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The nonprofit Reading Odyssey is a partnership between scholars and readers. See our Board of Directors

2011 programs
- Final lecture of the Marathon2500 series on the actual 2,500 year anniversary
      - Join us Wed., Sept 21 at 1pm NY time (register free here)
- Arrian's The Campaigns of Alexander (ongoing - registration closed)

2012 programs
   - Homer's Iliad beginning January 2012 (register free here)
   - Homer's Odyssey beginning May 2012 (register free here)
   - Herodotus' Histories beginning September 2012 (register free here) 

See our search and tags to the right for more information on previous books from Aristotle to Darwin and Shakespeare. 

Homer Iliad1 Jan 2012 Books 1-8 audio recording

(download)

Here's the audio recording for Andre's  group.  Listen online or download the mp3 file and listen to it as a podcast on your mp3 player.

Some 'Ancient Greek' online games

Here are several online 'Ancient Greek' games.

I particularly like "Zeno" but they are all quite clever and fun to play. 

To play:
- click on the link below
- click to start
- and then type the first letter of the game you want to play - i.e. "Z" for the Zeno game

http://www.pippinbarr.com/games/letsplayancientgreekpunishment/LetsPlayAncientGreekPunishment.html

Enjoy!

Phil 

Tagged games

The Music of the Proper Names in Homer - A Guide to Pronunication

James Romm, Professor of Classics at Bard College, friend and board member of Reading Odyssey, provides in this podcast a guide to prononuncation in Homer.

This short podcast is intended for anyone reading Homer and especially for Reading Odyssey readers tackling Homer for the first time.

(download)

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About this guide to pronunciation

Tips on pronuncitation are very important for first-time readers of the Iliad. Readers often get intimidated by the names or experience some doubt when subvocalizing (subvocalization is silent speech) yet part of the power and beauty of the poetry comes from the music of the names.

Professor James Romm has faced this question of helping first-time readers pronounce the names when teaching his students at Bard. He has them read aloud sections of Homer and they invariably experience anxiety attacks becauase they don't know how to handle the names. 

He also faced this questions when writing his recently published and well-reviewed book, Ghost on the Throne, the first thorough account for the general reader about what happened after the death of Alexander the Great - a moment in history that many historians not to mention average readers know very little about but was quite important in the development of the Hellenistic world and the later Roman Empire 

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About Professor James Romm

James Romm is an author and the James H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of Classics at Bard College in Annandale, NY. He specializes in ancient Greek and Macedonian history, but has also worked on imperial Rome. He has held the Guggenheim Fellowship (1999-2000) and various fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and is currently Birkelund Fellow at the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Writers and Scholars at the New York Public Library (2010-11). He's a member of the board of Reading Odyssey and lives in the Hudson Valley with his wife, artist Tanya Marcuse, and three children.

Tagged Homer Iliad James Romm pronunciation

Arrian Book 7 Conference Call Recording (Andre's Group)

(download)

Here's the audio recording for the Arrian Book 7 conference call (Andre's group).  Listen online or download the mp3 file and listen to it as a podcast on your ipod.

James Romm at the New York Public Library, Wed Nov 2?

James Romm, editor of The Landmark Arrian, which we are reading now in two Reading Odyssey groups and the author of the newly published, Ghost on the Throne: The Death of Alexander the Great and the War for Crown and Empire, will be speaking at the New York Public Library tomorrow, Wednesday, November 2, 2011 from 7pm to 9pm.

Would you like to join other Reading Odyssey readers for this wonderful event?

If so, you can register free here:
http://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2011/11/02/james-romm-and-daniel-mendelso...

