The Escaped Sapiens Podcast Reviving Ancient Greece Through Its Lost Texts | Richard Janko | Escaped Sapiens #89
Mar 30, 2026
Richard Janko, a leading classicist and papyrologist who deciphers ancient Greek scrolls, walks through Greek history and the survival of texts. He discusses Homeric origins, literacy and daily life, the Villa of the Papyri, methods for reading carbonized rolls, and how AI and imaging are unveiling lost Hellenistic and Roman works.
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Alphabet Democratized Literacy And Civic Participation
- Basic literacy became widespread because the alphabet is simple, letting ordinary farmers and citizens scratch inscriptions and vote using ostraca.
- Thousands of ostraca from Athens show many citizens could at least write names and participate in civic processes.
Greek Religion Valued Ritual Over Dogma
- Greek religion prioritized correct ritual observance over private belief, so conformity mattered more than doctrinal faith.
- Janko links this pragmatic religion to practical fears: famine, disease, and unpredictable environment required placating gods.
Anaxagoras Explained Eclipses And Suffered Backlash
- Anaxagoras deduced the sun and moon are material bodies and explained eclipses after a 478 BCE eclipse covered the Peloponnese.
- His association with Pericles led to charges of impiety and eventual exile when public panic followed war and plague.