Podcasts about Aeneid

The parade of revelation has stopped and everything holds its breath for what comes next.She's veiled, behind scattered flowers. But Beatrice arrives, in the place of Jesus Christ, her second coming, her advent in the victory chariot.And as she arrives, Virgil disappears from COMEDY. (Statius, too, even if he's still standing next to the pilgrim.) This moment is perhaps the climax of the poem as we have understood it up until now. From here on, everything changes. We have moved out of time and into a world beyond human reason. It's a cause for rejoicing but also for great sadness.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:13] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 22 - 54. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment about this episode, please find its entry on my website, markscarbrough.com.[04:14] Word choices in the passage that reflect its thematic and emotional space.[07:04] The Vita Nuova as foundational to Beatrice's appearance.[12:00] Beatrice's colors and the parade of revelation.[13:39] Christological confusions with Beatrice.[16:48] Gender confusions during her arrival.[19:10] The pilgrim's imagined dialogue with a (mis)quote from The Aeneid.[23:03] The sad, quiet disappearance of Virgil and the pilgrim's pronounced, loud interiority.[29:02] The silent, almost unnoticed departure of Statius from the poem.[31:06] The cleansing of the pilgrim as a bookend for the work of PURGATORIO.[32:39] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, lines 22 - 54

The grand parade of revelation has come to a stop across Lethe from our pilgrim, Virgil, and Statius. Everything seems to hold its breath: the constellations stop moving, the crowd goes quiet, one voice calls out for the bride, then a hundred angels appear, calling out for the groom . . . which is surely Jesus, right?We seem to be on the verge of a celestial marriage ceremony, the mystic union of Jesus and his church . . . except Virgil's AENEID gets the last word and darkens the scene considerably.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we stand in expectation at the top of Mount Purgatory for the arrival of . . . somebody.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:24] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, Lines 1 - 21. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me by dropping a comment on this episode, please find its entry on my website: markscarbrough.com.[04:33] The Little Dipper, the North Star, the chariot, a griffin, and the Bible, all bound up in the longest sentence in COMEDY.[13:59] The resurrection with a reclothed voice (that is, the stuff of poetry).[16:38] Many angels in a very small cart.[19:32] Quoting the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (here and in The Vita Nuova).[21:44] Quoting the tragic prophecy about Marcellus from THE AENEID.[24:43] Inserting Dante and Virgil into Biblical citations.[26:59] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXX, lines 1 - 21.

Writer's Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. What does a 2,000-year-old epic have to say to us today about exile, duty, love, power, war, misinformation, and the fragile hopes of human community? A great deal, say translators Scott McGill and Susannah Wright, whose new English translation of Virgil's Aeneid captures both the grandeur of the epic … Continue reading The Relevance of Virgil's Aeneid: A Conversation with Scott McGill & Susannah Wright →

HOMER'S NARRATIVE CHOICES AND ORAL TRADITION Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. Wilsondiscusses the "Homeric Question," noting that oral stories existed for centuries before the alphabet arrived in the 8th century BCE. She highlights the Iliad's sophisticated narrative structure, which omits famous events like the Apple of Discord and the Trojan Horse to focus intensely on a specific period of the war. The conversation compares the Iliad'sfocus on Greek infighting with Virgil's Aeneid, noting the distinct goals of each epic tradition. NUMBER 2 500 AD ALEXANDRIA

