Is the West in Decline? Is it the end of days or media hype? And what is the "West" anyways?In this episode of Classical Wisdom Speaks with Spencer Klavan, we discuss how ancient wisdom is necessary to solve modern crises, why ordinary people are the essential component to the solution and whether we can/should save the West. Spencer Klavan is a classicist with a Ph.D. from Oxford, and host of the Young Heretics podcast, as well as assistant editor of the Claremont Review of Books and The American Mind. He is also author of "Music in Ancient Greece: Melody, Rhythm", and Life as well as most recently "How to Save the West: Ancient Wisdom for 5 Modern Crises".You can buy Spencer's book (JUST OUT) here.Learn more Ancient Wisdom with Classical Wisdom. Check out our articles and Sign up for our free newsletter here: Https://classicalwisdom.substack.com

Whether you are planning a trip to Greece, if you've been and want to see if you got the 'must-see' spots, or you fancy some fun armchair travels, this Classical Wisdom Speaks podcast is a MUST LISTEN for ancient history lovers. Leading us through the archeological sites is veteran guide, Aristotle Koskinas. With 20 years in the field and hundreds of sites under his belt, Aristotle gives us the truly insiders guide on where to travel in Greece for the best ancient sites, hidden gems and even the unknown must sees. Get ready to explore Ancient Olympia, Naxos, Delphi and more... New to Classical Wisdom? Check out our website for our free newsletter and articles here: https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/You can follow Aristotle's work here: https://aristotelisguidegr.wordpress.com/

How do the major ancient Greek philosophies really compare? Are some more applicable to our modern lives than others? Today we'll try to step back and get the 'bigger' picture in our attempt to understand, analyze and compare the major ancient Greek philosophies... all in one podcast. Fortunately, we have none other than the very gifted and knowledgable Gregory Sadler, the President and co-Founder of  ReasonIO, Editor of Stoicism Today and Adjunct Professor in Philosophy and Humanities and the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design as well as Lecturer in Philosophy and Business Ethics, Carthage College.To learn more about Classical Wisdom Speaks and sign up for our free newsletter, please go to https://classicalwisdom.substack.com To learn more about Greg and his excellent projects, please go to: LinkedIn Profile | https://www.linkedin.com/in/reasonioPhilosophy videos | https://www.youtube.com/user/gbisadlerSadler's Lectures podcast | https://soundcloud.com/gregorybsadlerWisdom for Life radio show | https://www.riverwestradio.com/show/wisdom-for-life/Classical Wisdom Members can listen to the entire podcast with Greg Sadler on https://classicalwisdom.substack.com

What does the ancient Greek philosophy have to do with African Proverbs and the concept of Ubuntu? Perhaps in more ways than you may think... This week's Classical Wisdom Speaks episode is with Tiišetšo Maloma from South Africa, who is an Innovation Scholar, Product Creator, Entrepreneur and author of several books, including ‘Introducing Ubuntu Stoicism: Gain Joy, Resilience, Productivity, and Defuse Anxiety.’We'll be discussing linguistic roots, Individualism vs Collectivism as well as Proverbs & Philosophy... To learn more about Classical Wisdom Speaks and sign up for our free newsletter, please go to https://classicalwisdom.substack.com To purchase Tiišetšo Maloma's book,  ‘Introducing Ubuntu Stoicism: Gain Joy, Resilience, Productivity, and Defuse Anxiety’, please go to here. 

How can we be more virtuous? Can we teach our children virtue? And what about politicians? Well, the latter is probably the most difficult, but continuing our current cycle of cynicism isn't exactly helping us out either... So what can we *actually* do to make a better society for ourselves... and for the next generation? Today’s Classical Wisdom Speaks podcast is with Massimo Pigliucci, the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York and author of many books, including "How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life"... and most recently, “How to Be Good: What Socrates Can Teach Us About the Art of Living Well”To learn more about Classical Wisdom Speaks and sign up for our free newsletter, please go to https://classicalwisdom.substack.com To learn more about Massimo and his excellent books, please go to https://massimopigliucci.org/Classical Wisdom Members can listen to the entire podcast with Massimo Pigliucci on https://classicalwisdom.substack.com

