Alcaeus was a lyric poet who lived from 625 BC to 580 BC in Ancient Greece. He was from the Island of Lesbos and came from an aristocratic warrior family. His family was involved in political struggles over the governance of the city of Mytilene. He would make a name for himself as a poet who wrote about war, drinking, love, and political struggle.

He was a contemporary of Sappho and may have been romantically involved with her.

In this episode, I recite a few works of Alcaeus that I feel capture the feelings of a society dealing with political turmoil. 

Alcaeus' works allow us to peer into a world that was on the verge of experimenting with democracy during the age of tyrants.

Archilochus was considered by some to be the second greatest poet of archaic Greece after Homer. He is certainly as influential as Hesiod and is sometimes referred to as the father of satire. Archilochus was a warrior-poet and lived an adventurous, yet tragic life. His poetry is known for its scathing rhetorical criticisms of his subjects, and the use of vulgar language.

Archilochus would be one of the first poets to be subject to heavy criticism, censorship, and was even exiled from his homeland for his coarse language. He is considered one of the first to create erotic poetry, though his ribald verses describe licentious behaviors in a way that is not so flattering in the minds of his critics.

In this episode I will dive into the mind of a sexually frustrated Greek warrior, who would be remembered for creating one of the first satirical public "roasts" of anyone in the western literary canon. 

This episode is about Pindar the greatest lyric poet of the late archaic period. He is famous for his Victory Ode which were written to glorify the Greek aristocrats who competed in athletic tournaments such as the Olympic games. For the aristocracy of ancient Greece, winning in the games was a form of never-ending glory. They wanted their names remembered and their families to be honored for generations. Pindar had a successful career as a poet who travelled throughout the ancient city-states to write about the victories of famous and prominent Greeks. They would compete in chariot races, wrestling, and boxing to name a few.

Pindar would become a maker of legends through the lyric productions he made - not only writing the poetry, but composing the music, and choreography as well.

He was a poet who made athletes seem more heroic than warriors.

2400 years after Pindar's life, another Poet-Athlete, would grace the world and show us the power of the muses.

This man would compete in the 1960 Olympic games for the United State of America and get the gold medal. He was considered the greatest athlete of the 20th century. 

This episode is about the archaic Greek poet Sappho. She left us 650 lines of fragmented poetry that have endured many interpretations throughout the centuries. Well respected among her peers, and her successor, Sappho was the Mother of Greek poetry.  She wrote about love and romance - particularly about her love for other women.

Her sexuality is a debated issue, however, most scholars agree that it is very likely that she was a homosexual. Sappho's only complete poem that has survived the ages is her Ode to Aphrodite. In recent years archeologists have discovered more of her works. 

She is a symbol of feminism and sexuality, yet she adored for her poetry much more than she is criticized for her sexuality.

Through studying her I was greatly inspired to talk about my feelings on what love is to a poet, what the poetic mindset of love is.

In this episode, we will discuss another important poet from the archaic period of Greece named Hesiod. He is best known for creating Theogony, Works and Days, and Shield of Heracles. His works are very descriptive and provide us with a wealth of information about ancient Greek culture,

This episode will focus on how an ancient poet like Hesiod can be relevant in the modern world. His poetic work affects the mind of conspiracy theorists and politics. He is representative of the bizarre nature of how artists receive their inspiration and what that tells us about the nature of the human mind.

I reflect on some questions about what his work means to me in terms of human consciousness, gender relations, and the role of the artist.

I appreciate the form of Gnomic poetry he is attributed to creating and despite his contentious views on women,  he remains a fascinating poet with a cryptic origin to his style of speechcraft.

Homer the legendary poet of ancient Greece is the father of western civilization. It is through the Homeric works that we get the fundamental inspiration that would seed the cultural development of classical Greek thought.  He is the first of classical Greek poets that I will discuss and he is the most influential poet in western culture. 

The poetry he wrote has been analyzed by the greatest minds of the world and continues to be referenced in modern art and popular culture.

In this episode, I talk about the historic circumstances surrounding the Homeric works. Specifically I cover some details around the late bronze age collapse and the dark age of ancient Greece.

Ancient Greece was at one time more developed and then lost its literacy and culture. How was it revived? It was the works and oral traditions of the Homeric poets that seeded the explosion of consciousness and revival of civilization that is known as the classical Greek era. 

I want to start a conversation about the power of language and the role of the artist. In this episode I will discuss some of the things that I want to cover over the next few episodes and the purpose of this podcast. I want to introduce my main interest and some of the types of interactions that I want to have with the listeners.

I also want to convince anyone who is listening that the role of poetry goes beyond the written word and synergizes with all other forms of art. Poetry is a state of mind, and I want to help others cultivate it.