Tag Archives: Plutarch

Ancient World

Ancient World Now: Pelopidas, Part II

Click here for direct link to audio podcast Episode #49.

Click here for previous episodes.

The Sacred Band was an elite fighting unit of 300 men from the Greek city-state of Thebes. They were famous throughout the ancient world for their invincibility on the battlefield; their success attributed to the fact that the Sacred Band of Thebes was a unit of 150 couples described by Plutarch thus:

“a band cemented by friendship grounded upon love is never to be broken, and invincible; since the lovers, ashamed to be base in sight of their beloved, and the beloved before their lovers, willingly rush into danger for the relief of one another.” ~from Plutarch’s Lives

In today’s podcast, this band is led by Pelopidas against the Spartans. The Sacred Band was undefeated until the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BCE, where Philip of Macedon annihilated them. After this all-important historical battle, Philip wept and paid homage to the courageous fallen. A tomb was erected, and in the 19th century, excavations discovered 254 bodies arranged in 7 rows.

Listen to today’s podcast to find out how Pelopidas led them to victory against the Spartans in 375 BCE.

A minor surgery has laid me up for a bit, and set us back a couple of weeks. Sorry about that, faithful listeners, including Amanda in Virginia, who used our podcasts to help her understand The Odyssey this past semester. One good thing about this surgery, it got me reading lots about ancient medicine, wounds, surgery, and healing. Did you know that honey was packed into the wounds of men on the battlefield to stop bloodflow and start healing? I have lots more to share with you, but first we must get through Plutarch’s Lives for Boys and Girls.

Ancient World

Ancient World Now:Pelopidas, Part I

Click here for direct link to audio podcast Episode #48.

Click here for previous episodes.

So glad to be back!

Athens, Sparta, Thebes…Famous rivals, all. Today we hear of the Spartan hegemony over Thebes and what a small band of rebels decided to do about it. Again, I read from Plutarch’s Lives for Boys & Girls, retold by W.H. Weston, and illustrated by W. Rainey, this book was published in London & Edinburgh in the early 1900’s.

Ancient World

Ancient World Now:Themistocles, Part II

Click here for direct link to audio Episode #47.

Click here for previous audio episodes.

The Greeks had the “home-court advantage” at Salamis. Knowing that winds kicked up at a certain time of day, Themistocles postponed assault until the Persians were knocked about a bit! Hear today of the crafty tactics of the Athenian general, and of the fate of Persian king Xerxes’s brother. We all know the Greeks were victorious at Salamis, but how many know the man who led them to that victory was ostracized by his fellow Athenians because he’d gotten “too big for his britches?” Pick up Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans to find out how he ended up hanging out with Xerxes in Persia, settled quietly in Magnesia, and committed suicide rather than take up arms against his countrymen when Xerxes called upon him so to do! Who were these people! What drama!

Enjoy the final installment on Themistocles, from Plutarch’s Lives for Boys and Girls by W.H.Weston from the early 1900’s.

Ancient World

Ancient World Now:Themistocles Part I

Click here for direct link to audio podcast Episode #46.

Click here for previous audio episodes.

“The Persians are coming! The Persians are coming!” Can’t you just hear the Athenians running through the streets in panic? The men of the city sent their wives, children, and parents to Troezen for safety and hustled down to the ships ready to sail to the island of Salamis. Athens was abandoned. Plutarch writes of the sad sight of the old and infirm left behind, and of the pet dogs running after their masters down to the shore. One dog jumped into the water and paddled next to the galley all the way to Salamis, where he struggled ashore, fell down exhausted, and died.

Abandoning the city of Athens was the course of action planned by their leader, Themistocles, one of the “base-born lads”, whose intelligence and ambition made up for the fact that he was not a full-blooded Athenian! Only in a democratic Athens was his rise possible. Popular with the “common” people, Themistocles was known to greet everyone in the city by name. Gaining their confidence, he convinced Athens to prepare to defend themselves, and with shrewd foresight, set about making Athens a great naval power.

Enjoy today’s podcast!

Ancient World

Ancient World Now: Aristides, Part II

Click here for direct link to audio podcast Episode #45.

Click here for previous episodes.

Lucky for us Plutarch was born around 45 AD/CE! The assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March was just over the metaphoric-historic horizon. Presumably, Plutarch would have been able to talk to people with whom that event involved family and friends. And when he speaks about Aristides at Plataea, centuries before, it sounds as if he knows him personally. One of the most valuable things about Plutarch is that he chooses to focus his attention on the character, rather than on the achievements, of the individual. And because of his interest in the details of the everyday lives of his subjects, we get a very real presentation of the difficulties in bringing people together for a difficult task. Indeed, he sets out to show the burning rivalry between Athens and Sparta that would eventually destroy the hope of Greece in the Peloponnesian War.

Plutarch’s Parallel Lives examines the characters of great historical leadership, and much of our historical knowledge is based on his many writings. Plutarch’s selections highlighting the qualities of extraordinary leaders have shaped untold millions over the years. Standard reading in military academies for thousands of years!

Join us today on the battlefield of Plataea. Will the Spartans and Athenians stop bickering and join together to defeat the Persian Mardonius? And what’s up with the Thebans going behind everybody’s back with the enemy? Today we finish with Aristides in Weston’s retelling of Plutarch’s Lives. Will the Greeks unite and vanquish the invader? Check out today’s audio podcast (a lengthy 30 minutes!) to find out.

Ancient Tales, Ancient World

Ancient World Now: Aristides, Part I

Click here for direct link to audio podcast Episode #44.

Click here for previous audio episodes.

As you know, one of my favorite things is to peruse the stacks of any used bookstore. Over many years I have acquired an amazing library, which allows me to take a book down from a shelf and answer any of my many questions in a matter of minutes. In fact, my library is now so large and specialized that I am considering dividing sections into historical periods to help with my research!

Today I read from a little treasure I found somewhere I can’t even recall, Plutarch’s Lives for Boys & Girls. Retold by W.H. Weston, and illustrated by W. Rainey, this book was published in London & Edinburgh. Like many old books prior to when society began to think of them as a commodity, it is without an ISBN (international standard book number) or publication date. It is safe to say this book is from the early 1900’s, when books for children were beginning to have real interest for writers and illustrators. One can easily think back to N.C. Wyeth, Howard Pyle, Walter Crane, and Kate Greenaway. This book has the same feel as a Howard Pyle adventure book. Beautifully bound, with high quality heavy paper, and words impressed into the surface by the printing press so that you can practically read them like braille. A lovely find! And to top it off, it is well-written and in the general tone of Plutarch, as they hadn’t yet started “dumbing down” the classics.

Having brought us through the Persian Wars, I thought it might be nice to take some time to learn about some of the main characters. Aristides is up to bat & later we’ll give equal time to his rival, Themistocles. Sit back and enjoy this first part of Plutarch’s life of Aristides! See if you can tell which scene is illustrated here.