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We come to the end of our three-episode exploration of Plato’s Republic, the seminal work of political philosophy composed mostly around 380 BCE. This episode covers pre-Socratic philosophy, the life of Socrates, and a really regrettable period of Plato's life when he tried to go into business as a political consultant and wound up stuck in the middle of what almost became a civil war. Don't leave the academy, bro.
In this episode, Rose also announces an exciting upcoming guest spot on the Omnibus podcast, where she'll be talking about E.A. Wallis Budge.
For a transcript and a full list of references for this episode, click here to visit our website. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share!
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In this episode, we continue our three-part, supersized exploration of Plato's Republic. Having defined morality and the ideal society in the first half of the book, we now move on to the pure philosophy part, which features Plato's theory of forms, his ideas about what constitutes true knowledge, and, of course, a ton of allegories—including the famous Allegory of the Cave. Listen now and know the true, Platonic form of a podcast.
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It's philosophy time, friends. Join us for the first of three episodes about the ancient Greek philosopher Plato's book The Republic, the most influential work of philosophical literature ever written by a single author. It's the record of a long conversation Socrates has with some friends, in which they pick over two questions: what is morality? and does morality really have any intrinsic benefits for those who practice it? This conversation also covers what the ideal society should look like, including the best plan of education (heavily censored, obviously), how the ruling class should live (in communes with eugenically controlled matings, duh) and a surprising number of metaphors that mention shoemakers. Episode one covers the first half of The Republic, which focuses on politics.
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Aaaaaand we're back. Aristophanes, the comedian of ancient Athens, has a reputation for getting into hot water for his jibes about the demagogue Cleon (which landed him in hot water, legally) and his portrayal the philosopher Socrates (which, according to Plato, fatally damaged Socrates' image for a generation). But is this reputation deserved? This episode looks at the evidence for how much Aristophanes really influenced Athenian politics and discourse.
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Produced in 405 BCE, just months before Athens' disastrous loss of the Peloponnesian War, Aristophanes' Frogs is a play about how important — and ridiculous — great art can be. Featuring a poetic battle royale between the ghosts of Aeschylus and Euripides, the play blends highbrow literary satire, bawdy sight gags, and more than a little bit of reactionary xenophobia. So nothing's changed there, then.
Walk through the story with us as we wrap up our Big Fat Greek Summer of Theatre. Want to read the transcript? Click here. Thanks for listening — don't forget to leave a rating or review!
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Euripides's plays, including The Trojan Women, include a great many complex and sympathetic female characters. In this episode, we use Euripides's interest in women as a jumping-off point to look at the real lives of women in Classical Athens during the 5th century BCE, when Euripides would have been alive and writing.
Or at least, we try to. Join us on a slightly frustrating journey through the slim evidence for actual Greek women's existence, exploring childhood, marriage, funerals, and the occasional bawdy all-girls camping trip.
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Our Greek Theatre summer continues with the last of the great tragedians, Euripides (c. 480–406 BCE). While less successful than Aeschylus and Sophocles when it came to winning prizes at the Athenian Dionysia, Euripides was more popular in his day—according to the historian Thucydides, Athenian prisoners of war were able to win favors, and sometimes freedom, by reciting his lines to their captors.
He has also left us the largest body of work of any of the other tragedy writers. He is known for a more cynical outlook on religion, for his naturalistic dialogue, and as a writer of women with deep characters. This week, we look at The Trojan Women, his portrait of Hecuba and the other royal women of Troy as they wait to learn their fates following the sack of the city by the Greeks—a sequel to the events of Homer's Iliad.
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Since 1900 or so, anyone trying to engage with Sophocles' play Oedipus Rex has had Sigmund Freud breathing over their shoulders. This episode looks at how Freud, inspired by (and slightly obsessed with) Sophocles' play, concocted a theory that began as a stage of child development but soon expanded to become a universal explanation for all of culture, religion, and art.
CONTENT NOTE: This episode contains discussions of sex and sexuality from very early in the runtime (and more than one Hall and Oates reference). Please consider people around you — or your own tolerance for topics like incest and sexual assault — before listening.
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Sophocles (496 - 406 BCE) is considered the greatest of the great tragedians of Athens. In this episode, we take a look at his charmed life and at the play which, more than any other, has come to define his legacy: Oedipus Rex, which was probably staged in the 430s or 420s. It's basically a cold-case investigation that goes horribly, horribly wrong for its investigator.
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In our second episode on Sun-Tzu's The Art of War, we dive into the cultural movement that introduced it to the west: the first Jesuit mission to China. From 1552 until 1773, the missionary priests of the Society of Jesus were the primary channel for communication between China and Europe. While their main goal was the conversion of souls, they wound up sharing science, technology, and literature with their hosts and their hundreds of correspondents back home. Listen to the story of Jean Joseph Marie Amiot (1718-1793), who was the first writer to translate The Art of War into a European language, and a member of the last generation of Jesuit pioneers in China. Harpsichord music optional.
