The Steven Pressfield Podcast

Latest Episodes:

20 The Amazons - Part 2 Feb 27, 2022

Show notes

The legend is that, around 1250 BCE, an army of Amazon women attacked Athens. Plutarch, who lived in the first century CE, tells us that in his time at Athens there were still graves of warrior women, temples dedicated to them, and a neighborhood called Amazoneum. I'm a believer. Are you?
New episodes every Monday
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts

19 The Amazons - Part 1 Feb 20, 2022

Show notes

We've all seen "Wonder Woman" and thought it was cool. But was there really a race of warrior women? Did they really sear off the right breast so the arm would grow strong to draw the bow and sling the double-bladed axe? Were the Amazons really the greatest force on horseback ever? Did they actually attack Athens ... and nearly win?
New episodes every Monday
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts

18 Consider the Character of the Athenian Feb 13, 2022

Show notes

On the eve of the great war between Athens and Sparta, a speech was given to the Spartans, warning them of the character of the enemy they were about to take on. The formidable but stolid, deliberate and cautious Spartans would soon face the daring, unpredictable, reckless, audacious combatants of Athens. Which side would win ... and to what expedients would it have to sink to achieve victory?
New episodes every Monday
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts

17 Rightful Lord of His Own Person Feb 06, 2022

Show notes

The Greeks gave us democracy, courts of law, philosophy, drama, much more. But their greatest gift -- something that had never existed before, anywhere in the world -- was the idea of the autonomous citizen ... the free individual who, in Pericles' phrase, was "the rightful lord of his own person."
New episodes every Monday
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts

16 Sire, Remember the Athenians Jan 30, 2022

Show notes

The Persian king Darius had never heard of the Greeks, their nations were so distant and so remote on the periphery of his empire. Then the Athenians burned Sardis, one of the king's cities. Thereafter at each evening meal, a servant was instructed to whisper in the monarch's ear, "Sire, remember the Athenians." From this reminder of revenge came wars that went on for centuries and are still shaping our world today.
New episodes every Monday.
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

15 The Agoge: The Education of a Spartan Boy Jan 23, 2022

Show notes

Spartan boys were taken from their mothers at age seven and enrolled in "the Upbringing." They remained in this School of Hard Knocks till age eighteen, when they officially became warriors and took their place in the phalanx. Herodotus tells us that Spartans breathed a sigh of relief and gratitude when they went off to war ... it was so much easier than the training.
New episodes every Monday.
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts

14 The Factory of Fear Jan 16, 2022

Show notes

Every facet of every warrior code is about one thing and one thing only -- Fear. Codes of honor, loyalty, integrity, love of country, fidelity to a cause. They all exist as a counterpoise to the imperative of self-preservation built into our bodies, our cells, our flesh ... the "factory of fear."
To learn more about warrior culture, read THE WARRIOR ETHOS and GATES OF FIRE by Steven Pressfield.

13 "Go Tell The Spartans" Jan 09, 2022

Show notes

To learn more about warrior culture, read THE WARRIOR ETHOS and GATES OF FIRE by Steven Pressfield.

12 The Citizen Soldier Jan 02, 2022

Show notes

To learn more about warrior culture, read THE WARRIOR ETHOS and GATES OF FIRE by Steven Pressfield.

11 Be Brave My Heart Dec 26, 2021

Show notes

To learn more about warrior culture, read THE WARRIOR ETHOS and GATES OF FIRE by Steven Pressfield.