The Ancients

Young Caesar vs Marc Antony

20 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What happened after the Ides of March? How did the Romans go from co-ordinated assassinations to the Pax Romana? From Tyranny to prosperity? In this t...

Saint Patrick

17 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Man, myth or legend... who was the real Saint Patrick? Did he really banish all the snakes from Ireland? Where does the shamrock tradition come from? ...

The Rise and Fall of Brutus

13 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Marcus Junius Brutus is best known as one of the conspirators against Julius Caesar, but there's so much more to his complex story. In today's episode...

Helen of Troy

10 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Helen of Troy, the face that launched a thousand ships - but is there more to her than a beautiful face? To mark Women's History Month, Tristan is joi...

The Assassination of Julius Caesar: Explained

06 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

March 15th 44BC is perhaps the most notorious date in all of ancient history. On that fateful day, the Ides of March, 55-year-old Roman dictator Gaius...

The Origins of Ukraine

03 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's not often we cover current affairs on The Ancients (the clue is in the name), but in light of Putin’s claims that Ukraine was “entirely creat...

Sappho: The Poet from Lesbos

27 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Famous throughout antiquity, yet retold only in fragments today - who is Sappho? Her poetry inspired generations, from Catullus to Byron, so how ...

The Terracotta Army

24 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Discovered by local farmers in 1974, the Terracotta Army is one of the most astounding archaeological finds on record. A piece of funerary art, dedica...

Eureka! Innovation in Ancient Greece

20 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's often thought that the ancient Greeks were devout in tradition, strict in their ways and beliefs. But how true is this? When it comes to creative...

The First Australians

17 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Indigenous Australians have lived on the vast continent of Australia for thousands of years - but how have they survived isolation, extreme conditions...

The Truth About Saint Valentine

13 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

St. Valentine of Rome, patron saint of beekeepers and epilepsy, among many other things. But who exactly is the real St Valentine, and how has the sto...

The Largest Roman Palace North of the Alps

10 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Fishbourne Roman Palace in West Sussex was first constructed just three decades after the empire’s legions conquered Britain in the first century AD...

The Origins of London

06 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

London is today one of the greatest cities in the world, and the story of its origins is fittingly spectacular. Founded by the Romans as Londinium in ...

The Phoenician World

03 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine you are a traveller sailing to the major cities around the Mediterranean in 750 BC. You would notice a remarkable similarity in the dress, alp...

Alexander's Successors at War: The Spartan Adventurer

30 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It’s here! Today is the publication date of Tristan’s first book, Alexander’s Successors at War: The Perdiccas Years. Focussing in on 323 –...

The Scholars of Assyria

27 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tens of thousands of clay tablets containing texts written in the ancient Cuneiform script of the Assyrian Empire have been discovered, giving us inva...

Alexander the Great & The Persian Thermopylae (Part Two)

23 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this second part of Tristan’s explainer, he takes us right into the heart of the battle dubbed the Persian Thermopylae. Listen as Alexander begin...

Alexander the Great & The Persian Thermopylae (Part One)

20 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In January 330 BC, Alexander the Great faced one of his most difficult challenges to date. A small Persian force, entrenched in a formidable defensive...

The Birth of the Roman Empire

16 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

16 January 27 BC is a date sometimes associated with the beginning of the Roman Empire. It was on that day that Octavian received the name Augustus, e...

The Seleucid Empire: In the Shadow of Rome

13 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

At its height, the Seleucid Empire stretched from Thrace (modern day Bulgaria) to the Indus River Valley. Emerging from the tumultuous ‘Successor Wa...

Spinning in the Roman World

09 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Spinning held an important place in ancient society, and no, we're not talking about ancient exercise classes. A task for women and slaves, it was use...

Cannibalism

06 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a macabre topic to discuss, but also one that has fascinated people for generations. So what has archaeology revealed about cannibalism among p...

Alexander The Great vs Julius Caesar

02 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

They’ve both been described as the greatest military commander in the ancient world, but who really takes the title (if either of them)? Alexander, ...

