Among the Ancients https://www.lrb.co.uk en London Review of Books 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), subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcast, at the top of this feed or here: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/707d2fb2-4a99-11f0-88bd-abc0abcdcf8f/image/e3b4793af1e319878f7965c12f1c6721.jpeg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress Among the Ancients https://www.lrb.co.uk no serial London Review of Books 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), subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcast, at the top of this feed or here: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings 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), subscribe:

Directly in Apple Podcast, at the top of this feed or here: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq

In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings


]]> London Review of Books info+670ce85c4973799246ba68d0@mg-eu.acast.com Seneca For the final episode in Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom look at Seneca, whose life is relatively well known to us. A child of the established Roman Empire, born around the same time as Jesus, Seneca had turbulent relationships with the emperors of his time: exiled by Caligula, he returned to tutor the young Nero, but was eventually forced to commit suicide after being accused of a treasonous plot. For a long time, Seneca the Philosopher was often assumed to be a different person from Seneca the Tragedian, as they seemed such different writers. As a philosopher, he is the main source of what we know about Roman Stoicism, which prioritises virtue and the dispelling of false beliefs. Seneca's dramas, however, are full of extreme emotions and violence. Emily and Tom focus on two of these tragedies, Thyestes and Trojan Women, and consider how the two sides of Seneca fit together. 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: Shadi Bartsch: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v37/n12/shadi-bartsch/fratricide-matricide-and-the-philosopher https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v31/n04/shadi-bartsch/dire-fury John Henderson: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v20/n07/john-henderson/dead-eyes-and-blank-faces 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. Thu, 14 Dec 2023 14:55:00 -0000 Seneca full 13 London Review of Books For the final episode in Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom look at Seneca, whose life is relatively well known to us. A child of the established Roman Empire, born around the same time as Jesus, Seneca had turbulent relationships with the emperors of his time: exiled by Caligula, he returned to tutor the young Nero, but was eventually forced to commit suicide after being accused of a treasonous plot. For a long time, Seneca the Philosopher was often assumed to be a different person from Seneca the Tragedian, as they seemed such different writers. As a philosopher, he is the main source of what we know about Roman Stoicism, which prioritises virtue and the dispelling of false beliefs. Seneca's dramas, however, are full of extreme emotions and violence. Emily and Tom focus on two of these tragedies, Thyestes and Trojan Women, and consider how the two sides of Seneca fit together. 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: Shadi Bartsch: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v37/n12/shadi-bartsch/fratricide-matricide-and-the-philosopher https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v31/n04/shadi-bartsch/dire-fury John Henderson: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v20/n07/john-henderson/dead-eyes-and-blank-faces 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. For the final episode in Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom look at Seneca, whose life is relatively well known to us. A child of the established Roman Empire, born around the same time as Jesus, Seneca had turbulent relationships with the emperors of his time: exiled by Caligula, he returned to tutor the young Nero, but was eventually forced to commit suicide after being accused of a treasonous plot. For a long time, Seneca the Philosopher was often assumed to be a different person from Seneca the Tragedian, as they seemed such different writers. As a philosopher, he is the main source of what we know about Roman Stoicism, which prioritises virtue and the dispelling of false beliefs. Seneca's dramas, however, are full of extreme emotions and violence. Emily and Tom focus on two of these tragedies, Thyestes and Trojan Women, and consider how the two sides of Seneca fit together.

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:

Shadi Bartsch:

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v37/n12/shadi-bartsch/fratricide-matricide-and-the-philosopher

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v31/n04/shadi-bartsch/dire-fury

John Henderson:

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v20/n07/john-henderson/dead-eyes-and-blank-faces

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.

