Talking Classics

The Shock of the Old

De: Mary Beard

Narrado por: Mary Beard

This is an audiobook version of this book.

The incomparable Mary Beard is back, and she’s talking all things classics.

Why the ongoing fascination with the ancient world? This witty, approachable book asks why—for better or (sometimes) worse—antiquity continues to exert such a powerful hold on the contemporary imagination. Recalling a formative childhood encounter with a four-thousand-year-old piece of bread in a museum, Beard introduces the idea of thauma, or wonder, that kick-started a lifetime engaging with classics. It was not the canonical “greats” of ancient literature and art that initially drew her in, she confesses, but rather the more intimate, messy, and humdrum evidence of daily life in the remote past.

Confronting the uses and abuses of symbols of the ancient world, Beard reminds us that the traditions and “masterpieces” of Greece and Rome have certainly been politicized, but they belong to neither the left nor the right. Happily, no one owns the past. She warns us not to let a sense of reverence or overfamiliarity dampen the “shock of the old,” arguing that one of the most important things that classics teach us is how to grapple with complicated and controversial things. “The Greeks and Romans are long dead, they cannot answer back, and you can say what you like about them,” she reminds audiences. “The simple fact that classics belong to none of us can offer a safe space to argue about the most difficult debates we face now.”

Beard welcomes everyone into classics. “It is not compulsory to be excited by the ancient world,” she writes. “But it can be a shame not to be.” This charming, sharp, and enjoyable book from one of the world’s most entertaining classicists offers something for both new and established fans of classics, bringing new wonder and curiosity to even the most ancient of ideas.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2026 University of Chicago Press (P)2026 University of Chicago Press

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A passionate defense particularly notable for its bracing lack of old fogeyism.”—Kirkus

An invitation to enjoy learning about the past

I have enjoyed several of Mary Beard's histories before listening to this title. "Talking Classics" is a marvelous book, part autobiography, part introduction to ancient Greek and Roman history. Ms. Beard shares her early fascination with ancient Western history and her thoughts on why this area of study is both still relevant today and available to everyone.
Thank you Ms. Beard for another entertaining and informative book.

A new way of understanding how to appreciate very old things.

A bit of romanticism over her own career and quotes others but does not identify them by name.

Lack of depth in the discussion of issues.

Shallow presentation . A lot of name dropping but very little substantive information. Nothing new whatsoever. Nice lady, but this book missed the mark.

Diction and Reading

Besides being a low-volume recording, the author reading her own work was a bad idea. Her pronunciation, her slurring of words, her emphasis on wrong parts of the sentence, and her going from almost inaudible to loud inaudible, made this a listening torture. Who on earth thought she would be a good reader should think again. It was a waste of a good credit.