Classical Wisdom Speaks

What can Aristotle tell us about how we should live today? What are the ancient secrets to a flourishing life? 

And what is 'the art of the interesting?' 

Today Anya is joined by Lorraine Besser to discuss the ways Aristotle has influenced modern psychology, and how the path towards a richer life is always within us... 

Lorraine Besser is professor of philosophy at Middlebury College. She was a founding investigator on the research team studying psychological richness, and is the author of many books, including The Art of the Interesting: What We Miss in Our Pursuit of the Good Life and How to Cultivate It. 

You can buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Interesting-What-Pursuit-Cultivate/dp/1538743205/

Hosted by Anya Leonard of Classical Wisdom. To learn more about Classical Wisdom, and sign up for our free newsletter, please go to https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/ 

She was one of the most powerful women of the ancient world…

Once mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Cleopatra and Helen of Troy. 

Yet today she is largely forgotten. Why did this happen?  

Today Anya is joined by award-winning novelist Costanza Casati to discuss the ancient Assyrian queen, Semiramis, and the blurry boundary between history and myth.

Constanza Casati is the author of the award-winning novel Clytemnestra, as well as her second novel Babylonia, which in inspired by the life of Semiramis. She also works as a screenwriter and freelance journalist.

You can buy Babylonia by Constanza Casati here: https://www.amazon.com/Babylonia-Novel-Costanza-Casati-ebook/dp/B0CYKVCRP3

Hosted by Anya Leonard of Classical Wisdom. To learn more about Classical Wisdom, and sign up for our free newsletter, please go to https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/

What is the key to happiness? It turns out, the Stoics might just have the answer… 

Today Anya is joined by Christopher Gill to discuss ancient Stoic understandings of happiness, how some modern interpretations of Stoicism get it wrong, and what exactly fate has to do with it all.

Christopher Gill is a British philosopher and Emeritus Professor of Ancient Thought at the University of Exeter. 

He is author of many books, including Learning to Live Naturally: Stoic Ethics and its Modern Significance, and most recently Stoic Ethic: The Basics, with Brittany Polat. You can buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/Stoic-Ethics-Basics-Christopher-Gill/dp/1032813598

Hosted by Anya Leonard of Classical Wisdom. To learn more about Classical Wisdom, and sign up for our free newsletter, please go to https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/

It’s no secret that the American Founding Fathers were deeply inspired by the Classics. The words of the ancient Greek and Roman philosophers suffuse the original documents and ideas that built America.

Today Anya is joined by Jeffery Rosen to talk about how ancient ideas of virtue inspired these pivotal figures in American history.

Hosted by Anya Leonard of Classical Wisdom. To learn more about Classical Wisdom, and sign up for our free newsletter, please go to https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/

Right now at Classical Wisdom, we’re celebrating the 4th of July holiday with a special Founding Members deal: Founding Members can now receive our stunning 644 page hardback anthology, The Essential Classics, collecting the greatest ancient works in one beautiful new edition.

Founding Members can read and be inspired by the very texts that moved and motivated the Founding Fathers. And to commemorate the occasion, you can now become a Founding Member for $50 OFF.

So, take advantage of our special Founding Fathers, Founding Members Sale before this Monday to enjoy $50 off and to receive your own hardback Essential Classics anthology… Also, there is free shipping to anywhere in the world!

Click here to become a Founding Member: https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/subscribe

***Important: The Essential Classics hardback is NOT available for the regular annual or monthly memberships. It is ONLY for Founding Members.***

Jeffery Rosen is an American legal scholar who serves as the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. He has written frequently about the U.S. Supreme Court and is author of several books, including his most recent: The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America.

There is a place, a narrow strip of land, where bravery and sacrifice became legendary... where the famed ‘300’ laid down their lives to save Hellas in 480 BC...

But that is not the only battle in which blood was shed at Thermopylae...

Dr. Michael Livingston and Myke Cole discuss their recently released book "The Killing Ground: A Biography of Thermopylae" and discover the chilling stories found on this particular field...

