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Literature and History

With millions of downloads, hundreds of hours of soundtracked content, and an overall emphasis on the cultural history behind famous works of literature, Literature and History is one of the most popular independent podcasts on its subject. Starting with Sumerian cuneiform in 3,100 BCE, Literature and History moves forward in chronological order through Assyriology, Egyptology, the Old Testament, Ancient Greece and Rome, and the birth of Christianity. The show's current season is on Late Antiquity (or 200-700 CE) and the dawn of the Middle Ages. A typical episode (they average about two hours) features a general introduction to a work of literature, then a full summary of that work that expects no prior knowledge, and finally, an analysis of the cultural, biographical, and historical forces that gave rise to the work in question. Original symphonic and ambient background music is woven throughout each show, and all episodes offer free full, illustrated, footnoted transcriptions as well as quizzes for purposes of review. The show has no advertisements, and its host takes pride in a professional approach that avoids chitchat and ephemera and gets straight to the educational content. You can listen to the episodes in any order, although most listeners begin at the beginning and proceed from there, as the podcast itself is chronologically organized. Doug Metzger finished his Ph.D. in literature in 2011. His chief scholarly interest, following his dissertation work, continues to be 19th-century realism and postbellum American philosophy.
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Now displaying: 2018
Episode 60: How to Make Love to a Roman (Ovid's Art of Love and Cure for Love) 0
Dec 10, 2018

Ovid’s Art of Love is ancient Rome’s manual of seduction – a record of the steamier side of the Augustan Age.

Episode 60 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-60-quiz

Episode 60 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-060-how-to-make-love-to-a-roman

Episode 60 Song: "Bad Advice from Ovid"
https://youtu.be/kfx-sjGorVM

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Episode 59: Early Ovid (Amores, Heroides) 0
Nov 13, 2018

The love poetry of Ovid (43 BCE-17 CE) was standard Latin curriculum for hundreds of years, but it was also the product of a very specific historical moment.

Episode 59 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-59-quiz

Episode 59 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-059-early-ovid

Episode 59 Song: "Ovid in Elegiacs"
Video https://youtu.be/vE1jkidRthY

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Episode 58: She Caught Me with Her Eyes (Propertius' Poetry) 0
Oct 10, 2018

Propertius (c. 50-1 BCE) took the Latin elegiac form to new heights of complexity and passion, even weaving subtle satire throughout his work.

Episode 58 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-58-quiz

Episode 58 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-058-she-caught-me-with-her-eyes

Episode 58 Song: "Arrogant Love Song"
https://youtu.be/BHEYVxqdztE

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Episode 57: The World Grows Dim and Black (Virgil's Aeneid, Books 10-12) 0
Sep 1, 2018

Virgil’s Aeneid, Books 10-12. The end of Rome’s great epic is about something Romans of Virgil’s generation knew very well indeed. War.

Episode 57 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-57-quiz

Episode 57 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-057-the-world-grows-dim-and-black

Episode 57 Song: "Dear Pallas"
https://youtu.be/WRZbUYwdTR0

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Episode 56: I Shall Release Hell (Virgil's Aeneid, Books 7-9) 0
Aug 13, 2018

Virgil’s Aeneid, Books 7-9. Aeneas’ arrival in Italy begins auspiciously enough, but soon things take a turn for the worse.

Episode 56 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-56-quiz

Episode 56 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-056-i-shall-release-hell

Episode 56 Song: "Another Siege"
https://youtu.be/bjqsZbGL8oM

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Episode 55: Among the Shades (Virgil's Aeneid, Books 4-6) 0
Jul 6, 2018

Virgil’s Aeneid, Books 4-6. The story of Dido and Aeneas, and his subsequent journey to the underworld, is the heart of Rome’s most famous poem.

Episode 55 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-55-quiz

Episode 55 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-055-among-the-shades

Episode 55 Song: "The Gods Are Insane"
https://youtu.be/Uybu1B2qq9o

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Episode 54: Out of Troy (Virgil's Aeneid, Books 1-3) 0
May 31, 2018

Virgil’s Aeneid, Books 1-3. The Aeneid is Rome’s great epic. Learn the story of its first three books, and when and why Virgil began writing it.

Episode 54 Quiz:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-54-quiz

Episode 54 Transcription:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-054-out-of-troy

Episode 54 Song: "The Epic Cycle Waltz"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcJgKUMS8k8

Bonus Content:
http://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory

Episode 53: Then Came Hard Iron (Virgil's Georgics) 0
May 4, 2018

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

Episode 52: White Flowers Die (Virgil's Eclogues) 0
Apr 12, 2018

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

Episode 51: Horace and Augustan Age Poetry 0
Mar 19, 2018

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

Episode 50: Our Brutal Age (Horace's Poetry) 0
Feb 19, 2018

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

Episode 49: The Strange Roots of Love (Catullus' Poetry) 0
Jan 31, 2018

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

Episode 48: The Right and the Expedient (Cicero's Career, 62-43 BCE) 0
Jan 15, 2018

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

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