Alexander Hamilton - future founder and lawgiver - was just a young aide of General George Washington in the American Revolutionary war. This was much like Sertorius’ role under Gaius Marius in the last episode.

Very few Camp Aides go on to great things, like becoming General. If you want to be one of those people, the ones who make the most of the opportunity to level up, what do you do?

Hamilton, like many ambitious people before and after him, read Plutarch’s Lives, taking notes on the biographies of the founders and lawgivers of Athens, Rome, and Sparta, learning how they overcame challenges in order to triumph.

Sertorius, at this point in his career, as a political outsider, had to perform that much harder than his peers from noble families.  In this episode we trace his rise to political prominence.  He performs deeds of shocking daring and decisiveness when there are opportunities, and when all doors seem shut he patiently bides his time. In all cases, he maintains an iron will to survive and thrive.

We learn how Sertorius permanently secures two cities in Spain in one night. How he becomes Quaestor. How he loses his eye in the Social wars.  We listen as he’s enrolled as a member of the senate, as he runs for Tribune of the Plebs only to have Sulla form a cabal and block him. We witness the return of Marius - Marius 2.0, Make Marius Great Again. We listen as Sertorius makes an alliance with Cinna, before he, Cinna and Marius take back control of Rome. And finally, we hear how Sertorius is sent back to Spain as Governor, in the midst of a great civil war before being forced to take to the sea in a desperate attempt to keep hope alive for his cause.

So, if like Hamilton, you’re looking for a way to sharpen your present by learning from the lives of famous Greeks and Romans, such as Sertorius, download and listen to this latest episode. 

On today’s podcast:

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