How Julius Caesar Changed Time

30 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We’re finishing off 2021 with what is perhaps Julius Caesar’s greatest legacy. It’s not a military victory or battle, but one of the many politi...

Race & Identity in the Ancient Greek Novel

26 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For the first 4 centuries AD/CE, the ancient Greek novel was the most popular literary form in the Roman Empire and at the heart of these popular text...

Hannibal's Winter War

23 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It’s fair to say that winter battles weren’t commonplace in the ancient Mediterranean world. There is, however, one striking exception. A clash th...

King Herod

19 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Thanks largely to his feature in the Gospel of Matthew, King Herod ‘the Great’ of Judaea is one of the most infamous figures from the whole of his...

How to Party Like a Roman

16 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Contrary to popular belief, parties in Ancient Rome were not all depraved wine-fuelled orgies. In fact, Roman get-togethers were relatively tame by th...

Songlines: Australia's Book of Genesis

12 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What the Book of Genesis is to the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, songlines are to Indigenous Australians. Epic tales of desire, pursui...

Homosexuality & Ancient Greece

09 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Frederick the Great, Marie Antoinette and Oscar Wilde. Each of them have talked about, or been talked about in terms of, Ancient Greek ideas of homose...

The Bronze Age Burials at Stonehenge

05 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today we’re talking all about science, Stonehenge and what we know about a massive migration into Britain at the start of the Bronze Age some 4,500 ...

The Origins of Life on Earth

02 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today we’re going back to the beginning – no Romans, Celts, Egyptians or Macedonians in sight. We’re going much further back, covering billions ...

Vindolanda's 2021 Excavation

28 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Situated roughly one mile south of Hadrian’s Wall is one of the great jewels of Roman and early medieval archaeology: Vindolanda. Over the past 50 y...

Menka: Village of the Breadfruit Goddess

25 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It is one of the most remote ancient sites in the world. Situated on the isolated Micronesian island of Kosrae are the ruins of an ancient religious c...

Caracalla's Macedonian Phalanx

21 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alexander the Great and Caracalla. One often considered among the most successful military commanders of all time, the other, one of the worst emperor...

The Legacy of the Minoans

18 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Minoan Crete has kept people captivated for millennia, appearing in countless modern cultural practices till this very day. But who are the Minoans? I...

The Rise of the Praetorian Guard

14 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

From Gladiator to Rome Total War to I, Claudius, today the Cohortēs praetōriae are one of the most distinctive military units of Imperial Rome. It w...

Ancient Globalisation? Life and Death at Ai Khanum

11 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For decades the discovery of Ai Khanum, ‘the City of Lady Moon’, in Eastern Afghanistan has fascinated archaeologists and historians alike: from i...

The First Astronomers

07 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For thousands of years indigenous Australians, the longest living culture on Earth, have been fascinated by the stars. In this episode, Gamilaraay man...

Glasgow's Roman Remains & Hadrian's Wall

04 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

To align with the COP26 conference in Glasgow, this episode features legendary Roman Britain archaeologist Dr David Breeze talking about his many year...

The Truth About the Roman Orgy (And More!)

31 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Was Ancient Rome truly as sexually liberated as we think? How did the Greeks feel about nude statues? And how did these ideas vary across the Ancient ...

The End of the Severan Dynasty

28 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Following two assassinations and two executions, the title of Roman Emperor fell to Alexander Severus. He was one of the youngest to ever hold this ti...

Mavia: Arabia's Warrior Queen

24 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

To fight against the Roman empire and then make an alliance with them took a certain courage and tenacity. In this episode we are introduced to Mavia,...

Ancient Kazakhstan: Gold of the Great Steppe

21 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Gold and horses! 2,500 years ago, in the area of the Great Steppe that is now Eastern Kazakhstan, an extraordinary ancient Scythian culture reigned su...

Caracalla: The Common Enemy of Mankind?