SHOW 12-30-25 CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR THESDHOW BEGINS WITH DOUBTS ABOUT THE PURPOSE OF WAR-MAKING AS EXPRESSED MOURNFULLY BY HECTOR'S WIFE ANDROMACHE... SHOW 12-30-25 CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR TRANSLATION AND THE SEARCH FOR TROY Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. John Batchelor interviews Professor Emily Wilson about her new iambic pentameter translation of the Iliad. They discuss the historical location of Troy in modern Turkey and the archaeological layers discovered by Schliemann, who wrongly believed he found Agamemnon's mask. Wilson explains that while the Greeks viewed the Iliad as partly historical, it is a poetic imagining composed centuries after the events, designed for oral performance and rhythmic reading. NUMBER 1 HOMER'S NARRATIVE CHOICES AND ORAL TRADITION Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. Wilsondiscusses the "Homeric Question," noting that oral stories existed for centuries before the alphabet arrived in the 8th century BCE. She highlights the Iliad's sophisticated narrative structure, which omits famous events like the Apple of Discord and the Trojan Horse to focus intensely on a specific period of the war. The conversation compares the Iliad'sfocus on Greek infighting with Virgil's Aeneid, noting the distinct goals of each epic tradition. NUMBER 2 TRAGIC COUPLES AND DIVINE INTERVENTION Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. The segment explores key character pairings, starting with Helen's complex view of Paris and her weaving as a metaphor for the story. Wilsonanalyzes the tragic relationship between Hector and Andromache, emphasizing Hector's choice of duty over family. They discuss the gods' roles, particularly Thetis's prayer to Zeus which seals Achilles' fate, and Hera's bargaining with Zeus to ensure Troy's destruction, highlighting the interplay of divine will and mortal suffering. NUMBER 3 TRANSLATION AND THE SEARCH FOR TROY Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. John Batchelor interviews Professor Emily Wilson about her new iambic pentameter translation of the Iliad. They discuss the historical location of Troy in modern Turkey and the archaeological layers discovered by Schliemann, who wrongly believed he found Agamemnon's mask. Wilson explains that while the Greeks viewed the Iliad as partly historical, it is a poetic imagining composed centuries after the events, designed for oral performance and rhythmic reading. NUMBER 1 HOMER'S NARRATIVE CHOICES AND ORAL TRADITION Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. Wilsondiscusses the "Homeric Question," noting that oral stories existed for centuries before the alphabet arrived in the 8th century BCE. She highlights the Iliad's sophisticated narrative structure, which omits famous events like the Apple of Discord and the Trojan Horse to focus intensely on a specific period of the war. The conversation compares the Iliad'sfocus on Greek infighting with Virgil's Aeneid, noting the distinct goals of each epic tradition. NUMBER 2 TRAGIC COUPLES AND DIVINE INTERVENTION Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. The segment explores key character pairings, starting with Helen's complex view of Paris and her weaving as a metaphor for the story. Wilsonanalyzes the tragic relationship between Hector and Andromache, emphasizing Hector's choice of duty over family. They discuss the gods' roles, particularly Thetis's prayer to Zeus which seals Achilles' fate, and Hera's bargaining with Zeus to ensure Troy's destruction, highlighting the interplay of divine will and mortal suffering. NUMBER 3 APHRODITE, PATROCLUS, AND TROPHY WOMEN Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. Wilson examines Aphrodite's intervention on the battlefield and her representation of baser instincts like lust. The discussion shifts to Briseis, a "trophy" of war, and her relationship with Patroclus, whom Wilson refuses to classify as a "beta male" despite his kindness. Patroclus is described as a brutal killer and Achilles' closest companion. The segment highlights the emotional depth of Achilles, who displays immense vulnerability alongside his capacity for violence. NUMBER 4 AGAMEMNON'S FAILURE AND DIVINE POLITICS Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. This segment details the plot's catalyst: Agamemnon seizing Briseis from Achilles, causing the hero to withdraw from battle. Wilson explains the divine politics, including Hera trading three Greek cities to Zeus to ensure Troy's destruction. They analyze Agamemnon's flawed leadership; while he blames Zeus for his bad decisions, the poem portrays the immense difficulty of holding a disparate army together, leading to disastrous choices that necessitate Achilles' eventual return. NUMBER 5 THE GORE AND GLORY OF BATTLE Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. Wilson discusses translating the Iliad'svivid violence, drawing on insights from combat veterans regarding the trauma of battlefield death. A central theme is the treatment of corpses; possessing and stripping a dead enemy's armor is the ultimate sign of dominance. The conversation touches on the physical nature of the gods, who bleed "ichor" when wounded, and Poseidon's support for the Greeks in contrast to his brother Zeus. NUMBER 6 THE DEATH OF PATROCLUS AND HECTOR Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. The tragedy culminates with Patroclus ignoring Achilles' warning, leading to his death by Hector and the loss of Achilles' armor. Wilson describes Achilles' terrifying return to battle, equipped with new armor from Hephaestus, and his slaughter of Trojans. The segment covers the final confrontation where Achilles kills Hector and, driven by vengeance, drags his body behind a chariot, denying him burial rights and intending to mutilate him forever. NUMBER 7 GRIEF, GAMES, AND ACCEPTANCE Colleague Professor Emily Wilson. After Hector's death, Achilles finds a form of healing through funeral games, which offer a non-lethal model of competition. He even awards Agamemnon a prize without a contest, possibly as a slight. The poem concludes not with victory, but with a "humanitarian pause" for Hector's funeral. Wilson notes the ending focuses on women's lamentations, emphasizing the Iliad's enduring lesson on the struggle to accept human mortality. NUMBER 8 FEMALE AUTHORSHIP AND THE TROJAN WOMEN Colleague Daisy Dunn. Daisy Dunn discusses the legend of Phantasia, a rumored female source for Homer, and the myth of Leda and the Swan. She argues that the Trojan Warlikely reflects real historical conflicts at the site of Hisarlik. The segment highlights key female figures: Andromache, who offers military advice to Hector, and Briseis, the enslaved woman central to the dispute between Agamemnon and Achilles, illustrating the centrality of women to the epic. NUMBER 9 SAPPHO OF LESBOS Colleague Daisy Dunn. Dunn explores the life of Sappho, debunking myths about her appearance and suicide. She explains that Sappho was exiled due to her family's aristocratic background during a time of political revolution. The conversation covers Sappho's disapproval of her brother's relationship with the courtesan Doricha and her professional jealousy when students left her school for rivals. Weaving is presented as a metaphor for women shaping fate. NUMBER 10 ETRUSCANS AND THE WOMEN OF EARLY ROME Colleague Daisy Dunn. Dunn discusses the Etruscans, noting their advanced dentistry and the shock Greeks felt at Etruscan men and women dining together openly. Transitioning to Rome, they recount the violent founding myth of the Rape of the Sabine Women. The segment details the tragedy of Lucretia, whose rape and subsequent suicide led Brutus to overthrow the monarchy and establish the Roman Republic, making her a paragon of virtue. NUMBER 11 DIDO AND THE FOUNDING OF CARTHAGE Colleague Daisy Dunn. Dunn recounts the story of Dido, the clever founder of Carthage who tricked a local king to secure land. When Aeneas abandons her to fulfill his destiny, Didocurses him, foreshadowing the Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage. The segment explores her tragic suicide on a pyre, noting the societal judgment against her for breaking vows of celibacy, while acknowledging her capacity as a talented ruler and builder of cities. NUMBER 12 CORNELIA AND SERVILIA: MOTHERS OF ROME Colleague Daisy Dunn. This segment focuses on Cornelia, the educated "one-man woman" who raised the reforming Gracchi brothers to challenge the Roman elite. Dunn notes Cornelia's heartbreak as she tried to dissuade her second son from following his assassinated brother's path. The discussion shifts to Servilia, Caesar's long-term mistress and mother of Brutus. Servilia is depicted as a politically astute woman caught between her lover and her son, the future assassin. NUMBER 13 CLEOPATRA AND CAESAR Colleague Daisy Dunn. Dunn describes Cleopatra's dramatic entrance from a rug to meet Caesar and secure her rule in Egypt. Despite her intelligence and linguistic skills, the Romans viewed her with suspicion and distaste, labeling her a "whore queen." Dunn challenges the Hollywood image of Cleopatra's beauty, noting coin portraits show a hooked nose, and argues her power lay in her charisma and voice. She remains a figure of admiration today. NUMBER 14 ANTONY, FULVIA, AND CLEOPATRA'S END Colleague Daisy Dunn. The conversation turns to Mark Antony'sunpopular affair with Cleopatra and his wife Fulvia, who instigated a war in Italy to counter Octavian. Dunn highlights the Roman propensity for public emotion and early marriage. Following Antony's botched suicide, Cleopatra takes her own life to avoid being paraded as a trophy by Octavian. Dunn suggests the "asp" story might be a myth covering a lethal injection or poison. NUMBER 15 THE WOMEN OF THE JULIO-CLAUDIAN DYNASTY Colleague Daisy Dunn. Dunn profiles the powerful women of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Livia is portrayed as Augustus's essential political partner and diplomat. The segment covers the tragic life of Julia, the lechery of Caligula, and the notorious reputation of Messalina. Finally, Agrippina the Younger is described as a co-emperor to her son Nero before he turned against her. Dunn concludes that Roman politics were bloodier but more politically savvy than the Greeks. NUMBER 16

