Ancient Greece Declassified

Plato's Republic isn't just a cornerstone of Western thought—it's a mirror reflecting the challenges of our own time. In this episode of Ancient Greece Declassified, host Lantern Jack teams up with scholar Gina White to deliver a one-stop, accessible guide to this timeless work—exploring its big ideas, enduring impact, and eerie relevance to today's world.

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How did Sparta—a mere city-state with an agrarian economy and barely any economic growth to speak of—rise to become the supreme power in ancient Greece? We investigate in conversation with renowned historian Eric W. Robinson, author of the forthcoming book "Spartan Legend."

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Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/greecepodcast 

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Timestamps

[03:28] Origins of Spartan power

[12:26] Democr...

Marcus Aurelius became emperor of Rome in 161 AD and went on to win several wars against the northern barbarians. But it wasn't his military exploits that earned him everlasting fame. Rather, it was his philosophical mind and the writings he left behind. In this episode, we are joined by author and scholar Judith Stove to explore the character, writings, and legacy of Rome's "philosopher king." Stove's latest book is called Marcus ...

I chat with friend and fellow podcaster Doug Metzger about how I first became fascinated with the ancient world and share some of the adventures I had on the way to getting a PhD in Classical Philosophy.

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Support AGD on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast

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Timestamps

[01:25] Why I started AGD

[05:15] Why Stoicism is misunderstood today

[11:20] Debunking two big myths about the ancient world

[14:45...

During the Persian Wars, the city of Athens was completely razed to the ground by the Persian army. And yet, from its ashes, a new Athens was born, more powerful and magnificent than any other city in the Mediterranean. How did the Athenians pull that off? 

In this finale to our Persian Wars saga, we explore the final battles of the conflict and the clever machinations of Themistocles—one of the chief masterminds and architects of ...

Unveiling the wild world of ancient Greek and Roman novels with Doug Metzger, host of the "Literature and History Podcast."

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Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast

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Contents of the episode, with timestamps:

04:22 When did novels first arise?

09:12 The four genres of ancient novels

11:39 The typical plot (Callirhoe)

17:55 Daphnis and Chloe

21:10 Euripides' romanc...

What did ancient music sound like? In this episode, you will hear three songs that are over 2000 years old! Few people in the world today know more about ancient music than our guest in this episode. Claire Catenaccio is an assistant professor of classics at Georgetown University who specializes in the study of ancient drama and its modern reception. Her recent book "Monody in Euripides" explores monody – namely solo actor's song –...

Even after thousands of years of supposed progress in philosophy, there are still some who maintain that the entire history of western philosophy consists of footnotes to Plato. But who was Plato the man? If there is anyone who can answer that question, it's our guest in this episode. Robin Waterfield is a renowned scholar of antiquity who has written the first ever full biography of the ancient philosopher in English. Check out th...

In 480BC the Persian Empire invaded Greece with the largest military force the world had ever seen. Meanwhile in Athens, a man named Themistocles had spent the last ten years preparing for this moment. He had come up with a plan to defeat Persia, but it would require a mix of strategy, intrigue, deception, and plain old good luck...

Contents of the episode, with timestamps:

[05:45] How to Win Friends and Influence People

[13:10] Th...

The three decades from 508-478BC were possibly the most consequential in all of ancient history. In this episode and the next, we tell the story of the Greco-Persian Wars through the eyes of Themistocles, the Athenian mastermind who guided the Greeks to victory. 

Contents of the episode, with timestamps:

[04:50]  Themistocles' Childhood and the Athenian Revolution

[10:40]  Democracy's Early Challenges

[16:10]  The Demagogue

[26:35]...

AGD is going back to Greece this January 3-11 for another epic adventure! This time we'll be exploring the Persian Wars and the profound effect they had on Greek civilization. We will visit all the major focal points of the Greco-Persian showdown (Marathon, the Acropolis, Eretria, Salamis, Thermopylae, Plataea, and Delphi) as well as a wide variety of other fascinating historical sites. 

Check out our highlight reel from the first ...

Bret Devereux is a military historian at North Carolina State University and author of the recent viral article "Spartans Were Losers: The US Military's Admiration of a Proto-Fascist City-State is Based on Bad History." He joins us to explain why he thinks that the traditional image of Sparta as an egalitarian society of warrior badasses is a lie. You can find his blog, where he writes extensively on Sparta, here: https://acoup.bl...

As our world becomes increasingly hi-tech, more and more people have been turning to ancient wisdom traditions in search of meaning. There are two schools of ancient philosophy in particular that have seen a meteoric revival in recent years: Platonism and Stoicism. Cognitive scientist John Vervaeke joins us to explore why this is happening. 

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Join the upcoming AGD Tour in Greece: greecepodcast.com/tour

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Polybius' theory of anacyclosis is the most sophisticated theory of political (r)evolution to have emerged from ancient Greek and Roman political thought.

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To watch the highlight real from the last AGD tour in Greece, click here.

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To read the passage in Polybius where he discusses anacyclosis click here.

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If you'd like to read more about the theory of anacyclosis, I've written ...