17 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Often up there in the upper echelons of most articles listing Rome's worst emperors, it's fair to say that history has not been kind to Caracalla...

Ai Khanum: A Greek City in Afghanistan?

14 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A theatre, a gymnasium and houses with colonnaded courtyards: these are the hallmarks of an Ancient Greek city. So what are they doing in the cit...

Alexander the Great's Greatest Victory

10 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In October 331 BC, one of the most important battles of world history occurred on the plain of Gaugamela. Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Al...

Nefertiti

07 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Very few figures in history are recognizable from their silhouettes, but included in this small group is Nefertiti, one of the most famous queens of A...

The Lost Tomb of Alexander the Great

03 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In his lifetime King Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander the Great, forged one of the largest empires in ancient history. But it was w...

The Oldest Human Footprints in North America

30 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week our understanding of when humans first inhabited the North American continent has been turned on its head … by a set of c.22,000 year old ...

Roman Weapons

26 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Legendary leaders and notorious battles, we imagine the sound of clinking armour. But what did the Romans take with them into battle? In the second of...

Werewolves and Strix-Witches

23 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It’s werewolf time on the Ancients! In this episode Exeter University’s Professor Daniel Ogden highlights how these mythical creatures have their ...

Fortress Cilicia: Megastructures in the Near East

21 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the aftermath of Alexander the Great’s death, his empire became the subject of a series of titanic clashes: the Wars of the Successors. In this e...

Clodius: Best Villain of the Roman Republic?

19 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and author Dr. Emma Southon returns to the Ancients to shine a light on the life - and murder - of Publius Claudius Pulcher (aka Clodius), a...

Maya Warfare and Sacrifice

16 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With a history stretching back thousands of years, it’s about time that the Ancients started looking at the extraordinary Maya civilisation in Centr...

The Origins of Civilisation

12 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The world is constantly changing, and so has the perception of civilisation, but what exactly are the origins of this concept? Helping us answer ...

Sex in Ancient Rome

09 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve covered bloody battles, we’ve covered stunning cities, we’ve covered civilisations far away from the ancient Mediterranean. But in some 12...

Romans vs Caledonians: The Battle of Mons Graupius

05 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In 83/84 AD a battle was fought somewhere in Scotland between the Roman forces of Gnaeus Julius Agricola and the 'Caledonians' – the great climax to...

Roman Camps in Britain

02 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When one mentions Roman military installations you would be forgiven for instantly thinking of their forts, the remains of which we can see today dott...

Nan Madol: Venice of the Pacific

29 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Nan Madol. It is one of the most awesome, enigmatic and unique ancient sites in the World, and yet most people have never heard the name. Labelled the...

The Lost Tomb of Cleopatra

26 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Among the rulers of Ancient Egypt, Cleopatra VII has long held a place in legend, her story having been told in folklore, by Shakespeare and in Hollyw...

The Rise of Marseilles: France's Oldest City

24 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today it is the second largest city in France. But Marseilles is also the country’s oldest city. Founded at the turn of the 7th century BC by G...

The Rise of Hannibal

22 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

He was one of the greatest enemies the Romans ever faced. An excellent general and a larger-than-life figure, he led an army across the alps and dealt...

Colchester: From Bronze Age to Boudica

19 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It is the one possible case of urbanisation in Britain prior to the arrival of the Romans, and that is just the start of the story of Colchester. In t...

Tacfarinas: The Desert Hydra

17 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

He was one of the greatest rebels of Rome from the 1st century AD, but his name is not one you might initially think of. Derided by Roman historians a...

Palaces in Paradise: Centres of the Persian World

15 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Persepolis is arguably the most famous ancient site associated with the Achaemenid Persian Empire, but it certainly wasn’t the only administrative c...

Pompeii’s Indian Statuette

12 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Among Pompeii’s great wealth of surviving artefacts is one with a rich globe trotting history that only goes to emphasise the interconnected nature ...

