The Ancients

396 BC. The city of Veii lies in ruins, destroyed by Rome in a brutal act of early imperial expansion. Yet just six years later, Rome itself would face devastation at the hands of invading Gauls, a shock that would shape the city’s identity for generations.

In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Jeremy Armstrong to explore the origins of Rome’s empire. From the conquest of rival cities and the trauma of invasion to the development of Roman warfare, politics, and identity, this episode reveals how these early crises set the stage for Rome’s rise to dominance along the Tiber and beyond.

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The Kings of Rome
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The Origins of Rome:
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Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor and producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What can ancient DNA tell us about the first homo sapiens to arrive in Arabia over 50,000 years ago? Tristan Hughes is joined by Prof. Pierre Zalloua to delve into the groundbreaking advances in ancient DNA research that illuminate the complex journeys of these early human populations.

They discuss the challenges of extracting ancient DNA in harsh desert environments, the role of climate in human migration, and the archeological evidence of early human presence which show continuous population movements over millennia.

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The Rise of Humans
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The Kingdom of Kush
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Watch this episode on our YouTube channel: @TheAncientsPodcast

Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here:
https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Step into the daily lives of those stationed along Hadrian's Wall, from Roman soldiers to civilians. Tristan Hughes and Dr. Francis Macintosh are your guides to explore the routines, duties, and unique cultural identities that developed in this northern frontier of the Roman Empire. They discover how the wall itself was maintained, the role of local and foreign deities, and the significant impact Roman occupation had on the local population.

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The Roman Legionary
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The Roman Invasion of Britain
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Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Max Carrey, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

She helped Jason win the Golden Fleece, betrayed her own family, and became one of the most feared figures in Greek myth. Medea’s name has echoed through the ancient world for over two millennia, a byword for passion and revenge but was she really a villain?

In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by acclaimed classicist and bestselling author Natalie Haynes to unravel the full story of Medea. From her origins in distant Colchis on the edge of the Greek imagination to her unforgettable portrayal in Euripides’ tragedy, they explore how the ancient Greeks understood Medea, why her vengeance shocked audiences, and whether she was ever truly the villain of her own story?

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Jason and the Argonauts
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Medusa
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Watch this episode on our NEW YouTube channel: @TheAncientsPodcast

Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit to watch Natalie Haynes new two-part documentary Divine Fury - Demeter and Persephone. Natalie unravels the story of Persephone’s abduction and Demeter’s fierce response. Filmed across Athens, Eleusis and beyond, the film traces how the myth was transformed into the Eleusinian mysteries, one of the most profound and secretive experiences of the ancient world.
Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did Sparta, the most feared military state in ancient Greece, fall from grace in a single generation?

In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Roel Konijnendijk and Dr Owen Rees to chronicle Sparta's catastrophic collapse in the fourth century BC. Fresh from its victory over Athens in the year 404, Sparta stood unrivalled. Yet within decades, its power would be shattered, its authority broken, and its golden age over. From decisive battles against resurgent rivals Thebes and Corinth to over-ambitious kings and a defining clash with a warband of sacred lovers, it is a gripping story of sky-high stakes and two-faced duplicity; of brutal power struggles and the cut-throat scramble to become the hegemonic power of ancient Greece.

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March of the 10,000
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Sparta vs Athens: The Greek World War
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Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.