May 21, 2023

The helots of Sparta were a people who were indispensible for the Spartan state. But what did they do, how had Sparta acquired them and how did it go about controlling this population?

Episode notes (including transcription) on www.ancientblogger.com

Music by Brakhage (Le Vrai Instrumental).

Apr 10, 2023

At the beginning of the 6th century BC Athens was in crisis and by the end of it there was a new political system in place. In this episode I discuss the changes, characters and events which occured.

Bizarre political campaigning, Spartans, tyrants and of course the new way of politics by the end of it all. It's an...

Feb 12, 2023

The Lupercalia was literally run on on the 15th February in ancient Rome. Apart from the nudity, running and goathide thongs there's a lot going on here. Indeed the Roman writers seem unsure of how it all started and in this episode I play detective in trying to work out how it started and what this tells us...

Feb 3, 2023

In the second of two episodes on Roman Scotland the chat turns to the three main campaigns which Rome undertook there.

What was Rome trying to achieve? What do we really know about them? How did they differ and what can they tell us in a wider context? We discuss this and much more (including answering some questions...

Jan 15, 2023

In the first of two episodes on Roman Scotland Dr Andrew Tibbs unwraps the different types of fortifications the Romans built.

From the large forts through to the small watchtowers we can learn a lot about how the Roman army functioned in Scotland and in general. We also get to answer some questions you sent in...