Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill

And Posidonia is the biggest city that is near the Bay of Naples, apart from Naples itself. So there is a massive Greek presence in that area. But it's also rather obstinately local. And it's hard to know what to call the locals. You can call them Oscans. It's Oscan, isn't it? Because Oscan is their language, which is very closely related to Latin, but not Latin and proudly not Latin, right? Yeah.

And Posidonia is the biggest city that is near the Bay of Naples, apart from Naples itself. So there is a massive Greek presence in that area. But it's also rather obstinately local. And it's hard to know what to call the locals. You can call them Oscans. It's Oscan, isn't it? Because Oscan is their language, which is very closely related to Latin, but not Latin and proudly not Latin, right? Yeah.

And, of course, a Roman presence, because the Romans were extremely interested in the Bay of Naples. And by the end of the 3rd century onwards, there are massive and military presence there. Both Pompeii and Herculaneum are in this sort of twilight zone between what are we? Are we local? Are we Greek? Are we Roman? We're a mixture of these things. So the very name of Herculaneum says Greek.

And, of course, a Roman presence, because the Romans were extremely interested in the Bay of Naples. And by the end of the 3rd century onwards, there are massive and military presence there. Both Pompeii and Herculaneum are in this sort of twilight zone between what are we? Are we local? Are we Greek? Are we Roman? We're a mixture of these things. So the very name of Herculaneum says Greek.

And, of course, a Roman presence, because the Romans were extremely interested in the Bay of Naples. And by the end of the 3rd century onwards, there are massive and military presence there. Both Pompeii and Herculaneum are in this sort of twilight zone between what are we? Are we local? Are we Greek? Are we Roman? We're a mixture of these things. So the very name of Herculaneum says Greek.

And the myth is it was founded by Hercules, the great hero, in his wanderings around the western Mediterranean. And I sometimes wish we could call it the city of Hercules because everyone knows Hercules and nobody can pronounce Herculaneum because there are too many syllables in it. And if only we called it the city of Hercules, which is what it means.

And the myth is it was founded by Hercules, the great hero, in his wanderings around the western Mediterranean. And I sometimes wish we could call it the city of Hercules because everyone knows Hercules and nobody can pronounce Herculaneum because there are too many syllables in it. And if only we called it the city of Hercules, which is what it means.

And the myth is it was founded by Hercules, the great hero, in his wanderings around the western Mediterranean. And I sometimes wish we could call it the city of Hercules because everyone knows Hercules and nobody can pronounce Herculaneum because there are too many syllables in it. And if only we called it the city of Hercules, which is what it means.

And so the ancient geographer Strabo says it was founded by Hercules, okay? That was the local myth. Really interestingly, we've looked desperately for any evidence, not of Hercules, of course. You don't expect mythology to show up in the archaeological record, but you might expect evidence of a presence back there in the Iron Age, in the 7th century, 6th century. Not a dicky bird.

And so the ancient geographer Strabo says it was founded by Hercules, okay? That was the local myth. Really interestingly, we've looked desperately for any evidence, not of Hercules, of course. You don't expect mythology to show up in the archaeological record, but you might expect evidence of a presence back there in the Iron Age, in the 7th century, 6th century. Not a dicky bird.

And so the ancient geographer Strabo says it was founded by Hercules, okay? That was the local myth. Really interestingly, we've looked desperately for any evidence, not of Hercules, of course. You don't expect mythology to show up in the archaeological record, but you might expect evidence of a presence back there in the Iron Age, in the 7th century, 6th century. Not a dicky bird.

It's a mystery. One day someone may be able to find something, but we can't go earlier than the third century. I don't think that means it was first founded in the third century. I don't find that credible. They were so convinced and they had the story. It was founded by Hercules. It was originally an Oskan city. And then the Romans arrived.

It's a mystery. One day someone may be able to find something, but we can't go earlier than the third century. I don't think that means it was first founded in the third century. I don't find that credible. They were so convinced and they had the story. It was founded by Hercules. It was originally an Oskan city. And then the Romans arrived.

It's a mystery. One day someone may be able to find something, but we can't go earlier than the third century. I don't think that means it was first founded in the third century. I don't find that credible. They were so convinced and they had the story. It was founded by Hercules. It was originally an Oskan city. And then the Romans arrived.

The Romans arrive in that traumatic period, which we call the social wars, which is when the allies of Rome, the Sox speaking ones, they rebel against Rome. Why? Because they have been fighting all the battles alongside the Romans. The Romans have been helping themselves, all the prophets of conquest, and saying to the Oscars, you can have Tup and Satanic. And the Oscars are really frustrated.

The Romans arrive in that traumatic period, which we call the social wars, which is when the allies of Rome, the Sox speaking ones, they rebel against Rome. Why? Because they have been fighting all the battles alongside the Romans. The Romans have been helping themselves, all the prophets of conquest, and saying to the Oscars, you can have Tup and Satanic. And the Oscars are really frustrated.

The Romans arrive in that traumatic period, which we call the social wars, which is when the allies of Rome, the Sox speaking ones, they rebel against Rome. Why? Because they have been fighting all the battles alongside the Romans. The Romans have been helping themselves, all the prophets of conquest, and saying to the Oscars, you can have Tup and Satanic. And the Oscars are really frustrated.

And they say, we want equal rights. Equal rights, citizenship. Come on, we're the same as you. The Romans say, no. And they say, right, we're going to fight for it. And the Romans defeat them, but they cave in. They get their citizenship. And that is the way that Rome then forward can expand. And it sets the model for expansion right across the empire. So Herculaneum was a rebel city.

And they say, we want equal rights. Equal rights, citizenship. Come on, we're the same as you. The Romans say, no. And they say, right, we're going to fight for it. And the Romans defeat them, but they cave in. They get their citizenship. And that is the way that Rome then forward can expand. And it sets the model for expansion right across the empire. So Herculaneum was a rebel city.

And they say, we want equal rights. Equal rights, citizenship. Come on, we're the same as you. The Romans say, no. And they say, right, we're going to fight for it. And the Romans defeat them, but they cave in. They get their citizenship. And that is the way that Rome then forward can expand. And it sets the model for expansion right across the empire. So Herculaneum was a rebel city.