Episode 153 - Dr. Suzanne Lye

Dr. Suzanne Lye, an Associate Professor of Classics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discusses why she studies underworld/afterlife narratives across roughly 1,000 years, arguing they function as “bubbles” of internal commentary that reveal values, relationships, and hidden knowledge. She considers physical sites like necromanteia, the materiality of Greek underworlds, and the need to avoid flattening “Greek beliefs” across time and place. The conversation also touches on curse tablets, amulets, women’s anger and “magic” as unsanctioned religion. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting odyssey! Don't forget to follow us on Bluesky, Facebook & Instagram or visit our website www.theozymandiasproject.com! Originally recorded June 17, 2026.Learn more about Dr. Lye: https://classics.unc.edu/people-3/faculty-2-2/suzanne-lye/Check out her publications on Academia: https://unc.academia.edu/SuzanneLyeFind her book Life/Afterlife: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/life--afterlife-9780197690208?cc=us&lang=en&Custom music by Brent Arehart of Arehart Sounds and edited by Dan Maday. Want a transcript of the episode? Email us at [email protected] and we can provide one. Ancient Office Hours is a proud member of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Glaire Anderson, a professor of Islamic art and architecture at the University of Edinburgh, recounts navigating limited program visibility, and training in architecture and urbanism while later integrating art objects to understand buildings. She explains her focus on Islamic Iberia and Córdoba, shaped by Filipino-Spanish family connections and Louis L’Amour’s The Walking Drum, and outlines Córdoba’s Roman importance, Umayyad rule from 711, and exchanges with northern courts and North Africa. She discusses the Great Mosque–Cathedral’s post-1236 consecration and 16th-century compromise inserting a Renaissance cathedral within the mosque, parallels at the Alhambra, and her digital lab work using game engines for embodied historical visualization, including consulting on Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s Baghdad codex/Discovery Tour and museum partnerships. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting odyssey! Don't forget to follow us on Bluesky, Facebook & Instagram or visit our website www.theozymandiasproject.com! Originally recorded April 7, 2026.Learn more about Dr. Anderson: https://www.eca.ed.ac.uk/profile/dr-glaire-anderson Check out her personal website: https://glairedanderson.com/ Check out the Digital Lab for Islamic Visual Culture and Collections (DLIVCC): https://www.digitallabivcc.com/ Custom music by Brent Arehart of Arehart Sounds and edited by Dan Maday. Want a transcript of the episode? Email us at [email protected] and we can provide one. Ancient Office Hours is a proud member of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Tori Lee, an assistant professor of classics at Davidson College, discusses her favorite authors, especially Catullus, and her MA thesis on how English translators handle obscenity, including euphemism, omission, and dysphemism, arguing for the importance of studying modern translations and noting that free online versions can be more censored. She outlines a current project on pastoral literature’s “dark underbelly,” examining how idyllic countryside worlds rely on oppression of women, enslaved people, lower-class men, animals, and landscapes. She also discusses outreach and community-building through Eidolon, the SCS blog, AAACC, and Crip Antiquity, plus challenges and ethics in reception and social media research. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting odyssey! Don't forget to follow us on Bluesky, Facebook & Instagram or visit our website www.theozymandiasproject.com! Originally recorded February 12, 2026.Learn more about Dr. Lee: https://www.davidson.edu/people/tori-lee Check out the Asian and Asian American Classical Caucus (AAACC): https://www.aaaclassicalcaucus.org/Check out Crip Antiquity: https://cripantiquity.com/ Custom music by Brent Arehart of Arehart Sounds and edited by Dan Maday. Want a transcript of the episode? Email us at [email protected] and we can provide one. Ancient Office Hours is a proud member of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Jana Matuszak, a professor of Sumerology at the University of Chicago, joins Lexie to discuss the need to advocate for and provide accessible translations of ancient works, diving into Sumerian royal epics beyond Gilgamesh, examining Enheduanna as the oldest named poet, and talks about love songs, hymns, erotic poetry, and humorous “contest” texts. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting odyssey! Don't forget to follow us on Bluesky, Facebook & Instagram or visit our website www.theozymandiasproject.com! Originally recorded January 21, 2026.Learn more about Dr. Matuszak: https://mes.uchicago.edu/jana-matuszakFind her publications on Academia: https://chicago.academia.edu/JanaMatuszak Check out the game House of Ashes: https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/1281590/ Check out Stan Against Evil & the Old Persian grimoire: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5722214/ Custom music by Brent Arehart of Arehart Sounds and edited by Dan Maday. Want a transcript of the episode? Email us at [email protected] and we can provide one. Ancient Office Hours is a proud member of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Ben Angell, a video game writer and current narrative lead at Capture Age, joins Lexie to discuss how he shifted focus from “face of battle” analysis to morale, psychology, and the Roman army’s social networks, formative teaching at the Ashmolean Museum through object handling and the Krasis program, collaborative imagination-sparking pedagogy, and argues games best inspire interest rather than directly educate. