Meta Description: Join Dr. Jeff Winkle and Dr. David Noe in Ad Navseam Episode 167 as they explore essential secondary sources, African travels, and resources to master the Latin language.
Introduction: Shaking Off the Dust and the Pearl of Africa
Welcome back, classical gourmands, to Episode 167 of the Ad Navseam Podcast! Broadcasting directly from the subterranean depths of Vomitorium South, your hosts, Dr. David Noe and Dr. Jeff Winkle, return to the microphones to shake off the accumulated dust after several weeks away from the bunker.
The hiatus is well-explained by Dave’s recent international travel schedule. For the first time in his life, Dave dipped below the equator, flying into Kigali, Rwanda, and traveling across Lake Victoria to reach Mbale, Uganda—a nation often called the Pearl of Africa. Representing the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Dave spent two weeks teaching Greek at the Knox School of Theology. The teaching conditions presented unique challenges, primarily a parade of dried-out dry-erase markers. Dave jokes that Elon Musk should invent a pen that downloads ink via satellite, though his diligent Southern Sudanese students, Dang and Francis, ensured the lectures continued by quickly fetching fresh supplies.
Dave’s trip featured memorable encounters, including a silent standoff with a gecko peering out from a bathroom plumbing fixture on his final day. On his days off, he walked behind the rushing waters of Sipi Falls on Mount Elgon and visited the town of Jinja to witness the source of the Nile River—a geographical marvel that historical figures like Julius Caesar and Nero long desired to see.
Meanwhile, Jeff remained stateside, buried under a towering stack of final exams. He notes the inherent tragedy of Murphy’s Law regarding grading papers: the amount of grading will always expand to exactly fill the time allotted to complete the task.
Alacrity and the Enneads Corrigendum
Opening the mailbag, Dave delivers a shout-out to a devoted listener named D.P., a fellow Ciceronian teaching in the hinterlands. DP wrote in to praise his student, Ryan H., a young scholar showing great alacrity for his first year of Greek and second year of Latin studies, dubbing him a helluari libris (glutton for books). D.P. also provides a necessary corrigendum, correcting a previous podcast misstatement: it was the philosopher Plotinus, not Porphyry, who authored the Enneads, an error Dave waves off as “six of one, half a dozen of another”.
Defining Secondary Sources
The core academic focus of Episode 167 examines secondary sources. Jeff defines a secondary source as scholarship written to interpret and argue a position on primary sources—the original Greek and Latin texts.
Dave offers a more cynical distinction: if a book is boring, it is likely a secondary source. To prepare for his trip, Dave purchased a history of modern Uganda but abandoned it due to the author’s dull prose and excessive use of scare quotes. Dave complains that reading such dry material feels like a chore. He states a strong preference for primary narratives that tell an engaging story, even if they occasionally play loose with the exact facts, akin to the histories of Herodotus. The hosts lament the modern academic tendency to sneer at popular historians. They note that authors like Barry Powell can craft a riveting, novel-like narrative about the Battle of Salamis for the general public, while his strict academic output on the Greek alphabet remains dry and specialized.
Regarding the proper reading diet, Jeff recommends reading primary sources first, though he admits secondary sources often provide a necessary “on-ramp” to understand the broader cultural context of difficult texts like Greek tragedy.
Burkert, Campbell, and Black Athena
The hosts exchange a list of secondary sources that shaped their development as classicists. Jeff begins with Walter Burkert’s 1987 book, Ancient Mystery Cults. During graduate school, Jeff frequently encountered professors who dismissively lumped early Christianity together with ancient pagan mystery cults, characterizing the faith as just another derivative death-and-resurrection myth. Burkert’s slim volume argues against this facile syncretism, noting that the theological writings of Paul and John remain singular and distinct from the procedures of pagan cults.
Jeff’s second selection is Joseph Campbell’s famous tome, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, published in 1949. Jeff criticizes Campbell’s flowery, self-indulgent prose, reading a dense introductory quote regarding the “dream-like mumbo-jumbo of some red-eyed witch doctor” to prove his point. While acknowledging the usefulness of Campbell’s structural breakdown of the “hero’s journey” in chapter four, Jeff faults the overall book for lumping disparate global narratives together to force a unified Jungian theory of the collective unconscious.
