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Among the Ancients

London Review of Books
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Emily Wilson, Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of both the 'Odyssey' and the 'Iliad', joins Thomas Jones, an editor at the London Review of Books, for a tour through some of the greatest works of Ancient Greek and Roman literature, from Homer to Horace.  Among the Ancients is part of the Close Readings podcasts collection from the London Review of Books. To listen to the full series, and all our other Close Readings series (including a second series of Among the Ancients), subsribe: Directly in Apple Podcast, at the top of this feed or here: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Introducing Among the Ancients

    EPISODE 1

    Introducing Among the Ancients

    Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones introduce their series on the great works of Greek and Roman literature, from Homer to Horace, and discuss some of the themes and preoccupations running through the twelve episodes. The authors under discussion in this series will be: Homer (Iliad and Odyssey), Sappho, Sophocles, Euripedes, Aristophanes, Catullus, Lucretius, Virgil, Horace, Ovid and Seneca. Non-subscribers can only hear extracts from most of the episodes in this series. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of the 'Odysse'y and the 'Iliad'. Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books and host of the LRB Podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    6 min
  2. The 'Iliad'

    EPISODE 2

    The 'Iliad'

    In their first episode of Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom begin with a beginning, Homer's Iliad: its depictions of anger and grief, of capricious gods and warriors’ bodies, and the sheer narrative force of Homer’s epic of the Trojan War. Non-subscribers can only hear extracts from the rest of the episodes in this series. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Read more in the LRB: James Davidson: Like a Meteorite https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v19/n15/james-davidson/like-a-meteorite Edward Luttwak: Homer Inc. https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v34/n04/edward-luttwak/homer-inc Colin Burrow: The Empty Bath https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v37/n12/colin-burrow/the-empty-bath Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of the 'Odysse'y and the 'Iliad'. Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books and host of the LRB Podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    49 min
  3. The 'Odyssey'

    EPISODE 3

    The 'Odyssey'

    In episode two of Among the Ancients, Tom and Emily turn to Homer’s Odyssey. They discuss the twisting, turning nature of both the narrative and its hero, the poem’s complex interrogation of the idea of ‘home’, and the violence Odysseus brings with him on his return from the Trojan War. Non-subscribers can only hear extracts from most of the episodes in this series. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Further reading in the LRB: David Quint: Poor Cyclops https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v31/n12/david-quint/poor-cyclops Barbara Graziosi: Where’s the Gravy? https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v31/n16/barbara-graziosi/where-s-the-gravy Colin Macleod: Homer's Gods https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v03/n14/colin-macleod/homer-s-gods Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of the 'Odysse'y and the 'Iliad'. Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books and host of the LRB Podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    9 min
  4. Sappho

    EPISODE 4

    Sappho

    In the third episode of Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom move from epic to lyric, with the poems of Sappho, or what remains of them. They consider what we know, and don’t know, about her life, and how her poetry challenges the heroic tradition, both in its subversion of Homeric ideas of war and nostos, and in its playful use of language. Non-subscribers can only hear extracts from most of the episodes in this series. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Further reading in the LRB: Emily Wilson: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v26/n01/emily-wilson/tongue-breaks Terry Castle: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v21/n19/terry-castle/always-the-bridesmaid Mary Beard: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v12/n19/mary-beard/sappho-speaks Peter Green: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v37/n22/peter-green/what-we-know Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of the 'Odysse'y and the 'Iliad'. Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books and host of the LRB Podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    12 min
  5. Sophocles

    EPISODE 5

    Sophocles

    In the fourth episode of Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom ask: what was it like to go to the theatre in Athens in 468 BC? And how far do modern ideas about tragedy, derived from Aristotle, apply to Sophocles’ plays? They then look in more detail at Oedipus Tyrannos and Antigone and what the plays have to say about agency and knowledge, and consider issues particular to Sophocles’ time, including civic responsibility and the role of immigrants in Athenian society. Non-subscribers can only hear extracts from most of the episodes in this series. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Further reading in the LRB: Hugh Lloyd Jones: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v02/n24/hugh-lloyd-jones/gods-and-heroes James Davidson: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v21/n19/james-davidson/an-easy-lay Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of the 'Odysse'y and the 'Iliad'. Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books and host of the LRB Podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    13 min
  6. Euripides

    EPISODE 6

    Euripides

    Euripides was the youngest of the fifth-century Athenian tragedians, and is often described as the most radical. But how daring was he? How far did he push the boundaries of dramatic form? Focusing on Medea and Hippolytus, Emily and Tom discuss the ways Euripides sought to shock his audiences, make them laugh, and explore their anxieties in a time of cultural change. Non-subscribers can only hear extracts from most of the episodes in this series. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Further reading in the LRB: Robert Cioffi: Euripides Unbound https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n18/robert-cioffi/euripides-unbound Anne Carson: Euripides to the Audience https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v24/n17/anne-carson/euripides-to-the-audience Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of the 'Odysse'y and the 'Iliad'. Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books and host of the LRB Podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    11 min
  7. Aristophanes

    EPISODE 7

    Aristophanes

    In their sixth episode of Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom discuss the comedies of Aristophanes, in particular Clouds and Lysistrata. How did an Aristophanes comedy differ from a satyr play? Was he a conservative or a radical? And what happened to comedy after Aristophanes? Non-subscribers can only hear extracts from most of the episodes in this series. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Further reading in the LRB: Emily Wilson: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n20/emily-wilson/punishment-by-radish Thomas Jones: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v24/n19/thomas-jones/short-cuts Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of the 'Odysse'y and the 'Iliad'. Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books and host of the LRB Podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    12 min
  8. Catullus

    EPISODE 8

    Catullus

    For the second half of their Among the Ancients series, Emily and Tom move to Ancient Rome, starting with the late Republican poet Catullus. Described by Tennyson, somewhat misleadingly, as ‘the tenderest of Roman poets’, Catullus combined a self-conscious technical virtuosity with a broad emotional range and a taste for paradox, often using obscene diction to skirt across the boundaries of gender and aesthetics. Non-subscribers can only hear extracts from most of the episodes in this series. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Further Reading in the LRB: Elspeth Barker: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v14/n19/elspeth-barker/o-filth-o-beastliness William Fitzgerald: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v28/n04/william-fitzgerald/badmouthing-city Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of the 'Odysse'y and the 'Iliad'. Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books and host of the LRB Podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    11 min
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Emily Wilson, Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of both the 'Odyssey' and the 'Iliad', joins Thomas Jones, an editor at the London Review of Books, for a tour through some of the greatest works of Ancient Greek and Roman literature, from Homer to Horace.  Among the Ancients is part of the Close Readings podcasts collection from the London Review of Books. To listen to the full series, and all our other Close Readings series (including a second series of Among the Ancients), subsribe: Directly in Apple Podcast, at the top of this feed or here: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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