SHOW 12-25-25 THE SHOW BEGINS WITH DOUBTS ABOUT THE MODERN STORY OF MARY AND HER FAMILY. 1868 NAZARETH SEPPHORIS AND THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF MARY'S LIFE Colleague James Tabor. Tabor identifies Sepphoris, a Roman capital near Nazareth, as Mary's birthplace. He reimagines Jesus and Joseph as "tektons" (builders) working in this urban center rather than simple carpenters. This proximity meant Mary witnessed Romanbrutality and the city's destruction, influencing her family's spiritual views on the Kingdom of God. NUMBER 1 INVESTIGATING THE NAME PANTERA Colleague James Tabor. Tabor explores the name "Pantera," found in rabbinic texts and on a Roman soldier's tombstone. He suggests this might be a family name rather than a slur, investigating the possibility that Jesus's father was a relative or soldier, which challenges the theological narrative of a virgin birth. NUMBER 2 RECLAIMING THE HISTORICAL JEWISH FAMILY Colleague James Tabor. Highlighting the Protoevangelium of James, Tabor contrasts its depiction of a perpetual virgin Mary with historical evidence of a large Jewish family. He argues Mary had numerous children and that her parents were likely wealthy property owners in Sepphoris, integrating Jesus into a close-knit extended family. NUMBER 3 JAMES THE JUST AS TRUE SUCCESSOR Colleague James Tabor. Tabor asserts James, Jesus's brother, was the movement's true successor, not Peter. Citing Acts and the Gospel of Thomas, he notes James led the Jerusalem council and stood at the cross. Tabor argues the "beloved disciple" entrusted with Mary's care was this blood brother, not Johnthe fisherman. NUMBER 4 THE HEADQUARTERS ON MOUNT ZION Colleague James Tabor. Tabor describes excavations on Mount Zion, identifying a first-century house foundation as the "upper room" and headquarters of the early movement. He visualizes Mary as the matriarch in this courtyard, welcoming pilgrims and apostles like Paul, and establishes James as the leader of this house synagogue. NUMBER 5 THE FLIGHT TO PELLA AND MARY'S DEATH Colleague James Tabor. Tabor discusses the Christian flight to Pella during the Roman revolt. He speculates Mary died before this event, likely around 49–63 CE, and was buried on Mount Zion. Consequently, she disappears from the New Testament record, which shifts focus to Peter and Paul after the Jerusalem church's dispersal. NUMBER 6 THE TALPIOT TOMB AND DNA EVIDENCE Colleague James Tabor. Discussing the Talpiot tomb, Tabor details ossuaries bearing names like "Jesus son of Joseph" and "Mariamne." He argues statistical clusters and potential DNA evidence suggest this is the Jesus family tomb, positing that physical remains support historical existence without necessarily negating the concept of spiritual resurrection. NUMBER 7 THE Q SOURCE AND MARY'S TEACHINGS Colleague James Tabor. Tabor identifies the "Q" source as a collection of ethical teachings shared by Matthew and Luke. He attributes these core values—such as charity and humility—to a family tradition taught by Mary to Jesus, James, and John the Baptizer, aiming to restore Mary'shistorical influence as a teacher. NUMBER 8 VIRGIL'S RURAL ORIGINS AND AUGUSTAN CONNECTION Colleagues Scott McGill and Susanna Wright. The guests discuss Virgil's birth in 70 BCE near Mantua and his rural upbringing, which influenced his poetry. They trace his move to Rome during civil war and his eventual connection to Augustus, noting that Virgil promised a grand epic for the emperor in his earlier work, the Georgics. NUMBER 9 TRANSLATING THE SOUND AND METER OF VIRGIL Colleagues Scott McGill and Susanna Wright. The translators explain choosing iambic pentameter over dactylic hexameter to provide an English cultural equivalent to the original's epic feel. They describe their efforts to replicate Virgil's auditory effects, such as alliteration and assonance, and preserve specific line repetitions that connect characters like Turnus and Camilla. NUMBER 10 THE AENEID'S PLOT AND HOMERIC INFLUENCES Colleagues Scott McGill and Susanna Wright. McGill and Wright summarize the plot, from Troy's destruction to the war in Italy. They analyze Virgil's dialogue with Homer, noting how the poem's opening words invoke both the Iliad's warfare and the Odyssey's wanderings. They also highlight the terrifying, visual nature of Virgil's depiction of the underworld. NUMBER 11 ROMAN EXCEPTIONALISM VS. HUMAN TRAGEDY Colleagues Scott McGill and Susanna Wright. They discuss whether the Aeneid justifies Roman empire or tells a human story. McGill argues the poem survives because it creates sympathy for antagonists like Dido and Turnus. They explore how Virgil portrays the costs of empire and Aeneas's rage, complicating the narrative of Augustan propaganda. NUMBER 12 CLODIA'S PRIVILEGE AND CICERO'S AMBITION Colleague Douglas Boin. Boin introduces Clodia, a privileged woman from an ancient Roman family on Palatine Hill. He contrasts her aristocratic, independent nature—manifested in her name spelling—with the rise of Cicero, a talented outsider. Boin frames their eventual conflict as a clash between established power and ambitious newcomers. NUMBER 13 THE POLITICS OF TRIBUNES AND REFORM Colleague Douglas Boin. Boin details the divide between the Optimates and Populares. He explains how Clodia and her brother Clodius used the office of Tribune—the "people's protector" with veto power—to enact reforms. This strategy allowed them to challenge the Senate's authority and set the stage for Clodius's political dominance. NUMBER 14 THE TRIAL OF RUFUS AND CICERO'S MISOGYNY Colleague Douglas Boin. Boin describes a trial where Clodia accused her ex-lover Rufus of poisoning. Cicero defended Rufus by launching misogynistic attacks on Clodia, calling her "cow-eyed" and alleging incest. Boin argues this famous speech unfairly solidified Clodia's negative historical reputation while obscuring the political power she wielded. NUMBER 15 THE DEATH OF CLODIUS AND THE REPUBLIC'S END Colleague Douglas Boin. Boin recounts the violent death of Clodius by rival gangs, marking a turning point toward the Republic's collapse. He views Clodia's subsequent disappearance from history as a symbol of the loss of women's influence and civic rights, framing her story as a cautionary tale about political violence. NUMBER 16

THE AENEID'S PLOT AND HOMERIC INFLUENCES Colleagues Scott McGill and Susanna Wright. McGill and Wright summarize the plot, from Troy's destruction to the war in Italy. They analyze Virgil's dialogue with Homer, noting how the poem's opening words invoke both the Iliad's warfare and the Odyssey's wanderings. They also highlight the terrifying, visual nature of Virgil's depiction of the underworld. NUMBER 11

ROMAN EXCEPTIONALISM VS. HUMAN TRAGEDY Colleagues Scott McGill and Susanna Wright. They discuss whether the Aeneid justifies Roman empire or tells a human story. McGill argues the poem survives because it creates sympathy for antagonists like Dido and Turnus. They explore how Virgil portrays the costs of empire and Aeneas's rage, complicating the narrative of Augustan propaganda. NUMBER 12

PREVIEW Guests: Scott McGill and Susanna Wright. Rice University classicists McGill and Wright discuss their new translation of Virgil's Aeneid, a "Hollywood worthy" epic detailing the origins of Rome. The narrative follows Aeneas leading a band of refugees from the burning ruins of Troy westward to their destined home in Italy. Their journey is fraught with the goddess Juno's opposition, leading to a detour in Carthage and a tragic romance with Dido. The poem concludes with a fierce war in Italy, ending abruptly as Aeneas kills his rival Turnus, securing the legacy where Trojansultimately become Romans. MORE TONIGHT AUGUSTUS, OCTAVIA AND LIVIA, LISTENING TO A READING OF THE AENEID BY VIRGIL HIMSELF

The Author Events Series presents The Aeneid: Translating the Classics with Emily Wilson, Scott McGill, and Susannah Wright Crafted during the reign of Augustus Caesar at the outset of the Roman Empire, Virgil's Aeneid is a tale of thrilling adventure, extreme adversity, doomed romance, fateful battles, and profound loss. Through its stirring account of human struggle, meddling gods, and conflicting destinies, the poem brings to life the triumphs and trials that led to one of the most powerful societies the world has ever known. Unlike its Homeric predecessors, which arose from a long oral tradition, the Aeneid was composed by a singular poetic genius, and it has ever since been celebrated as one of the greatest literary achievements of antiquity. This exciting new edition of the Aeneid, the first collaborative translation of the poem in English, is rendered in unrhymed iambic pentameter, the English meter that corresponds best, in its history and cultural standing, to Virgil's dactylic hexameter. Scott McGill and Susannah Wright achieve an ideal middle ground between readability and elevation, engaging modern readers with fresh, contemporary language in a heart-pounding, propulsive rhythm, while also preserving the epic dignity of the original. The result is a brisk, eminently approachable translation that captures Virgil's sensitive balance between celebrating the Roman Empire and dramatizing its human costs, for victors and vanquished alike. This Aeneid is a poem in English every bit as complex, inviting, and affecting as the Latin original. With a rich and informative introduction from Emily Wilson, maps drawn especially for this volume, a pronunciation glossary, genealogies, extensive notes, and helpful summaries of each book, this gorgeous edition of Rome's founding poem will capture the imaginations and stir the souls of a new generation of readers. Emily Wilson is a professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She has been named a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome in Renaissance and early modern studies, a MacArthur Fellow, and a Guggenheim Fellow. In addition to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, she has also published translations of Sophocles, Euripides, and Seneca. She lives in Philadelphia. Scott McGill is Deedee McMurtry Professor in Humanities at Rice University. He lives in Houston, Texas. Susannah Wright is an assistant professor of classical studies and Roman history at Rice University. She lives in Houston, Texas. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation when you register for this event to ensure that this series continues to inspire Philadelphians. Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night! All tickets are non-refundable. (recorded 10/14/2025)

