Combat and Classics Podcast

At the beginning of Book 2, Cyrus is dead, but the Greeks are victorious.  By the end of Book 2, every Greek general is dead through Tissaphernes' treachery.  How did this happen?  What does this have to do with Clearchus, the de facto Greek general, and in particular with his piety?  And what is the hidden meaning of... palm trees?  Join us for the next episode in our reading of Xenophon, in which the author himself makes another brief appearance!

Brian, Shilo, and Jeff start their reading of Xenophon's great adventure story, "The Anabasis" -- or "Ascent" -- "of Cyrus."  We have a new Cyrus; is he the same as the old Cyrus?  How is Cyrus the Younger different from Cyrus the Great?  (Is he Cyrus the not-so-Great?)  And whose ascent is Xenophon's title talking about, since Cyrus the not-so-Great (spoiler alert!) dies at the end of Book 1?  Lastly, what is Xenophon, that other student of Socrates, doing in Cyrus' army of ten thousand Greek mercenaries?  Answers to all these questions, and more!  Oh, and if you're wondering where Episodes 51 and 52 are, they're part of our half-hour Iliad series.  Watch for it; these episodes will drop soon.

Brian and Jeff are joined by Michael Grenke, St. John's College - Santa Fe, to discuss Lise van Boxel's posthumously published book "Warspeak" from PoliticalAnimalPress.com. Purchase your copy here.

All good things must come to an end -- but so must all bad things, and Cyrus' empire ends badly.  Was Cyrus happy?  Is it possible to rule human beings the way he did, like a god, and also make yourself and them happy?  And why did such a cold king have two sons?  Brian, Shilo, and Jeff have answers, and these answers raise new and interesting questions, and point to another of Xenophon's books.

Abradatas is hacked to pieces, and Panthea kills herself over his corpse.  Croesus is defeated by Cyrus, and tries to teach him what "know thyself" means.  And Cyrus surrounds himself with a bodyguard... of eunuchs?  In this episode, Brian, Shilo, and Jeff finally confront the question of what "the education of Cyrus" really means.  To suffer is to learn... but do any of these people really learn anything?

Brian, Shilo and Jeff get together to talk more about the difference between sexual and political love, or eros, and about the connection between eros and gratitude.  We end on another cliffhanger, as Cyrus' army, complete with siege engines, is about to attack the Assyrian host.  And Jeff admits to a crackpot theory about the connection between love, chariots, and... Plato?

Shilo Brooks returns for the next podcast in our series on Xenophon's Education of Cyrus.  We talk about Book V, the love book -- easy now -- and especially about the differences between sexual and political love.  Cyrus' special friend returns, as does his boyfriend, and the Susan woman.  And the book ends with another kiss!  We also learn the secret of when Cyrus, and Xenophon, use names.

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Shilo Brooks returns for Book IV of Xenophon's "The Education of Cyrus." We discuss Cyrus' attack on the Assyrians, consolidation, cavalry, and Cyrus' first boyfriend returns (::kiss::kiss::) and the Susan woman.

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Shilo Brooks returns for another episode of "The Education of Cyrus" by Xenophon. We discuss moderation, virtue, risk and a brief mention of the ugly boyfriend.

Dr. Joseph Wood (Institute for World Politics and Cana Academy) joins Brian and Jeff to discuss Pierre Manent's "The Metamorphoses of the City," Chapter 2: The Poetic Birth of the City.

We discuss the relationships between war and politics, especially as it relates to The Iliad.