Cost of Glory

The beginning of a new series on Caesar’s masterwork of psychology, strategy, and propaganda: On the Gallic Wars (De Bello Gallico). It’s a world-history making story (the conquest of what’s now modern France), told by a world-history making storyteller. Caesar entered Gaul as a mere politician. He returned 9 years later as a conqueror - and an enemy of the state. He tells how it all happened with his own pen.I’m having a blast revisiting this classic, and I think you will too.Subscribe to the CoG Substack to get high quality transcripts w/ MAPS AND IMAGES - here's the one for this episode.This episode is sponsored by Ancient Language Institute. If you want to be like Caesar, you should learn an ancient language (Caesar knew Greek in addition to his native Latin). The Ancient Language Institute will help you do just that. Registration is now open (till August 10th) for their Fall term where you can take advanced classes in Latin, Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew, and Old English. If you like Cost of Glory, Check out the Anthology of Heroes podcast!  Here on: Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Johnathan Bi left success in the startup world to focus on researching the deep ideas that power the world, and has recently launched his series on the Great Books of the West, starting with his lecture on Nietzsche.In this episode:What is Rousseau’s impact on the world?Johnathan’s Journey towards the Great Thinkers and their BooksThe Duality of Heroism & Rousseau as Hero WorshipperRousseau’s balanced treatments of Nietzsche’s IdeasWhy do we need Heroes?The Difference between Desire for Power and Execution of that PowerSilicon Valley Entrepreneurs and their Selfish Desire for GloryThe Hero vs. The CitizenThe Degeneration of Modern LanguagesThe Core of Nietzsche’s Interest in the Great Heroes of the PastTech Startups are Non-Egalitarian!Rome Against JudeaResources mentioned:Johnathan’s Interview and Lecture Series: Great Books of the WestRousseau’s Discourse on This Question: Which Is the Virtue Most Necessary for a Hero and Which Are the Heroes Who Lacked This Virtue?Johnathan’s NewsletterSubscribe to our Substack for transcripts and updates! Show transcript here

An interview with Johnny Burtka, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. He is a graduate of Hillsdale College, and his most recent book is titled “Gateway to Statesmanship—Selections from Xenophon to Churchill”.In this episode:The Mirrors for Princes traditionObstacles as a Ladder to GreatnessThe Potency of Xenophon’s ‘Education of Cyrus’The Leadership Qualities of CyrusThe Complex Enduring Power of Cicero’s ‘On Duties’Cultivating Greatness of Soul and the Magnitudo Animi of ChurchillMachiavelli as Practitioner, not Political PhilosopherWhere should an 18-year old dedicate himself to?Washington’s Farewell Address as a Beautiful Political TextBooks Mentioned:Gateway to Statesmanship—Selections from Xenophon to Churchill by Johnny BurtkaEducation of Cyrus by XenophonOn Duties by CiceroThe Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy SoniWalking with Destiny by Andrew RobertsFor the episode transcript, be sure to subscribe to my Substack!Thanks to our sponsor Intercollegiate Studies Institute! Check out their programs on supporting quality thought and intellectual life in and after your college years.

An interview with Nat Friedman, former CEO of GitHub and creator of the Vesuvius Challenge, which aims to crack the riddles of the Herculaneum Papyri.In this episode:The Genesis of the Vesuvius ChallengeEarly Attempts to Open the ScrollsUsing a Particle Accelerator to Scan the Scrolls!Partnering with Daniel Gross and Brent SealesNat’s Childhood experience with Open-source CommunitiesHow to Design Prize Incentives for a Complex ContestDoing Crazy, Strange and Risky ProjectsA Possible Resurgence of Epicureanism?For the episode transcript, be sure to subscribe to my Substack! This episode is sponsored by Ancient Language Institute. If you’re interested in actually reading the newly unlocked scrolls, you will need to know the languages of the ancient world. The Ancient Language Institute will help you do just that. Registration is now open (till August 10th) for their Fall term where you can take advanced classes in Latin, Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew, and Old English.

