The Western Traditions Podcast

Abram deepens his relationship with God. Rituals of animal sacrifice and human circumcision seal the covenant. Abram becomes Abraham, the father of nations.

Rome fights on until Carthage must beg for peace. Catullus and Hamilcar Barca.

Rome and Carthage come face-to-face for the first time. Carthage sees the war in terms of profit and loss. Rome sees only the matter of honor. The Romans dare to build a fleet to cross the ocean that belongs to their enemy and to bring the war to Carthage.

Hiero of Syracuse is the unknowing third-wheel in an increasingly vicious relationship between two superpowers. By 264 BC, he is already lost in the background, as Rome and Carthage finally square off to decide, not just who controls the Mediterranean, but who owns the future. Every man thinks of Rome at least once per day but once-great Carthage is less than a memory.

A look at the great counterpart of the Roman Republic: Carthage. How the Phoenicians colonized the Western Mediterranean and what little else we can learn about this ancient culture that the Romans destroyed completely by the end of the Punic Wars. A meditation on child-sacrifice in ancient cultures.

The Romans expand beyond their central Italian limits. In the 4th and 3rd century BC, they conquer their enemies and allies in central and southern Italy. They are led by consuls like Publius Decius Mus, who sacrificed his own life to give Rome victory. But every Roman soldier shows himself to be both valiant and indomitable.

The stories of three heroes of the early Roman Republic: Coriolanus, Cincinnatus and Camillus. The struggle between the social classes is known as the Conflict of Orders. 

Abram rescues Lot. Melchizedek celebrates a type of the Eucharist. A look at Jewish, pagan and Christian ceremonies. The identity of Melchizedek. The long life of Shem, son of Noah.

A look at the great counterpart of the Roman Republic: Carthage. How the Phoenicians colonized the Western Mediterranean and what little else we can learn about this ancient culture that the Romans destroyed completely by the end of the Punic Wars. A meditation on child-sacrifice in ancient cultures.

The history before history. For most of human existence, there was no such thing as writing. Yet our ancestors did leave records and remains that we can study to learn more about the human past.

History and prehistory. Before the dawn of writing, the human past is shrouded in darkness. The episodes of the Ancient World explore events before and just after the rise of civilization.

The Romans expand beyond their central Italian limits. In the 4th and 3rd century BC, they conquer their enemies and allies in central and southern Italy. They are led by consuls like Publius Decius Mus, who sacrificed his own life to give Rome victory. But every Roman soldier shows himself to be both valiant and indomitable.

The stories of three heroes of the early Roman Republic: Coriolanus, Cincinnatus and Camillus. The struggle between the social classes is known as the Conflict of Orders. 

God establishes a covenant with Abram. The journey to Egypt. Altars in Canaan.

In the eighth episode of the Roman series of the Western Traditions Podcast, we embark on a journey back to 509 BC when the Roman Republic was born from the ashes of monarchy. Discover how the Senate, patricians, and consuls shaped the nascent Republic amid a tumultuous landscape of political intrigue and warfare. We delve into the military might of early Rome, its societal structure, and the legi...

How to teach the first lesson of the Western Traditions curriculum.

The introduction to the Western Traditions podcast. The Great Books of the Western World and the Bible. The great men and women of western civilization.

The seven kings of Rome. Numa Pompilius succeeds Romulus. The line of kings ends with Tarquinius Superbus. Some background on Roman institutions, practices and vocabulary.

The story of Romulus and Remus. With the capture of the Sabine women, Rome expands territorially and biologically. The birth of the glory of Rome.

The Table of Nations. The Tower of Babel. Introduction to Abram. Genealogy and numerology in the Bible. God brings diversity to humanity.

Using outlines to enhance study.

Our souls are deathless, but nothing retains its own form. Thus speaks Pythagoras in this long and winding tale that combines ancient myth and history. Through a Roman lens, we read of Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, Hercules, Ulysses and more, coming right down to the advent of the Roman Empire.

The gods through the eyes of the earliest Romans. The Indo-European religious inheritance. Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Minerva. The precision and discipline of Roman religious practice. The ties to early Christianity.

God chastises the world with the Flood. Only Noah and his family are spared. A breakdown of symbols and morality in the flood narrative.

Pyrrhus, Greek king and general, fights the Roman tide that threatens to wash over the entire Greek world. The Seleucid Empire and Ptolemaic Egypt flourish and endure. The Maccabees revolt in Judea and start the Hasmonean dynasty of kings in Jerusalem.