Writing History: Recent Episodes
David Erland Isaksen
Writing History is a podcast about the writers of ancient history and what they may have been trying to do with their writing, what prompted them to record these events, and the implicit argument they may have been making to their audiences about their past, present, and future.
Dr. Tomas Jose Barrientos Quezada, Dean of the Department of Archeology at Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, joins us to discuss the "Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life and the Glories of Gods and Kings," including the evolutionary creation of humans, the hero twins who became Venus and the Sun, the dawn over all people, the god who promised fire in exchange for human blood, and the reverence in Mayan culture for nature as messengers of the Father and Mother of Creation.
Archeologist Christina Leverkus from Midgard Viking Centre joins us for a discussion about buried treasures mentioned in ancient texts and archeological discoveries at Borre, which has the largest gathering of monumental mounds in Northern Europe. What do these burial mounds tell us about the people who made them and their societies? Learn more about the Midgard Viking Center here https://vestfoldmuseene.no/en/midgard-viking-centre/
Dr. Brian Swain, Assistant Professor of History, joins Dr. Isaksen to discuss Jordanes' "Getica: Origin and Deeds of the Goths" and how it might have been written as a rhetorical intervention to reconcile the Romans and the Goths and end the war that had been going on for 17 years.
Natia Kvachakidze, Associate Professor of Literature at Akaki Tsereteli State University, joins Dr. Isaksen to discuss The Georgian Chronicles and it's twin themes of the quest for national and religious identity and independence from the tower of Babel to the death of King David the Builder.
David Isaksen and Jens Johan Hyvik, who have doctorates in rhetoric and history, discuss Snorre Sturlason's Heimskringla and the argument Snorre may have been making to his contemporary audience about the power of kings, the role of violence, and the victory of Christianity over the Norse Gods.