]]> 688 no Ovid Ovid was perhaps the most prolific poet of Ancient Rome, certainly in the amount of his poetry which has survived (around 30,000 lines). This episode focuses on his 15-book epic, the Metamorphoses, a patchwork of hundreds of stories of transformation, including numerous retellings of famous myths from Apollo and Daphne to the Trojan War. In this episode from Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom consider the poem’s depictions of trauma, redemption and the transformation of gender roles, and the formal practices which shape the poetry, such as declamatio and suasoria. They also ask how Ovid’s writing in the time of Emperor Augustus affected his work, and the circumstances around his later exile from Rome. 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: Denis Feeney: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v28/n16/denis-feeney/i-shall-be-read Paul Muldoon: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v15/n04/paul-muldoon/ovid-metamorphoses A.D. Nuttall: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v15/n16/a.d.-nuttall/a-kind-of-scandal 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. Tue, 14 Nov 2023 14:51:00 -0000 Ovid full 12 London Review of Books Ovid was perhaps the most prolific poet of Ancient Rome, certainly in the amount of his poetry which has survived (around 30,000 lines). This episode focuses on his 15-book epic, the Metamorphoses, a patchwork of hundreds of stories of transformation, including numerous retellings of famous myths from Apollo and Daphne to the Trojan War. In this episode from Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom consider the poem’s depictions of trauma, redemption and the transformation of gender roles, and the formal practices which shape the poetry, such as declamatio and suasoria. They also ask how Ovid’s writing in the time of Emperor Augustus affected his work, and the circumstances around his later exile from Rome. 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: Denis Feeney: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v28/n16/denis-feeney/i-shall-be-read Paul Muldoon: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v15/n04/paul-muldoon/ovid-metamorphoses A.D. Nuttall: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v15/n16/a.d.-nuttall/a-kind-of-scandal 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. Ovid was perhaps the most prolific poet of Ancient Rome, certainly in the amount of his poetry which has survived (around 30,000 lines). This episode focuses on his 15-book epic, the Metamorphoses, a patchwork of hundreds of stories of transformation, including numerous retellings of famous myths from Apollo and Daphne to the Trojan War.

In this episode from Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom consider the poem’s depictions of trauma, redemption and the transformation of gender roles, and the formal practices which shape the poetry, such as declamatio and suasoria. They also ask how Ovid’s writing in the time of Emperor Augustus affected his work, and the circumstances around his later exile from Rome.

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:

Denis Feeney:

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v28/n16/denis-feeney/i-shall-be-read

Paul Muldoon:

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v15/n04/paul-muldoon/ovid-metamorphoses

A.D. Nuttall:

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v15/n16/a.d.-nuttall/a-kind-of-scandal

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.

]]> 668 no Horace Emily and Tom follow Virgil with one of his contemporaries, Horace, whose poetry played an important political role in the early years of Augustan Rome and has had an enormous influence on subsequent European lyric verse. They consider the original meanings of some of Horace’s famous phrases – carpe diem, in medias res, nunc est bibendum – and look at the ways his often complex poetics interrogate the art and value of poetry itself. 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: Nicholas Horsfall: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v27/n12/nicholas-horsfall/ach-so-herr-major Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books. Sat, 14 Oct 2023 12:41:00 -0000 Horace full 11 London Review of Books Emily and Tom follow Virgil with one of his contemporaries, Horace, whose poetry played an important political role in the early years of Augustan Rome and has had an enormous influence on subsequent European lyric verse. They consider the original meanings of some of Horace’s famous phrases – carpe diem, in medias res, nunc est bibendum – and look at the ways his often complex poetics interrogate the art and value of poetry itself. 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: Nicholas Horsfall: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v27/n12/nicholas-horsfall/ach-so-herr-major Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books. Emily and Tom follow Virgil with one of his contemporaries, Horace, whose poetry played an important political role in the early years of Augustan Rome and has had an enormous influence on subsequent European lyric verse. They consider the original meanings of some of Horace’s famous phrases – carpe diem, in medias res, nunc est bibendum – and look at the ways his often complex poetics interrogate the art and value of poetry itself.

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:

Nicholas Horsfall:

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v27/n12/nicholas-horsfall/ach-so-herr-major

Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books.

]]> 557 no Virgil In the ninth episode of Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom arrive at Virgil, focusing on his 12-book epic the Aeneid, which describes the wanderings of the Trojan prince Aeneas after the fall of Troy. They discuss the political background to Virgil’s life, which saw the fall of the Roman Republic, and the complex, ambiguous space his poetry inhabits, blending the mythical and historical, the geographical and imaginary, while interrogating the costs of empire and triumph in his own time. 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: Denis Feeney: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v29/n01/denis-feeney/simile-world Rebecca Armstrong https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n05/rebecca-armstrong/all-kinds-of-unlucky Colin Burrow: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v22/n05/colin-burrow/imperiumsinefinism https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v38/n08/colin-burrow/you-ve-listened-long-enough Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books. Thu, 14 Sep 2023 13:34:00 -0000 Virgil full 10 London Review of Books In the ninth episode of Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom arrive at Virgil, focusing on his 12-book epic the Aeneid, which describes the wanderings of the Trojan prince Aeneas after the fall of Troy. They discuss the political background to Virgil’s life, which saw the fall of the Roman Republic, and the complex, ambiguous space his poetry inhabits, blending the mythical and historical, the geographical and imaginary, while interrogating the costs of empire and triumph in his own time. 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: Denis Feeney: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v29/n01/denis-feeney/simile-world Rebecca Armstrong https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n05/rebecca-armstrong/all-kinds-of-unlucky Colin Burrow: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v22/n05/colin-burrow/imperiumsinefinism https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v38/n08/colin-burrow/you-ve-listened-long-enough Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books. In the ninth episode of Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom arrive at Virgil, focusing on his 12-book epic the Aeneid, which describes the wanderings of the Trojan prince Aeneas after the fall of Troy. They discuss the political background to Virgil’s life, which saw the fall of the Roman Republic, and the complex, ambiguous space his poetry inhabits, blending the mythical and historical, the geographical and imaginary, while interrogating the costs of empire and triumph in his own time.

