Mr. Thomas Lackey come together to discuss Hesiod's Theogony - a poem about the origin of the gods and the cosmos.

Key conversations:

• The role of the Muses
• The four primordial gods - especially Chaos
• Eros as the generative and binding force of the cosmos
• Zeus as a bringer of civilization
• The Prometheus myths
• Women as the beautiful evil

Hesiod is a contemporary of Homer. Homer composed the Iliad around 750 BC and the Odyssey around 725 BC, and Hesiod was active in the mid 700s and into the 600s.[1] Hesiod, like Homer, has roots in Asia Minor. His father is believed to have been a merchant who moved from Asia Minor to Mount Helicon in ancient Greece.[2]

Notably, Mount Helicon had several springs that were sacred to the Muses, and it serves as the setting of the opening of the Theogony. Hesiod lived an agricultural life working his family farm and writing poetry. Hesiod is similar to Homer insofar as both are the recipients of a large treasury of Greek mythology. Hesiod is dissimilar to Homer insofar as Hesiod most likely originally wrote his plays—as opposed to them existing first as oral rhapsodies that were then reduced to writing, like with Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.

Check out our Musings of the Theogony written guide!

Check out our website for more resources.

[1] See A Reader’s Guide: 115 Questions on the Iliad, Ascend: The Great Books Podcast.

[2] See Ed. M. C. Howatson, Oxford Companion to Classical Literature (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2013), 294.

You can read the Greek plays with Ascend!

Dcn. Harrison Garlick flies solo this week as he explains why you should read the Greek plays. He discusses how the plays are an intellectual bridge between Plato and Homer and explains some of the major themes you can expect in their writings: justice, eros, fate, divinity, etc.

He'll then introduce each Greek play to be read and why it is worth reading.

Join us! Schedule below:

HESIOD'S THEOGONY & GREEK PLAYS (2025)

1/1 Intro to the Greek Plays

1/7 Hesiod's Theogony

THE ORESTEIA by Aeschylus

1/14 Into to Aeschylus

1/21 Agamemnon Part I

1/28 Agamemnon Part II

2/4 Libation Bearers Part I

2/11 Libation Bearers Part II

2/18 Eumenides Part I

2/25 Eumenides Part II

READ DANTE'S INFERNO WITH ASCEND

We are reading Dante's Inferno over LENT 2025.

3/4 Introduction & Canto I

3/11 Cantos II-V

3/18 Cantos VI-XI

3/25 Cantos XII-XVII

4/1 Cantos XVIII-XXV

4/8 Cantos XXVI-XXX

4/15 Cantos XXXII-XXXIV

BACK TO THE GREEK PLAYS

4/22 Prometheus Bound with Dr. Jared Zimmerer

THE THEBAN PLAYS by Sophocles

4/29 Antigone Part I

5/6 Antigone Part II

5/13 Oedipus Rex

5/20 Oedipus at Colonus Part I

5/27 Oedipus at Colonus Part II

6/3 The Bacchae Part I with Dr. Frank Grabowski

6/10 The Bacchae Part II with Dr. Frank Grabowski

6/17 Roundtable on the Tragic Plays

Aristophanes

6/24 The Clouds by Aristophanes with Dr. Zena Hitz

6/1 The Frogs by Aristophanes with Tsh Oxenreider

Find out more at thegreatbookspodcast.com.

This week Dcn. Garlick is joined by Alberto Fernandez, a former U.S. diplomat and Vice President of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) in Washington, D.C., to discuss "The Tower of the Elephant," one of the best Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard.

Deacon and Alberto discuss the life and philosophy of Robert E. Howard along with key elements of the "Tower of the Elephant" short story (which is available online for free).

Topics:

• Civilization v. Barbarism
• HP Lovecraft
• Nietzsche
• Vitalism

In 2025, we are reading Hesiod, the Greek plays, Dante, and Plato! Join us! Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more information.

Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Kyle Washut, President of Wyoming Catholic College, to discuss the Odyssey as the restoration of Catholic Culture and the unique educational approach of Wyoming Catholic College.

• Eastern Catholicism
• John Senior
• Odyssey as the restoration of culture

President Washut takes on the question: "Why go to a great books college" and gives an excellent answer.

They have a brief detour into the importance of Eastern Catholicism before discussing the influence of John Senior on education and how the Odyssey serves as a metaphor for rebuilding culture.

The conversation also highlights the integration of horsemanship as a means of personal development and the necessity of great teachers in the pursuit of a meaningful life.

Quotes:

"Horsemanship is soul craft."

"You need to submit yourself to great teachers."

"The Odyssey is a guide for rebuilding culture."

"Religion is a natural virtue."

Keywords: Great Books, Wyoming Catholic College, John Senior, Eastern Catholicism, Patristic Tradition, Odyssey, Education, Theology, Horsemanship, Benedictine, classical education, poetics, realism, Odysseus, Greek mythology, immortality, sacrifice, civilization, Homer, philosophy

Visit thegreatbookspodcast.com for more information!

THE FINAL BOOK! Dcn. Garlick is joined by Adam Minihan, David Niles, Thomas Lackey, and Dr. Frank Grabowski to discuss Book 24 of the Odyssey: Peace.

Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more information.

From our guide:

111.    What happens in book twenty-four?

 Hermes leads the souls of the suitors to Hades, to the fields of asphodel, where they meet Achilles and Agamemnon (24.130). One of the suitors tells Agamemnon their story, and Agamemnon praises Odysseus calling him “happy” and praises his wife Penelope in contrast to his wife, Clytemnestra (24.210). Meanwhile, Odysseus and his men arrive at his country estate, and he elects to test his father, Laertes (24.238). Laertes passes the test, and Odysseus reveals himself to his father by showing him the scar (24.368). Elsewhere on Ithaca, the families of the suitors have discovered their deaths and cries arise in the city (24.457). Eupithes, father of Antinous, rallies the kinsmen of the suitors to take revenge upon King Odysseus (24.471). Medon, the bard, warns the mob that the deathless gods helped Odysseus (24.485), and Halitherses, a seer, tells them it was due to their own “craven hearts” that the massacred occurred (24.501).

Athena intercedes on Odysseus’ behalf, and Zeus declares there should be peace in Ithaca (24.534). The mob arrives outside the country estate, and Odysseus, Laertes, Telemachus, and others prepare for combat (24.552). Athena strengthens Laertes to spear Eupithes in the head (24.576), and then she brokers peace between the two factions (24.584)

112.    Who gained the most glory: Achilles, Agamemnon, or Odysseus?

The opening passage on the plains of asphodel serves to compare the lives of Achilles, Agamemnon, and Odysseus. Agamemnon recounts the funeral of Achilles and the glory he achieved there, e.g., the Muses sang, he’s buried in a golden urn made by Hephaestus, etc. (24.64). Agamemnon explicitly states Achilles has achieved immortal glory (24.100), and Achilles’ death and burial serves as a comparison to the ignoble death of Agamemnon (24.30). If Agamemnon would have died in glory at Troy, he too could have had immortal glory—but instead, he was betrayed and slaughtered by his own wife. Despite Achilles having the better of the glory, we have already seen that he would trade it all in to be alive again—even if only to be a dirt farmer. Thus, when Agamemnon calls Odysseus “happy,” this seems to be a final judgment that Odysseus has found the best path: he has the glory (kleos) of both fighting in Troy and returning home—but he also now has political and familial peace. In a certain way, whereas Achilles had to choose between two fates (glory or peace), Odysseus has been given both.

Good work everyone!

Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Mrs. Rachel Greb to discuss Book 23 of the Odyssey: The Great Rooted Bed.

Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more resources!

