What if a man pretending to be drunk could teach you how to read Plato?

Many people often misunderstand the irony of Socrates in Plato’s dialogues. They see it as a mockery, something cutting, but in reality it is a pedagogical tool to open your soul to reality and beautify it.

A thousand years ago, the scholar Al-Farabi wrote a parable to help people understand how Plato writes his dialogues.

He tells of a man pretending to be drunk.

Let’s explore this perplexing image and see how it helps us read Plato well.

How a Drunk Man Teaches You to Read Plato

Plato is philosophy—but Plato never speaks to you directly. He speaks through the drama and the characters of his dialogues. But even then, his stories and characters are not straightforward, especially Socrates. In fact, Socrates claims that he knows nothing and often presents himself as the student before others who claim to have knowledge. Plato’s Socrates is a character of irony.

But what exactly is Socratic irony?

Well, in the 900s AD, the Muslim scholar Al-Farabi wrote a parable to show you how Socratic irony functions in the writings of Plato. He writes:

It is related, for example, that a certain abstemious ascetic was known for his probity, propriety, asceticism and worship, and having become famous for this, he feared the tyrannical sovereign and decided to run away from his city.

The sovereign’s command went out to search for and arrest him wherever he was found. He could not leave from any of the city’s gates and was apprehensive lest he fall into the hands of the sovereign’s men.

So he went and found a dress worn by vagabonds, put it on, carried a cymbal in his hand and, pretending to be drunk, came early at night out to the gate of the city singing to the accompaniment of that cymbal of his. The gatekeeper said to him, “Who are you?” “I am so and so, the ascetic!” he said jokingly. The gatekeeper supposed he was poking fun at him and did not interfere with him.

So he saved himself without having lied in what he said.

Now, there is much that could be said about this little analogy, but Al-Farabi himself comments on the purpose of the tale. He writes:

The wise Plato did not feel free to reveal and uncover every kind of knowledge for all people. Therefore he followed the practice of using symbols, riddles, obscurity, and difficulty, so that knowledge would not fall into the hands of those who do not deserve it and be deformed, or fall into the hands of someone who does not know its worth or who uses it improperly. In this he was right.

As a preliminary observation, the narrative of the pious ascetic shows us that Plato teaches us the truth in disguise. He has a hidden or esoteric teaching buried within his dialogues that only careful observation and patience can unearth. You must understand that Plato teaches through the drama of his dialogues. The drama is part of the pedagogy. Whether it is the descending in the opening of the Republic, the drinking of wine in the Symposium, or the complete lack of setting in Hipparchus, all narrative details are instructive—they are there to teach you about a philosophical truth.

And this includes how Plato presents Socrates. He often presents him ironically, as Socrates often tells his interlocutors that he “knows nothing” and that he is in need of being instructed.

You, as the reader, are like the guard at the gate. Socrates, through the writings of Plato, is like the apparently drunk vagabond. The guard failed to give proper consideration of the truth told to him; thus, he misunderstood the reality before him.

But you can work to give Plato proper consideration—and in doing so come to a better understanding of reality and how to live a beautiful life.

Let’s look at a few key characteristics of Socratic irony that, if you observe in the dialogues, will help you uncover the hidden teachings of Plato.

Read more

The Euthyphro is a beautiful dialogue. It is about piety—a subject alien to our modern imaginations. It is a dialogue that stretches our own presuppositions and challenges us to take seriously the question of the gods and their nature. The most famous aspect of the dialogue is the so-called “Euthyphro dilemma,” which asks whether the gods adhere to an objective standard of piety or whether piety is whatever the gods will. The dilemma, however, is not limited to piety but presents a fundamental contrast between those who believe truth is objective versus those who believe it is subjective.

Overall, the Euthyphro appears simple (and because it is often the first dialogue many persons read) but it has layers—and the question Plato raises about the nature of the divine poses a challenge to not only ancient Greek polytheism but to Christianity as well—a challenge Christians would do well to explore and consider.

Here are the Ascend Book Club materials to help you read:

1. Detailed Q&A guide with introductions, outline, and more on Euthyphro

2. Two excellent videos with conversations exploring the Euthyphro (below)

3. BONUS video: Dr. Prudlo on Aquinas and the Euthyphro dilemma (below)

4. “Why do we call God good?” an article on the Euthyphro dilemma

The discussions and the conversation on Euthyphro and Aquinas are both available as podcasts.

Introduction

“One cannot settle any Platonic question of any consequence by simply quoting Plato.”

Leo Strauss^[1]

Dear Ascend Book Club Members,

The Euthyphro is a beautiful dialogue. It is about piety—a subject alien to our modern imaginations. It is a dialogue that stretches our own presuppositions and challenges us to take seriously the question of the gods and their nature. The most famous aspect of the dialogue is the so-called “Euthyphro dilemma,” which asks whether the gods adhere to an objective standard of piety or whether piety is whatever the gods will. The dilemma, however, is not limited to piety but presents a fundamental contrast between a metaphysical realism and a voluntaristic view. It is a dilemma at the center of many of our cultural debates.

As always, I am indebted to those who helped me through the dialogue, like Dr. Frank Grabowski, Thomas Lackey, and Dr. Joey Spencer. I remain in debt to the men in my Sunday Great Books group and to the good men in the diaconate formation program. Reading the great books alongside kindred souls is a tremendous joy.

The character of Euthyphro merits much attention. He presents as dull and unorthodox, and many question why Plato selected him for the interlocutor—but we must always remember that an idiot in the hands of Plato can teach us a lot. He arguably has intuitions that make him open philosophy, and in this way he embodies the reader, the student of philosophy, and our challenges in accepting the truth.

Plato is philosophy. The Euthyphro is one of the most famous dialogues, and it is certainly worth your time and attention.

May we come to understand true piety.

In Christ,

Dcn. Harrison Garlick

Discussions on Plato’s Euthyphro

BONUS: Aquinas and the Euthyphro Dilemma

How would a Christian answer the Euthyphro dilemma? Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Donald Prudlo, the Warren Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Tulsa, to discuss Aquinas and the Euthyphro dilemma.

Great work! Reading and working through the Euthyphro is an excellent accomplishment. We continue in the narrative of Socrates’ last days by turning to one of the most famous speeches in Western history, Plato’s Apology.

Dcn. Harrison Garlick lives in rural Oklahoma with his wife and five children. He serves as a deacon at Holy Family Cathedral and as Chancellor & General Counsel for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa. Follow him on X at Dcn. Garlick or Ascend.

^[1] Kerber, Hannes, and Svetozar Y. Minkov, eds. Leo Strauss on Plato’s Euthyphro: The 1948 Notebook, with Lectures and Critical Writings (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2023), 81. The book is tremendous and is highly recommended.

The Euthyphro is a must-read dialogue—but why?

It is fundamentally “a dialogue about piety,” as Dcn. Garlick describes it, serving as an exploration of what piety truly means through a conversation between Socrates and the unorthodox Euthyphro. Dr. Frank Grabowski emphasizes its value as “a wonderful introduction to Platonic philosophy, Platonic literature,” highlighting how it features Socrates as the central figure and showcases “the Socratic method” in a clear and engaging way. The dialogue is also a wonderful introduction to Socratic irony and the Platonic ideas.

