The First Pre-Columbian Explorers to Reach North America
Have you ever wondered if there was a group to reach North America before Christopher Columbus? Find out more in today's bonus episode from another Parthenon podcast "History of North America." Join h...
15 Mar 202410min
A Classicist Believes that Homer Directly Dictated the Iliad, and Was Also an Excellent Horseman
The Iliad is the world’s greatest epic poem—heroic battle and divine fate set against the Trojan War. Its beauty and profound bleakness are intensely moving, but great questions remain: Where, how, an...
14 Mar 202453min
In 1860, Damascus Nearly Committed Genocide Against Christians. How Did it Pull Back?
On July 9, 1860, a violent mob swept through the Christian quarters of Damascus. For eight days, violence raged, leaving 5,000 Christians dead, thousands of shops looted, and churches, houses, and mon...
12 Mar 202453min
Silk: The History of a Fabric That Was Civilization’s First Burial Cloth, Body Armor, and Much More
Silk—prized for its lightness, luminosity, and beauty—is also one of the strongest biological materials ever known. More than a century ago, it was used to make the first bulletproof vest, and yet sci...
7 Mar 202441min
Frank Lloyd Wrong – When America’s Greatest Architect Created His Masterpiece While Written-Off as a Has-Been
Nobody blossomed late in life like Frank Lloyd Wright. He was written off as a has-been by middle age after a promising start. Between 1909 and 1929, Wright’s career was marked by personal turmoil and...
5 Mar 202446min
Frederick Rutland, Britain’s Most Beloved WW1 Pilot, Became a Spy for Imperial Japan
Frederick Rutland was an accomplished aviator, British WWI war hero, and real-life James Bond. He was the first pilot to take off and land a plane on a ship, a decorated warrior for his feats of brave...
29 Feb 202436min
The Rise and Fall of the Global Age of Piracy (17-19th Centuries)
Piracy didn’t spring into existence in the 18th century Caribbean. It has existed as long as there has been commercial shipping and people to steal the goods. There were medieval pirates. Vikings love...
27 Feb 202444min
A WW2 Polish Diplomat Forged Thousands of Paraguayan Passports to Save Jews from the Holocaust
Between 1940 and 1943, Polish diplomats based in Bern, Switzerland, engaged in a remarkable – and until now, almost completely untold – humanitarian operation. This operation was one of the largest ac...
22 Feb 202448min
