The Western Traditions Podcast

Episode II.11 - Sparta 17.05.2023 47:35 ↓

Plutarch’s essay on Lycurgus. Laconia and Lacedaemon. The Spartans, their government, their lives, their army. Leonidas, Gorgo and Thermopylae.

Episode II.10 - Introduction to the Second Unit: Classical Greece 05.04.2023 38:08 ↓

The Greek polis or city-state. The city of Thebes and the tragedy of Oedipus. The value of the state and the importance of politics in classical Greece.

Episode II.09 - The Greek Dark Ages 18.03.2023 47:42 ↓

Life in Greece after the Bronze Age Collapse. Homer and Hesiod. The mystery religions.

Episode II.08 - The Odyssey 23.02.2023 1:26:29 ↓

Homer’s second great epic poem about the long-delayed return of Odysseus from the Trojan War.

Episode II.07 - The Iliad 16.12.2022 1:28:25 ↓

Homer’s great epic poem about the rage of Achilles outside the walls of Troy.

Episode II.06 - The Trojan War 14.11.2022 54:45 ↓

A wedding attended by gods leads to disastrous war among men. The Trojan War is a fundamental event for all ancient Greeks.

Episode II.05 - Greek Mythology: Part Two 27.10.2022 53:33 ↓

More Greek myths. The sexual conquests of Zeus, tales from Crete and the stories of heroes such as Heracles and Perseus.

Episode II.04 - Greek Mythology: Part One 30.08.2022 1:06:35 ↓

The first episode on Greek Mythology, beginning with the creation of the world out of chaos and ending with the advent of the twelve Olympian gods.

Episode II.03 - Mycenae 06.08.2022 55:07 ↓

The Mycenaeans establish the first real civilization of Western History.

Episode II.02 - Introduction to the First Unit: Ancient Greece 14.07.2022 9:56 ↓

From Mycenae to Homer, the foundations of Ancient Greek culture.

Episode II.01 - Introduction to the Second Series: The Greek Sun 08.07.2022 23:07 ↓

Introduction to the second series: The Greek Sun

Episide 25 - Fourth Mesopotamia 07.06.2022 1:11:52 ↓

The Persians rise to power. Israel returns from exile.

Episode 24 - Third Mesopotamia 09.05.2022 50:45 ↓

Two empires: Assyrian and Babylonian. The fall of Israel and Judah.

Episode 23 - Ancient Israel 28.04.2022 1:17:14 ↓

The story of the Bible and archaeological counter-perspectives.

Episode 22 - Fourth Egypt 31.03.2022 1:05:32 ↓

The New Kingdom. Egypt, under the leadership of men and women, such as Ramses II and Hatshepsut, reaches its final pinnacle of achievement before declining one last time into the background of history.

Episode 21 - Ancient Crete 03.03.2022 50:02 ↓

The descendants of the early European farmers found a unique civilization on the island of Crete and prepare the way for Greek culture.

Episode 20 - Third Egypt 16.02.2022 39:26 ↓

The Middle Kingdom of Egypt. Renewal and flourish. The evolution of religious belief. The Hyksos take power and bring Egypt to another intermediate period.

Episode 19 - Bronze Age Anatolia 01.02.2022 40:22 ↓

The Hittites take over the Anatolian peninsula in the 2nd millennium BC. The first Indo-European speaking power takes the stage and meets with the Egyptians and the Mesopotamians.

Episode 18 - Second Mesopotamia 07.01.2022 40:09 ↓

The story returns to Mesopotamia. Here, in the early second millennium BC, Babylon rises to power. The episode further considers societal and technological developments for all of mankind at the height of the Bronze Age.

Episode 17 - Second Egypt 24.11.2021 50:04 ↓

Old Kingdom Egypt. Great kings and great pyramids. Egypt makes its lasting mark on human history.

Episode 16 - Canaan and Phoenicia 29.10.2021 44:43 ↓

The land of milk and honey. Natufian culture transitions over thousands of years into the Semitic Canaanite culture of the Levant.

Episode 15 - First Egypt 11.10.2021 50:25 ↓

Another civilization springs up alongside the Nile River. But before there were pharaohs, there was a lot of history in Egypt, from the Paleolithic to the opening of the Bronze Age.

Episode 14 - First Mesopotamia 16.09.2021 44:42 ↓

The first known civilization arises in Mesopotamia around the year 3,500 BC.