Dan Carlin's Hardcore History: Addendum: EP9 Glimpses of Olympias

January 30, 2020 7:41 AM

Description:Philip II of Macedonia and his son Alexander the Great are two of the most impressive figures in history. Few could contend with either man. One woman held her own with both of them. Alexander's mother Olympias. Notes:
posted by Tevin (4 comments total)

Oh, cool! I hadn’t checked my subscription lately. Thanks!
Nice to see something new. Three hours, though. Might be awhile before I can comment.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:55 PM on January 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

So, I’ve started this, but I immediately I have a question. Macedonia. Is it, as Carlin pronounces it, mack-uh-doh-nee-uh? I’ve always heard it as mass-uh-doh-nee-uh.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:11 AM on February 3, 2020

Mass is the modern pronunciation. Mack is more accurate in terms of how a Greek would have said the name. The k became a c when transliterated to Latin. Romans would have also said Mack, but nowadays people like to pronounce Latin c's as s's. See also /r/AskHistorians.
posted by bfranklin at 1:13 PM on February 4, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm about 1/3 of the way in. It's pretty good, though nothing new to me so far as I recently took a class on ancient greece. Still, hearing Carlin tell it is fun as always.
posted by lazaruslong at 12:33 PM on February 5, 2020