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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Subscribe Listen in podnod RSS feed Show website

645 episodes
Updated Sunday

Episodes645

Newest first

Dec 17, 2020 · 40 min
Thucydides: Thoughts on the Athenian Empire
From 478 BCE until 404 BCE, a collection of Greek city-states were united under the leadership of Athens. Beyond inscriptions and a few minor sources, there is very little to tell us about life within this empire … that is, except the works of Thucydid...
Dec 13, 2020 · 50 min
The Garamantes: Farming the Sahara
Greco-Roman historians including Herodotus, Tacitus and Pliny the Elder would have us believe that the Garamantes were simple uncivilized cattle herders, living in sporadic camp dwellings. Until archaeological excavations began in the 1960s, this categ...
Dec 10, 2020 · 31 min
Scotland's Enigmatic Ancient Structures
Brochs. Early archaeologists believed that they must have been built by the Danish, that the indigenous population could never have managed it. More recent suggestions have been that architects travelled Scotland, spreading the plans for these Iron Age...
Dec 6, 2020 · 49 min
Old Testament Warriors
It’s probably the most famous book in the world, and it’s also essentially the only literary source which covers the genesis of warfare and the nation state. Simon Elliott is an archaeologist, historian and broadcaster. He came onto the podcast to talk...
Dec 3, 2020 · 47 min
Spartacus: Life or Legend?
‘I’m Spartacus!’ In the field of epic film making, the 1960 historical drama ‘Spartacus’, is legendary. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, adapted from the Howard Fast novel by Red Scare blacklisted screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo, and starring Kirk Douglas, Lau...
Nov 29, 2020 · 49 min
Dura-Europos: The Syrian Pompeii
When we think of Pompeii, we remember the city which became frozen in time after a natural catastrophe. Well, in 1920, exactly 100 years ago, another 'frozen city' was rediscovered. This time it was Dura-Europos, and rather than falling victi...
Nov 26, 2020 · 51 min
Pompeii and the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius
Pompeii is back in the news. An extraordinary new, touching discovery, found during the Great Pompeii Project of Professor Massimo Osanna and his team. Roughly 700 metres northwest of Pompeii, in the remains of a suburban Roman villa, archaeologists ha...
Nov 22, 2020 · 48 min
Linothorax: Kevlar of the Ancients
The House of the Faun in Pompeii is known for being one of the largest and most impressive private residences in the ancient city. Among its many works of art is a depiction of Alexander the Great in battle. In previous episodes we have discussed Alexa...
Nov 19, 2020 · 35 min
Volcanic Vineyards of Pompeii
An ancient town, buried and preserved beneath volcanic ash, Pompeii is a gift to archaeologists and historians seeking to find out more about the lives of the civilians in a regular Roman town. Beyond the well recognised plaster casts of the bodies of ...
Nov 15, 2020 · 48 min
Terror in the Teutoburg Forest
Its been used for nationalist propaganda across the ages and its just been dramatised for Netflix, but what do we actually know about the Battle of Teutoburg Forest? For a start, where was it? Dr Joanne Ball, from the University of Liverpool is a battl...
Nov 12, 2020 · 1 hr 7 min
Agrippa and Augustus: The Golden Age
The Romans, an ancient conquering civilisation with an empire that spread from Europe across the Balkans to the Middle East and North Africa. For this episode, we are returning to our study of one of the most influential men in Roman History, Marcus Ag...
Nov 8, 2020 · 38 min
The Other Alexander
Alexander, an Ancient Greek king and a victorious conqueror. No, not that one, not Alexander the Great. This time, we’re talking about his uncle, Alexander I of Molossia. In 334BC, when Alexander the Great advanced east to conquer the Persian Empire, A...
Nov 5, 2020 · 57 min
Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerors
Alexander the Great. One of the most recognisable names in history. In his short lifetime he conquered the mighty Persian Empire and marched his army as far as the Indus River Valley. But it is important to remember that Alexander’s achievements were o...
Nov 1, 2020 · 49 min
Catullus: Rome's Most Erotic Poet
If you're looking for a raunchy Roman poet, look no further than Catullus. Born into one of the most exciting periods in Roman history, in the early 1st century BC as the Roman Republic started to sing its swansong, Catullus was an aristocrat who ...
Oct 29, 2020 · 51 min
Ancient Ethiopia: The Kingdom of Aksum
At its height the Kingdom of Aksum was considered one of the four great powers of the Ancient World. Situated primarily in what is now northern Ethiopia, Aksum’s legacy is astonishing and far reaching and so it is extraordinary to think that so few peo...
Oct 25, 2020 · 51 min
The Origins of Ancient Vietnam
It is one of the most extraordinary ancient archaeological sites in Southeast Asia, albeit one that is relatively unheard of outside of Vietnam. Cổ Loa. A defensive stronghold that during its golden age became the beating heart of ancient Vietnam. To t...
Oct 22, 2020 · 49 min
The Battle of Philippi: Death of the Roman Republic
In October 42 BC the Roman Republic committed suicide. Near the town of Philippi in northern Greece the forces of Brutus and Cassius, the famous assassins of Julius Caesar and the last surviving cheerleaders of the Roman Republic, faced off against the...
Oct 18, 2020 · 53 min
Sophocles' Lost Plays
The Big Three. In antiquity it could mean a whole host of different things, the triumvirate of Caesar, Pompey and Crassus for instance. But for many, ‘The Big Three’ means the three great tragedians of Ancient Greece we know so well today: Aeschylus, S...
Oct 15, 2020 · 51 min
69 AD: Rise of Vespasian
69 AD was a tumultuous year in Roman history. 4 Romans assumed the title of emperor; only one remained standing by the year’s end. His name was Vespasian, veteran of Claudius’ invasion of Britain and the builder of the Colosseum. Jonathan Eaton (@DrJEa...
Oct 11, 2020 · 57 min
Crassus and the Battle of Carrhae: The Defeat of Rome
Gareth Sampson, author of Defeat of Rome in the East: Crassus, the Parthians, and the Disastrous Battle of Carrhae, 53 BC came on the podcast to provide an in depth account of Marcus Crassus’ disastrous campaign east of the Euphrates River in ...