Classical Wisdom Speaks

Which ancient holidays influenced Christmas? Why did the ancients know how to throw such a good party? And what was the real story around Jesus’ birth? Today's Classical Wisdom Speaks episode is with Anya Leonard and  Classical Wisdom's resident classicist, Ben Potter on the ancient influences on Christmas and the historical context of Jesus’ birth and death. To get this Month's Classical Wisdom Litterae Magazine: Jesus and the Ancient World, subscribe here: https://classicalwisdom.com/product/classical-wisdom-litterae-magazine-subscription/NB: Makes an excellent last minute gift as well! For more information about Classical Wisdom's Podcast Classical Wisdom Speaks, please check out our website at: http://classicalwisdom.com

Should we be afraid of death? What about being maimed? And how do the ancient philosophies of Epicurus and Lucretius fit in with modern religion? Today's Classical Wisdom Speaks episode is with an old friend, Ian Blaustein, Lecturer in the Philosophy Department at Tufts University in Massachusetts about Epicurean and Hedonistic philosophy and whether or not it can help us with our fear of death. For more information about Classical Wisdom's Podcast Classical Wisdom Speaks, please check out our website at: http://classicalwisdom.com

How exactly did the classics influence the founding fathers? The surprising difference in what ancient history they focused on, compared to what we learn today and the lasting impact the ancient world has had in government... Today's episode of Classical Wisdom Speaks features Tom Ricks, an American journalist and author who specializes in the military and national security issues. He is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting as part of teams from the Wall Street Journal (2000) and Washington Post (2002). We discuss how a classical education has had a lasting impact on America. You can purchase his most recent book, First Principles: What America's Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country, here: https://www.amazon.com/First-Principles-Americas-Founders-Learned/dp/0062997459For more information about Classical Wisdom's Podcast Classical Wisdom Speaks, please check out our website at: http://classicalwisdom.comInterested in learning more? Get a FREE E-book on "Money, Gold and the End of an Empire" Here: https://classicalwisdom.com/free-e-book-money-gold-endofanempire/Get our Latest Magazine - dedicated to Statesmen - with our Classical Wisdom Litterae Magazine subscription Here: https://classicalwisdom.com/product/classical-wisdom-litterae-magazine-subscription/

How can we win an argument, why should we learn about rhetoric and is the art of persuasion just a form of manipulation? James M. May is the Professor of Classics at St. Olaf's, Minnesota and the Kenneth O. Bjork Distinguished Professor (2014-2017) as well as the Author of How to Win an Argument: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Persuasion. He discusses tips for improving your rhetoric... and why it's so important.For more information about Classical Wisdom's Podcast Classical Wisdom Speaks, please check out our website at: http://classicalwisdom.comYou can purchase Dr. James M. May's book, "How to Win an Argument: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Persuasion" here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691164335/how-to-win-an-argument

What makes a monster? Why are ancient monsters so cool? And how can mythology help us in our day to day lives? Dr. Liz Gloyn, Senior Lecturer in Classics at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK and author of "The Ethics of the Family in Seneca (2017)" and most recently, “Tracking Classical Monsters in Popular Culture” delves into all things Monster... You can listen to Dr. Liz Gloyn  LIVE in Classical Wisdom's upcoming Symposium 2020: Power and Politics, taking place October 24 - 25, 2020.You can purchase either a one day or two day pass to the Symposium HERE: https://classicalwisdom.simpletix.ie/e/59069You can purchase Liz's book, "Tracking Classical Monsters in Popular Culture" Here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/tracking-classical-monsters-in-popular-culture-9781350109612/For more information about Classical Wisdom's Podcast Classical Wisdom Speaks, please check out our website at: http://classicalwisdom.com

Ancient Mummy Glamour shots, a Minoan scandal everyone should be talking about, the Baltimore painter, Elephants on sarcophagi and the funny history of behead statues...  These are just a few of the fascinating pieces discussed with Lisa Anderson-Zhu, the Associate Curator, Art of the Mediterranean, 5th millennium BCE to 4th century CE at the The Walters Art Museum, in Baltimore, Maryland. Links to all the pieces mentioned below.You can listen to Lisa Anderson-Zhu LIVE in Classical Wisdom's upcoming Symposium 2020: Power and Politics, taking place October 24 - 25, 2020. You can purchase early bird tickets, as well as an exclusive Mediterranean Wine Collection, carefully selected for the event, HERE: http://www.bonnerwine.club/CWW*Wine option ends October 13th. For more information about Classical Wisdom's Podcast Classical Wisdom Speaks, please check out our website at: http://classicalwisdom.comPieces Mentioned: Baltimore Painter Vase https://art.thewalters.org/detail/30814/volute-krater/ The Minoan Statuette https://art.thewalters.org/detail/25734/goddess-or-priestess/Artemis-Aphrodite  https://art.thewalters.org/detail/22879/torso-of-artemis-with-head-of-aphrodite/Marcus Aurelius  https://art.thewalters.org/detail/10416/portrait-of-the-emperor-marcus-aurelius/...and his former torso https://art.thewalters.org/detail/90260/Augustus https://art.thewalters.org/detail/767/portrait-of-emperor-augustus/Sarcophagus with the Triumph of Dionysus  https://art.thewalters.org/detail/33305/sarcophagus-with-the-triumph-of-dionysus/Funeral Stele of Antaios Meilesios https://art.thewalters.org/detail/30157/funeral-stele-2/Mummy Portrait with the Gold Necklace  https://art.thewalters.org/detail/30478/mummy-portrait-of-a-woman-from-fayum-egypt/Mummy Portrait of a Bearded Man  https://art.thewalters.org/detail/7962/mummy-portrait-of-a-bearded-man/More information on the Walters Museum can be found at @walters_museum

