HistorySociety & Culture

Ancient History Podcast

Owain Williams

The Ancient History podcast is the companion podcast of Ancient History Magazine, a publication dedicated to exploring the ancient world. Each episode will feature a new guest to discuss their research, a new book, or talk about ancient history, from Greece and Rome to Mesopotamia and China, and everything in between.

Play

Open in

23 episodes
monthly
Avg 55 min
English

Episodes 23

Newest Oldest Longest

All20 Unplayed20 In progress0 Played0

Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.

#35
Sunday · 50 min
AH35 - Agrippina the Younger with Mary T. Boatwright
In this episode of the podcast, we speak with Mary T. Boatwright about Agrippina the Younger, how she navigated the conspiracies and intrigues of the imperial Roman court, and how we can reconstruct her life from what the many sources say about her.
#34
October 1 · 57 min
AH34 - Rome's Age of Revolution with Tim Whitmarsh
In this episode of the podcast, we speak with Tim Whitmarsh about early Christianity, how the religion was embedded in Greco-Roman culture, and how the Roman Empire facilitated its spread.
#33
September 1 · 1 hr 2 min
AH33 - Indian Ocean Trade
In this episode of the podcast, we talk to Jeremy Simmons about ancient trade in the Indian Ocean, sources for understanding such trade, and how people in both India and the Roman Empire interacted with the many goods merchants carried across the Indian Ocean.
#32
August 1 · 1 hr
AH32 - A Womb of One's Own
In this episode of the podcast, we speak to Tara Mulder about pregnancy and childbirth in ancient Rome, the role and reputation of midwives, and how male medical writers attempted to usurp their authority.
#31
July 1 · 1 hr 11 min
AH31 - Oligarchy and Democracy in Ancient Greece
In this episode of the podcast, we talk to Matt Simonton about the history of democracy and oligarchy in ancient Greece, how oligarchy declined, and democracy triumphed, and how democracy eventually disappeared in the Greek world.
#30
June 1 · 58 min
AH30 - Decyphering Mayan Hieroglyphs
In this episode of the podcast, we speak with David Stuart about the Classical Maya period, the decipherment of Mayan hieroglyphs, and the reconstruction of Classical Mayan history.
#29
May 1 · 59 min
AH29 - Political Violence in Ancient Greece
In this episode of the podcast, we speak with Scott Lawin Arcenas about stasis (political violence) in ancient Greece, how frequently the Greeks engaged in political violence, and how political violence was related to the ancient Greek world's economic and cultural efflorescence.
#28
April 1 · 56 min
AH28 - Women in Classical Athens
In this episode of the podcast, we talk to Katherine Backler about women in Classical Athens, what sources are available for the study of Classical Athenian women, the limitations of those sources, and how diverse women's experiences were in the ancient Greek world.
#27
March 1 · 57 min
AH27 - White Pedestal with Curtis Dozier
In this episode of the podcast, we talk with Curtis Dozier about how White Nationalists appropriate Greco-Roman Antiquity, why Greco-Roman antiquity appeals to White Nationalists, and how investigating the modern historiography can counter such appropriations
#26
February 1 · 50 min
AH26 - A New History of Ancient Roman Theatre
In this episode of the podcast, we talk to Jessica Clarke about the spread of theatre in ancient Italy, why the traditional Roman-centric narrative may be wrong, and how archaeology can offer an alternative perspective.
#25
January 1 · 54 min
AH25 - Greek Mythology with Carolina López-Ruiz
In this episode of the podcast, we talk to Carolina López-Ruiz about the many different variations of Greek cosmogony, how the Greeks thought about and interacted with mythology, and Near Eastern mythological parallels.
#24
Dec 1, 2025 · 58 min
AH24 - Killing the Messiah
In this episode, we talk to Nathanael Andrade about Jewish society in the first century AD, Roman governance of Judea, and the trial of Jesus of Nazareth.
#23
Nov 1, 2025 · 1 hr 5 min
AH23 - The World of Homer
In this episode of the podcast, we talk to Michael B. Cosmopoulos about the history and archaeology behind the Homeric epics, the nature of oral poetry and social memory, and how these elements contributed to the creation of the 'Iliad' and the 'Odyssey'.
#22
Oct 1, 2025 · 1 hr 3 min
AH22 - What is Ancient History? With Walter Scheidel
In this episode of the podcast, we speak to Walter Scheidel, the most cited Roman historian in an active faculty position, about the history of the study of ancient Greece and Rome, how this area of study came to mean 'ancient history', and what the future of the subject looks like.
#21
Sep 1, 2025 · 50 min
AH21 - YouTube with Erica Stevenson
In this episode of the podcast, we speak to Erica Stevenson, host of the YouTube channel MoAn Inc., about making Classics content for YouTube, the difference between Classics and Ancient History, and bringing the ancient world to new audiences.
#20
Aug 1, 2025 · 1 hr 9 min
AH20 - Fulvia with Jane Draycott
In this episode we talk to Jane Draycott about Fulvia, the politics of the Roman Late Republic, and women's position within Late Republican Roman society, including marriage, childbirth, and informal political power.
#19
Jul 1, 2025 · 51 min
AH 19 - The House of the Satrap with Rhyne King
In this episode, we talk to Rhyne King about the satraps of the Achaemenid Empire, their responsibilities, how one became a satrap, and how the satrapal system contributed to the stability of the Achaemenid Empire.
#18
Jun 1, 2025 · 14 min
AH18 - History, myth, and folktale
In this episode of the Ancient History Podcast, I share my thoughts on Daniel Ogden's new book, The Tyrants of Corinth, and discuss the relationship between history, myth, and folktale.
#17
May 1, 2025 · 36 min
AH17 - Standing Among the Spartans
In this episode, we talk to Philip Davies about social status in ancient Sparta, how the homoioi were not all equals, and the many ways a Spartan could gain or lose social status. Don't forget to subscribe to Ancient History Magazine.
#16
Apr 1, 2025 · 59 min
AH16 - The Xiongnu Empire with Bryan K. Miller
In this episode, we discuss the rise and fall of the Xiongnu Empire, stereotypes of nomadic pastoralists, and the administrative intricacies of ruling a nomadic empire. Enjoy the podcast, so why not subscribe to the magazine? Click here for more details.

Showing 1–20 of 23 episodes