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Ad Navseam Episode 23: Down on the Pharmaka—Homer’s Odyssey, Part 2

This week Dave and Jeff clamber aboard a trireme and follow Telemachus as he leaves Ithaca (for the first time?) and heads to the Peloponnese in search of news of his missing father. After leaving Nestor (and escaping his grumpy old man, “back in my day” monologues) it’s on to Sparta to visit Menelaus and Helen. Here things are so tense that Helen has to mix some sort of magic sedative into the Mountain Dew. Stick around for Menelaus and Helen’s strikingly different versions of the Trojan Horse story, and possible answers to the questions “Could the Trojan War have been avoided if they had just had better coffee?” and “Who cares what Jeff wore on his first day of high school?”

Ad Navseam Episode 22: When will Dad be Home? - Homer's Odyssey, Part 1

In this first of countless (?) episodes on the Odyssey, Jeff and Dave wash ashore on the opening books, Castaway style. Here we find Odysseus’ wife and son, Penelope and Telemachus, besieged in their home on Ithaca by greedy, gluttonous, mindless suitors, and with no idea when Odysseus is ever coming home. As with the Iliad, we consider the first word of the poem — ἄνδρα (andra, man) — and investigate how this might be a guidestone for understanding the epic’s deeper themes. Other key questions: will Telemachus rise to the occasion? How do the meanings of names (glint-eyed Athena) give us insight into character? And what’s Lazy Steve doing in this neck of the woods? Don’t miss the concluding yogurt.

Ad Navseam Episode 21: Cowboy Up, Verg! Eclogue One and the Origins of Augustan Literature

This week Dave and Jeff gambol off near sylvan fields to tackle the earliest example of Vergil’s poetry, the Eclogues. In Eclogue 1 we meet the shepherd Meliboeus lamenting to his friend Tityrus: "How'd I get evicted?" Meanwhile, Tityrus plays his oaten pipes and suggests Rome is over-rusticating. You’ll hear the amoeboean bees a-buzzing and the cattle a-lowing (with a digression on Psalm 23) as we investigate the deeper meanings of bucolic imagery, Greek precedents, and pressed cheeses. Look! Octavian Augustus, smack dab in the center of Vergil’s poetic programme. Speaking of programs, you’ll need one to tell your willows from your chestnuts from your tamarisks from your cypresses from your low-lying myrtles.

Ad Navseam Episode 20: A Lion at the Gates - The Battle of Thermopylae, Part 2

Late August, 480 BC. The tension in the pass finally gives way to violence and for the first two days of battle the Persians learn their wicker wear can't match Spartan discipline. Xerxes gets throne-hopping mad until a local traitor (Ephialtes - boo!) tells him of the mountain pass that will allow him to outflank the Greeks below. Leonidas has excruciating choices to make and resigns himself to death, but not before dropping a series of action hero one-liners that had Schwarzeneggar taking notes. So molon over, don’t linger in the labe, and rest easy—the bon mots in this one fly so thick you’ll be listening in the shade.

Ad Navseam Episode 19: A Lion at the Gates - The Battle of Thermopylae, Part 1

Is this Shhhparta?  In this episode Jeff and Dave (with help from Peter Green) make their way toward the narrow pass at Thermopylae and lay the groundwork for one of the most crucial and mythic battles in the history of Western civilization.  What led up to this heroic and tragic encounter?  We watch as Darius the Great gets out-run at Marathon, Darius’ son Xerxes I seeks revenge with a horde of wicker-wearing Immortals, and the Greeks squabble over where to make a stand and how to pronounce “isthmus”.  Join us by channeling your inner Leonidas and inexplicably brushing up on your Scottish accent. 

Ad Navseam Episode 18: Cranks for the Memories – William Perkins, Alexander Dicson, and the Ars Memoriae

Don’t forget to join us this week as we ask the question, “What’s the best way to develop a super memory?” 16th century memory mavens William Perkins and Alexander Dicson each thought he knew best, and the result was a full-on, throttle-your-Aristotle dustup. Leaning on more familiar thinkers Giordano Bruno and Peter Ramus, P and D hash out competing memory systems. Should it be image-based, or use dialectical trees? Do walnuts and a decent haircut help? Come along with us for a tour de force of – wait, what was that again? And be sure to check our social media for a free giveaway of the big fat Perkins Volume 6.

Ad Navseam Episode 17: “Honey, I’m Home!”—Alcestis, Part 2

This week Dave and Jeff wrap up their journey through Euripides’ Alcestis and the second half has everything—weeping, wailing, sarcastic dads, guest stars on their way to wrangle flesh-eating horses.  You know, typical theater fare.  Yes, Admetus continues his mope-a-thon, but suddenly Heracles himself shows up and who hasn’t been in that cliched situation where you’re trying juggle a funeral and a call-the-cops house party?  Then hang on tight for the twist ending.  What does it all mean?  Is it time for cheering or more mourning?  Strange, silent, veiled women showing up at the last minute have a way of unsettling a household.

Ad Navseam Episode 16: “Euripides? Eubuyides!”—Alcestis, Part 1

This week Dave and Jeff wade into the deep waters of Greek Tragedy for the first time with a two-part look at Euripides’ Alcestis. Even devotees of tragedy may not be familiar with this one! But before we get there we poke around at a few questions: why did tragedy arise in Athens?  Why did actors wear masks, and what's a deus ex machina? Then it’s on to Euripides himself—a poet well ahead of his time and the man the Athenians loved to hate—and his macabre marital masterpiece Alcestis. Apollo and Thanatos (NOT the purple guy) trade rap-battle insults while hubby Admetus behaves so insufferably maybe you’d die to get away from him too!

Ad Navseam Episode 15: I Can't Spare a Square! - Horror Vacui and the Dipylon Vase

Filling every nook and cranny, Jeff and Dave this week focus on their fears, and the 8th century B.C. pottery masterpiece known as the Dipylon Vase. What drives an artist and a culture to create a work like this in which every inch of the surface is covered? Is there something to this “fear of the empty space”?  What about the funeral scene that dominates the titular objet d'art, and when is that crunchy, creamy Jif sponsorship coming through?  So come on in for a whirlwind tour of early Greek art, play a quick game of Where’s Waldopolous?, and even learn about Edward Hopper’s influence on Alfred Hitchcock.  And don’t forget to water the ferns…unless you’re a pteridophobe, that is.

Ad Navseam Episode 14: Cicero Falls at Formiae - A Date which will Live in Infamy

This week Dave and Jeff take a sober look at the political assassination of Marcus Tullius Cicero, December 7, 43 B.C. As Octavian and Mark Antony reach détente, heads must roll. And first on the platter is that of poor Tully. Come along as we take the train out of Rome from Termini station on a gray January day and head down to Formiae. We recount the last hours of the famous orator with the help of Plutarch and Dio Cassius. Though he died without a fight, Cicero spent his last months excoriating the wild debauchery of Mark Antony in his famous Philippics.  Finally, join your hosts on a walk up the path to the great man's so-called tomb.  What is this place?  Is Cicero actually buried here?  Does it commemorate the spot of his death instead?  Or was it, maybe, just an ancient Subway restaurant?  Listen fresh.