102 - Livin' on a (Persian) Prayer

In this episode, we discuss the years 413-412 BC of the Peloponnesian War, including the Athenian response at home to the Sicilian Disaster, the Spartan and Theban devastation of Attic agriculture and commerce from Decelea, the dissolution of the "friendship" between Athens and Persia, the Spartans' building up of a navy and encouraging of revolts of Athenian subject-allies, the shifting of the war to the eastern Aegean, and a series of treaties are made between Sparta and the Persian satrap Tissaphernes

Primary Sources:
Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War (Book 8)
Plutarch's Life of Alcibiades
Diodorus Siculus' The Library of History (Book 13)

**Special Guest Episode on 'Ovid and the Art of Love' w/Esme von Hoffman**

In today's special guest episode, I am joined by director and screenwriter Esme von Hoffman (Festival of Cinema NYC 2019 Winner for Best Director) for her film, Ovid and the Art of Love. Esme and I discuss her background with Classics and Roman history, what drew her to make a film about the life of Ovid, her artistic vision in adapting the film to a modern audience, and some of the decisions that she made in writing its script. 

Synopsis: "A young man, Ovid (Corbin Bleu), finds his life in danger when he writes a provocative guide to love and tangles with the brutal emperor Augustus (John Savage). Based on the life of the famous Roman poet Ovid, this fun, classic story full of adventure, romance, and intrigue gets a modern twist. Set in a mash-up world of contemporary Detroit complete with togas, sneakers, hip-hop, oration, and poetry slams and filmed amidst the Motor City’s classical ruins, graffiti, and burgeoning art scene, Ovid and the Art of Love is cinematically beautiful, engaging, and uncannily relevant."

***The film is available to stream on all major platforms on May 19th 2020***

Website: https://www.ovidandtheartoflove.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ovidandtheartoflove

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OvidLove

Esme von Hoffman (Screenwriter / Director)

Corbin Bleu (Ovid)

John Savage (Augustus)

Tamara Feldman (Julia the Younger)

Tara Summers (Julia the Elder)