The Western Traditions Podcast

Alexander the Great dies and leaves behind a fragmented world of multi-cultural states led by Greek soldiers. The Hellenistic period which follows brings western ideas in to East. More than anything, it paves the way for Eastern religions, like Judaism, Buddhism and Christianity, to infiltrate the West.

Alexander the Great at the Battle of Granicus, the Battle of Issus and at Gaugamela. Jerusalem and Gaza. The Temple of Ammon in Egypt. His horse Bucephalus. His strategos Parmenio. Darius III flees to the East.

The youth of Alexander the Great. His strange mother Olympias. His friends Ptolemy, Nearchus and others. Cleopatra , Darius III and the fall of Thebes.

Virgil writes of Aeneas and the Trojan origins of Rome. The tale is both distinctively Roman and notably Greek. Heroes such as Odysseus and Achilles are recalled, as are monsters such as Scylla and Cerberus. The relationship between Roman mythology and Greek myths.

Phillip II of Macedonia. Alexander the Great. The Sacred Band of Thebes. A brief digression on Greek sexuality. Olympias. Leuctra, Mantinea, Chaeronea. Epaminondas. Pelopidas

Exitus and Reditus. The theology of the genealogies in the Bible.

The philosophical works of Aristotle. Metaphysics, Ethics and Politics.

Who is rewarded by the school system? Who benefits from the regimentation? Who benefits from the system of alienation? The child who sits still. The child who is quiet. The child who keeps his hands to himself. The child who doesn’t ask to go outside. We are trained to be docile from day one.

The next step up in sophistication with regard to note-taking.

Pythagoras, Euclid, Archimedes and more. Over the centuries, the ancient Greeks separate Mathematics and other fields of study from philosophy.

The Aristotelian contribution to Greek Science. Defining first principles. Substance, Accidents and the nature of being.

Asking questions about your reading projects to increase retention of information. The power of handwriting. Avoiding negative input during the early stages of learning.

The blood of thy brother cries out to me from the earth! The typology of Abel and Christ.

Socrates envisions a just society in which men and women are equals, and all are suited perfectly for their station in life. But is the cost of this just society too high? Censorship, lies and eugenics in the philosophy of Plato.

From his jail cell in Athens, Socrates makes his last argument in defense of the immortal soul. Death as separation of body and soul. The essences of Beauty, Justice and more. The perfection and purity of the soul.

Adam and Eve listen to the serpent, and suffer exile from Paradise as a consequence. Adam, Eve, the tree and the serpent prefigure Christ, Mary, the cross and Satan.

Xenophon disregards the advice of Socrates and joins the army of Cyrus the Younger. When Cyrus dies in combat against his brother, Artaxerxes, King of Persia, Xenophon and others lead ten thousand Greek soldiers on a long retreat home.

Made from earth, and from each other, man and woman meet in Paradise. The meaning of marriage. The eschatology of Genesis.

The Beringia Theory. Clovis points and the extinction of the megafauna.

The creation of the world in seven days. Allegory and Anagogy. The textual loop of Scripture.

Socrates stands trial for impiety. The Apology and the Crito. The similarities between Socrates and Christ.

Aristophanes mocks and derides the latest developments in Athenian society, and lambasts the motives for the seemingly endless Peloponnesus War. His play, The Clouds, takes aim at Socrates and all philosophers.

Native Americans are the real westerners. As an outsider, in this series, I investigate the history and culture of more than ten thousand years in the Americas.

Implementing the Western Traditions Podcast as a personal curriculum. For homeschool or for adults.

Introduction to Socrates and Plato and the tetralogies of dialogues. First Principles. Post-war Athens. Analysis of Plato’s dialogue Euthyphro.