
Plato and the Tyrant
The Fall of Greece's Greatest Dynasty and the Making of a Philosophic Masterpiece
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Narrated by:
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Paul Woodson
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By:
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James Romm
About this listen
Plato is one of history's most influential thinkers, yet the image we have of him—an ethereal figure far removed from society and politics, who conjured abstract ideas in peaceful groves—is a fiction, created by Plato's admirers and built up over centuries.
In Plato and the Tyrant, acclaimed historian and classicist James Romm draws on personal letters of Plato to show how a philosopher helped topple the leading Greek power of the era: the opulent city of Syracuse. There, Plato encountered two authoritarian rulers, a father and son both named Dionysius, and tried to steer them toward philosophy. At the same time, he worked on his masterpiece, Republic, in which he conceived a ruler who unites perfect wisdom with absolute power. That dream has echoed down through the ages and given rise to a famous term, one that Plato himself didn't actually use: philosopher-king. As Romm reveals, Plato's time in Syracuse helped shape Republic—and also had disastrous results for Plato himself and for all of Greek Sicily. The younger Dionysius welcomed Plato with open arms, but soon the relationship soured. Plato's close friendship with Dionysius's uncle, Dion—possibly a bond of romantic love—created a rift in the ruling family that led to a chaotic civil war. Plato and the Tyrant demonstrates how Plato's experiment with enlightened autocracy spiraled into catastrophe.
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Brilliant research and narration
- By Dr. Krishnendu Ray on 05-16-25
By: Laura Spinney
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Chain of Fire
- Campaigning in Egypt and the Sudan, 1882-98
- By: Peter Hart
- Narrated by: Graham Mack
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In the 1880s, control over northeastern Africa was a political minefield into which Prime Minister Gladstone did not want to step—until his emissary Charles Gordon was besieged in Khartoum, and the city became the focal point for war. It was the height of European colonialism. Injustices were administered, bloody battles fought, and civilians caught in the crossfire. Among the British officers were figures who would later adopt starring roles in the First World War, such as Egyptian Army sapper Captain Herbert Kitchener.
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adequate book with heinous narration
- By TedJameson on 05-23-25
By: Peter Hart
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Think Like a Conqueror
- Lessons from History’s Greatest Leaders, Champions, and Heroes (Mental Models for Better Living, Book 8)
- By: Peter Hollins
- Narrated by: Russell Newton
- Length: 4 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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What if you could approach challenges not as roadblocks, but as territories waiting to be claimed? Imagine possessing the strategic brilliance of Alexander the Great, the unwavering resolve that carved empires, and the influential charisma of Cleopatra that commanded attention and loyalty, the persistence and genius of Ghengis Khan. In a world demanding resilience, vision, and bold action, the timeless principles of history's most formidable leaders are more relevant than ever.
By: Peter Hollins
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Epic of the Earth
- Reading Homer's "Iliad" in the Fight for a Dying World
- By: Edith Hall
- Narrated by: Edith Hall
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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The roots of today's environmental catastrophe run deep into humanity's past. Through this unprecedented reading of Homer's Iliad, the award-winning classicist Edith Hall examines how this foundational text both documents the environmental practices of the ancient Greeks and betrays an awareness of the dangers posed by the destruction of the natural landscape. Underlying Homer's account of brutal military operations, alliances, and cataclysmic struggle is a palpable understanding that the direction in which humanity was headed could create a world that was uninhabitable.
By: Edith Hall
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Plato and the Tyrant
- By: Anselm Audley
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 1 hr and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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The greatest philosopher who ever lived. A dissolute tyrant in need of an education. What could possibly go wrong? Plato was the most brilliant thinker of his age. Head of the Academy in Athens, friend of the best minds of his generation, his philosophy was famous across the Greek world. But would he ever get the chance to try his ideas out?
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Had a hard time finishing
- By EmilyK on 03-22-24
By: Anselm Audley
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The Rise of Athens
- The Story of the World's Greatest Civilization
- By: Anthony Everitt
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Filled with tales of adventure and astounding reversals of fortune, The Rise of Athens celebrates the city-state that transformed the world - from the democratic revolution that marked its beginning through the city's political and cultural golden age to its decline into the ancient equivalent of a modern-day university town. Anthony Everitt constructs his history with unforgettable portraits of the talented, tricky, ambitious, and unscrupulous Athenians who fueled the city's rise.
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Good but not great. With some disturbing opinions.
- By Anthony on 06-25-19
By: Anthony Everitt
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Ground Combat
- Puncturing the Myths of Modern War
- By: Ben Connable
- Narrated by: Tim Fannon
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Ground Combat reveals the gritty details of land warfare at the tactical level and challenges today's overly subjective and often inaccurate approaches to characterizing war. Ben Connable's motivation for writing the book is to offer an evidence-based approach to examining the future of war.
By: Ben Connable
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Plato of Athens
- A Life in Philosophy
- By: Robin Waterfield
- Narrated by: Tristam Summers
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Considered by many to be the most important philosopher ever, Plato was born into a well-to-do family in wartime Athens at the end of the fifth century BCE. He finally decided to go into politics, but became disillusioned, especially after the Athenians condemned his teacher, Socrates, to death. He began teaching in his twenties and later founded the Academy, the world's first higher-educational research and teaching establishment. Eventually, he returned to practical politics and spent a considerable amount of time and energy trying to create a constitution for Syracuse in Sicily.
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Excellent biography of Plato, if a bit optimistic about the sources
- By Stephanie Stine on 09-06-24
By: Robin Waterfield
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Gods, Guns & Missionaries
- The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity
- By: Manu S. Pillai
- Narrated by: Manu S. Pillai
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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In Gods, Guns and Missionaries, Manu S. Pillai takes us through these remarkable dynamics. With an arresting cast of characters―maharajahs, poets, gun-wielding revolutionaries, politicians, polemicists, philosophers and clergymen―this book is ambitious in its scope and provocative in its position.
By: Manu S. Pillai
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Near-Death Experience in Ancient Civilizations
- The Origins of the World's Afterlife Beliefs
- By: Gregory Shushan, John Tait - foreword
- Narrated by: Ryan Paige
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Taking listeners on a thought-provoking journey into our ancestors’ beliefs about death, dying, and the afterlife, Gregory Shushan, Ph.D., reveals the powerful influence of near-death experiences (NDEs) on religious beliefs and ritual practices throughout human history. Focusing on five ancient world regions in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China, and Mesoamerica, Shushan expertly explores each civilization’s afterlife beliefs.
By: Gregory Shushan, and others