Among the Ancients – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Technical and general information from the podcast's RSS feed.

Among the Ancients

London Review of Books

Arts

History

Frequency: 1 episode/33d. Total Eps: 13

Emily Wilson, Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of both the 'Odyssey' and the 'Iliad', joins Thomas Jones, an editor at the London Review of Books, for a tour through some of the greatest works of Ancient Greek and Roman literature, from Homer to Horace. Among the Ancients is part of the Close Readings podcasts collection from the London Review of Books. To listen to the full series, and all our other Close Readings series (including a second series of Among the Ancients), subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcast, at the top of this feed or here: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings

Read moreCollapse

Site

RSS

Apple

Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

🇬🇧 Great Britain - books
16/08/2026
#40
🇬🇧 Great Britain - arts
16/08/2026
#95
🇬🇧 Great Britain - books
15/08/2026
#51
🇩🇪 Germany - books
15/08/2026
#75
🇨🇦 Canada - books
14/08/2026
#83
🇬🇧 Great Britain - books
14/08/2026
#45
🇬🇧 Great Britain - books
13/08/2026
#40
🇬🇧 Great Britain - arts
13/08/2026
#95
🇩🇪 Germany - books
13/08/2026
#58
🇬🇧 Great Britain - books
12/08/2026
#36

Spotify

No recent rankings available

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Links found in episode descriptions and other podcasts that share them.

See all

https://lrb.me/atasignuppod
14 shares
https://lrb.me/ataapple
14 shares
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v28/n04/william-fitzgerald/badmouthing-city
1 share

https://apple.co/3pJoFPq
13 shares

RSS feed quality and score

Technical evaluation of the podcast's RSS feed quality and structure.

See all

RSS feed quality

To improve

Score global : 63%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

Year

Latest published episodes

Recent episodes with titles, durations, and descriptions.

See all

Seneca

Episode 13

Thursday, December 14, 2023 • Duration 11:28

For the final episode in Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom look at Seneca, whose life is relatively well known to us. A child of the established Roman Empire, born around the same time as Jesus, Seneca had turbulent relationships with the emperors of his time: exiled by Caligula, he returned to tutor the young Nero, but was eventually forced to commit suicide after being accused of a treasonous plot. For a long time, Seneca the Philosopher was often assumed to be a different person from Seneca the Tragedian, as they seemed such different writers. As a philosopher, he is the main source of what we know about Roman Stoicism, which prioritises virtue and the dispelling of false beliefs. Seneca's dramas, however, are full of extreme emotions and violence. Emily and Tom focus on two of these tragedies, Thyestes and Trojan Women, and consider how the two sides of Seneca fit together. Non-subscribers can only hear extracts from most of the episodes in this series. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Further reading in the LRB: Shadi Bartsch: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v37/n12/shadi-bartsch/fratricide-matricide-and-the-philosopher https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v31/n04/shadi-bartsch/dire-fury John Henderson: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v20/n07/john-henderson/dead-eyes-and-blank-faces Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of the 'Odysse'y and the 'Iliad'. Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books and host of the LRB Podcast.

Read moreCollapse

Ovid

Episode 12

Tuesday, November 14, 2023 • Duration 11:08

Ovid was perhaps the most prolific poet of Ancient Rome, certainly in the amount of his poetry which has survived (around 30,000 lines). This episode focuses on his 15-book epic, the Metamorphoses, a patchwork of hundreds of stories of transformation, including numerous retellings of famous myths from Apollo and Daphne to the Trojan War. In this episode from Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom consider the poem’s depictions of trauma, redemption and the transformation of gender roles, and the formal practices which shape the poetry, such as declamatio and suasoria. They also ask how Ovid’s writing in the time of Emperor Augustus affected his work, and the circumstances around his later exile from Rome. Non-subscribers can only hear extracts from most of the episodes in this series. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Further reading in the LRB: Denis Feeney: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v28/n16/denis-feeney/i-shall-be-read Paul Muldoon: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v15/n04/paul-muldoon/ovid-metamorphoses A.D. Nuttall: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v15/n16/a.d.-nuttall/a-kind-of-scandal Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of the 'Odysse'y and the 'Iliad'. Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books and host of the LRB Podcast.

Read moreCollapse

The 'Odyssey'

Episode 3

Tuesday, February 14, 2023 • Duration 49:54

In episode two of Among the Ancients, Tom and Emily turn to Homer’s Odyssey. They discuss the twisting, turning nature of both the narrative and its hero, the poem’s complex interrogation of the idea of ‘home’, and the violence Odysseus brings with him on his return from the Trojan War. Get 50% off a 12-month subscription to Close Readings with the code 'SUMMER50' at checkout when you sign up here: https://lrb.me/atasummer50 Further reading in the LRB: David Quint: Poor Cyclops https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v31/n12/david-quint/poor-cyclops Barbara Graziosi: Where’s the Gravy? https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v31/n16/barbara-graziosi/where-s-the-gravy Colin Macleod: Homer's Gods https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v03/n14/colin-macleod/homer-s-gods Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of the 'Odysse'y and the 'Iliad'. Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books and host of the LRB Podcast. Readings by Hazel Holder Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk

Read moreCollapse

The 'Iliad'

Episode 2

Saturday, January 14, 2023 • Duration 10:33

In their first episode of Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom begin with a beginning, Homer's Iliad: its depictions of anger and grief, of capricious gods and warriors’ bodies, and the sheer narrative force of Homer’s epic of the Trojan War. Non-subscribers can only hear extracts from the rest of the episodes in this series. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Read more in the LRB: James Davidson: Like a Meteorite https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v19/n15/james-davidson/like-a-meteorite Edward Luttwak: Homer Inc. https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v34/n04/edward-luttwak/homer-inc Colin Burrow: The Empty Bath https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v37/n12/colin-burrow/the-empty-bath Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of the 'Odysse'y and the 'Iliad'. Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books and host of the LRB Podcast.

