Ancient Rome Refocused

  Intro Narration by David Denyer.   Wikipedia The Seikilos epitaph is the oldest surviving complete  musical composition , including  musical notation , from anywhere in the world. The  epitaph  has been variously dated, but seems to be either from the 1st or the 2nd century CE. The song, the melody of which is recorded, alongside its lyrics, in the  ancient Greek musical notation , was found eng...

  A mix of music provided by London composer David Denyer. Agave was performed and sung by Charlotte Holtum ("Give me Strength") Dionysus was performed and sung by Pavlos Christodoulou  Singing Bacchae were Alisha Iyer, Faidra Faitaki, Polyanna Cohen ("The Divine Will", "What is Wisdom?").   

Anna Kouremenos (lecturer at Quinnipiac University) and Rob Cain discuss a debate between Boris Johnson, Mayor of London (at the time), and Mary Beard, noted Classicist, when they took on each other in a debate forum to decide what culture was better: the Romans or the Greeks? Ms. Kouremenos as a Greek Historical academic provides a courtside analysis. Listeners are recommended to see the full deb...

The primary discussion is on her paper: PΩΜΑΙΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ ≠ ROMAN OCCUPATION: (MIS)PERCEPTIONS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD IN GREECE. A line from the paper sums up the direction of her research: "…very little has been written about modern perceptions of this period." This paper is available on Academia.edu. This is a fun and interesting discussion with an outstanding educator. The podcast includes the followin...

On the show Rob Cain interviews Simon Elliot the author of Roman Britain's Missing Legion: What really happened to the IX Hispana? Subjects covered in the podcast: * Evidence. * Citations in the records. * Possible solutions to the mystery. * The origins of the name Caesar. * What is the dream find for an archeologist to settle the IX Hispana mystery? * Decapitated heads discovered in Britain. Wha...

This podcast reviews the book: THE ROMAN GUIDE TO SLAVE MANAGMENT. Rob interviews the author and reads excerpts from the book. The Roman Guide to Slave Management, is a sly, subversive guide to the realities of servitude in ancient Rome. Cambridge scholar Jerry Toner uses Falx, his fictional but true-to-life creation, to describe where and how to Romans bought slaves, how they could tell an obedie...

Hayley Russell, producer of Helicon Theatrical Productions, discusses the ancient concept of KLEOS. Kleos is the Greek word often translated to "renown" or "glory". It is related to the English word "loud" and carries the implied meaning of "what others hear about you".  According to Wikipedia, a Greek hero earns kleos through accomplishing great deeds.

Andrew Hulse, producer of Helicon Theatrical Productions, discusses the scholar of epic poetry, Milman Perry, and his associate Albert Lord. Hulse promotes Lord's book The Singer of Tales as a "wacky and mind bending…" experience. Albert Bates Lord was a professor of Slavic and comparative literature at Harvard University who, after the death of Milman Parry, carried on that scholar's research int...

This story is about is interpreting a third century poem that puts Frogs and Mice into the characters of Ancient Heroes. Yes, this poem actually exists. Imagine you create a theater company. You decide to bring to life this ancient poem. You hold auditions, and you study the ancient storytellers called the Rhapsodoi. Picking out the best storytellers and musicians you travel to the 21st century ve...

News Release: Speech by Michael Bennet of Colorado Using Rome as an example during a speech in Congress after a mob tried to intervene in the legal and fair election of the President of the United States.

Rob Cain goes on a rant about modern and ancient heroes. He discusses the heroes of literature and reviews the heroes celebrated on TV as he was growing up. What is a modern hero? What is a classical one? Do heroes pay a price? 18:45 into the podcast a musical tribute is given to Khaled al-Asaad, a Syrian archaeologist and the head of antiquities at the ancient city of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heri...

If I was going to do walking tour of Great Britain I would pack this book with an extra pair of socks. Roman Britain is a great book, based on a series of lectures given at Oxford University. The book is filled with maps and drawings and insights into the ancient world. Check out the great map on the inside cover. Go for an old edition. It has a lot more dash. It's relatively small, and easy to pu...

An original musical piece by Zebulon (aka: Morgan Taubert). The piece was played in Episode 23 (S4) by permission of the artist. Do you want to hear more of his music? Check out Morgan's website at:https://zebulonstoryteller.bandcamp.com/

Morgan Taubert decides to write a letter to Herodotus, the Father of History. Check out his blogsite at: http://letterstocicero.blogspot.com/

Rob Cain interviews Morgan Taubert from Adelaide, South Australia. Morgan writes letters to the dead. This includes letters to Marcus Tullius Cicero. What do you say to the greatest orator of the Roman Republic? What would you say?  After you listen to the podcast check out Morgans' blog at:  LETTERS TO CICERO (AND MY OTHER DEAD FRIENDS). http://letterstocicero.blogspot.com Morgan is also a musici...

Dr. Joel Christensen, Brandeis University, gives his opinion on why it's important to study the classics, and why we should learn Latin and Ancient Greek.

Rob Cain and Dr. Christensen of Brandeis University have a small exchange on the question, "Do we really know what Ancient Greek sounded like?"

An original composition from the podcast Mice and Frogs Behaving Badly. Composer: Matthew Leigh Embleton http://www.matthewleighembleton.co.uk/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4pgcRSMEr4

The Batrachomyomachia or Battle of the Frogs and Mice is a comic epic, or a parody of the Iliad, commonly attributed to Homer. Prof. Joel Christensen and Eric Robinson have translated this odd poem putting frogs and mice in the place of the Homeric Heroes.   Dr. Christiansen, is an associate professor of Classical Studies and comparative literature, and is the chair in the Department of classical...

Rob Cain discovers antiques being sold on the internet. He digs deeper and deeper into what is real and what is perceived to be real. He answers an inquiry from Robert W.M. Greaves, the author of the popular blog site Matters Arising, and airs an interview by the late Archaeologist William Glover on the nature of context. This is a true investigation of what is real and what is not. Can we trust t...

Time for a little detective work. Did Julius Caesar actually say: "I could kill you faster than I could threaten to kill you?" It's on the internet. So it has to be true. Right? Rob Cain's Historical Detective Agency tries to find the out the truth.  

Old friends call in.

  00:00 - 18:35 Come with us to Mars! What if a civilization was discovered on Mars?  What if behind a stonewall, the remnants of a Martian Civilization was discovered?  Ancient Rome Refocused presents a dramatic narration of how this could very much match an unusual mania that swept the world in the 1920s.  Upon the discovery of King Tut's tomb, music, art, advertising, movies and fashion, reflec...

What's it like to be daughter of a Queen? Rob Cain interviews author and educator Vicky Alvear Shecter. She wrote the book Cleopatra's Moon, a tale of Selene, daughter of Cleopatra and Marc Antony.   Dramatic narration from Ms. Shecter's book. Nancy provides the voice of Selene who witnessed the Donations of Alexandria, where Antony distributed Roman lands to his children and Queen Cleopatra. As y...

  Author and BBC Channel 4 host Natalie Haynes is interviewed by Rob Cain. Her book The Furies tells the story of a teacher that teaches Greek Tragedy to a class of hard-luck students. As you may guess, tragedy follows. Ms Haynes talks to us about ancient tragedies, her life, and the writing process. Check out the interview with Ms. Haynes.   The show has two musical pieces. Jim Malcolm's The Flow...