{"id":55901,"date":"2016-04-24T19:54:37","date_gmt":"2016-04-25T00:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=55901"},"modified":"2025-11-17T17:13:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T23:13:15","slug":"podcast-195-how-to-live-like-an-ancient-greek-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/health-fitness\/fitness\/podcast-195-how-to-live-like-an-ancient-greek-hero\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcast #195: How to Live Like an Ancient Greek Hero"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"art19-web-player awp-medium awp-theme-dark-blue\" data-episode-id=\"06f2b9b3-0802-4903-b417-0666358473ce\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<p>During&nbsp;World War II the Greek island of Crete was occupied by the Nazis and was a strategic stronghold. To take back the island, Great Britain created a small band of misfit resistance fighters consisting of poets, historians, and Cretan shepherds. Their job was to muck things up for the Nazis, but one day they decided to do something completely audacious: kidnap a German&nbsp;general and get him off the island.<\/p>\n<p>Against all the odds, they&nbsp;accomplished their mission.<\/p>\n<p>How&#8217;d they do it?<\/p>\n<p>My guest today on the podcast went to Crete to follow in the footsteps of these WWII resistance fighters and along the way discovered that they&nbsp;had tapped into the ancient Greek art of the hero. His name is Christopher McDougall and in his book&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0307742229\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0307742229&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=stucosuccess&amp;linkId=FSXA3GZUT5SFDAZ4\">Natural Born Heroes<\/a>,&nbsp;<\/em>he takes readers on a whirlwind tour through history, psychology, and fitness to show how these clever,&nbsp;courageous Englishmen&nbsp;emulated Odysseys and other Greek heroes and what regular Joes can do to live more heroically.&nbsp;In today&#8217;s episode, Chris and I discuss the mindset, the virtues, and the skills needed to become an ancient Greek hero.<\/p>\n<h3>Show Highlights<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>How a group of British resistance fighters consisting of poets and historians kidnapped a Nazi&nbsp;general<\/li>\n<li>How the ancient Greeks defined heroism<\/li>\n<li>Why Odysseys was the hero of heroes<\/li>\n<li>The defining mark of manhood<\/li>\n<li>How outsourcing our basic needs to specialists has fragilized us<\/li>\n<li>How the emphasis on physique in fitness has made us physically weak<\/li>\n<li>The Cretan Bounce and the power fascia<\/li>\n<li>How to run like a Cretan<\/li>\n<li>How a WWII special forces&nbsp;combat trainer marshaled the ethos of Greek <em>pankration<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Wild Bill Hickok and instinctive aim<\/li>\n<li>The theory that the ancient Greeks were the originators of all Asian martial arts<\/li>\n<li>How parkour taps into&nbsp;how Cretans traverse mountains<\/li>\n<li>How MovNat is continuing the legacy of the ancient Greek idea of physical fitness<\/li>\n<li>Why &#8220;be useful&#8221; should be the motto of your life<\/li>\n<li>How to eat like a Cretan hero<\/li>\n<li>And much more<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Resources\/Studies\/People Mentioned in Podcast<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special_Operations_Executive\">British Special Operation Executive<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Arete_(moral_virtue)\">Arete<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paideia\">Paideia<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Xenia_(Greek)\">Xenia<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00GIGQI88\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;btkr=1&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=artofmanliness03-20&amp;linkId=28f5f7e23e79e47bc188b2d328fe5d5f\"><em>The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours<\/em><\/a>&nbsp;by Gregory Nagy<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fascia\">fascia<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/articles\/trigger-point-release\/\">foam rolling is a way to stimulate fascia<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-uzQMn87Hg0\">Tom Myers<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Sdv_9MhOSoI\">Bruce Lee&#8217;s one-inch punch<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rex_Applegate\">Rex Applegate<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/William_E._Fairbairn\">William Fairbairn<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Eric_A._Sykes\">Eric Sykes<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%22Wild_Bill%22_Hickok\">Wild Bill Hickok<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Instinctive_aiming\">Instinctive aim<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wing_Chun\">Wing Chun<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pankration\">Pankration<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/T._E._Lawrence\">Lawrence of Arabia<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/articles\/parkour-for-beginners\/\">The Ultimate Beginner&#8217;s Guide to Parkour<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.movnat.com\/\">MovNat<\/a> (and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/articles\/a-primer-on-movnat\/\">our article about it written by MovNat founder Erwan Le Corre<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/articles\/the-history-of-physical-fitness\/\">The history of physical fitness<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.barefootted.com\/\">Barefoot Ted<\/a><\/li>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest\/dp\/0307279189\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1461512514&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=born+to+run\">Born