Seven Heads, Ten Horns: The History of the Devil

This episode, Boethius uses Neoplatonic philosophy to prepare himself for his impending execution and to help Klaus and Travis understand why Batman is so miserable.Free online version of the Consolation of PhilosophyP.G. Walsh’s translation and introductionJames Marebon, “Boethius,” at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Bonus episode musings on Milton's Paradise Lost Book 2, creeping back to the first text we ever worked on for the pod, rethinking everything.Paradise Lost Book 2

This episode is all about non-Christian, Greek-philosophical perspectives on demons and their role in the universe that were developing around the formative stages of Christian theology. Neoplatonism would go on to influence late-ancient and medieval Christianity and so we start to track its effects in this episode.Neoplatonic Demons and Angels, ed. Luc BrissonPlotinus, EnneadsPorphyry, On Abstinence from Animal Food, Bk. 2“Iamblichus” by Riccardo Chiaradonna & Adrien Lecerf at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy“Plotinus” by Lloyd Gerson at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy“Porphyry” by Eyjólfur Emilsson at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

An interview with author S. Jonathon O’Donnell about their new book, Passing Orders, in which we discuss spiritual warfare, the Christian Right, and the complicated roles of demons in the political theology of empire. Don’t miss it.S. Jonathon O’Donnell, Twitter: @demonologianPassing Orders: Demonology and Sovereignty in American Spiritual Warfare **The idea mentioned in the episode that “people live in the contradictions” comes from this interview with Patrick Blanchfield on Know Your Enemy about Freud.**

Moby-Dick's dramatic return to the pod as he battles the Cape[Cod]d Crusader.Twitter for 1940s Batman vs. White Whale images: @klaus_yoderBattle Ave's music.Video for "My Year with the Wizard"

Back in the saddle for the official start of season 3.Sources:John Chrysostom, Homilies on Genesis & Against the Jews (The Translation and Introduction by Paul W. Harkins whose name we neglected to mention.)The Penance of Chrysostom by Giulio CampagnolaBen Dunning, Chrysostom’s Serpent: Animality, Gender, and CreationJames H. Charlesworth, The Good And Evil Serpent: How a Universal Symbol Became ChristianizedPauline Allen and Wendy Mayer, John Chrysostom

Watching Station Eleven through goggles tinted as red as a cartoon devil.Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaAG-SwEa7k

Finishing up our coverage of Ahab's centipede-legged soul and mortal combat against the white weasel, ahem, whale (Chs. 133 & 134). With this we bid season 2 adieu and look forward to sharing season 3 with you real soon.------The novel in html: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2701/2701-h/2701-h.htm#link2HCH0119The novel as a cool 1902 edition on pdf: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Moby_Dick/d4VNAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Massively unanticipated bonus pod on personified evil in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick inspired by a long drive across Pennsylvania. ----Moby-Dick as a cool podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/moby-dick-or-the-whale/id384525495?i=1000085154762As html: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2701/2701-h/2701-h.htm#link2HCH0041----Some secondary sources:Jonathon A Cook, Inscrutable Malice: Theodicy, Eschatology, and the Biblical Sources of “Moby-Dick.” Cornell University Press, 2012. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctv177tfgd.Leslie E. Sheldon, "Messianic power and satanic decay: Milton in Moby-Dick": muse.jhu.edu/article/495703.

This week's pod gets a little rowdy as Klaus and Travis discuss Gregory the Great, his demonology, and most especially his voluminous, and often hilarious, commentary on the Book of Job. With this episode we're wrapping up season 2. We'll be back soon getting medieval on season 3 and in the interim some stand-alone episodes may appear in the feed. Thanks for your support!------Our main primary source, Gregory's Moralia in Job: Secondary Sources:George E. Demacopoulos, Gregory the Great: Ascetic, Pastor, and First Man of RomeCharlotte Kingston, “Taking the Devil at his Word: The Devil and Language in the Dialogues of Gregory the Great”