Greeced Lightning

In the Season 1 finale, Sara has a little gift for Luke and Sam before diving into the life and times of the Macedonian king and general Alexander the Great. The hosts revel in Irish accents galore. Sam investigates the four versions of the movie Alexander, including nudity, so that you don’t have to.

P.S. At 24 minutes, Sara says Pelopponesian Wars when she should have said Persian Wars. Whoops!

• Legal threat over 'gay' Alexander | The Guardian - An explanation behind the (threatened) lawsuit against the film Alexander.
• New explanation for Alexander the Great's death - The Archaeology News Network - Article explaining Dr. Hall's theory behind the cause of Alexander the Great's death.
• Alexander Mosaic - The Alexander mosaic, depicting the Battle of Issus between Alexander and Darius III, in the House of the Faun in Pompeii (in the public domain)
• Plutarch: Life of Alexander - A translation of Plutarch's biography of Alexander.

Join Sara, Luke, and Sam for the Aristophanic comedy, Lysistrata! The hosts take a (non-binding) vow of chastity, debate the merits of a big brass bed, and question John Cusack’s presence in a Spike Lee film.

• Why Are Ancient Greek Phalluses Funny? - If you're curious what Greek comedic actors' false phalluses might have looked like, this article includes photos of 5th-4th c. BCE vase paintings and figurines of actors with large false phalluses exposed.
• The Maculate Muse by Jeffrey Henderson - All about obscenity and obscene language in Greek drama. As a scholarly book written for those studying Greek drama, we can't vouch for the readability or accessibility of the text.
• Ancient Greece by Thomas R. Martin - A very readable and informative overview of Greek history, from prehistory through Hellenistic times.
• Lysistrata and Other Plays by Aristophanes: Penguin translation - Alan Sommerstein's 2003 translation of Lysistrata, from which the hosts take Lysistrata's oath!

Sara, Luke and Sam take a wild and dirty ride through the underbelly of Rome with Petronius’s Satyricon. Join us for Neronian conspiracies, Priapic purification rituals, Roman Donald Trump, and the literary connections to Harold & Kumar. Bonus: discussion of ancient dildos.

CW: suicide, sexual assault and explicit sexual content

• The long and satisfying 28,000-year history of the dildo - More information than Sara could give about the history of dildos!
• Petronius's Satyricon, translated by P.G. Walsh - An excellent translation with notes and an introduction, by P.G. Walsh.
• Tacitus on Petronius - In the Annals Book 16, sections 17-19, Tacitus tells us about Petronius's fall from Arbiter of Elegance and his ultimate end.
• Froma Zeitlin, "Petronius as Paradox" - The article that Sara references by the amazing scholar Froma Zeitlin.

Get in loser, we’re going to steal the Golden Fleece! Sara, Luke, and Sam dig into the myth behind 1963’s Jason and the Argonauts. Join us for Hecate worship, talking boats, stop-motion magic, and the invention of disc golf.

• Phineus & Harpies - A 5th c. BCE red figure painting of the Harpies stealing Phineus's food.
• Theocritus, Idyll 2 - Early 20th century translation of a poem about a woman named Simaetha praying to Hecate and putting a love spell on her lover, Delphis. Theocritus was a contemporary of Apollonius of Rhodes.
• Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius - 2014 translation of Apollonius of Rhodes's Hellenistic epic, the Argonautica.

Sara, Luke, and Sam take an uncomfortable dive into the religious violence of late Roman Alexandria with the film Agora. Sam puts on his historian hat to teach Luke and Sara about Serapis; all three hosts condemn the openness of men’s restrooms.

• Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, ed. Helen Strudwick - Sam teaches Sara and Luke about Serapis based on what he learned in this book. A great resource if you're interested in learning about ancient Egypt!
• Texts of Synesius' writings - Translations of the essays and letters of Synesius of Cyrene. His letters to Hypatia are labeled "To the Philosopher": Letters 10, 15, 16, 33, 81, 124, 154.

It’s an ancient disaster! Sara, Luke, and Sam learn about the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, the destruction of Pompeii, Pliny the Younger’s #BigNarcEnergy, and Kit Harrington the Horse Whisperer. The hosts also have a great idea for future Greeced Lightning merch.

