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Last week I had the privilege of talking with Armand D’Angour, Professor of Classics at Jesus College, Oxford, where he teaches Greek and Latin literature and writes on ancient Greek and Roman culture, focusing on their music and lyric poetry. He has authored a number of books, runs a podcast, and a Substack—all recommended and linked below.
We had a really fun conversation, and I learned a lot (despite embarrassingly mispronouncing his name—sorry!). We discuss:
Professor D’Angour’s current work
His favorite translations of Homer
Is the Iliad an ironic anti-war story?
Is there a continuous tradition connecting Ancient Greek music to modern Western music? What happened to music during the thousand years between the Ancient Greeks until the emergence of Gregorian chant and other medieval Western music?
What are the characteristics that make Western music sound the way it does?
Musical modes (scales) in Ancient Greek music vs. scales in medieval & post-medieval European music. The emotional effect of different musical modes.
Have we lost something in music by limiting ourselves in the musical scales we use? The tradeoff in Western music between limited melodic complexity in exchange for greater harmonic complexity.
If an Ancient Greek like Herodotus or Socrates were transported to our world today, what would they find most remarkable about us psychologically/socially/politically (leaving aside our technological developments)
Professor D’Angour’s investigations into Socrates’ early life and his unrecognized philosophical muse. Filling some gaps in the narrative of Socrates' traditional biography.
In Plato’s Symposium, is the character Diotima based on Aspasia, consort of Pericles?
Closing: Professor D’Angour’s favorite book of 2024, and where listeners can find his work
Professor D’Angour’s personal website, faculty profiles for Oxford University, and his podcast It’s All Greek (and Latin) To Me—
One of his most-watched YouTube videos on the the sound of Ancient Greek music:
His books include:
Socrates in Love: The Making of a Philosopher
The Greeks and the New: Novelty in Ancient Greek Imagination and Experience
How to Innovate: An Ancient Guide to Creative Thinking (selections from Aristotle, Diodorus, and Athenaeus)
His latest work is How to Talk about Love: An Ancient Guide for Modern Lovers, to be released January 28th.
And please subscribe to Armand’s excellent Substack!
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