Books of Titans Podcast

Homer (Simpson, not the epic poet) once said that alcohol is the “cause of... and solution to... all of life's problems.” I think of that quote when I think of the god Dionysus (also known as Bacchus). Dionysus is the god of joy and celebration, but also madness and violence. The god of inspiration and intoxication. He’s the god the indwells through wine, which can both bring happiness and cause drunkenness.The women who follow Dionysus are called Maenads or Bacchants. They worship outside of the city (Thebes in this tragedy play) and partake in rituals that are at first described as orderly. In fact, Tiresias, the blind seer, says that “Even in a Bacchic revel, a woman who is really virtuous will not be corrupted.”We see quite quickly that the rituals are far from orderly. The revels quickly descend into chaos, with the Maenads attacking a nearby town, stealing children, and ripping animals apart.Pentheus, the king of Thebes tries to stop this madness by battling Dionysus himself, who has taken on human form. Dionysus’ goal is to show that he is indeed a god. He convinces the king to explore his curiosity and witness one of the dances by the women. This is forbidden and so Pentheus must don women’s clothing. Perched upon a tree, the women see him, get him down, and promptly rip him to shreds. His mother leads the charge, unaware that she is killing her own son.The recognition scene of all recognition scenes has Pentheus’ mother slowly realize she is not carrying the head of a lion but rather the head of her son. Dionysus has not only destroyed an enemy in Pentheus but has destroyed a devoted worshipper, Pentheus’ mother. Dionysus leaves destruction in his wake, but all those involved do end up realizing he is a god.There’s a lot going on in this play. I had to read it twice to understand it. The lines of the chorus were beautiful. The verbal battles between Pentheus and Dionysus were fascinating. The tragedy at the end, brutal. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

What if everything you knew of Helen of Troy wasn’t true? That she didn’t go with Paris to Troy. That instead, she was whisked away to Egypt while the Greeks and Trojans battled it out over her phantom.That’s the storyline of Helen by Euripides. It brings into question perception vs reality. It provides Helen a way to redeem her name. And it makes for an absolutely brilliant and entertaining tragedy play about the most famous woman in Greek literature.In this episode, I cover the storyline, main themes, and the one thing that struck me most about this tragedy. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

Homer doesn’t mention her but she permeates the Iliad. Without her, Aeschylus’ Oresteia doesn’t pack the same punch. Her story is so tragic that Euripides doesn’t let this play end as it should. He has her whisked away so she is not sacrificed.Her name is Iphigenia. She’s the daughter of Agamemnon, the King of the Greeks. This play takes place before the Iliad, before the Trojan War. The Greeks with their 1000 ships are headed to Troy to reclaim Helen. But Agamemnon has messed up. He hunted one of Artemis’ sacred deer. The winds have stopped. The winds that are required for the Greeks to sail to Troy. They are stuck in Aulis.There’s only one way to fix this. Artemis demands a sacrifice. Not your typical sacrifice. This one will hurt. And it will hurt Agamemnon. Artemis demands the human sacrifice of Iphigenia in order for the winds to pick back up and lead the army to Troy.I’ve seen this story referenced often in Greek literature. I’ve wondered how it actually happened. How did Agamemnon justify this? Did Clytemnestra his wife know what was about to happen? Did she try to stop him? What did Achilles think of all this? His name was used as a pretext to lure Iphigenia to Aulis in hopes of a wedding.This is tragedy at its finest. An impossible situation. Damned if you do; damned if you don’t. Necessity brought by the gods.This is my favorite tragedy play by Euripides of his surviving 19. This helps in understanding the conflict between Agamemnon and Achilles in the Iliad and between Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in The Oresteia.In this episode, I give a brief outline of the tragedy, share themes and things I learned, and talk about the one thing that stuck out the most.Show Notes:I read the Penguin Classics version of this play translated by John Davie with intro/notes by Dr. Richard Rutherford This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

