{"id":59080,"date":"2016-09-01T13:29:12","date_gmt":"2016-09-01T18:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=59080"},"modified":"2026-10-20T11:51:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T16:51:27","slug":"podcast-231-how-the-ghosts-of-tradition-inspired-ancient-military-might","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/culture\/history\/podcast-231-how-the-ghosts-of-tradition-inspired-ancient-military-might\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcast #231: How the Ghosts of Tradition Inspired Ancient Military Might"},"content":{"rendered":"

The armies of ancient Greece and Rome have gained legendary status. Both militaries successfully conquered much of the known world in their respective eras.<\/p>\n

But what made them so formidable? Technological innovation? Novel strategies? Plain old grit?<\/p>\n

My guest today on the podcast argues that it was the Greek and Roman armies’ reverence for their mythic pasts that made them great. His name is J. E. Lendon (he goes by Ted). He\u2019s a classical scholar and the author of Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity<\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n

Today on the show, Ted and I discuss how the ghosts of the Iliad<\/i> and the Odyssey<\/i> haunted Greek soldiers, the ways in which both the Greeks and Romans ritualized warfare, and why the Ancient Greeks made a competition out of everything. We also discuss the competing virtues of courage and discipline within the Roman army. This is a riveting conversation with fascinating insights into ancient notions of masculinity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The armies of ancient Greece and Rome have gained legendary status. Both militaries successfully conquered much of the known world in their respective eras. But what made them so formidable? Technological innovation? Novel strategies? Plain old grit? My guest today on the podcast argues that it was the Greek and Roman armies’ reverence for their mythic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":195767,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42376,42385,156],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-history","category-podcast"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/231-538x280.png","medium_large":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/231-768x432.png","aom":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/231-372x230.png","reactor-320":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/231-320x180.png","reactor-640":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/231-640x360.png"},"yoast_head":"\nPodcast: How the Greek and Roman Armies Became So Mighty | The Art of Manliness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The armies of ancient Greece and Rome have legendary status. 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