Classical Wisdom Speaks

In 2021 Princeton University scrapped the Ancient Greek and Latin requirements for Classics students... and this sparked a huge debate, both within the classics community and the general classics loving public as well.

We ask: Should ancient Greek and Latin be required for Classics students? What is the future of ancient languages?

It used to be that you couldn't even enter university without knowledge of Latin and Ancient Greek...but as time goes on, these language requirements have been lowered... and today they have been almost completely dropped, even in the Classics department.

Is this good? Is this bad? Should ancient Greek and Latin be required for Classics students? Or are our modern translations sufficient?

Moreover, how can those who don't know ancient languages benefit from the wisdom of these texts? Beyond academe, can the lay person enjoy the wisdom of history to live a richer life?

Featuring former Eton ancient Greek teacher, Lalya Lloyd, Alexandra Hudson of Civic Renassiance and Anya Leonard of Classical Wisdom.

Learn more about Classical Wisdom here: http://classicalwisdom.com/

And about Civic Renassiance here: https://www.civic-renaissance.com/

About the Speakers:

Lalya Lloyd is an Athens-based teacher and writer who has spent a lifetime living and teaching classics. She was raised by a classicist and studied at Cambridge under Mary Beard. In between she won a prize for the Times Literary Supplement (TLS). More recently, she taught classics at Eton. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and is working on a book about ancient and modern Greece. Other current projects include editing a forthcoming biography of Marcus Aurelius for Yale UP.

Alexandra Hudson is an award winning journalist, author, and speaker, as well as the founder of Civic Renaissance, a newsletter and intellectual community dedicated to moral and cultural renewal.

Anya Leonard is the founder and Director of Classical Wisdom, a site dedicated to bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds. Anya studied philosophy and comparative literature at St. John’s College in Annapolis, a great books program and received her MA in Sociology at the University of Edinburgh. She has recently published a children’s book, Sappho: The Lost Poetess, dedicated to the life, works and remarkable recent discovery of a poem written by the 7th century Poetess, Sappho. She currently lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The Time has come... to tell the other side of the myth... the one where Medea isn't so bad... but Penelope is.

What if Pandora didn’t have a box? And it wasn’t even filled with evils? What if Helen of Troy (nay Sparta) wasn’t really the face that launched a thousand ships?

Perhaps it’s time to look at the Greek myths a bit more carefully... and see what versions we are choosing to reiterate... and why?

Featuring  NATALIE HAYNES, author of six books, including A Thousand Ships, which was a national bestseller and shortlisted for the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Comedian and ardent proponent of making the classics accessible, Natalie has written and recorded seven series of Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics for the BBC. She has written for The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, and The Observer. Natalie join us from London.

You can purchase Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths HERE:
https://www.amazon.com/Pandoras-Jar-Women-Greek-Myths/dp/1509873112/

Want your own guide to the Greek Gods? Get a free e-book here: https://classicalwisdom.com/free-guide-to-the-greek-gods/

You can learn more about Classical Wisdom and Classical Wisdom Speaks here: https://classicalwisdom.com/

Donald Robertson's upcoming Graphic Novel tells the tale of Marcus Aurelius like never before... How did Marcus Aurelius get his nickname? And why was it such a slap in the face... to his brother? And how does this new medium teach about both the Roman emperor and Stoic philosophy at the same time?

We delve into the man, the legend, and who exactly should play Marcus Aurelius in the next Hollywood blockbuster.

You can pre-order your own copy of Verissimus HERE:

https://www.amazon.com/Verissimus-Stoic-Philosophy-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/1250270952

Donald Robertson is a cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist, trainer, writer as well as one of the founding members of the non-profit group, Modern Stoicism. He's the author of six books on philosophy and psychotherapy, including Stoicism and the Art of Happiness (2013), How to Think Like a Roman Emperor (2019) and his latest graphic novel on Marcus Aurelius, of which we speak about today...

