056 - Classical Sculptures

In this episode, we discuss the innovation during the 5th century BC in the realm of free-standing statuary in the round, stelai, and architectural relief

055 - The Dionysian Mysteries

In this episode, we discuss the Great Mother Cybele and her influence on the cult of Dionysos; some of the myths and the iconography of Dionysos; and Euripides’ Bacchae and the elements of Dionysiac worship

Mythic Characters, Places, and Events Mentioned: Cybele, Phrygia, Mount Ida, Catalhoyuk, Matar Kubileya (mother of the mountains), meter (mother), Magna Mater (Great Mother), Kubebe (Hittite goddess), Asherah (a Semitic deity), Astarte (a Syrian deity), Venus Erycina (of Mt. Eryx on Sicily), Potnia Theron (Mistress of the Animals

Primary Sources:

Text/Euripides' The Bacchantes (Bacchae)

054 - Old Comedy and Aristophanes

In this episode, we discuss the Lenaia, the intricacies of Athenian Old Comedy, and what is known about the lives and works of the earliest comedic poets, including Aristophanes, whose eleven surviving works effectively define the genre today

Primary Sources:
Text/Aristophanes' The Acharnians
Text/Aristophanes' The Knights
Text/Aristophanes' The Clouds
Text/Aristophanes' The Wasps
Text/Aristophanes' Peace
Text/Aristophanes' The Birds
Text/Aristophanes' The Thesmophoriazusae
Text/Aristophanes' Lysistrata
Text/Aristophanes' The Frogs
Text/Aristophanes' The Ecclesiazusae
Text/Aristophanes' Wealth