The History of Ancient Greece

In this episode, part 2 of 2 on the Greco-Etruscan-Carthaginian relations during the 6th/5th centuries BC, we discuss the tyrannies that arose and fell in Sicily in the first half of the 5th century BC at Rhegium/Zancle (Messana), Himera, Syracuse, Gela, and Akragas; the First Greco-Punic War and its aftermath/legacy; the decline of Etruscan power in Campania; the changes in the Carthaginian constitution following the war; and finally, the sea explorations of Himilco (northwest Europe) and Hanno the Navigator (western Africa) Show Notes:http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2017/01/029-first-greco-punic-war.html Intro by Guillaume Lamothe of the History of Exploration Podcast Website: https://historyofexploration.net Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/historyofexploration

In this episode, part 1 of 2 on the Greco-Etruscan-Carthaginian relations during the 6th/5th centuries BC, we discuss Carthage's foundation myths and early history as just another Phoenician colony, Tyre's decline and Carthage's rise as the dominant economic superpower in the western Mediterranean, the alliance between the Carthaginians and Etruscans against the western Greeks, and the Battle of Alalia and its aftermath Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2017/01/028-rise-of-carthage.html Intro by Brandon Huebner of the Maritime History Podcast Website: http://maritimehistorypodcast.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maritimehistorypodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/HistoriaMare

In this episode, we discuss the political struggle between Isagoras (who was now backed by the Spartan military) and Kleisthenes who ultimately was victorious, which allowed him to institute his overhaul of the Athenian constitution; the different democratic changes that he instituted in regards to the boule (the council) and ekklesia (the assembly); and the consequences (both good and bad) from this new revolutionary government, including the gerrymandering of Attika into new tribes, the reorganization of the military structure, Athens' first diplomatic folly with the Persians, and the threat of war with Thebes, Korinth, Sparta, Chalcis, and Aigina Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/12/027-democracy-of-cleisthenes.html

In this episode, we discuss the ascension of Peisistratos as the first tyrant of Athens and the political maneuverings that he and his two sons, Hippias and Hipparchos, took in maintaining (and sometimes regaining) their position, which included armed warfare, trickery, political marriages, and the expulsion of many of their political enemies (who would go and found several colonies in Athens' name); the economic reforms that Peisistratos and his two sons undertook; their patronage of the arts and public works in the Agora and the Akropolis, as well as at other religious sanctuaries in Attika; their encouragement of religious festivals, especially the Greater Panathenaia and the Dionysia; and the ultimate dissolution of the tyranny brought about by the assassination of Hipparchos, the subsequent cruelty and expulsion of Hippias, and the ascendency of Kleisthenes (with the help of the Spartans) Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/12/026-tyranny-of-peisistratids.html Intro by Doug Metzger of the Literature and History Podcast Website: http://literatureandhistory.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/literatureandhistory Twitter: https://twitter.com/lahpodcast

In this episode, we discuss the life and deeds of the great Athenian statesman, Solon, who, from his position of sole archonship, enacted various economic, political, and legal reforms that would later form the backbone for Athenian democracy in the Classical Period, but in doing so he took a moderate stance to appease everyone, which didn't quiet the ongoing social and economic problems of the state and shortly thereafter factionalism set in, leading to the next phase of Athenian political history (in which aristocratic infighting led to instability for decades and ultimately to tyranny) Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/12/025-reforms-of-solon.html

In this episode, we discuss the early history of Athens beginning with its mythical past, and how and why the later Athenians promoted and propagandized these myths, with a particular focus on their first king Kekrops, the contest between Athena and Poseidon for the city's patronage, the birth of Erichthonios (the "love" child of Hephaistos-Athena-Gaia) who would go onto become king, the life of Theseus, and the death of the final king Kodras fighting the Herakleidai; in historical times, the abolishment of the monarchy in the Dark Ages that gave rise to the oligarchic government (first by the Medontidai and then the Eupatridai); the social organizations of the Athenians; and finally the social and economic crises at the end of the 7th century BC that brought about an unsuccessful tyranny attempt by an Olympic athlete named Kylon and Athens' first written constitution, orchestrated by a shadowy figure named Drakon Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/12/024-early-athens.html

In this episode, we discuss the inner-workings of Sparta's unique political, economic, and social system; included are the diarchy (dual hereditary kingship), the gerousia (council of elders), the apella (assembly), and the ephors (judicial overseers); the so-called Lykourgan land reform and the devolution of Sparta's economy; the roles of the helots (slaves), the perioikoi (non-citizens), and Spartan women; the various steps of the agoge (Sparta's education and military training system) which created spartiatai (full-citizen males); and why this unique system ultimately failed Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/09/023-this-is-sparta.html

