Literature And History

Euripides’ Medea is Ancient Greece’s most famous play. But what did it mean to the Athenians in 431 BCE who watched it on the Acropolis? Episode 33 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-33-quiz Episode 33 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-033-woman-the-barbarian Episode 33 Song: "She Will Never Backing Down" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EaIXjT4uw0 Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Sophocles’ Theban Plays, 3 of 3. Antigone is a timeless and dark story about a clash of wills. But it’s also fascinating snapshot of the philosophical brawls of 5th-century BCE Athens. Episode 32 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-32-quiz Episode 32 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-032-trees-bending-to-the-torrent Episode 32 Song: "Yes, Socrates" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwFjCe1JkVk Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Sophocles’ Theban Plays, 2 of 3. Oedipus at Colonus, out of the ashes of the Peloponnesian War, is a story about a man who has lost everything but his own dignity. Episode 31 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-31-quiz Episode 31 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-031-the-requiem-at-athens Episode 31 Song: "An Unpersuasive Call to Arms" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z388AMTL9bE Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Sophocles’  Theban Plays, 1 of 3. Oedipus the King is one of literature’s great stories. It’s also a haunting window into the fears of war torn Athens in 429 BCE. Episode 30 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-30-quiz Episode 30 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-030-two-legs-in-the-afternoon Episode 30 Song: "Oedipus the King" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MroDLpX9Osg&t=257s Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Aeschylus’ Oresteian Trilogy, 3 of 3. Pursued all the away to Athens by the monstrous Furies, will Orestes prevail, or be torn apart? Episode 29 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-29-quiz Episode 29 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-029-the-mound-and-the-furies Episode 29 Song: "Flap Flap Flap, They're the Furies" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1lNfUyKceE Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Aeschylus’ Oresteian Trilogy, 2 of 3. The infernal House of Atreus had witnessed almost every imaginable act of depravity. Except for one. Episode 28 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-28-quiz Episode 28 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-028-a-mothers-curse Episode 28 Song: "The Oresteian Hoedown" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3i2bnVuvks Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Aeschylus’ Oresteian Trilogy, 1 of 3. A terrible family curse. A wronged queen. The Trojan War was only the start of the bloodshed. Episode 27 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-27-quiz Episode 27 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-027-the-bloody-king Episode 27 Song: "Hello, My Name is Agamemnon" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJwm-oSAVdo Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Masks. Choruses. Huge prosthetic penises. Before you read Sophocles, Euripides, and company, it’s a good idea to know a bit about Ancient Greek Theater. Episode 26 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-26-quiz Episode 26 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-026-ancient-greek-theater Episode 26 Song: "Golden Age Athens" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IPMk-r9QEw Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The work of Sappho, Pindar, and other remarkable Greek lyric poets makes us question everything we think we know about poetry, what it is, and what it does. Episode 25 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-25-quiz Episode 25 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-025-lyrical-ballistics Episode 25 Song: "Pindar and the Charioteer" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO7YW3l7I8g Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The Old Testament, Part 10 of 10. The seventeen Prophetic Books, produced during war and diaspora, are both despairingly bleak and searingly hopeful. Episode 24 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-24-quiz Episode 24 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-024-god-may-relent Episode 24 Song: "Happy Lambs and Doom" https://youtu.be/uSNJJuH7J5Y Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The Old Testament, Part 9 of 10. What’s the Song of Songs doing in the Bible? Is it a pious hymn to God, or just a couple of horny lovers talking to each other? Episode 23 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-23-quiz Episode 23 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-023-love-desire-exegesis Episode 23 Song: "Your Hair Is Like Goats" https://youtu.be/F3GTebN2ANU Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The Old Testament, Part 8 of 10. If there is one Biblical book that explains all of life, thick and thin, love and anguish, that book is probably Ecclesiastes. Episode 22 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-22-quiz Episode 22 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-022-fatalism Episode 22 Song: "Modern Day Ecclesiastes" https://youtu.be/Ay1d0QTLVbM Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The Old Testament, Part 7 of 10. In the Book of Psalms,  a single, fascinating, familiar linguistic device propels the world’s most famous poems. Episode 21 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-21-quiz Episode 21 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-021-the-bibles-magic-trick Episode 21 Song: "Ancient Hebrew FM" https://youtu.be/kstguwXR1Ao Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The Old Testament, Part 6 of 10. If God is so good, then why do the good and innocent suffer? The Book of Job’s aim is to answer this question. Episode 20 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-20-quiz Episode 20 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-020-the-problem-of-evil Episode 20 Song: "Boom Boom Boom Sea Monster" https://youtu.be/h9603n09bug Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The Old Testament, Part 5 of 10. The Historical Books tell of Israel’s conflicts with Syria, Assyria, Egypt, and finally, exile to the corridors of Babylon. 19 Episode 19 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-19-quiz Episode 19 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-19-the-one-who-struggles-with-god Episode 19 Song: "Rolling Into Canaan" https://youtu.be/4QWkszvhg6g Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The Old Testament, Part 4 of 10. Eden, the Flood, the Commandments– all fine. But what’s with all the stuff about tents, sacrifices, and – uh – testicles? Episode 18 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-18-quiz Episode 18 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-018-the-613-commandments Episode 18 Song: "The 613 Commandments" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_Rh2OONnxM Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The Old Testament, Part 3 of 10. Hear the Biblical story of creation and the first founders of Israel, and the texts that may have influenced this story. Episode 17 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-17-quiz Episode 17 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-017-roots-of-the-pentateuch Episode 17 Song: "The Creation of the World" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1uBUw1jEnw Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The Old Testament, Part 2 of 10. There are tons of books,  thousands of proper nouns, and many versions of the Old Testament. But all of it fits into four main parts. Episode 16 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-16-quiz Episode 16 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-016-four-main-parts Episode 16 Song: "It's Long" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTOi9p0NkO4 Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The Old Testament, Part 1 of 10. 1207 BCE. Two world empires. And between them, an unassuming strip of seacoast land that has been at the center of history, ever since. Episode 15 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-15-quiz Episode 15 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-015-canaan Episode 15 Song: "It's Time to Read the Bible" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsd53FrHRPY Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The Odyssey, Books 17-24.  As we reach the violent climax of Odysseus’ great adventures, it’s time to spend some time considering Homer’s worldview. Episode 14 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-14-quiz Episode 14 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-14-the-autumn-leaves Episode 14 Song: "Odysseus Comes Home" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBnFA5pOAcc Bonus Content: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory