The History of Ancient Greece Podcast
A podcast series covering Ancient Greek & Hellenistic political, social, and cultural history from prehistory to the Roman conquest
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Wednesday, September 11, 2024
112 - The Korinthian War
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
111 - The Spartan Hegemony
In this episode, we discuss Spartan imperial policy at home and abroad in the aftermath of the Peloponnesian War at Sparta from 404-396 BC, including their war with Elis, the imperial ambitions of Lysander and the ascension of Agesilaos, Kinadon's foiled socio-political revolution, and Sparta's invasion of Persia to "free" the Eastern Greeks
Wednesday, January 4, 2023
110 - Xenophon and "The Ten Thousand"
In this episode, we discuss the life, influences, drawbacks, and positives of the Athenian military leader, philosopher, and historian--Xenophon (ca. 430-354 BC)--who was one of Sokrates' more famous pupils; and the post-Peloponnesian war Panhellenic campaign into the heart of the Persian Empire that he made famous through his writings (the Anabasis)
Sunday, March 20, 2022
109 - Sokrates
In this episode, we discuss the life and death of Sokrates (ca. 470-399 BC), who is widely considered to be the father of western philosophy, with in-depth overviews of Aristophanes' Clouds and Plato's dialogue Euphyro, Apologia, Krito, and Phaido.
Friday, October 8, 2021
108 - The Thirty Tyrants
In this episode, we discuss the aftermath of the Peloponnesian War at Athens, including the reign of the Thirty Tyrants, the Athenian civil war, and the restoration of the democracy
Sunday, April 11, 2021
107 - Sparta Triumphant
Thursday, October 22, 2020
106 - Frustrations and Poor Decisions (Part II)
Thursday, October 8, 2020
***Special Guest Episode on Classics and White Supremacy w/Curtis Dozier***
In today's special guest episode, I am joined by Dr Curtis Dozier, Assistant Professor of Greek and Roman Studies at Vassar College. He is the producer and host of The Mirror of Antiquity, a podcast featuring classical scholars discussing the intersections of their resharch, the contemporary world, and their own lives. More importantly to our discussion, He is also the director of Pharos: Doing Justice to the Classics, a website devoted to documenting and responding to appropriations of Ancient Greece and Rome by hate groups online. We discuss some of the reasons how, as well as why, various white supremacist groups have taken to coopting Classical imagery to support their twisted world views.
Dr Curtis Dozier
Assistant Professor of Greek and Roman Studies at Vassar College
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtisDozier and https://twitter.com/pharosclassics
Related Articles:
"Doing Justice to the Classics: Introducing Pharos"
"Claiming the Classical: The Greco-Roman World in Contemporary Discourse"
Related Podcast Episodes:
"Special Guest Episode on Classics and Misogyny w/Donna Zuckerberg"
"Special Guest Episode on Classics and Race/Ethnicity w/Rebecca Futo Kennedy"
"Special Guest Episode on Race, Antiquity, and Its Legacy w/Denise McCoskey"
"'Us' & 'Them' in the Ancient & Anglo-Saxon Worlds"
"Race and Racism in Ancient and Medieval Studies, Part 1: The Problem"
"Race and Racism in Ancient and Medieval Studies, Part 2: The Response"
Sunday, September 20, 2020
**Special Guest Episode on Race, Antiquity, and Its Legacy w/Denise McCoskey**
"What Would James Baldwin Do? Classics and the Dream of White Europe"
"'Us' & 'Them' in the Ancient & Anglo-Saxon Worlds"
"Race and Racism in Ancient and Medieval Studies, Part 1: The Problem"
"Race and Racism in Ancient and Medieval Studies, Part 2: The Response"
Sunday, August 23, 2020
105 - Carthage Enters the War
In this episode, we discuss the Second Greco-Punic War (410-404 BC), as hostilities between Segesta and Selinus draw both Carthage to Sicily and the Syracusan fleet back from the eastern Aegean and the Hellespont, including Hannibal Mago's first invasion of Sicily and the destruction of Selinus and Himera, the rebellion of the previously exiled Hermocrates, the rise of Dionysius as tyrant of Syracuse, Hannibal Mago's second invasion of Sicily and the destruction of Akragas and Gela, and finally, the war’s ceasefire which would see Carthage and Syracuse (under Dionysius) as the dual hegemons of Sicily
Sunday, August 2, 2020
104 - The Democratic Empire Strikes Back
In this episode, we discuss the years 411-410 BC of the Peloponnesian War, including the shifting of the naval war to the Hellespont, the vigor that the Athenian democracy at Samos showed in carrying on the war effort against Sparta and Pharnabazos with victories at Cynossema and Cyzicus, the re-establishment of the radical democracy at Athens, and the transition from the historical account of Thucydides into that of Xenophon's Hellenica
Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War (Book 8)
Xenophon's Hellenica (Book 1)
Sunday, July 12, 2020
**Special Guest Episode on Greek Naval Warfare w/Marc DeSantis**
Sunday, June 21, 2020
103 - An Oligarchic Coup
Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War (Book 8)
Plutarch's Life of Alcibiades
Diodorus Siculus' The Library of History (Book 13)
Thursday, May 28, 2020
102 - Livin' on a (Persian) Prayer
In this episode, we discuss the years 413-412 BC of the Peloponnesian War, including the Athenian response at home to the Sicilian Disaster, the Spartan and Theban devastation of Attic agriculture and commerce from Decelea, the dissolution of the "friendship" between Athens and Persia, the Spartans' building up of a navy and encouraging of revolts of Athenian subject-allies, the shifting of the war to the eastern Aegean, and a series of treaties are made between Sparta and the Persian satrap Tissaphernes
Primary Sources:
Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War (Book 8)
Plutarch's Life of Alcibiades
Diodorus Siculus' The Library of History (Book 13)
Sunday, May 17, 2020
**Special Guest Episode on 'Ovid and the Art of Love' w/Esme von Hoffman**
In today's special guest episode, I am joined by director and screenwriter Esme von Hoffman (Festival of Cinema NYC 2019 Winner for Best Director) for her film, Ovid and the Art of Love. Esme and I discuss her background with Classics and Roman history, what drew her to make a film about the life of Ovid, her artistic vision in adapting the film to a modern audience, and some of the decisions that she made in writing its script.
Synopsis: "A young man, Ovid (Corbin Bleu), finds his life in danger when he writes a provocative guide to love and tangles with the brutal emperor Augustus (John Savage). Based on the life of the famous Roman poet Ovid, this fun, classic story full of adventure, romance, and intrigue gets a modern twist. Set in a mash-up world of contemporary Detroit complete with togas, sneakers, hip-hop, oration, and poetry slams and filmed amidst the Motor City’s classical ruins, graffiti, and burgeoning art scene, Ovid and the Art of Love is cinematically beautiful, engaging, and uncannily relevant."
Sunday, April 26, 2020
**Special Guest Episode on Greek Land Warfare w/Owen Rees**
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
101 - Disaster in Sicily
In this episode, we discuss the year 413 BC of the Peloponnesian War, including the rise of Archelaus to the Macedonian throne, the Spartan establishment of Decelea, the defeats by the Athenian army and navy at Syracuse, and the retreat and ultimate surrender of the Athenians, which brought the Sicilian Expedition to an end
Primary Sources:
Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War (Book 7)
Plutarch's Life of Nikias
Plutarch's Life of Alcibiades
Diodorus Siculus' The Library of History (Book 13)
Thursday, February 13, 2020
100 - A Sicilian Stalemate
In this episode, we discuss the years 415-414 BC of the Peloponnesian War, including the Athenian attempt at blockading Syracuse, the death of Lamachos, the tactical blunders of Nikias, the arrival of Gylippus, and the "Birds" of Aristophanes
Primary Sources:
Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War (Book 6)
Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War (Book 7)
Aristophanes' The Birds
Plutarch's Life of Nikias
Plutarch's Life of Alcibiades
Diodorus Siculus' The Library of History (Book 13)
Sunday, January 5, 2020
099 - Frustrations and Poor Decisions
Primary Sources:
Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War (Book 5)
Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War (Book 6)
Andocides' On The Mysteries
Plutarch's Life of Nikias
Plutarch's Life of Alcibiades
Diodorus Siculus' The Library of History (Book 12)
Diodorus Siculus' The Library of History (Book 13)
Sunday, December 1, 2019
098 - The Peace Unravels
Primary Sources:
Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War (Book 5)
Plutarch's Life of Nikias
Plutarch's Life of Alcibiades
Diodorus Siculus' The Library of History (Book 12)
Sunday, November 10, 2019
**Special Guest Episode on Mesopotamian Medicine w/Moudhy Al-Rashid**
Post-Doc at Wolfson College, University of Oxford
Sunday, October 6, 2019
**Special Guest Episode on Classical Monsters and Popular Culture w/Liz Gloyn**
Senior Lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London
Website: https://lizgloyn.wordpress.com/
Saturday, September 28, 2019
097 - The Road to Peace
Primary Sources:
Aristophanes' The Wasps
Aristophanes' Peace
Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War (Book 5)
Plutarch's Life of Nikias
Diodorus Siculus' The Library of History (Book 12)
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
096 - Athens on the Offensive
In this episode, we discuss the years 425 and 424 BC of the Peloponnesian War, including the conclusion of the First Sicilian Expedition and the Congress of Gela, the Athenian seizure of Kythera, the battles of Megara and Delium, and the beginning of Brasidas' Thracian campaign
Primary Sources:
Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War (Book 4)
Plutarch's Life of Nikias
Diodorus Siculus' The Library of History (Book 12)
Thursday, August 15, 2019
095 - The Greek World Turned Upside Down
In this episode, we discuss the years 426 and 425 BC of the Peloponnesian War, including the current nature of Athenian politics as dominated by Kleon the anti-aristocratic demagogue, his feud with Aristophanes as seen in the comedic plays "The Acharnians" and "The Knights", the Battles of Pylos and Sphacteria that turned the Greek world upside down, and the brutal conclusion to the Corcyraean civil war
Primary Sources:
Aristophanes' The Acharnians
Aristophanes' The Knights
Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War (Book 4)
Plutarch's Life of Nikias
Diodorus Siculus' The Library of History (Book 12)