Was Alexander the Great REALLY that Great? Get a free magazine dedicated to the ancient Hellenic King and find out here: https://classicalwisdom.com/free-guide-alexander-the-great/

Thank you to our Classical Wisdom Society Members who make this podcast possible. If you would like to become a Society Member and help support the classics, please go to https://classicalwisdom.com/ and click Start here.

The Myth of Atlantis has captured the imagination since ancient times... when even then people questioned whether it was true or not. Renowned British philosopher and academic, Angie Hobbs delves into the validity of Plato's myth... and what it means for us today.

More about Angie:

Angie Hobbs is Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield.  She contributes regularly to radio and TV programmes and other media, including 24  appearances on BBC’s In Our Time on Radio 4.  She has spoken at the World Economic Forum at Davos, the Houses of Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and Westminster Abbey and been the guest on Desert Island Discs, Private Passions and Test Match Special.  She was a judge of the Man Booker International Prize 2019 and was on the World Economic Forum Global Future Council 2018-9 for Values, Ethics and Innovation.

Her most recent publication for the general public is Plato’s Republic: a Ladybird Expert Book...which you can purchase here: https://www.amazon.com/Platos-Republic-Ladybird-Expert/dp/0718188527

You can learn more about Classical Wisdom and Classical Wisdom Speaks here: https://classicalwisdom.com/

Get your FREE Guide: How to Be Happy: An Ethical Guide to ancient Philosophy here: https://classicalwisdom.com/how-to-be-happy/

Sarcophagus comes from Greek, with "sarco" meaning flesh and "phagus" meaning eater... but what can a flesh eating box tell us about the ancient Romans?

Dr. Ferst drove a hundred thousand miles across four continents in over fourteen expeditions in search of the remaining 2000 stone Sarcophagi scattered across the globe.

Barry Ferst is Professor of Ancient Philosophy, Islam: Philosophy and Culture, Epistemology, and Philosophy of Art and Beauty, Carrol College. He  discusses his book, “Stone Sarcophagi of the Roman Empire” and the amazing journeys he embarked on to create it.

You can purchase Barry’s book, Stone Sarcophagi of the Roman Empire Here:
https://www.amazon.com/Stone-Sarcophagi-Roman-Empire-Barry/dp/1984544969

You can learn more about Classical Wisdom and Classical Wisdom Speaks here: https://classicalwisdom.com/

Get your FREE Guide: How to Be Happy: An Ethical Guide to ancient Philosophy here: https://classicalwisdom.com/how-to-be-happy/

Why doesn't Homer mention Thebes? It was a powerful city-state, at one point the most powerful in the Mediterranean... and yet it's conspicuously not prevalent in the great epics. Perhaps its absence speaks volumes...

This Classical Wisdom Speaks episode is with Elton Barker and Joel Christensen, joint authors of both Homer’s Thebes: Epic Rivalries and the Appropriation of Mythical Pasts as well as Homer: A Beginner's Guide.

Elton Barker is Professor of Greek Literature and Culture at the School of Arts & Cultures at the Open University, in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom. He is also the General Secretary at Pelagios Network and Author of “Entering the Agon: Dissent and Authority in Homer, Historiography, and Tragedy”.
 
Joel Christensen is Professor and Chair at the Department of Classical Studies in Brandeis University. In addition to his and Elton’s joint books, he is Author of The Many-Minded Man: The "Odyssey," Psychology, and the Therapy of Epic (Myth and Poetics II)

We’ll discuss women in Archaic Greece, the possibility of a Theban Epic and whether or not Homer stole... or sampled from other traditions.

You can purchase Elton and Joel’s, book, Homer’s Thebes: Epic Rivalries and the Appropriation of Mythical Pasts here:

https://chs.harvard.edu/book/barker-elton-and-joel-christensen-homers-thebes/

You can learn more about Classical Wisdom and Classical Wisdom Speaks here: https://classicalwisdom.com/

Get your FREE Guide: How to Be Happy: An Ethical Guide to ancient Philosophy here: https://classicalwisdom.com/how-to-be-happy/

It was said her poetry will be sung as long as there are boats on the nile... There are still boats on the nile (last I checked) and yet almost no one know her works...

