Best Tom Cox Grammaticus Podcasts (2025)

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Aemilius Paullus 59:57

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1+ y ago59:57

59:57

Send us a text Full Show Notes Greek Parallel - Timoleon Important People Perseus - A tyrannical Macedonian leader who acts as a foil to Aemilius's virtues. They are like parallel lines running in opposite directions, even down to their family lives. Tubero - An obscure character worth keeping an eye on. Raised in a frugal, Roman home supporting Ro…

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Titus Flamininus 48:58

1+ y ago48:58

48:58

Send us a text Full Show Notes - https://plutarch.life/titus-flamininus/ Greek Parallel - Philopoemen Important People Philip V - The second-to-last Macedonian king because the Romans play fair in this generation and allow Philip to remain on the throne even after soundly defeating him in battle twice. Philip also has to give up over-lordship of Gr…

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Philopoemen - The Last of the Greeks 54:41

1+ y ago54:41

54:41

Send us a text Full Show Notes Roman Parallel – Titus Flamininus Important People Epaminondas – A personal hero of Philopoemen’s; he can imitate him in nearly everything except his calmness (cf. Section 3). Epaminondas sets a high water mark for Theban military and political power which Philopoemen is not able to replicate with Megalopolis. Nabis –…

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Cleomenes 1:22:34

1+ y ago1:22:34

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Send us a text Full Show Notes for Plutarch's Life of Cleomenes Roman Parallel - Tiberius Gracchus Important People Aratus - The same Aratus from the last life, but older and more experienced now. Between Aratus, Cleomenes, and Philopoemen, it becomes clear that the Greeks themselves are the architects of their own undoing. None of these three men …

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Agis 49:24

1+ y ago49:24

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Send us a text Important People Lycurgus - ancient lawgiver, whose biography Plutarch also wrote, and to whom everyone refers constantly in this life as the original set of laws they are trying to hearken back to. Leonidas - one of two kings of Sparta (along with Agis, the protagonist of this life) who first secretly and then openly resists and thw…

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Marcellus and Pelopidas Compared 25:31

1+ y ago25:31

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Send us a text Pelopidas Show Notes Marcellus Show Notes How do these two hasty generals compare? Who had the greater victories? Who had the greater flaws? What lessons are there for us over two centuries later? Support the showBy Tom Cox - grammaticus

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Marcellus 1:05:17

2y ago1:05:17

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Send us a text Marcellus - Rome's Sword Against Hannibal Parallel - Pelopidas Important People Archimedes (sections 15-17; 19) Important Places Nola - A small settlement near Naples. Tarentum -The Greek colony that had called Pyrrhus over to help them fight the Romans about eighty years before this Second Punic War. They switch sides several times,…

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Comparison - Fabius and Pericles 20:00

2y ago20:00

20:00

Send us a text Fabius Show Notes Pericles Show Notes Support the showBy Tom Cox - grammaticus

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Fabius Maximus 57:14

2y ago57:14

57:14

Send us a text Full Show Notes: https://plutarch.life/fabius Greek Parallel - Pericles Important People Terentius Varro - Mastermind of Cannae, survivor of the same battle, much to his shame. Marcellus - The sword to Fabius’s shield. Marcellus, whose life Plutarch also wrote, and Fabius together kept the Romans in their war against Hannibal without…

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Camillus 1:06:55

2y ago1:06:55

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Send us a text Full Show Notes for Camillus - Noble Roman Dictator Greek Parallel - Themistocles No Extant Parallel Essay - :( Important People Brennus - Gallic chieftan, unscrupulous and forceful, but without much character development as Plutarch did for other villains (see, for example, Alexander of Pherae's character development in the Life of …

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Comparison - Coriolanus and Alcibiades 29:59

2y ago29:59

29:59

Send us a text So how do Coriolanus and Alcibiades actually compare? One seems like an angry fireball of revenge, the other a self-serving but talented chameleon. Coriolanus couldn't care less about his reputation, but wants the excellence that lives up to his own standard. Alcibiades can accept anyone's standards of behavior... as long as there is…

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Coriolanus 1:17:44

2y ago1:17:44

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Send us a text https://plutarch.life/coriolanus Greek Parallel - Alcibiades Important People Volumnia - Coriolanus’s mother and, because his father died young, the woman on whom Coriolanus will pour all his filial piety. Tullus Aufidius - The leader of the Volscians against the Romans. When Coriolanus switches sides, it is Tullus who is eclipsed. T…

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Pyrrhus - Episode 2 28:07

2+ y ago28:07

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Send us a text plutarch.life/pyrrhus Pyrrhus, tempted to fight in the old Homeric style of one on one, strikes me as a man born in the wrong era. With the rise of the Macedonian phalanx, his tactical brilliance sees some success but his personal appetite for risk and voracious craving for the next adventure over the horizon cause him to snatch defe…

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Pyrrhus 52:30

2+ y ago52:30

52:30

Send us a text Roman Parallel - Marius (157-86 BC) Important People Demetrius (337-283) - Neighbor and even, for a time, brother-in-law. Son of Antigonus I and father of Antigonus II, Demetrius rules in Greece, Macedon (for seven years), Asia Minor but was ultimately conquered by Seleucus and imprisoned until he died of his own drinking habit. Cass…

