The O'Leary Review - Episode 12 - Andronikos - Journey through the Western Canon
The O’Leary Review Podcast
Andronikos
December 4, 2022
A reminder, the Substack page has the most thorough show notes with all the live links. Please join us at https://briandoleary.substack.com/
We’re talking about the “Classics” of literature today… it leads to a great discussion and is certainly a “conversation that matters.”
Our guest today, Travis—a.k.a. Andronikos—writes a blog called Wends of Change at https://wendsofchange.substack.com and wrote a book called Revenge and its Discontents: My Journey Through the Iliad which is available on Amazon (the Kindle edition is free with Kindle Unlimited).
In his daily life, Travis enjoys reading, writing, bowling, and video games. As Andronikos, he is “on a journey through the great books of the Western Canon.” His goal is to “read and think deeply about them with as little help from outside sources as possible.”
The Great Books Reading List that Andronikos is working his way through can be found at https://wendsofchange.com/books/
Book mentioned:
How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler
Essay mentioned:
“On the Reading of Old Books” by C.S. Lewis
From the Lewis essay: “There is a strange idea abroad that in every subject the ancient books should be read only by the professionals, and that the amateur should content himself with the modern books… The error is rather an amiable one, for it springs from humility. The student is half afraid to meet one of the great philosophers face to face. He feels himself inadequate and thinks he will not understand him. But if he only knew, the great man, just because of his greatness, is much more intelligible than his modern commentator.”
Commentary from Annie Holmquist at Intellectual Takeout on the Lewis essay.
Andronikos
The nom de plume derives from a fellow mentioned in Romans 16:7
“Salute Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and fellow prisoners: who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.” Romans 16:7 (Douay-Rheims)
Tom Woods 100
For no reason other than I am involved in the Tom Woods School of Life, I decided that I’d get 100 of my fellow members or people closely tied into Tom’s orbit on this podcast eventually. Travis/Andronikos is a fellow member.
After this week, we will only have about 90 to go!
Enrollment in Tom’s School of Life comes around every six months or so. Go to https://tomschooloflife.com/ … totally worth it. I’m planning to have a podcast episode dedicated entirely to Tom’s School in the near future.
#TomWoods100
Travis found out about Tom Woods via Michael Malice, who is a very failed podcaster and writer in his own right. Chain reaction led him to Tom.
Podcasts mentioned:
Your Welcome with Michael Malice
The Tom Woods Show ep. 2245 with Michael Heise
The Brion McClanahan Show — “Think Locally. Act Locally.”
The Brian D. O’Leary Show (Spanish Civil War Week)
- https://briandoleary.substack.com/p/the-brian-d-oleary-show-111422
- https://briandoleary.substack.com/p/the-brian-d-oleary-show-111522
- https://briandoleary.substack.com/p/the-brian-d-oleary-show-11162022
- https://briandoleary.substack.com/p/the-brian-d-oleary-show-111722
- https://briandoleary.substack.com/p/the-brian-d-oleary-show-111822
Movie mentioned:
Who was Homer?
The Wikipedia entry.
Article mentioned:
The Lost Books of the Odyssey by Steve Sailer
The Iliad is perhaps the second and the Odyssey could be the seventh in the “eight epics of the Trojan War.” The other six are lost poems according to the Epic Cycle theory.
Best translations for Homer (Iliad & Odyssey) include:
Robert Fagles
- The Paris Review interview, Robert Fagles, The Art of Translation No. 2
- Considered by Andronikos as the best modern translation of the Iliad and as the best work in the career of Fagles.
Samuel Butler
- Considered the best public domain translation, though it uses Latin names instead of the Greek.
Robert Fitzgerald
- The Fitzgerald translations are what I started reading in preparation for this conversation. I still have a long way to go!
Augustus Murray
- Public domain translation with the Greek names. Used for the Loeb Classical Library
Andronikos links:
Blog/Substack https://wendsofchange.substack.com
- Posts drop at 3am Pacific on Sundays
Book, Revenge and its Discontents https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BHC3ZH8G
Reading List https://wendsofchange.com/books/