Ancient History 101
Ancient History 101 is a podcast hosted by award-winning ancient historian Alexandra Sills. Each week, an expert guest provides a crash course on a topic related to ancient Greece, Rome, or their neighbors. Episodes cover biographies of historical figures, introductions to ancient art and literature, detailed accounts of world-changing events, and histories of significant archaeological sites. The show aims to bust myths, explain key concepts, and deliver essential facts, serving as a comprehensive curriculum for listeners.
Episodes
GUEST EPISODE! Cleopatra (1963) with the Partial Historians, Part 2: Cleopatra and Mark Antony
Make sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we have a new topic every Wednesday!Find Ancient History 101 on social media and our website, where you can learn more about our expert guests.We have merch available at our RedBubble shop, or you can help support the podcast by buying history books and translations we’ve hand-chosen for you at our online bookshop in the USA or UK.O
GUEST EPISODE! Cleopatra (1963) with the Partial Historians, Part 1: Cleopatra and Julius CaesarCaesar
Make sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we have a new topic every Wednesday!Find Ancient History 101 on social media and our website, where you can learn more about our expert guests.We have merch available at our RedBubble shop, or you can help support the podcast by buying history books and translations we’ve hand-chosen for you at our online bookshop in the USA or UK.O
Semester Break - End of Series 1
It is the end of Series 1 already! Join us for a recap, as well as a sneak peak into Series 2, coming on the 21st of October.Make sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we have a new topic every Wednesday!Find Ancient History 101 on social media and our website, where you can learn more about our expert guests.We have merch available at our RedBubble shop, or you can help sup
Boudica Part 2 - Unfettered Fury
It is the second half of the finale of Ancient History 101 series 1! The concluding part of our two week extravaganza dealing with none other than Boudica.Featuring experts from all three of the cities Boudica burned, this episode picks up where we left off in Part 1, as Boudica decides to march on Colchester, London and St Albans, but does she stop there? Joining Alexandra is Ben Paites from Colc
Boudica Part 1 - Prelude to Destruction
It is time for the finale of Ancient History 101 series 1! And we have something a little special for you to celebrate - a two week extravaganza dealing with none other than Boudica.Featuring experts from all three of the cities Boudica burned, this episode introduces us to Iron Age Britain, contact with Rome, and who Boudica was. We also chart her growing anger (which we will see unleashed in Par
The Death and Desecration of Crassus
This week we're examining an event that rocked the Roman world, to make sure that the stories we think we know are actually how events unfolded. Spoiler alert, it is never that simple!Alexandra is talking about the aftermath of the Battle of Carrhae, when Rome's richest man met his end. But how did Crassus die? And what happened to his corpse?For useful images, a recommended further reading list,
The Sicilian Expedition
Roel Konijnendijk returns for some more military adventures, this time to tell of an expedition borne of hubris that would go terribly, tragically wrong.Handy maps of Sicily and Syracuse, as well as a transcript, can be found on the episode webpage.Make sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we have a new topic every Wednesday!Find Ancient History 101 on social media and our
The Vestal Virgins
Peta Greenfield joins the pod to talk about some of the most extraordinary women of ancient Rome.For a transcript and book recommendations, we have a dedicated episode webpage here.Find the Partial Historians hereMake sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we have a new topic every Wednesday!Find Ancient History 101 on social media and our website, where you can learn more ab
Aeschylus' Agamemnon
OK, forget Odysseus for a minute, because there was another Greek who found coming home from Troy to be a bit of a nightmare too... Shelby Judge drops into the pod to walk us through a play by Aeschylus that tells us exactly what happened when Agamemnon came home to his wife...Find links to recommended translations, performance recordings and a transcript on the episode webpageMake sure to click ‘
Vercingetorix
An enemy of Rome with a big reputation, but who made some very questionable decisions... Talking about Vercingetorix today is guest expert and archaeologist Zoé Elise Thomas, who knows Gaul like the back of her hand.For images, maps and a transcript, visit the episode pageMake sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we have a new topic every Wednesday!Find Ancient History 101
What is Late Antiquity?