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Demetrius 1:04:26

3y ago1:04:26

1:04:26

Send us a text Full Show Notes Available at https://plutarch.life/demetrius Roman Parallel: Mark Antony (83-30 BC) Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing - Use the coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% off and free shipping at hackettpublishing.com Key Vices and Virtues Luxury or Softness (τρυφή) - At first, Demetrius seems to have control over th…

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Phocion 1:04:17

3y ago1:04:17

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Send us a text Full Show Notes Available at https://plutarch.life/phocion Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing - Use the coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% off and free shipping at hackettpublishing.com Roman Parallel - Cato the Younger (95–46 BC) Phocion was three years old when Socrates died in 399 and then lives through the reigns of Phili…

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Eumenes 56:16

3y ago56:16

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Send us a text Full Show Notes Available at https://plutarch.life/eumenes Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing - Use the coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% off and free shipping at hackettpublishing.com Key Virtues and Vices Bravery (ἀνδρεῖος) - Eumenes, in spite of being the head secretary, is no pencil pusher. Plutarch wants to emphasize th…

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Alexander the Great Part 2 1:05:06

3y ago1:05:06

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Send us a text Check out what I'm up to this summer and fall and see if you can learn some Greek and Latin with me. Full Show Notes Available at https://plutarch.life/alexander Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing - Use the coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% off and free shipping at hackettpublishing.com Key Virtues and Vices Generosity (μεγα…

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Alexander 1:08:39

3y ago1:08:39

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Send us a text Check out what I'm up to this summer and fall and see if you can learn some Greek and Latin with me. Full Show Notes Available at https://plutarch.life/alexander Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing - Use the coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% off and free shipping at hackettpublishing.com Important People -Bucephalus - Yes, a …

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Timoleon 45:51

3y ago45:51

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Send us a text Check out what I'm up to this summer and fall and see if you can learn some Greek and Latin with me. Full Show Notes Available at https://plutarch.life/timoleon Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing - Use the coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% off and free shipping at hackettpublishing.com Important People Timophanes - Timoleon’…

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Dion 1:03:19

3+ y ago1:03:19

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Send us a text Check out what I'm up to this summer and fall and see if you can learn some Greek and Latin with me. Full show notes available at https://plutarch.life/dion Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing. Use coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% and free shipping in the US and Canada. Important People Dionysius I (the elder) - Tyrant of Sy…

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Pelopidas 56:25

3+ y ago56:25

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Send us a text Human sacrifice, debauched tyrants, and The Sacred Band of Thebes are all woven together in Plutarch's Life of Pelopidas, friend of Epaminondas and great Theban general. Full show notes: https://plutarch.life/pelopidas Important People Epaminondas - Best friend of Pelopidas and philosopher-soldier-statesman of Thebes, Epaminondas is …

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Agesilaus 1:03:45

3+ y ago1:03:45

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Send us a text Full Show Notes: https://plutarch.life/agesilaus Important People Agis II - The Spartan king and older brother of Agesilaus who led Sparta during most of the latter half of the Peloponnesian War. After his death around 398 BC, the Spartans must decide whether his son, whose father could be Alcibiades, has a legitimate claim to the th…

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Lysander 40:40

4y ago40:40

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Send us a text This wily Spartan commander defeated Athens, and his authority even eclipses that of the Spartan kings. Did Lysander corrupt the Spartans with luxury? Important People Spartans Agesilaus Callicratidas Gylippus Persians Cyrus Pharnabazus Athenians Alcibiades Support the showBy Tom Cox - grammaticus

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Alcibiades 48:17

4y ago48:17

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Send us a text Alcibiades fought and strategized for Athens, Sparta, Persia, Athens (again), and Thrace, proving that he fought the entire time only for himself. Was it vanity or pride? Enjoy the first truly negative portrayal Plutarch tries to give, though Plutarch in all his humanity can still defend Alcibiades from his most malicious detractors.…

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Nicias 54:05

4y ago54:05

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Send us a text Nicias helps us understand why losers are still worth studying. Like Cassandra, he prophesied for the Athenian people that they could not defeat Syracuse and then when selected as a leader for the expedition, he comes quite close to overturning his own prophecy. See the full show notes here. Parallel: Crassus Important People Cleon -…

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Pericles 56:59

4y ago56:59

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Send us a text Check out the full show notes here. Pericles brought Athens to its peak, but ended his own life in a plague at the beginning of a long war with Sparta. Support the showBy Tom Cox - grammaticus

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Cimon 37:04

4+ y ago37:04

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Send us a text Obscure and under-rated, Cimon gives us a personal look at the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars, also called the Pentecontaetia. Important People Aristides - The Athenian politician and general famous for his integrity. Main political rival of the cunning Themistocles. Themistocles - Mastermind strategist behind the ta…