Thanks,

Phil 

Tagged Alexander the Great Landmark Arrian

Ghost on the Throne: The Death of Alexander the Great and the War for Crown and Empire

It's not much of a review, but I'll pass on the link to my post on James Romm's recent release Ghost on the Throne: The Death of Alexander the Great and the War for Crown and Empire. If you have enjoyed The Landmark Arrian you will definitely enjoy Romm's book--highly recommended. It expands the first eleven sections of his Epilogue "The Breakup and Decline of Alexander's Empire" and goes into greater detail. After the break I'll include the paragraph I specifically included for anyone in the reading group interested in reading this book:

Read the rest of this post »

Tagged Alexander the Great Landmark Arrian

Arrian - Book VII Discussion Questions

1.  Life after the East [7.1-7.3 , pp. 273-278]
What were Alexander’s long range goals after exploring the Persian gulf?  What would have made the most sense at this point?  Arrian’s assertion that Alexander “would have sought beyond the known for something unknown, vying with himself in the absence of any other rival” (p. 274) suggests two things.  What drove Alexander to seek for the most?  making the unknown known?  or being challenged by someone at his level (i.e. consider how he regarded Darius)?  This early part of book VII is concerned with mortality and how one should live.  What do the examples of Indian sages like Dandamis and Kalanos bring up with respect to Alexander and his character?  How does Arrian himself seem to blend eastern and western customs, somewhat like the pictures on p. 277 suggest?

2.  Macedonian-Persian tensions [7.4- 7.6, pp. 278-282]
Arrian’s historical narrative resumes here where the end of Book VI left off as Alexander discovers how his subordinates have been administering their respective satrapies while he was away in the East.  Punishment of irresponsible administrators is contrasted with generous rewards to others, including lavish wedding ceremonies uniting Macedonian men with Asian brides.  What are Alexander’s intentions for re-gaining power at this point (7.4)?  How are these intentions received by his people?  In 7.5, Alexander’s generosity of offering to pay all his soldiers’ debts is met with skepticism.  Why?  In 7.6, how do Alexander’s decisions to integrate Persian and Macedonian troops fit into his overall strategy to either maintain his empire or expand it?  What criticism could be made about Alexander’s judgment at this point?  Overall, is Alexander’s identity more Persian or Macedonian at this point?

3.  Soothing the Macedonian rancor [7.7-7.12, pp. 282-291]
In 7.7, Alexander is concerned with the waterways in Babylonia.  Coupled with the decommissioning of Macedonian veterans in 7.8, how might these decisions fall into line with a larger strategy for future operations?  Why are the Macedonian veterans still reluctant to trust Alexander’s judgment?  Do you believe that Alexander is trying to reward these veterans or get rid of them (or both)?  Sections 7.9-7.10 record a speech that is an effective overview of Philip’s and Alexander’s achievements as kings of Macedonia.  What is the main theme of this speech and what does that tell us about Alexander’s goal in trying to win over his men?  Based on Alexander’s main concerns in this speech, what did Alexander believe his men were most unsure about?  In the concluding paragraphs (7.10.5-7), what do you suppose Alexander is most concerned with concerning his discharged troops?  After the speech, what does Alexander do to help win over his troops the most?  What does the celebration banquet (7.11.8-9) do to re-emphasize Alexander’s main goal for his empire?

4.  Hephaistion’s death [7.13-7.14, pp. 291- 294]
After Hephaistion’s death at Ecbatana, Arrian relates many stories about Alexander’s reaction and grief (7.14.1-7).  Whether true or false, the plethora of stories alone seems to testify to a certain public importance that Hephaistion had for Alexander.  Which (if any) of these stories does Arrian endorse and why?  How did Alexander’s closest companions react to Hephaistion’s death?  Did they do this out of reverence for Hephaistion or for Alexander?  

5.  Alexander’s entrance into Bablyon [7.15-7.18, pp.294-302]
Alexander’s reverence for the Babylonian seers is quite a different matter.  For instance, he is said to have quoted Euripides:  “The best of seers is he who guesses well” (296).  Does Arrian hold Alexander’s disavowal of the prophets to blame for Alexander’s death?  How does Arrian characterize Alexander’s upcoming death in the greater scheme of things?  How much stock does Arrian put into prophecies like Peithagoras’ (7.18.1-5) and Kalanos’ (7.18.6)?

