The Partial Historians

It can be quite insulting to be told to ‘talk to the hand' and, for the Romans, it would seem that being told to ‘talk to the tree' is just as problematic. In this episode, we explore the tail end of 459 BCE and enter 458 BCE. It's fair to say that some mud is being flung between Rome and her neighbours… Episode 101 – Talk to the Tree The Trouble with Murder… Livy and...

We've reached a huge milestone! One hundred episodes is quite something and we're super chuffed to have made it this far. To celebrate we've put together a very special episode for you on the consulship. Episode 100 – The Consulship While our narrative history of Rome is still very much in the early republic, the consul is a position that many aficionados of ancient Rome are familiar with. B...

It is c. 459 BCE and Rome faces the consequences of the Capitol having been seized and a consul killed in the previous year. The challenges come on two fronts: Tusculum and Antium. Episode 99 – Tusculum and Antium Consuls Quintus Fabius M. f. K. n. Vibulanus cos. III Lucius Cornelius Ser. f. P. n. Maluginensus Uritnus Trouble at the Margins The Latins and Hernicians (Rome's allies) come to R...

Dr Amy Place from the University of Leicester sits down with Dr Rad to discuss the humble Roman toga, fashion and social identity, and everyday life in late imperial Roman North Africa! On a recent tour to Australia, Place presented a paper for the SPQR Roman History Forum at Macquarie University on the representation of fashions in Late Roman North Africa. The Partial Historians we lucky enough t...

It's c. 460 BCE and this hectic year in Roman history continues! In this episode we consider Rome in the wake of the sneak attack on the Capitol by Herdonius' disaffected Sabines. During the challenges of wrestling control back, the Romans lose one of their own. The consul Publius Valerius Pubicola falls in battle. This is a tragic loss and opens the way for Lucius Cincinnatus to return to the nar...

In this special episode, we're joined by Liz Smith, who has recently completed her doctoral research of the representation of women's dress in statuary at Macquarie University. Together we'll trace the threads of evidence for women's attire in the Roman world. The Thread of Women's Representation with Liz Smith Liz's research includes the fashion of women's dress in ancient representations in orde...

We return to our narrative of Rome's history of its foundation with some surprising Sabines. It's still 460 BCE , which is an indication of just how complicated Rome's history is becoming when we read our sources. Both Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus are very focused on the ongoing conflict between the Roman elites and the emerging claims to power from the plebeians. We wouldn't would to give...

Warning! This post and episode contain huge spoilers. Dr G and Dr Rad always enjoy a trip to the movies, as you tell from our past forays in classics like Spartacus , Gladiator , and the contemporary farce Hail, Caesar! We are planning to record more special episodes when we see a historical flick or television series that sparks our interest. This week we saw Tarantino’s latest offering, Once Upo...

Dr Radness travelled to Melbourne recently and met with the fantastic and erudite Dr Rhiannon Evans from La Trobe. Dr Evans is one of the famous voices on the Emperors of Rome podcast. In this special episode, Dr Rad and Dr Evans explore barbarians! *Special Episode* – Barbarians with Dr Rhiannon Evans Tune in to learn more about how the Romans thought about the peoples they came into contac...

The conflict between patricians and plebeians continues apace as we explore the political complexities of 460 BCE. Much like a Jane Austen novel, letters and rumours abound in the fair city of Rome… Episode 96 – Letters and Rumours According to the annalist tradition, debate continues to rage about the proposal for clarity around laws and the idea of equality before the law. This leads...

Episode 95 – Introducing Caeso Quinctius The complex relationship between the patricians and plebeians is central to our appreciation of the 460s BCE. In this episode we'll get to consider the complexities first hand with the entrance of Caeso Quinctius (remember this name, he's going places!). We jump back into the narrative history of c. 461 BCE with our guides of the moment, Livy and Dion...

Episode 94 – Flesh Rains Down Upon Thee We return to Rome's narrative from the founding of City. The year c. 462 BCE ends on a high note with the consuls both gathering honours for their military exploits. L. Lucretius Tricipitinus is awarded a triumph for his successes against the Aequii while T. Veturius Geminus scores an ovatio for his part against the Volscii. As for the title of this ep...

We return to the fray with the most excellent Rob and Jaime to tackle Dr Radness' favourite emperor. How will Tiberius fare against the criteria of Totalus Rankium? We're about to find out! How great is Tiberius? Tune in to find out! How are we judging Tiberius? Oooo better not to ask me, Dr G, author of this post, because I'm too much of an Augustan fan-girl to answer this question. Okay, okay, h...