In this episode, we discuss the early history of the polis of Lakedaimon (Sparta), including their expansion in the southern Peloponnesos with the 1st and 2nd Messenian Wars (that brought about the formation of the helot system of slavery); Spartan society's social-class tensions and civil strife that led to reform, supposedly by the semi-mythical lawgiver Lykourgos in the 8th century BC, but more likely a gradual process during the 7th and 6th centuries BC; its military growing pains as Sparta suffered a series of losses to their neighbors, Argos (in the Argolid) and Tegea (in southern Arcadia), before eventually defeating them; the life of Chilon, one of the Seven Sages, and his role in making amendments to the Spartan constitution and in guiding foreign policy; and Sparta's ultimate rise to hegemony over their Peloponnesian and Isthmian neighbors, resulting in what modern scholars call the "Peloponnesian League" Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/08/022-sparta-ascendant.html

In this episode, we discuss the culturally unifying importance of the four major Panhellenic festivals in the Greek world (Olympic, Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemean); the history and evolution of the athletic program of the Ancient Olympic games; how the various athletic events that the Greeks participated in were performed; and some famous athletes and their larger-than-life qualities Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/08/021-athletics-and-panhellenic-games.html

In this episode, we describe the new schools of thought that began to percolate in the 6th century BC about our existence and role in this universe absent from the gods, and we detail the lives, influences, and various theories put forth by the earliest of these so-called "Pre-Socratic" philosophers; included among them are Thales, Anaximandros, Anaximenes, Pherekydes, Pythagoras, Xenophanes, and Heraklitos Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/08/020-intellectual-revolution.html

In this episode, we discuss part 2 of 2 on the influential poets whose writings give us insight into the economic, social, and political happenings that reshaped Archaic Greece; in particular, we look at the turbulent history of late 7th and early 6th century BC Mytilene, which finds itself at the intersection of two great poets (Alkaios and Sappho), tyranny, and one of the so-called "Seven Sages" (Pittakos), making it a perfect case study; and the phenomenon of the lawgiver that arose in many city-states in response to all of these economic, social, and political changes Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/08/019-poets-and-wise-rulers.html

In this episode, we discuss the literary changes that took place in the 7th and 6th centuries BC (moving away from grand epic to the more personalized lyric, elegiac, and iambic forms of poetry); and part 1 of 2 on the influential poets whose writings gives us insight into the economic, social, and political happenings that reshaped archaic Greece Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/08/018-from-lyric-to-epic.html

In this episode, we discuss the innovation taking place during the 7th and 6th centuries BC in the realm of vase painting (Orientalizing, Korinthian, and Attic black-figure and red-figure), statuary (kouros/kore and reliefs), and architecture (Doric/Ionic temples, treasuries, and stoas) by looking at some notable works of Archaic art and architecture Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/08/017-archaic-art-and-architecture.html

In this episode, we discuss the new political phenomena arising in various parts of the Greek world in the 7th and 6th centuries BC, called tyranny, by focusing on four poleis in the Peloponnesos in particular as case studies for its cause: Pheidon of Argos (the military cause), Kypselos and Periandros of Korinth (the economic cause), Kleisthenes of Sikyon (the ethnic cause), and Theogenes of Megara (the unsuccessful attempt) Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/07/016-age-of-tyranny.html

In this episode, we discuss the Greek emigration northeastward into the Chalkidiki, Thrace, Hellespont, Bosporus, Black Sea, and southwards into northern Africa during the 7th and 6th centuries BC; the reigns of the Lydian and Egyptian kings of the 26th Saite Dynasty and their relations with the Greeks until around 550 BC; and the development of coinage (first in Lydia and then its widespread adoption and adaptation by the Greeks in the 6th century BC) Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/07/015-colonization-and-east.html Intro by Dominic Perry of the History of Egypt Podcast Website: https://egyptianhistorypodcast.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EgyptianPodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/EgyptianPodcast

In this episode, we discuss the various causes of Greek colonization (population growth, shortage of land, trade opportunities, civil strife, and new adventures); the Greek emigration westward into southern Italy and Sicily, the coasts of southern France and eastern Spain, and on the islands of Corsica and Sardinia during the 8th, 7th, and 6th centuries BC; the development of the trireme by the Phoenicians/Corinthians in order to protect their maritime trade networks from roving bands of pirates looking for ships laden with exotic goods; and the growing tensions in the central and western Mediterranean Sea between the western Greeks and the Etruscans and Phoenicians (specifically the Carthaginians) until around 550 BC Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/07/014-colonization-and-west.html

In this episode, we discuss the revolutionary changes in warfare that took place in the 8th and 7th centuries BC that were strictly Greek and reflect the abstract nature of the polis; the type of armor worn and weaponry employed by a typical hoplite; the organization and training of military forces; their application of tactics in a typical battle sequence; the cultic practices of the bloodlust god, Ares, who personifies the grim and horrific aspects of warfare; and the Lelantine War, the first large-scale war on the Greek record after the mythical Trojan War and the first instance in which these military changes were employed Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/07/013-hoplite-warfare.html

In this episode, we discuss the transitional governments in the early stages of the centrally unified polis (oligarchia and aristokratia), as the waning power of the basileis becomes supplanted by a small landowning group of nobles; the economic and social divisions between the nobles and commoners brought on by a spike in population in Greece; and the second great author of ancient Greece, a man named Hesiod, who speaks to us about life and society in the emerging polis from the point of view of the ordinary citizen, in his Works and Days Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/06/012-oligarchs-and-hesiod.html

