The Exploress

Cleopatra maneuvered her way through Egyptian, Greek, and Roman politics, defying the odds to keep the Ptolemaic dynasty – and Egypt's independence – going. But what of all the Cleopatras who came before her? In delving into Cleo's life, I found a host of interesting women in the family that shaped her. But only one amongst them truly set the tone for the dynasty, creating a mold that had royal Pt...

Season 2, Episode 24. Cleopatra died more than 2,000 years ago. And yet stop any person on the street today and ask them who she was, and they'll know – at least her name. That name has been attached to soaps and bath balms, to slot machines and casinos, to a popular brand of cigarettes. As an asteroid - 216 Kleopatra – the Egyptian queen has even made it to the stars. What is it about Cleopatra t...

Season 2, Episode 23. When we last left Cleopatra, she was creeping out the back door of a chaotic Rome in the wake of Julius Caesar's death. As she sails the waves back to Alexandria, she broods over what might happen next. She's just lost her Roman lover, ally, and protector, in a world where Rome is increasingly calling most of the shots. And then there is Caesarion, her son with Julius Caesar....

Season 2, Episode 22. Last time, we saw Cleopatra grow up in the city of Alexandria, amid both luxury, excess, and the constant threat of death by family member. When her pharaoh father fled Egypt, she went with him, experiencing Rome for the very first time. General Pompey and some of their other Roman friends helped dear old dad win back his throne from his other daughter Berenice, and then, yea...

Season 2, Episode 21. Cleopatra, the last great queen of Egypt, doesn't really need an introduction. You can see her in your mind already, can't you? Pretty and sultry with her cat-eye makeup, covered head to toe in shiny gold. Extravagant, self-serving, ruthless: this epic seductress used every magic trick in her lady arsenal to hold onto power, no matter the cost. Didn't she? That's the Cleopatr...

Season 2, Episode 20. Throughout the ages, women have used poison - but their worlds also found ways to poison them. Doctors who didn't know better, giving them medicine that hurt instead of cured; toxic cosmetics; workplace negligence. In this special bonus episode, we travel through time to explore the link between women and poison in all its different guises, from the lady poisoners of ancient...

Season 2, Episode 19. It's 47 or 46 BCE, and we've stepped into a private chamber, where a woman is pulling down her saffron-colored veil. Today she's getting married, but she's no blushing virgin. In fact, this is her third marriage, and she's as shrewd, seasoned, and ambitious as they come. When she marries a man, she becomes his ultimate champion. And lucky for him, her fiancé is about to find...

Season 2, Episode 18. In ancient Rome, a woman was defined in relation to her family. Any fame she won was supposed to be confined to the private, domestic sphere. She wove such fine wool; she kept such a fine house; she was so very chaste and never made her father look bad! They weren't welcome in the public sphere of governance. They couldn't vote or hold office. Theirs was a distinctly patriarc...

Season 2, Episode 17. In ancient Rome, a woman was defined in relation to her family. Any fame she won was supposed to be confined to the private, domestic sphere. She wove such fine wool; she kept such a fine house; she was so very chaste and never made her father look bad! They weren't welcome in the public sphere of governance. They couldn't vote or hold office. Theirs was a distinctly patriarc...

Season 2, Episode 16. Welcome to a day in the life of an ancient Roman matrona. In Part 3 of our exploration of a Roman woman's day, we go out into the streets, taking in the Coliseum, the Forum, and the famous Roman baths. We'll also go to a dinner party, then talk about sexuality in ancient Rome and what kinds of medical care we can expect to find.  For a transcript, a list of my sources, and lo...

Season 2, Episode 15. Welcome to a day in the life of an ancient Roman matrona. Now that we've learned a bit about Rome's overarching history, woken up, visited the bathroom, and gotten dressed and ready for the day in Part 1, let's explore our domus, meet our husband, and talk about some of our rights under the law. We'll find out what women are doing for work and take a trip to the House of Vest...

Season 2, Episode 14. Let's travel back to ancient Rome and meet the women who lived amid this ancient-world juggernaut. Many are Roman citizens: the wives and daughters and sisters of influential men who use every tool at their disposal to leave a lasting mark on their fast-changing world—and survive its cutthroat rules about what women were allowed to do and be. Others are "barbarians" who refus...