Are you ready to take on a musical journey from the Patagonian Mountains that will immediately transport you to the ancient world? This is a podcast unlike any you have heard before... We know the importance of music in ancient Greece; the backdrop to every ceremony, festival and religious endeavor it also accompanied dinners, symposiums, and literature itself. Indeed, the plays and poems we love so dearly were all sung... But what did ancient music sound like? What instruments and melodies did they use? And how can we reconstruct these ancient sounds today? Today’s Classical Wisdom Speaks podcast is with Argentine luthier and musician Alberto Magnin and Classical Wisdom’s former editor, Kristin Deasy; they will take you on an investigation of ancient instruments that will deepen your cultural understanding of the ancient world, bringing sound to history.Best of all, Alberto and Kristin will perform ancient melodies on ancient instruments... immediately transporting you to another time and place. To learn more about Classical Wisdom Speaks, please go to https://classicalwisdom.substack.com You can find Alberto Magnin’s music on: Sound Cloud - https://soundcloud.com/albertomagnin Apple music - https://music.apple.com/ar/artist/alberto-magnin/904106327Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/63Vv31lt7Bh3kIRUlEcWVC Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChNkl3qhlnjMhphWGyTNixw

How to Grieve: From Cicero and Stoicism to Modern practices, How Can Philosophy HELP US Handle Loss? Panel DiscussionIn 45 BCE, the Roman statesman Cicero fell to pieces when his beloved daughter, Tullia, died from complications of childbirth. But from the depths of despair, Cicero fought his way back. In an effort to cope with his loss, he wrote a consolation speech―not for others, as had always been done, but for himself. And it worked.Cicero’s Consolation was something new in literature, equal parts philosophy and motivational speech. Drawing on the full range of Greek philosophy and Roman history, Cicero convinced himself that death and loss are part of life, and that if others have survived them, we can, too; resilience, endurance, and fortitude are the way forward.This panel discusses the revelations of Cicero’s consolation and how they relate to both the ancient philosophy of Stoicism and modern behavioral cognitive therapy... all with the aim of finding a better understanding on how to grieve.Watch eminent professors and authors, Michael Fontaine, Massimo Pigliucci, and Donald Robertson for this thought-provoking, important conversation. About the Speakers:Michael Fontaine is Professor in the Department of Classics at Cornell University, New York and author of many books and articles, including: How to tell a Joke, The Pig War, How to Drink: A classical Guide to Imbibing, and most recently, How to Grieve: An Ancient Guide to the Lost Art of Consolation.Massimo Pigliucci is the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York and author of many books, including How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life... and most recently, How to Be Good: What Socrates Can Teach Us About the Art of Living Well. Donald Robertson is a writer, cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist and trainer, specializing in teaching evidence-based psychological skills and is the president of Plato’s Academy Center.  Donald is the author of several books and many articles on philosophy, psychotherapy, and psychological skills training, including How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, and his most recent project, Verissimus: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, a graphic novel has just been released.Anya Leonard is the Founder and Director of Classical Wisdom, a site dedicated to bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds. Co-founded in 2013 with Bill Bonner, in conjunction with Les Belles Lettres, the French publishing house.  She has recently published a children’s book, Sappho: The Lost Poetess, dedicated to the life, works and remarkable recent discovery of a poem written by the 7th century Poetess, Sappho.You can learn more about Classical Wisdom and our mission to bring ancient wisdom to modern minds here: https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/