In this episode, we discuss the community (demos) and household (oikos) in the late Dark Age; their socio-political and geographical unification (through a process called synoikismos), which lead to the city-state (polis) and brought about the transition from the Dark Age into the Archaic Period; and later Greek philosophical thought on the polis and polis identity and what it meant to live in a polis beyond just its physical space Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/06/011-from-oikos-to-polis.html

In this episode, we discuss early Greek religion as it was formalized in the writings of Homer and Hesiod; the various rituals that were performed when the Greeks worshipped their deities; the evidence for the earliest sanctuaries and hero cults in the 8th century BC that developed hand-in-hand with the city-state and their increasing wealth (as seen through votive offerings); the early developments of the idea of Panhellenism (a sense of a common Greek identity); and the foundation myths, archaeological evidence, and importance for the four predominant Panhellenic sanctuaries that gained massive popularity in the 8th and 7th centuries BC (Zeus and Hera at Olympia, Apollo and Artemis at Delos, Apollo at Delphi, and Zeus and Dione at Dodona—with the latter two having popular oracular shrines) Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/06/010-panhellenism.html

In this episode, we discuss the archaeological evidence for the late "Dark Age" during the 9th and early 8th centuries BC, especially the Heroon at Lefkandi and the Keremeikos at Athens; Greece's cultural reawakening and reconnection with the Near East thanks to their contact with the Phoenicians; the development of the Greek alphabet and its impact on Greek cultural development; the establishment of three trading posts/colonies at El-Mina (in the Levant) and Pithekoussai and Kyme (central Italy); and the evolution of "Geometric" vase painting, especially on kraters and amphoras and their role in the funerary process Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/05/009-greek-resurgence.html

In this episode, we discuss the archaeological evidence for the early "Dark Age" during the 11th and 10th centuries BC, particularly at the site of Nichoria in Messenia and the pottery of the Sub-Mykenaian and Protogeometic periods; the emigration of mainland Greeks to the Aegean islands and the western coast of Anatolia; and the first great author of ancient Greece, the mysterious Homer, who gives us insight into early Dark Age society and culture through his two great epic poems—the Iliad and the Odyssey Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/05/008-dark-age-and-homer.html

In this episode, we briefly discuss the Trojan War myth; the historical evidence for Mykenaian conflict in the eastern Mediterranean and Anatolia (by looking at the Egyptian and Hittite records); the archaeological evidence for layer VI and VII on the citadel of Hisarlik, i.e. ancient Troy (Wilion/Ilion); the Bronze Age collapse in both Greece and the Near East and its possible causes/explanations; the mysterious group of people known as the "Sea Peoples"; and the so-called "Dorian Invasion" of Greece Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/04/007-late-bronze-age-collapse.html

In this episode, we discuss the archaeological evidence of the Mycenaean Greeks of the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1650-1250 BC), particularly from the major palace centers at Mycenae, Tiryns, and Pylos; what the Linear B tablets can tell us about their society, economy, and religion; and their extensive trade network throughout the Mediterranean Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/04/006-mycenaean-greece.html

In this episode, we discuss the myths and archaeological evidence for the Minoans on Crete, who were an early source of cultural inspiration for the Mycenaean Greeks; the palace complex (labyrinth) at Knossos; the volcanic eruption that blew apart the island of Thera (Santorini) in the mid-17th century BC, which was a catalyst for the decline of the Minoan civilization (and perhaps was the inspiration for Plato's infamous Atlantis); the ultimate subordination of the Minoans by the Mycenaean Greeks in the 15th and 14th centuries BC; and the decipherment of Linear B (an early form of Greek) by Michael Ventris in the mid-20th century AD Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/04/005-minoan-crete.html

In this episode, we discuss the archaeological evidence for the early Bronze Age on mainland Greece and the Cycladic Islands; the arrival of the Indo-Europeans in Greece (known as the proto-Greeks); and the rediscovery and excavation of three legendary Bronze Age cities (Troy, Knossos, and Mycenae) in the latter part of the 19th century AD by the infamous Heinrich Schliemann and Sir Arthur Evans that brought to light the Bronze Age peoples who would become known as the "Minoans" and "Mycenaeans" Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/04/004-early-bronze-age-greece.html

In this episode, we leave the realm of myth and trace the development of early primate/human activity in Greece in the Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Age), culminating in the domestication of plants and animals, the rise of the earliest villages, and the development of metallurgy in the Neolithic Period (New Stone Age) Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/04/003-stone-age-greece.html

In this episode, we take a look at Creation, according to the Greeks; the Titanomachia, the Gigantomachia, and the ascendancy of the Olympian Gods; the creation of the first humans; the story of Prometheus and the first woman, Pandora; Deucalion and the great flood; and the progenitors of the various Greek tribes Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/04/002-greek-genesis.html

The first part of this episode is a brief introduction to the podcast (who I am, what my motivation is for doing this, and what I hope to achieve), and in the second part, we describe the geography of Greece (Hellas) and its natural resources Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/04/001-let-there-be-greece.html