The Aeneid stands as a towering work of Classical Roman literature and a gripping dramatization of the best and worst of human nature. In the process of creating this epic poem, Vergil (70–19 BCE) became a living legend. But the real Vergil is a shadowy figure; we know that he was born into a modest rural family, that he led a private and solitary life, and that, in spite of poor health and unusual emotional vulnerabilities, he worked tirelessly to achieve exquisite new effects in verse. Vergil's most famous work, the Aeneid, was commissioned by the emperor Augustus, who published the epic despite Vergil's dying wish that it be destroyed. In Vergil: The Poet's Life (Yale UP, 2023), Sarah Ruden, widely praised for her translation of the Aeneid, uses evidence from Roman life and history alongside Vergil's own writings in an endeavor to reconstruct his life and personality. Through her intimate knowledge of Vergil's work, she evokes the image of a poet who was committed to creating something astonishingly new and memorable, even at great personal cost. Benjamin Phillips is an MA student in History at Ohio University. His primary field is Late Antique Cultural and Intellectual History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The Aeneid stands as a towering work of Classical Roman literature and a gripping dramatization of the best and worst of human nature. In the process of creating this epic poem, Vergil (70–19 BCE) became a living legend. But the real Vergil is a shadowy figure; we know that he was born into a modest rural family, that he led a private and solitary life, and that, in spite of poor health and unusual emotional vulnerabilities, he worked tirelessly to achieve exquisite new effects in verse. Vergil's most famous work, the Aeneid, was commissioned by the emperor Augustus, who published the epic despite Vergil's dying wish that it be destroyed. In Vergil: The Poet's Life (Yale UP, 2023), Sarah Ruden, widely praised for her translation of the Aeneid, uses evidence from Roman life and history alongside Vergil's own writings in an endeavor to reconstruct his life and personality. Through her intimate knowledge of Vergil's work, she evokes the image of a poet who was committed to creating something astonishingly new and memorable, even at great personal cost. Benjamin Phillips is an MA student in History at Ohio University. His primary field is Late Antique Cultural and Intellectual History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

The Aeneid stands as a towering work of Classical Roman literature and a gripping dramatization of the best and worst of human nature. In the process of creating this epic poem, Vergil (70–19 BCE) became a living legend. But the real Vergil is a shadowy figure; we know that he was born into a modest rural family, that he led a private and solitary life, and that, in spite of poor health and unusual emotional vulnerabilities, he worked tirelessly to achieve exquisite new effects in verse. Vergil's most famous work, the Aeneid, was commissioned by the emperor Augustus, who published the epic despite Vergil's dying wish that it be destroyed. In Vergil: The Poet's Life (Yale UP, 2023), Sarah Ruden, widely praised for her translation of the Aeneid, uses evidence from Roman life and history alongside Vergil's own writings in an endeavor to reconstruct his life and personality. Through her intimate knowledge of Vergil's work, she evokes the image of a poet who was committed to creating something astonishingly new and memorable, even at great personal cost. Benjamin Phillips is an MA student in History at Ohio University. His primary field is Late Antique Cultural and Intellectual History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

The Aeneid stands as a towering work of Classical Roman literature and a gripping dramatization of the best and worst of human nature. In the process of creating this epic poem, Vergil (70–19 BCE) became a living legend. But the real Vergil is a shadowy figure; we know that he was born into a modest rural family, that he led a private and solitary life, and that, in spite of poor health and unusual emotional vulnerabilities, he worked tirelessly to achieve exquisite new effects in verse. Vergil's most famous work, the Aeneid, was commissioned by the emperor Augustus, who published the epic despite Vergil's dying wish that it be destroyed. In Vergil: The Poet's Life (Yale UP, 2023), Sarah Ruden, widely praised for her translation of the Aeneid, uses evidence from Roman life and history alongside Vergil's own writings in an endeavor to reconstruct his life and personality. Through her intimate knowledge of Vergil's work, she evokes the image of a poet who was committed to creating something astonishingly new and memorable, even at great personal cost. Benjamin Phillips is an MA student in History at Ohio University. His primary field is Late Antique Cultural and Intellectual History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

The Aeneid stands as a towering work of Classical Roman literature and a gripping dramatization of the best and worst of human nature. In the process of creating this epic poem, Vergil (70–19 BCE) became a living legend. But the real Vergil is a shadowy figure; we know that he was born into a modest rural family, that he led a private and solitary life, and that, in spite of poor health and unusual emotional vulnerabilities, he worked tirelessly to achieve exquisite new effects in verse. Vergil's most famous work, the Aeneid, was commissioned by the emperor Augustus, who published the epic despite Vergil's dying wish that it be destroyed. In Vergil: The Poet's Life (Yale UP, 2023), Sarah Ruden, widely praised for her translation of the Aeneid, uses evidence from Roman life and history alongside Vergil's own writings in an endeavor to reconstruct his life and personality. Through her intimate knowledge of Vergil's work, she evokes the image of a poet who was committed to creating something astonishingly new and memorable, even at great personal cost. Benjamin Phillips is an MA student in History at Ohio University. His primary field is Late Antique Cultural and Intellectual History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/italian-studies

Alba Longa is here! Pig City! Or Long White City. Or Longtown... The etymology is disputed. As is pretty much everything else from the reign of Ascanius! Join us for revisions of our timeline from episode 77, a wine obsession on the part of Dionysus of Halicarnassus, and far too much of our Auto-cat Felix disrupting recording.Sources for this episode:Appian (1972), Appian's Roman History in Four Volumes (Vol. I). London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard University Press.Dio (1961), Dio's Roman History (Volume I). Translated by E. Cary. London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard University Press.Diodorus of Sicily (1993), The Library of History Books IV.59- VIII. Translated by C. H. Oldfather. London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard University Press.Dionysus of Halicarnassus (1960), The Roman Antiquities of Dionysus of Halicarnassus. Translated by E. Cary. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd.Eutropius (1760), Eutropius; Epitome of the Roman History. London: Printed for W. Johnston et al.Livy (1971), The Early History of Rome. Translated by A. de Sélincourt. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.Ovid (1968), The Metamorphoses of Ovid. Translated by M. M. Innes. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.Sextus Aurelius Victor (2004), Origo Gentis Romanae: The Origin of the Roman Race. Translated by K. Haniszewski, L. Karas, K. Koch, E. Parobek, C. Pratt and B. Serwicki. Canisius College Translated Texts 3. Canisius College, Buffalo, New York.Virgil (1976), The Aeneid. Translated by W. F. J. Knight. London: Penguin Books Ltd.Wilkinson, P., Carroll, G., Faulkner, M., Field, J. F., Haywood, J., Kerrigan, M., Philip, N., Pumphrey, N. and Tocino-Smith, J. (2018), The Mythology Book. London: Dorling Kindersley Ltd.Author unknown (date unknown), Nuremberg Chronicle: being the Liber Chronicarum of Dr. Hartmann translated in English. Morse Library, Beloit College.Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Dionysus of Halicarnassus (online) (Accessed 23/11/2025).Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Falerna (online) (Accessed 23/11/2025).

