The Core Blog

1. “Triremes were built to kill. You can’t have fun on a trireme. You can’t water-ski behind one. You can’t hold an afternoon BBQ on one. You can’t do anything but kill on a trireme.”
2. “Why did the Athenians beat the Persians? Because the Persians showed up to the wars with wicker shields. Wicker. The Persians showed up with Pier 1 armor.”
3. “What do you know about Sparta? Leather underwear (because you have all seen that terrible movie. Look, even the Greeks didn’t wear leather underwear and do you know why? Because chafing is a universal concept, scholars.”
4. “The poets said Pericles’ head was shaped like a ‘sea-onion’. I don’t know what a sea-onion is but you don’t want your head to be shaped like one. It’s not a good look.”
5. “Some gods like their wine poured on the ground because that’s how they like it: dirty. It’s good to be a god.”
6. “Assembly of Citizens is the most important organ of the polis. Are we going to war? This is the types of issue the Assembly directly voted on. Imagine that… You came into this place thinking democracy is great for you have freedom to vote, to occupy. Because we are the 99%.”

As recorded by Core office employee Winona Hudak during Prof. Jay Samons’ discussion of Athens in the 5th century at the October 18th CC101 lecture.