Season 2, Episode 13. Our grooming habits are a contested issue, no more so than the question of what we do with our hair down below. This is especially true for women, for whom the question of whether or not to keep the hair down there has been always been charged with social and sexual meaning. How has our relationship with our pubic hair changed over time, from ancient past to present? What inf...

Season 2, Episode 12. In Part 1 we met Olympias, Alexander the Great's mother, and saw her navigate some savage drama to get her and her son to the top. Now let's see what she does when he goes off conquering. When he dies, she and several of Alex's women will battle with the men around them for power - often a battle to the death - in a war for an empire that would put  Game of Thrones to shame....

Season 2, Episode 11. Ancient Greek queen Olympias went to epic lengths to ensure her son Alex ended up on the throne. In doing so, she helped make him worthy of his title: Alexander the Great. Alexander accomplished a lot all on his own, but there's no doubt he got a lot of help from his momma. Despite what some people believed about women being meek and quiet, Olympias was one of the most influe...

Episode 2, Season 10. The ancient Greeks told lots of stories about the Amazons: the mythic bands of warrior women that Hellanikos of Lesbos described as "golden-shielded, silver-axed, man-loving, boy-killing females." They made up fantastic stories about both loving and subduing these women who were bold, violent, promiscuous, and independent: everything a good Greek wife wasn't supposed to be. T...

Season 2, Episode 9. The ancient Greeks told lots of stories about the Amazons: the mythic bands of warrior women that Hellanikos of Lesbos described as "a host of golden-shielded, silver-axed, man-loving, boy-killing females." They made up fantastic stories about both loving and subduing these women who were bold, violent, promiscuous, and independent: everything a good Greek wife wasn't supposed...

Episode 2, Episode 8. When it comes to the words that made it through time to us, ancient Greece is particularly loud with men's voices. But if you listen, you can hear one woman through the crowd—we still hear her today. Heralded as a genius in her time, Sappho was called "The Poetess" and "The Tenth Muse." People made coins with her face on them and created honorary statues of her all over Greec...

Season 2, Episode 7. Ancient Greece is notorious for keeping women silent, veiled, and firmly fixed at the loom. But was life for women in places like Athens really so restrictive? What did they get up to behind those veils and shaded screens? After exploring their houses, rights and duties in Part 1, we're going to talk about life as a matron: childbirth, Athenian nightlife (including the famous...

Season 2, Episode 6. Ancient Greece is notorious for keeping women silent, veiled, and firmly fixed beside the loom. But was life for the ladies in places like Athens really so restrictive? What did they get up to behind those veils and shaded screens? Let's time travel back to the Classical period to find out what it was like to be them. To check out the show notes, go here . If you'd like to giv...

Season 2, Episode 5. For millennia, brewing was overwhelmingly a woman's game. You can't research beer's history without stumbling across female brewers. So why, when we conjure up an image of a brewer, is it a bearded dude we always picture? How did beer, both the brewing and the drinking, become overwhelmingly a "man's drink"? To find out, we'll explore how beer was made in the ancient world, th...

Season 2, Episode 4. Let's continue exploring the lives of ancient Egypt's female pharaohs. We'll start by talking about Hatshepsut's rise to fame and glory: how she stayed on top and what she did while she was there. Then we'll dive into the stories of Nefertiti, a savvy beauty queen with a fanatical boyfriend, and Tawosret, who wasn't afraid to get blood on her hands on her path to power. We'll...

Season 2, Episode 3. In ancient Egyptian, the word "pharaoh" doesn't mean king; it means "great house". They had no word for queen at all. All royal women were defined by their relationship to that house: with titles like Great Royal Wife, Great Royal Daughter, Great Royal Mother. They were there to support, not to rule. And yet, in an ancient world where men ruled the day, Egypt saw a slew of inf...

Season 2, Episode 2. Let's continue our day as an everyday lady in ancient Egypt's New Kingdom during the 18th Dynasty. We'll talk about what we're doing for both work and pleasure, go to a feast, and explore medicine, contraception, mummification and the afterlife. Put on your best jewels and let's go traveling. For show notes, head over to my website . While you're there, become a patron of the...

Season 2, Episode 1. Of all the civilizations in the ancient world, Egypt was perhaps the most prone to the miraculous. They invented many wonders: the 365-day calendar, breath mints, paper, the ramp and lever. And then there's this particular wonder: ancient Egyptian women had more freedom and power than anywhere else in the ancient world. Why was Egypt such an exception to the ancient rule? What...