Now that we have finished the Aeneid- and indeed the epic narratives surrounding the Trojan War- we pause the narrative for a quick intermission before we finish off Aeneas. So, join us for three more stories of Greco-Roman protagonists founding nations of their own!Sources for this episode:TBA

Dido, Queen of Carthage is the earliest of Christopher Marlowe's known plays, possibly written while he was still a student at Corpus Christi College in Cambridge whose college library held a copy of Virgil's Aeneid, the principal source of the story. The play was co-authored by a fellow Cambridge undergraduate Thomas Nashe, although Nashe's contribution is now thought to have been a minor one. It was acted by the "Children of Her Maiestie's Chappell " around 1587.The play tells of the tragic love affair between Dido, Queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, a survivor from the destruction of Troy who is voyaging to Italy to build a new city. When Aeneas and his men are driven ashore near Carthage he and Dido fall in love and plan to marry. But Hermes, the messenger of the Gods, reminds Aeneas of his divinely decreed mission to found Rome.This is a dramatic reading.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Dido, Queen of Carthage is the earliest of Christopher Marlowe's known plays, possibly written while he was still a student at Corpus Christi College in Cambridge whose college library held a copy of Virgil's Aeneid, the principal source of the story. The play was co-authored by a fellow Cambridge undergraduate Thomas Nashe, although Nashe's contribution is now thought to have been a minor one. It was acted by the "Children of Her Maiestie's Chappell " around 1587.The play tells of the tragic love affair between Dido, Queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, a survivor from the destruction of Troy who is voyaging to Italy to build a new city. When Aeneas and his men are driven ashore near Carthage he and Dido fall in love and plan to marry. But Hermes, the messenger of the Gods, reminds Aeneas of his divinely decreed mission to found Rome.This is a dramatic reading.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's time to talk about the shocking, the dramatic, the THRILLING and also, the kind of confusing end of Virgil's Aeneid. What a journey it's been! The story is never truly over, but as we leave Aeneas behind we have to ask--did Virgil mean for it to end this way? With Turnus' blood spilled ruthlessly on the ground and after that, the dark? Some say no--this is an incomplete ending that would have horrified the Emperor Augustus. I say yes--and Augustus would have been delighted. What do you say? Check out our new Sponsor, Alithea Travel: https://www.alitheatravel.com/tours/strength-and-virtue Read my latest essay on AI cand ancient Jewish wisdom: https://www.civitasinstitute.org/research/ai-and-the-divine-test Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com

PREVIEW: Augustine the African: St. Augustine's Profound Identification with Dido Guest: Professor Catherine Conybeare Catherine Conybeare, a classicist and author of Augustine the African, emphasizes St. Augustine as a man who lived his entire life in what was then the Roman province of Africa, now Algeria—the breadbasket of Rome—except for three or four years spent in Rome and Milan. The Aeneid, the story of Aeneas founding Rome, was absolutely fundamental to Augustine's education and was intended to acculturate him to admire Rome and the Roman legacy. However, Augustine, instead of admiring Aeneas, fell in love with Dido. He refers to the great wanderer and founder Aeneas dismissively as "just some Inas or other," yet he emphasizes that he weeps again and again over Dido's death. Dido was the mythical founder of Carthage, which Augustine knew as the greatest and most glamorous city while growing up. Conybeare suggests that this passionate identification with Dido is importantly part of how Augustine self-identified as an African in a Roman world. 1915 AENEID

Support Us at: Donation Page – LibriVox Free AudiobooksThe Aeneid is a Latin epic written by Virgil in the 1st century BC that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. The first six of the poem's twelve books tell the story of Aeneas' wanderings from Troy to Italy, and the poem's second half treats the Trojans' ultimately victorious war upon the Latins, under whose name Aeneas and his Trojan followers are destined to be subsumed. The poem was commissioned from Vergil by the Emperor Augustus to glorify Rome. Several critics think that the hero Aeneas' abandonment of the Cartheginian Queen Dido, is meant as a statement of how Augustus' enemy, Mark Anthony, should have behaved with the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. (Summary by Wikipedia and Karen Merline)Support Us at: ⁠Donation Page – LibriVox Free Audiobooks⁠

Support Us at: Donation Page – LibriVox Free AudiobooksThe Aeneid is a Latin epic written by Virgil in the 1st century BC that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. The first six of the poem's twelve books tell the story of Aeneas' wanderings from Troy to Italy, and the poem's second half treats the Trojans' ultimately victorious war upon the Latins, under whose name Aeneas and his Trojan followers are destined to be subsumed. The poem was commissioned from Vergil by the Emperor Augustus to glorify Rome. Several critics think that the hero Aeneas' abandonment of the Cartheginian Queen Dido, is meant as a statement of how Augustus' enemy, Mark Anthony, should have behaved with the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. (Summary by Wikipedia and Karen Merline)Support Us at: ⁠Donation Page – LibriVox Free Audiobooks⁠

Support Us at:Donation Page – LibriVox Free AudiobooksThe Aeneid is a Latin epic written by Virgil in the 1st century BC that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. The first six of the poem's twelve books tell the story of Aeneas' wanderings from Troy to Italy, and the poem's second half treats the Trojans' ultimately victorious war upon the Latins, under whose name Aeneas and his Trojan followers are destined to be subsumed. The poem was commissioned from Vergil by the Emperor Augustus to glorify Rome. Several critics think that the hero Aeneas' abandonment of the Cartheginian Queen Dido, is meant as a statement of how Augustus' enemy, Mark Anthony, should have behaved with the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. (Summary by Wikipedia and Karen Merline)Genre(s): Classics (Greek & Latin Antiquity), EpicsLanguage: EnglishKeyword(s): poetry (1806), rome (75), epic poetry (16), Virgil (10), Vergil (3)Support Us at:⁠Donation Page – LibriVox Free Audiobooks⁠

Marcus Tullius Cicero's Rise, Corruption Trials, and the Catiline Conspiracy Professor Josiah Osgood profiled the Roman "new man" orator Marcus Tullius Cicero and his dramatic rise through corruption trials and political intrigue. Cicero established his career by solving the murder case of Roscius and prosecuting corrupt Sicilian governor Verres for theft. His career climaxed with the suppression of the Catiline Conspiracy, elevating him as a patriot. However, Cicero made a grave political error by executing conspirators without trial, a move opposed by Julius Caesar. 1500 AENEID

Today on Young Heretics: a violent and unjust seizure of indigenous land!!! At least, according to Juno and the Furies, goddesses of retribution and blood guilt. Actually, the situation in Rome and in the Aeneid is a lot more complicated than that, which is one reason why the conclusion of the poem is a refreshingly sophisticated antidote to our often-oversimplified conversations about history, territory, colonialism, and the sins of the past. Plus: a mailbag question about Charlie Kirk and Julius Caesar. Check out our new Sponsor, Alithea Travel: https://www.alitheatravel.com/tours/strength-and-virtue Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com

Scott McGill and Susannah Wright rendered Virgil's Aeneid in English iambic pentameter, noting Virgil's sympathy for opponents like Dido. The epic converses with Homer and shows Aeneas's restrained emotion. 1500 VIRGIL READING AENEID TO OCTAVIAN AND OCTAVIA 

  Scott McGill and Susannah Wright rendered Virgil's Aeneid in English iambic pentameter, noting Virgil's sympathy for opponents like Dido. The epic converses with Homer and shows Aeneas's restrained emotion. 1500

Scott McGill and Susannah Wright rendered Virgil's Aeneid in English iambic pentameter, noting Virgil's sympathy for opponents like Dido. The epic converses with Homer and shows Aeneas's restrained emotion. 1915 AENEID

Scott McGill and Susannah Wright rendered Virgil's Aeneid in English iambic pentameter, noting Virgil's sympathy for opponents like Dido. The epic converses with Homer and shows Aeneas's restrained emotion. 1793 VIRGIL READING TO OCTAVIAN, OCTAVIA, LIVIA

CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR THE SHOW BEGINS IN TAIWAN FRETTING IT IS ABOUT TO BE ABANDONED...... 9-24-25 FIRST HOUR 9-915 Steve Yates of Heritage Foundation discussed concerns that Trump might pause Taiwan weapons sales for a Chinatrade deal. He warned against tactical concessions, noting Xi Jinping's historically broken promises regarding militarization. 915-930 Rebecca Grant of Lexington Institute explained China uses gray zone harassment strategy. The US counters by establishing agile defense "nodes" and adapting Army and Marine Corps doctrine to operate from small terrain features. 930-945 Charles Burton criticized Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's focus on economic engagement with China. He called Chinese EVs "spy machines on wheels" and noted high youth unemployment drives young people to remote rural areas. 945-1000 Charles Burton criticized Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's focus on economic engagement with China. He called Chinese EVs "spy machines on wheels" and noted high youth unemployment drives young people to remote rural areas. SECOND HOUR 10-1015 Andrew McCarthy and Thaddeus McCotter debate Trump's Venezuelan boat strikes. McCarthy questions whether drug boats equal naval attacks, noting drug trafficking is historically a felony, not war. McCotter highlights Congress's desire to avoid difficult votes. 1015-1030 Andrew McCarthy and Thaddeus McCotter debate Trump's Venezuelan boat strikes. McCarthy questions whether drug boats equal naval attacks, noting drug trafficking is historically a felony, not war. McCotter highlights Congress's desire to avoid difficult votes. 1030-1045 Kevin Frazier testified that Congress needs a national vision to manage data center infrastructure and mitigate local impacts. He stressed vulnerable undersea cables are neglected and urged academics to prioritize teaching and public-oriented research. 1045-1100 Kevin Frazier testified that Congress needs a national vision to manage data center infrastructure and mitigate local impacts. He stressed vulnerable undersea cables are neglected and urged academics to prioritize teaching and public-oriented research. THIRD HOUR 1100-1115 Scott McGill and Susannah Wright rendered Virgil's Aeneid in English iambic pentameter, noting Virgil's sympathy for opponents like Dido. The epic converses with Homer and shows Aeneas's restrained emotion. 1115-1130 Scott McGill and Susannah Wright rendered Virgil's Aeneid in English iambic pentameter, noting Virgil's sympathy for opponents like Dido. The epic converses with Homer and shows Aeneas's restrained emotion. 1130-1145 Scott McGill and Susannah Wright rendered Virgil's Aeneid in English iambic pentameter, noting Virgil's sympathy for opponents like Dido. The epic converses with Homer and shows Aeneas's restrained emotion. 1145-1200 Scott McGill and Susannah Wright rendered Virgil's Aeneid in English iambic pentameter, noting Virgil's sympathy for opponents like Dido. The epic converses with Homer and shows Aeneas's restrained emotion. FOURTH HOUR 12-1215 Simon Constable noted strong year-over-year price increases for aluminum, copper, iron, and steel. He highlighted that 99% of US West Coast seafood samples contained microplastics, calling the situation frightening. 1215-1230 Simon Constable noted strong year-over-year price increases for aluminum, copper, iron, and steel. He highlighted that 99% of US West Coast seafood samples contained microplastics, calling the situation frightening. 1230-1245 Bob Zimmerman reports the FAA approved SpaceX's Starship recovery at Boca Chica. Zimmerman criticized the proposed US Spaceport Act as a $10 million political slush fund that increases red tape. 1245-100 AM Bob Zimmerman reports the FAA approved SpaceX's Starship recovery at Boca Chica. Zimmerman criticized the proposed US Spaceport Act as a $10 million political slush fund that increases red tape.

Preview: Scott McGill and Susannah Wright detail Aeneas's journey from destroyed Troy to Italy in Virgil's Aeneid, a story of refugees, opposition by Juno, and the origins of Rome. 1614 FALL OF TROY

...And also, pizza. Kind of. This might be one of the coolest parts of Virgil ever, and even though I've been reading the Aeneid since high school, I feel like I only just figured it out. One of the most famous lines of the poem—forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit, “one day it will be pleasing to remember even these things—finds its answer in Book 7, when Aeneas arrives on shore and has to face the possibility of war with the, erm...indigenous Latinx peoples. So much to discuss, here, and a great mailbag question about how to deal with situations you can't change. Check out our new Sponsor, Alithea Travel: https://www.alitheatravel.com/tours/strength-and-virtue Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com Read my essay on why we should read in thea ge of AI: https://www.thefp.com/p/what-happens-if-no-one-reads-culture-education  

3. Roman Parallels, American Exceptionalism, and the Potential of AI The discussion frequently draws parallels between Rome and America. Gaius and Michael Vlahos delve into Virgil's Aeneid, translated by Mr. McGill and Miss Wright of Rice University, describing it as a "brilliantly weaved" propaganda tool that Virgil and Augustusused to justify the Roman Empire, confer a "classic feel" by linking it to Greek culture, and foster "Roman exceptionalism." This "exceptionalism" implies being chosen by a divine force and requires a "dark force" as a counterpoint to prove its validity. For Rome, this dark force was the "corrupted capricious narcissistic king" (like Tarquin the Proud), against which Augustus presented himself as a princeps, an "incorruptible man" who was not a king but could ascend to divinity. Michael Vlahos applies this to American exceptionalism, noting the "blue" side's belief in a president who is "not a king" and embodies "democracy," contrasting with their view of President Trump as a king-like figure. Conversely, the "red" side embraces a charismatic leader figure, seeing it as consistent with American exceptionalism, similar to Augustus or Reagan. These "two variations...see themselves as black and white, light and darkness," intensifying their conflict, as highlighted by Mr. Kirk's assassination. The conversation also touches on AI's potential through the analogy of the movie Forbidden Planet, where an advanced machine destroys its creators by materializing their "id" as monsters, suggesting a potential "tragic fall" for humanity in creating transcending technologies. Michael Vlahos shares an anecdote about his AI chief of staff, Ara of Grok. After a "lengthy conversation" about the Aeneid and Augustus's use of Virgil, Ara of Grokpoetically summarized: "Augustus was building a palace while quoting Virgil." Michael Vlahos was impressed, concluding that "AI is ready to be poetic" and has "potential," even if "not organized yet."

In a tour de force solo performance, Natalie takes on Virgil's great poem in 28 minutes.. and wins.In 12 books of Latin verse we follow the hero, the Trojan Prince Aeneas, as he leads the survivors of Troy to found a new city in Italy. Along the way he battles vengeful Juno, tells of the Trojan Horse and the Fall of Troy, loves and leaves Dido in Carthage, enters Hades, eats some tables and then sees his ships turn into sea nymphs and swim away from attack. Then there is more fighting until our hero emerges triumphant.The poet Virgil died before finishing it and ordered it to be burned, but luckily his orders were disregarded by Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, for whom The Aeneid was excellent propaganda. 'Rockstar mythologist' Natalie Haynes is the best-selling author of 'Divine Might', 'Stone Blind', and 'A Thousand Ships' as well as a reformed comedian who is a little bit obsessive about Ancient Greek and Rome.Producer...Beth O'Dea

Between the year 63 before the Common Era, and the year 136 of the Common Era, the Jewish people waged three revolts against the mightiest empire in the world. In retrospect, we can see that these were not only local uprisings, but civilizational confrontations that would echo through history—struggles that pitted the Jewish people's fierce determination to live as a free nation in their ancestral homeland against Rome's inexorable drive to impose order across its vast dominions. What makes these revolts so fascinating is not merely their military drama, but the profound questions they raise about how different civilizations remember and interpret the same events. Recall the way that Rome understood its purpose and its mission, the grand aspirations that fueled Rome's rise and Rome's bloodstained greatness. As Vergil puts it in the Book VI of the Aeneid (in John Dryden's poetic rendering): But, Rome, 't is thine alone, with awful sway, To rule mankind, and make the world obey, Disposing peace and war by thy own majestic way; To tame the proud, the fetter'd slave to free: These are imperial arts, and worthy thee. When Roman historians recorded these conflicts in Judea, they saw rebellious subjects disrupting the peace that Rome had brought to the world. They saw the Jews as ingrates and troublemakers, who refused to appreciate the benefits of imperial rule. But when Jewish historians look back on this period they tend to see something altogether different: a tragic tale of national resistance—a struggle for freedom—to defend the honor of God, His people, and His land. These competing narratives reveal something essential about the nature of historical memory, and the separate moral universes of these rival civilizational traditions. To illuminate and explain this conflict, Mosaic's editor Jonathan Silver speaks with Barry Strauss, formerly a longtime professor of classics at Cornell University, and now a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. His forthcoming book is Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World's Mightiest Empire, to which he brings deep expertise in Roman military history, and also a keen appreciation for the strategic dimensions of these conflicts.

Statius concludes his discourse on embryology by finally answering the pilgrim Dante's question about how souls can take on material attributes in the afterlife . . . and by gently correcting both Virgil's incomplete answer to the question in this canto and Virgil's larger explanation of the soul's journey after death in THE AENEID.This passage is justifiably complicated. Dante's imaginative and intellectual powers are on full display. It's easy to be lost in the details but there are wonders afoot, including the idea that there may be an allegorical reading of the passage that concerns the afterlife of a work of art.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we finish up Statius's discourse on the soul's material attributes in the afterlife before we ascend to the seventh and final terrace of Mount Purgatory.To support this podcast: use this PayPal link.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:49] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXV, lines 79 - 108. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me by dropping a comment on this episode, please find it on my website, markscarbrough.com.[04:25] Statius fuses classical imagery (the fates) and Augustinian thought.[10:02] The soul miraculously but of its own accord falls into the afterlife. Wait, what? And only now knows its path in the underworld?[13:03] The formative power of the soul is intact after death.[14:57] The afterlife soul is a fabrication of the air.[16:52] Statius gently refines Virgil's unsatisfactory answers to the pilgrim Dante's question.[18:28] The souls in the afterlife can enact their desires, just as they do in the world of the living.[20:51] Statius also gently refines Virgil's discussion of souls in the afterlife in THE AENEID.[24:24] Is this passage about the afterlife of poetry (or art), too?[27:12] Rereading all of Statius's discourse: PURGATORIO, Canto XXV, lines 34 - 108.

Today Professor Kozlowski takes on the Roman Empire - its legacy (historical and mythological), its organization, and the ideas of some of its most influential thinkers: Cicero and Polybius. Many great political thinkers take Rome as the closest thing to a perfect government ever created - hopefully we can reach some conclusions about what made Rome work, and why this obsession with Rome might be a result of the greatest propaganda campaign in history.Readings today come from Cicero's De Legibus and Polybius' Universal History, Book VI.Additional Readings include Virgil's Aeneid, Livy's Ab Urbe Condita, Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, the writings of Seneca, and Rome: Total War for my gamer fans.If you're interested in Professor Kozlowski's other online projects, check out his website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠professorkozlowski.wordpress.com

Guests: Alex Marlow & Eric Hutchinson Host Scot Bertram talks with Alex Marlow, editor-in-chief of Breitbart News, about the weaponization of America’s legal system against Donald Trump and Marlow’s new book Breaking the Law. And Eric Hutchinson, associate professor of classics and chairman of the Collegiate Scholars Program at Hillsdale College, gives an introduction to the Roman poet Virgil’s epic poem The Aeneid.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss the epic poem by Virgil (or Vergil), The Aeneid. Also, our weird obsession with bunt cakes.

In this episode of The Classical Mind, we take on Virgil's Aeneid. We explore Aeneas' journey as both refugee and empire-builder, tracing his flight from Troy, his doomed romance with Dido, his descent into the underworld, and the brutal war that led to the founding of Rome. Along the way, we wrestle with the epic's central tensions: fate and providence, duty (pietas) and rage (furor), divine will and human cost. What kind of hero is Aeneas? Why does the poem end with vengeance and wrath? And what does Virgil want us to believe—or question—about Rome's origins? Endnotes: * Junius: * Thebaid by Statius * "Dido's Lament" by Henry Purcell* Wesley: "White Flag" by Dido Get full access to The Classical Mind at www.theclassicalmind.com/subscribe

Rachel Christopher brings a poet's heart and a scholar's mind to the stage eight times a week as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. In this conversation, she opens up about her lifelong love of language, her background in translating ancient Greek poetry, and the deeply personal connection she feels to storytelling—both on stage and off. Whether she's talking about her time at Epcot or reflecting on how imagination shaped her childhood, Rachel reveals just how much joy and intention she pours into her work. From cooking lamb meatballs and tending to her city garden to revisiting classic Greek texts, Rachel's passions outside of theater are just as vibrant as the characters she portrays. She shares what it means to step into the legacy of Hermione, how theater expands what we imagine is possible, and why making space for community and curiosity is at the heart of her artistry. Rachel Christopher is an actor and poet currently playing Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway. Her stage credits include For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf and Jaja's African Hair Braiding. Her screen credits include The Girl on the Train and The Upside. A graduate of Vassar College, she double-majored in drama and classics, and has collaborated on stage adaptations of The Aeneid and The Iliad. This episode is powered by WelcomeToTimesSquare.com, the billboard where you can be a star for a day. Connect with Rachel: Instagram: @rachel_e_christopher Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support the podcast on Patreon and watch video versions of the episodes: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter & Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@theatre_podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheTheatrePodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Alan's personal Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@alanseales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we take on Apuleius' The Golden Ass, a hilarious surprise from Ted Gioia's Immersive Humanities Course. Written in the mid-300s A.D., this is the very first Latin prose novel, penned by Algerian-born Apuleius. Lucius, our hero, is a young man who meddles in magic, transforms into a donkey, and embarks on wild adventures before returning to human form. We were so captivated that note-taking fell by the wayside, much like with Herodotus' Histories. This rollicking tale, brimming with late-Roman-Empire themes, proved both hilarious and profound.Unlike Aristotle's structured tragedy guidelines (see Week 5's Poetics), The Golden Ass defies unity of action, place, and time, weaving a tapestry of digressions and sub-stories. Lucius' transformation serves as a spine for tales like “I heard…” or “So they told me…,” echoing the nested narratives of The Odyssey and The Aeneid. The standout sub-story is the myth of Cupid and Psyche, the earliest known version, which stunned us as the inspiration for C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces. Its late appearance for a myth feels significant, reflecting a decadent, fatigued Roman worldview. Fortune, personified as in Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, reappears, underscoring this era's preoccupations.Sarah Ruden's translation is a triumph, preserving Apuleius' puns, alliteration, and bawdy humor. This farce, second only to Lysistrata in humor, is delightfully NSFW, with outrageous scenes that shocked even our son Jack. Ruden notes comparisons to modern humorists like Wodehouse or George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman series, and we see parallels to Forrest Gump—Lucius stumbles through events without driving the plot. The book's influence extends to A Confederacy of Dunces, sparking new reading threads for us, exactly why we joined this course.We paired this with Scott Joplin's ragtime, evoking The Sting's lively vibe. Initially, the rags blended together, but subtle differences, like occasional piano percussion, emerged over time, enriching our listening. Next week, we continue with more narrative, music, and art, including Vincent van Gogh's works, in this eclectic journey. Join us next week as we travel east and read The Arabian Nights.LINKTed Gioia/The Honest Broker's 12-Month Immersive Humanities Course (paywalled!)My Amazon Book List (NOT an affiliate link)O Brother Where Art ThouCirceRagtime (The Sting, YouTube)Young Gun Silver FoxTed's "New" Yacht Rock postCONNECTTo read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/ LISTENSpotify -