Fancy dipping your toes into one of the murkier periods in history? Lots of people have Big Opinions on the decline and fall of Rome, but do they know what they're talking about? Here to answer this, as well as explain how and why Christianity became the Roman religion of choice, how the empire split in half, and to answer the question When Did Rome Fall is the wonderful historian of Late Antiquit
Gladiators in the Greek World
Make sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we have a new topic every Wednesday!Find Ancient History 101 on social media and our website, where you can learn more about our expert guests.We have merch available at our RedBubble shop, or you can help support the podcast by buying history books and translations we’ve hand-chosen for you at our online bookshop in the USA or UK.O
Greek Myth in Video Games
Alexandra is joined by Alexander Vandewalle to talk about Greek myths in a whole raft of video games, from the good, the bad to the downright weird.Episode transcript and images of interestFind Antiquity Games Night online here!Make sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we have a new topic every Wednesday!Find Ancient History 101 on social media and our website, where you ca
Alexander the Great
Want a biography of Alexander the Great that doesn't just repeat the same old stories and peddle the same old narratives? Stephen Harrison joins Alexandra to add a hefty dose of nuance to the discussion about a man whose history is far less certain than we've been led to believe.For a transcript, head to the episode webpage.Follow Stephen on Youtube or Instagram for more Hellenistic history and mo
Disability in Ancient Egypt
It's Disability Pride Month! To mark the occasion, we welcome guest expert Alexandra Morris to talk about disabilities and disabled people in ancient Egypt, including Tutankhamun himself!Make sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we have a new topic every Wednesday!For a transcript and images, click hereFind Ancient History 101 on social media and our website, where you can
Fulvia - A Biography Part 2
Fulvia - a woman who (quite literally) set Rome on fire. Joining us today is Jane Draycott, author of Fulvia: The Woman Who Broke All the Rules in Ancient RomeIn Part 2, we talk about Fulvia's love for Mark Antony, and what happened when Octavian cornered her into starting a civil war.We'll be seeing Jane again in November to celebrate the release of her next book: Fatal Monsters: Cleopatra, Her S
Fulvia - A Biography Part 1
Fulvia - a woman who (quite literally) set Rome on fire. Joining us today is Jane Draycott, author of Fulvia: The Woman Who Broke All the Rules in Ancient RomeIn Part 1, we talk about Fulvia's marriages and life as a wife, and her 15 year long feud with Cicero...For more information about Jane and to purchase her books, click hereMake sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we
Gladiator Myths and Misconceptions: BUSTED
Alexandra has written a book, and it's launching this month! To celebrate, here is an episode all about Alexandra's area of expertise: gladiators! This is a quickfire list of more than a dozen gladiator 'facts' that you'll find on the internet, debunked and debated in less than an hour.Find a transcript of this episode and links to buy Gladiators of the Greek World: How a Roman Blood Sport Took An
Thebes
It's about time Ancient History 101 covered the history of a place, and for our first one we've chosen Thebes! Here to talk us through the mythology and history of this underdog city is Boeotia expert Michael Furman.As always, for maps, book recommendations and a transcript, you can head to the episode page on our website.Make sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we have a
Ovid - A Biography
We have a really fascinating biography episode today of a Roman poet with a complicated career - Ovid. Alicia Matz joins Alexandra to discuss this most controversial author, in a discussion that made us laugh, cringe, and sympathise, all in under an hour. NOTE: This episode is a little more adult than our typical episodes, listener discretion is advised.For recommended translations of Ovid's work,
Disability in Ancient Greece
This week, Alexandra invites Debby Sneed onto the pod to chat about a topic far too often overlooked in documentaries and paperback histories - the lives of disabled people in the Greek world.We cover some common misconceptions, archaeological evidence, and ancient attitudes. Can the ancient Greek world give our modern societies some pointers on how to make our world more disability friendly? The
Domitian
For this biography episode, Alexandra is joined by author L.J Trafford to piece together the life of Roman emperor Domitian - was he truly one of the worse emperors of Rome?This episode has it's own page on our website, so if you want relevant images, a transcript, to read the poems mentioned in the episode or to find L.J's excellent books, head straight there!Make sure to click ‘subscribe’ so tha
How Do Museums Work?
Ben Paites, curator extraordinaire, is here to tell us exactly what happens behind the scenes to make museums work. How do museums acquire exhibits, who decides what gets displayed, and are museums always benignly ethical? Ben gives Alexandra answers to all these questions and more.For Ben's book 50 LGBTQ+ Finds, click here to go to our UK bookshop, and here for the United States.Make sure to clic
Themistocles
This week we have battles, oracles, and a towering pile of ostraka - it can only be a life of Themistocles - the man who owed democracy his career, but was convicted of treason and condemned to die by the very democrats he'd saved in battle.Michael Scott, author of the sterling new biography of Themistocles, steps aboard to tell us about the man credited with making Athens the greatest Greek naval
What is the Spartan Mirage?
