Books Of Titans Podcast

“Sing, O Muse, a new song about Ilium, a funeral dirge accompanied by tears.”The glory of the Iliad is over. The Muses are being summoned to sing a funeral dirge, a new song of mourning for the city of Troy.This tragedy takes place in the immediate aftermath of the Trojan War. The Greeks have gotten past the famous Trojan walls, not by force but by trickery. They’ve entered the city, killed the men and children, and taken the women as slaves.In this period between the fall of Troy and the sailing back by the Greeks, these Trojan Women have become slaves and are being doled out to the Greek Warriors. Each Trojan Woman is paired to a Greek as a slave for the rest of their lives.These women have just witnessed the brutal deaths of their loved ones and have seen the city they loved burned to the ground. Helen is amongst them. She is one of the Trojan captives. Helen of Troy.At this point, everyone wants her dead, including her ex-husband, Menelaus.In this episode of the podcast, I give a brief introduction to thi

In one of the most tragic stories of Greek Mythology, Agamemnon must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia in order to secure favorable winds from Artemis so that the Greek Army can sail to Troy and retrieve Helen. That sacrifice sets off a series of events that curse a family line and destroy Agamemnon himself.It’d be fun to imagine an alternate ending. One that doesn’t involve the utterly tragic death of Iphigenia and a father being forced to kill his own daughter.That’s what happens here. Euripides provides some Ancient Greek Fan Fiction, an alternate history. Iphigenia is saved at the last moment in a scenario similar to Abraham and Issac where another sacrifice is provided at the last moment.Iphigenia is then whisked away by Artemis to Tauris where she becomes priestess at the temple of Artemis. One lovely job requirement is to sacrifice any Greeks who arrive in Tauris. Orestes, a Greek, and Iphegenia’s brother, arrives, setting up the remainder of this story.In this episode, I give a brief overview of the pl

Admetus can escape Hades if he can find someone to die in his place. His wife Alcestis agrees to die for him in the ultimate sacrifice. Is she in the right? Should she have been the person to take his place? Where does that leave him if she dies?These tragic elements are balanced with comedic release in the arrival of Heracles amidst this tremendous household grief. It turns this play about Necessity, marriage, and hospitality into a satyr drama to lessen the blow of the questions raised.In this episode, I give a brief overview of the play, talk about the key themes, and share the one thing I’m still thinking about after reading Alcestis by Euripides. Get full access to Books of Titans at www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

Hecabe has to be one of the most tragic figures in the canon. Wife and Queen of King Priam, she’s lost close to 50 sons and 50 daughters by the start of this tragedy play. Not only that, she’s lost her husband, Hector, Paris, and Troy where she was queen.This play starts with one of her only surviving sons, Polydorus, appearing as a ghost and telling of his demise. Hecabe doesn’t know he’s dead yet, but we soon find out she has something else to lament. The ghost of Achilles has demanded the sacrifice of Polyxena, Hecabe’s daughter. Hecabe pleads with Odysseus to spare her daughter to no avail.The fact that Agamemnon shows up in this play is quite striking. Ten years earlier, he had sacrificed his own daughter Iphegenia to ensure favorable winds to Troy for the Greek ships. Here, he’s present while another sacrifice, this time from the Trojan side, is required to bookend the Trojan War. The damning thing in these tragedies is that it’s the innocent who usually suffer the most.It’s also fascinating that the la

Medea kicks off right at the end of Jason and the Golden Fleece by Apollonius of Rhodes. Medea has just assisted Jason in subduing the dragon so that he can take the Golden Fleece. As thanks, Jason promises to marry Medea but then takes a second wife (the King’s daughter) to try to smooth things over in their new home.Unsurprisingly, Medea doesn’t take kindly to being scorned and she plots her revenge. But this isn’t Clytemnestra type revenge of killing the perpetrator. This is much darker. Her revenge will take away all things dear to Jason while leaving him to live in the aftermath. It’s next step cruelty.Medea kills wife #2, the king, and then stabs her two sons (shown above in a chariot pulled by dragons (or snakes depending on the translation). Medea tells Jason “your sons are dead.” He responds:“Dead? No! They live to haunt your life with vengeance”It’s a powerful line. And it begs the question—can you kill someone? Physically, yes. But what about mentally, morally, spiritually? It’s a question Dostoevs