10 Key Roman Emperors

10 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Love them or loathe them, the Roman emperors were some of the most influential figures in history. In this episode Barry Strauss, Professor of Hi...

Sisters at War: The Rise and Fall of Elagabalus

08 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 controv...

The Lost Baths of Cleopatra

05 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 Gladiatrix

03 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Alexander the Great’s Corpse & the Greatest Heist in History

01 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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....

The Sacred Band of Thebes

29 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

The Begram Hoard: Treasures of the Silk Road

27 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the mid-20th century French archaeologists came across a remarkable collection of ancient items from Eastern China, the Indian subcontinent and the...

Decoding the Roman Dead

25 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 Colch...

Life in Sparta

22 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

The Oldest Known Shark Attack

20 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 bite...

The Romans in Brittany

17 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 th...

Scythed Chariots

15 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Carthage vs Greeks? The First Sicilian War

13 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

480 BC is a year widely-celebrated in Greek history. When Leonidas' Spartan core and their Hellenic allies fought a powerful Persian army at Thermopyl...

Julius Caesar’s Invasions of Britain

11 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Begram: Crossroads of the Ancient World

08 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 Bagra...

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Strait of Messina

06 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Persepolis: Jewel of Persia

04 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 urb...

Divorced, Murdered, Survived: Nero's Wives

30 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 si...

The Truth About Spartan Society

29 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Sparta. Situated in the southern Peloponnese, this ancient Hellenic city-state has become ingrained in popular imagination as the home of unmatched Gr...

Vindolanda: Jewel of Roman Britain

27 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Situated roughly two miles south of Hadrian's Wall in the heart of the Northumberland countryside, Vindolanda is home to some of the most remarkable a...

Artemis of Ephesus: The Great Mother Goddess

23 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

An incredibly popular goddess, characterised in statues of her by a vest of bee hives, or are they breasts … bull scrotums? In this episode Tristan ...

Dirty Love: The Ancient Greek Novel

22 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The novel, and in particular the romance genre, is at the heart of a billion dollar industry, but when did they originate? In this episode, Professor ...

Ancient Brittany with Sir Barry Cunliffe

20 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Stretching out from the north west of France, Brittany has long been as identifiable with the Atlantic Ocean as with its continental neighbours in Eur...

Scotland's Earliest Animal Carvings: An Incredible New Discovery

17 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Prehistoric animal carvings, thought to be up to 5,000 years old, have been discovered in Scotland for the very first time. The images, which include ...

Berenike and the Red Sea Spice Route

13 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Situated on the western coast of the Red Sea in antiquity were a series of thriving seaports, bringing in trade from as far as way as Sir Lanka. Key m...

Nero: Taking to the Stage

10 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In popular culture, Nero is thought of as the Emperor who played the fiddle as Rome burned to the ground. Whilst this might not be strictly factual, i...

Iron Age British and Roman Racing Chariots

06 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How truthful are modern depictions of ancient chariots? In this second episode, Mike Loades explores the reality behind the scythed chariot shown in B...

Polynesian Mythology

03 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

From creation stories to voyager journeys, mythology and oral history are often key to our identities. In this episode Christina Thompson shines a lig...

The Golden Age of Chariots

30 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Taxis to the front line or ancient tanks? Through archaeological remains and ancient depictions, we have some idea of what the ancient military vehicl...

Alexander the Great's First Persian Victory

26 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

If there had been a different outcome to the Battle of Granicus, we might never have heard about Alexander the Great. Taking place in 334 BC, this was...

Ancient Polynesia: Pioneers of the Pacific

22 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Despite sporadic food sources and the dangers of the deep sea, the remote islands of the Pacific Ocean have been home to Polynesians for more than a m...

The Truth About King Arthur

19 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The legend of King Arthur has been reworked many times, but is there any historical truth behind the tales? Dr Miles Russell believes there is and in ...

Olympia: The Golden Age

16 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For hundreds of years in antiquity, the sanctuary at Olympia was one of the most important religious sites in the Greek World, home to stunning art an...