An interview with Pano Kanelos, the founding president of the University of Austin and the former President of St. John’s College, Annapolis.In this episode:How founding a university is like running a dinerThe flourishing of American universities in the 19th centuryHow old philosophers were men of actionThe Intellectual Foundations Program at UATXHow The Brothers Karamazov explains our current momentPursuing Greatness by finding your North StarPlutarch on self-reflectionWhy Heroes and Truth-tellers are needed when forming communitiesAnalyzing the opening scene from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

In which we follow the lead of Plutarch and study Pompey's character and analyze what we can learn from the life of Pompey the Great, by comparing him to King Agesilaus of Sparta, whom Plutarch paired him with. Sources and Further Reading for the Life of Pompey:  John Leach, Pompey the Great: https://amzn.to/3UxOsW8 Robin Seager, Pompey: a Political Biography: https://amzn.to/3UPpeUg Gareth Sampson: Rome's Great Eastern War, Lucullus, Pompey and the Conquest of the East: https://amzn.to/3wrVGD1 -The Battle of Dyrrhachium: https://amzn.to/3wp4Wro -The Battle of Pharsalus: https://amzn.to/3ULWJHk -"Rome in Crisis" Penguin edition of Plutarch: https://amzn.to/4b2WgGv  (feat. Lives of Sertorius, Lucullus, and Cato the Younger)  -"Fall of the Roman Republic" Penguin Plutarch Volume: https://amzn.to/4a7vpYw  (feat. Lives of Sulla, Crassus, Pompey, Caesar, and Cicero) 

Life of Pompey Part 3 of 3: Pompey's final rise to the heights of Roman power, his war with his friend Julius Caesar, and his final downfall.  People:(M. Tullius) Cicero (Titus Pomponius) Atticus C. Julius Caesar Cn. Pompeius Magnus (Pompey) Julia, Caesar's Daughter (M. Licinius) Crassus (L. Domitius) Ahenobarbus - Optimate Stalwart (Cos. 54) (M. Porcius) Cato "The Younger" - the Stoic (M. Calpurnius) Bibulus - Cos. 59 P. Clodius Pulcher - Populist Thug lord (T. Annius) Milo - Pompey's Thug lord M. Caelius (Rufus) - Cicero's young political analyst friend Publius Licinius Crassus - The Richest Man's Son Cornelia - Pompey's final wife (Q. Caecilius) Metellus (Pius) Scipio - Pompey's new Father in Law Aulus Gabinius - Pompey's friend, exiled after Egyptian expedition Ptolemy XII Auletes ("The Piper") - exiled king of Egypt (C. Scribonius) Curio - Optimate turncoat, Caesar's tribune M. Antonius (Mark Antony) M. Claudius Marcellus - Optimate stalwart (Cos 51) C. Claudius Marcellus - Optimate stalwart (Cos. 50, cousin of Cos. 51) M. Favonius - "Stamp, Pompey!" Senator Themistocles - Athenian statesman Camillus - 4th c. BC Roman statesman T. Labienus - Caesar's general, deserted to Pompey (M. Junius) Brutus - Future Conspirator Theophanes of Mytilene - the Historian Crassianus - Caesar's centurion at Pharsalus Cratippus of Pergamon - Philosopher at Mytilene Ptolemy XIII - Boy king of Egypt Potheinus - Ptolemy XIII's Eunuch Achillas - Ptolemy XIII's General Theodotus - Ptolemy XIII's Rhetoric Teacher Philippus - Pompey's freedman   Places: The Roman Forum The Tiber River Parthia Carrhae (Battle of) - in Mesopotamia (Parthian Empire) Gaul (Mod. France) Pompey's Theater ("Temple of Venus") Alesia (Battle of) - in Gaul Naples (Neapolis) Ravenna (N. Italy, "Cisalpine Gaul" then) Rubicon River Ariminum (Rimini) Corfinium - Italian town in the Apennines Brundisium - Eastern Port in Italy Dyrrhachium (Mod. Durrës) - in Epirus (Rom. province of Macedonia) Thessaly - large plain in central Greece Pharsalus - town in Thessaly Tempē - Valley in Thessaly Mytilene - City on island of Lesbos  Thanks to our sponsor Intercollegiate Studies Institute! www.isi.org.  Check out their programs on supporting quality thought and intellectual life in and after your college years.

Pompey becomes Rome’s greatest conqueror, and empire builder, but faces even greater trials back home in Rome.  People Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, "Pompey the Great"Sulla Felix, the Dictator Pompey The Pirates Posidonius the Stoic Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus Lucius Licinius Lucullus Cicero, the Orator Manilius, the Tribune Julius Caesar Theophanes of Mytilene Queen Monime Tigranes the Great of Armenia Tigranes the Younger, Prince Albani(ans) of Caucasus Iberians of Caucasus King Phraates of Parthia The Parthians Antiochus XIII, Seleucid King Aretas, King of the Nabatean Arabs Aristobulus of Judea Hyrcanus of Judea Aulus Gabinius Josephus (Jewish Historian) Marcus Licinius Crassus, Richest Man in Rome Marcus Porcius Cato (the Younger) Metellus Celer Metellus Nepos M. Calpurnius Bibulus Publius Clodius Pulcher, Slum Lord Milo Julia Domitius Ahenobarbus  Places Sicily Sardinia Corsica North Africa Rhodes Cilicia Cappadocia Galatia Armenia Artaxata  Mt Ararat Sophene Syria Bithynia Pontus Caucasus Colchis Albania (Caucasus) Iberia (Caucasus) Bosphoran Kingdom (Crimea / Azov) Damascus Petra (Arabia) Judea Jordan River Valley Jericho Jerusalem Campus Martius Alban Hills / Lake / Villa Luca Image: The Triumph of Pompey, Gabriel de Saint-Aubin, 1765. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art Thanks to our sponsor Intercollegiate Studies Institute! www.isi.org.  Check out their programs on supporting quality thought and intellectual life in and after your college years.

Pompey, the Great.  Part 1 of 3.  Pompey's rise to become one of Rome's greatest generals - before he's even old enough to hold office.  How he got the nickname of "Kid Butcher" or "The Butcher Boy".Thanks to our Sponsor, Intercollegiate Studies Institute! www.isi.orgKey Names: Agesilaus of Sparta Julius Caesar Alexander the Great Pompeius STRABO (father) Social War Gaius MARIUS (populist consul) Lucius Cornelius CINNA (populist consul) Lucius Cornelius SULLA (optimate consul & dictator) MITHRIDATES - King of Pontus Gnaeus Papirius CARBO (populist consul)  Antistia (first wife) Marcus Licinius CRASSUS Marcus Aemilus LEPIDUS (rebel consul) Marcus Junius BRUTUS (Father of the conspirator) Quintus Lutatius CATULUS (optimate stalwart) Quintus SertoriusQuintus Caecilus METELLUS PIUS (P's fellow general in Spain)Marcus PERPERNA (populist ally of Sertorius)SpartacusMarcus Terentius VARRO (the scholar)Lucius Licinius LUCULLUS (rival general)Quintus HORTENSIUS Hortalus (optimate stalwart) Aulus GABINIUS (P's tribune buddy)The Pirates"Quirites" (the Roman citizenry) Key Places: Rome Picenum Asculum North AfricaMutinaSpain LauronSucro RiverOstia (Rome's port)[Jeremy Giffon on Invest like the Best Podcast, ep. 336: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Vdv5i250hF6EfzOTML9RE?si=98bacff34a7244e9] Thanks to our sponsor Intercollegiate Studies Institute! www.isi.org.  Check out their programs on supporting quality thought and intellectual life in and after your college years.

Check out Ralston College's FUNDED MA program: https://www.ralston.ac/humanities-ma !...Plutarch offers some advice on how to choose your friends, and how to be a good one.  Examples include Alexander the Great, Cato, Carneades, Plato, Dionysius the Tyrant, and more.(Here depicted: the monument of Philopappus in Athens, to whom Plutarch's essay is dedicated)

An interview with Barry Strauss, Spartacus expert, and author of The Spartacus WarIn this episode: -How Spartacus' Slave revolt almost failed in its early stages-Overcoming short term thinking as a leader-Spartacus' influence on modern leaders

A method for reading that can transform your life.W/ help from Dana Gioia, California Poet Laureate, Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts 2003-2009.Get his new book Sentences from Seneca, here!Some Sources:https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moral_letters_to_Lucilius/Letter_108 https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Sallust/Bellum_Jugurthinum/3*.htmlhttps://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Sayings_of_Spartans*/main.htmlhttps://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Sayings_of_Spartans*/Agesilaus.htmlhttps://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Agesilaus*.htmlhttps://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Lysander*.htmlhttps://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Sertorius*.html

Why does Achilles, slaughterer of men, play the lyre? A conversation with Spencer Klavan of the Young Heretics podcast. Check out the Cost of Glory Men's Leadership Retreat: costofglory.com/retreat !Spencer on Twitter: @spencerklavanIn this conversation, we discuss:-Spencer & Alex's common ground training as classicists-How one gets into these ancient books in the first place-The theory of "Art for Art's Sake": Why it's interesting, plausible, and wrong.-Epic heroes singing Epic Poetry-Great books for busy dadsAnd much, much more...