to Run<\/a>&nbsp;&#8212; <\/em>McDougall&#8217;s previous book<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Georges_H%C3%A9bert\">Georges H\u00e9bert and The Natural Method<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/deepmovement.com\/cgi-sys\/suspendedpage.cgi\">Deep Movement in Tulsa<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/articles\/podcast-183-when-high-school-pe-was-a-man-maker\/\">La Sierra High School physical fitness program<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/philmaffetone.com\/\">Phil Maffetone<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/philmaffetone.com\/2-week-test\/\">The Two Week Test for switching to a fat-as-fuel diet<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/2247686\/natural-born-heroes\">Chris&#8217; series about Natural Born Heroes on Outside Online<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0307742229\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0307742229&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=stucosuccess&amp;linkId=FSXA3GZUT5SFDAZ4\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-55905 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/\/2016\/04\/heroes.jpeg\" alt=\"Natural Born Heroes by Christopher McDougall, book cover.\" width=\"292\" height=\"450\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you love the ancient Greeks, WWII history, and physical fitness, you&#8217;ll love&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0307742229\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0307742229&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=stucosuccess&amp;linkId=FSXA3GZUT5SFDAZ4\">Natural Born Heroes<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/em>It&#8217;s a super fun read and jam-packed with info that&#8217;s both fascinating and practical.<\/p>\n<h3>Listen to the Podcast! (And don\u2019t forget to leave us a review!)<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-art-of-manliness\/id332516054?mt=2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-49206\" src=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Listen-on-Apple-Podcasts-badge-1024x262-640x164.jpg\" alt=\"available-on-itunes\" width=\"250\" height=\"92\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-49207\" src=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/\/2015\/07\/available-on-stitcher.png\" alt=\"available-on-stitcher\" width=\"250\" height=\"92\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/artofmanliness\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-49208\" src=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/\/2015\/07\/soundcloud-logo.png\" alt=\"soundcloud-logo\" width=\"250\" height=\"127\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pcasts.in:443\/NwCI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-49655 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/\/2015\/08\/pocketcasts.png\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" srcset=\"\" alt=\"pocketcasts\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/art19.com\/shows\/the-art-of-manliness\/episodes\/06f2b9b3-0802-4903-b417-0666358473ce\">Listen to the episode on a separate page.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/rss.art19.com\/episodes\/06f2b9b3-0802-4903-b417-0666358473ce.mp3\">Download this episode.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"hs-rss-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.omnycontent.com\/d\/playlist\/aaea4e69-af51-495e-afc9-a9760146922b\/6081eee7-c459-4e12-a1ab-aadc000fc4a7\/413a6904-4d72-4be8-9421-aadc000fc4ba\/podcast.rss\">Subscribe to the podcast in the media player of your choice.<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Podcast Sponsors<\/h3>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/huckberry.com\/?utm_source=artofmanliness&amp;utm_medium=affiliate\">Huckberry.<\/a>&nbsp;<\/strong>Discount prices on the world\u2019s coolest clothes and gear. Use promo code <strong>AOMFREESHIP<\/strong> at checkout to get free shipping on your order.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bouqs.com\/\">Bouqs.<\/a> For Mother&#8217;s Day, get mom some fresh flowers she&#8217;ll love without breaking the bank. Save 20% off the bouquet of your choice by going Bouqs.com and enter promo code <strong>MANLINESS.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mottandbow.com\/\">Mott and Bow.<\/a> If you&#8217;re an athletic guy with big thighs, be sure to check out the Mercer jean from Mott and Bow. Super comfy. For 20% off your purchase use discount code <strong>ArtOfMan<\/strong> at checkout.<\/p>\n<h3>Read the Transcript<\/h3>\n<p>Coming soon!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; During&nbsp;World War II the Greek island of Crete was occupied by the Nazis and was a strategic stronghold. To take back the island, Great Britain created a small band of misfit resistance fighters consisting of poets, historians, and Cretan shepherds. Their job was to muck things up for the Nazis, but one day they [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":55906,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[230,7,156],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-55901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness","category-health-fitness","category-podcast"],"featured_image_urls":{"rpwe-thumbnail":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2016\/04\/heroes-1-45x45.jpeg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55901"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55901\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":142279,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55901\/revisions\/142279"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55901"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=55901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}