I’m the business manager at Landmark Booksellers in Franklin, TN. Our owner recently purchased this book for all staff members so that we could read and discuss it. I’m so glad he did. I loved this book and it reignited a deep love and passion for bookstores.It also provided a number of ideas that I highlight in this episode. I share three things that stuck out to me and got me thinking and then talk about some of my favorite bookstores over the years. Get full access to Books of Titans at www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

I read an illustrated edition of Aesop’s Fables earlier this year and came away quite disappointed. I knew Aesop lived in the 7th century BC, but the book of fables contained elements from much later during the Roman period. I came away confused and wanting to know more.Someone suggested I pick up the Loeb Classical Library version of Babrius and Phaedrus to dig deeper. I’m so glad I did.We don’t have actual writings or fables from Aesop. We do have collections from 600+ years later from these two, Babrius and Phaedrus, who collected, added, and made innovations to Aesop’s Fables. Babrius wrote in Greek and Phaedrus in Latin. So, technically, this Loeb book should look like this:Here’s my original episode covering the illustrated Aesop’s Fables: Get full access to Books of Titans at www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

This is my favorite tragedy play by Sophocles. It’s absolutely stunning and shows the brilliance of the playwright in ways his other tragedies don’t. This is a story about means vs ends. Odysseus believes the adage “by any means necessary.” Deception is a legitimate means to reach a desired end. However, deception is not in the nature of Neoptolemus, whom Odysseus needs to fulfill a role. How will this play out? Will Neoptolemus give Odysseus “one day of shamelessness” to achieve a fated end?In this episode, I provide a brief overview of the play, highlight three fascinating themes, and conclude with a question on whether Odysseus or Neoptolemus is wiser. Get full access to Books of Titans at www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

This tragedy covers themes like justice, freedom, and fate. The play culminates in the question of “whose justice?” Who has the right to exact justice? And who is in the right in exacting justice? Does justice exist beyond one’s individual conception or is there a higher law? Get full access to Books of Titans at www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

Sophocles may have written 130 plays during his lifetime. Only seven survive. This podcast episode covers a book a fragments of the 100+ other tragedy and satyr plays of Sophocles.Fragments are phrases, sentences, or even paragraphs of content that were mostly referenced by other writers like Aristotle, Athenaeus, and Plutarch. They were aware of these plays that have since been lost to us and so they may have quoted a line within their own works. That’s how we have most of these fragments.And the fragments are within familiar mythological stories, so we have a rough idea of the content of the play and then try to fit these fragments into particular characters, contexts, and situations. It’s thrilling!There is an element of discovery and adventure in these fragments. Is this something Sophocles believed or did he have a character say it to prove another point? How did Sophocles expand on ideas from the seven play that have survived in his other plays?In this episode, I cover fragments I liked, things I learne

This tragedy concludes with a question - what law do you obey? Do you obey a father asking you to do terrible things from his deathbed? Or is there a higher law? Further, where does law come from? Is it divine? Is it dictated by those closest to you?The Women of Trachis follows a set of characters as “Fate is on the march.” It’s a fascinating case of one of the women, Deianeira, the wife of Heracles, going “wrong trying to do right.”There are so many connection points in Women of Trachis to other tragedy plays. In this episode, I cover some of those connections, talk about fate, Zeus, and characters moving things along, and close with that question about law. Get full access to Books of Titans at www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

In this podcast episode, I cover a pair of memoirs - one with a focus on a mother and the other with a focus on a father. Rick Bragg tells of his childhood in Alabama with an alcoholic father and a self-sacrificing mother, his pathway in journalism, and his attempt to pay back his mother. Debra King tells of her childhood in Wisconsin with an entrepreneurial father who was both a farmer and a gravedigger, and how that upbringing led to her path in life.* All Over but the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg* Gravedigger’s Daughter: Growing up Rural by Debra Raye King Get full access to Books of Titans at www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

