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With millions of downloads, hundreds of hours of soundtracked content, and an overall emphasis on the cultural history behind famous works of literature, Literature and History is one of the most popular independent podcasts on its subject. Starting with Sumerian cuneiform in 3,100 BCE, Literature and History moves forward in chronological order through Assyriology, Egyptology, the Old Testament, Ancient Greece and Rome, and the birth of Christianity. The show's current season is on Late Ant ...
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Second only to the Tanakh, the 63 Tractates of the Talmud are the main text of Rabbinic Judaism, containing the teachings of thousands of ancient rabbis. Upcoming Seasons: https://literatureandhistory.com/upcoming-seasons/ Episode 104 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-104 Episode 104 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode…
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In the twilight of the Western Empire, Boethius (c. 476-523) served as consul, but ended his life imprisoned by the Ostrogothic King Theodoric, writing The Consolation of Philosophy. Episode103 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-103 Episode 103Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-103-boethius Bonus Content: https://liter…
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Augustine’s City of God, Part 2 of 2. The second half of the City of God contains some of Late Antiquity’s most influential writings – most notably Augustine’s take on Original Sin. Episode 102 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-102 Episode 102 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-102-an-old-mans-book Bonus Content: http…
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Augustine’s City of God, Part 1 of 2. The first half of the City of God is a broadside against paganism – its culture, religion, and history, subjects about which Augustine had much to say. Episode 101 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-101 Episode 101 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-101-against-the-pagans Bonus Con…
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Augustine’s Confessions, Part 2 of 2. The second half of Augustine’s Confessions contains some of the most famous theology in Christian history. Episode 100 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-100 Episode 100 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-100-late-have-i-loved-you Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/bon…
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Augustine’s Confessions, Part 1 of 2. The first half of Augustine’s Confessions tells of his wayward early years, his intellectual journey, and his spiritual awakening. Episode 99 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-099 Episode 99 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-099-the-boy-who-stole-pears Bonus Content: https://lite…
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Polyglot Jerome (347-420) had a gigantic impact on all subsequent Christian history, leaving behind a huge body of works, including the Latin Bible. Episode 98 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-098 Episode 98 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-098-saint-jerome Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-cont…
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The Dionysiaca, Part 2 of 2. The last surviving Greek epic of antiquity draws to a close with Dionysus fighting wars far to the east, in India. Episode 97 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-097 Episode 97 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-097-blood-and-ivy Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content …
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The last epic from Greco-Roman antiquity that survives in full, Nonnus’ fifth-century Dionysiaca tells of the wine god Dionysus’ journey eastward, to India. Episode 96 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-096 Episode 96 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-096-the-last-pagan-epic Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory…
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In 417 CE, the Roman poet Rutilius Namatianus journeyed from Rome back to his homeland of Gaul, not knowing whether there was a home to return to. Episode 95 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-095 Episode 95 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-095-rutilius-namatianus Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus…
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One of the later Latin poets of the Empire, Ausonius’ expansive body of work gives us a window into the changing world of fourth-century Roman culture. Episode 94 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-094 Episode 94 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-094-ausonius Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-conte…
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Sulpicius Severus’ (c. 363-425) life of St. Martin is one of the great hagiographies – a portrait of a timeless saint, but also of a human being and working bishop. Episode 93 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-093 Episode 93 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-093-severus-life-of-st-martin Bonus Content: https://litera…
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Athanasius (c. 297-373) wrote a wildly popular biography of the desert hermit St. Anthony, touting the ideals of asceticism and triumph over demonic temptation. Episode 92 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-092 Episode 92 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-092-athanasius-life-of-antony Bonus Content: https://literature…
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In Carthage, in 203 CE, a Roman noblewoman and her retinue were butchered in an amphitheater. Learn her story, and the earliest history of Christian martyrs. Episode 91 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-091 Episode 91 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-091-the-passion-of-perpetua Bonus Content: https://literatureandhi…
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Learn the documentary history behind how the Catholic Church was founded and set up as an organization, together with some of the works of the earliest church fathers. Episode 90 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-090 Episode 90 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-090-ante-nicene-catholicism Bonus Content: https://liter…
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Heliodorus of Emesa (3rd/4th century CE) wrote the longest novel to have survived from antiquity, an adventurous romance that reemerged into Europe in the 1500s. Episode 89 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-089 Episode 89 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-089-the-aethiopica-of-heliodorus Bonus Content: https://litera…
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In roughly the 160s CE, the Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata wrote A True Story, one of history’s earliest surviving novels, with strong tinges of what we’d call science fiction. Episode 88 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-088 Episode 88 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-088-ancient-greek-sci-fi Bonus Content: http…
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The satirist Lucian (c. 125-180) was popular in his own time and during the Renaissance, among other things probably being the first author of science fiction. Episode 87 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-087 Episode 87 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-087-lucian-of-samosata Bonus Content: https://literatureandhisto…
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Once pervasively described as a period of fall and decline, today Late Antiquity is often understood as a period of cultural flowering and economic revolution. Episode 86 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-086 Episode 86 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-086-intro-to-late-antiquity Bonus Content: https://literatureand…
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A primer on Biblical canon formation, retrospective on what we’ve covered so far, and introduction to the upcoming season. Episode 85 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-085 Episode 85 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-085-river Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.…
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After 300 CE, Manichaeism spread quickly from its origins in modern day Iraq and Iran. Recent archaeological discoveries have finally allowed us to learn about it firsthand. Episode 84 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-084 Episode 84 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-084-manichaeism Bonus Content: https://literaturea…
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The Nag Hammadi Library, Codex Tchacos, and Berlin Codex, as they came to light in the twentieth century, radically changed our understanding of early Christianity. Episode 83 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-083 Episode 83 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-083-gnosticism Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.…
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Learn the basic tenets and early history of Zoroastrianism, one of the most important and widespread religions in the ancient world, and possibly earth’s oldest living monotheism. Episode 82 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-082 Episode 82 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-082-zoroastrianism Bonus Content: https://li…
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One of the most spectacular pieces of writing in the world’s religious texts, Revelation influenced generations of writers and theologians. Episode 81 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-081 Episode 81 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-081-revelation Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content Patreon…
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The later epistles of the New Testament show early Christian theology expanding and evolving in the ancient Mediterranean. Episode 80 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-080 Episode 80 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/episode-080-the-general-epistles Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/bonus-content Patreon: https…
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