Knowledge from the Ancients
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Alexander's Sack of Thebes, w/ Victor Davis Hanson
A conversation with American classicist, military historian, and conservative political commentator Victor Davis Hanson.
Caesar 3: Divus Julius
Part 3 of 3 of the Life of Julius Caesar. Did Caesar want to be a King? A God? What was his vision for Rome? Was there a way he could have prevented his assassination?
Explore Our Podcast Episodes
Marius 3: The Ruin of Cities
The supremacy, fall, and return of Gaius Marius, one of the most debated men in Roman history. Key takeaways: One way to respond when you’re being undermined Th...
Marius 2: Third Founder of Rome
Marius faces Jugurtha, the Cimbri, and opponents at home. He understood the power of morale, religion, and timing. At war, he exemplified that quintessential Roman q...
Marius 1: Ambition
A controversial figure, Gaius Marius was a ‘new man’ (novus homo), who rose from a zero to the greatest Roman of his generation, unifying the equestrians and plebs aga...
Plutarch on Listening to Podcasts
Why did Plutarch write biographies? What does one hope to get out of a biography podcast?
Odysseus' advice to proud young men
Plutarch reads the Odyssey
Vice and the Cold Jacket
A winter message from Plutarch
Being the Octopus
Plutarch on what the octopus, and the mythic figure Proteus (who King Menelaus met on his way back from Troy) can tell us about friendship.
On Having Even More Friends
Coming back to Plutarch's essay on having many friends, with remarks from Zeuxis, Chilon, and Thucydides
On Having Many Friends
A quote and meditation from Plutarch's On Having Many Friends.
History Contains Power
My name is Alex Petkas, and in The Cost of Glory, I present you with the best stories, analyses and takeaways, from the greatest and most influential figures from Greco-Roman antiquity.