The fall and political struggles of the great Lucullus, rival of Pompey and Caesar.Cost of Glory Men's Retreat 2024 application open! - costofglory.com/retreat Thanks to our sponsor Ancient Language Institute - Tutoring now available:Latin: https://ancientlanguage.com/latin-tutorials/ Ancient Greek: https://ancientlanguage.com/ancient-greek-tutorials/ Cicero's Pro Archiahttps://www.attalus.org/cicero/archias.html People in this episode: Mithridates, King of Pontus Tigranes, King of Armenia Clodius, the Brother in Law Pompey Clodia, the Bad WifeServilia, also a Bad Wife Cato the Younger Cicero Caesar Places in this episode:Tigranokert Artaxata Nisibis Pontus Armenia Rome 

Lucullus drives Mithridates out of Pontus, and war escalatesIn this episode:-The power of concentration-Nothing is more important than sleep-Bold Barbarian Queens-The value of bad news-Battle of TigranocertaBook Rec - Gareth Sampson, Rome's Great Eastern War

Lucullus, Conqueror of Armenia.  Highlights from Plutarch's biography of the great foe of PompeyCost of Glory Men's Retreat 2024 application open! - costofglory.com/retreat Thanks to our sponsor Ancient Language Institute - Tutoring now available: Latin: https://ancientlanguage.com/latin-tutorials/ Ancient Greek: https://ancientlanguage.com/ancient-greek-tutorials/ In this episode: -How to get noticed early on in your career -Seducing your way to warlord status -Taking the time to do the math 

The vice of "dysopia" brings down even the strongest.  Plutarch gives some advice on how to fortify ourselves against it. Reach out to alex@ancientlifecoach.com for more info on the 2024 Cost of Glory Men's retreat in Rome!Link to a translation of Plutarch's text : https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/De_vitioso_pudore*.html

What happened to Crassus' captured soldiers?  To his family?  What can we learn from his successes and his world-historic failure?  ANNOUNCEMENT! Cost of Glory Men's Leadership Retreat in Rome - July 2024.  Reach out to alex@ancientlifecoach.com if you're interested.Buy the books:-Penguin edition of Plutarch including Life of Crassus -Sallust's war with Catiline -Tom Holland's Rubicon-Barry Strauss' book on Spartacus-Edward Watts's Mortal Republic-Gareth Sampson, "The Defeat of Rome" on Parthian Expedition-Peter Stothard, The First Tycoon See also Gruen, Last Generation of the Roman Republic; Ward, Crassus and the Late Roman Republic; Rawson, Crassorum Funera (in journal Latomus).Pictured: Roman Soldier next to a Han noble, statue group in Liqian, China.  Photo: Natalie Behring

Crassus' famous campaign against the Parthians - what motivated it?  What happened at Carrhae?  What can we learn from it?Thanks to our Sponsor!Ancient Language Institute:https://ancientlanguage.comKey FiguresMarcus Licinius Crassus - The Protagonist Gaius Pompeius Magnus - Pompey, the Rival Lucius Licinius Crassus - the Orator Publius Licinius Crassus - Crassus' father Publius Licinius Crassus - Crassus' Son Publius Clodius Pulcher - The Playboy Mobster Titus Annius Milo - Anti-Mobster Marcus Tullius Cicero - The Mentor Gaius Julius Caesar - The Triumvir Marcus Porcius Cato - The Nemesis Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus - The Challenger Ptolemy XII "Auletes" - The Piper King Aulus Gabinius - Pompey's Crony in Syria Trebonius - Willing Tribune Ateius (Capito) - Unwilling Tribune Gaius Cassius Longinus - The Assassin Octavius - The Junior Officer Orodes II - King of Parthia Mithradates IV - Parthian Usurper Surena - the Parthian Commander at Carrhae Key Places Rome Ravenna - City in Northern Italy (cisalpine Gaul) Luca - City in Northern Italy (Etruria/Cisalpine Gaul) Curia - The Senate house Syria - Roman Province Mesopotamia Iraq Seleucia Babylon Ctesiphon Carrhae Euphrates River Italian quote at the beginning: Dante, Purgatorio XX

Marcus Licinius Crassus, Richest Man in Rome.  The plot thickens in the contest with Pompey, and Crassus takes on new allies: Catiline and Julius Caesar.In this episode:-How to defuse the resentment of opponents you've beaten-The power of debt at Rome-Fighting for the hardest prizes, but playing it like a game-Cicero's mortgage and homeowner headachesThanks to Sponsors:Ancient Language Institute:https://ancientlanguage.com--Copythat, learn copywriting from the classics: https://copythat.com/For a discount (and to let them know I sent you), use this code: glory