From Homer to Gutenberg: Ancient Greek and Its Afterlives
Release Date: 07/01/2024
From Homer to Gutenberg: Ancient Greek and Its Afterlives
The Ralston College Podcast
David Butterfield is a renowned classicist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Cambridge. His work centres on the critical study and teaching of classical texts. How did the Renaissance revival of Greek language study transform Western Europe's intellectual landscape and shape our modern understanding of the Classics? In this talk, delivered on the island of Samos in Greece in August 2023 as part of Ralston College’s Master’s in the Humanities program, Dr. David Butterfield—Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of Cambridge—charts how Western Europe came to...
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Education without Indoctrination: Can It Exist? Stephen Blackwood, John Vervaeke & David Butterfield
The Ralston College Podcast
Stephen Blackwood is the founding President of Ralston College, with advanced degrees in Classics and Religion and visiting positions at Harvard, Toronto, and Cambridge. David Butterfield is a renowned classicist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Cambridge. His work centres on the critical study and teaching of classical texts. John Vervaeke, PhD, is an award-winning professor of psychology, cognitive science, and Buddhist psychology at the University of Toronto. What are the fundamental principles required to cultivate an educational environment free from ideological...
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The Ralston College Podcast
Gregg Hurwitz, the New York Times bestselling author of the Orphan X series and a storyteller whose work spans many mediums and genres, in conversation with Stephen Blackwood, the founding president of Ralston College, and with students enrolled in the inaugural year of the College’s MA in the Humanities program. In this live event—recorded on [date] at Ralston College—Hurwitz discusses the concrete details of his own writing practice and explains how his training in literature and psychology have informed his craft. He reflects on how storytelling helps us to understand the self and on...
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The Ralston College Podcast
Dr. Michael Hurley, Professor of Literature and Theology at Trinity College in the University of Cambridge, delivers a lecture to students in Ralston College’s inaugural Master’s in the Humanities program on the intertwining of language and thought in the work of three major Victorian authors: Walter Pater, John Henry Newman, and Gerard Manley Hopkins. Prof. Hurley argues that, far from being merely ornamental, in these authors style is constitutive of thought and the difficult pursuit of beauty is inextricable from the pursuit of truth. — Ralston College ...
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Radical Thoughts on Human Nature: Stephen Blackwood at Hillsdale College
The Ralston College Podcast
In this lecture, delivered on March 30, 2023, as part of the Drummond Lecture Series at Hillsdale College, Dr. Stephen Blackwood—the founding president of Ralston College—argues that we must first understand something’s nature before we can properly care for and cultivate it. This principle holds true for all living things—including plants and animals—but it is seen in its fullest complexity in human beings as they seek to realize their unique potential through the concrete challenges and conditions of their individual lives. Drawing richly upon both text and images, Dr. Blackwood...
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The Ralston College Podcast
In his lecture, Jonathan Pageau presents a thoughtful examination of the Last Judgment through the lens of a late-11th-century mosaic, challenging the traditional view of it as solely an end-time event. He suggests that this imagery symbolizes an ongoing process of identity formation, where every entity acts as a judge, continually evaluating its alignment with its essence. This interpretation casts the Last Judgment in a new light, with the ideal human being as the ultimate measure of this alignment. Pageau further delves into how this imagery interacts with its placement within the church,...
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Serious Play: Renaissance Wisdom and Cosmic Choreography | Sophia Lecture 2023 Part 5/5
The Ralston College Podcast
In the culminating fifth lecture of the Sophia Lecture series, Professor Douglas Hedley culminates his exploration by delving into play's theological dimension, engaging with Marsilio Ficino, Desiderius Erasmus, and Plotinus to dissect 'serious play', a pivotal concept in Renaissance thought. Throughout the lecture series, Hedley has traversed play's philosophical terrain, examining its roots, the vital role of language in human development, the journey into self-awareness, and the allure of aesthetics. In this lecture, he weaves together the interplay of wisdom and play within cultural...