Rome emerges from the year of pestilence and moves straight on to divide and conquer. While this seems implausible, we're still navigating the tricky gaps in our annalist historians – uncertainty is the name of the historical game at this stage. Welcome to c. 462 BCE! The pestilence ensured the death of both consuls of c. 463 BCE so it's only after a series of interreges that we stumble into...

We are super excited to announce that we sat down recently with Stephen Guerra, the host of the History of the Papacy Podcast to talk all about the classic 1951 sword-and-sandals film Quo Vadis. This is a three way conversation with a variety of perspectives to enjoy. Stephen offers insights into the representation of Christianity. Dr Rad offers an intimate understanding of Rome in Hollywood cinem...

We're very excited to bring you a special episode where we sit down with Cam from The Life of Caesar podcast! We're talking about Tiberius Caesar Divi Augusti filius Augustus or ‘Tibbo' as he's affectionately known. As you know, Tiberius holds a special place in Dr Rad's heart. The Life of the Caesars duo are in the midst of examining his life and career, so it seemed like a great chance to...

We're jumping back into the narrative. The title might be a bit of a giveaway, yes yes, we'll be talking about … pestilence! But before we get there we need to consider the circumstances. Rome has been having lots of problems with their neighbours, particularly the Aequians and we've seen a shift in tactics from Aequians engaging in guerilla style raiding to seeking out the Romans in pitched...

In exciting news, we got together recently with the amazing and very hilarious gentleman of Totalus Rankium , Rob and Jaime, to discuss all things Augustus! We love their work on the Roman emperors and thought it would be great fun to see how all our different perspectives on Augustus shaped up in conversation. The results are in! Enjoy a sparring match of words that goes in all directions. We exp...

We're back and as the title for this episode notes, you're about to tune into the tale of some furious Romans! It is none other than Dr Rad and Dr G tracing the history of Rome from the founding of the city and ooooh boy are we heading back into that sweet Early Roman Republican narrative. The Big Names c. 465 BCE Titus Quintius Capitolinus (cos. III) Quintus Fabius Vibulanus (cos. II) c. 464 BCE...

We're turning 90 and it's time for a special episode on the reception of Spartacus! What better way to do this than to examine the history of Spartacus, the ballet. Dr Rad is our expert on the ground on all things Spartacus and reception. Dr G brings a wild curiosity and a small knowledge of ballet. So how does a famous freedom fighter like Spartacus end up with his own ballet? We consider the maj...

It's a brand new edition of the Partial Historians covering the Early Roman Republic™! And as the title ‘A Fabian Abroad' hints, the Fabians are back in the political scene! The main players Consuls for c. 467 BCE Titus Aemilius Mamercus (cos. II), previously consul in c. 470 BCE Quintus Fabius Vibulanus Consuls for c. 466 BCE Spurius Postumius Albinus Regillensis Quintus Servilius Priscus (...

What kind of drama could follow the career of uber patrician Appius Claudius? As it turns out, those Romans are really all about battle after battle! We've reached a hazy period in our historiography where the narratives of Livy and Dionysius start to diverge on specifics; some events play out over different years depending on the author. The general consensus amongst historians is that these narr...

Appius Who? We are deep in the conflict between between patricians and plebeians. One of the important consequences of the current struggles seems to be an increase in the number of tribunes. Dates for these kinds of things are very hazy indeed and there's good reason to think that our sources, Dionysius and Livy, are both invested in offering a coherent narrative for why things are the way they a...

Our jaunt through the history of ancient Rome continues apace! In this episode we cover c. 472-1 BCE. Dr Radness is reading Livy and Dr G is reading Dionysius of Halicarnassus and the comparisons of our sources is quite something! The main stars are the tribunes Volero and Laertorius. Our Starring Players Lucius Pinarius Mamercinus Rufus and Publius Furius Medullinus Fusus, the consuls of c. 472 B...

When we left you at the end of the last episode, there was some major events afoot. There's nothing like a murder in the city. This is especially the case when the person turning up dead is a Roman magistrate! In this episode we consider what happens to Gnaeus Genucius and Volero Publius. Murder Most Foul: Gnaeus Genucius Gnaeus Genucius, tribune of the plebs for the year c. 473 BCE, is in a stous...