So who exactly was Sappho? Why was she so controversial and what happened to her prolific body of work? 

Discover the remarkable life, work and loss of the 7th century BC poetess who was considered equal to Homer in this week's Classical Wisdom Speaks episode. 

You can help inspire the love of history, poetry and archeology in the next generation with Classical Wisdom's newest children's book - Sappho: The Lost Poetess. 

Purchase it on Amazon here: http://tick.news/i2 

You can learn more about Classical Wisdom and Classical Wisdom Speaks here: https://classicalwisdom.com/

Get your FREE Guide: How to Be Happy: An Ethical Guide to ancient Philosophy here: http://classicalwisdom.com/how-to-be-happy/

Skepticism has woven its way throughout the entire history of philosophy... and yet as a formal school of thought it was (and still is) fairly niche and unknown.

Why is that? What does Skepticism REALLY entail? And what can we learn from the remaining Skeptic works (of which there are so few) that can help us bridge our political divides?

Richard Bett, Professor of Philosophy and Classics at Johns Hopkins University and author of How to Keep an Open Mind: An Ancient Guide to Thinking Like a Skeptic discusses the pros and cons of  Sextus’ Empiricus, the only Greek Skeptic whose work has survived.

We'll delve into how exactly can ancient skepticism help you attain tranquility by learning to suspend judgment....

You can find Professor's Bett's book, How to Keep an Open Mind: An Ancient Guide to Thinking Like a Skeptic, Here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691206042/how-to-keep-an-open-mind

You can learn more about Classical Wisdom and Classical Wisdom Speaks here: https://classicalwisdom.com/

Get your FREE Guide: How to Be Happy: An Ethical Guide to ancient Philosophy here: http://classicalwisdom.com/how-to-be-happy/

 

It's not the most intuitive comparison: Alexander the Great and Hernán Cortés... but what does the Macedonian Conquerer and the Spanish Conquistador have in common?

We look at their commanding abilities, motivations as well as some of the larger questions that emerge from comparing the conquests of the Persian and Aztec Empires....

Featuring Justin D. Lyons, Associate Professor of Political Science, Cedarville University in Ohio and author of the book: Alexander the Great and Hernán Cortés: Ambiguous Legacies of Leadership and Anya Leonard of Classical Wisdom.

You can purchase Justin's book, Alexander the Great and Hernán Cortés: Ambiguous Legacies of Leadership, Here.

You can learn more about Classical Wisdom and Classical Wisdom Speaks at: https://classicalwisdom.com/

You can also get a FREE E-book on "Money, Gold and the End of an Empire" Here: https://classicalwisdom.com/free-e-book-money-gold-endofanempire/

Is Sparta under attack? Or is it time for a new look at the ancient power?

Myke Cole, author of “The Bronze Lie: Shattering the Myth of Spartan Warrior Supremacy” counts up Sparta’s wins and losses and asks: What if, in fact, the Spartans weren’t such great warriors? And what does that mean for us today?

We discuss if this is true, the implications of this research and just as importantly... How should we really remember Sparta?

Myke Cole is an American author of history, fantasy, and science fiction. His emergency response career spans service in the US military, intelligence, law enforcement services as well as firefighting. He starred on CBS’ investigative TV show Hunted, and Discovery Channel’s Contact. His essays have appeared in The New York Times, Slate, The Daily Beast, Foreign Policy, and The New Republic.

To purchase Myke's new book,  “The Bronze Lie: Shattering the Myth of Spartan Warrior Supremacy”, click here: https://www.amazon.com/Bronze-Lie-Shattering-Spartan-Supremacy/dp/1472843754

For more information about Classical Wisdom's Podcast Classical Wisdom Speaks, please check out our website at: http://classicalwisdom.com​​​

Get our recent Magazine - dedicated to Ancient Music - with our Classical Wisdom Litterae Magazine subscription Here: https://classicalwisdom.com/product/classical-wisdom-litterae-magazine-subscription/