Two Friends Talk History

In this episode of Two Friends Talk History , host Zofia is joined by Stefano Carlo Sala, a doctoral researcher at the University of St Andrews, to explore the fascinating world of Dionysius of Halicarnassus—a Greek historian living in Rome at the dawn of the Empire.  Together, they dive into how Dionysius used monuments, myth, and memory to connect early Roman history to a classical Greek past. ...

What did it mean to be bought, sold, and sexually exploited in the ancient world? In this powerful episode of Two Friends Talk History , Zofia is joined by doctoral candidate Florence Felsheim to explore the hidden realities of sexual trafficking in ancient Greece and Rome. Drawing on literary texts, archaeological evidence, and cognitive science, Florence unpacks how systems of enslavement and ex...

In the latest episode of Two Friends Talk History, Zofia and Dr Briana King return to our discussion into Classical Receptions studies. This time, we go into some of the heavier subject matter that we felt deserved its own episode.  Briana joins me to unpack the dark and often overlooked threads of sexual violence in ancient history and its modern reinterpretations through case studies from film a...

In the latest episode of Two Friends Talk History,  Zofia invites the brilliant Florence Felsheim, a PhD candidate in Classics at the University of St Andrews, for a fascinating deep dive into the intersection of virtual reality (VR), art, and cultural heritage. Together, they explore how technology is transforming the ways we visualize and interpret the past—and why that matters for both academic...

In part 2 of our collaboration, Zofia guest-hosts the Visualising War and Peace Podcast to interview project founder, Dr. Alice König. In this conversation, Alice she unveils the groundbreaking Ancient Peace Studies Network —the first of its kind dedicated to examining how peace was understood, experienced, and represented across different ancient cultures. Discover why peace narratives have recei...

To launch series 4 of Two Friends Talk History, I was very fortunate to interview Dr Alice König , host of the Visualising War and Peace Podcast, for this special crossover episode.   Alice has recently co-edited a new book with Nicolas Wiater, on ancient conflict narratives, called Visualising War across the Ancient Mediterranean: Interplay between Conflict Narratives in Different Genres and Medi...

In this episode, I interview  Dr Carlos Machado from the University of St Andrews about the social perceptions and realities of poverty in the Late Antique period. Dr Machado is a Roman historian whose work focuses on aspects of urban space in the Late Antique Roman world, from elite building, honorific monuments, and domestic spaces; he is now working on shedding a light on the strata of society...

In this episode, I conduct an in-person interview with the Assistant Director of the British School at Athens, Dr Giorgos Mouraditis. Giorgos' research focuses on athletic self-representation in inscriptions from the Hellenistic and Imperial periods.   Listeners will be familiar with the British School of Athens from the last episode when I met with its Director, Professor Rebecca Sweetman, t...

In this week's episode,  flips the script and am interviewed by returning guest, Dr Briana King. This episode will be part one of an ongoing look at how the ancient world is used in different media today! I discuss with Dr King the history of “Classics” and what we mean when we discuss classical reception. Our first conversation is meant to lay down the foundational context for understanding...

In this week's episode, Zofia interviews the Director of the British School at Athens (BSA), Professor Rebecca Sweetman. Rebecca has stepped into the role of Director of the BSA for the next few years and has really hit the ground running. We discuss the role and responsibilities of the institute and the exciting outreach she is leading with her fantastic teams in Athens and Knossos. With the...

In this episode of Two Friends Talk History, Zofia interviews Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of St Andrews, and founder of the Visualising War and Peace Project, Dr Alice König. In this interview, Zofia asks Alice about ideas of representing war in antiquity, and if concepts like a ‘peace movement’ was possible in a period of Roman Imperium. We discuss the absences in war narratives...

In this week's episode of Two Friends Talk History, Zofia is joined by Dr Sam Ellis, an expert in the language of tyranny in antiquity and the study of monocratic power in the Greek polis from the Archaic to the Hellenistic period.  We explore how the language used to frame the actions of sole rulers has created a construct of 'tyrant' that remains with us today.  For a suggested re...

This week on Two Friends Talk History, I spoke with Dr Maxime Ratcliffe, hot off the press with his recently awarded doctorate, to discuss Romano-British well depositions and the tantalising mysteries that were buried within them. We explore their persistence in the British landscape, and their possible uses in antiquity. For a suggested reading list and more information, please check out my websi...

