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Does the New Testament Imitate Homer? Four Cases from the Acts of the Apostles (Ad Navseam, Episode 181)

In 2003, Dennis R. MacDonald published an important monograph with Yale University Press entitled: Does the New Testament Imitate Homer? Four Cases from the Acts of the Apostles. In the provocative opening salvo, MacDonald explains: ‘"'Who would claim that the writing of prose is not reliant on the Homeric poems?' This rhetorical question by a teacher of rhetoric requires a negative answer: no ancient intellectual would have doubted that the Iliad and the Odyssey informed the composition of prose, including potentially the stories of the New Testament." Come along this week as Jeff and Dave tackle the big questions about the form-criticism take on the New Testament vs. imitation (μίμησις). MacDonald lays out his six criteria, and we get into the nit and grit of some first century compositional realities. Is MacDonald's thesis ultimately persuaive? Did Luke in Acts imitate Vergil, Homer, neither, or something else altogether? It's a complicated topic, for sure, with a long and thus far intractable history.

Ave atque Vale: Catullus' Goodbye to his Brother, Poem 101 (Ad Navseam, Episode 180)

Neoteric poetry is on the menu this week, as the guys take a close look at what Dave considers the most beautiful and moving poem from antiquity: Catullus 101. This is the famous threnody that Gaius Valerius Catullus (87-55 B.C.) addressed to his brother's ashes in Bithynia around 57 BC. The haunting lines of elegiac couplet compress a world of sorrow and sadness into 10 short verses. Along the way, Jeff explains how Catullus might have been a beat poet, and there's much discussion of what was driving the art and culture of the time. The one gentleman of Verona, the place that was a kind of Roman Hocking Hills, made his way to the capital city at the age of 22 and quickly put his name in lights with his brilliant and racy poetry addressed to cow-eyed Lesbia. Listeners will want to tune in for the new music, a brand-new sponsor (dellachelpka.art), and the usual, though moderated - given the weighty subject matter - hijinks. Check out A.S. Kline's translation of the poem here: https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/Catullus.php#anchor_Toc531846828

H.I. Marrou’s A History of Education in Antiquity, Part XVI (Ad Navseam, Episode 179)

It's time to blind you with some science! Jeff and Dave follow Marrou's masterful tome (Part II, Chapter VIII) back through the centuries to see what place the other, non-literary side of the education coin held in antiquity. In contrast to present-day obsessions with STEM, we learn that while branches of mathematics were held up as an ideal, they never really took pride of place in the general education of Greeks and Romans. Instead, despite Plato's and Isocrates' best efforts, much like today math was left to the experts. In fact, when the ancients did get their math, geometry, music, and astronomy on, they preferred them with a heaping dose of myth, magic, and mysticism (we're looking at you, Pythagoras). Come along for maybe the worst ever opening gag, some Mike Rowe inspired musings, a quick look at the Greek terror of infinity, and much more. Plus: the long-awaited drawing for the Ratio 4. Who will win?

Writing Imperial History: Tacitus from Agricola to Annales with Bram ten Berge (Ad Navseam, Episode 178)

The guys are excited this week to welcome into the studio (via Zoom) their colleague from Hope College Dr. Bram ten Berge. After coming close to a career in professional tennis (more on that in the show), Bram finished his B.A. in Classics at U. Miss and matriculated through U. Mich, graduating with the PhD in 2016. In this episode, we get to ask Bram, a topshelf scholar of Roman history and a specialist in Tacitus (c. 55-120 A.D.), all manner of recondite questions. Bram helps us sort through Tacitus' political consistency, his historiographical program, relevance to contemporary politics, and questions of Latin style. Based on his outstanding 2023 book Writing Imperial History: Tacitus from Agricola to Annales, Bram's acute expertise and conversational style are sure to appeal to aficionados of Roman history. If you like Tacitus and the writing of res gestae, this episode is game : set : match!

"Women of Trachis": Sophocles' Forgotten Play, Part II (Ad Navseam, Episode 177)

Jeff and Dave wrap up their look at Sophocles' Trachiniae this week, guided along by the inisghts of scholars such as Edwin Carawan and Charles Segal, whom you may remember from such things as what they wrote! Here's the crux of the matter: is the heroine Deianeira just a dopey, duped wallflower, innocently distributing hydra-soaked cardigans to kith and kin? The wronged party, seeking to salvage the remnants of a once healthy marriage? Or, is she actually a calculating, Machiavellian murderess, plotting all along against her rival Iole, more in the mold of Euripides' Medea or Phaedra? And what do we think about Heracles? Villain, hero, both? Along the way, have your imagination stimulated by frequent comparisons to the dynamics of Odysseus' family, the occasional snackish twang, and some free onomastic pointers. And, it's not too late to use coupon code PATRICKS17 or 10plus on the latinperdiem.com site to start your Greek or Latin journey.