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting odyssey! Don't forget to follow us on Bluesky, Facebook & Instagram or visit our website www.theozymandiasproject.com! Originally recorded December 19, 2025.Learn more about Dr. Angell: https://www.benangell.com/ Check out the Chronicles DLC for Age of Empires II: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2805520/Age_of_Empires_II_DE__Chronicles_Battle_for_Greece/Custom music by Brent Arehart of Arehart Sounds and edited by Dan Maday. Want a transcript of the episode? Email us at [email protected] and we can provide one. Ancient Office Hours is a proud member of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Constantine Karathanasis, a professor of classics at Texas A&M, joins Lexie to discuss the role of national mythologies about antiquity, EU debates that separate “ancient” from “modern” Greece, developing an interdisciplinary project linking comedy’s frequent money references to Athenian democratic incentives and behavioral economics, “accuracy” debates in reception, and pop-culture portrayals of ancient economy. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting odyssey! Don't forget to follow us on Bluesky, Facebook & Instagram or visit our website www.theozymandiasproject.com! Originally recorded November 24, 2025. Learn more about Dr. Karathanasis: https://artsci.tamu.edu/global-lang-cultures/contact/profiles/constantine-karathanasis.htmlCheck out his publications on Academia: https://tamu.academia.edu/KonstantinosKarathanasis Custom music by Brent Arehart of Arehart Sounds and edited by Dan Maday. Want a transcript of the episode? Email us at [email protected] and we can provide one. Ancient Office Hours is a proud member of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this second “Odysseason” panel, another group of classicists discuss Christopher Nolan’s new “Odyssey” film and the major changes made in his adaptation and what those changes enable, including: a traumatized, guilt-ridden Odysseus; the Aeneid-derived character Sinon reframed as Odysseus’s victim; an expanded, emotional focus on Argos and a merged Argos/Telemachus recognition scene. Panelists critique the film’s persistent visual and aural darkness, the diminished role of gods and humor, omissions like the Phaeacians and Penelope’s bed recognition, and Nolan’s war-movie/PTSD framing with parallels to Oppenheimer and Interstellar. They debate whether the Odyssey “belongs” to Greece, note Greek and Greek American reactions (including promotional and casting concerns), and consider scholarly responsibilities regarding political/ethical production issues. They emphasize using the film’s popularity to spur reading Homer, teaching critical reception, supporting new adaptations, and encouraging creative retellings, including Odyssey Day on Oct. 15. Originally recorded August 14, 2026.Panelists: Dr. Melissa Funke (Prof of Classics, University of Winnipeg)https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/classics/faculty/melissa-funke.htmlDr. Deb Trusty (Prof of Classics, University of Iowa)https://interdisciplinaryprograms.uiowa.edu/people/debra-trustyDr. Justin Arft (Prof of Classics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville) https://classics.utk.edu/people/justin-arft/ Dr. Rachel Lesser (Prof of Greek and Roman Studies, Gettysburg College)https://www.gettysburg.edu/academic-programs/classics/faculty/employee_detail.dot?empId=010208999320013288&pageTitle=Rachel+Lesser Dr. Christie Vogler (Co-host of the Movies We Dig podcast)https://shows.acast.com/movies-we-dig/aboutDr. Suzanne Lye (Prof of Classics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)https://classics.unc.edu/people-3/faculty-2-2/suzanne-lye/Lexie Henning (University of Bristol Classics PhD student, host and moderator) https://www.bristol.ac.uk/people/person/Lexie-Henning-771d72b2-fe81-48e0-94b1-a3135ee2a618/ Want more Odyssey material? Check out The Oxford Critical Guide to Homer’s Odyssey (which was edited by Joel Christensen): https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-critical-guide-to-homers-odyssey-9780198985099?cc=gb&lang=en&Check out an article where Suzanne talks about the ancient concept of Xenia: https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a73170278/the-odyssey-movie-zeus-law-explained/For more Homer content check out Justin’s book Arete which was mentioned in the episode: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/arete-and-the-odysseys-poetics-of-interrogation-9780192847805?cc=gb&lang=en&Listen to the Movies We Dig Odyssey panel: https://shows.acast.com/movies-we-dig/episodes/the-odyssey-2026-reception-battle-part-1-with-joel-christensCustom music by Brent Arehart of Arehart Sounds and edited by Dan Maday. Want a transcript of the episode? Email us at [email protected] and we can provide one. Ancient Office Hours is a proud member of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ben Truska, an independent scholar and ancient Greek hoplite reenactor, joins Lexie to discuss shifting from history to a history/classics double major, citing favorite classes like Sexuality in Ancient Greece and Age of Augustus, pursuing an archaeological approach to warfare, developing a master’s thesis on the socioeconomic evolution of Greek arms and armor, and his interest in re-enactment and experimental archaeology debates, including testing the hoplite othismos or “push” theory. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting odyssey! Don't forget to follow us on Bluesky, Facebook & Instagram or visit our website www.theozymandiasproject.com! Originally recorded June 6, 2026. Check out his YouTube channel Historia Hellenike: https://www.youtube.com/@Historia-HellenikeFind his article in Ancient Warfare Magazine (sadly it is paywalled): https://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/en-gb/products/ancient-warfare-106?variant=54075847573833 Check out the Greek Phalanx re-enactment group: https://www.thegreekphalanx.org/ Custom music by Brent Arehart of Arehart Sounds and edited by Dan Maday. Want a transcript of the episode? Email us at [email protected] and we can provide one. Ancient Office Hours is a proud member of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this first “Odysseason” panel, a group of classics scholars discuss Christopher Nolan’s new “Odyssey” film as a modern reinterpretation rather than Homer, focusing on war trauma in Odysseus, parallels to Bronze Age collapse, and a rules-based order undermined from within, including a reveal that the feared invaders are the Greeks. Participants critique the film’s heavy-handedness, reduced meta-storytelling, altered roles of gods (largely absent), and major omissions (e.g., Nestor, Phaeacians), while noting changes such as the Trojan horse being recast as a source of guilt and an allegory for technology in warfare. They debate audience reception across generations, rewatch value, and how adaptations shape popular views. The discussion turns to ethical and political responsibilities around diverse casting, portrayal of Helen, filming in Western Sahara, IMAX exclusivity, and limited Greek participation and promotion. Originally recorded August 12, 2026.Panelists: Dr. Joel Christensen (Prof of Classics, CUNY - Graduate Center)https://www.gc.cuny.edu/people/joel-p-christensenDr. Curtis Dozier (Prof of Greek and Roman Studies, Vassar College) https://www.vassar.edu/faculty/cudozierDr. Suzanne Lye (Prof of Classics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) https://classics.unc.edu/people-3/faculty-2-2/suzanne-lye/Dr. Richard Cole (Lecturer in Classics/Digital Futures, University of Bristol) https://www.bristol.ac.uk/people/person/Richard-Cole-a6cef367-12cb-4fce-841d-3fbd60f5fbc6/Aristotle Koskinas (Archaeologist, re-enactor, and official Greek tourist guide) https://aristotleguide.wordpress.com/about/ Lexie Henning (University of Bristol Classics PhD student, host and moderator) https://www.bristol.ac.uk/people/person/Lexie-Henning-771d72b2-fe81-48e0-94b1-a3135ee2a618/ Want more Odyssey material? Check out The Oxford Critical Guide to Homer’s Odyssey (which was edited by Joel Christensen): https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-critical-guide-to-homers-odyssey-9780198985099?cc=gb&lang=en&Check out an article where Suzanne talks about the ancient concept of Xenia: https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a73170278/the-odyssey-movie-zeus-law-explained/Check out The White Pedestal (by Curtis Dozier) as a companion to thinking about Nolan’s Odyssey and Homer in 2026: https://yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300272734/the-white-pedestal/ Custom music by Brent Arehart of Arehart Sounds and edited by Dan Maday. Want a transcript of the episode? Email us at [email protected] and we can provide one. Ancient Office Hours is a proud member of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Catherine Bonesho, a professor of Early Judaism at UCLA, joins Lexie to discuss enjoying ancient languages as a grammar puzzle, identifying as a scholar of ancient Judaism in the Greek and Roman periods rather than simply “biblical studies,” her “Intro to Judaism” course spanning from Tanakh to contemporary media and Los Angeles practices, and reflections from UCLA’s 2025 Bible conference centered Esther and Daniel. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting odyssey! Don't forget to follow us on Bluesky, Facebook & Instagram or visit our website www.theozymandiasproject.com! Originally recorded August 28, 2025. Learn more about Dr. Bonesho: https://nelc.ucla.edu/person/catherine-bonesho/Check out her Legacies of Ancient Persia episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Rgdpp4r9R3EDGwXBgrLcV Check out the recorded lectures from UCLA’s 2025 Bible Conference: https://pourdavoud.ucla.edu/media/video-library/?sort=dateDesc&view=list&event=097e12dd-2069-4264-bf09-2d63c6bf6062 Custom music by Brent Arehart of Arehart Sounds and edited by Dan Maday. Want a transcript of the episode? Email us at [email protected] and we can provide one. Ancient Office Hours is a proud member of Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective, a podcast network and creator collective for historians, archaeologists, artists, and other creators and educators dedicated to sharing content about and featuring the ancient world that is accurate, accessible, and inclusive. To learn more about the collective and its contributors, check out collectivemem.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.