From our written guide:

108.    What happens in book twenty-three?

The old maid Eurycleia, laughing with delight, runs and tells Penelope that the day she’s dreamed of is here: Odysseus has come home (23.05). “Penelope’s heart busts in joy” upon hearing that the beggar in the hall was actually her husband (23.34). Penelope, however, falls back into her guarded skepticism (23.75). She enters the hall and sits in silence studying his face in “numbing wonder” (23.100). Meanwhile, Odysseus counsels Telemachus on the threat of the suitors being avenged and asks that the whole house be full of dancing and merrymaking to hide the fact the suitors have all been slain (23.146). Odysseus is bathed, and Penelope instructs her servants to drag the marital bed out the chamber for this “strange man” to sleep on (23.193). Odysseus falls into a “fury,” as he knows the marital bed he made cannot be moved: it is made of the stump of an olive tree still rooted in the ground (23.203).

 Odysseus passes the test, and Penelope runs to him and embraces him in tears (23.230). Odysseus tells her of his penitential journey he must undertake to appease Poseidon (23.282), and, after the two delight in each other, he tells her of his journey home (23.349). The book ends with Odysseus, inspired by Athena, going out into the country to visit his father (23.407).

109.    What should be noted about the reunion of Penelope and Odysseus?

Penelope’s “heart bust[ing] in joy” at hearing the beggar was Odysseus again raises the question of what she already suspected. Despite the reaction, she quickly resumes her guarded skepticism (23.75). Most notably, Penelope is not convinced by the scar (22.83), and we should recall Telemachus’ earlier concern that a god could deceive them in the guise of Odysseus. Penelope shares this concern (23.250). What test has Penelope devised to avoid this fate? Note that Telemachus cannot understand what is happening between the man of twists and turns and the matchless queen of cunning (23.111).

Penelope’s test is one of the intimate knowledge between husband and wife. The knowledge of the marital bed is the “secret sign” between them (23.226), as it is carved in part from a stump still rooted in the ground (23.222). The immovable marriage bed is an analogue for Penelope’s fidelity to her husband. It is the final answer to the parallel narrative of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra.

Next week Book 24 and the end of the Odyssey!

Slaughter in the hall! This week Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Adam Cooper of Wyoming Catholic College to discuss Odysseus' revenge upon the suitors in Book 24.

Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more information!

103.    What happens in book twenty-two?

The time has come. Odysseus stands at the threshold of his home, cries out to Apollo, and lets loose an arrow straight through the neck of Antinous (22.15). It is chaos in the hall, as the “bread and meats [were] soaked in a swirl of bloody filth” (22.21). Eurymachus attempts to broker a true between Odysseus and the suitors—but it is rejected (22.57). Eurymachus then calls the suitors to arms and is subsequently slaughtered by Odysseus (22.73). Telemachus brings armor and weapons to his father, the swineherd, and the cowherd (22.121), but the goatherd, however, is able to sneak weapons and armor to the suitors as well (22.151). On his second run for weapons, the cowherd and swineherd intercept the goatherd and tie him up and hang him from the rafters (22.196).

Athena first arrives in the guise of Mentor (22.217) and then becomes like a sparrow perched on the rafters assisting Odysseus in his slaughter (22.250). She reveals her “man-destroying shield of thunder” and the suitors fall into a panicked madness; as Odysseus and his men went “wheeling into the slaughter, slashing left and right, and grisly screams broke from skulls cracked open—the whole floor awash with blood” (22.311). With only a few suitors left in the hall, Odysseus has no mercy on their prophet but spares the bard and the herald (22.327).

The slaughter of the suitors is complete. Odysseus has the old maid, Eurycleia, send in the female servants who were disloyal (22.458), and these women help to carry out the corpses and clean the home of gore (22.471). Telemachus then oversees the disloyal women being slowly hanged in the courtyard—a “pitiful, ghastly death” (22.487). The goatherd is retrieved and mutilated to death by the swineherd and cowherd (22.500). Odysseus purifies his home with fire and brimstone (22.518). The book ends with the loyal maid servants of the house surrounding Odysseus, and the king breaks down and weeps (22.528).

