The Greek city of Miletos in western Anatolia would be described by Herodotus as being the ornament of Ionia. This referring to the affluence of the city during the Archaic period and its position amongst the many other Greek cities in Ionia. In this episode I am joined by Prof. Vanessa Gorman who takes us through the history of this wealthy and influential city. We begin by covering the earliest periods of history around the site of Miletus, which leads us into the Bronze Age and the various co...
Mar 25, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 49
The Ionian Greeks along with their allies from Athens and Eretria had entered and burn Sardis, though they failed to take the Acropolis. They withdrew back to the coast where the Persian would catch up to them and fight the battle of Ephesus. The Greeks would be defeated with the survivors making for their cities, the Athenians and Eritreans sailing home to take no more part in the revolt. With no more aid coming from Greek lands, the Ionians would now take measures that would see the revolt spr...
Mar 11, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 48
The words of the Delphic oracle had rung true, the rising empire founded by Cyrus the great, the Persians had just destroyed a mighty empire, in that of king Croesus and his Lydians. The Greeks of Ionia had stood by idle only having been subjected to the Lydians a generation earlier. Cyrus had tried to incite the Greeks to rebel, though they would wait to see which way the winds would blow. With the Persian victory the Greeks now sought to arrange favourable terms with the new power in the regio...
Feb 25, 2022•38 min•Season 1Ep. 47
With the collapse of the Bronze Age the Hittite Empire which had dominated Anatolian lands would vanish from the world stage. Its presence and legacy would only be rediscovered in our modern times showing the influence it once held. With its destruction the region of Anatolia would fragment into many small kingdoms and principalities looking to exert control in their immediate areas. With the passage of time, recovery would take hold seeing conditions arise for the establishment of another empir...
Feb 11, 2022•39 min•Season 1Ep. 46
45: The Greek Periphery, Anatolia We now arrive to the east of Greek lands in what would become one of the most influential regions to Greek history on its periphery. Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor would have a history of human habitation stretching back over 1 million years, with other sites dotted throughout the region pointing to its continued habitation for the hundreds of thousands of years following. As the world was coming out of the Ice Age some 12000 years ago, it would enter the Ne...
Jan 28, 2022•39 min•Season 1Ep. 45
The eve of the Greek and Persian wars would see a point in Macedonian history where the transition of power from one king to another would take place. This would see Amyntas after his rule since the mid 6th century pass power to his son Alexander the first at the opening of the 5th. This would take place on the backdrop of Persian advances into Thrace before Macedon would then begin engaging diplomatically. It becomes difficult to tell at what point Macedon would offer earth and water to the Per...
Jan 14, 2022•44 min•Season 1Ep. 44
Many tribes existed throughout the Balkan region in the Neolithic to the Bronze Age where we would see defined cultures develop with the onset of the Iron Age. We hear origin stories and hints at the early Macedonians in Myth through Homer and Hesiod. We even get through Herodotus, the hint of a tribe called the Makednoi during the Bronze Age in the mountains north of Greece. The culture of the Macedonians that emerge in the Archaic Age and into the Classical Age, would seem to be the result of ...
Dec 17, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 43
Greek and Roman writers would highlight the Thracians as some of the best mercenaries fielded in foreign armies from the mid-5th century and beyond. They would excel at hit and run tactics, harassing heavier troops and being able to defend difficult ground. This reputation would appear to be born out of their tradition of Homeric style warfare practiced in their own lands. Though we get no detailed accounts of how they fought against one another in their home territories. Our knowledge of the Th...
Dec 03, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 42
North East of Greece would be a land seen as wild and untamed stretching from the modern-day nation of Hungary to the Ukraine, and then to the Black Sea and Aegean. The Greeks would view the people that inhabited these lands as barbarians, much the same way they did to other cultures that differed from theirs. Though these people that they would call the Thracians, seemed that much more uncivilised compared to the other barbarians they had encountered. Although the Greeks would call them Thracia...
Nov 19, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 41
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Nov 14, 2021•46 sec
As the 6th century BC on Sicily was coming to a close expansion would continue to take place. Tyrannies were now becoming the common governing system in a lot of the Sicilian Greek cities, appearing to follow the lead of their Metropolises back in Greece. This time though expansion would see Greeks focus on exerting their influence over other Greek cities. This period would also see the rise of one of the most powerful Tyrants to yet emerge on Sicily, his name would be Gelon. His rise would be b...
