Thank you all for listening over the years. The show will going dormant for a while but I hope we can continue our stories in the future. Feel free to stay in touch until then. website: www.hitmpodcast.com facebook/twitter: hitmpodcast
Today we welcome Dr. John Hale to the show, author of the book Lords of the Sea. It is a compelling look at the history of Athens, largely from the seat of a rower’s bench behind an oar. The New York Times has called Dr. Hale an intellectually series historian who knows how to tell war stories, and I couldn’t agree more. Of course, we spend a good bit of time inside the wooden walls of a trireme and we also spend some time with the various leaders of Athens. He also provides some salient compari...
Today we welcome Dr. Melissa Lane to the show, author of the book The Birth of Politics. Her book was the final straw in convincing me to start the show and centers around eight political ideas, what they meant to the Greek and Romans, and why they matter today. She provides some clarity to different Athenian institutions and I take advantage of her expertise to have her critique some of the thoughts I had while doing the show. We wrap up with a few question on how the story of Greece can change...
Athens leaves us their legacy in the Season 1 finale. https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1604.html
The Peloponnesian War comes to a sudden and unexpected end. The defeated will face the fate the victor thinks it deserves. We witness both timid and brutal approaches to war and are forced to ask: Is there a difference between acting cruelly out of desperation versus cruelty as a matter of course? This episode covers approximately 405 B.C. – 404 B.C.
More than twenty years into the Peloponnesian War Athens has given nearly everything to the fight, but more is required. Sparta requests peace but Athens refuses and looks for more resources to continue the war. While Athens scrounges for money, Sparta and Persia renew their alliance with Sparta leading the fight while Persia funds the war. Meanwhile, the weight of carrying the Athenian military is beginning to crack their society. This episode covers approximately 407 B.C. – 405 B.C.
Athens is broke. The sole hope for retaining its empire rests in their fleet of triremes at Samos. To make matters worse a Spartan fleet, supported by a Persian army and Syracusian ships, has wedged itself into the Hellespont, the crucial route by which Athens receives most of its food. Alcibiades, though still refusing to return to Athens for fear of the death penalty on him, contributes to the fighting in any way he can. Some sort of miracle is needed for Athens to step back into security. Thi...
After the disaster of the Sicilian Expedition, the largest defeat in the history of Athenian Democracy, the whole Mediterranean world expected Athens to fall. Refusing to surrender the Athenian assembly accepts previously unthinkable changes in order to continue to the fight against Sparta, the revolting cities across the Empire, and to keep the ever ambitious Persians in check. Amid this pressure the democracy in Athens is reexamined and some citizens desire a change, either through legal refor...
Nicias and Alcibiades have both gained political power but can’t push past the other. The gridlock is broken when representatives from a Sicilian town show up asking for help and offering to foot the bill for Athenian assistance. In a rapid escalation, the Athenians agree not only to help but to send an armada to Sicily to bring down Syracuse. One step at a time the Athenians throw everything they have into the Sicilian expedition. This episode covers approximately 416 B.C – 413 B.C.
Nicias and Alcibiades struggle for control of Athens after a power vacuum appears. The back and forth leads to an Athens that pursues no grand strategy but plays a game of rapid, hectic tactics. All of Greece is swept up in political pinball as the traditional allies of Sparta reconsider their place in Greece and Sparta struggles to reclaim its political standing. As the stakes rise, Athens rebrands its role as the head of its empire and does whatever is necessary to keep control. This episode c...
Bolstered by a recent victory, Athens follows Cleon further into war in hopes of achieving absolute victory. There are many areas where victory is needed. Once back on the streets of the city we meet Socrates who is busy asking everybody he can irritating questions. Questioning your assumptions may be the basis to a true understanding of yourself and society, although it can be very frightening. This episode covers approximately 425 B.C. – 422 B.C.
After many years of a brawler fight something has to give. A daring general in Athens considers new strategies while playwrights bring the full weight of the ancient press (the theatre) to bear in criticizing the war. Meanwhile, Greece watches as the impossible unfolds on the shores of the Peloponnese. This episode covers approximately 427 B.C. – 425 B.C.
Fear and anger can convince us to do terrible things. It is often only once we take time to collect ourselves that we see how outrageous our actions were. As the first few years of the Peloponnesian War preserve a violent stalemate some people in Athens decide that a more drastic strategy is necessary. This episode covers approximately 429 B.C. - 427 B.C.
Things get beautiful around minute 15. At a funeral, we discuss what makes a life worth living and, in doing so, we reveal the things we truly value. This is the bonus episode of Pericles’ Funeral Oration delivered in 431 BC after the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian War.
Athens and Corinth take the preemptive measure of fighting a battle to avoid a war. This works about as well as it sounds. A series of conferences afterwards determine the fate of Greece. Speeches are made, ships collide and the gods reconsider their relationship with Athens. This episode covers approximately 433 B.C. – 429 B.C.
