Young Heretics

And we're off to the races! The Iliad begins in earnest this week with the outbreak of the feud between Achilles and Agammemnon (#TeamAchilles). The drama that unfolds contains almost the entirety of all that was to come in Greek culture, from the terror of hubris to the magnificent achievement of city-states in coalition. Plus: stick around to the end for a bunch of very cool announcements. Trump the Sandworm: https://x.com/Babygravy9/status/1823830496872136776 Sign up to Audit my Class: ncf.edu/youngheretics Foundations of the West:Athens and the Logos Greek Myth Comix: https://greekmythcomix.com/comic/deaths-in-the-iliad-a-classics-infographic/ Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute (now offering Old English instruction!): https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com

Is the Iliad just a cautionary tale about toxic masculinity? Or is there something deeper at work in Achilles' murderous rage? To really understand the poem, you have to understand--and internalize--what it means to live in an honor culture, and to seek justice in a universe that makes no guarantees. After listening to this episode you can understand the story of the poem as it was meant to be understood, rather than letting petty modern ideologues set the terms of interpretation. Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute (now offering Old English instruction!): https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com

Exciting discoveries from Herculaneum are shaking up classical scholarship! New findings from old scrolls are reshaping our understanding of tragic literature. The interplay of technology and archaeology is spotlighted, bringing ancient texts to light. Dive into the challenges of deciphering these manuscripts and how they connect to themes of fate in the Iliad. Plus, explore how classic stories inspire modern genres like noir, offering fresh philosophical insights on timeless narratives.

The game is on, Helen is abducted, and now it's time to gather the Greeks for war. There are lots of stories about how the Achaean forces made their way to Troy, and some of them--like the story of the Achilles heel--are permanently associated in the popular imagination with Homer's stories. But how many of them are actually in the Iliad? And what's Homer doing by making this version of Achilles the central focus of his story? This week we sift through the myths to get to know the man, and what he tells us about masculinity in the 21st century. Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute (now offering Old English instruction!): https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ I maked this: "Zombie Paganism" at The New Jerusalem: https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com/p/essay-7-zombie-paganism Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com

Time's up! I gave you a weekend extension on the first-ever Young Heretics homework assignment, but now it's time to review some of the responses that came in. From a purely grammatical perspective, it turns out to be one of the most fascinating sentences in the English language, and the grammar actually has a little bit to say about the theology of the thing, too. As if you guys needed another reason to nerd out with me about words. Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute (now offering Old English instruction!): https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com

Stop me if you've heard this one: guy walks into a bar...and his head is an orange. If you know, you know. If you don't know, let me tell you how my favorite joke is also a perfect foil for the story that started it all in the Homeric universe, the Judgment of Paris. In hindsight it's pretty clear that Paris could have navigated the situation a little better, but...if you'da been there...if you'da seen it...how sure are you that you wouldn't have done the same?  Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute (now offering Old English instruction!): https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ I maked this: Gateway to the Epicureans: https://a.co/d/8x07OA9 Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com

I always say I don't want to step on any theological land mines. Then somebody tosses me a juicy theological question and it's like...LEEEEROOOOOOOOYYYYYYY JEENNNKINNNNS. Actually today's question is mostly about grammar, but it's also about transubstantiation and somehow also, the Monica Lewinsky scandal? Basically it's "what does 'is' mean?" And the answer is...it's complicated. Buckle up! Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute (now offering Old English instruction!): https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com

GUYS. Guys. They're making an Odysseus movie. With Ralph Fiennes. Will it be any good? Will it do well at the box office? Does this mean I finally have to learn how to spell "Fiennes"? I don't know. But I do know I've been waiting for an opportunity to go back to Homer on this show since way back in episode one. So get in, losers, we're telling the whole story of the Homeric epics, starting today with the man (and the myth, and the legend) himself. Can't wait!! Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute (now offering Old English instruction!): https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ I maked this: "Rachel Maddow's J.D. Vance Fan Fiction" at The Washington Examiner https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/3090704/rachel-maddow-j-d-vance-fan-fiction/ Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com Watch Martin West snatch Gregory Nagy's wig: https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2001/2001.09.06/  

Enough about politics! Let's answer the really tough questions in life. Is "Logos" an English word? How about Sitzfleisch? Algebra? Café? This week, in response to my previous Words, Words, Words episode, I got an exceptionally astute question about what makes something a "foreign word" versus simply a "loan word" that has been integrated into English. The answer is...#itscomplicated. But also amazing. And cool. And awesome. Let's discuss! Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute (now offering Old English instruction!): https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com  

This isn't a politics podcast, but sometimes politics comes for you. We've just lived through a deadly serious event--the kind that defines an epoch and brings us face-to-face with some of the most consequential political realities of our era. There couldn't possibly be a better use case for stepping back and using the archives of the Western Canon to get some distance on the situation. And there could hardly be a better guide through this kind of event than Niccolò Machiavelli, realist extraordinaire.  Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ I maked this: Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/0fUMLN9f Gateway to the Epicureans: https://a.co/d/03RaCAP5 Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com Subscribe to my joint substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com