6.  Preparations for Arabia [7.19-7.21 , pp. 302-306]
How does Arrian characterize the military plans and preparations for a supposed campaign against Arabia?  On the other hand, how does Arrian explain Alexander’s judgment concerning the gods with respect to this upcoming Arabian campaign?  Why is Arabia so difficult to circumnavigate?  How is it proving as difficult to conquer or discover as perhaps India had been?  Are Alexander’s efforts with the Pallacotta canal at all helpful towards the goal of invading Arabia?

7.  Alexander’s Death [7.22- 7.30, pp. 307-315]
How does the omen of the diadem (7.22.2-5) read symbolically of Alexander’s upcoming death?  How close is Alexander getting towards deification as he nears his death?  Does Arrian believe in just punishment for man’s hubris?  How does the omen of the unknown criminal sitting on the throne relate (if at all) to the omen of the diadem in terms of Alexander’s death?  How does the account of Alexander’s fever and illness sound in terms of his almost superhuman reputation and power?  According to Arrian, how effective would it have been to put Alexander in the temple of Sarapis?  How can we read his “better” comment?  How objective is Arrian in terms of the final description of Alexander’s character?  his legacy?

8.  After Alexander [Epilogue, pp. 317-324]
After reading James Romm’s epilogue, how efficiently managed was Alexander’s empire?  Was there any difference in the level of management after Alexander’s death?  How could the empire have been administered differently?  How much better than the Persians did Alexander administer the empire?  How well had Alexander managed to integrate the Greeks back in Europe with Macedonia?  Were the chances good that a blood relation to Alexander could have taken over Alexander’s throne?  Was it possible for any of the surviving generals to have taken Alexander’s place of authority?

Arrian Book 6 Conference Call Recording (Andre's Group)

(download)

Here's the audio recording for the Arrian Book 6 conference call (Andre's group).  Listen online or download the mp3 file and listen to it as a podcast on your ipod.

Paul Cartledge "The Context and Meaning of the Battle of Marathon - Why We Have Been Celebrating the 2,500 Year Anniversary of the Battle of Marathon" - Marathon2500 Lecture #9

Professor Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Professor Greek Culture, Cambridge University and Hellenic Parliament Global Distinguished Professor in the History and Theory of Democracy at New York University, delivered on September 21, 2011 in front of a live global webinar audience the final lecture of the Reading Odyssey's Marathon2500 program. 

Other scholars joined Professor Cartledge including Professor James Romm of Bard, Professor John Marincola of Florida State, Professor Thomas Harrison of Liverpool University and Independent Scholar Robert Strassler.  Further, a number of scholars sent in their thoughts on the significance of the anniversary (see the slides below for their quotes).

Listen here to Professor Cartledge's final Marathon2500 lecture delivered on the actual date of the 2,500 year anniversary of the Battle of Marathon - September 21, 2011:

(download)
See the slides:

Click here to download:
ReadingOdyssey-9-21-11-M2500.ppt (2.04 MB)
(download)

About Marathon2500

With the support of several of the world’s best Hellenic scholars and sports historians, Marathon2500 commemorated the 2,500-year anniversary of the Battle of Marathon with nine lectures between September 2010 and September 2011 on the cultural, intellectual and athletic legacy of the battle. Delivered before live audiences, webcast online and archived for listening on demand, Marathon2500 was a program of the Reading Odyssey chaired by Professor Paul Cartledge. To multiply the impact around the world, the Reading Odyssey worked with libraries, community centers, universities, colleges, high schools, museums and sports organizations to create satellite listening centers (see more about the remote lecture network here).

Marathon2500 Podcast Library 

Professor Paul Cartledge and the Reading Odyssey have preserved the Marathon2500 lecture series in podcast format for readers, students and scholars. 

To access the whole library, click here: http://www.marathon2500.org/podcasts

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Professor Paul Cartledge Biography

For Professor Paul Cartledge's full biography, please visit this link (and scroll to the bottom): http://readingodyssey.com/paul-cartledge-marathon2500-launch

 

Tagged Battle of Marathon James Romm John Marincola Marathon2500 Paul Cartledge Robert Strassler Thomas Harrison
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