The dialogue is short and largely straightforward. Its accessibility lies in its apparent simplicity that hides its multiple layers—allowing everyone from complete novices to experts to enjoy this dialogue. For many, it’s the first Platonic work encountered, often bundled with the Apology, Crito, and Phaedo as depictions of Socrates’ last days.

Here is everything you receive in the guide:

1. A 18-page guide (9000+ words) that explores the dialogue deeply

2. An introductory letter from Dcn. Garlick

3. Preliminary reading questions to help you or your small group track key themes

4. A very detailed outline of the entire dialogue

5. 25 robust questions on the text

If you want to understand Euthyphro, then you’d be hard-pressed to find a better introduction than this guide. Also, the guide incorporates insights from Leo Strauss on Plato’s Euthyphro, a tremendous resource (and discussed on the podcast).1 Be sure to check out our entire Ascend library on Plato.

Introductory Letter by Dcn. Garlick

“One cannot settle any Platonic question of any consequence by simply quoting Plato.” Leo Strauss2

Dear Ascend Book Club Member,

The Euthyphro is a beautiful dialogue. It is about piety—a subject alien to our modern imaginations. It is a dialogue that stretches our own presuppositions and challenges us to take seriously the question of the gods and their nature. The most famous aspect of the dialogue is the so-called “Euthyphro dilemma,” which asks whether the gods adhere to an objective standard of piety or whether piety is whatever the gods will. The dilemma, however, is not limited to piety but presents a fundamental contrast between a metaphysical realism and a voluntaristic view. It is a dilemma at the center of many of our cultural debates.

Read more

In this episode of Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Dcn. Garlick and friends bring the study of the Greek plays to an end by discussing key themes in the texts and comparing them to Homer, Hesiod, and others. Themes raised include divinity, eros, fate, justice, and free will. The plays discussed include the Oresteia, Prometheus Bound, the Theban plays, and The Bacchae with a few comments on Aristophanes.

Be sure to check out these Ascend Book Club resources:

• Our entire library of materials on Homer

• Our entire library of materials on the Greek Plays

Read the great books with friends. It will change your life. Ascend is here to help.

A Discussion on Homer and the Greek Plays

The discussion culminates in a reflection on the implications of these themes for understanding Greek literature and philosophy. The conversation explores the themes of fatalism versus determinism, agency in Greek tragedy, the role of the gods, the evolution of justice, the nature of the cosmos, virtue, and the purpose of suffering. The speakers discuss how these themes are interwoven in the works of Homer, highlighting the complexity of human actions, moral order, and the divine influence in Greek thought.

A great end to our studies on the Greek plays.

Good work! You’re now ready to move on to Plato. Be sure to check out our Introduction to Plato, which will prepare you for the historic dialogue students of Platonic philosophy would read first, First Alcibiades. Many good things ahead. Plato is philosophy. To be in dialogue with Plato is to be in dialogue with the entire Western philosophic tradition.

Keep up the good work.

Ascend can help you read the great books.

Dcn. Harrison Garlick lives in rural Oklahoma with his wife and five children. He serves as a deacon at Holy Family Cathedral and as Chancellor & General Counsel for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa. Follow him on X at Dcn. Garlick or Ascend.

Big news… we are launching our online book club!

Starting today, “The Ascent” is becoming the Ascend Book Club by partnering with Ascend: The Great Books Podcast to bring you the most comprehensive online book club focused on reading the great books and living a beautiful life.

As a subscriber of this publication, on top of our usual articles, you will now receive a weekly podcast on the great books. Additionally, all paid members will get our in-depth, week-by-week reading guides, essays, and access to our LIVE book club sessions. You’ll also get access to our entire, evergreen library of resources to help you read the great books!

So, instead of just sharing articles on the great books, we are going to help you read them!

Our overall purpose remains the same. We do not read the great books to become well-read relativists. We read them to seek truth. And whether we are reading the Bible or Plato, we know that this pursuit of wisdom is never a sterile exercise but an opportunity to grow in virtue—to have a healthy, beautiful soul. We want to become beautiful as Christ is beautiful.

Since 2023, Ascend has partnered with some of the best scholars from around the country to lead people through life-changing conversations on Homer, Plato, Dante, and more.

And now, beginning October 6, we will be reading the most important work in Western philosophy, together: Plato’s Republic…

What are we reading next?

We are about to begin reading Plato’s Republic. We are doing a slow, attentive read-along, beginning on October 6, 2026 and ending on August 31, 2027 (with a break for Lent to read Dante’s Paradiso).

Why are we doing this?

A close, careful read of the Republic will change your life. It is easily one of the greatest texts in Western Civilization, though many do not read it because it can be difficult to understand. We are breaking it down into 30+ episodes with 20+ scholars to help you understand this life-changing book.

Overall, the Republic uses the image of a city to explore two main questions: what is justice, and is justice more profitable than injustice?

But it is so much more. Along the way, Plato uses the character of Socrates to explore virtue, the soul, immortality, education, metaphysics, democracy, philosopher kings, and much more. It has been said that all of Western philosophy is a footnote to Plato, and if that is true, then reading Plato’s most famous work, the Republic, is worth more than reading 100 other books.

How will the read-along work?

Our paid members will gather once per month for the live book club discussions (hosted by Dcn. Garlick and guest scholars), and we will provide a week-by-week curriculum of resources to guide the read-along. Here’s a sample of our monthly curriculum:

• Week 1 – We’ll post a free podcast introducing the text or discussing an adjacent topic, along with a written guide (paid members only) to help you prep for the next week’s reading, plus a long-form essay on the great books (paid members only).

• Weeks 2-3 – For each week, we’ll post a free podcast on the reading for that week alongside a post on our new community chat (paid members only), so we can discuss the reading together. For each week, we’ll also post one short, free essay and one long-form essay on the great books (paid members only).

• Week 4 – We’ll post a free podcast wrapping up the reading for that month and then host a live Q&A session to discuss the month’s reading with our paid members.

Here are just some of the scholars who will be appearing on the podcast (or the monthly book club sessions) to take us through the Republic between now and Christmas:

For this read-along, we will begin Week 1 with a podcast introducing Plato (September 29), leading into our first podcast on the Republic itself (October 6) during Week 2. Week 2 will focus on Book 1: Intro, Prologue, and Cephalus (327a-331d).

Along the way, we will be discussing everything inside our community chat. Please join us in there—we are studying the great books in dialogue with each other.

We have been working for over a year to plan and structure this read-along, and we are incredibly excited to bring you with us! You can join us by signing up as a member here:

Subscribe now

What other books can I study with Ascend?

As of today, our ENTIRE, evergreen library on the great books is available to our members.

We have 150+ previous podcast episodes and 20+ in-depth reading guides—fantastic for small groups, homeschooling, college prep, or autodidacts—in addition to the 100+ articles already published! The home for all our resources will be here on Substack, but you can also find Ascend on X, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Instagram, and YouTube.

That means you can start reading the great books with Ascend wherever is best for you—you do not have to begin with the Republic if you don’t want to. For each of the texts below, you can access podcast conversations (available to all) and detailed, written guides with introductions, outlines, and questions (paid members only).