Owen Rees of Xenophon fame returns to the show to explain why everything we think we know about ancient Sparta is an illusion.So what is the Spartan Mirage, and how in earth are we supposed to reveal the real picture of Spartan life hiding behind it?For recommended reading, images, maps, and more information about Owen and his work, click here to go to the episode webpage.Make sure to click ‘subsc
Euripides' Trojan Women
Alexandra strikes out on her on for a bonus episode this week, to celebrate 10,000 downloads! So as an extra treat, Alexandra chats about her favourite Greek tragedy, Euripides' Trojan Women.Often misunderstood, this play remains painfully relevant to our modern world, even as the author's intentions have become difficult to see clearly through the mists of time. Alexandra puts her case forward, a
The Year of the Four Emperors
This week we have one of the messiest, bloodiest years of the early Roman empire, in which becoming emperor was pretty much a death sentence...Our special guest of the week is Nathaniel Katz, here to find the meaning in the mess and help us understand how this one year changed the Roman empire forever.Find recommended reading, images, and other supplementary materials here.Make sure to click ‘subs
Slavery in Roman Society
This week we're tackling a heavy subject - slavery in the Roman world. Thank goodness we have such a lovely expert to guide us through it; Chance Bonar explains why the realities of Roman slavery are a little different to what we might expect, and why we certainly can't say it wasn't so bad, after all.Make sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never miss an episode; we have a new topic every Wedne
The First Punic War
Get your oars ready, we're going sailing this week with Bret Devereaux, as he guides us through the First Punic War.To find Bret's amazing blog, head over to A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry.For the texts and resources mentioned in this episode, recommended further reading, maps, images and more, click to go to the episode's dedicated webpage.Make sure to click ‘subscribe’ so that you never mi
Virgil's Aeneid
The Aeneid - often mocked as a cheap Latin knock-off of Homer - is revealed in this episode to be a cleverly composed homage with its own purpose which, for a time, eclipsed Homer in popularity. Aven McMaster joins Alexandra to talk about the creation of the Aeneid, its content, and the crucial context of Virgil's understanding of Augustan Rome, which colours every line he wrote. If you've been he
The Thirty Tyrants
In today's episode, Alexandra is distracted by modern politics as Roel Konijnendijk talks us through the brutal regime of oligarchs installed in Athens by Sparta, known as the Thirty Tyrants, who murdered citizens in cold blood and looted their wealth. Stick around for the happy ending, as Roel explains how the world's first democracy was successfully reinstated because of the brave men who fought
Gods in Epic Poetry
In this episode of Ancient History 101, we're joined by Laura Jenkinson-Brown, the award-winning educator, illustrator and author, to talk about just how central the gods were in the narratives of epic poetry. Would the Trojan War even have happened were it not for the actions of the gods? And how did they drive and mould the narrative of the lives of countless mortals?For a transcript of this epi
Augustus - An Introduction (Part 2)
Dr Mike Beer returns to carry on his conversation with Alexandra about all things Augustus. In this second half of the discussion, we tackle Augustus' private life, his creation of his own image, his later career as First Citizen, and his enduring impact on history.You can find a list of suggested further reading, images, a family tree and a transcript on the episode's official webpage.Make sure t
Augustus - An Introduction (Part 1)
Before we tackle the emperors of Rome who were mad, bad, and dangerous to know, we need to first get to grips with the man who created the concept of Rome even having emperors: Augustus. The first in a two part discussion, this episode talks about Augustus when he was a young man known as Octavian, his steep climb to power, and his fatal rivalry with Antony and Cleopatra.Our special guest expert t
Xenophon - A Biography
Forget Herodotus, forget Thucydides - Xenophon is a historian worth getting to know, and he did so much more than simply write histories... Join Owen Rees and I as we chat about a Greek man who turned his hand at just about anything, and whose biography reads like an adventure novel.Owen Rees is the author of 'The Far Edges of the Known World: A New History of the Ancient Past' and is the founder
"What is 'Classics' Anyway?"
What does Classics mean to you? Cadillacs? Mozart? Dickens novels? or Ancient Greece and Rome? And why does the word CLASSIC seem to be used as a synonym for 'best', 'valuable' or 'timeless'?In this, our first interview episode, your host wrestles with her love-hate relationship with her favourite topic and the way it is taught, and invites Dr Dan Stewart of the University of Leicester to explain
Welcome to Ancient History 101!
The inaugural episode of Ancient History 101!Why not visit our website to learn more about our episodes, meet our contributors, and read about our ethos? You can also find all the links to our socials here, so make sure to give us a follow on your preferred platform.Learn more about the show's creator and host Alexandra Sills here, and read about the wonderful work of the Mnemosyne Memory Collecti
Trailer
If you want to learn about the Ancient Mediterranean but don't know where to start, Ancient History 101 is the podcast for you. Expert guests guide us through a new topic every week with a back-to-basics approach that covers all the essentials. We invite you to join your host Alexandra Sills and her very clever friends as they discuss everything that is entertaining, compelling and even grotesque
Introducing Ancient History 101
If you want to learn about the Ancient Mediterranean but don't know where to start, Ancient History 101 is the podcast for you. Expert guests guide us through a new topic every week with a back-to-basics approach that covers all the essentials. We invite you to join your host Alexandra Sills and her very clever friends as they discuss everything that is entertaining, compelling and even grotesque
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