Classical Wisdom Speaks

What Can Ancient Epics Teach Us About Death? | Homer, Lost Classics & Greek Tragedy

What can the greatest stories of ancient Greece teach us about death, and how to live?

Thousands of years ago, Greek poets and playwrights were exploring questions we still struggle with today.

Is a short life of glory better than a long, ordinary one? What do we owe the dead? And how do we make sense of grief, loss, and mortality?

In this episode of Classical Wisdom Speaks, host Anya Leonard welcomes Classical Wisdom's resident classicist Ben Potter to explore how ancient Greek literature confronted death: from Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, to the lost Aethiopis, and the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.

In the Iliad, death is everywhere. Warriors lie unburied on the battlefield, Achilles is consumed by rage, and the ghost of Patroclus begs for the funeral rites that will allow him to find peace.

Yet the epic's conclusion offers something unexpected: a powerful moment of shared humanity when Priam comes to Achilles to reclaim the body of his son Hector.

The lost Aethiopis, part of the Trojan Epic Cycle, continues the story with the arrival of Memnon and the Amazon queen Penthesilea, whose death at Achilles' hands raises questions about honor, love, and the treatment of fallen enemies.

Meanwhile, in the Odyssey, Odysseus encounters the spirits of the dead. The forgotten sailor Elpenor pleads for burial, while Achilles, who sacrificed a long life for everlasting fame, offers a strikingly different perspective on heroic glory.

Was his sacrifice worth it?

Beyond Homer, the great Greek tragedians returned to these myths to explore conflicts between family, divine law, justice, and death. Works such as Antigone, Oedipus at Colonus, and Hippolytus reveal how ancient audiences grappled with questions that remain relevant today.

Anya and Ben also examine the historical world behind the literature, including Bronze Age burial customs, Mycenaean tombs, ritual pollution, and the Greek Underworld.

Are these ancient epics simply tales of heroes and gods, or timeless reflections on what it means to be human?

Key Topics:

    What ancient Greek literature teaches us about death

    Homer's Iliad and Odyssey

    Achilles, Patroclus, Hector, and the meaning of honor

    The lost Aethiopis, Memnon, and Penthesilea

    The Trojan Epic Cycle and lost Greek classics

    Odysseus, Elpenor, and the Underworld

    Achilles' choice between glory and long life

    Death and burial in Greek tragedy

    Sophocles, Euripides, and Aeschylus

    Antigone, Hippolytus, and Oedipus at Colonus

    Ancient Greek funeral rituals and Mycenaean tombs

    Hades, Tartarus, and the Elysian Fields

    Grief, mortality, and the duty to honor the dead

⏱️ Timestamps:

00:00 Introducing Ben Potter
00:46 Death in Homer and tragedy
01:19 Ancient Greek literary history
03:16 The Bronze Age world of Homer
04:12 Greek funeral rituals
06:31 Death and ritual pollution
09:49 Euripides' Hippolytus
11:11 Mycenaean tombs
13:29 Death in the Iliad
16:18 Patroclus' ghost and Achilles
17:45 Hector, Priam, and burial
19:05 The lost Aethiopis
20:42 Penthesilea and Achilles
22:42 Death in the Odyssey
23:46 Elpenor's plea for burial
26:19 Odysseus and the dead
28:19 Achilles and the price of glory
29:11 Hades and the afterlife
32:12 The Greek tragedians

What Do You Think? Which ancient Greek story offers the most powerful lesson about death?

Is it Achilles mourning Patroclus, Priam reclaiming Hector, Odysseus encountering the dead, or Antigone's struggle over burial?

And what can these ancient works still teach us about grief and mortality?

Share your thoughts in the comments!

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GUEST: 

Ben Potter is a classical scholar, longtime Classical Wisdom contributor, and creator of the Essential Greeks course. With expertise in Homer and ancient Greek theater, he explores how classical literature continues to illuminate the human experience.

How much of what we think we know about Cleopatra comes from history? 

And how much was created by Roman propaganda, Shakespeare, and centuries of storytelling?

In this fascinating episode of Classical Wisdom Speaks, host Anya Leonard speaks with international bestselling author Natasha Solomons about her novel I Am Cleopatra, the extraordinary life of Egypt's last pharaoh, and the challenge of separating the historical Cleopatra from the myths that surround her.

For more than 2,000 years, Cleopatra VII has captivated historians, writers, artists and audiences. Yet her story is so often told through the men in her life.

But who was Cleopatra beyond these famous relationships?

Natasha explains how rereading Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra inspired her to imagine a different version of the Egyptian queen: not simply a romantic heroine, but a formidable ruler, a shrewd political strategist and a woman navigating extraordinary dangers.

