Greece versus Rome, with Boris Johnson and Mary Beard

Intelligence Squared

Arts, News, Society & Culture, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 February 2016

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On November 19th Intelligence Squared hosted the ultimate clash of civilisations: Greece vs Rome. It was also the ultimate clash of intellectual titans. Boris Johnson, Mayor of London and ardent classicist, made the case for Greece; while Mary Beard, Professor of Classics at Cambridge and redoubtable media star, championed Rome. As Boris argued, the Greeks got there first: in literature, history, art and philosophy. The Iliad and the Odyssey are the earliest surviving epic poems, the foundations on which European literature was built. The Greek myths – the tales of Oedipus, Heracles and Persephone, to name but a few – contain the archetypal plot elements of hubris and nemesis on which even Hollywood films depend today. It was in ancient Athens that the birth of democracy took place under the leadership of the great statesman Pericles. And in that political climate with its love of freedom and competition, and passion for argument, the great cultural flourishing of classical Athens occurred: the tragedies... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Thank you for downloading this Intelligence Squared podcast.
0:03.3	For more information on our debates, talks and discussions,
0:06.5	visit intelligence squared.com and sign up to the newsletter. Welcome all to what is going to be an extraordinary evening.
0:24.0	We've all played those kind of parlor games,
0:27.0	something versus something.
0:28.0	In the Marv family on our way to primary school,
0:31.0	it would be Procophi Ef or Shostakich, Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky.
0:35.0	Well this is the simplistic version, Greece versus Rome.
0:39.0	Now I have to say for those who may not have attended very carefully to the publicity ahead of time I should
0:44.6	emphasize this is ancient Rome versus classical Greece, which is in many ways a bit of a
0:49.8	disappointment to me because I was looking forward to Mary Beard speaking out for Burles-Scony and Boris here,
0:55.8	making the case for Sirza.
0:58.9	These things depend upon intellectual fireworks and we have two kind of arsenals of
1:03.7	intellectual fireworks here we have Oxford and Cambridge we have two great
1:08.6	authors who produce many many books and television programs they have made the case for their studies for a very
1:14.4	very long time. Boris of course is now running a city which is seething with
1:19.6	kind of proletarian dissent, housing crisis and it's and it's and it's
1:26.7	and it's a little bit I'm actually clapped track and it's leaders for the lot of the time
1:31.8	stabbing each other in the back so but that's why he's going for Greece of course.
1:36.0	All right. Without more good. Good in every...
1:43.0	Good in the other everybody.
1:45.0	Good in everybody.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Intelligence Squared, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Intelligence Squared and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.