Here are all the great books already covered on Ascend that are ready for you to study anytime! Start a small group and start today:

1. Iliad (Homer)

2. Odyssey (Homer)

3. Theogony (Hesiod)

4. Oresteia (Aeschylus)

5. Prometheus Bound (Aeschylus)

6. Antigone (Sophocles)

7. Oedipus Rex (Sophocles)

8. Oedipus at Colonus (Sophocles)

9. The Bacchae (Euripides)

10. The Clouds (Aristophanes)

11. The Frogs (Aristophanes) – no guide

12. First Alcibiades (Plato)

13. Euthyphro (Plato)

14. Apology (Plato)

15. Crito (Plato)

16. Phaedo (Plato)

17. Meno (Plato) – no guide

18. Gorgias (Plato)

19. Hipparchus (Plato)

20. Lovers (Plato)

21. Hippias Minor (Plato)

22. Ion (Plato)

23. Republic (Plato) – starting Oct 2026

24. Inferno (Dante)

25. Purgatorio (Dante)

26. Paradiso (Dante) – starting Lent 2027

27. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

We post topical episodes as well, like “Aquinas and Plato with Dr. Donald Prudlo,” book reviews, like “American Odyssey with Dr. Patrick Deneen,” and episodes based on our online essays, like “Rediscovering Holy Eros.”

Why is Ascend different from other book clubs?

First, Ascend approaches the great books with humility. We approach Homer or Plato as the true teachers, and we are the students—their “great books” helped shape Western Civilization, and we must be docile enough to receive their lessons. Only the humble student can learn the perennial wisdom that built Western Civilization.

Second, Ascend covers the great books at a reading pace. The podcast adheres to a slow, attentive schedule that allows you to move from a beginner to someone well-versed in the text. It is not about how many books you’ve read—it is about whether you’ve read the books well. We don’t just tell you a book is great, we show you why.

Third, Ascend reads the great books in chronological order. The authors of the great books are in dialogue with one another, as Plato is in dialogue with Homer, Aristotle is in dialogue with Plato, and so forth. When you read them in order, you join the “great conversation,” and you participate in the intellectual history of the West. You see the authors in context and you receive a clarity many miss.

Ascend offers an intentional, attentive read of the great books in chronological order while making all of the resources to do this evergreen and available. And now we are adding a book club to this wonderful experience!

How does Ascend read the great books?

Ascend reads the great books through the truth of the Incarnation. Greek reason coupled with Hebrew faith under Roman order prepared the world for the coming of Jesus Christ. As St. Paul tells us, Christ came in the “fullness of time” (Gal 4:4). In other words, Ascend holds that Providence used the pre-Christian pagan thinkers, like Homer and Plato, to prepare the world to understand Jesus, the Logos made flesh (John 1:1)—see Do Christians Owe a Debt to Homer and Homer and the Incarnation. The goal is not some cheap Christianizing of the pagan but a deep, thorough engagement with the pagan as it impacted the world prior to Christ. As C.S. Lewis states: “First let us make the younger generation good pagans and afterwards let us make them Christians.” Always remember that grace perfects nature.

In the pursuit of truth, however, Ascend engages with Christians of many sorts—Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Evangelical, etc.—and many non-Christians. Again, we come together with persons of different beliefs and faiths not for the sake of relativistic dialogue, but for a true dialectic seeking wisdom. We should always remember that all truth is God’s truth, because Truth is ultimately a Person.

Let us read the great books together and ascend.

Subscribe now

Dcn. Harrison Garlick lives in rural Oklahoma with his wife and five children. He serves as a deacon at Holy Family Cathedral and as Chancellor & General Counsel for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa. Follow him on X at Dcn. Garlick or Ascend.

Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, we are joined by Tsh Oxenreider to discuss The Frogs by Aristophanes. The play tells the comedic story of Dionysus deciding all the new tragic poets are terrible, so he travels to Hades to bring back Euripides to help save Athens from her moral decay. Once in Hades, Dionysus has several adventures, which include hosting a poetry contest between Aeschylus and Euripides to see who is the best tragedian.

For those who do not know Tsh Oxenreider, she is wonderful. She’s an author, blogger, and podcaster. I was on her podcast a while back to discuss acedia and love of eros. Great conversation. And today, we have a high-level, friendly chat about The Frogs and our love of the great books in general.

You can also check out this discussion as a podcast.

Keep up the good work.

In Christ,

Dcn. Harrison Garlick

A Discussion on The Frogs

Keep up the good work! Up next on the docket, we have a roundtable on all of the Greek plays we’ve covered and then we move into Plato (see Introduction to Plato). Lots of good things ahead.

Dcn. Harrison Garlick lives in rural Oklahoma with his wife and five children. He serves as a deacon at Holy Family Cathedral and as Chancellor & General Counsel for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa. Follow him on X at Dcn. Garlick or Ascend.

In this episode, Dcn. Harrison Garlick, Chancellor and General Counsel of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa, welcomes Dr. Zena Hitz, a tutor at St. John’s College and founder of the Catherine Project, to discuss Aristophanes’ comedic masterpiece, The Clouds—vulgar, crude, yet somehow profound.

Here is everything you need to read The Clouds well:

1. Check out this detailed, Q&A guide to The Clouds

2. Podcast episode on The Clouds

3. Video discussion with Dr. Zena Hitz (below)

You can read The Clouds with the Ascend Book Club. We are here to help.

Introduction on The Clouds from Dcn. Garlick

Dear Members of the Ascend Book Club,

The Clouds is hilarious, vulgar, and profound. I had the great privilege of discussing this text with Dr. Zena Hitz, a tutor at St. John’s College and the founder of the Catherine Project. Dr. Hitz is wonderful, and I am certainly in her debt for her insights into this famous comedy. Our conversation is the basis of this guide, and it is my hope these introductory themes and substantive questions will help illuminate a text that is very much worth your time.

For Aristophanes, comedy is a teacher—and the play certainly presents us with lessons on morality and education—and how the two are intertwined with familial and societal flourishing. As we have seen in other great works, such as the Iliad and the Oresteia, piety is a virtue of cohesion—it binds the family, the polis, and gods together within an ordered cosmos. In The Clouds, the naturalistic, atheistic education of Socrates and his Thinkery bring about immediate familial and political instability. Aristophanes, even in the midst of ribald humor, is inviting us to understand the role of piety in political flourishing.

Another important theme is Aristophanes’ comparison of the old morality (just speech) and the new morality (unjust speech). The Athens that defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon and saved a nascent West is now losing a war to the Spartans. What has changed? Moreover, one of the most famous aspects of The Clouds is that Socrates is a character—but who is he in this play? Is there a distinction between Aristophanes’ Socrates and the one we have seen presented by Plato? Finally, Aristophanes’ portrayal of Socrates—a buffoon who corrupts the young—shaped public opinion and is cited in Plato’s Apology.

The Clouds is certainly a great text. I am very grateful to Dr. Zena Hitz for her wonderful guidance, and I hope you all enjoy this hilarious but insightful work on education, morality, and political flourishing.

In Christ,

Dcn. Harrison Garlick

Podcast Discussion on The Clouds with Dr. Hitz

Good work! The Clouds is a bit crude but an important piece of literature in the saga that is Socrates. Next up on the podcast we are discussing The Frogs with an excellent, wonderful guest. The Frogs tells the hilarious story of Dionysus traveling to Hades to bring back a tragic poet to Athens, which ends in a poetry battle between Euripides and Aeschylus. Lots of fun!

