172b - Aeschylus: Bert Dreyfus on Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, the Furies and the Eumenides, Pouring Out of Libations, Athenian Tragedy, and the Pessimism of the Greeks

Music Credit: Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 30 performed by Paavali Jumppanen, available on Museopen.

The Alan Shapiro translation of the Oresteia is my favorite.

Another episode (Hemlock #5) I did about Aeschylus can be found here. It talks in greater depth about the metaphor of the net, and centers Clytemnestra as the hero/main character of the post-Trojan scene.

For fun and profit: reading the Wikipedia page on the Eleusinian Mysteries.

He who learns, must suffer.
Even in our sleep, pain: which time cannot forget
Falls drop by drop upon the heart.
Until, in the fullness of time, against our will and in our despair
Through the awful grace of God
Comes wisdom-

-Aeschylus, Agamemnon

Om Podcasten

Curated lectures, interviews, and talks with philosophers, social scientists, and historians together in one place. Each week, we explore brand new research in history, economics, psychology, political science, philosophy, indigenous studies, and human rights while presenting the work of canonical scholars in a way that is accessible to newcomers while retaining interest for students and specialists. If you are an author in nonfiction or a scholar in the humanities/social sciences and are interested in being interviewed for the show please email me at williamengels@substack.com or @Bluesky.