How can ancient philosophy help us deal with natural disasters? Are we too reliant on technology? And can anyone truly understand stoicism without suffering? These are the questions we discuss with this week's special guest, Dr. Anthony Arthur Long, Chancellor's Professor Emeritus of Classics at the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Long is often credited with spearheading the revived interest in Stoicism as well as other ancient philosophies and has written several books on the topic, including How to be Free: An Ancient Guide to the Stoic Life. We discuss his recent exploration on Natural Catastrophe in Greek and Roman Philosophy and what ancient philosophies can teach us in the here and now. You can listen to Professor A.A. Long LIVE in Classical Wisdom's upcoming Symposium 2020: Power and Politics, taking place October 24 - 25, 2020. You can purchase early bird tickets, as well as an exclusive Mediterranean Wine Collection, carefully selected for the event, HERE: http://www.bonnerwine.club/CWWPlease Note: There is limited availability for the wine, so please act fast! For more information about Classical Wisdom's Podcast Classical Wisdom Speaks, please check out our website at: http://classicalwisdom.com~Professor Long is presently completing two books: one is a study of Plotinus's essay (Ennead II.4) On Matter for Parmenides Publishing, and the other, along with Margaret Graver, is a selection of fifty of Seneca's Moral Letters, for Chicago University Press, based upon their previous book, Seneca. Letters on Ethics, in which they translate all 124 of the Letters.

He is required reading at West Point, and yet less known outside the Military world... In today's Podcast with Emily Baragwanath, the Associate Professor of Classics at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill we discuss Xenophon – who he was, why we should know about him and why we don’t… We also discuss his very unusual depiction of women.For more information about Classical Wisdom's Podcast Classical Wisdom Speaks, please check out our website at: http://classicalwisdom.comInterested in learning more? Get a FREE E-book on "Money, Gold and the End of an Empire" Here: https://classicalwisdom.com/free-e-book-money-gold-endofanempire/Get our Latest Magazine - dedicated to Ancient Persia - with our Classical Wisdom Litterae Magazine subscription Here: https://classicalwisdom.com/product/classical-wisdom-litterae-magazine-subscription/

Cyrus the Great is considered the "Anointed One", the originator of human rights, and ruthless conqueror. Find out the true story of the founder of the Persian Empire in this week's Classical Wisdom Speaks Episode with Stephen Dando-Collins.Stephen Dando-Collins, the award-winning author of 40 books, including Rise of an Empire, on which the major motion picture 300: Rise of an Empire was based, delves into the history of Cyrus the Great, the topic of his most recent book.Get our Latest Magazine - dedicated to Ancient Persia - with our Classical Wisdom Litterae Magazine subscription Here: https://classicalwisdom.com/product/patron-member-cww-bc-20/For more information about Classical Wisdom's Podcast Classical Wisdom Speaks, please check out our website at: http://classicalwisdom.comInterested in learning more? Get a FREE E-book on "Money, Gold and the End of an Empire" Here: https://classicalwisdom.com/free-e-book-money-gold-endofanempire/For information on Stephen's book, Cyrus the Great, please visit: https://stephendando-collins.com

Was there Mental Illness in the ancient world? What did people think about Suicide or Schizophrenia? How did the philosophies of Epicurus or Hippocrates help? And what can this teach us about Mental Illness today? Michael Fontaine, Professor and Associate Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education, The Department of Classics, Cornell University, New York treats us to a new perspective on the extremes of the human condition. For more information about Classical Wisdom's Podcast Classical Wisdom Speaks, please check out our website at: http://classicalwisdom.comInterested in learning more? Get a FREE E-book on "Money, Gold and the End of an Empire" Here: https://classicalwisdom.com/free-e-book-money-gold-endofanempire/Get our Latest Magazine - dedicated to Statesmen - with our Classical Wisdom Litterae Magazine subscription Here: https://classicalwisdom.com/product/classical-wisdom-litterae-magazine-subscription/Here are some links to references mentioned on the podcast:1. The paper Michael gave at the American Psychiatric Association about Thomas Szasz and Epicurus (on mental illness): https://www.madinamerica.com/2014/08/religious-psychiatric-atheism-success-epicurus-failure-thomas-szasz/2. A long review essay on “Mental Disorders in the Classical World.” (It’s all about classics, and a good overview to how Michael approaches mental illness): https://www.madinamerica.com/2015/10/mental-disorders-in-the-classical-world-a-book-review/3. 2013. ‘On Being Sane in an Insane Place—The Rosenhan Experiment in the Laboratory of Plautus’ Epidamnus,’ Current Psychology 32, 348-365. – This paper is about Plautus’ Menaechmi (the twins separated at birth).4. 2017. ‘Schizophrenia, then and now:  The Libation Bearers of Aeschylus,’ in J.A. Schaler, H.Z. Lothane, and R.E. Vatz, eds., Thomas S. Szasz: The Man and his Ideas. Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, New Jersey, pp. 169-193. – This was summarized in the podcast.5. The world's first Lobotomy: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ancient-insights/202002/did-psychosurgery-start-out-joke6. You can get Michael's latest books, How to Drink: A Classical Guide to the Art of Imbibing here: https://tinyurl.com/y6stsjjkas well as The Pig War: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1732475075***Update from Michael: Also, since we did our podcast, a bombshell of a book came out that casts doubt on some of what I say about the modern experiment in article #3 down below. You can read my review of it in Psychology Today here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ancient-insights/201911/the-big-lie-psychiatry***The interview initially took place in August 2019.