Culture of Greece: The Past is Present

There are only a handful of pieces of music remaining from ancient Greece. And we do mean pieces; tiny scraps of papyrus and bits of stone with musical notes that are thousands of years old. Come with John Franklin, professor in the Department of Classics at the University of Vermont to meet the people who bring this ancient music back from the dead. Learn how they come to understand the slashes and squiggles that they see and translate them into music. And find out what they do when they learn that he music they're playing was torn in half a thousand years ago and the other half is gone forever.

Though the ancient Greek culture was destroyed thousands of years ago, Greek ideas continue to influence us today. That's particularly true in music. Join John Franklin, professor in the Department of Classics at the University of Vermont to hear the impact that the ancient Greeks had on the creation and development of Opera, Classical music and Jazz.

Though Socrates and Plato died 2,500 years ago there is, of course still a country called Greece. And many modern Greek musicians will tell you that their art is influenced by the ideas of the ancients. Join us as we explore whether or not this is true. Two modern Greek musicians and scholars of ancient Greece talk about the twisting road Greek culture has taken to bring us to the music of Greece today. The podcast is narrated by John Franklin, professor in the Department of Classics at the University of Vermont.