Knowledge from the Ancients
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108 - Caesar 2: Law & Nature
107 - Caesar 1: Man of Destiny
The much awaited series on Julius Caesar begins, with the inaugural episode: "Man of Destiny".
A tale of charm, audacity, and calculated risk as a young aristocrat from a modest branch of an ancient family navigates the treacherous waters of late Republican politics. Caesar—stylish, charismatic, deeply in debt, and dangerously ambitious—sets himself against the legacy of Sulla while methodically building a coalition that would eventually transform Rome forever.
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Sulla 1: The Lucky
How do we get Fortune on our side? What are the qualities necessary for daring unthinkable, unspeakable acts? When is it justifiable to massacre your enemies? Sulla...
An uncommon strategy for mastering fear
A principle for building exercises to control your anxiety or fear. Favorinus, a philosopher from the time of Plutarch, offers some deft observations about Socrates.
Get Friendships with Powerful People
Plutarch offers insight on relating to people above your station
Plato on how to Destroy an Aristocracy
Plato gives insight on how to undermine your enemies
How to get lucky when the gods are against you
How to turn bad luck around. SPOILER: it's not just more effort. Stories of Timotheus and Sulla.
Lysander Aftermath: or, How to Keep Fighting
What happened after Lysander died? What was his legacy? What can we learn from his life?
Lysander 3: Kings of Sparta
Lysander returns from his setbacks at Sparta with a revolutionary plan. He consults the gods about the Spartan Kingship; and some of his own prophecies about Greek ge...
Lysander 2: Thirty Tyrants
Lysander - The Spartan who took down Athens. In this episode: the dangers of success. How (and why) Lysander installed the notorious "Thirty" at Athens, and how he...
Lysander 1: Death of Democracy
A Spartan; first Greek honored as a god during his lifetime; destroyer of Athenian naval supremacy. In this episode: his rise to power, how he pulled off the greate...
History Contains Power
My name is Alex Petkas, and in The Cost of Glory, I present you with the best stories, analyses and takeaways, from the greatest and most influential figures from Greco-Roman antiquity.