Jul 12, 2023Liked by Fr. Wesley Walker, Junius Johnson
As always, I thoroughly enjoyed the podcast! Dr. Johnson, welcome! I’m so excited you are joining us. I really enjoyed the conversation between you and Wesley in the first Classical Mind newsletter and look forward to continuing to learn from you both.
I found the comments on cultural diversity to be very thought provoking. I never considered the stakes or the impact that Greek/Achaean victory verses Trojan victory would have on Western tradition, the Western Canon, and the even the Greek pantheon. The workings of history, whether we see it as a sort of Divine Providence/Fate or a more chaotic sense of chance and might, it feels like all these huge determinations of human culture, learning, growth, suffering, development and loss, all hinge on these fine threads. It’s chilling to consider.
I guess when we reference Asian minor and beyond the Balkan mountains, we’re talking what, Turkish, Turkish, Caucasus, Romanian, Serbians, Bosnians and Croatians? Georgians?
I really appreciate the expansive image that taking a step back and really looking at the geographical context of the narrative brings.
I think the point of grief as a universal language was so painfully beautiful and so true. I also find my respect to Achilles grew exponentially to see him in his interaction with Priam.
And the point about the chariots, oh gosh. I never even caught that 🙈 Authors, take heart. If Homer can get chariots wrong and still have his works read and loved over two thousand years later, there’s hope 😂
It really does expand our horizons to consider the cultural context a bit more. In my experience, it's easy to do the same thing with the Old Testament Scriptures in particular. Like we think of "the Canaanites" as if there was one monolithic group in the land, but really there were a host of tribes and probably complex relationships between various groups in the region. Certainly, there would be things that would bind them together given interactions and perhaps common origins, but thinking about how much diversity is included in these regions help them come alive. The Trojan War really feels like a "World War" the way it's depicted. There are definitely major players like Greece and Troy but both sides are made up of a conglomeration of forces.
As always, I thoroughly enjoyed the podcast! Dr. Johnson, welcome! I’m so excited you are joining us. I really enjoyed the conversation between you and Wesley in the first Classical Mind newsletter and look forward to continuing to learn from you both.
I found the comments on cultural diversity to be very thought provoking. I never considered the stakes or the impact that Greek/Achaean victory verses Trojan victory would have on Western tradition, the Western Canon, and the even the Greek pantheon. The workings of history, whether we see it as a sort of Divine Providence/Fate or a more chaotic sense of chance and might, it feels like all these huge determinations of human culture, learning, growth, suffering, development and loss, all hinge on these fine threads. It’s chilling to consider.
I guess when we reference Asian minor and beyond the Balkan mountains, we’re talking what, Turkish, Turkish, Caucasus, Romanian, Serbians, Bosnians and Croatians? Georgians?
I really appreciate the expansive image that taking a step back and really looking at the geographical context of the narrative brings.
I think the point of grief as a universal language was so painfully beautiful and so true. I also find my respect to Achilles grew exponentially to see him in his interaction with Priam.
And the point about the chariots, oh gosh. I never even caught that 🙈 Authors, take heart. If Homer can get chariots wrong and still have his works read and loved over two thousand years later, there’s hope 😂
It really does expand our horizons to consider the cultural context a bit more. In my experience, it's easy to do the same thing with the Old Testament Scriptures in particular. Like we think of "the Canaanites" as if there was one monolithic group in the land, but really there were a host of tribes and probably complex relationships between various groups in the region. Certainly, there would be things that would bind them together given interactions and perhaps common origins, but thinking about how much diversity is included in these regions help them come alive. The Trojan War really feels like a "World War" the way it's depicted. There are definitely major players like Greece and Troy but both sides are made up of a conglomeration of forces.
Here's a pretty cool entry about Asia Minor: https://www.worldhistory.org/Asia_Minor/