Together, Anya and Natasha explore the fascinating intersection of ancient Egyptian history, Roman politics, historical fiction and mythology.

They discuss how Cleopatra cultivated her image as the goddess Isis, used language and religion to appeal to her Egyptian subjects, and maneuvered between the competing worlds of Alexandria and Rome.

But they also examine a more intimate side of Cleopatra.

What was it like to be a woman wielding power in the ancient world? How did motherhood, personal vulnerability and the physical realities of women's lives influence the choices available to a queen?

From Shakespeare and Plutarch to the Library of Alexandria, Cleopatra's relationships with Caesar and Antony, and the enduring mystery of her death, this conversation reveals why Cleopatra continues to fascinate us.

Can we ever discover the real Cleopatra... Or does every generation create the Cleopatra it needs?

Key Topics:

Who was the real Cleopatra VII?

Cleopatra: history versus myth

Natasha Solomons and I Am Cleopatra

Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra

Why Cleopatra remains fascinating today

Roman propaganda and Augustus

Cleopatra's intelligence, charm and political power

Julius Caesar and Cleopatra's relationship

Mark Antony: romance or political alliance?

Cleopatra and the Egyptian goddess Isis

Ancient Egypt, Alexandria and the Ptolemaic dynasty

How Cleopatra used religion and public image

Women, power and vulnerability in antiquity

Cleopatra's children and motherhood

Plutarch and the ancient historical sources

The Library of Alexandria

Reimagining ancient history through fiction

Cleopatra's death and lasting legacy

⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 Who was the real Cleopatra?
00:21 Introducing Natasha Solomons
01:31 Shakespeare's Cleopatra
03:53 Researching ancient history
07:17 Cleopatra: history vs. myth
09:14 Cleopatra's legendary charm
10:57 Roman propaganda and Augustus
12:25 Cleopatra and the goddess Isis
14:21 Can we know the real Cleopatra?
17:10 Cleopatra and her children
19:13 Women and power in antiquity
23:35 Everyday life in ancient Egypt
25:23 Secrets of ancient Alexandria
27:30 Cleopatra between Egypt and Rome
30:01 Julius Caesar and Cleopatra
34:07 Mark Antony: love or politics?
39:01 Alexandria's lost history
43:00 Cleopatra's death and legacy

What makes Cleopatra's story so compelling is that she was not merely a character in someone else's history. She was a ruler who actively shaped her own image, even as her enemies and later storytellers reshaped it for their own purposes.

Was Cleopatra primarily a brilliant politician, a romantic heroine, or something far more complicated?

And do you think historical fiction can bring us closer to understanding the ancient world?

Share your thoughts in the comments!

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👉 Buy Natasha Solomons' book 'I Am Cleopatra': https://www.amazon.com/Am-Cleopatra-Novel-Natasha-Solomons/dp/0063449757

About Natasha Solomons

Natasha Solomons is an international bestselling novelist and the author of I Am Cleopatra, a historical novel that reimagines the life of Egypt's legendary queen.

In this conversation, she discusses her research, her approach to historical fiction, and her fascination with the women whose stories have so often been told through the perspectives of powerful men.

What Counts as Classical? | Dan-El Padilla Peralta on the Future of Classics

Why do we call ancient Greece and Rome “classical”? And who decided that their literature, art and philosophy should hold such a privileged place in our understanding of history?

Is there a difference between studying the ancient world and treating it as uniquely authoritative?

In this thought-provoking episode of Classical Wisdom Speaks, host Anya Leonard speaks with Dan-El Padilla Peralta, Professor of Classics at Princeton University, about the history of classical studies, the politics of cultural value and the future of the discipline.

At the heart of their conversation is a provocative distinction: the classics versus classicism.

For Dan-el, studying Homer, Cicero or the ancient Mediterranean is not the same as accepting the historical process through which certain cultures and texts became designated as “classical.” His critique isn't simply a call to stop reading ancient authors. Instead, he asks us to examine why some traditions have been elevated while others have been overlooked.

From Sappho and Cicero to W. E. B. Du Bois, Marcus Aurelius and the modern Stoicism revival, the discussion challenges us to think more carefully about the ancient world—and how we choose to study it.

They also confront difficult questions about museums, colonialism, private collections, academic institutions and access to ancient knowledge.

Can we preserve the value of studying Greece and Rome while rethinking the assumptions and institutions that have shaped the field?

Key Topics:

What is the difference between classics and classicism?

Who decides what deserves to be called classical?

What determines which ancient texts survive?

Cicero, Augustine and the formation of the classical canon

Can the classics inspire liberation?

W. E. B. Du Bois and ancient Roman literature

Sappho, papyri and the antiquities market

The modern revival of Stoicism

Should ancient knowledge be accessible to everyone?

The role of academic institutions

How classical studies might change in the future

⏱️ Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Dan-El Padilla Peralta
00:21 Classics vs. classicism
02:21 What makes something classical?
03:51 Who gets excluded from the canon?
05:39 Would changing the name help?
07:50 Why Greece and Rome dominate history
09:33 Empire and the survival of texts
11:33 Cicero vs. Augustine
13:20 Can the classics inspire liberation?
15:21 How should we read ancient texts?
16:03 Chance, Sappho and preservation
17:45 Why Stoicism became popular
18:43 Empire and cultural influence
24:21 Classics and racial capitalism
25:15 Oxford, museums and empire
27:03 Ancient papyri and colonialism
29:09 Sappho and the antiquities market
32:28 Who should access ancient history?
34:34 Do we still need universities?
45:05 A revolution in classical studies

What makes this conversation especially interesting is that Anya and Dan-el  don't always agree. Their exchange raises questions about whether the survival of ancient texts reflects deliberate choices, historical accidents or both—and whether reforming classical studies means rejecting institutions or strengthening them.

Dan-el ultimately argues for a more global approach to studying the past, alongside greater solidarity between scholars, institutions and independent learners.

Who should decide what we preserve, study and celebrate from the ancient world?

Do you think the classics need fundamental reform, or can the existing tradition accommodate a broader understanding of ancient history?

Share your thoughts in the comments.

👉 Classical Wisdom Members can watch the FULL, extended episode on Substack: https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/p/who-decides-whats-classical-unpacking
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👉 Buy Dan-el's book 'Classicism and Other Phobias': https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691266183/classicism-and-other-phobias

About Dan-el Padilla Peralta

Dan-el Padilla Peralta is a Professor of Classics at Princeton University whose research examines ancient Mediterranean history, the formation of classical knowledge and the relationship between antiquity and modern systems of power.

In this conversation, he discusses his work on classicism and the future of classical studies, asking how we might approach ancient history with both intellectual curiosity and critical reflection.

What Can Greek Myth Teach Us About Being Human? | Why Myth Matters

Why have stories of gods, monsters, heroes and tragedy survived for thousands of years?

For the ancient Greeks, myth wasn't simply entertainment. It helped people understand the gods, society, suffering, morality and the unpredictability of human life.

In this special extended Classical Wisdom event, Why Myth Matters, Anya Leonard is joined by Natalie Haynes, Sarah Iles Johnston, Jeremy McInerney, Helene Foley, James Romm and Agnes Callard to explore what mythology meant in the ancient world, and why these stories still matter today.

The event begins by asking what the Greeks themselves meant by mythos. Jeremy McInerney and Sarah Iles Johnston explore storytelling as a way of making sense of an uncertain world, the power of the gods, shared identities and the dangers of human existence.

Then Natalie Haynes turns to one of Greek mythology's most disturbing figures: Medea. Did Euripides transform her story by making her deliberately kill her children? Why does his play remain so shocking, and why does Medea remain strangely sympathetic despite committing an unimaginable crime?

Haynes also explores Medea's position as a woman, foreigner and outsider, revealing how tragedy could challenge the assumptions of its original Athenian audience.

Finally, Helene Foley, James Romm and Agnes Callard examine tragedy, philosophy and ethics. Why did Aristotle see tragedy as philosophical and universal while Plato distrusted its emotional power? Can witnessing suffering make us wiser? What is catharsis? And can tragedy teach us how to live?

Through Medea, Oedipus, the Oresteia and the lost Greek plays, the discussion reveals something essential about Greek tragedy: these stories confront enormous questions without necessarily giving us easy answers.

Perhaps that is exactly why myth still matters.

Key Topics:

What myth meant to the ancient Greeks

Why humans tell stories

Myth, religion and the Greek gods

Myth across different cultures

Myth, identity and society

Natalie Haynes on Medea

How Euripides transformed Medea

Medea as woman, foreigner and outsider

Why Greek tragedy still resonates

Aristotle vs. Plato on tragedy

Emotion, grief and catharsis

Fate, morality and human responsibility

Wisdom from the lost Greek plays

Can myth teach us how to live?

Why ancient stories still matter

⏱️ Timestamps:

00:00 Why Myth Matters
04:18 What did myth mean to the Greeks?
07:35 Gods, danger & uncertainty
09:22 Myths across cultures
18:07 Myth, society & identity
30:43 Why myths explore extremes
38:38 Do we still need shared myths?
43:15 Natalie Haynes on Medea
48:14 Why Medea shocked Athens
49:18 Did Euripides reinvent Medea?
53:33 Medea: woman, foreigner, outsider
58:18 Why Medea still matters
1:02:30 Tragedy, ethics & modern life
1:04:00 What makes tragedy unique?
1:14:39 Plato vs. tragedy
1:16:14 Emotion, grief & catharsis
1:27:38 Why Plato distrusted drama
1:47:06 Morality, fate & human action
1:47:22 Audience Q&A
2:05:30 Does myth need a moral?
2:05:47 The greatest Greek tragedies
2:07:45 Why tragedy never truly ends

Myths change. Their characters and meanings change. But the questions beneath them remain remarkably familiar: Why do we suffer? What do we owe one another? How much control do we have over our lives? And how should we live when there are no easy answers?

Which ancient myth do you think still has the most to teach us today?

Tell us in the comments.

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About the Speakers

Natalie Haynes is an author, broadcaster and classicist whose books include Pandora's Jar, Stone Blind, A Thousand Ships and No Friend to This House.

Sarah Iles Johnston is a scholar of Greek religion and mythology and author of Gods and Mortals and Arachne's Threads.

Jeremy McInerney is a scholar of Classical Greece and author of Centaurs and Snake Kings and Greece in the Ancient World.

Helene Foley specializes in Greek epic, tragedy, women in antiquity and classical reception.

James Romm is a classicist and author of Since You're Mortal: Life Lessons from the Lost Greek Plays.

Agnes Callard is a philosopher specializing in ancient philosophy and ethics and author of Aspiration and Open Socrates.

Have We Misunderstood the Women of Ancient Athens? | Katherine Backler on Their Forgotten Lives

Were women in ancient Athens simply wives and mothers, largely confined to the home? Or does the surviving evidence reveal a much richer picture?

In this episode of Classical Wisdom Speaks, Anya Leonard speaks with ancient historian Katherine Backler, author of Athena’s Sisters: Reclaiming the Women of Classical Athens, to uncover the lives, work, friendships and identities of women too often missing from our picture of ancient Athens.

Watch the FULL, EXTENDED EPISODE by becoming a Classical Wisdom Member today:

👉 Become A Member: https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/subscribe?coupon=b28f7da1 

👉 Listen to the FULL episode: https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/p/who-was-your-tent-buddy 

👉 Buy Athena's Sisters:  Reclaiming the Women of Classical Athens by Katherine Backler's https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/athenas-sisters/D8D6C6AFCA4F22DACB79595E116A5D7C

Through inscriptions, tombstones, legal cases, dedications and even ancient curse tablets, we encounter individual women whose lives would otherwise have disappeared: craftspeople and traders, a working mother proud of what she had earned, women running businesses, and a midwife and doctor remembered by those whose lives she touched.

We also explore something fundamental but frequently overlooked: female friendship. In a society where marriage was not necessarily expected to provide emotional companionship, relationships between women could be built on trust, affection, shared experience and mutual support. One extraordinary tombstone even preserves a woman defining herself not as someone's wife or daughter, but as another woman's friend.

What emerges is a far more complex picture of the women of Classical Athens—and a reminder that ancient lives rarely fit neatly into the categories history gives them.

Key Topics:
What do we actually know about women in ancient Athens?
The traditional image of the Athenian wife
Marriage, motherhood and citizenship
Citizen, immigrant and enslaved women
Recovering ordinary women from ancient inscriptions
Working women in the Athenian economy
Female doctors, midwives, traders and craftspeople
How women helped build and maintain Athens
Ancient curse tablets and women's social networks
Friendship between women
Why friendship mattered in a gender-segregated society
Aristotle and different forms of friendship
Neighborhoods and women's communities
How relationships shaped ancient identity
What ancient Athens can reveal about our own relationships

Timestamps:

00:00 Meet Katherine Backler
00:48 What do we know about Athenian women?
02:30 A more complicated reality
04:10 Citizens, immigrants & enslaved women
07:36 Recovering ordinary women's lives
09:04 A working mother's own words
10:17 Women at work in Athens
11:59 The female doctor Phanestrati
16:03 Women, pubs & curse tablets
18:02 Why female friendship mattered
20:35 Friendship in ancient Athens
25:38 Aristotle & types of friendship
27:45 Women & neighborhood networks
32:12 Relationships, identity & belonging
36:06 Rethinking Athenian women
37:09 Final thoughts

If our understanding of ancient Athens comes overwhelmingly through male voices, what changes when we start looking for the women themselves?

Let us know what surprised you most in the comments.

About Katherine Backler

Katherine Backler is a lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Leeds and author of Athena’s Sisters: Reclaiming the Women of Classical Athens. Her work explores the lives and relationships of women in ancient Athens, using evidence including inscriptions to recover experiences that traditional historical narratives can easily overlook.