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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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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. Episode 103 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=351&catid=2 Episode 103 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com…
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Episode 102: An Old Man's Book (Augustine's City of God, Part 2 of 2)
2:27:38
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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/index.php/episode-102-quiz Episode 102 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-102-an-old-m…
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Episode 101: Against the Pagans (Augustine's City of God, Part 1 of 2)
2:15:31
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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/index.php/episode-101-quiz Episode 101 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-101-…
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Episode 100: Late Have I Loved You (Augustine's Confessions, Books 9-13)
2:05:20
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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/index.php/episode-100-quiz Episode 100 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-100-late-have-i-loved-you Bonus Content: https://…
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Episode 99: The Boy Who Stole Pears (Augustine's Confessions, Books 1-7)
1:55:25
1:55:25
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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/index.php/episode-99-quiz Episode 99 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-099-the-boy-who-stole-pears …
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Episode 98: The Life and Works of Saint Jerome
2:09:43
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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/index.php/episode-98-quiz Episode 98 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-098-the-life-and-works-of-saint-jerome Bonus Con…
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Episode 97: Blood and Ivy (Nonnus' Dionysiaca, Books 25-48)
2:32:27
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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 96 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-97-quiz Episode 96 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-097-blood-and-ivy Bonus Content: https://literaturean…
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Episode 96: The Last Pagan Epic (Nonnus' Dionysiaca, Books 1-24)
2:13:58
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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/index.php/episode-96-quiz Episode 96 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-096-the-last-pagan-epic Bonus Content: h…
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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/index.php/episode-95-quiz Episode 95 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-095-rutilius-namatianus Bonus Content: https://lit…
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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/index.php/episode-94-quiz Episode 94 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-094-ausonius Bonus Content: https://literatur…
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Episode 93: Severus' Life of Saint Martin
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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/index.php/episode-93-quiz Episode 93 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-093-severus-life-of-saint-martin…
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Episode 92: Athanasius' Life of Antony
2:06:20
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Athanasius (c. 297-373) wrote a wildly popular biography of the desert hermit St. Antony, touting the ideals of asceticism and triumph over demonic temptation. Episode 92 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-92-quiz Episode 92 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-092-athanasius-life-of-antony Bonus C…
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Episode 91: The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity
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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/index.php/episode-91-quiz Episode 91 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-091-the-passion-of-perpetua Bonus Conte…
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Episode 90: Ante-Nicene Catholicism
2:04:22
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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/index.php/episode-90-quiz Episode 90 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-090-ante-nicene-catholicism B…
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Episode 89: The Aethiopica of Heliodorus
2:12:29
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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/index.php/episode-89-quiz Episode 89 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-089-the-aethiopica-of-heliodorus Bo…
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In roughly the 160s CE, the Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata wrote A True History, one of history’s earliest surviving novels, with strong tinges of what we’d call science fiction. Episode 88 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-88-quiz Episode 88 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-088-ancient-gre…
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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/index.php/episode-87-quiz Episode 87 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-087-lucian-of-samosata Bonus Content:…
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Episode 86: An Introduction to Late Antiquity
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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/index.php/episode-86-quiz Episode 86 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-086-an-introduction-to-late-antiquity…
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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 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-085-river Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/bonus-content Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/literatureandhistory…
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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/index.php/episode-84-quiz Episode 84 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-084-manichaeism Bonus C…
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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. HarperOne Nag Hammadi Scriptures https://harperone.com/9780061626005/the-nag-hammadi-scriptures/ Episode 83 Quiz https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-83-quiz Episode 83 Tr…
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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/index.php/episode-82-quiz Episode 82 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-082-zoroastrianis…
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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/index.php/episode-81-quiz Episode 81 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-081-revelation Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistor…
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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/index.php/episode-80-quiz Episode 80 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-080-the-general-epistles Bonus Content: https://literatureandhistory.com/i…
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Possibly the most influential theologian in history, Paul codified and clarified Christianity as it emerged into the diverse world of the Eastern Mediterranean. Episode 79 Quiz: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-79-quiz Episode 79 Transcription: https://literatureandhistory.com/index.php/episode-079-the-pauline-epistles Bonus Conte…
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