Read moreCollapse

Introducing Among the Ancients

Episode 1

Thursday, November 17, 2022 • Duration 05:56

Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones introduce their series on the great works of Greek and Roman literature, from Homer to Horace, and discuss some of the themes and preoccupations running through the twelve episodes. The authors under discussion in this series will be: Homer (Iliad and Odyssey), Sappho, Sophocles, Euripedes, Aristophanes, Catullus, Lucretius, Virgil, Horace, Ovid and Seneca. To listen to the full series, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of the 'Odysse'y and the 'Iliad'. Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books and host of the LRB Podcast.

Read moreCollapse

Horace

Episode 11

Saturday, October 14, 2023 • Duration 09:17

Emily and Tom follow Virgil with one of his contemporaries, Horace, whose poetry played an important political role in the early years of Augustan Rome and has had an enormous influence on subsequent European lyric verse. They consider the original meanings of some of Horace’s famous phrases – carpe diem, in medias res, nunc est bibendum – and look at the ways his often complex poetics interrogate the art and value of poetry itself. Non-subscribers can only hear extracts from most of the episodes in this series. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Further reading in the LRB: Nicholas Horsfall: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v27/n12/nicholas-horsfall/ach-so-herr-major Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books.

Read moreCollapse

Virgil

Episode 10

Thursday, September 14, 2023 • Duration 12:03

In the ninth episode of Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom arrive at Virgil, focusing on his 12-book epic the Aeneid, which describes the wanderings of the Trojan prince Aeneas after the fall of Troy. They discuss the political background to Virgil’s life, which saw the fall of the Roman Republic, and the complex, ambiguous space his poetry inhabits, blending the mythical and historical, the geographical and imaginary, while interrogating the costs of empire and triumph in his own time. Non-subscribers can only hear extracts from most of the episodes in this series. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Further reading in the LRB: Denis Feeney: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v29/n01/denis-feeney/simile-world Rebecca Armstrong https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n05/rebecca-armstrong/all-kinds-of-unlucky Colin Burrow: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v22/n05/colin-burrow/imperiumsinefinism https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v38/n08/colin-burrow/you-ve-listened-long-enough Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books.

Read moreCollapse

Lucretius

Episode 9

Monday, August 14, 2023 • Duration 10:15

In their eighth episode Emily and Tom look at a contemporary of Catullus, Lucretius, and the only poem we have from him, De rerum natura (The Nature of Things), which sets out ideas about how to live one’s life based on the Epicurean philosophical tradition, embracing friends, gardens, materialism and moderation. Non-subscribers can only hear extracts from most of the episodes in this series. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Further reading in the LRB: Richard Jenkyns: Coaxing and Seducing https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v20/n17/richard-jenkyns/coaxing-and-seducing Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books.

Read moreCollapse

Catullus

Episode 8

Friday, July 14, 2023 • Duration 11:00

For the second half of their Among the Ancients series, Emily and Tom move to Ancient Rome, starting with the late Republican poet Catullus. Described by Tennyson, somewhat misleadingly, as ‘the tenderest of Roman poets’, Catullus combined a self-conscious technical virtuosity with a broad emotional range and a taste for paradox, often using obscene diction to skirt across the boundaries of gender and aesthetics. Non-subscribers can only hear extracts from most of the episodes in this series. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Further Reading in the LRB: Elspeth Barker: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v14/n19/elspeth-barker/o-filth-o-beastliness William Fitzgerald: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v28/n04/william-fitzgerald/badmouthing-city Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of the 'Odysse'y and the 'Iliad'. Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books and host of the LRB Podcast.

Read moreCollapse

Aristophanes

Episode 7

Wednesday, June 14, 2023 • Duration 11:35

In their sixth episode of Among the Ancients, Emily and Tom discuss the comedies of Aristophanes, in particular Clouds and Lysistrata. How did an Aristophanes comedy differ from a satyr play? Was he a conservative or a radical? And what happened to comedy after Aristophanes? Non-subscribers can only hear extracts from most of the episodes in this series. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Further reading in the LRB: Emily Wilson: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n20/emily-wilson/punishment-by-radish Thomas Jones: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v24/n19/thomas-jones/short-cuts Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of the 'Odysse'y and the 'Iliad'. Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books and host of the LRB Podcast.

Read moreCollapse

Among the Ancients – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Among the Ancients – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other33

Apple1

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other33

Apple1

Apple Podcasts

Spotify