Christianity and Classical Culture, Episode 13: The Pagan Prophet
In this episode of Christianity and Classical Culture, Dr. Fleming discusses Virgil and why he is the pagan that Dante chose to lead him in the Divine Comedy.
Dr. Fleming goes on to discuss Dante and, in part, the Divine Comedy and why it is a trilogy worth reading.
He ends by discussing Virgil’s mysterious reference to a child who will save the world. Prophecy or coincidence? We report, you decide.
Episode note:
We apologize for some background noise that occurred during recording.
Original Air Date: May 30, 2017
Show Run Time: 58 minutes
Show Guest(s): Dr. Thomas Fleming
Show Host(s): Stephen Heiner
Christianity and Classical Culture℗ is a Production of the Fleming Foundation. Copyright 2017. All rights are reserved and any duplication without explicit written permission is forbidden.
Dr. Fleming: Thank you for this most interesting podcast. I tend to think we refer back to ourselves and/or our experiences when making judgements about current, not all, social and cultural conditions.
I think in this case, Virgil was doing the same thing. There were civil wars under Julius Caesar. Germanic military was used to fight in some of the wars. The Roman Empire expanded to the western coast of Europe, perhaps at the cost of Italy. I think that if it hadn’t been for Julius Caesar’s successor, Octavian Augustus , Virgil would not have become famous. We perhaps would not have the Aeneid or the Eclogues.
Dr. Fleming: I think I got it all wrong about Virgil. I would appreciate an essay or essays on this time period that also includes the “Ides of March”.
Thank you in advance.