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Unveiling Aesthetics: Art, Suffering, and Transcendence | Sophia Lectures 2023 Part 4/5
The Ralston College Podcast
In the fourth Sophia Lecture, Professor Douglas Hedley explores the transformative power of play in art and human consciousness, examining its philosophical significance across various cultures and traditions. Hedley highlights play's role in fostering aesthetic appreciation and creativity, embarking on a historical and philosophical journey from ancient wisdom to modern interpretations. He scrutinizes the aesthetic crisis in contemporary art, noting its departure from traditional notions of beauty and creativity, and weaves together intriguing concepts from evolutionary psychology,...
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Wisdom in Paradox: The Seriousness of Play | Sophia Lectures 2023 Part 3/5
The Ralston College Podcast
In the third lecture of the Sophia Lecture series, Professor Douglas Hedley embarks on an intellectual journey that explores the enigmatic nature of play and its profound impact on human life, drawing from ancient philosophies and modern psychological theories. Delving into the works of Heraclitus and Plato, Hedley examines the paradoxical relationship between play and seriousness and how this dynamic shapes our understanding of life's deepest questions. He discusses the transformative power of poetic language, the importance of embracing the child's soul, and the role of play as a bridge...
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Exploring the Inner Word: Play, Poetry, Philosophy | Sophia Lectures 2023 Part 2/5
The Ralston College Podcast
In this second episode of the Sophia Lectures, Professor Douglas Hedley from the University of Cambridge embarks on a deep exploration into the theme of "play" and its relationship to consciousness, language, and poetic expression. Drawing upon the intellectual legacies of Owen Barfield and Hans-Georg Gadamer, Hedley explores the philosophical and theological dimensions of language, highlighting its role in shaping our understanding of existence. He discusses the concept of the "inner word" as described by Augustine and how poetry serves as a bridge between the tangible and the abstract,...
info_outlineDavid Butterfield is a renowned classicist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Cambridge. His work centres on the critical study and teaching of classical texts.
How did the Renaissance revival of Greek language study transform Western Europe's intellectual landscape and shape our modern understanding of the Classics?
In this talk, delivered on the island of Samos in Greece in August 2023 as part of Ralston College’s Master’s in the Humanities program, Dr. David Butterfield—Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of Cambridge—charts how Western Europe came to appreciate the language and culture of ancient Greece as an integral part of its own civilizational inheritance. Dr. Butterfield explains that large-scale technological and cultural changes in late antiquity led to a gradual loss of Greek language proficiency—and a waning interest in the pagan world—among Western European intellectuals during the Early Middle Ages. While the Scholasticism of the High Middle Ages was invigorated by the rediscovery of the Greek philosophical tradition, this encounter was mediated almost entirely through Latin translations. It was only in the Renaissance—when a renewed appreciation of the Hellenic world on its own terms led to a revitalization of Greek language study—that our contemporary conception of Classics was fully established.
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00:00 Introduction: A Journey through Classical Literature with Dr. Butterfield
04:05 Preservation and Valuation of Greek Culture
06:55 The Evolution of Writing Systems
14:50 Greek Influence on Roman Culture
20:25 The Rise of Christianity and Advances in Book Technology
27:40 Preservation and Transmission of Classical Texts in the Middle Ages
32:50 Arabic Scholars: Preserving Greek Knowledge and Shaping Western Thought
36:00 The Renaissance and Rediscovery of Greek Texts
43:10 Conclusion: The Printing Press and the Spread of Classical Knowledge
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Authors, Ideas, and Works Mentioned in this Episode:
Homer
Magna Graecia
Pythagoras
Odyssey
Cato the Elder
Third Macedonian War
Great Library of Alexandria
Great Library of Pergamum
Horace, Epistles
Emperor Augustus
Codex Sinaiticus
Constantine
Neoplatonism
Plato
Charlemagne
Carolingian Renaissance
Virgil
Ovid
Abbasid Caliphate
Avveroës
Avicenna
Thomas Aquinas
Petrarch
Ottoman Conquest
Epicurus
Lucretius
Aristotle
Gutenberg
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Additional Resources
Ralston College (including newsletter)
Antigone - Explore Ancient Greece and Rome with Modern Insights
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