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"Know your enemy, know yourself, and victory is never in doubt, not in a hundred battles." So wrote the legendary Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu sometime in the 6th or possibly 5th or possibly 4th century BCE. While Sun Tzu's existence and the exact date of the composition of the text associated with his name are uncertain, the work has influenced commanders, diplomats, C-suite executives, and World Cup-winning soccer coaches for more than two thousand years.
In this episode, host Rose Judson walks through all 13 chapters of The Art of War and is surprised to find that a good two-thirds of it could be called The Art of Avoiding War Until You Absolutely Can't Anymore.
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If Herodotus is the father of history, who are some of his children? This episode looks into it. Starting with a brief look at Herodotus's reputation down the ages, we examine the works of three ancient historians whose works can be said to derive from our pal Herodotus. They include:
We also check in with the 26th American president, Teddy Roosevelt, who had some thoughts about history as literature. Bully!
Note: Thanks to Procopius, this episode discusses quite a bit of sexual content. Please use discretion when listening.
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Last week we summarized books 1-5 of Herodotus's Histories. This week we cover books 6-9, which is heaving with military history. Marathon! Thermopylae! Salamis! While not as entertaining as the initial parts of the Histories, there are some iconic scenes and characters to meet here, from surprisingly sensitive Xerxes to the brave, doomed Spartan King Leonidas. Listen now!
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Year two begins with a two-part summary episode! Herodotus of Halicarnassus (c. 484 - 425 BCE) wrote his epic history of the Greco-Persian wars and was an instant sensation. The Histories ("history" in those days meaning an inquiry or research) cover the rise of the Persians, the customs of all the peoples with whom they fought, architecture, geography, animals, religious practices, and smutty court gossip. This episode covers the first five books of The Histories, and (trigger warning) also mentions Dick Van Dyke.
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Fasting, abstaining from sex, risking the literal wrath of god - today's method actors have nothing on the pioneers of ancient Athenian drama. Following on from our episode about Aeschylus's Oresteia, this episode offers an overview of Greek tragedy and the theater - how it evolved from ritual, what actors and chorus members did on stage, and how an awful lot of the surrounding pageantry reminds our host Rose of the NFL.
Want to read a transcript or check out Rose's reading list for this episode? Click here. Don't forget to leave us a rating or review (and share us on your socials). Thanks for listening!
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Cycles of violence. Legacies handed from famous fathers to uncertain sons. The trajectory of a society moving from retribution to democracy and justice. Robert F. Kennedy probably did not have all these things in mind on April 4, 1968 when he announced the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. to a crowd in Indianapolis. But he brought them to the surface nevertheless by quoting the ancient Greek dramatist Aeschylus, father of tragedy in his successful attempt to keep the city at peace on that terrible night: "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."
It was a scene worthy of Aeschylus himself. This week, walk through the plot of the Oresteia, the only complete triology of Aeschylus's we still have. It tells the story of a family laboring under a curse, and how that curse came to be lifted.
To read the transcript of this play or browse our reading list and reference links, please click here. Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe us!
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Looking for some divine assistance on a tough decision? Have you considered shooting some arrows? Dropping oil in water? What about sacrificing a sheep? This week's episode uses the Book of Isaiah, the first work of prophecy on our reading list, as a springboard for looking at divination, magic, and prophecy in the ancient world.
Need a transcript or want to check out the references Rose used to write this episode? Click here to visit our website. Don't forget to rate and review us or share us on your socials!
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For episode 24, we return to the Hebrew Bible. By itself, the Book of Isaiah is one of humanity's most influential works of spiritual literature. In addition to laying the foundations of Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity, Isaiah has contributed dozens of phrases into our language, such as "swords into plowshares", "a little child shall lead them," and, of course, "a voice in the wilderness." Follow along with Rose Judson as she walks through it, talking you through the historical context, theories about how and where it was written, and, well, a few euphemisms for bodily functions.
Apologies for the sound quality in this episode: we had to re-record at short notice.
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Snarky, satirical, scatological - how did the original Aesop's Fables wind up getting sanitized for children? This week's episode follows the thread through two thousand years of interpretation and adaptation, from Roman villas to medieval scriptoria to French drawing rooms.
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Happy New Year! This is just a short announcement to let you all know that BoAT episode 23 will be out on January 9th. Also, we are coming to the end of the year 1 reading list! Year 2 will be out later this month. Prepare for a Greek drama overload, plus our first visit to Persia and, toward the end of the year, Rome!
Thanks for sticking with us this year! We appreciate each and every one of you, and wish you all the best for 2025.
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