Bret Devereux is a military historian at North Carolina State University and author of the recent viral article "Spartans Were Losers: The US Military's Admiration of a Proto-Fascist City-State is Based on Bad History." He joins us to explain why he thinks that the traditional image of Sparta as an egalitarian society of warrior badasses is a lie. You can find his blog, where he writes extensively on Sparta, here: https://acoup.blog/2019/08/16/collections-this-isnt-sparta-part-i-spartan-school/ ------------------ This episode is available in video format on the Lantern Jack YouTube channel: ht ..read more

As our world becomes increasingly hi-tech, more and more people have been turning to ancient wisdom traditions in search of meaning. There are two schools of ancient philosophy in particular that have seen a meteoric revival in recent years: Platonism and Stoicism. Cognitive scientist John Vervaeke joins us to explore why this is happening.  ------------------ Join the upcoming AGD Tour in Greece: greecepodcast.com/tour ------------------ Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast   ..read more

This time we're taking a little break from Greece to explore the broader history of democracy. Was democracy really a Greek invention? Historian David Stasavage, author of The Decline and Rise of Democracy, thinks it was not. And in today's episode he explains why. --------------- Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast ..read more

AGD is going back to Greece this winter for an epic tour of Greece's northern regions, focusing on mountains and oracles. For more information or to reserve your spot, email us at greecepodcast@gmail.com ..read more

Plato argued that the inevitable next step in political evolution after democracy is tyranny. Many political thinkers throughout history agreed with him. Were they right? ------------------ Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast --------------- A full transcript of this episode with references can be found on our website at greecepodcast.com ..read more

Was Marcus Aurelius really the enlightened ruler that history books and modern movies portray him as? And is his brand of Stoic philosophy applicable to the modern world? With us to discuss these and other questions is Donald Robertson, a psychotherapist and the author of How to Think Like and Emperor and Verissimus. ------------------ Support Ancient Greece Declassified on Patreon: patreon.com/greecepodcast Or make a one-time donation: paypal.me/greecepodcast ..read more

An update on the AGD Tour happening in Greece from August 16-24 For an outline of the itinerary click here.  ..read more

Thirty three scholars, philosophers, and archaeologists answer the question: If you could time travel to the ancient world, who would you want to meet? Scholars featured + the timestamps when they appear: 2:10  Edith Hall 3:36  Eric Cline 4:30  Andromache Karanika 5:45  Josiah Ober 6:48  Rush Rehm 7:30  Ian Morris 8:02  Rebecca Newberger Goldstein 9:20  Patrick Hunt 9:46  Raffaella Cribiore 11:04  Mark Adams 12:20  Peter Adamson 13:47  Richard Martin 15:08  M. M. McCabe 16:37  Zina Giannopoulou 18:45  Greg Nagy 19:43&nb ..read more

Philosophers today often dismiss Plato's Theory of Forms as an outdated and failed attempt by a pre-modern thinker to explain knowledge. However, cognitive scientist John Vervaeke offers a radically different take on Plato's theory and how it ties in with recent debates about the nature of intelligence. John Vervaeke is a professor at the University of Toronto and the creator of the popular YouTube series Awakening from the Meaning Crisis.  ..read more

An announcement about the upcoming Ancient Greece Declassified tour in Greece this summer.  ..read more