Cost of Glory - Alex Petkas

Latest Episodes:

53 - Xenophon, Anabasis I - Power Highlights Jan 31, 2023

Show notes

Best highlights, power quotes, and notes from a leadership and adventure classic, Xenophon's Anabasis 1.
Featuring:
-How to get people to take real risks on your behalf
-How ancient army logistics worked
-Love affairs with foreign queens
-Hunting the Ostrich
-Qualities of good leaders, in Xenophon's opinion

Amazon links (Click, Buy -> Support this show!)

Landmark Xenophon's Anabasis
https://amzn.to/3HLGAeg

Old Penguin Anabasis:
https://amzn.to/3HLGAeg

Loeb Edition:
https://amzn.to/3HLGAeg

Key People:
Prince Cyrus
King Artaxerxes
Tissaphernes (satrap)
Epyaxa (Queen of Cilicia)
Xenophon
Clearchus
Tissaphernes
sacred fish
bustards
wild asses
ostriches

Key Places
Cilicia
Tarsus
Cunaxa (Battle of)
Euphrates River
Phrygia
Lydia
Thrace

52 - When it Clicks that You can Do This Jan 17, 2023

Show notes

The moment when someone obscure and untested realizes, in a crisis, that they can handle this. An autobiographical story from someone who was both a great writer and great leader, Xenophon.

51 - Win like the Santa of Power (Christmas Special) Dec 21, 2022

Show notes

Persevere when you are surrounded by enemies, like the other Santa Claus, Saint Basil of Caesarea. A Christmas special, from the Cost of Glory.

50 - How to Botch a Conspiracy Dec 06, 2022

Show notes

A Spartan story about a conspiracy. Whether it's a hostile corporate takeover, a plot to overthrow a president, or a school board coup, how do you make sure your conspiracy doesn't fail? Learn this lesson or be sorry later. Also featuring commentary from Aristotle's Politics.

49 - Prosper and Succeed with Spartan Realpietik Nov 15, 2022

Show notes

How do you buy yourself some time when you can't afford to tell people the reason why? A strategy used by a Spartan commander, Dercylidas. Brought to you by the Greek philosopher-historian-warrior Xenophon.

48 - Comparison: Lysander and Sulla Nov 01, 2022

Show notes

How should we look at the lives of “problematic” great figures? Join us as we join the ancient philosopher Plutarch, in sizing up two incredible men of action. Who wins?

Shout out to sources and inspirations:

Ancient:

Plutarch, life of Sulla

Plutarch, life of Marius

Plutarch, life of Sertorius

Plutarch, life of Pompey

Plutarch, life of Lucullus

Appian, Civil Wars

Appian, Mithridatic Wars

Cicero, pro Sexto Roscio

Sallust, Jugurtha

Secondary:

Arthur Keaveney (R.I.P.), Sulla, The Last Republican

Theodor Mommsen, History of Rome

Gareth Sampson, Collapse of Rome

Catherine Steel, The End of the Roman Republic; “Sulla the Orator”

Adrienne Mayor, The Poison King

47 - Sulla: Five Takeaways. And Aftermath. Oct 18, 2022

Show notes

Mass murderer or brilliant patriot? Whatever your take on Sulla, it's worth analyzing the qualities that made him a joy to his friends, and a terror to his enemies.

46 - Sulla III: Vengeance Oct 04, 2022

Show notes

How do you keep your team together in a civil conflict? Can a country right itself by warring with itself? What are the limits to which one man will go to punish his enemies?

In this episode, Sulla’s most famous, or rather infamous, acts as a leader.

—People—

Sulla

Plutarch

King Pyrrhus

Cinna

Metellus Pius

Marcus Licinius Crassus

Carbo

Gaius Norbanus

Lucius Cornelius Scipio (Asiaticus)

Sertorius

Gnaeus Pompeius (Pompey)

Gaius Marius (Jr.)

Damasippus

The Samnites

Telesinus

The Lucanians

Lucius Ofella

Sextus Roscius (Amerinus)

Cicero

Catiline

Julius Caesar

The Gracchi

Metella

Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (consul 78 BC)

—Places—

Apollonia

Epirus

Adriatic Sea

Italy

Dalmatia

Campania

Mt Tifata

Capua

Capitoline Hill

Picenum

Praeneste (Palestrina)

Rome

Colline Gate

Antemnae Field of Mars (Campus Martius)

Temple of Bellona

Circus Flaminius

Ameria

Cumae

45 - Sulla 2: Rogue Commander Sep 27, 2022

Show notes

How does a great commander handle being undermined by his government back home? How should we treat opponents we defeat? And how do we negotiate the best deal when our backs are against the wall and our counterparts know it?

In this episode: Sulla goes to Greece, to war against Rome’s arch rival Mithridates of Pontus. Can he hold out against a vastly superior enemy army? And can he weather the escalating crisis in Rome?

--People--

Sulla, The Hero

Plutarch, The Narrator

Marius, The Scoundrel

Sulpicius, The Henchman

Cinna, The Politician

Mithridates, The King

Aristion, the Tyrant

Archelaus, The Foe

Flaccus, The Replacement

Fimbria, The Backstabber

Apellicon, The Book Collector

Andronicus, The Editor

--Places--

Rome

Athens

Piraeus

Epidaurus

Olympia

Delphi

Boeotia

Mt Parnassus

Chaeronea

Thebes

Livadeia

Orchomenus

Lake Kopais

Asia (Minor)

The Dardanelles

Dardanus

Euboea

Halae

--Divinities--

Bellona

Minerva

Venus

Aphrodite

Apollo

Asclepius

Trophonius

44 - Sulla 1: The Lucky Sep 20, 2022

Show notes

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: A man of contradictions. Enjoyer of dramas and hedonistic pleasures; most successful general of his generation, and one of the greatest of all time. Patriot and champion of the ancient constitution; the Roman responsible for more Roman deaths than perhaps any other man in history.

Was Sulla one who broke the Republic?

In this episode learn the arts of:

-Wisdom

-charm

-gift giving

-deception

People:

Gaius Marius

Jugurtha

King Bocchus

The Cimbri and Teutones

Quintus Lutatius Catulus

The Metelli

Aemilius Scaurus

Mithridates of Pontus

The Parthians

Quintus Pompeius Rufus

Manius Aquillius (cameo)

Publius Sulpicius Rufus

Places:

Rome

Numidia

Gaul

Cilicia

Cappadocia

Armenia

Euphrates River

Persia

Parthia

Nola

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