Classical Studies 101 - The Iliad - Cha 19

The Trojan Horse.  One of the most iconic figures, images and stories in the history of the world.

It is neither in The Iliad nor The Odyssey that we learn its story.  We learn it in Book II of The Aeneid.  

Join Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dr. Gary Stickel as they take us on a journey through one of the greatest tales the world has ever known. 

Is there a secret number system hidden in The Iliad and The Odyssey? Did Homer convey secret ancient mystery teachings in his great epics? 

Join this encore presentation as Dr. Gary Stickel regales us with his theory of "Code 12" the secret number system hidden in Homer's works.  This concept is key to a lot of our discussions of classical works.  

Sean Marlon Newcombe hosts.

And so we begin the greatest epic of the greatest empire the world has ever known.  Virgil's Aeneid, the epic tale of the founding of the Roman Empire. 

The Aeneid tells the story of Aeneas, a Trojan hero who escaped the fall of Troy and traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans.  The poem consists of twelve books and covers Aeneas's adventures from his departure from Troy to his final quest to found the Roman people.

Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dr. Gary Stickel lead the journey.

Still haunting millennia later, Sophocles' "Ajax" is one of the extraordinary works of world Drama.  Join us as we discuss the tragic story of a the Trojan War hero Ajax and the psychological rupture that the bloodshed caused him.  

Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dr. Gary Stickel discuss.

One of the great works of world drama, Euripides "The Bacchae" has mesmerized audiences for over 2000 years.  In the play, the god Dionysus returns to Thebes, his mortal mother’s city, to introduce his cult and punish his relatives who have denied his divinity as the son of Zeus.

What is the play really about and why is it still relevant today?

Join Dr. Gary Stickel and Sean Marlon Newcombe as they discuss this masterpiece. 

The end... or an anti-climax? Some scholars think this may have been a later add-on after Homer was long gone. Listen in as Dr. Gary Stickel and Sean Marlon Newcombe discuss. 

"Warriors, come out and play!" 

So goes the iconic line from this legendary violent retelling of an Ancient Greek tale.  Based on "The Anabasis" by Xenophon which tells the story of a band of Greek mercenaries trying to make their way home through enemy territories, "The Warriors" (1979) transposes this tale to the tough worlds of New York City in the 1970s.  Instead of a band of Greek mercenaries, it's a street gang making their way home through enemy neighborhoods. 

Civic leaders feared the film would cause violence.  Is it still dangerous after all these years?

Find out as Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dr. Gary Stickel roam with The Warriors.

A reboot of the 1947 film "Down To Earth" and starring the incandescent Olivia Newton-John and the inimitable Gene Kelly, "Xanadu" (1980) seemed destined to be a hit.  Instead, it's renown as one of the great flops in Hollywood history.  But was this story of a Greek Muse come to earth really as bad as all that?  

Join Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dr. Gary Stickel as they discuss this legendary film.

Featuring a goddess of the silver screen, 1947's "Down To Earth" tells the story of a goddess who comes down to earth to act as a muse for a struggling playwright.  Cinema deity Rita Hayworth stars as Terpsichore, one of the Nine Muses of Greek mythology and she decides to come down from the heavens to instruct a young writer/director on how to properly produce his musical on the Muses. Comedy and romance ensue. 

Is it a good film? How true is it to mythology?

Join Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dr. Gary Stickel as they discuss this tale from Hollywood's Golden Era. 

Penelope and Odysseus reunite.  Nothing more need be said.

Join the discussion with Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dr. Gary Stickel