Stoic philosophy had little impact on society in ancient Greece or Rome, but it helped inspire the birth of the Renaissance, sparking a profound cultural transformation.

Could the best classical and Renaissance ideas help to re-inspire our world today?

🏺 The "dancing" look of Flora's floating garments is similar to Botticelli's Three Graces in his Primavera which was strongly inspired by classical texts rediscovered during the #Renaissance.

🎬 Watch here: ideasroadshow.com/primavera/

🏛️ Villa di Arianna, near Pompeii

🗃️ #arthistory #frescofriday

The Renaissance joined depth, beauty, and science. But secular humanism reduced life to reason alone.

Then Auguste Comte went further, creating a “Religion of Humanity” — complete with secular saints like Aristotle and Gutenberg, a priesthood of moral guides, and even sacraments.

Died on this date (October 1, 1499 — 65 years): Marsilio Ficino, Renaissance philosopher and translator.

He was the first to translate the complete works of Plato into Latin and carried on the Platonic tradition in Florence, Italy.

The Renaissance began as an “inner” project of humanist ideas. But Brunelleschi gave it an “outer” form.

His architecture turned humanist values into stone, light, and harmony.

Learn about the profound ideas that shaped the Italian Renaissance — and what they might offer us today. March 23–28, 2026.

Florence becomes an open-air classroom, where art, architecture, and civic life bring timeless Renaissance ideas to life.

Read more . . .

What does is mean to be deeply human? Cicero’s idea of humanitas is a powerful antidote to dehumanizing forces in the modern world.

It helped inspire Renaissance humanism and the creation of the original “humanities.”

How the Renaissance rediscovered “the human” and the dignity of human beings.