Podcast episode
Episode 68: Plutarch’s On Isis and Osiris
We look at Plutarch's tour de force of esoteric hermeneutics, the On Isis and Osiris. Egyptian myth meets Greek esoteric Platonism, and something new is born.
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Podcast episode
Episode 66: Astrology, Politics, and Platonism in the Early Empire: The Case of Thrasyllus
We look at the fascinating figure of Thrasyllus: astrologer, power-player in the imperial Roman court of Tiberius, philosopher ⊠and editor of the works of Plato.
Podcast episode
Episode 60: The Esoteric and the State in Ancient Rome, Part 1: Late Republican Esotericism
In the first of a two-episode series exploring the relationship between state power and esoteric ideas in the late Roman Republic and early empire, we look at what it meant to be esoteric at Rome, and investigate some upper-class Roman esotericists.
Podcast episode
Episode 55: Naomi Janowitz on Jewish Magic and ‘The Jewish Magi’ in Antiquity
The Jews in antiquity were busy doing rituals of all sorts, many of which scholars want to call magical. They were also seen by their neighbours as especially skilled at various ritual arts which the neighbours called magical. Naomi Janowitz discusses Jewish magic and the âJewish Magiâ in antiquity.
Podcast episode
Episode 45: Stoic Physics and Esoteric Metaphysics
The Stoics had a naturalistic physical theory which, strangely, had a huge influence both on esoteric spirituality and on occult sciences. In this, our final episode on Stoicism, we discuss three key terms from Stoic physics and their surprising afterlives in western esotericism.
Podcast episode
Episode 42: Chris Brennan on Hellenistic Astrology
Historical discussions often fail to help us 'get inside' the subject we are looking at. In this episode we talk to Chris Brennan, Hellenistic astrologer and historian, for some theoretical and practical light on the realities of ancient astrology.
Podcast episode
Members only: Daniel Ogden on Three Ancient Mages
Professor Ogden gets personal, discussing three wonder-working mages of antiquity whose legacy has reverberated down the ages: Apollonius of Tyana, Jesus of Nazareth, and Alexander of Abonuteichos. Come for the itinerant holy men, stay for the talking snake-god.
Podcast episode
Episode 40: Wheels Within Wheels: Toward Western Esoteric Cosmology
We are moving with astral ineluctability toward the birth of true astrology in the Hellenistic period. But first we need to get from Mesopotamian astronomy to the Greek world. This episode bridges the gap between middle-eastern astral science and the Hellenistic flourishing of Greek astronomy.
Podcast episode
Episode 29: Otherworlds, Inner Worlds, and Utopias
Platoâs Republic is the worldâs first utopia. But what is a utopia, exactly, and how does it differ from the other invisible worlds we encounter in western esoteric traditions, the otherworlds and inner worlds? We survey types of esoteric space.
Podcast episode
Episode 205: Introducing the Qur’an Part III: Qur’Änic Texts vs. the Qur’Än
We discuss some of the history of how the Qur'Än came to be âthe Bookâ: it started in the oral milieu of the high-octane early Believers' movement, and ended up in written form as something called the âUthmanic recension. Many esoteric things happen along the way.
Podcast episode
Episode 28: Christopher Gill on Plato’s Atlantis
Christopher Gill, Emeritus Professor of Ancient Thought at the University of Exeter, takes us deep into the territory of Atlantis, one of Platoâs most puzzling creations.
Podcast episode
Episode 189: Danielle Layne on Proclus’ Religious Life and Thought
We are delighted to discuss what you might call Proclean spirituality with Danielle Layne. Platonic prayer as a way of living, the erotic quest for the Good, and the ever-elusive Platonic Dyad feature in a wide-ranging conversation combining proper philosophical-historical rigour with the true love of wisdom.
Podcast episode
Episode 180: Augustine of Hippo: Saint of the Exoteric
We discuss Augustine the anti-esotericist, who denies that Christianity has any esoteric dimensions. He employs the esoteric to do so. Can you trust a guy who does that?
Podcast episode
Members only: David HernĂĄndez de la Fuente on Nonnus of Panopolis
We are delighted to speak with David HernĂĄndez de la Fuente on Nonnus of Panopolis, one of the last great epic poets of the GrĂŠco-Roman tradition, and a man with a lot to tell us about the interplay between Christianity and âpaganismâ in late antiquity. Come for the indeterminate religiosity, stay for the esoteric Orphic lore.
Podcast episode
Episode 175: Jay Bregman on Synesius of Cyrene
We dive into the fascinating life and thought of Synesius of Cyrene, Platonist philosopher and student of Hypatia of Alexandria, and Orthodox bishop of PtolemaĂŻs. Committed Christian or pagan bishop? We'll see ....
Oddcast episode
Noah Gardiner on the Pseudo-Bunian Shams al-maÊżÄrif al-kubrÄ and the Corpus Bunianum
We discuss arguably the greatest magical book of the Islamicate tradition, the Shams al-maÊżÄrif al-kubrÄ or Great Sun of Knowledge. Turns out it isn't by al-BĆ«nÄ« as everyone thought, though there is some BĆ«nÄ« in there; but it has so much to tell us about Islamicate culture, Sufism, and the âproject of forgettingâ of esoteric IslÄm among both Muslims and scholars.
Podcast episode
Episode 157: Matteo Martelli Introduces Zosimus of Panopolis
We discuss the life, work, and thought of Zosimus of Panopolis, greatest alchemist of late antiquity, with Professor Matteo Martelli. All is One!
Oddcast episode
Tzvi Langermann on the Sefer Yetsira: Cosmology, Science, and Kabbala
We discuss the extraordinary reception-history of the extraordinary text known as Sefer Yetsirah, the âBook of Formationâ. The Sefer Yetsirah would eventually become a foundational text for the Kabbalist movements of the high middle ages, but it was (and is) much more than that. Professor Langermann lays out the evolutions in reading this text from Saâadia Gaon to Aryeh Kaplan.
Podcast episode
Episode 153: Korshi Dosoo on Early Christian Magic
With papyrologist Korshi Dosoo as our guide, we explore the world of first-millennium Christian magic as it is found in the papyrus-records, both published and unpublished. Along the way we learn more about Christianity than we expected.
Podcast episode
Episode 20: All for One, and One for All: Parmenides of Elea
Parmenides is the original philosopher of pure Being. And he learned all about Being from a goddess on a trip through the underworld. Philosophy used to be really interesting.
