The Complex Culture of Passivity and Furious Activity

I talk to professor of classical history Carlin Barton about her book Roman Honor: The Fire in the Bones. Honor has played a huge role manliness across time and cultures. Professor Barton and I discuss what honor meant to the Romans, how it governed their lives, and what it meant to Roman masculinity. Professor Barton explains the how the Romans distinguished males from men and how a male gained status as a "man" and the role male extendibility had in that process. Later on in our conversation, we talk about the decline of honor in Ancient Rome and the rise of philosophies like Stoicism during the civil wars and the rise of the Roman Empire. It's a fascinating discussion.