025 The Reforms of Solon
In this episode, we discuss the life and deeds of the great Athenian statesman, Solon, who, from his position of sole archonship, enacted various economic, political, and legal reforms that would late...
12 Dec 201655min
024 Early Athens
In this episode, we discuss the early history of Athens beginning with its mythical past, and how and why the later Athenians promoted and propagandized these myths, with a particular focus on their f...
5 Dec 201655min
023 THIS IS SPARTA
In this episode, we discuss the inner-workings of Sparta's unique political, economic, and social system; included are the diarchy (dual hereditary kingship), the gerousia (council of elders), the ape...
5 Sep 20161h 8min
022 Sparta Ascendant
In this episode, we discuss the early history of the polis of Lakedaimon (Sparta), including their expansion in the southern Peloponnesos with the 1st and 2nd Messenian Wars (that brought about the fo...
29 Aug 201657min
021 Athletics and the Panhellenic Games
In this episode, we discuss the culturally unifying importance of the four major Panhellenic festivals in the Greek world (Olympic, Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemean); the history and evolution of the ath...
22 Aug 201651min
020 The Intellectual Revolution
In this episode, we describe the new schools of thought that began to percolate in the 6th century BC about our existence and role in this universe absent from the gods, and we detail the lives, influ...
15 Aug 201655min
019 Poets and Wise Rulers
In this episode, we discuss part 2 of 2 on the influential poets whose writings give us insight into the economic, social, and political happenings that reshaped Archaic Greece; in particular, we look...
8 Aug 201654min
018 From Epic to Lyric
In this episode, we discuss the literary changes that took place in the 7th and 6th centuries BC (moving away from grand epic to the more personalized lyric, elegiac, and iambic forms of poetry); and ...
1 Aug 201636min
