Send us Fan Mail

The Athenian tyrant Pisistratus centralized the Attic worship of Dionysus with an elaborate new festival. The Great Dionysia went on to become the city’s main dramatic festival, where later giants like Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides would compete for top honors. In this episode, host Scott Emmons explores the obscure origins of tragedy and the role of the legendary Thespis in creating Greek drama.

There are few if any confirmed depictions of Thespis in ancient Greek art, but supplemental visuals for this episode are available at epicgreekhistory.substack.com.

Reading Suggestions:

Aristotle, Poetics 1449a

Albin Lesky, A History of Greek Literature pp. 223-229

John J. Winkler and Froma I. Zeitlin, eds., Nothing to Do with Dionysos? Athenian Drama in its Social Context

Carnes Lord, “Aristotle’s History of Poetry,” Transactions of the American Philological Association vol. 104 (1974) pp. 195-229 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2936090)

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Despite the best efforts of the lawgiver Solon, political upheaval continued in Athens. A strongman named Pisistratus, after twice seizing power and losing it, ultimately established an autocratic regime that lasted over 35 years. During that time, he and his successors improved city infrastructure, strengthened Athenian control over Attica, created lasting cultural institutions, and introduced policies that paved the way for a more democratic system. In this episode, host Scott Emmons guides you through the rise and fall of the fascinating period known as the Pisistratid tyranny.

For images illustrating aspects of this episode, check out Episode 22 at epicgreekhistory.substack.com.

Reading Suggestions

Herodotus, Histories 1.59-64, 5.62-65

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 1.20, 3.104, 6.54

Aristotle, Constitution of Athens, chapters 14-19

A. Andrewes, The Greek Tyrants

Victor Ehrenberg, From Solon to Socrates

Robin Osborne, Greece in the Making: 1200-479 BC

Anthony Snodgrass, Archaic Greece: The Age of Experiment

Support the show

Send a text

While the Athenians were setting up a new constitution under Solon, the Milesians across the Aegean were busy inventing philosophy. Perhaps not philosophy as we usually think of it, but a search for rational principles to explain the natural world. In this episode, host Scott Emmons guides you through the bold — and sometimes bizarre — theories advanced by three philosophical pioneers: Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes.

For a few visuals to illustrate this episode, check out Episode 22 at epicgreekhistory.substack.com.

Suggested Readings:

G.S. Kirk and J.E. Raven, The Presocratic Philosophers: A Critical History with a Selection of Texts

Jonathan Barnes, Early Greek Philosophy (Penguin Classics)

James Warren, Presocratics: Natural Philosophers Before Socrates

Edward Hussey, The Presocratics

Support the show