• Mount Vesuvius Didn't Kill Everyone in Pompeii. Where Did the Survivors Go? - Live Science article interviewing Dr. Steven Tuck regarding the survivors of Pompeii and the aid distributed by the emperor Titus. (Sara says she used Dr. Tuck's book in her archaeology class but she misspoke — it was an art history class.)
• History of archaeological excavations of Pompeii - The official Pompeii excavations website, where you can learn more about the history of the site.
• Pliny the Younger's Letters - English translation of Book 6 of Pliny's letters. His account of Pliny the Younger's death and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius are in letters 6.16 and 6.20.

Sara, Luke, and Sam are back in the land of myth with Disney's Hercules! Sara teaches Luke and Sam everything there is to know about this himbo hero. Sam detects more than a hint of stink to Hades' depiction. All three hosts learn of an unexpected connection to Quibi.

• Sophocles' Women of Trachis - A 1966 translation of Sophocles' tragedy which depicts the death of Heracles.
• Euripides' Alcestis - A translation of Euripides' tragedy Alcestis, in which Heracles shows up to party and (spoiler!) ends up saving the heroine.
• Livy Bk. 1.7: Cacus and Hercules - A free translation of the story of Hercules, Cacus, and the cattle of Geryon. Story starts in the second paragraph.
• Heracles & Erymanthian Boar - Ancient Greek Vase Painting - 6th century BCE vase painting of Eurystheus cowering in fear at Heracles holding the Erymanthian Boar.
• ‎Hanksy Panksy: 24 - Hercules: Yak Hair on Apple Podcasts - Sara's first time joining Luke and Sam on the airwaves, this episode of Hanksy Panksy breaks down 2014's Hercules with Dwayne Johnson. For adult ears only!
• Euripides' Heracles - An excellent translation of Euripides' play, Heracles, which depicts the madness of Heracles.

Let us entertain you with a deep dive into gladiators and Roman games! Sara, Luke, and Sam talk good and bad emperors, sexy gladiators, combat to the death, and the Teflon quality of the Oscar-winning film Gladiator.

• Commodus as Hercules - The famous bust of Commodus in the guise of Hercules, with symbolism that portrays Commodus as having conquered the world. (Wikimedia Commons)
• Pliny's Epistulae: The Latin Library - For the adventurous listener interested in the Latin of Pliny's letters, the letter that Sara quotes is #6 on this page.
• Pliny the Younger's Letters - You can find Pliny's disparaging comments about the games in Epistle 9.6.
• Marcus Aurelius' Meditations - An English translation of the emperor Marcus Aurelius' private journal.
• Water organ - Enjoy some Roman music! This water organ was reconstructed from metal parts found at an archaeological dig near Budapest.

Sara, Luke, and Sam go on the greatest of adventures with The Princess Bride! Listen along as Sara delves into the fascinating world of the criminally underappreciated Greek novels, and everyone has a whale of a time with this classic film!

• The Princess Bride Home Movie - The celebrity home-movie remake of The Princess Bride that Luke mentions in the episode.
• The Princess Bride is actually an ancient Greek novel. – Medea Palatina - Part One of Sara's blog about the relationship between The Princess Bride and the ancient Greek novels. Link to Part Two is at the bottom of the blog page!
• Collected Ancient Greek Novels, ed. B.P. Reardon - This is the collection of Greek novel translations used in Sara's graduate school courses. It's a doorstop of a volume, but it does include translations (with introductions) of the Big Five as well as the fragmentary novels.

Romanes eunt domus! This week, Sara, Luke, and Sam dive into the Roman occupation of Judea with Monty Python’s Life of Brian! Join us for a conversation about Jewish history, renaming BC/AD, the alarming history of toilets, and how poorly John Cleese’s humor has aged.

• Arch of Titus - Photo of an inner panel from the triumphal arch of Titus, just outside the forum in Rome. The carved relief on this panel represents Titus's triumphal procession in 71 CE, in which his victorious army carried treasures and spoils taken when they looted and burned the Jerusalem temple the year before (image source: Wikipedia).
• Josephus's complete works - This English translation from 2003 contains all of Josephus's writings (originally written in Greek).