Keep up the good work.

Dcn. Harrison Garlick lives in rural Oklahoma with his wife and five children. He serves as a deacon at Holy Family Cathedral and as Chancellor & General Counsel for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa. Follow him on X at Dcn. Garlick or Ascend.

Ascend: The Great Books Podcast has partnered with “The Ascent” here on Substack to transform it into the new Ascend Book Club to offer you the most comprehensive online book club focused on reading the great books and living a beautiful, virtuous life.

You’ll receive the same great content as before but with much more—which now includes:

1. Weekly podcast and videos on the great books

2. Weekly articles on the great books

3. In-depth, detailed pdf guides on the great books

4. A monthly LIVE Q&A for supporters

We are also publishing years of articles, guides, videos, and other resources to the new site and organizing them by work and author so they are easy to find—tons of resources on Homer, Hesiod, the Greek plays, Plato, Dante, and more. You could start reading many great books today with the Ascend library.

Check out our new website, the Ascend Book Club, and join us today!

Our next big read is Plato’s Republic this October, check out How to Read Plato’s Republic with Ascend for everything you need to know.

Gaiman’s “Chivalry” with H.E. Eduard Habsburg

Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Deacon Harrison Garlick and His Excellency Eduard Habsburg, Archduke of Austria and former Hungarian ambassador to the Holy See, discuss Neil Gaiman’s short story “Chivalry.”

Before they turn to the text, Eduard speaks with warmth and candor about his family’s eight centuries of Catholic identity, the vocation of family in an atomized age, his decade in Rome, and an unexpected love of stories that runs from screenplays and Ghibli films to the understated magic of Gaiman.

What follows is a close, affectionate reading of a story in which the Holy Grail turns up in an Oxfam shop, Sir Galahad knocks on a widow’s door for tea, and the most English understatement imaginable meets Arthurian quest. Together they trace Mrs. Whitaker’s loneliness and ritual, the knight’s unironic goodness, Marie’s transformation, the slugs in the garden, the three gifts of youth and immortality, and the moment an old woman quietly refuses what does not belong to her life.

Eduard reads the tale as homage to Englishness and as a call to accept the adventure when it arrives, while Deacon Garlick asks whether that same ordinariness can also flatten what ought to remain extraordinary. It is a warm conversation on the charming short story, “Chivalry.”

Reading Schedule

We are currently finishing SHORT STORY SEPTEMBER! Next week, we will discuss “Bartleby, the Scrivener” by Melville, the author of Moby Dick, with two excellent guests. Read it this week and join the conversation!

We’ll then have an introduction to Plato’s Republic on 9.29.26 and launch into Plato’s Republic on 10.6.26. Check out How to Read the Republic with Ascend for everything you need to know.

You can read the great books with the Ascend Book Club!

Join us.

Dcn. Harrison Garlick lives in rural Oklahoma with his wife and five children. He serves as a deacon at Holy Family Cathedral and as Chancellor & General Counsel for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa. Follow him on X at Dcn. Garlick or Ascend.

Reading the Republic will change your life. Plato’s Republic is easily one of the most influential texts in all of Western civilization. What begins as a conversation on justice turns into a wide-ranging conversation on virtue, the parts of the soul, metaphysics, the nature of education, critiques of democracy, and much, much more. As has been said many times, all of Western philosophy is a footnote to Plato. If you’ve studied the Republic seriously, you’ve been introduced to the great perennial questions of Western civilization.

And always remember, for Plato, philosophy is never a sterile, academic exercise. It makes a claim on your soul. If you love wisdom, you’ll live according to its teachings. Plato wants you to live a beautiful life, and Ascend is here to help.

Everything you’ll receive when you read the Republic with Ascend:

1. Weekly podcast & videos with Dcn. Garlick and various scholars on the reading

2. Detailed Q&A guides to help you understand each book of the Republic

3. Monthly LIVE Q&A sessions where you can ask questions with other readers

4. Periodic articles exploring concepts from the Republic in-depth

We have over thirty (30) episodes scheduled with over twenty (20) different scholars to bring you the most comprehensive, rich reading of Plato’s Republic offered. Whether you’re a beginning or have read the Republic many times, this read-through is for you.

How do I join the Ascend Book Club?

Everything is posted here on Substack. To join our excellent community and gain access to all our materials, click “Subscribe” below. Be sure to invite your friends as well! Reading the great books in a small group is a life-changing experience. Our materials can help you lead a small group!

What translation of the Republic are you using?

We are mainly using the classic translation by Allan Bloom. It is an excellent text that reads well and is most universally recommended by trusted scholars. Many people, however, have the Plato: Complete Works edited by John Cooper, and the translation of the Republic in that edition is also perfectly fine. Both works have the universal Stephanus numbers that will allow you to follow along to citations mentioned on the podcast.

What is the reading schedule?

Here is our current schedule of recording on Plato’s Republic starting October 6, 2026, and ending on August 31, 2027 with a break for Lent 2027 in which we’ll be reading Dante’s Paradiso, the final volume of his Divine Comedy.

This schedule does not contain the monthly live Q&A sessions. Those, only for subscribers, are hosted once a month to discuss the reading.

1. October 6, 2026 — Republic Bk 1: Intro, Prologue, & Cephalus (327a-331d) — Dr. Alex Priou, University of Austin

2. October 13, 2026 — Republic Bk 1: Polemarchus (331e-336a) — Dr. Frank Grabowski, Holy Family Classical School, and Mr. Thomas Lackey

3. October 20, 2026 — Republic Bk 1: Thrasymachus (336a-354c) — Dr. Gregory McBrayer, Miami University (Oxford, Ohio)

4. October 27, 2026 — From Plato to Christ — Dr. Louis A. Markos, Houston Christian University

5. November 3, 2026 — Republic Bk 2: Gyges’ Ring (357a-362c) — Dr. Jennifer Frey, University of Virginia

6. November 10, 2026 — Gyges’ Ring Roundtable — Dr. Paul Jordan Diduch, SMU

7. November 17, 2026 — Republic Bk 2: Adeimantus & Socrates’ Reaction (362d-369b) — Dr. Pavlos Papadopoulos, Wyoming Catholic College

8. November 24, 2026 — Republic Bk 2: The Healthy & Feverish Cities (369b-374e) — Dr. Zena Hitz, St. John’s College

9. December 1, 2026 — Republic Bk 2: The Guardians (374e-383c) — Fr. Dcn. Kyle Washut, Wyoming Catholic College

10. December 8, 2026 — TBD

11. December 15, 2026 — Republic Bk 3: Music Education I (386a-392c) — Dr. Gregory McBrayer, Miami University (Oxford, Ohio)

12. December 22, 2026 — Republic Bk 3: Music Education II (392c-403c) — Alec Bianco and Dr. Matt Bianco, Circe Institute

13. December 29, 2026 — Christmas Episode TBD

14. January 5, 2027 — Republic Bk 3: The Noble Lie (403c-417b) — Dr. Kevin Kambo, University of Dallas

15. January 12, 2027 — Plotinus: Islamic and Jewish Studies — President Sterling & Dr. Ken Wolfe, St. John’s College Santa Fe