Nov 05, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 40
**Give Away details** To coincide with this episode release I will be running a giveaway where I will be offering up 2 copies of Eric Cline’s Book, 1177 BC the Year Civilisation Collapsed, where winners will be drawn on the 1st of November 2021. 1 copy I will be offering as a general giveaway, where all you need to do to go into the draw is to promote Casting Through Ancient Greece in some way on Twitter or Facebook, this could be retweeting or sharing the episode with a comment or posting about...
Oct 22, 2021•1 hr 26 min•Season 1Ep. 40
39: Sicily, Conflict & Tyrants The wave of Greek colonisation taking place in the 8th and 7th centuries wouldn’t be the end of the Greeks seeking to establish new cities. More expeditions would be sent out from the Greek mainland, while the original Greek colonies of Sicily would also start establishing their own colonies. The eastern, southern and northern coasts would be the target for many of these expeditions, with the east seeing the largest concentration of Greeks. As the colonies on S...
Oct 08, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Todays episodes sponsor is Hello Fresh Head to Hello Fresh here to receive $80 Discount ($50 - $20 - $10) Including Free Shipping on your First Box! with the code HFAFF80 "Shattering the Myth of Spartan Warrior Supremacy" The Spartans are one of the most recognisable ancient Greek societies in our modern day. Though, just about no writing from the Spartans themselves survives, everything we know about them comes from outsiders looking in. This has resulted in many Myths and stereotypes to develo...
Sep 24, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 39
38: The Greek Periphery, Sicily The prehistory of Sicily, well before the Greeks arrived is still to this day shrouded in some mystery. We are left with a written tradition from a number of Greek writer but they were writing about a past some thousand years before their time. Modern attempts at understanding this period are even debated, which leaves us with our best guesses based off of what is found in modern research and what the ancients say. The Island of Sicily west of Greek lands would co...
Sep 10, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Herodotus; The Father of Lies. “Because it is simple and lacking in effort and easily runs over events, has thoroughly deceived many people” (Plutarch, on the Malice of Herodotus) Plutarch would be but one historian to level criticisms at Herodotus from the ancient past all the way through to our times. Often, we see the common title given to Herodotus, the Father of History turned on its head to, Herodotus, the Father of Lies, due to his willingness to include strange and wonderful tales. We wi...
Aug 27, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 37
“Herodotus of Halicarnassus here presents his research so that human events do not fade with time. May the great and wonderful deeds – some brought forth by the Hellenes, others by the barbarians – not go unsung; as well as the causes that led them to make war on each other.” Herodotus, Proem These are the opening lines from the oldest surviving work of history in the western world and would open so much more than just an account of the Greek and Persian wars. In this first episode on Herodotus,...
Aug 13, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 36
The Greco-Persian Wars: The Greek and Persian wars would be a defining moment in the Greek world helping shape the trajectory of development in Greece and around the Aegean for time to come. Even today a detailed ancient account survives describing the events of 2500 years in what is one of the oldest works of history. Herodotus who has been labelled the father of history would be born during the wars and would travel the Greek world later in life collecting all he could, so as to understand wha...
Jul 30, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 35
In this interview Episode I sit down and chat with the author Mark Adams about his book, "Meet me in Atlantis". We talk about his experiences and what he learnt about Plato's tale of the lost city of Atlantis. He also talks about the many people he met during his research for the book and where he also tells their stories. MARK ADAMS is the author of the acclaimed history Mr. America , which The Washington Post named a Best Book of 2009, and the bestsellers Tip of the Iceberg , Meet Me in Atlant...
Jul 16, 2021•59 min
We have now reached the end of the Greco-Persian Wars, but with most of our sources focusing on the Greek experience and perhaps not giving us a completely accurate picture of the Persians. In this episode we are going to delve deeper into Persia’s experience in the Wars, look at their motivations and what led them to, ultimately being unsuccessful. To do this I have invited Trevor Culley from the History of Persia Podcast to come on and share his knowledge about the Persians with us, and help u...
