Ancient Greece Declassified

Bret Devereux is a military historian at North Carolina State University and author of the recent viral article "Spartans Were Losers: The US Military's Admiration of a Proto-Fascist City-State is Based on Bad History." He joins us to explain why he thinks that the traditional image of Sparta as an egalitarian society of warrior badasses is a lie. You can find his blog, where he writes extensively on Sparta, here: https://acoup.blog/2019/08/16/collections-this-isnt-sparta-part-i-spartan-school/ ------------------ This episode is available in video format on the Lantern Jack YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/VngbinpNGIE ------------------ Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast

As our world becomes increasingly hi-tech, more and more people have been turning to ancient wisdom traditions in search of meaning. There are two schools of ancient philosophy in particular that have seen a meteoric revival in recent years: Platonism and Stoicism. Cognitive scientist John Vervaeke joins us to explore why this is happening. ------------------ Join the upcoming AGD Tour in Greece: greecepodcast.com/tour ------------------ Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast

AGD is going back to Greece this fall (Oct. 11-19) for another epic adventure! This time we'll be exploring areas that in ancient times lay in the shadow of – or in direct conflict with – the Athenian hegemony. Check out our video from the first tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g-w7u6aQz0 To reserve your spot, email us at greecepodcast@gmail.com For the itinerary visit https://greecepodcast.com/tour

This time we're taking a little break from Greece to explore the broader history of democracy. Was democracy really a Greek invention? Historian David Stasavage, author of The Decline and Rise of Democracy, thinks it was not. And in today's episode he explains why. --------------- Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast

Polybius' theory of anacyclosis is the most sophisticated theory of political (r)evolution to have emerged from ancient Greek and Roman political thought. ------------------ To watch the highlight real from the last AGD tour in Greece, click here. ------------------ To read the passage in Polybius where he discusses anacyclosis click here. ------------------ If you'd like to read more about the theory of anacyclosis, I've written a few blogs on the subject: Anacyclosis, Act 1: From Monarchy to Tyranny Anacyclosis, Act 2: The Rise of Republics Anacyclosis, Act 3: The Rise and Fall of Democracy

AGD is going back to Greece this winter (Jan. 3-11) for an epic tour of Greece's northern regions, focusing on mountains and oracles. For more information or to reserve your spot, email us at greecepodcast@gmail.com

Plato argued that the inevitable next step in political evolution after democracy is tyranny. Many political thinkers throughout history agreed with him. Were they right? ------------------ Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast --------------- A full transcript of this episode with references can be found on our website at greecepodcast.com

Was Marcus Aurelius really the enlightened ruler that history books and modern movies portray him as? And is his brand of Stoic philosophy applicable to the modern world? With us to discuss these and other questions is Donald Robertson, a psychotherapist and the author of How to Think Like and Emperor and Verissimus. ------------------ Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast

An update on the AGD Tour happening in Greece from August 16-24 For an outline of the itinerary click here.

Thirty three scholars, philosophers, and archaeologists answer the question: If you could time travel to the ancient world, who would you want to meet? Scholars featured + the timestamps when they appear: 2:10 Edith Hall 3:36 Eric Cline 4:30 Andromache Karanika 5:45 Josiah Ober 6:48 Rush Rehm 7:30 Ian Morris 8:02 Rebecca Newberger Goldstein 9:20 Patrick Hunt 9:46 Raffaella Cribiore 11:04 Mark Adams 12:20 Peter Adamson 13:47 Richard Martin 15:08 M. M. McCabe 16:37 Zina Giannopoulou 18:45 Greg Nagy 19:43 Caroline Winterer 20:04 Melissa Lane 22:28 Alicia Stallings 22:57 Rhiannon Evans 24:04 Barbara Graziosi 24:54 Walter Scheidel 25:12 Matt Simonton 26:30 Emily Greenwood 27:57 Olga Levaniouk 30:00 Steele Brand 32:55 Rachel Barney 33:36 Angie Hobbs 35:31 Adrian Goldsworthy 36:30 Mary Bachvarova 37:42 Jonathan Lear 39:40 Mary Townsend 40:31 Gabriel Richardson Lear 42:14 Ben Morison

Philosophers today often dismiss Plato's Theory of Forms as an outdated and failed attempt by a pre-modern thinker to explain knowledge. However, cognitive scientist John Vervaeke offers a radically different take on Plato's theory and how it ties in with recent debates about the nature of intelligence. John Vervaeke is a professor at the University of Toronto and the creator of the popular YouTube series Awakening from the Meaning Crisis.

An announcement about the upcoming Ancient Greece Declassified tour in Greece this summer.

The cave analogy, which takes up the majority of book 7 of the Republic, is one of the most famous passages in all of western philosophy. In this episode, we are joined by Ben Morison, professor of philosophy at Princeton, to dive deep into the allegory and unpack its various levels of meaning.

Plato is at once the most loved and possibly the most hated philosopher of all time. This episode explores five reasons why he drives some people mad. Contents of the episode, with timestamps: Reason 1: Who should rule? [7:30] Reason 2: What political system is best? [12:20] The Ship of State [15:10] Reason 3: What is truth? [20:20] Reason 4: What is knowledge? [30:35] The Divided Line [40:25] Reason 5: What is good?

Where does the notion of 'moral duty' come from? In this conversation with Simon E. Drew we dive deep into the history of the concept and discuss my recent book The Invention of Duty. This episode was originally published on The Walled Garden podcast and is here republished as a crosscast.

Book 6 of the Republic is the work’s core section where Plato lays out his metaphysics. Appealing to his signature Theory of Forms, Plato offers a transcendent vision of the Good as the ultimate source of human knowledge. Joining us to help us unpack this theory is Gabriel Richardson Lear, professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago and author of the book Happy Lives and the Highest Good: An Essay on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. ------------------ Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast

Was Homer was influenced by the stories of civilizations to the east of Greece? Joining us to discuss the Hittites and their potential (direct and indirect) influences on the Greek epic tradition is Mary Bachvarova, professor of classics at Willamette University and author of From Hittite to Homer: The Anatolian Background of Ancient Greek Epic ------------------ Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast

The most controversial part of Plato's Republic is its fifth book, wherein Socrates argues for the political equality of men and women, the abolition of the nuclear family, a strange eugenics program, and the idea that philosophers kings and philosopher queens should be put in charge of political affairs. With us to discuss book 5 is Mary Townsend, assistant professor of philosophy at Saint John’s University in Queens and author of the book The Woman Question in Plato’s Republic. ------------------ Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast

In book 4 of the Republic, Plato sets forth perhaps the most famous psychological theory from Greco-Roman antiquity: the tripartite model of the human soul. But how good of a model is it? How does it hold up from the perspective of modern psychology? With us to discuss these questions and more is Jonathan Lear, professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago and a practicing psychoanalyst who serves on the faculty of the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis. His article "Inside and Outside the Republic" remains one of the most important pieces of scholarship on the psychological theory offered in book 4. ------------------ Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast

What do Plato's Republic, Sigmund Freud, and the Harry Potter saga have in common? Find out in this episode, which offers an exploration of book 4 of Plato's Republic and its many parallels in modern literature and psychology.