Against the Lore

In which we go against the lore on Archimedes while Lucretius muses on the nature of the universe and the Ancient Near Easterners predict the weather.

In which we find out about Tutankhamun's space dagger and Barney comes up with an excellent PhD title...

In which we find out about some creation myths that have similarities to our episode on fertility and meet some ancient David Attenborough equivalents.

In which we discover how the ancients made and appreciated art. From bricks as art in ancient Persia to art as storytelling in ancient Rome to joke art in ancient Greece, the ancient world is full of beauty!

In which we discover the Greek origins of modern-day theatre, the Roman version of pantomime (oh no we don't) and ancient Near Eastern ritual performances, including a ritual slap of the King for New Year's. Coronation inspo, anyone?!

In which we learn what games were played in the ancient world - the Romans and Greeks typically liked strategy games, while the Mesopotamians and Egyptians read omens into their race games...

In which we discover that ugliness can be lucky, disability can be divine, and Enkidu and Anne Hathaway have a surprising amount in common...

In which we find out what it meant to be bad in the ancient world - for Barney and the ancient near east, it's demons, whereas the Greek philosophers thought badness was due to a lack of self-control, and several emperors vie for the title of worst Roman!

In which we discover what the ancient Romans, Greeks, Egyptians and Babylonians thought of as Good! From Marcus Aurelius' commendable journalling habit, to Aristotle's virtue-signalling, to Gilgamesh's pursuit of eternal life, there's a grand scale of ancient goodness. But the key question we try to answer in the podcast is: where exactly does Papa John's fit on this scale? Plato may have the answ...

Get ready for a new format...triple threat episodes! Starting off with The Good, The Bad and The Ugly...

In which we're joined again by Caroline Lawrence, who is shocked by Soranus' terrible advice about breastfeeding. Meg tells us about the ancient Greek baby shower (aka the amphidromia ritual), while Barney reveals the ancient Sumerian word for midwife.

In which Caroline Lawrence returns to tell us about the textbook-perfect birth from Roman times! Barney attempts an induction via Akkadian incantations, while Meg tells us about the pollution that the ancient Greeks associated with childbirth - which have strange echoes of the covid rules...

In which we hear pregnancy advice from the ancient world! Roman doctor Soranus has some helpful practical advice for the third trimester, while the abortion debate raged among the Hippocratic doctors as much as it does in some countries today. Meanwhile, the hippo goddess of ancient Egypt and Babylonian demons join forces to protect unborn children. 

In which we find out how the peoples of the ancient world tried, and tried not, to conceive. From Pliny the Elder's spider-sourced implant to Babylonian couples therapy to an ancient Greek contraceptive cocktail, we categorically do not recommend you try these recipes at home...

In which Caroline Lawrence joins us again to discuss women's health in the ancient world! Meg talks about how Aristotle saw women as weak and spongy, basically human Brita filters, while Zenia highlights a Roman husband-and-wife doctor dream team. Caroline talks about Hippocrates' ideas of the wandering womb and the imbalance of the four humours, while Barney points out that the earliest gynaecolo...

Big news all round! Announcing Dr Meg, two Against the Lore babies and the return of Caroline Lawrence. Oh, and Barney's cat's new trick...

In which we tackle the biggest misconceptions that you shared in a recent Twitter poll! We go against the lore on the assumption that the ancient world is about Northern European (white) history, that ancient peoples had no concept of their own history, and that Greek philosophers were seen as cool in their own day...

In which we go Against the Lore on some of the biggest conspiracy theories about the ancient world - both ancient and modern.

In this episode, we welcome Ophelie Lebrasseur, archaeologist and expert on chickens! From royal chickens in the Ancient Near East, to the world's first chicken farm, to chickens as sex symbols in ancient Greece, to omen-giving sacred chickens in ancient Rome, Ophelie joins the rest of the gang as we trace the history of chickens in archaeology, literature, and art in the ancient world!

In which we engage in our favourite British pastime - talking about the weather. Zenia tells us about how Hannibal made bad weather work for him (and his elephants), Meg shares the story of Odysseus' mishap with the winds, and Barney tells us about how priests in the Ancient Near East interpreted different types of thunder.

In which we gossip about famous historical breakups, like the mythological breakups of Jason and Medea or Ishtar and Dumuzid, or the dramatic divorce case of Fannia and Titinius (who have normal, not funny names) and the attempted divorce by Hipparete of her playboy husband Alcibiades. If we thought modern breakups were gossip-fodder, then ancient history shows that breakups have always been juicy...

In which we compare assassinations in the ancient world, by advising Flo on how to get rid of a troublesome person in her life. Zenia tells us how the Romans found stabbing a foolproof method; Meg brings some variety to the mix by adding a potential poisoning to the stabbing theme; meanwhile Barney reveals some unorthodox Ancient Near Eastern methods for assassination - including being pelted to d...

In which we welcome back Caroline Lawrence to talk about what kind of names people had in the ancient world! From the Roman triple name to the Greek joke name to the Pharaohs' five names, we discover what really is in a name. 

In which we welcome back Iszi Lawrence to talk about civilisation collapse! Cue doom and gloom and...donkey chariots? Check out Iszi's new show, Your Place or Mine, on BBC Sounds. 

In which Flo finds out what hairstyles she would have rocked in our three different periods of ancient history! Meg says her short hair would have been suitable for a slave, while Zenia advises Flo to get herself a monobrow and an ornatrix (Latin for hairdresser). Barney takes us through the different hairstyles of Ancient Egypt and the Ancient Near East - be warned, this episode comes with a visu...