Literature And History

The Odyssey, Books 9-16.  We know Odysseus and Achilles well. But what motivates, and distinguishes these two great Ancient Greek heroes? Episode 13 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-13-quiz Episode 13 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-13-his-mind-teeming Episode 13 Song: "Eumaeus the Swineherd" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t37bGTVsyQk Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The Odyssey, Books 1-8.  Adventure, monsters, temptresses, and a whole lot of wine-dark Aegean. Learn all about the world of Homer’s Odyssey. Episode 12 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-12-quiz Episode 12 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-012-kleos-and-nostos Episode 12 Song: "Trapped on the Island of Calpyso" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJifP09BwU0 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The Iliad, Books 17-24.  As the Iliad reaches its  spectacular climax, it’s time to ask a big question. Who wrote it? Episode 11 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-11-quiz Episode 11 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-011-who-was-homer Episode 11 Song: "Trojan War Epic Rap Battle" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX29MfZlMlU Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The Iliad, Books 9-16. The violent and spellbinding middle books of the Iliad leave us with questions about Homer’s theology. Episode 10 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-10-quiz Episode 10 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-010-homer-s-gods Episode 10 Song: "What Happened to the Weasel Hat?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkHXYs8Irl8 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The Iliad, Books 1-8. Homer’s Iliad is the Tyrannosaurus Rex of ancient epics. And at the core of its 24 books is one shiny metal. Episode 9 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-9-quiz Episode 9 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-009-glittering-bronze-men Episode 9 Song: "History's First Mullets" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP6JmLa7hck Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Elementals, giants, titans and gods! Hesiod's Theogony chronicles a great war - one which would leave one entity sovereign over the cosmos. Episode 8 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-8-quiz Episode 8 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-008-before-orthodoxy Episode 8 Song: "It Is Time for Zeus to Have Sex" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC91eGoigNg Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Before Aristotle, Socrates and Plato, there was a grouchy farmer poet whose Works and Days continues to fascinate us. Episode 7 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-7-quiz Episode 7 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-007-hesiod-s-lands-and-seasons Episode 7 Song: "Hesiod's Bluegrass Biography" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNbxMLMJBWg Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Ancient Egypt produced a great deal of proverbs and wisdom literature. Some of it even slipped into the Bible. But how wise is wisdom literature? Episode 6 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-6-quiz Episode 6 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-006-the-pros-and-cons-of-wisdom Episode 6 Song: "Could We Please Dial Down the Misogyny" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlzZi68n7n8 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

We know about Ancient Egypt's pyramids, temples, and sarcophagi. What about its folktales and stories? Episode 5 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-5-quiz Episode 5 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-005-beneath-the-obelisks Episode 5 Song: "The Eloquent Peasant Rap" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvGM-FzbOpI Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

In the 3,500 year old Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, we can find the roots of the world's religions. Episode 4 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-4-quiz Episode 4 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-004-divine-judgment Episode 4 Song: "May My Eyebrows Live Forever" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PU9SWp9ZdE Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The Epic of Gilgamesh, composed 3,000-5,000 years ago, and translated in the 1860s and 70s, was one of the greatest literary discoveries of all time. Episode 3 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-3-quiz Episode 3 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-003-he-who-saw-the-deep Episode 3 Song: "Don't Fall Off the Roof" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJJurdC3OIg Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

The Enuma Elish and the Atrahasis, in circulation 3,800 years ago, were Mesopotamia's creation and flood epics, making them 1,000 years older than Genesis. Episode 2 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-2-quiz Episode 2 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-002-before-the-flood Episode 2 Song: "Babylon's Alcoholic Gods" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxED2Xa3R3Y Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

For thousands of years, cuneiform was the means of transmitting information through space and time in the Ancient Near East. Then, something happened. Episode 1 Quiz: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-1-quiz Episode 1 Transcription: http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-001-the-tower-of-babel Episode 1 Song "In the Days of Cuneiform": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXGtHWka5mI Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory