Juvenal

For their final conversation Among the Ancients, Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones turn to the contradictions of the Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius. Said by Machiavelli to be the last of the ‘five good emperors’ who ruled Rome for most of the second century CE, Marcus oversaw devastating wars on the frontiers, a deadly plague and economic turmoil. The writings known in English as The Meditations, and in Latin as ‘to himself’, were composed in Greek in the last decade of Marcus’ life. They reveal the emperor’s preoccupations with illness, growing old, death and posthumous reputation, as he urges himself not to be troubled by such transient things.

Apuleius’ ‘Metamorphoses’, better known as ‘The Golden Ass’, is the only ancient Roman novel to have survived in its entirety. Following the story of Lucius, forced to suffer as a donkey until the goddess Isis intervenes, the novel includes frenetic wordplay, filthy humour and the earliest known version of the Psyche and Cupid myth. In this episode, Tom and Emily discuss Apuleius’ anarchic mix of the high and low brow, and his incisive depiction of the lives of impoverished and enslaved people.

The Annals, Tacitus’ study of the emperors from Tiberius to Nero, covers some of the most vivid and ruthless episodes in Roman history. A masterclass in political intrigue (and how not to do it), the Annals features mutiny, senatorial backstabbing, wars on the imperial frontiers, political purges and enormous egos. Emily and Tom explore the many ambiguities that make the Annals rewarding, as well as difficult, reading and discuss Tacitus’ knotty style and approach to history. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full and to our other Close Readings series, sign up: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Further reading in the LRB: Mary Beard: Four-Day Caesar https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v26/n02/mary-beard/four-day-caesar Anthony Grafton: Those Limbs We Admire https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v33/n14/anthony-grafton/those-limbs-we-admire Shadi Bartsch: Fratricide, Matricide and the Philosopher https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v37/n12/shadi-bartsch/fratricide-matricide-and-the-philosopher Mark Ford: The Death of Petronius https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v30/n24/mark-ford/the-death-of-petronius Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books. Get in touch: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In his prodigious, prolific and very short career, Lucan was at turns championed, disavowed and finally forced into suicide at 25 by the emperor Nero. His only surviving work is Civil War, an account of the bloody and chaotic power struggle between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. In their first episode on Latin literature’s so-called ‘Silver Age’, Tom and Emily dive into this brutal and unforgiving epic poem. They explore Lucan’s slippery relationship to power, his rhetorical virtuosity and the influence of Stoicism on his worldview. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract form this episode. To listen in full and to our other Close Readings series, sign up: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Further reading in the LRB: John Henderson: Dead Eyes and Blank Faces https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v20/n07/john-henderson/dead-eyes-and-blank-faces Nora Goldschmidt: Pompeian Group Therapy https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v44/n18/nora-goldschmidt/pompeian-group-therapy Thomas Jones: See you in hell, punk https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v40/n23/thomas-jones/see-you-in-hell-punk Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books. Get in touch: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode seven, we turn to some of the earliest surviving examples of Roman literature: the raucous, bawdy and sometimes bewildering world of Roman comedy. Plautus and Terence, who would go on to set the tone for centuries of playwrights (and school curricula), came from the margins of Roman society, writing primarily for plebeians and upsetting the conventions they simultaneously established. Plautus’ ‘Menaechmi’ is full of coinages, punning and madcap doubling. Terence’s troubling ‘Hecyra’ tells a much darker story of Roman sexual mores while destabilizing misogynistic stereotypes. Emily and Tom discuss how best to navigate these very early and enormously influential plays, and what they lend to Shakespeare, Sondheim and the modern sitcom. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full and to our other Close Readings series, sign up: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Further reading in the LRB: Emily Wilson: Ave, Jeeves! https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v30/n04/emily-wilson/ave-jeeves James Davidson: Laugh as long as you can https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v37/n14/james-davidson/laugh-as-long-as-you-can Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books. Get in touch: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.