104.    What should be noted in how the suitors are slaughtered

Odysseus invokes Apollo, the god of archery, on his feast day to help him with his slaughter (22.07). Notice that Homer makes it explicit that the suitors are killed while feasting (22.09). Homer writes, “food showered across the hall, the bread and meats soaked in a swirl of bloody filth” (22.21). It recalls Odysseus’ statement that he is going to give them the feast they deserve (21.477). The mixed imagery of food and slaughter gives credence to seeing Odysseus as the cyclops consuming his guests. One wonders whether Antinous being shot in the throat is symbolic of his constant vile rhetoric throughout the narrative (22.15).

Consistent with what we have previously observed, Eurymachus attempts to talk his way out of the situation, which includes an appeal for the king to spare his own people (22.57). Notice Odysseus says they can fight or flee, but it is not apparent that they can actually flee the situation nor that Athena would permit it (22.69).

Arguably, Odysseus kills Antinous and Eurymachus first to deprive the suitors of their leadership—a fact he would have observed as the beggar. The suitors, which greatly outnumber Odysseus and his men, could overwhelm Odysseus, but instead their cowardice allows them to be picked off individually.

Lastly, as with the cyclops narrative, Odysseus and his men are aware of the irony of guest-friendship, as they, for example, refer to throwing a spear as a guest-gift (22.304).

105.    What should be made of the death of the serving women?

The death of the female servants is one of the most disturbing scenes in Homer. Note the disloyal female servants are made to gather the bodies and clean the gore of the suitors—many of whom were their lovers (22.462). Odysseus makes this comparison explicit when he states the female servants will lie with the suitors in death as they did in life (22.469). Note, however, they Odysseus commands they be cut down with swords (22.468). Telemachus, however, has more cruel designs in mind in recompense for the abuse the disloyal women laid upon him and his mother (22.488). In one of the more famous scenes of the Odyssey, Telemachus has the women hanged slowly (22.497). The deaths are a sign that disloyalty is one of the graver faults in the Homeric world—a lesson shown best in the death of Melanthius, the goatherd.

Keep up the good work!

Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by another Catholic deacon, Dcn. Adam Conque to discuss Book 21 of the Odyssey: Odysseus Strings His Bow.

Check out more at thegreatbookspodcast.com

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From the guide:

100.    What happens in book twenty-one?

The time has come for Penelope’s test and the slaughter the suitors (21.05). Penelope brings out Odysseus’ bow, one he received as a gift of friendship (21.40), and Telemachus sets out a line of ax heads the suitors must shoot through (21.140). Telemachus gives the first attempt and fails to even bend the bow (21.143). Leodes, a suitor, attempts and fails to even bend the bow as well (21.170). Antinous, who has been mocking everyone, has the goatherd attempt to limber the bow with fire and grease (21.198). Meanwhile, Odysseus takes the cowherd and swineherd out and reveals himself as their king—the three then plot the death of the suitors and return to hall. Eurymachus tries and cannot even bend the bow (21.274). Antinous, noting that Penelope has given them a test of archery on the feast day of Apollo, leads the suitors in a libation to the Archer God (21.289).

Odysseus the beggar asks to try and is mocked by the suitors—but with the help of Penelope, Telemachus, and the swineherd, he is given his bow (21.314). The suitors look on with horror as he plucks the string with ease like a musical virtuoso (21.456). Odysseus lets an arrow fly, and the arrow passes through the ax heads perfectly (21.469). The book ends with Odysseus calling his son to arms, as it is time to provide the suitors their supper (21.473).