The Greek world is getting smaller. Athens and Sparta are the sole dominating powers in Greece and cities are forced to consider what sides they will choose. The grandeur of Athens continues to allure as their wealth and power are demonstrated at the 4 year Panathenaic Festival while Sparta grapples for peace. It’s time to choose what side to join. This episode covers approximately 440 BC - 432 BC.
A lone woman comes to Athens. In a span of six years she somehow becomes a household name. Meanwhile, Athens tries to find some more permanent peace solution with Sparta as they face rebellions across their territory. The first existential threat that Athens has had to face in decades is beginning to show its face. This episode covers approximately 450 BC – 440 BC.
Are you tired of being in Athens’ alliance? No one cares. Athens develops various carrots and sticks to make friends and keep rebellions in check. The return of Cimon means Athens once again begins to dominate the sea as only Cimon knows how to do. Athens must figure out how to continue to swell in power while convincing Sparta that they aren’t a threat. This episode covers approximately 454 BC – 446 BC.
Democracy reaches its peak in Athens as the city reaches east to Egypt and war at last breaks out with Sparta. The power of Athens’ version of the Supreme Court is partially dissolved and returned to the people in the lower courts. Since we don’t have a lot of information on this court, we look to our own Supreme Court for help. This episode covers approximately 464 BC – 449 BC.
Athens swells into an economic powerhouse and plays with the idea of trying on an empire. Many of the most powerful men in Greece are reshuffled during the growing pains as rumors of corruption begin to circulate. Finally, we drop down into Athens to meet the different classes of people and take a look at what life was like for them. This episode covers approximately 474 BC – 464 BC.
Before there was the Roman Empire there was the Roman Republic. Before the Athenian Empire, there was the Delian League. Greece is split down the middle and as Athens grow more and more powerful they start a starting contest with Sparta. This episode covers approximately 478 BC – 472 BC.
This special, full-length episode frames the Battle of Plataea with voting practices of the ancient world. As it turns out, voting in Sparta was quite similar to going to a football match. Things get violent in the climax of the Persian Wars. This episode takes place in 478 BC.
We all have that friend who is over the top reckless, but they have nothing on Themistocles. Themistocles gambles it all in the culmination of his genius, the Battle of Salamis. He then makes sure nobody can forget about it. We touch on Greek religion and how an omen could shape major decisions. After all, how would you act if you knew the future? This episode covers approximately 480 BC – 478 BC.
The full force of Persia is directed against Greece. A fragile Greek alliance attempts to withstand the blow at the Battle of Thermopylae. Meanwhile, Themistocles maneuvers the resulting political fallout while making allies, old and new. We also examine the Spartan embrace of death and gain an appreciation for the floating demolition derby that was the Greek navy. This episode covers approximately 481 BC – 480 BC.
The gloves come off. Themistocles and Aristides face off in the Assembly. Distant scuffles between Athens and Persia flame up into full scale war. The Persian wave crashes on the beaches of Marathon while Athens, with the small town of Plataea, brace to endure it. The world is beginning to be reordered. This episode covers approximately 494 BC – 481 BC.
An emboldened Athens sails across the Aegean to support revolts against Persia. In doing so they eventually gain the undivided attention of the world’s superpower. The international troubles drive a cunning and battle-hardened leader back to Athens, Miltiades. We see the divisions that are inherent to democracy and the brutal tactics of Cleomenes, one of the kings of Sparta. This episode covers approximately 500 BC – 490 BC.
International politics suck a willing Athens into tangling with Persia while Sparta considers converting the Athenian government by force. With all this at stake, the political juggernauts of Athens come to the front as Themistocles and Aristides face off in the Assembly. The stage is now set through internal and external strife for Athens to burst, or trip, onto the world stage. Rivalries begin to intensify both within Athens and internationally. This episode covers approximately 508 BC – 499 B...
Sparta is more than spears, although there are also plenty of spears. We wade through the murky history of Sparta while watching their migration into Greece. As much as we think of Spartans as Greek, they claim their heritage from the north… and from Hercules. This episode covers approximately 1,200 BC – 500 BC. As a side note, I have a cold so this episode sounds partially underwater at times. Learn more about your ad choices.
Democracy emerges in clear view from the shadows of history but not everybody welcomes it. The various political sides of Athens try to find a governing balance while threats of civil war force reform though rumors, coups, and occasional theatrics worthy of Greek play. This episode covers approximately 594 BC – 500 BC.
Greece, as we recognize it, begins where the Dark Age ends. We meet some of the earliest known reformers that drop the first hints of democracy in reaction to the stresses of coming out of the Dark Age. This episode covers approximately 1200 BC – 594 BC.