"Women of Trachis": Sophocles' Forgotten Play, Part I (Ad Navseam, Episode 176)

This week the guys begin their look at Sophocles' "Women of Trachis", the one play among the surviving Sophoclean tragedies that scholars have scratched their heads over. The general feeling is that it's underdeveloped, lacking central themes, and  just a mish-mash of other traditions. But is this true? Dave and Jeff explore the play's Herculean mythic background, and some Sophoclean tweaks to see if there might just be some hidden gems here. Note the empathy and heartache of Deianira, balanced by the coldness and suspicion of Heracles. Could it be that the academics were wrong about this one? Shocking, we know. 

The Milkman Goeth: Lactantius, Christian Cicero Part II (Ad Navseam, Episode 175)

This week Jeff and Dave are back in the studio to discuss the leading light of early fourth-century Christian rhetoric. 'No whey', you say? Yes, it's true. The guys again take a look at the North African rhetorical tradition that produced such greats of Christian apologetics as Minucius Felix, Tertullian, Cyprian of Carthage, and Arnobius of Sicca. What should we make of Lactantius' accomplishment? Is he really the crème de la crème, or merely pushed forward by inevitable social forces, not an instance of the 'great man theory'? And what about his rhetorical feats in the grisly Deaths of the Persecutors, Divine Institutes, God's Workmanship, and more? Was Pico della Mirandola correct that Lactantius "equalled Cicero, or maybe even surpassed him in eloquence"? Come along for the ride as we wrap up this two-parter on the man who was well suited to his times, interacting with the cabbage-loving Diocletian, a host of enemies of the Christian faith, and even the big guy, Constantine. And bee sure to check out Dave's free Latin lessons here:
Deaths of the Persecturors
Epitome of the Divine Institutes
 

The Milkman Cometh: Lactantius, Christian Cicero Part I (Ad Navseam, Episode 174)

This week the guys teeter on the edge of Late Antiquity, caught in that liminal space between pagan and Christian, west and east, Latin and Greek. And what better guide through it than Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius (the "Milkman"), the early Christian apologist who converted to the faith during Diocletian's persecution and ended up working for Constantine? Dave and Jeff spend the hour trying to assemble the threadbare, but fascinating biography of the man, all the while investigating such questions as: where does Lactantius stand in the larger picture of apologetics? What was his career like before his conversion? What does it mean to call him the "Christian Cicero"? And what's with all these North Africans punching above their weight? Is there something in that Carthaginian coffee? Lastly, speaking of coffee, if you're out driving and the brew in your tumbler is less than ideal, just try to keep 'er steady, ok? (Don't ask, just tune in).

The Golden Age of the Classics in America by Carl Richard, Part V (Ad Navseam, Episode 173)

This week Jeff and Dave leave aside that French guy (H.I. Marsomething) and go back to their OTHER book series, Carl Richard. What was happening in the early 19th century after the American founding? Pastoralism! Oh, the idyllic life of lounging with livestock, as the kine low loudly through the meadows. But there is also the counterattack of utilitarianism. After all, the business of America is business. So which view is going to dominate American culture? Will it be the Jeffersonian gentleman farmer, with his 40 acres, picturesque outhouses and a landscape larded with Roman villas (paging Wendell Berry)? Or will it be a Hamiltonian mercantile paradise, with everyone trading with their neighbor? And where do the Classics fit in all this? Come along as we take a Thoreau look at this question, complete with the Yale Report of Jeremiah Day, the full-scale assult on Classical languages, the counter-attack, and the daring denouement. You won't wanna miss this one. Listen up, or go barbarian.

Tomb it May Concern: Manolis Andronikos and Philip II at Vergina (Ad Navseam, Episode 172)

On November 8th, 1977 archaeologist Manolis Andronikos made public one of the greatest finds of all time—the royal Macedonian tombs at Aigai (modern day Vergina), including what is likely the tomb of Philipp II himself. This week, the guys walk through this remarkable story and frame it within the chaotic historical context of the decline of Athens and the rise of Macedon in the 4th century BC. Using David Grant’s recent book, Unearthing the Family of Alexander the Great (Pen and Sword Military, 2019), Dave and Jeff address a number of the ongoing controversies surrounding the finds—why did these tombs survive while most others have been found looted? Is it really Philipp II in the larnax? If so, who is the mysterious “Scythian Queen” in the antechamber? Along the way, sample a bit of Demosthenes' Second Philippic, prepare yourself for Smarch weather, and soak up the inanities.