101.    What should be noted about Odysseus’ bow?

First, note that the bow was given to Odysseus as a gift, and one given in friendship (21.40). Second, it is a foreign bow (21.15). One wonders whether Odysseus’ ability to use the bow is not simply a test of strength but a test of techne, i.e., there is a cleverness needed to understand how to use the bow. Note that he seems to use a stool (21.467). Such a test would be more aligned with Odysseus as coupling of both cunning and strength. Third, it is notable that he did not take the bow to Troy with him.

Moreover, one may question the veracity of Telemachus’ attempt (21.149). To wit, his failure and his commentary on it seems so dramatic that one wonders whether he is presenting himself as weak, as non-threatening to mislead the suitors right before the trap is sprung. Notice his language: “must I be a weakling, a failure all my life,” and “come, my betters” speaking of the suitors (21.150, 53). He speaks like the old Telemachus before his maturation, but the new Telemachus is confident and knows his father has come home. Is Telemachus channeling the rhetoric of his father and presenting a falsehood?

Penelope running interference for Odysseus the beggar to attempt the test to become her suitor lends again to her knowing or having a suspicion of who he truly is (21.350). Moreover, pay attention to how she speaks of the beggar fondly (21.373).

We are in the final stretch of our Year with Homer!

Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Jennifer Frey of the University of Tulsa Honors College to discuss Book 20 of the Odyssey: The Portents Gather.

Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for guides and more!

From the written guide:

97.      What happens in book twenty?

After his conversation with Penelope, Odysseus the beggar lays in bed alert to the fact the maidservants are leaving the house to go sleep with the suitors (20.08). Athena causes him to fall asleep (20.59), and in the morning Odysseus prays to Zeus for an omen of support (20.109). His prayer is answered and his “heart leapt up… convinced he’d grind the scoundrels’ lives out in revenge” (20.134). The palace is alive in preparation for a feast in honor of Apollo (20.173).

We are introduced to a new character, the cowherd, who is immediately reminded of king Odysseus when he sees Odysseus the beggar the first time (20.224). Athena stirs up the suitors (20.316), and one of the suitors throws on “oxhoof” at Odysseus (20.320). Telemachus chastises the suitor (20.339), and the suitors ask Telemachus to have Penelope choose a new husband (20.370). Athena whips the suitors up into a frenzy (20.385), and the prophet, Theoclymenus, leaves the palace—as he is so troubled by his visions of the house drenched in blood (20.390). The book ends with the suitors mocking Telemachus, Telemachus bearing it stoically while looking at his father, and Penelope listening to every word said in the hall (20.439).

98.      What should be made of Odysseus’ request of Athena?

Odysseus’ request of Athena gives structure to the rest of the text (20.41). First, recall that it is Zeus that oversees guest-friendship; thus, Odysseus understands he needs divine permission to kill the guests in his home. Second, note the concern that if he does kill the suitors, their avengers will come to kill him (20.45). Here, we need to understand the judicial custom of blood avengers. In short, if a person in the family was murdered, a member of the victim’s family bore a responsibility to then avenger the death of their relative. This is the underpinning to the story of Orestes killing Aegisthus for the murder of his father, Agamemnon. Later in Aeschylus’ Oresteia, the tragedian will take up this story and explore the shortcomings with this understanding of justice. One such fault with the blood avenger model of justice is that is perpetuates circles of violence. For example, Odysseus will kill the suitors, but the family of the suitors will then seek to murder him; in turn, if they do murder Odysseus, Telemachus would then be bound to avenge father. As such, the concern is how does the cycle of violence stop? The answer to that question will be given one way at the end of the Odyssey and in another at the end of the Oresteia.

Returning to the text, note that Athena does not answer him (20.47). Odysseus needs to have faith, as he’s not given a detailed explanation of the divine plan. It is notable the passage ends with Homer using “loosed his limbs” as an idiom for sleep—as its normally an idiom for death (20.61). One wonders then if we are not on the verge of a rebirth for Odysseus.

 Finally, despite Athena’s response, note that Odysseus still asks Zeus for a sign—and Zeus gives it to him (20.109).

More questions and answers in our guide!