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H.I. Marrou’s A History of Education in Antiquity, Part V (Ad Navseam, Episode 139)

This week, Jeff and Dave continue on their stroll through the wonders of Marrou's volume on ancient education. Specifically, they look at Chapter V and the question of the Sophists. Men like Protagoras, Gorgias, and Prodicus were doing something new and unusual at the close of the fifth century, no doubt. And that something was -- wait for it -- selling education! Many arch-conservatives like Plato and Aristophanes did not take to it kindly. But is there any way to sort the wheat from the chaff? How can we know that what Plato tells us about the Sophists is the genuine article, and not just some envious hyperbole? Were these traveling salesman peddling snake oil, or could they really teach how to govern a state properly, the πολιτικὴ τέχνη. And if so, does that constitute ἐπιστήμη? Come along for a lively discussion, complete with the usual round of questionable puns, absurd asides, and just a dash of inanity. Before long, you'll be eating at the Midway food court just like the rest of us. Did someone say M-Burger?

The Roman Mysteries: A Conversation with Bestselling Children’s Author Caroline Lawrence (Ad Navseam, Episode 138)

This week the guys have the honor of interviewing kids/young adult author Caroline Lawrence (The Roman Mysteries and Roman Quests series, along with many others!) Ms. Lawrence is beaming in to us from London, where she writes her books overlooking the mighty Thames itself. And she's no pretender when it comes to the Classics--she comes to London by way of Classics degrees from Berkeley and Cambridge. Tune in to hear about her own fascinating journey from enthusiast to author, about how she shapes her stories from visits to museums and archaeological sites, and about how she incorporates her knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew into her fiction. We're sure you'll come away with a new love for Hero Journeys, for following one's passions, for London itself and maybe even apotropaic pillows!

H.I. Marrou’s A History of Education in Antiquity, Part IV (Ad Navseam, Episode 137)

This week the guys tackle Chapter IV of H.I. Marrou's monumental work, entitled "The 'Old' Athenian Education".  Relying on Aristophanes, Thucydides, Solon, and others, Marrou explains how the Athenians decided to lay down their weapons within society, and soon after education was democratized. So, “the decisive step" was taken from a warrior to a scribe culture, and education was no longer exclusively military. There was a predictable reaction from conservative elites: they sprinted to their Formula 1 roadsters, hotrodding their chariots like any Verstappen, Leclerc, or Russell. Long-haired, aristocratic young dandies stuck to their horses, even as the common peasant, baker, or cobbler sent his son off to the schools of the rhetors to learn how to make the weaker argument stronger. With this new aristocratic ideal, the development of new institutions was needed, and thus was born the epoch-making school. And despite Socrates' trenchant skepticism that arete can be taught, many claimed to teach it, and thus Sophistry surged (which takes us to Chapter V and next time). So, tune in for the Solonic Greek couplets, the KALOKAGATHIA, the mid-winter Michigan nasal congestion, the brawny chicken (Pollo Loco!), and at least one atrocious limerick.

Legend-tripping at Bunnyman Bridge: American Urban Legends and Classical Mythological Tropes (Ad Navseam, Episode 136)

This week the guys tackle the subject of American Urban Legends with an eye to what classical cultural and narrative archetypes tell us about why these weirdo tales can be so, well, weird. Jeff eagerly (a little too eagerly, Dave might say) drags us into those liminal spaces as we recount the odd tale of the hatchet-wielding, murderous Bunnyman of Clifton, Virginia who creepily lies in wait at the train trestle known as Bunnyman Bridge. All kinds of questions to tackle here: Why do so many urban legends take place at bridges and crossroads? Why are so many of the creatures involved “composite monsters”? Could we see kids visiting these creepy sites at midnight as a kind of “do-it-yourself” coming of age ritual? Why are most urban legends not “urban”?

H.I. Marrou’s A History of Education in Antiquity, Part III (Ad Navseam, Episode 135)

This episode is part 3 of the guys’ walk-through of Marrou’s seminal book on education in antiquity. We pick up where the last episode left off with a wrap-up of ancient Spartan education and a look at several questions: What caused Spartan artistic culture to (fairly quickly) calcify and disappear? To what degree can we actually know what Spartan education was, given that so much of our information is filtered through the so-called “Spartan Mirage” loved by Athenian aristocrats?  Then we turn our attention to the delicate matter of the role of pederasty or “Greek Love” in ancient education, not out of any salacious or prurient motive but because—to paraphrase Xenophon—any discussion of ancient Greek education would be incomplete without tackling this subject.