16. January 19, 2027 — Republic Bk 4: Adeimantus’ Objections (419a-428a) — Dr. Ben Keoseyan, Florida Atlantic University

17. January 26, 2027 — Republic Bk 4: Justice in the City (428a-437a) — Dr. Tiffany Miller, University of Dallas

18. February 2, 2027 — Republic Bk 4: Justice in the Soul (437b-445e) — Dr. Christopher Frey, University of Virginia

19. February 9, 2027 – April 6, 2027 — Dante’s Paradiso for Lent 2027

20. April 13, 2027 — Republic Bk 5: First Wave of Laughter: Equality of the Sexes (449a-457c) — Dr. Mary Townsend, St. John’s University

21. April 20, 2027 — Republic Bk 5: Second Wave of Laughter: Sharing of Women and Children (457c-471e) — Dr. Mary Townsend, St. John’s University

22. April 27, 2027 — Republic Bk 5: Third Wave of Laughter: Philosopher King (472a-480a) — Dr. Thomas Harmon, University of St. Thomas

23. May 4, 2027 — TBD

24. May 11, 2027 — Republic Bk 6: The Good Part I (484a-506d) — Dr. Ryan Haecker, The Methexis Institute

25. May 18, 2027 — Republic Bk 6: The Good Part II (484a-506d) — Dr. Ryan Haecker, The Methexis Institute

26. May 25, 2027 — Republic Bk 6: Analogy of the Sun / Divided Line (506d-511e) — Dr. Ryan Haecker, The Methexis Institute

27. June 1, 2027 — TBD

28. June 8, 2027 — Republic Bk 7: The Cave (514a-521b) — Dr. Nathan Schlueter, Hillsdale College

29. June 15, 2027 — Roundtable on the Allegory of the Cave

30. June 22, 2027 — Republic Bk 7: Philosophic Education (521c-541b) — Dr. Alex Priou, University of Austin

31. June 29, 2027 — July 4th Episode: Founding Fathers’ Document (TBD)

32. July 6, 2027 — Republic Bk 8: Regime Decline: Timocracy, Oligarchy, and Democracy (543a–562b) — Dr. Brett Larson and Dr. Alex Petkas of Cost of Glory

33. July 13, 2027 — Republic Bk 8: Tyranny (562a–569c) — Dr. Brett Larson, Tulsa Community College

34. July 20, 2027 — Republic Bk 9: The Tyrannic Man (571a-576b) — Dr. Brett Larson, Tulsa Community College

35. July 27, 2027 — Republic Bk 9: Comparison of Lives (576b-592b) — Dr. Gary Hartenburg, Houston Christian University

36. August 3, 2027 — TBD

37. August 10, 2027 — Republic Bk 10: The Second Critique of Poetry (595a–602c) — Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson, Pepperdine University

38. August 17, 2027 — Republic Bk 10: The Second Critique of Poetry Part II with Immortality of the Soul (602c–614a) — Dr. Frank Grabowski

39. August 24, 2027 — Republic Bk 10: The Myth of Er (614a–621d) — Dr. Karl Schudt

40. August 31, 2027 — End of the Republic Summary Roundtable

We’ll fill in the TBDs as the schedule is solidified, but almost all the episodes that list a guest have already been recorded. Ascend is dedicated to bringing you the best conversations on Plato. Please keep in mind this schedule does not include the monthly LIVE Q&A sessions—those are extra for our supporters!

What if I’ve never read Plato before?

Not a problem! You can certainly jump into our reading of the Republic. Before we start the Republic, we’ll have a podcast episode on how to read the Republic well on September 29, 2026, that will be very helpful—like an intro to our whole reading of the Republic.

But if you do want to dive into some Plato prior to reading the Republic, you have two good options:

First, you can check out our discussion on Plato 101: An Introduction with Dcn. Garlick alongside Dr. Larson, Dr. Grabowski, and Mr. Thomas Lackey. The roundtable conversation covers all the basic questions on Plato and how to read him—a great place to start.

Second, another great starting point is First Alcibiades. In antiquity, it was the first dialogue that students of Plato would read, because it “contains the whole philosophy of Plato, as in a seed.” It tells the transformative story of a young, spirited Alcibiades being invited to the philosophic life by Socrates. First Alcibiades is a beautiful dialogue.

Either option or both would be a good starting point. If you’re a first-time reader of Plato taking on the Republic with us, just be patient. Our slow, intentional conversations will help you move through the text and give you all the tools you need to be a good student of Plato.

Join us as we read Plato’s Republic!

Our read of Plato’s Republic is an amazing opportunity to give a slow, intentional read alongside excellent scholars of one of the West’s most influential texts. We’ll have videos, podcasts, articles, written guides, and LIVE Q&A sessions to help guide you through the text. It is a beautiful text that calls you to a beautiful life. It is well worth reading. Join us!

Dcn. Harrison Garlick lives in rural Oklahoma with his wife and five children. He serves as a deacon at Holy Family Cathedral and as Chancellor & General Counsel for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa. Follow him on X at Dcn. Garlick or Ascend.

Plato is philosophy—and the best introduction to Plato is First Alcibiades. In antiquity, it was the first dialogue that students of Plato would read, because it “contains the whole philosophy of Plato, as in a seed.” It tells the transformative story of a young, spirited Alcibiades being invited to the philosophic life by Socrates. First Alcibiades is a beautiful dialogue. Enjoy.

Here are the Ascend Book Club materials to help you read:

1. Detailed Q&A guide with introductions, outline, and more on First Alcibiades

2. Video: Who was Alcibiades? with Dr. Alex Petkas of Cost of Glory (below)

3. Videos: First Alcibiades with Alec Bianco & Athenian Stranger (below)

First Alcibiades is the dialogue serious students of Plato turn to first. Be sure to also check out our Introduction to Plato and “What Dialogue of Plato Should I Read First?” for a commentary on other good options.

Introduction

First Alcibiades is both the beginning and a summation of Platonic philosophy. The dialogue “held pride of place in later antiquity as the ideal work with which to begin the study of Platonic philosophy.”^[1] Its traditional subtitle was “on the nature of man,” and it was said First Alcibiades “contains the whole philosophy of Plato, as in a seed.”^[2] The Islamic commentator, Al-Farabi, said that in First Alcibiades “all the Platonic questions are raised as if for the first time.”

At the heart of the dialogue is the maxim “know thyself,” which is in turn at the heart of the philosophic life. Plato uses a dialogue between a young Alcibiades, age twenty, and an older Socrates, age forty, to explore the Delphic maxim within the context of a teacher and student.^[3] The relationship of the teacher as a lover of the soul of the student gave rise to the term “Platonic love,” an intense, but non-sexual love in pursuit of excellence.^[4]

The dramatic date of the dialogue is approximately 433 BC.^[5] The composition date is a complicated question. First Alcibiades is considered by many to be a spurious dialogue or rather a dialogue written later by Platonists and not Plato. The dialogue sometimes has an earlier date around 390s BC and a later date in the 350s BC.^[6] Some also hold the dialogue is a composite text with some of it being written by Plato and some of it being written by a later Platonist.

It should be noted, however, that antiquity held that the dialogue was written by Plato, and the idea that it was not originated recently in nineteenth century German scholarship.^[7] For our purposes, we will side with antiquity and default to Plato as the authentic author.

Video Discussions

There are three video discussions on First Alcibiades. The first introduces Alcibiades as a historical character as presented in Plutarch’s Lives. The second and third are rich, robust conversations on the text with Alec Bianco and the Athenian Stranger.

Good work! Reading First Alcibiades well is a tremendous accomplishment in your studies on Plato. It is a beautiful dialogue, and one worth taking seriously. From here, the Ascend Book Club moves to the Euthyphro, the Apology, the Crito, and then the Phaedo—these together represent the last days of Socrates.

Join us.

Dcn. Harrison Garlick lives in rural Oklahoma with his wife and five children. He serves as a deacon at Holy Family Cathedral and as Chancellor & General Counsel for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa. Follow him on X at Dcn. Garlick or Ascend.

^[1] Plato, Complete Works, ed. John M. Cooper and D. S. Hutchinson (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 1997), 557.

^[2] Plato, The Roots of Political Philosophy: Ten Forgotten Socratic Dialogues, ed. Thomas L. Pangle (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1987), 222.

^[3] Pangle, 222, fn.2.

^[4] Id.

^[5] Id.

^[6] Cooper, 558.

^[7] Cooper, 557-8.

Plato is philosophy—and the best introduction to Plato is First Alcibiades. In antiquity, it was the first dialogue that students of Plato would read, because it “contains the whole philosophy of Plato, as in a seed.” It tells the transformative story of a young, spirited Alcibiades being invited to the philosophic life by Socrates. First Alcibiades is a beautiful dialogue. Enjoy.

Here is everything you receive in the guide:

1. A 16-page guide (8700+ words) that helps explore the dialogue in a rich way

2. An introductory letter from Dcn. Garlick

3. Introductions to both the dialogue and the historical character of Alcibiades

4. Five (5) preliminary questions introducing Socrates and Plato

5. Preliminary reading questions to help you or your small group see key themes

6. A very detailed outline of the entire dialogue

7. 16 robust questions on the text

If you want to understand First Alcibiades, then you’d be hard-pressed to find a better introduction than this guide.

Introductory Letter by Dcn. Garlick

In First Alcibiades “all the Platonic questions are raised as if for the first time.”

Al-Farabi

Dear Members of the Ascend Book Club,

Plato is philosophy—and the best introduction to Plato is First Alcibiades. In antiquity, it was the first dialogue that students of Plato would read, because it “contains the whole philosophy of Plato, as in a seed.” It tells the transformative story of a young, spirited Alcibiades being invited to the philosophic life by Socrates. Plato understood the teacher to be a mirror of the soul, and that education involved tutoring a man’s erotic appetites into loving what was truly beautiful. There is arguably no better work on being a teacher.

Read more

Plato is philosophy. To paraphrase a famous saying, all of Western philosophy is simply a footnote to Plato. If you’re well-read in Plato, you’ll be able to read most anything. As such, we are kicking off with a roundtable of friends—a lawyer, two PhDs, and an independent scholar—to discuss some important preliminaries before reading Plato.

Here are the questions we take up in the video:

1. Who was Plato?

2. Why should we read Plato?

3. Why should Christians read Plato?

4. How should we read Plato?

5. What Plato will we be reading?

We’ll also have a brief opening chat on the great books in general and why they are worth reading—which is at the heart of our mission here at Ascend. We’ll end by mapping out our reading list on Plato, which includes some of the best university professors and online voices you can find.

Introduction to Plato with Friends

Join Dcn. Harrison Garlick, Mr. Thomas Lackey, Dr. Brett Larson, and Dr. Frank Grabowski for a wonderful introductory roundtable on the great books and Plato.

Here are some other related materials:

1. Plato 101: An Introduction with Friends Podcast

2. Plato & St. Augustine with Dr. Chad Pecknold Podcast

3. Article: “What Platonic Dialogue Should I Read First?”

Plato is worth your time, and the Ascend Book Club has everything you need to understand him well.

Good work! Continue your studies of Plato by reading First Alcibiades next with Ascend. We have several excellent resources to guide you through what was the historic, classic first dialogue of students of Plato.

Read Plato and ascend!

Dcn. Harrison Garlick lives in rural Oklahoma with his wife and five children. He serves as a deacon at Holy Family Cathedral and as Chancellor & General Counsel for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa. Follow him on X at Dcn. Garlick or Ascend.

Aristophanes’ The Clouds is as insightful as it is crude. Often an assigned preliminary text before jumping into Plato, The Clouds offers a different perspective on Socrates. Dcn. Harrison Garlick discussed The Clouds with the always wonderful Dr. Zena Hitz. The guide, like the podcast conversation, dives into the play’s biting humor, its critique of Athenian society, and its timeless questions about education, piety, and moral decay.

From the Thinkery’s absurd teachings to the mysterious Clouds, Dcn. Garlick and Dr. Hitz unpack the play’s relevance to modern audiences, exploring themes of social ambition, familial breakdown, and the consequences of abandoning traditional values.

Here is everything you receive in the guide:

1. 8 pages unpacking the hilarity and wisdom that is The Clouds

2. An introductory letter from Dcn. Garlick

3. A breakdown of five preliminary themes to consider before reading

4. 10 robust questions on the text

If you want to understand The Clouds well, you could ask for no better teacher than Dr. Zena Hitz.

Introductory Letter by Dcn. Garlick

Dear Ascend Book Club Members,

The Clouds is hilarious, vulgar, and profound. I had the great privilege of discussing this text with Dr. Zena Hitz, a tutor at St. John’s College and the founder of the Catherine Project. Dr. Hitz is wonderful, and I am certainly in her debt for her insights into this famous comedy. Our conversation is the basis of this guide, and it is my hope these introductory themes and substantive questions will help illuminate a text that is very much worth your time.

Read more

The Bacchae is a play about madness, piety, gore, and civilizational collapse. Though unsettling, it is well worth your time and attention. It tells the story of the god Dionysus, yet, he is not the jovial god of wine—he is a licentious, cruel, and vindictive god who drives women to unspeakable horrors amongst other depravities.

So, why read the play?

Well, first, it provides a stark contrast to how Aeschylus and Sophocles present the gods, and this contrast creates a notable antecedent to Plato’s Euthyphro. You are joining the great conversation in seeing the dialogue of these texts. Second, it presents an image of Dionysus that will be memorable when reading Plato’s Symposium, a dialogue on erotic love and the divine.

Here is everything you need to read The Bacchae well:

1. 13 page guide with 25 questions and more for a deep dive

2. Podcast episodes

3. Two video discussions with Dr. Frank Grabowski (below)

You can read The Bacchae with the Ascend Book Club. We are here to help.

Video Discussions on The Bacchae

“Madness, piety, gore, and civilizational collapse—the Bacchae by Euripides is a chilling yet captivating Greek tragedy that explores religion, erotic desire, the divine, and political stability through its graphic imagery and raw intensity,” states Dcn. Garlick in his guide to The Bacchae. Enjoy!

Great work! The Bacchae is worth your time and attention. Our Ascend Book Club reading list continues with a shift into comedy with Aristophanes’ The Clouds and The Frogs. Join us for an inappropriate but beneficial conversation.

Keep up the good work. You can read the great books with Ascend.

Dcn. Harrison Garlick lives in rural Oklahoma with his wife and five children. He serves as a deacon at Holy Family Cathedral and as Chancellor & General Counsel for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa. Follow him on X at Dcn. Garlick or Ascend.

The Bacchae is a play about madness, piety, gore, and civilizational collapse. Though unsettling, it is well worth your time and attention. It tells the story of the god Dionysus, yet, he is not the jovial god of wine—he is a licentious, cruel, and vindictive god who drives women to unspeakable horrors amongst other depravities.

So, why read the play?

Well, first, it provides a stark contrast to how Aeschylus and Sophocles present the gods, and this contrast creates a notable antecedent to Plato’s Euthyphro. You are joining the great conversation in seeing the dialogue of these texts. Second, it presents an image of Dionysus that will be memorable when reading Plato’s Symposium, a dialogue on erotic love and the divine.

Here is everything you receive in our written guide to The Bacchae:

1. 13 pages to help you understand the text

2. Introductory letter by Dcn. Garlick

3. List of preliminary questions to help you prepare for the work

4. 25 rich questions on the body of the play itself

You can read The Bacchae with the Ascend Book Club. We are here to help.

Introductory Letter from Dcn. Garlick

Dear Ascend Book Club Members,

Madness, piety, gore, and civilizational collapse—the Bacchae by Euripides is a chilling yet captivating Greek tragedy that explores religion, erotic desire, the divine, and political stability through its graphic imagery and raw intensity. The story tells of the god Dionysus who is no longer the jovial, timid wine-god of Homer but a licentious, cruel, and vindictive god who is worshipped through an irrational release of sex and violence. He returns to Thebes to punish those who deny his divinity and leads Thebes into madness that deconstructs the natural orders of society.

I am utterly fascinated by this play—particularly as an antecedent to Plato’s Symposium and his understanding of eros as an ascent to the divine that shaped Western spirituality for over a millennium. We see contrasting visions of man’s natural love, his desires, in which one calls the soul to ascend to God, Beauty-itself and another invites man into a downward spiral of irrational release. In many ways, this represents the two paths of man and his civilization.

Read more

Oedipus at Colonus deserves your attention. It is the end of Sophocles’ Oedipus cycle and his best expression of the redemptive nature of suffering. The play focuses on the death of Oedipus and gives greater insights into familiar characters, like Antigone, Ismene, and Creon. It is fascinating to see how Sophocles wrote about these characters years after first writing Antigone.

Here is what you need to read Oedipus at Colonus well:

1. Cursed by the Gods: An 18 Question and Answer Guide to Oedipus at Colonus

2. Podcast episodes on Oedipus at Colonus

3. Video Discussions on Oedipus at Colonus (below)

Be sure to read Antigone and Oedipus the King prior to reading Oedipus at Colonus. The plays were not written as a triad, and Ascend reads them in the order they were written by Sophocles in order to track his intellectual maturation.

Introductory Letter from Dcn. Garlick

Dear Ascend Book Club Members,

Oedipus at Colonus is a beautiful tale. It brings a tremendous amount of meaning to the Oedipus Cycle. Sophocles offers us perennial truths on fate, the agency of man, and the cosmic whole. I greatly enjoyed, as a first time reader, the narrative of Oedipus at Colonus—especially the ending. It is a tremendous zenith to the Oedipus Cycle and one that parallels the Book of Job in its ability to address the question of suffering.

Oedipus at Colonus remains an important text within the Western canon of great books, as it is a beautiful antecedent to how later thinkers, like St. Augustine, will come to understand the world as subject to Divine Providence. Sophocles offers several preliminary considerations on whether the fate that rules the world does so according to justice; and whether man must adopt a certain docility in consideration of such a fate. The balance, however, of man’s agency and fate’s dominion is a perennial question.

I am indebted to Mr. Eli Stone who not only guided me through this work but highly recommended that the podcast cover the Oedipus Cycle. I very much appreciate his insights and all the wisdom he has brought to our conversations.

Amongst all the horrific suffering, Oedipus at Colonus is able to bring a theme of redemption to the story of Oedipus. Like Antigone, he serves as a sign of the gods—a sign of cosmic fate, docility to divine order, and the meaning of suffering.

May we come to understand Sophocles’ lessons and how they invite us to a more ordered existence.

In Christ,

Dcn. Harrison Garlick

Video Discussions on Oedipus at Colonus

Oedipus at Colonus is a bit of a longer drama, but the imagery Sophocles gives you on suffering, redemption, and divine providence is well worth the effort.

Good work! You’ve read the entire Oedipus cycle, a great accomplishment. The next play on the docket is Euripides’ The Bacchae, which is a tremendous shift… one of the most unsettling of all the Greek plays. Comparing Sophocles’ portrayal of the gods to Euripides’ portrayal of the gods is an excellent antecedent to the problem of Plato’s Euthyphro. You’ve joined the great conversation. Keep it up.

You can read the great books with Ascend.

Dcn. Harrison Garlick lives in rural Oklahoma with his wife and five children. He serves as a deacon at Holy Family Cathedral and as Chancellor & General Counsel for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa. Follow him on X at Dcn. Garlick or Ascend.

Oedipus at Colonus deserves your attention. It is the end of Sophocles’ Oedipus cycle and his best expression of the redemptive nature of suffering. The play focuses on the death of Oedipus and gives greater insights into familiar characters, like Antigone, Ismene, and Creon. To help you harvest what is best in this text, we’ve produced a written guide to help you or your small group.

Here is what you receive with Cursed by the Gods: An 18 Question and Answer Guide to Oedipus at Colonus:

1. 13 pages, 6400+ words to help you understand the text

2. Introductory letter by Dcn. Garlick

3. List of Preliminary themes with explanations

4. 18 rich Q&A on the text that allows you to reap the most from this famous work

You can read Oedipus at Colonus with the Ascend Book Club. We are here to help.

Introductory Letter from Dcn. Garlick

Dear Ascend Book Club Members,

Oedipus at Colonus is a beautiful tale. It brings a tremendous amount of meaning to the Oedipus Cycle. Sophocles offers us perennial truths on fate, the agency of man, and the cosmic whole. I greatly enjoyed, as a first time reader, the narrative of Oedipus at Colonus—especially the ending. It is a tremendous zenith to the Oedipus Cycle and one that parallels the Book of Job in its ability to address the question of suffering.

Oedipus at Colonus remains an important text within the Western canon of great books, as it is a beautiful antecedent to how later thinkers, like St. Augustine, will come to understand the world as subject to Divine Providence. Sophocles offers several preliminary considerations on whether the fate that rules the world does so according to justice; and whether man must adopt a certain docility in consideration of such a fate. The balance, however, of man’s agency and fate’s dominion is a perennial question.

Read more

Oedipus the King is, according to Aristotle, the best of the Greek tragedies. Through Oedipus’ own investigation, he comes to understand the horrific truth of his identity—and this leads the reader into marvelous reflection on fate, freedom, self-knowledge, and the cosmic order.

Everything you get in the written guide:

• 9 pages, 4000+ words to help you understand the text

• Introductory letter from Dcn. Garlick

• Preliminary reading questions

• 15 comprehensive questions on the text

Be sure to check out our podcasts, videos, and more on Oedipus Rex.

Why Should You Read Oedipus Rex?

Oedipus the King is a play I had to come to appreciate. Unlike Antigone, it is not one I loved at first. In fact, my lackluster appreciation for the play is why I scheduled only one episode discussing it. Over time, however, I matured in my own understanding and see it as an antecedent to the philosophical principle of know thyself. I would suggest one could glean much from comparing Oedipus the King and First Alcibiades by Plato.

The drama does have layers for the attentive reader. It presents clearly a question on the interplay of freedom and fate, which is reminiscent of our discussions on the Iliad. Moreover, there is much to consider on the theme of suffering, and how that theme is presented in the Odyssey, the Oresteia, and Oedipus the King. Note that these two concepts are tethered—as the journey to self-knowledge is often an arduous one of suffering and great difficulty.

Read more

In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles gives us the beginning of the Oedipus myth and with it a drama that Aristotle hailed as the best of the Greek tragedies. Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Mr. Eli Stone and our friend Josiah to discuss Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex) by Sophocles - the second play in the Oedipus cycle or Theban plays.

Resources to read Oedipus Rex well:

1. Be sure to read Antigone first, following the order in which Sophocles wrote

2. Check out the podcast conversation on Oedipus Rex

3. Check out the video discussion (below)

Oedipus Rex is a short work but one that is brilliant. Even if you know the ending, Sophocles is able to draw you into the story and the slow, horrific revelation of King Oedipus.

Introduction

Oedipus the King is, according to Aristotle, the best of the Greek tragedies. Through Oedipus’ own investigation, he comes to understand the horrific truth of his identity—and this leads the reader into marvelous reflection on fate, freedom, self-knowledge, and the cosmic order.

Oedipus the King is a play I had to come to appreciate. Unlike Antigone, it is not one I loved at first. In fact, my lackluster appreciation for the play is why I scheduled only one episode discussing it. Over time, however, I matured in my own understanding and see it as an antecedent to the philosophical principle of know thyself. I would suggest one could glean much from comparing Oedipus the King and First Alcibiades by Plato.

The drama does have layers for the attentive reader. It presents clearly a question on the interplay of freedom and fate, which is reminiscent of our discussions on the Iliad. Moreover, there is much to consider on the theme of suffering, and how that theme is presented in the Odyssey, the Oresteia, and Oedipus the King. Note that these two concepts are tethered—as the journey to self-knowledge is often an arduous one of suffering and great difficulty. Lastly, the work shines further light onto the mystery that is Antigone.

Oedipus the King is without question a tragedy—and one without much hope. The reader must hold for the marvelous redemptive arc of Oedipus at Colonus, which runs parallel to the story of Job yet with its own unique and fascinating character.

May Oedipus serve as an icon for what it means to suffer into self-knowledge and the role of such suffering in the pursuit of wisdom and virtue.

In Christ,

Dcn. Garlick

Video Discussion on Oedipus the King

Good work! The next step in your great books journey is reading the final play in the Oedipus cycle, Oedipus at Colonus. It is an incredible story of redemption that takes place prior to Antigone, but since it is the last play Sophocles wrote, his ideas on suffering and redemption have greatly matured. It is a narrative akin to Job. It is well worth your time.

Dcn. Harrison Garlick lives in rural Oklahoma with his wife and five children. He serves as a deacon at Holy Family Cathedral and as Chancellor & General Counsel for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa. Follow him on X at Dcn. Garlick or Ascend.

Antigone, the character, is called the “dark signs of the gods.” If you were going to read any ancient Greek play, it would be Antigone. It is a masterwork on piety, justice, and the nature of the divine. It is one of the best dramas in Western civilization.

And if you want to know why Ascend reads Antigone before Oedipus Rex, see below.

Resources to help you read Antigone well:

1. 24 Question and Answer Guide on Antigone

2. Podcast series on Antigone

3. Video Discussions on Antigone (below)

Antigone is often the first great book new small groups will elect to read, because the short text is packed with human drama and commentary on man’s place in the cosmos—it draws opinions out of people on how the cosmos should be ordered.

Introductory Letter by Dcn. Garlick

Dear Supporters of Ascend,

Antigone is my favorite Greek play. It is a compelling invitation to wrestle with perennial questions on piety, justice, and the cosmic whole. I fell in love with the character of Antigone—beauty with an adamantine will. Yet, as I’ve come to the text time and time again, I have allowed myself to see her flaws and feel the heartbreak of despair.

Set in a Thebes reeling from civil war, the play pits Antigone’s defiant act to bury her brother, Polyneices, against Creon’s decree to leave him unburied as a traitor to the polis. This guide focuses on a hierarchy of piety that reveals a set of obligations to gods, city, and family—creating an ordered, cosmic whole. Sophocles brilliantly sets these in tension with one another and shows the chaos that occurs when one part of the cosmos is not aligned with the others. Both Antigone and Creon undergo transformations—and each reveals something about the nature of justice and the divine. Which character, however, is the true hero of the work is something of a debate.

Antigone remains at the heart of Western civilization, as its drama presents a nascent pedagogy on justice, law, eros, piety, and even natural law. The lessons of Sophocles the teacher are quite antecedent to both Plato and Christ. I am indebted to Dr. Frank Grabowski and Mr. David Niles for being such good interlocutors and helping me to see the rich treasury that is Antigone.

Amongst the death and heartache, Antigone reveals an important lesson to us about wisdom and the cosmos. Like Aeschylus, Sophocles presents characters that must suffer into truth. May their suffering be pedagogical to us and take us by the hand into all that is true, good, and beautiful.

In Christ,

Dcn. Garlick

Why Read Antigone First?

Antigone was written around 441 BC, making it the second oldest surviving play by Sophocles, likely preceded by Ajax. Although it is the final story in the chronological narrative of the Oedipus cycle (aka the Theban plays), it was the first of the three plays written by Sophocles. It should be read first, in the so-called publication order, rather than the chronological order, as Sophocles did not write the plays as a unified trilogy like Aeschylus’ Oresteia. Instead, he wrote them over his lifetime, and reading them in publication order (Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus) allows the reader to trace the development of Sophocles’ own philosophical ideas. To wit, the reader matures alongside Sophocles. To read Antigone last is a bit jarring, as though it represents the end of the narrative, it represents the most immature expression of Sophocles’ themes of suffering and justice. The ideas in Antigone appear more “raw and undefined” but become “more clarified and mature” in the latter two plays.^[1]

Video Discussions

Good work! The next reading is the follow up to Antigone, Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. It is the first part of the story chronologically speaking, as Sophocles returns to the themes of suffering and blessing. Aristotle called Oedipus Rex the best of the Greek tragedies. And remember… Sophocles did not write these as a triad, like the Oresteia, he wrote them as three individual plays over his lifetime. So, we read them as he wrote them to better track his intellectual maturation.

Keep it up.

You can read the great books with Ascend.

Dcn. Harrison Garlick lives in rural Oklahoma with his wife and five children. He serves as a deacon at Holy Family Cathedral and as Chancellor & General Counsel for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa. Follow him on X at Dcn. Garlick or Ascend.

^[1] For a parallel, this same issue is present in C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, as modern boxsets now number the books according to dramatic order and not publication order.