In 404 BC, Athens faced total defeat. Once the dominant power of the Greek world, their navy was shattered, their food supply cut off, and on the horizon an armada of Spartan ships signalled the city’s final reckoning.In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Alastair Blanshard to explore the dramatic downfall of Athens in the final years of the Peloponnesian War. They discuss the decades-long struggle between Athens and Sparta, the key figures who shaped its outcome - like Lysander and Alcibiades - and how Persian support helped turn the tide. From epic battles to political intrigue, discover how this war reshaped the ancient Greek world for generations.Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscriptionYou can take part in our listener survey here.
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404 BC. Panic sweeps through Athens. After decades of dominance, total defeat is nearing for the city and its people. Their navy has been destroyed, their food supply cut off, and now on the horizon, an armada of enemy ships can be seen. The Spartans are coming. It's the Ancients on History Hit. I'm Tristan Hughes, your host, and today we're telling the story of the Fall of Athens.
At the end of the 5th century BC, Athens was the loser of a major decades-long war known as the Peloponnesian War. It's been termed something of an ancient Greek world war. Athens versus Sparta, plus their many allies, and the various theatres of combat that stretched from Sicily to the Black Sea.
Ultimately, it was Sparta who emerged the victor, thanks largely to help from the looming superpower of the time, the Persian Empire. And Athens would lose its empire and its dominant position in the Greek world. It is a huge event that completely reshaped the ancient Greek world, featuring larger-than-life generals on both the Spartan and the Athenian side, figures like Lysander and Alcibiades.
To talk through Athens' downfall and the many twists and turns in this story, I was delighted to interview my old professor Alistair Blanchard from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Now in the past, Alistair and I have covered topics ranging from Heracles to Achilles to the plague of Athens and homosexuality in ancient Greece. This was great fun to do and I hope you enjoy it.
Alistair, what a pleasure. It is great to have you back on the podcast. Thank you very much. Always great to be here. And this time, first time ever, we're doing it in person. We've brought you to the Ancients HQ, to History Hit HQ, and we are doing it in person. You're not the other side of the world in Australia. Yes, it's so nice to be actually in the same time.
So I'm no longer either waking up or going to bed or... Well, normally I'm waking up about seven or eight o'clock in the morning and it's evening your time, isn't it? But that's what you get for living in Brisbane, which is a lovely part of the world. But we, of course, are going to another topic close to your heart. We've done Heracles in the past. We've done Achilles.
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