We not only look at the history of the ‘killing grounds’ but also into the heart of warfare itself: the motivations of those who fight, the strategies they employ, and the horrifying price they have to pay.

From Penelope to Fulvia and beyond, discover the lives of ancient women. 

Today Anya is joined by Dr. Daisy Dunn, to discuss the ‘missing thread’ of ancient history: the often-overlooked women who helped shape civilizations. 

Dr Daisy Dunn is an award-winning classicist and the author of several books, including The Missing Thread: A New History of the Ancient World through the Women Who Shaped It.

You can buy it here: https://geni.us/TheMissingThread 

Hosted by Anya Leonard of Classical Wisdom. To learn more about Classical Wisdom, and sign up for our free newsletter, please go to https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/

Discover the woman who brought Greek mythology to America… 

Today Anya is joined by Victoria Houseman to discuss the life and legacy of Edith Hamilton, the American Classicist who brought Greek mythology and ancient cultures to a vast new audience.

Her books remain beloved classics in their own right, and illuminate not only the Greeks and Romans, but also how the ancients can help us understand the tumultuous twentieth century.

Victoria Houseman is a historian and associate professor in the Department of History and Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin–River Falls.

You can buy “American Classicist: The Life and Loves of Edith Hamilton” by Victoria Houseman here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691236186/?bestFormat=true&k=american%20classicist&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-pd-bk-d_di_k0_1_19&crid=3FOD5P0ESZB2J

Hosted by Anya Leonard of Classical Wisdom. To learn more about Classical Wisdom, and sign up for our free newsletter, please go to https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/

While Stoicism is currently all the rage -and for good reason- it isn’t the only philosophy to address some of life’s toughest questions. 

From dealing with uncertainty, stress, grief and more, we have a wonderful toolbox of wisdom at our disposal, if only we know where to look.

Renowned Stoics and philosophers, Massimo Pigliucci, Donald Robertson and John Sellars, take the lessons of Stoicism... and beyond... to see how we can approach life’s difficulties and incorporate time-tested philosophies into our modern life. 

This event is hosted by Anya Leonard of Classical Wisdom. To learn more about Classical Wisdom and to sign up for the free newsletter, please go to: https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/

How did two different philosophies - that have seen a resurgence of interest in the Western world - both arrive at such similar conclusions for how to live a happy life?

Despite being separated by hundreds of years and thousands of miles, Stoicism and Buddhism have striking similarities...so much so some have wondered if there was some exchange of ideas between the forefathers of each ideology.

But how exactly are these philosophies alike? What are the critical differences? And perhaps most importantly of all, what can these philosophies teach us today so we can be better people?

Watch Anya Leonard of Classical Wisdom and Dr. Benjamin B. Olshin, Research Associate at Bryn Mawr College, discuss Stoicism and Buddhism and see if they are truly two sides of the same coin...

You can find all of Benjamin’s books and art here: https://benjaminbolshin.net/publications

This event was brought to you by Classical Wisdom. To learn more about Classical Wisdom, and sign up for our free newsletter, please go to https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/

What happens AFTER an apocalypse?

How did ancient societies rebuild after catastrophic events… and what can that teach us about our world now?

Today, Anya is joined by DR ERIC H. CLINE, author of the bestselling history book 1177 B.C and its recent sequel, After 1177 B.C.: The Survival of Civilizations. They’ll be discussing what to do if your society collapses… and why the ancient 'dark ages' weren't so dark.

Dr. Cline is Professor of Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies and Anthropology, the former Chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and the current Director of the GWU Capitol Archaeological Institute. He is a National Geographic Explorer, a Fulbright scholar, an NEH Public Scholar, a Getty Scholar, and an award-winning teacher. 

You can buy After 1177 B.C.: The Survival of Civilizations here: https://www.amazon.com/After-1177-B-C-Survival-Civilizations/dp/0691192138

Hosted by Anya Leonard of Classical Wisdom. To learn more about Classical Wisdom, and sign up for our free newsletter, please go to https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/