Jul 02, 2021•1 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 34
The Persian Empire had launched its first invasion against Greece in 492 BC after their involvement in the Ionian revolt. The campaign that came across the Aegean Sea would fall short of capturing Athens in 490 BC at the Bay of Marathon, seeing the invaders withdraw back into the empire. Though, Greece was not forgotten, Xerxes the new king launching the second invasion in 480 BC. The second invasion would see one of the largest forces ever assembled to march west, heading through northern lands...
Jun 18, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 33
The Hellenic league had now been victorious in two major engagements of 479 BC, at Plataea on the Greek mainland and Mycale in Persian territory. This would effectively see the end of the Persian invasion, and the Greeks victorious. Though, this was not immediately apparent and measures would be taken in the years to come to make sure they would not return. With the Greek victory, a responsibility to honour the gods that had assisted them needed to be attended to. One did not want to risk offend...
Jun 04, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Jeff Murray is a pen and ink artist that creates intricate works on canvas inspired by exploration and travel. He resides and has setup a studio in a rural setting in the UK where he can peruse his passion in a peaceful environment. Many of Jeff's works explore the various cities and continents of the world from a very unique perspective. While he has also been inspired by the natural world, either incorporating these elements into his works or taking them as the subject for the piece. Recently ...
May 31, 2021•1 hr 37 min
The battle of Plataea had been fought and won on the plains of Boeotia, seeing the Persian land forces finally defeated. Though, this wasn’t the end of the campaign, there was still yet another battle to be fought. Tradition would have it that it took place on the very same day as the victory at Plataea. This would see a transition in operations, now seeing the war arrive in Persian territory. The Greek fleet had also been preparing for operations as the campaigning season of 479 BC approached. ...
May 21, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 31
For this episode I take a break from our narrative to bring you a collaboration that I had teamed up with Steve from Spartan History Podcast to record. We went into this conversation without any scripts and just a rough plan of what we wanted to cover. Steve’s series, Spartan History Podcast, takes a deep dive into the history of the Spartans, beginning back in Mythological times. He is currently in the stages of how the institutions and practices that would define the Spartans were developing. ...
May 07, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Season 1Ep. 30
As the sun rose over the plains of Boeotia, the battle of Plataea would now finally be decided this day. The various Greek wings had got underway and began falling back in three sections, the centre having made its way back to Plataea. The Spartan wing had finally moved off leaving a rear-guard force to protect their withdrawal or the protesting Spartan battalion under Amompharetos, depending on how we interpret events here. Amompharetos and his battalion would start making their way back to the...
Apr 23, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 29
The Hellenic league had now arrived in the foothills of the Citheron Mountains, with still more contingents continually arriving throughout the hours and days to come. Pausanias, hastily deployed what forces were currently available down in the foothills where they would be protected to some degree. His mind was focused on forming a strong defensive line, as this had been the advice revealed by the omens. The Persians had seen an opportunity for a cavalry action with it seeming part of the Greek...
Apr 09, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Athens refusal of Mardonius offer to join the Persian side had seen the Persian army march back into Attica and take control of Athens for a second time in a year. The Athenians had once again evacuated the city back across to Salamis, while the Peloponnesians remained behind the wall being constructed across the Isthmus. Mardonious would repeat his offer to the Athenians, now back in control of their city. But once again the Athenians would refuse. The Peloponnesians had previously in the campa...
Mar 26, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 27
The Greeks had just won the battle at Salamis but it wasn’t immediately clear the extent of their victory. The Persian fleet had been mauled and now had some breathing room to withdraw back across the Aegean unhindered. The Greeks expecting the Persians to resume the attack the next day, eventually gave chase but to no avail. Xerxes and his commanders discussed the best way forward, he still had an intact and undefeated army on Greek soil. Though, political considerations and possible trouble br...
Mar 12, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 26
An update about what has been happening at Casting Through Ancient Greece. Talking about what I have been doing over the last month or two while also discussing the direction of the series. Big announcements regarding featuring ads into the episodes while also setting up a Patreon page. Supports of Patreon will have access to bonus episodes and more. Check out Casting Through Ancient Greece on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/castingthroughancientgreece Support the show 💬 Stay Connected with Ca...
Mar 02, 2021•10 min
