Ad Navseam

This week Jeff and Dave take a close look at the Roman poet Ovid's (43 B.C. - 18 A.D.) first public work, Amores I.1. We cover such important literary notions as recusatio, ἀδύνατον, and what it must be like to live in Des Moines, IA. Come for the literature, stay for the measured mayhem. Apollo at war, Mars playing rhythm guitar, Venus with sword and helmet, and Athena fanning love's flames. It's...

This week Dave and Jeff watch—sometimes through their fingers—Wolfgang Petersen’s sweaty, beardy epic, Troy (2004). Come along as we revisit the film after several years of peaceful forgetfulness. Was it as bad as we thought? More fit for a shampoo commercial than a tour-de-force of bravado aristeia? Some highlights: a) musing over whether the film embodies a “Homeric Spirit” b) the “Tiresias” awa...

In this episode Dave and Jeff make their way through the life and (mis)adventures of Heinrich Schliemann, the German polyglot, tycoon, and romantic who was instrumental in the discovery of the sites of ancient Troy and Mycenae.  Who was this man?  Was he a legitimate archaeologist?  A mad genius?  A grave robber?  Charlatan?  All of the above?  Come along as we dig up Priam's Treasure, death masks...

Is the Homeric world make-believe, or is there a juicy, historical core at the center of these exciting adventure stories? We discuss some of the archaeological, geographical, and linguistic evidence for the truth behind the legend. Boar's-tusk helmets, Nestor's cup, elaborate burials, a catalog of ships, Hansel and Gretel, casserole - this episode has it all.

Dave and Jeff finish off their tour through some of the narrative and aesthetic aspects of Homer's first epic, the Iliad. Death on all sides, as Patroclus and Hector bite the dust, plus greaves, shields, and the Superman paradox. Come for the appetizers, stay through dessert.

Honor Lost, Honor Defended, Achilles Spends Book 9 Glamping in his Tent.

Achilles, Agamemnon, Briseis, Chryseis, Diomedes, a face that launched a thousand ships...Join us for Part 1 of our journey through the Iliad. It's going to be epic!

In this inaugural episode we introduce our listeners to Ad Navseam and discuss what it means to think about the Classics as a way of life.