That’s such a brutal painting. Orestes has stabbed his own mother and the furies are immediately there to torment him. The story of Orestes was explored by each of the three main Greek tragedy playwrights, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Aeschylus set the standard with The Oresteia, Sophocles approached it through Electra, and Euripides through both Orestes & Electra.Orestes if a fascinating character study. He kills his mother Clytemnestra in vengeance of her killing her husband, Orestes’ father, Agamemnon. Agamemnon had sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia. Orestes thinks he is just. Clytemnestra thinks she is just. Agamemnon thinks he had to do what he had to do.Who is just? How is that determined? Can justice be meted out eye for an eye? What about in the case of a death? The wronged party cannot seek justice. Someone must do it on their behalf. How does that cycle end?These are the questions that come up in Orestes. It caused me to think about ways in which these cycles of violence could end. I share this ideas in this episode. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

“In fact, free speech may well be the most powerful engine of equality ever devised by human kind.”Free Speech by Jacob Mchangama presents a thorough and fascinating look at the history of free speech through the ages. What’s amazing is that free speech is a rather recent phenomenon, is quite fragile, and most of the people I consider to be the bulwarks of free speech were not as principled as I thought.I got to meet Jacob last week and hear more about this book at an event at Landmark Booksellers. I talk a bit about that and the question I asked him as well as cover some key themes from his book.If you’d like to watch the event at Landmark, you can do so here: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

A few years ago, I read a book about a coffee entrepreneur. It was really good. I immediately thought about a new friend of mine who worked at a coffee shop. I bought the book for him and met up a few weeks later to hear what he thought. His comments shocked me.He thanked me for the book and said it was the first full book he had read since college. This was a man in his early 30s, which means he hadn’t read a book in nearly 10 years.I think that’s where a lot of adults find themselves. Life gets busy. Work becomes the focus. Family, kids, activities, yard work. And now, all of those minutes in the margins are consumed with scrolling. It’s an addiction few of us can break.So how can we get into reading and then become better at it as adults?That’s the focus of this podcast episode. I hope you enjoy. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

Euripides’ Phoenician Women mimics the Aeschylus tragedy Seven Against Thebes with some key differences. One of those is the composition of the members of the chorus. Aeschylus chose Theban women as the members of his chorus but Euripides selected foreign slave women from Tyre en route to Delphi. They don’t have skin in the game like the Theban women do as they watch their royal line destroy themselves before their eyes.I think Euripides’ choice is so interesting. Not only did he select the Phoenician Women as the members of the chorus but they also occupy the title of the play as well. The play could just have easily been named Jocasta, a character who ties all the others together and who starts the entire play recalling the recent family history.I love reading these retellings of the myths. I love seeing these slight changes and trying to figure out the reason by behind the choices. I love the themes that keep popping up and the ways these ideas are discussed amongst characters in the worst of circumstances.These and other topics encompass episode 244 of the podcast. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

Explore the surprising world of Confucius as a philosopher rather than a religious figure. Delve into his historical context, revealing how political situations influenced his teachings. Discover the depth of The Analects and how they reflect personal connections and wisdom. Learn engaging tips for diving into Confucian thought and the importance of community in reading and understanding these timeless lessons.

Dive into the wisdom of Confucius as the podcast explores his life and significant teachings. Discover how he viewed himself as a transmitter of ancient wisdom rather than an originator. The conversation highlights the virtues of the gentleman and the importance of moral conduct over lineage. A thorough examination of key themes, including the silver rule and leadership, reveals timeless principles for ethical living. Uncover the nuances in translations and learn the art of binding knowledge from diverse sources, reflecting on your own reading journey.

I started off 2025 reading straight through the King James Version of the Bible. As I was doing so, I kept wondering how that translation came about. It’s now over 400 years old. What English translation will people be reading 400 years from now? And I had other questions. Did people really speak like this? Is this the first English translation? Why is it called the King James Bible? Who translated this Bible? Have we learned things since then that give us better translations now? Why is it still read 400 years later?A friend of mine, Larry Carson, suggested I read God’s Secretaries by Adam Nicolson to get answers to these questions. I share them in this podcast episode.Here’s my episode about reading the King James Bible: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe