Podcast Episodes Themed "John Lydos"

‘This Fortunate City’: Constantinople Considered as Talisman, Part II

The sixth-century East-Roman antiquarian John of Lydia tells us that a student of Iamblichus, Sōpater of Syria, helped Constantine out with theurgic rituals at the founding of the New Rome. In this episode we consider the swirl of evidence around this supposed event. Featuring a cameo appearance from the eschatological polar gate.

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Episode 192: Hagia Sophia and the Problem of ‘Esoteric Architecture’

We discuss Justinian's great church, Hagia Sophia, the gem of Constantinople and of Orthodox Christianity. We then look at a number of theories out there which read Hagia Sophia as encoding esoteric messages beneath her Orthodox exterior, and use this case-study as a springboard for discussing the thorny problems involved in interpreting architecture, especially esoteric architecture.

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