The Steven Pressfield Podcast

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40 The Archetypal Soldier Jul 17, 2022

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In this episode, we'll go beyond the virtuous Spartans and the preeminent Alexander to a figure more like our own conflicted selves--my recurring fictional character, Telamon of Arcadia. Telamon is the embodiment of the Warrior Archetype ... unkillable, supreme in combat ... but self-aware, self-questioning, self-tormented. His ordeal is that he must answer, for himself and by himself, the questions the Spartans and Alexander could not.
New episodes every Monday

39 The Afghan Campaign Jul 10, 2022

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When a "civilized" army like Alexander's confronts a primitive tribal foe (as Alexander did in the Afghan kingdoms in the 330s B.C.), it often sinks to the level of brutality and pitilessness of its enemy. Ask the British and the Russians of their own experience in that cruel country. Ask our own guys.
New episodes every Monday. SUBSCRIBE and REVIEW.
The War of Art - https://amzn.to/38vTIDd
Gates of Fire - https://amzn.to/3kjpFAX

38 Limits of the Warrior Archetype Jul 03, 2022

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37 Each Archetype Builds On the One Before Jun 26, 2022

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36 We Mature From Archetype to Archetype Jun 19, 2022

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Do we grow and mature in a smooth, straight line? I don't think so. Jungian psychology says we mature in stages that correspond to the archetypes of the Unconscious--Youth to Warrior to Mentor to Father to King (or Queen) to Sage to Mystic. We'll examine this in today's episode.
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35 I Have Come to Hate War Jun 12, 2022

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The writer of historical fiction must sometimes bend true-life characters to fit his conception of a story's theme. In The Virtues of War, I made the historical Hephaesteion, Alexander's dearest friend and second-in-command, take a stand for compassion and empathy for others. He becomes the character who feels the most deeply for the defeated and the subjected. In today's episode, we let him speak on the topic of the Warrior Archetype.
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34 It May Have Been Wrong For Us To Take It Jun 05, 2022

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Torn between the dark side of the Warrior Archetype and the light, Alexander (at least in my own historical fiction rendering) was pressed by his friend and second-in-command, Hephaesteion, to choose. He turned instead to Zeus the Creator. In today's episode we'll see how Alexander answered the dilemma of the limits of the Warrior Archetype.
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The War of Art - https://amzn.to/38vTIDd
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33 Those Who Loved Him May 29, 2022

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Alexander's closest generals were his dear friends Craterus and Hephaesteion. Each represented a different (and conflicting) aspect of the Warrior Archetype. Alexander stood in the middle. In today's episode we'll get more deeply into the dark and light sides of the Warrior Archetype.
New episodes every Monday. SUBSCRIBE and REVIEW wherever you get your podcasts.
The War of Art - https://amzn.to/38vTIDd
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32 "You Are Not A King, You Are A Conqueror" May 22, 2022

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What are the limits of the Warrior Archetype? When does a virtue like the will to win become the crime of brutality and senseless aggression? Alexander came face to face with this issue on the banks of the Hydaspes River in India, when he encountered and was confronted by the great king Porus.
New episodes every Monday. SUBSCRIBE and REVIEW wherever you get your podcasts.
The War of Art - https://amzn.to/38vTIDd
Gates of Fire - https://amzn.to/3kjpFAX

31 And What Will You Keep for Yourself? May 15, 2022

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Today we'll examine two more stories of Alexander ... and see if we can learn how we was able, over ten years of war (during which the majority of his soldiers never saw their homes even for a brief leave or furlough) to maintain the passionate devotion of his officers and men.
New episodes every Monday. SUBSCRIBE and REVIEW wherever you get your podcasts.

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