Finally, Jeff highlights Mary Lefkowitz’s essay collection, Black Athena Revisited. This work served as a direct scholarly rebuttal to Martin Bernal’s controversial book Black Athena, which popularized the claim that ancient Greeks stole their philosophy and architecture from Egypt. The hosts point out that Bernal was a scholar of Chinese history rather than a classicist, and his loose reading of the sources frustrated many within the classical discipline. Lefkowitz exposes the flaws in Bernal’s historical methodology. She opens her text with a striking classroom anecdote about a student who, misled by an Afrocentrist instructor, harbored hostility because she was falsely taught that Socrates was a black African whose legacy had been hidden by racist classicists.
Cicero and The Roman Revolution
Dave selects Manfred Fuhrmann’s 1990 biography, Cicero and the Roman Republic. Dave praises this text for providing a sympathetic yet critical portrayal of the famous orator. Following Petrarch’s discovery of Cicero’s personal letters, many historians began painting the statesman as a petty, backstabbing opportunist. Fuhrmann corrects this overcorrection, presenting Cicero as a human figure with sincere ideals who simply suffered from political clumsiness, forever finding himself on the wrong side of history.
Dave’s second pick is Sir Ronald Syme’s 1939 masterpiece, The Roman Revolution. This foundational text shattered the traditional “Whig version” of Roman history, which idolized figures like Cicero as noble defenders of freedom against tyranny. Relying on prosopography—the study of individual characters and family networks—Syme argued that the decaying Republic was inadequate to govern a massive empire. Syme posits that Augustus, far from being a simple villain, did the grim, violent work necessary to restore public order. Dave reads a selection of Syme’s majestic prose, noting that while the halo of Augustus’s resplendent fortune may dazzle the public, it should not blind the critical eye of the historian.
Sponsors: Fueling the Classical Renaissance
Before delivering the parting shot, the hosts extend their gratitude to the sponsors keeping the podcast operational.
- Hackett Publishing: For over four years, Hackett has sponsored the podcast, delivering high-quality, affordable translations. Build a personal library at hackettpublishing.com and use the code AN2024 to receive a 20% discount and free shipping on the entire order.
- Ratio Coffee: Jeff jokes about trying a trendy “Yellowstone Ranch” coffee blend that tasted faintly of leathery saddle, yet his Ratio 8 machine managed to balance the brew. Meanwhile, Dave, having suffered through primitive brewing methods while traveling in Africa, is thrilled to return home to his brand-new Ratio 4 machine. Visit ratiocoffee.com and enter the promo code ANCO5P (the ‘P’ stands for Premium) for a 15% discount.
- Latin Per Diem & MossMethod: For listeners inspired to master the Latin language and ancient Greek, Dave offers tailored educational solutions. Visit mossmethod.com to go from neophyte to erudite in Greek, or explore latinperdiem.com/llpsi to tackle Hans Ørberg’s Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata.
The Gustatory Parting Shot
To close out Episode 167, Jeff delivers a Gustatory Parting Shot courtesy of the famous musical parodist, “Weird Al” Yankovic.
Reading the lyrics of “Eat It”—the famous parody of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”—in the style of a solemn beat poet, Jeff recites:
“How come you’re always such a fussy young man? Don’t want no Captain Crunch. Don’t want no Raisin Bran. Well, don’t you know that other kids are starving in Japan, so eat it. Just eat it.”
Unable to resist the iconic melody, Jeff eventually breaks into song for the chorus, demanding the listener to get an egg and beat it.A special thanks goes out to Mishka the sound engineer for her rapid turnaround times. Musical gratitude is extended to Scott Van Zen for providing the screaming guitar tracks—combining Eddie Van Halen tapping with Stevie Ray Vaughan bluesy licks—alongside Ken Tamplin, who composed the bumper music and rhythm sections. Check out the “Lurch with Merch” section on the website, beware of bathroom geckos, and keep taking in the classics. Valete!