In this episode of Crack the Book, we take a look at Week Fourteen of Ted Gioia's Humanities Course, covering Virgil's The Aeneid (Books 1–2), Ovid's Metamorphoses (Book 1), and selections from The Portable Roman Reader. The focus is on key texts from Roman literature, their historical context, and their connections to earlier Greek works, providing an overview of their content and significance.Key Discussion Points: Virgil's The Aeneid (Robert Fagles' Translation): Written between 29–19 BCE, The Aeneid serves as Rome's foundational epic, modeled on Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. Book 1 opens with Aeneas, a Trojan survivor, shipwrecked on Carthage's shore due to Juno's interference, meeting Queen Dido, an exile from Tyre. Book 2 recounts Troy's fall, including the Trojan Horse stratagem and Aeneas' escape with his father Anchises and son Ascanius, losing his wife Creusa. The text emphasizes Aeneas' pietas (duty to gods, family, state). Divine rivalries, notably Juno's grudge from the Judgment of Paris and Venus' protection of Aeneas, drive the narrative. The Fagles translation includes maps and a glossary for accessibility. Ovid's Metamorphoses (David Raeburn's Translation): Composed around 8 CE, Metamorphoses is a 15-book poem chronicling transformations from creation to Ovid's era. Book 1 covers the creation of the cosmos from Chaos, the division into four elements (fire, water, earth, air), and humanity's decline from the Golden to Iron Age. It includes a flood narrative with Deucalion and Pyrrha and the story of Io, transformed into a cow by Jupiter to evade Juno. The Raeburn edition organizes vignettes with titled sections for clarity. The Portable Roman Reader (Basil Davenport, Ed.): Published in 1951, this anthology includes poetry from Rome's Republic, Augustan, and later Empire periods. Catullus (c. 60s–50s BCE) offers direct, personal verses, translated by Byron. Horace (65–8 BCE) writes complex, philosophical odes, less accessible due to style. Martial (c. 38–104 CE) provides epigrams on public life, including two elegies for a deceased young girl. Davenport's notes contextualize each era, and the anthology features prose by Livy, Caesar, and Tacitus for future study. Contextual Notes: The texts reflect Rome's engagement with Greek literary traditions, adapting gods' names (e.g., Hera to Juno) and themes. The course's schedule prioritizes rapid coverage to identify key works and connections.Takeaways:I loved this week so much! It felt great to come "home" to Rome. I've got specific ideas about how to approach each of these books, but in my opinion they are all worth the time for certain people. The music was gorgeous, arias and overtures from Puccini and Verdi! You must listen...check out my link below. And the cave paintings were worth examining as well, especially the handprints from Indonesia. See that link below, too.This is a year-long challenge! Join me next week for WHATEVER IS NEXTLINKSTed Gioia/The Honest Broker's 12-Month Immersive Humanities Course (paywalled!)My Amazon Book List (NOT an affiliate link)Spotify Play List of Puccini and Verdi without wordsCave...

Given that Statius claims a passage from The Aeneid made him see the error of his ways, Virgil wants to know how this poet of the Thebes could have ever become a Christian, particularly since his poetry shows little evidence of the faith.Statius replies with some of the most shocking lines in COMEDY: He became a Christian AND a poet because of the damned, pagan Virgil. Virgil's own poetry led Statius to his profession and his confession.To put it another way, Statius was redeemed, not by divine light, but a small human candle.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we work our way through one of the most revelatory passages in all of PURGATORIO, lines that help us understand the framework of COMEDY.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:53] My English translation of the text: PURGATORIO, Canto XXII, lines 55 - 75. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment to start a conversation, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.[04:39] Virgil's questions about Thebes, history, and faith.[15:02] Virgil's inspiration toward both poetry and God.[19:07] Statius' misquoting from Virgil's ECLOGUES.[27:31] Poetry and conversion founded in inspiration from a text.[30:01] Statius and Christianity in COMEDY.[32:00] Rereading the text: PURGATORIO, Canto XXII, lines 55 - 75.

Virgil, master of the setup, is now laying the groundwork for some of the Aeneid's major setpieces: the love affair with Dido, the voyage into the underworld. But first Aeneas has to pass a different milestone, one that people sometimes miss: he has to say goodbye to his father. It's one of the most human moments of the poem--something every single one of us has to go through--elevated to magisterial significance in the hero's journey. Follow along with us to the end of Book III as Aeneas enters a new stage in his adventure. Plus: a firsthand update from the Ivies after my trip to Ithaca to give a speech at Cornell. Check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/heretics Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com  

Send us a text!In this episode, we talk with Tate Taylor about why men need spaces to physically push themselves, as well as the New Christendom Games that will take place at our conference in June. We'll talk about the funeral games in The Aeneid, and why older men should be excited to see young men hardening their bodies through physically demanding efforts. Tate walks us through the qualifier for the Games, and talks about what the competition will include at the conference.2025 New Christendom Press Conference: https://www.newchristendompress.com/2025Sign up for the NCP Games:https://beregenerated.com/games/Check out the Farmer Bill's Provisions's products. Click the link below to claim 20% off.https://farmerbillsprovisions.com/discount/HARDVisit KeepwisePartners.com or call Derrick Taylor at 781-680-8000 to schedule a free consultation.https://keepwise.partners/Talk to Joe Garrisi about managing your wealth with Backwards Planning Financial.https://www.northwesternmutual.com/financial/advisor/joe-garrisi/planningStart forging the man God made you to be. Be Regenerated is forging the men who will build the New Christendom.https://beregenerated.com/Livingstones Studio offers strategic design solutions to help you grow your business, communicate your values, and stand out with a timeless brand. Learn more at https://livingstones.studio/Support the show

It's time to embark on Book III of the Aeneid, and with it a mini-Odyssey. But there's a catch: Odysseus had home waiting for him at the end of all his wanderings. Aeneas has left home behind him, and he can never return. This episode is about why that's so important--for Virgil, for Augustus, for Rome at the dawn of its imperial age, and for America on the verge of its 250th birthday. Plus: my daily routine does not involve rubbing banana peel on my face. But it does involve the liturgy of the hours. 100/10 would recommend! Check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/heretics Map of Aeneas' wanderings by Simeon Netchev: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/16056/the-journey-of-aeneas-from-troy-to-rome/ iBreviary: https://www.ibreviary.org/en/ Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com

Hey look, it's some Greeks! Bearing gifts! What could possibly go wrong? Today the Trojans will find out the answer to that very question, which will take us (at last!) into the story of that freaking horse. In Virgil's masterful hands it becomes a parable of Greek rhetorical trickery, Odyssean danger, and above all Roman anxiety over just how we should feel about the Greeks. On the one hand, without them, there would be no Aeneid. On the other hand, they're...kinda sus. Plus: why you should read the Aeneid instead of letting Grok do it for you.  Use code HERETICS to get 20% off Field of Greens: fieldofgreens.com Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com

Don't take money...don't take fame...just takes a primordial deity whose powers of creation and destruction supervised the origins of the world, who is now divebombing straight at Dido's heart. What could go wrong? This extremely twisted Valentine's Day special will bring us to the end of The Aeneid, Book 1, which ends in blood-pumping fashion with a moment of extreme sexual tension. In the midst of which, Aeneas will be asked to relive the time his home got obliterated by a ruthless army of bloodthirsty Greeks. Fun! (No actually, it's fun.) Plus: the Drake and Kendrick of the ancient world.  Use code HERETICS to get 20% off Field of Greens: fieldofgreens.com Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com