The Ancients

History Hit

A podcast for all ancient history fans! The Ancients is dedicated to discussing our distant past. Featuring interviews with historians and archaeologists, each episode covers a specific theme from antiquity. From Neolithic Britain to the Fall of Rome. Hosted by Tristan Hughes.

New episodes every Sunday and Thursday.

From History Hit, the world's best history channel and creators of award-winning podcasts Dan Snow's History Hit, Gone Medieval, and Betwixt the Sheets.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

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645 episodes
Updated Sunday

Episodes645

Newest first

Aug 15, 2021 · 24 min
Palaces in Paradise: Centres of the Persian World
Persepolis is arguably the most famous ancient site associated with the Achaemenid Persian Empire, but it certainly wasn’t the only administrative centre of this ancient superpower. In this second part of our interview with Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, Lloyd...
Aug 12, 2021 · 39 min
Pompeii’s Indian Statuette
Among Pompeii’s great wealth of surviving artefacts is one with a rich globe trotting history that only goes to emphasise the interconnected nature of the ancient world: the Pompeii Lakshmi, a small statuette originally crafted in India. But what do we...
Aug 10, 2021 · 1 hr 5 min
10 Key Roman Emperors
Love them or loathe them, the Roman emperors were some of the most influential figures in history. In this episode Barry Strauss, Professor of History and Classics at Cornell University, talks through ten of the most important - start...
Aug 8, 2021 · 1 hr
Sisters at War: The Rise and Fall of Elagabalus
Often found high on the list of Rome’s worst emperors, the short reign of the teenager Elegabalus in the early 3rd century AD is filled with controversy. But it was also a time when several remarkable women came to the fore in the Roman Empire, playing...
Aug 5, 2021 · 30 min
The Lost Baths of Cleopatra
Cleopatra. Hers is one of the most famous names that endures from antiquity. The victor of a civil war. The mistress of Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. The last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt. The protagonist of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. A fears...
Aug 3, 2021 · 23 min
The Gladiatrix
Mention the word gladiator and you would be forgiven for instantly thinking of the 2000 namesake epic movie. Of spectators watching on as men battled each other with a variety of weapons, sometimes to the death, for the entertainment of the crowd. But ...
Aug 1, 2021 · 30 min
Alexander the Great’s Corpse & the Greatest Heist in History
Alexander the Great is one of the most famous generals and empire builders in history, but the story of his death is almost as remarkable as his life. For this episode, our host and Alexander the Great superfan, Tristan Hughes, joins Dan Snow to tell t...
Jul 29, 2021 · 29 min
The Sacred Band of Thebes
The Theban Sacred Band was one of the greatest military corps of Ancient Greece, thriving from the city-state of Thebes for almost 50 years in the mid 4th century BC. In addition to their fighting prowess, however, there is another fascinating aspect t...
Jul 27, 2021 · 45 min
The Begram Hoard: Treasures of the Silk Road
In the mid-20th century French archaeologists came across a remarkable collection of ancient items from Eastern China, the Indian subcontinent and the Roman Mediterranean, all in one place. In this second episode about Begram, Tristan is once again joi...
Jul 25, 2021 · 44 min
Decoding the Roman Dead
Often known as ‘Britain’s first town’, Colchester is a city rich in ancient history and on 24 July 2021, a new exhibition will open at the Colchester Museum revealing more about some of its earliest Roman occupants. Called ‘Decoding the Roman Dead’, th...
Jul 22, 2021 · 24 min
Life in Sparta
A legendary city-state in Ancient Greece, we associate Sparta with fierce warriors in battle. But what about the everyday? In this second episode with Professor Stephen Hodkinson, we discuss the eating habits, training and even kingship of Sparta. Step...
Jul 20, 2021 · 27 min
The Oldest Known Shark Attack
It’s a crossover with Jaws and Open Water that we never expected, but a 3,000 year old corpse has thrown a surprising topic into the mix: shark bites. The body, found in the prehistoric Tsukumo hunter-gatherer burial site in Japan, unexpectedly present...
Jul 17, 2021 · 36 min
The Romans in Brittany
It was one of the most powerful empires in history, leaving marks and remnants across the globe, but in this episode we are looking specifically at the impact of the Romans on Brittany. Tristan was joined once again by Sir Barry Cunliffe, who takes us ...
Jul 15, 2021 · 59 min
Scythed Chariots
What could be more terrifying than an army racing towards you? An army on chariots? What if those chariots had blades mounted on either side? In this episode, Tristan speaks to Dr Silvannen Gerrard about the use of this unconventional mode of transport...
Jul 13, 2021 · 47 min
Carthage vs Greeks? The First Sicilian War
480 BC is a year widely-celebrated in Greek history. When Leonidas' Spartan core and their Hellenic allies fought a powerful Persian army at Thermopylae, and an outnumbered, Athenian-led navy defeated a mighty Persian armada at Salamis. Yet it was...
Jul 11, 2021 · 42 min
Julius Caesar’s Invasions of Britain
On the day of the Euro 2020 final, we’re talking England versus Italy…Ancients style (well, sort of). Historian and archaeologist Dr Simon Elliott returns to the podcast to talk us through Julius Caesar’s two invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC. Hear ...
Jul 8, 2021 · 40 min
Begram: Crossroads of the Ancient World
Bagram, also known as Begram, has been in the news a lot recently. Over the past couple of days, the last US and NATO troops have withdrawn from Bagram air base, which they have occupied for some 20 years. But this area of Central Asia, situated south ...
Jul 6, 2021 · 41 min
Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Strait of Messina
Dividing Sicily from Italy, the Strait of Messina is a small stretch of water with an incredible history that stretches back to ancient times. It was likely here that the mythical sea monsters of Scylla and Charybdis were supposed to have wreaked havoc...
Jul 4, 2021 · 48 min
Persepolis: Jewel of Persia
It is one of the most remarkable ancient sites in the World. Situated east of the Zagros Mountains in modern day Iran, Persepolis was an important urban centre of the Achaemenid Persian Empire for almost two centuries. From the stunning, rich variety o...
Jun 30, 2021 · 48 min
Divorced, Murdered, Survived: Nero's Wives
In the long tradition of categorising famous wives as the good or the bad, Nero’s partners are no exception. These women are regularly reduced to simple characters within the final Julio-Claudian Emperor’s orbit, but what of their own experiences and p...