H.I. Marrou’s A History of Education in Antiquity, Part II (Ad Navseam, Episode 134)

The guys are back for Round 2 in our look at the history of education in antiquity through the lens of Marrou’s book.  This time we zero in on the ancient Spartans.  Wait, Spartans???  Weren’t those guys just a bunch of beefed-up lunkheads whose only education was how to better kill the enemy on the battlefield?  Well, not quite.  In fact, we learn that the Spartans actually led the way when it came to a number of arts—poetry, music, dance—in addition to their noted emphasis on physical fitness.  They did, however, have issues when it came to spelling and ancient versions of spandex.  Don’t ask, just tune in!

H.I. Marrou’s A History of Education in Antiquity, Part I (Ad Navseam, Episode 133)

Join us this week as Dave and Jeff launch le paquebot onto the deep waters of pedagogical history, namely, H. I. Marrou's seminal work The History of Education in Antiquity. Written in 1956 by a very learned Frenchman, and translated into English by Charles Lamb, the work is a sweeping review, artfully written, of how education functioned from the very beginnings of Western civilization down to the end of antiquity in the fifth century A.D. With Marrou as guide, the guys begin to examine such pressing questions as, what's a proper definition of education, can Classical education exist today, and, will they succeed in escaping the book's Introduction before the clock runs down on the episode? Join us for the first in this multi-parter.

Io Wanna be a Cowboy: Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, Part III (Ad Navseam, Episode 132)

This week Jeff and Dave wrap up their 3-parter on Aeschylus' famous play. When Io mooves onto the scene, her first impulse is to show compassion for the shackled Promy, even though she herself is writhing in gadfly-induced agony. Why? To seek an answer, we take a long look at the thesis of Stephen White, namely that the play subtly reinforces ancient Greek gender roles: women are to be complaisant and domestic (something Io has transgressed), while men's ingenuity ought not threaten the social order (as Prometheus has done). But is this a persuasive way to look at the plot, or even helpful? What does the play mean, and can Bernad Knox shed any light on that question? Stick around, and we'll get it all sorted.

Hey, I’ma be Liver Now: Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, Part II (Ad Navseam, Episode 131)

It's time for round two of Aeschylus' tragedy Prometheus Bound, and Dave and Jeff are back at it with a careful look at the role of Ocean in his dialogue with the titular hero. Relying on the work of David Konstan, the guys discuss some of the interesting dynamics at play in the stichomythia, as well as some inner workings of the chorus of Ocean's daughters, the Oceanids. Is there a political subtext of democracy and tyranny at work here? How does the poet deal with universal and timeless themes of suffering and hardship against the very real background of fifth-century Athenian politics? How does this piece compare to the poet's own Agamemnon, Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, or Euripides' Hippolytus? Tune in as we rely on Prof. Deborah Roberts' excellent translation and notes to take us through the deceptively simple plot of this timeless masterpiece. Warning: there are some awful puns strewn throughout this show.

We Didn’t Steal the Fire: Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, Part I (Ad Navseam, Episode 130)

This week Jeff and Dave - with the help of Prof. Deborah Roberts (Emerita, Haverford College) - begin their look at tragedian Aeschylus' magnum opus, Prometheus Bound. We get started with Prof. Roberts providing a lovely reading of the central passage of the play, in which Prometheus explains the many kindnesses he has wrought for the human race. Then we follow up by setting the table with the briefest of looks at the development of tragedy. Next, we dig into the main course with a bit of Greek from the play's opening, and the fascinating dialogue between smith god Hephaestus and the personifications Power (Κράτος) and Violence (Βία). In addition to examining the perennial central questions of how this telling differs from Hesiod, whether Zeus can be just while mistreating so severely one of his own – who fought for him in fact in his war against the other Titans – we also take a few glances at the vexed question of who really wrote the play. And if threnodic literature is not your cup of tea, don't worry, there are many wretched puns and inane surrealities along the way.