Greek Science

Born into slavery in the first century AD, Epictetus was a leading Greek philosopher of the Stoic school. He spent most of his life in Rome before the Emperor Domitian banished all philosophers from the city in AD 93; his exile then took him to Nicopolis in Greece. His teachings were recorded by his pupil Arrian, who published both the Encheiridion and Discourses.

Confucius knew all about life and told us how to behave, but we can't find out precisely what he was up to. His well-meaning platitudes, quaint maxims, and quasi-enigmatic anecdotes combined to produce an ideal philosophy for civil servants. It would appear that his aim was to turn his pupils into good government officials, but his teachings succeeded beyond his wildest expectations, providing rules of conduct and spiritual fodder for more than two thousand years.

Socrates is an enigmatic figure, known chiefly through the accounts of others like Plato and Aristophanes. He was one of the most brilliant intellects ever, and devised what would later be called the Socratic method, which is a way of leading one's interlocutor to see his errors and contradictions through clever questioning before leading him to the truth. In ancient Athens, Socrates was widely known as a "gadfly", that is, an annoying insect buzzing at people's ears, because he kept questioning prejudices and contradictions; he was eventually tried and executed for "corrupting the minds of the youth".

As the son of Hades, Nico di Angelo been through so much, from the premature deaths of his mother and sister, to being outed against his will, to losing his friend Jason during the trials of Apollo. But there is a ray of sunshine in his life—literally: his boyfriend, Will Solace, the son of Apollo. Together the two demigods can overcome any obstacle or foe. At least, that's been the case so far. Now Nico is being plagued by a voice calling out to him from Tartarus, the lowest part of the Underworld.

Susan Michaels was once the hottest reporter on the Beltway Beat until a major scandal ruined her life and left her writing stories about alien babies and Elvis sightings. Life as she once knew it is over, or so she thinks until she gets a lead on the biggest story in town: The Seattle Slayer. She heads to the local animal shelter, expecting a tip on the latest rash of killings. Instead, she gets a story about the mayor feeding citizens to a ring of vampires. Yeah, just another day in her life.

Meditations is former US President Bill Clinton's favorite book. This audio consists of a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor AD 161-180, setting forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy.

The late antique world possessed no voice like that of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180 CE). His private meditations on what constitutes a good life have withstood the centuries and reach us today with the same penetrating clarity and shining light as the words of Shakespeare, Emerson, or Thoreau.

Tom Billinge’s works Undying Glory: The Solar Path of Greek Heroes and Age of Heroes: Beyond the Solar Path each delve into Greek mythology and the archetype of the hero. Within this context, Orpheus emerges as another significant figure–a hero whose influence permeated both mythic and spiritual realms of ancient Greek culture.

Who could tell the true stories of the gods and goddesses of Olympus better than modern-day demigod Percy Jackson? In this action-packed tour of Greek mythology, Percy gives his hilarious personal views on the feuds, fights and love affairs of the Olympians. Want to know how Zeus came to be top god? How many times Kronos ate one of his own kids? How Athena literally burst out of another god's head?

Euthyphro by Plato is a Socratic dialogue whose events occur in the weeks before the trial of Socrates (399 BC), between Socrates and Euthyphro. The dialogue covers subjects such as the meaning of piety and justice. As is common with Plato's earliest dialogues, it ends in aporia. In this dialogue, Socrates meets Euthyphro at the porch of the archon basileus (the 'king magistrate') at that time. Socrates tells him that he is preparing to go to court against the charges of Meletus on the grounds of impiety.

Stoicism is two things: a long past philosophical school of ancient Greece and Rome, and an enduring philosophical movement that still inspires people in the twenty-first century to rethink and reorganize their lives in order to achieve personal satisfaction. What is the connection between them? This Very Short Introduction provides an introductory account of Stoic philosophy, and tells the story of how ancient Stoicism survived and evolved into the movement we see today.

Aristotle knew things about happiness, habits, and human nature. This book is about his book, the Nichomachean Ethics.

The Greek myths were first told thousands of years ago, by poets and singers who wanted to tell how the world came to be. These brilliant stories are full of adventure and drama, but they also explore our deepest fears and fantasies. There's a reason these myths still feel so powerful—they've formed the foundations of narratives and archetypes that we see in today. Having changed the way we look at fairy tales in their last book, Karrie and Jon have turned to these ancient stories to see what magic their marvellous gender-swapping machine can work on them.

The Trial and Death of Socrates presents the trial and subsequent execution of Socrates in 399 BCE. Socrates was tried on the basis of two ambiguous charges: corrupting the youth and impiety. “Euthyphro”, one of Plato's early dialogues, takes place during the weeks leading up to Socrates' trial. “Apology” is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he defends himself against the charges of being a man "who corrupted the young, refused to worship the gods, and created new deities".

The influence of Aristotle, the prince of philosophers, on the intellectual history of the West is second to none. In this book, Jonathan Barnes examines Aristotle's scientific researches, his discoveries in logic and his metaphysical theories, his work in psychology and in ethics and politics, and his ideas about art and poetry, placing his teachings in their historical context.

In Euthyphro, Socrates is on his way to the court where he must defend himself against serious charges brought by religious and political authorities. On the way, he meets Euthyphro, an expert on religious matters, who has come to prosecute his own father. Socrates questions Euthyphro’s claim that religion serves as the basis for ethics. Plato lived in Athens, Greece. He wrote approximately two-dozen dialogues that explore core topics that are essential to all human beings.

The Republic is a classic work by an ancient Greek philosopher Plato. There is one of the most famous dialogues of Plato about the arrangement of the state structure and the essence of the state (contemporary for Plato, of course, but also important nowadays because the whole modern so called "European civilisation" is based, first of all, on ancient schemes). The structure of Plato's dialogue is similar to others. Socrates and Glaucon are coming back to Athens from Piraeus. They are stopped by Polemarchus who invites them to visit him and talk.

Greek Mythology is one of the most popular of mythologies. The creativity and imagination of the Greek has lingered through time and inspired as well as influenced many of the heroes of nowadays Western fiction.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 B.C-A.D. 65), the chief advisor to the emperor Nero, was the power behind the throne in Ancient Rome. He is most famous for his writings on Stoic ideology, in which philosophy is a practical form of self-improvement. Seneca’s letters address the issues of life and death confronting every generation while upholding the ideals of Stoicism–valuing courage and friendship, avoiding corruption and self-indulgence, striving to achieve a good life while being immune to life’s setbacks, and enjoying life without the fear of dying.

This dialogue is a must-listen for anyone interested in ancient philosophy, cosmology, or metaphysics. Timaeus invites listeners to reflect on the deeper questions of life, existence, and the universe’s origins.