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Themistocles 47:18

4+ y ago47:18

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Send us a text Themistocles saved Athens in its darkest hour, yet he dies in the Persian empire, the inveterate enemy of Athens. Is Themistocles a patriot or a traitor? Important People Aristides - Themistocles's main political rival and a man he has to recall from exile to help him fight Salamis. Plutarch considers Aristides to be one of the noble…

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Lessons from the Lawgivers 23:05

4+ y ago23:05

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Send us a text We're wrapping season 2 with a bonus episode looking back at Plutarch's Parallels. We discuss the six biographies of the men who laids the foundations for Greek and Roman greatness. We'll also answer a couple questions that come up, like "Why are the comparison essays so much shorter than the biographies?" and "Why compare the Greek …

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Publicola 43:53

4+ y ago43:53

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Send us a text Valerius Publius, aka Publicola, topples the tyrant Tarquin with Brutus and founds the Republic on better justice than the Roman kings had exercised. Like his parallel Solon, his obsession with justice makes him seek the happiness of his own people all the way to his death. Remembering Solon's examples of happiness, does Publicola di…

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Numa 34:51

4+ y ago34:51

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Send us a text It is the happy fate of all good and just men to be praised more after they are dead than when they lived Plutarch, Life of Numa 22 Parallel - Lycurgus Important People Pythagoras - the Greek philosopher and mystic mathematician who lived on the southern Italian peninsula and started a school of philosophy obsessed with simple living…

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Agoge - Lycurgus Part 2 22:26

4+ y ago22:26

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Send us a text The Agōgē (ἀγωγή) [16-19] Those Laconic Spartans [19-21] Military Maneuvers [22-24] Education never stops [24-25 Blessing of scholē Freedom and restraint Political Setup How someone elected to Gerousia [26] Over 60 Group of candidates selected Assembly called, and votes decided by length of shout and volume of shout Burying the dead …

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Lycurgus 28:15

4+ y ago28:15

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Send us a text Lycurgus was once asked why Sparta had no defensive wall around its perimeter. He responded, "A city is well-fortified with a wall of men instead of brick." Parallel - Numa Important Places Sparta Crete Asia Minor Egypt Important People Homer Alcander Lysander Outline Uncertain origins: second son of King of Sparta Expected to become…

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Romulus 36:16

5y ago36:16

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Send us a text Parallel - Theseus Origin Stories Rome: What's in a name? From Aeneas to Alba Longa Romulus and Remus: Childhood Left to die by a river Wolf and woodpecker Romulus and Remus: Off to Found a City Rome is for runaways! Open the gates and seize the...day? Location, location, location! Vultures? 6/12? First/Second? Walls and Ditches – de…

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Theseus 34:51

5y ago34:51

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Send us a text Although Theseus never actually existed, Plutarch, in documenting his life, wants to cull important lessons for Greeks and Romans. Just as Theseus wrestles with villains threatening civilization, Plutarch forces his readers to grapple with the role of virtue in politics, or, less abstractly, the role the virtuous man has to play in h…

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Cicero 44:31

5y ago44:31

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Send us a text We are not born for ourselves alone; a part of us is claimed by our nation, another part by our friends. De Officiis, I.22 Parallel - Demosthenes Cicero lived and died as a political failure. In what ways, then, is his failure worth studying. In what ways did he succeed? In many ways, he and Vergil become the teachers of Western Euro…

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Cato the Elder 33:38

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Send us a text Wise men profit more from fools than fools from wise men; for the wise men shun the mistakes of fools, but fools do not imitate the successes of the wise. —Plutarch “Cato the Elder” Para. 9.4 Parallel - Aristides Sometimes called Cato the Censor or Cato the Elder because he is the great-grandfather of the more famous Cato the Younger…

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Demosthenes 28:41

5y ago28:41

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Send us a text ῥᾷστον ἁπάντων ἐστὶν αὑτὸν ἐξαπατῆσαι: ὃ γὰρ βούλεται, τοῦθ᾽ ἕκαστος καὶ οἴεταιNothing is easier than self-deceit, for what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true.—Demosthenes “Third Olynthiac” 19 Parallel - Cicero OUTLINE Introduces both Cicero and Demosthenes Learned Latin Late A good city for research Why stay in a smal…

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Why Read Plutarch? 26:05

5y ago26:05

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Send us a text In this podcast, I introduce you to Plutarch, the man and the biographer. We answer questions like: Who was Plutarch? An ancient biographer who wrote almost 50 biographies comparing Greek and Roman heroes. While his focus in on virtue, his characters are all human and their vices appear alongside their virtues. Why should I read him?…

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Aristides 22:57

5y ago22:57

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Send us a text Aristides acts as a great introduction to the wars that made Athens great, the defensive wars against the Persian invaders, occurring between 490 and 479 BC. Plutarch admired Aristides immensely, so he serves as a great introduction to the standards Plutarch holds up for the other leaders he studies. The outline of his life pretty mu…

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Solon 36:51

5y ago36:51

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Send us a text Solon was not only the wisest man to be found in Athens, but the most profound political genius of antiquity; and the easy, bloodless, and pacific revolution by which he accomplished the deliverance of his country was the first step in a career which our age glories in pursuing, and instituted a power which has done more than anythin…