In this episode, I'm diving into Jonathan Haidt's new book, The Anxious Generation, to explore three startling facts about its damaging effects. I then highlight what I consider to be the most manipulative tactic hidden within new algorithms – one that targets our subconscious. Get full access to Books of Titans at www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

It’s been an incredible year of reading so far. I’ve been utterly shocked at the beauty and relevancy of Greek Literature. In this episode, I share what I’ve read so far for 2024, what I have coming up during my Summer Break, and the most important thing I’ve learned in Greek Literature. Get full access to Books of Titans at www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

In the introduction to Ajax by Peter Meineck & Paul Woodruff, they highlight the main idea of the tragedy play:Ajax shows the aftermath of an altercation over the honors that warriors feel are due to them after battle.I love that this is a theme that shows up strongly in the Iliad as well. In fact, Ajax has so many connection point to the Iliad that it’s almost required reading before this play.Sophocles highlights so many themes that were perhaps birthed in Homer and have started percolating deeper with the tragedy writers. Some of these include:* Force vs Persuasion (Ares vs the Areopagus)* The will of the gods* Fate* Honor* GloryIn this episode, I talk about some of these themes, how they relate to other Greek literature, and what we learn about them in Sophocles’ Ajax. Get full access to Books of Titans at www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

In his introduction to The Theban Plays, Charles Segal highlights the question Sophocles asks in his plays:“Why should a man or woman of noble character and good intentions have to bear a life of suffering?”If Antigone is the woman of nobel character and Creon the man of, arguably, good intentions, why must they suffer? Why must bad things happen to good people?Sophocles uses character, circumstances, and divine agency to address this question.In this episode of the podcast, I highlight the themes, important ideas, and the one image I still have in my head after having read Antigone by Sophocles.Books of Titans is a listener-supported podcast. To support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Books of Titans at booksoftitans.substack.com/subscribe

Sophocles was a friend of Herodotus and a contemporary of the other Greek tragedy playwrights Aeschylus and Euripides. He wrote over 120 plays and seven of those survive. The Theban Plays (Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone) cover major events in the life of the mythical king Oedipus of Thebes and of his children.In this podcast episode, I talk about the two Sophoclean plays about Oedipus and share what I learned about Sophocles’ discussion of prophecy, the Greek concept of a curse, and the little tiny light at the end of this disastrous tunnel of tragedy.I read translations by David Grene, Paul Woodruff, and Robert Fagles. Get full access to Books of Titans at booksoftitans.substack.com/subscribe

Seven plays survive out of more than 70 written by Aeschylus during his lifetime. Last week, I covered The Oresteia, his famous trilogy, and this week I cover his four other surviving tragedy plays.I highlight the following three contrasts I’ve found throughout Greek Literature and share what we learn within these Aeschylean plays:* Fate vs The Will of Zeus* Ares (force) vs the Areopagus (debate/civilization)* Family Curse vs Human Agency Get full access to Books of Titans at booksoftitans.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Erik Rostad discusses book 13 from his 2024 Reading List - The Oresteia by Aeschylus.Show Notes* Aeschylus* Purchase The Oresteia* Support the Podcast - Hire EPR Creations for Online Consulting* The Books of Titans Book Subscription with Landmark Booksellers* The Great Books Reading List* 2024 Reading List* Reading Resources* Books of Titans Website Get full access to Books of Titans at booksoftitans.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Erik Rostad discusses book 11 from his 2024 Reading List – Fables by Aesop. Show Notes Aesop Purchase Aesop’s Fables Support the Podcast – Hire EPR Creations for Online Consulting The Books of Titans Book Subscription with Landmark Booksellers The Great Books Reading List 2024 Reading List Reading Resources Books of Titans...The post Aesop’s Fables appeared first on Books of Titans. Get full access to Books of Titans at booksoftitans.substack.com/subscribe