Virgil’s Georgics (c. 29 BCE), or agriculture poems, show the poet reaching his full strength as a writer, and using an old form to analyze the history around him.
Episode 53 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-53-quiz
Episode 53 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-053-then-came-hard-iron
Episode 53 Song: "The Ancient Republican"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzNAutei6wA
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
Virgil’s Eclogues (c. 38 BCE) are poems about country life. Far from being innocent celebrations, though they are often cryptic filled with a haunting darkness.
Episode 52 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-52-quiz
Episode 52 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-052-white-flowers-die
Episode 52 Song: "Cyclops Power Ballad"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZOiQL5aJAA
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
Horace (65-8 BCE) was a central figure in shaping Augustan Age tastes in satire and literary criticism. His bumbling, self conscious persona has been charming readers for millennia.
Episode 51 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-51-quiz
Episode 51 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-051-horace-and-augustan-poetry
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
The Roman poet Horace (65-8 BCE), a contemporary of Augustus, endured wars, regime changes, and became a literary spokesman for the new principate.
Episode 50 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-50-quiz
Episode 50 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-050-our-brutal-age
Episode 50 Song: "Augustus Asks for an Epic"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU6nk9luAm8
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
Catullus (c. 85-54 BCE) is Rome’s most famous early poet. Departing from epic tradition, Catullus wrote a canon of short works that have been famous since antiquity.
Episode 49 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-49-quiz
Episode 49 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-049-the-strange-roots-of-love
Episode 49 Song: "Catullus' Love Song"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myQERneu-mQ
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
Following his consulship, Cicero did his best to salvage the battered Republic, eventually going head to head with the powerful young general Mark Antony.
Episode 48 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-48-quiz
Episode 48 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-048-the-right-and-the-expedient
Episode 48 Song: "The Last Philippic"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES5WpZ1GH-A
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
The story of Cicero’s career is an epic tale, filled with courtroom dramas, corruption, conspiracy, greed, and Cicero’s own enduring hope for a better future.
Episode 47 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-47-quiz
Episode 47 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-047-o-tempora-o-mores
Episode 47 Song: "First Catilinarian Rap"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDvjHnY6e9Q
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
Cicero (106-43 BCE) was the undisputed master of the Latin language. During his first thirty years, he witnessed events that heralded the Republic’s end.
Episode 46 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-46-quiz
Episode 46 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-046-the-republic-at-twilight
Episode 46 Song: "Roman Senate Barbershop"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWgg9aMq7gs
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
Lucretius (c. 94-53 BCE) is our most important source for Epicurean philosophy, perhaps the most misunderstood school of thought from the ancient world.
Episode 45 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-45-quiz
Episode 45 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-045-the-uncuttables
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
The Roman playwright Terence (c. 184-159 BCE) produced a string of brilliant comedies in the 160s BCE. His masterpiece, The Brothers, continues to astonish us today.
Episode 44 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-44-quiz
Episode 44 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-044-homo-sum
Episode 44 Song: "Would You Like to Be My Son?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdwb60Hn1-8
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
Plautus (c. 254-184 BCE) was a prolific comedy writer. His late play, The Rope, captures the dizzying changes sweeping Rome after the Second Punic War.
Episode 43 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-43-quiz
Episode 43 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-043-on-the-move
Episode 43 Song: "Let's Write a Romantic Comedy"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsrdUFmhiUI
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
Roman literature grew slowly from Greek traditions during the 300s and 200s BCE. Learn about its earliest figures, and how they paved the way for the Age of Cicero.
Episode 42 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-42-quiz
Episode 42 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-042-the-beginnings-of-roman-literature
Episode 42 Song: "Stupid Puns About Rome"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OPNayS4wJ8
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
A retrospective of everything L&H has covered so far, plus some special announcements.
Episode 41 Exam:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-41-quiz
Episode 41 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-041-everything-so-far
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
The Hellenistic period – 330-30 BCE, saw Alexander’s successor kingdoms rotting away in the east, the rise of Rome, and the birth of modern consciousness.
Episode 40 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-40-quiz
Episode 40 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-040-hellenism-and-the-birth-of-the-self
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
Apollonius’ Jason and the Argonauts, Books 3-4. Mesmerizing Medea takes center stage at the Argonautica’s end, dominating the epic’s events.
Episode 39 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-39-quiz
Episode 39 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-039-medea-and-the-argonauts
Episode 39 Song: "Jason's Power Ballad"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BqyO8XFT5U
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
Jason and the Argonauts, Books 1-2. Journey with Jason to find the Golden Fleece, and learn about the Greco-Egyptian writer, Apollonius of Rhodes.
Episode 38 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-38-quiz
Episode 38 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-038-the-epic-anti-hero
Episode 38 Song: "The Golden Moby-Dick Fleece"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BRSbaaK-i4
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
Menander’s Old Cantankerous (316 BCE), produced during the New Comedy period, shows theater beginning to take on its modern form.
Episode 37 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-37-quiz
Episode 37 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-037-the-new-comedy
Episode 37 Song: "Alexander the. . .um. . .Great"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc2BYWLWtLw
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, with all of its nudity, sex, and explicit language, was nonetheless his most powerful salvo against the Peloponnesian War.
Episode 36 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-36-quiz
Episode 36 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-036-war-and-peace-and-sex
Episode 36 Song: "Lysistrata in Three Minutes"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaJxAK0HAxU
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
Aristophanes’ The Clouds is a dazzling satire on Athenian philosophy, showing a very different Socrates than Plato’s.
Episode 35 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-35-quiz
Episode 35 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-035-the-great-thundercrap
Episode 35 Song: "Aristophanes Barbershop"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhAbkjs9HWA
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
Euripides’ The Bacchae, one of the darkest and bloodiest works of Ancient Greek tragedy, is about the spread of cult religions during the late Peloponnesian War.
Episode 34 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-34-quiz
Episode 34 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-034-the-traditions-of-our-forefathers
Episode 34 Song: "Interview with Dionysus"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxd0jATUZ-s
Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory
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