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 con...

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...

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 t...

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' nam...

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 st...

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 T...

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 Spa...

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 mor...

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:  h...

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...

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"...

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....

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.thehistoryofancientgree...

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 Mega...

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 adop...

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 Ph...

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 w eaponry 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...

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,...

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 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 developmen...

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...

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 give...

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 Br onze Age collapse in both Greece and the Near East and its possible causes/explanation...

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/201...

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 inspira...