From the highway killers confronted by the Greek hero Theseus, such as Procrustes, who tortured and mutilated their victims to the Sphinx, or “strangler,” from the story of Oedipus.. Or child-killing demons and witches and historical figures such as Locusta of Gaul, the most notorious poisoner in the early Roman Empire....Who are the serial killers of the ancient world? From the highway killers confronted by the Greek hero Theseus, such as Procrustes, who tortured and mutilated their victims to the Sphinx, or “strangler,” from the story of Oedipus.. Or child-killing demons and witches and historical figures such as Locusta of Gaul, the most notorious poisoner in the early Roman Empire....Who are the serial killers of the ancient world? Usually thought to be a more modern phenomenon, Dr. Debbie Felton makes the case that you can find these notorious murderers throughout ancient history and mythology alike. To learn more about Classical Wisdom Speaks, please go to https://classicalwisdom.substack.com Debbie Felton is the Professor of Classics and Undergraduate Program Director at UMass-Amherst. She is the author and editor of many books which focus on antiquity, folktales, the supernatural and the monstrous, but today we discuss her latest book, Monsters and Monarchs: Serial Killers in Classical Myth and History.Classical Wisdom Members can listen to the entire podcast with Professor Felton on Classical Wisdom.com. You can purchase Debbie’s book, Monsters and Monarchs: Serial Killers in Classical Myth and History on amazon.com or https://utpress.utexas.edu/ 

Not just for dinner parties and sleepy children, learning how to tell a story is an essential component of understanding literature... but do we only become great at it when we break the rules? We discuss Aristotle's necessary components for storytelling... and why...or why not they matter.This week's Classical Wisdom Speaks podcast is with Phillip Freeman, Professor of Humanities and Fletcher Jones Chair of Western Culture in the Humanities/ Teacher Education Division at Seaver College of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Phillip is author of many interesting and diverse books, including his most recent: How to Tell a Story, An Ancient Guide to the Art of Storytelling for Writers and Reader, which is a highly readable new translation of Aristotle’s Poetics.Thank you for listening to Classical Wisdom Speaks. Please go to https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/ to learn more about our work and to sign up for our Free newsletter. To learn more about Philip Freeman and his excellent books, please go to https://philipfreemanbooks.com/

Mark Antony and Cleopatra on one side... Octavian and his brilliant general on the other. It's one of the most riveting, decisive and climatic moments in ancient history... and yet still such a mystery.How was it that Cleopatra and Mark Antony were defeated... when they had much larger forces? What were the pivotal - never discussed - moments beforehand that gave Octavian the upper hand?And what really happened that fateful day when Mark Antony's ships simply didn't set sail?Discover the gripping story of one of history’s most important wars, the campaign culminating in the Battle of Actium in 31 BC... the war that made the Roman Empire.Featuring Cornell Classics Professor Barry Strauss, naval warfare expert William M. Murray and famed Egyptologist Kara Cooney, moderated by Anya Leonard, founder and director of Classical Wisdom.Help support the classics! Find out more about Classical Wisdom and the work we are doing at our new location: https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/About the Speakers:Barry Strauss is the Professor of History and Classics, Bryce and Edith M. Bowmar Professor in Humanistic Studies at Cornell University, specializing as a military and naval historian. Barry is also the visiting Corliss Dean Page Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Series Editor of Princeton’s Turning Points in Ancient History, an author of many bestselling books, including: The Death of Caesar, Ten Caesars and most recently, ˆˆThe War that Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra and Octavian at Actium.Dr. Kathlyn (Kara) Cooney is a professor of Egyptian Art and Architecture at UCLA. Specializing in craft production, coffin studies, and economies in the ancient world, Cooney received her PhD in Egyptology from Johns Hopkins University. In 2005, she was co-curator of Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Cooney produced a comparative archaeology television series, entitled Out of Egypt, which aired in 2009 on the Discovery Channel and is available online via Netflix and Amazon.William M. Murray is the Mary and Gus Stathis Professor of Greek History at the University of South Florida. His interests include all aspects of ancient seafaring from ships and their designs to trade, ancient harbors, naval warfare and weaponry. Over the past 40 years, he has worked at archaeological sites, both underwater and on land, in Greece, Israel, Turkey, France and Italy. He is currently a member of the Egadi Island Survey Project recovering ancient warship rams and other battle debris from the last naval battle of the First Punic War (241 BC) and is also preparing, with others, the final publication of excavations conducted at Augustus’ Victory Monument near Nicopolis in Greece.Moderated by Anya Leonard, founder and director of Classical Wisdom, a site dedicated to bringing ancient wisdom to modern minds.