Ad Navseam

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.

Giving Goliath his Due: Mycenaeans and Philistines, Part II (Ad Navseam, Episode 129)

It's time for Jeff and Dave to finish off their brief foray into all things Philistine and Mycenaean. This week we wrap up our look at Neal Bierling's short but deep monograph on the state of excavation in Palestine. After a quick review of inscriptional and ceramic evidence, the Phaistos Disc, anthropoid coffins, and more, the conversation takes us on to the different eras in Philistine history: Judges to David, David to Solomon, Solomon to Hezekiah, and finally to the eventual dissolution or absorption of the Philistine people at the time of Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar's devastating invasion. Things get a little testy in the vomitorium when it comes to the trickster archetype, Jungian analogues, and the exact relationship between Samson and Hercules (and Paul Bunyan?) So tune in for what we hope was a careful thinking through the issues, some silly laughs and (on Dave's part) horrible puns, and a big announcement from one of our sponsors, RatioCoffee.

Giving Goliath his Due: Mycenaeans and Philistines, Part I (Ad Navseam, Episode 128)

Does the name Neal Bierling mean anything to you, dear listener? No? Well it will after this episode. Bierling's 1992 monograph Giving Goliath his Due is our theme this week and next, and it's a thorough, exhaustively researched look at the close connection between the Mycenaeans of Atreus and Agamemnon and those inveterate opponents of the biblical Israelites known as the Philistines. In this first half, we look at the evidence of archaeology and epigraphy, including Egyptian steles and anthropoid burial objects, olive-oil production, feather headdresses, and Goliath's bronze-age armor. Along the way, learn of the Mice-smasher Apollo Smintheus, the Philistine's desperate attempt to return their war trophy the Ark of the Covenant, and the overwhelming, almost ironclad (get it?) evidence that the Mycenaeans who fought at Troy became the Philistines of the pentapolis (Gaza, Ashdod, Ekron, etc.) Don't miss the startling similarity between Iliad I and I Samuel 4-6.

Do the Rite Thing: The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Part II (Ad Navseam, Episode 127)

This week Jeff and Dave wrap up their two-part series on the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. Here we learn about Demophoon, infant child of Queen Metaneira of Eleusis. It seems he has a problem with mortality, and Demeter has the cure: nightly fire purgations. As the kids say, "srsly?" But things don't go so well when the blazing goddess of grain is caught in the act of burning off Demophoon's (not huggable but mortal) portions, and rather than wreak havoc on the innocent inhabitants of Eleusis, she decides to set up a cult and allow them to worship her. Meanwhile, what about Persphone? Hey girl, beware the pomegranate! Tune in for an update on Dave's Greece trip, the usual, blithe and bland banter, and maybe a pun or two about Grape Nuts. As the kids say, "Whaaa?"

No Pain, No Grain: The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Part I (Ad Navseam, Episode 126)

After a welcome hiatus for all of us (especially you, listener), Jeff and Dave are back in the studio for a look at the archaic hymn to the goddess Demeter. Was this intended to be used in the ritual and liturgy of the mystery cult, or is it just a breezy, Saturday afternoon matinee poem? Clocking in at 495 lines, how does this eypllion differ from the shorter poems from the seventh century? What is a mystery religion, how does this one compare to the cults of Mithras and Dionysus, and exactly how small do scientists intend to make tomatoes, while being sure we will still ingest them? Tune in for the answers to these and other pressing questions as the summer rolls along.

Whoa, Milo, Come on, Come On, Let’s Go: The Greatest Ancient Athlete (Ad Navseam, Episode 125)

This week Jeff and Dave talk about Milo of Croton, by all accounts the most accomplished athlete of antiquity. This incredible individual was the winner of multiple Olympiads, strongman, wrestler, supposedly deadlifting a stone of more than 1100lbs. The ancients like Pausanias, Galen, Strabo, Cicero and more were fascinated not only by his tremendous physical prowess, but equally by his enormous appetite for food and drink. Did he really eat an entire heifer in one sitting? Along the way we look at the Olympic Games, have a short travelogue to Olympia and Nemea, discuss Mohammed Ali, Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, Flo Jo, and more. It's summer, get out, be active, and take AdNavseam along on your workout. You won't regret it. Maybe if you do enough reps you can snap your headband, like Milo, just by flexing the blood vessels in your head!?

Use Your Allusion II: Classics in Pop Music (Ad Navseam, Episode 124)

Wait a minute…this STILL sounds like rock and/or roll, or at least the synthy stuff wants to. Join Johnny Pop Winkle and Ye Olde Curmudgeon for a look at seven songs inspired by the Classics. From Abba, to Clientele, Utopia, Perfect Circle and more, you'll get to hear Jeff's perfect aesthetic judgment tear like a buzz saw through Dave's carefully curated, gross ignorance of most "music" from 70s through to today. What rhymes with Lysistrata? And why not a song about Thesmophoriozusae? Should be catchy. Hey, it can't be all discussion of translating endusted Latin tomes, grave and staid epics, the dignity of man, and so forth. Kick back, tune in, and remember, at AdNavseam, you've got friends in low places.