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:

Denis Feeney:

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v29/n01/denis-feeney/simile-world

Rebecca Armstrong

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n05/rebecca-armstrong/all-kinds-of-unlucky

Colin Burrow:

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v22/n05/colin-burrow/imperiumsinefinism

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v38/n08/colin-burrow/you-ve-listened-long-enough

Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books.


]]> 723 no Lucretius In their eighth episode Emily and Tom look at a contemporary of Catullus, Lucretius, and the only poem we have from him, De rerum natura (The Nature of Things), which sets out ideas about how to live one’s life based on the Epicurean philosophical tradition, embracing friends, gardens, materialism and moderation. 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: Richard Jenkyns: Coaxing and Seducing https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v20/n17/richard-jenkyns/coaxing-and-seducing Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books. Mon, 14 Aug 2023 12:36:00 -0000 Lucretius full 9 London Review of Books In their eighth episode Emily and Tom look at a contemporary of Catullus, Lucretius, and the only poem we have from him, De rerum natura (The Nature of Things), which sets out ideas about how to live one’s life based on the Epicurean philosophical tradition, embracing friends, gardens, materialism and moderation. 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: Richard Jenkyns: Coaxing and Seducing https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v20/n17/richard-jenkyns/coaxing-and-seducing Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books. In their eighth episode Emily and Tom look at a contemporary of Catullus, Lucretius, and the only poem we have from him, De rerum natura (The Nature of Things), which sets out ideas about how to live one’s life based on the Epicurean philosophical tradition, embracing friends, gardens, materialism and moderation.

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:

Richard Jenkyns: Coaxing and Seducing

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v20/n17/richard-jenkyns/coaxing-and-seducing

Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books.

]]> 615 no 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. Fri, 14 Jul 2023 12:15:00 -0000 Catullus full 8 London Review of Books 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. 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.

]]> 660 no 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. Wed, 14 Jun 2023 12:07:00 -0000 Aristophanes full 7 London Review of Books 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. 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.

]]> 695 no 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. Sun, 14 May 2023 11:54:00 -0000 Euripides full 6 London Review of Books 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. 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.

]]> 671 no 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. Fri, 14 Apr 2023 11:39:00 -0000 Sophocles full 5 London Review of Books 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. 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.

]]> 770 no 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. Tue, 14 Mar 2023 12:31:00 -0000 Sappho full 4 London Review of Books 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. 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.

]]> 719 no 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. Get 50% off a 12-month subscription to Close Readings with the code 'SUMMER50' at checkout when you sign up here: https://lrb.me/atasummer50 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. Readings by Hazel Holder Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Tue, 14 Feb 2023 12:11:00 -0000 The 'Odyssey' full 3 London Review of Books 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. Get 50% off a 12-month subscription to Close Readings with the code 'SUMMER50' at checkout when you sign up here: https://lrb.me/atasummer50 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. Readings by Hazel Holder Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk 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.

Get 50% off a 12-month subscription to Close Readings with the code 'SUMMER50' at checkout when you sign up here:

https://lrb.me/atasummer50

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.

Readings by Hazel Holder

Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk

]]> 2994 no 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. Sat, 14 Jan 2023 12:00:00 -0000 The 'Iliad' full 2 London Review of Books 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. 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.

]]> 633 no 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. To listen to the full series, 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. Thu, 17 Nov 2022 11:43:00 -0000 Introducing Among the Ancients full 1 London Review of Books 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. To listen to the full series, 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. 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.

To listen to the full series, 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.

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