In this week’s episode, Zofia is joined by returning guest, archaeologist, and archaeobotanist, Alexandra Slucky, to discuss the archaeology of alcohol! We discuss the archaeological process used to identify historic alcoholic vessels and processes. For a suggested reading list and more information, please check out my website for a blog post on this episode and more resources: https://archaeoarti...

In this episode, Zofia interviews Dr Elke Close about Polybius, the Achaean statesman, teacher, and historian from the Hellenistic period. Polybius was active in Megalopolis at the tail end of the period of Greek independence following the wars of the Hellenistic kings and the rise of the Roman empire.  Elke discusses the social context and political realities that Polybius faced while held in Rom...

In this episode, Zofia interviews Dr Alex Imrie about the historical context and impact of the Severan dynasty on the Roman Empire and beyond. We unpack how the dysfunctional family engaged with each other and the tumultuous world of politics and warfare around them while trying to connect to a human center. Dr Imrie is a Tutor in Classics at the University of Edinburgh and the National Outreach C...

Kicking off Series 3, in this episode, Zofia interviews Dr Barbara Winter to discuss how indigenous artifacts have traditionally been collected and displayed in western Canada. This discussion touches on the arguments historically used to keep acquired material culture outside of minority communities (by colonial powers), and in large museum collections. To challenge these historic narratives made...

Drawing the year to a close, this week, Zofia is joined by historian Dr Rory Nutter. Together we discuss the linguistic changes that took place in the Italian peninsula over the 4th- 3rd centuries BCE as Latin speakers interacted with the mosaic of languages spoken in the region, and the importance of looking at the materiality of objects when reading inscriptions. Tangents include awkward linguis...

In this weeks' episode, Zofia is joined by classical scholar and vampire fang-atic, doctoral candidate at the University of Edinburgh, Ambra Ghiringhelli.  Getting to the heart of the vampires in antiquity and in the archaeological record, we shine light in the darkest of spooky places where these immortal bloodsuckers have haunted our imaginations and cemeteries alike.  We hope you enjoy the...

In this episode, Zofia is joined again by Latinist and researcher of ancient magic, Celeste De Blois, a Classics doctoral candidate at the University of Edinburgh. Celeste returns to the pod to discuss witches in Greek mythology, Homeric stories, and Roman elegies. Click here to read the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, discussed in the episode.   To get in touch and find out more about Two Friends Talk H...

In this episode, Zofia is joined by archaeologist and Late Antique period specialist Dr Javier Martínez Jiménez, currently a PDRA in the Cambridge Faculty of Classics "Impact of the Ancient City" ERC Project, to discuss his new article and foray into Classical Reception Studies, who looked at naughties tv Teen Wolf reboot and how it uses Classical mythology, language and bodies to presen...

In this episode, Zofia is joined by archaeologist and University of Edinburgh PhD candidate, James R. Page! James shares his insights into how Romans dealt with the changing and often dangerous environment of river transportation, and how local resilience and adaptation changed landscapes in their pursuit of water management! I hope you enjoy the episode! If you would like to find out more about J...

This week, Zofia is  joined by archaeologist and outdoor adventure entrepreneur, Dr Meg Currie-Moodie. Meg and I talk about the globalised Mediterranean in antiquity, and what it meant to have shared visual language - a visual koine. We discuss large-scale material culture which employs globalised artistic elements - the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania built Juba II called Kubr-er-Rumia in Arabic -...

From my recent stay at the British School at Athens, I am joined by archaeologist and Byzantine pottery specialist, the talented Dr Rossana Valente! Dr Rossana Valente (Richard Bradford McConnell Studentship holder) is a postdoctoral researcher at the British School at Athens and Visiting Research Fellow at Newcastle University. Rossana is part of the team analysing the ceramics for Byzantine peri...

In this episode, Zofia is joined by archaeologist and Late Antique period specialist Dr Javier Martínez Jiménez, currently a PDRA in the Cambridge Faculty of Classics "Impact of the Ancient City" ERC Project, to discuss the social changes that characterised the transition to the Late Antique period. We discuss the knock-on effects of these changes as they impacted technology like water p...