Show Notes
Welcome back to Spartan History Podcast. This is the first episode not based in the bronze/mythic age and takes a look at the Dark age era of Spartan history. It's an intrinsic period to the city that would one day dominate Greece as it was the time that saw it's foundation. Although anachronistically mentioned by Homer in his works, archaeology has as yet not detected any Mycenaean palace in the region of Sparta. Certainly nothing fit for Menelaus and Helen. All evidence points to th...
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The battle of Salamis was the defining naval conflict of the ancient Greek world. Occurring in the wake of the Greek defeat at Thermopylae, the allied Hellenic fleet lined up in the narrow strait between mainland Attica and the nearby island of Salamis. Opposing them was the might of Persia's seabound forces. Although whittled down somewhat via storms, attrition and conflict, the Mede still outnumbered their opponents by a ratio of around 4 to 1. Joining me to discuss the conflict is Cornell...
Thermopylae. The title is synonymous with a bygone age of glory, bravery and defiance. It is an event entirely pivotal to the Spartan story and indeed, of this podcast as well. The events at the hot gates were one of the few natural places a chronological history of the Spartans would assuredly cover. It would be fair to say I dragged it out for as long as possible, well we are here now. I'm joined by Professor Paul Cartledge who is without a doubt the greatest living expert on Sparta, there...
In the third installment of my Greco-Persian war series we take a look at the Interbellum. The years between Marathon and Thermopylae. A pivotal decade for both Greek and Persian alike. Alliances were an incredibly shaky proposition in ancient Greece but they would need something rock solid if they were to resist the coming enemy. We look at the Athenian naval build up during the period, the result of the visionary called Themistocles. Fortunately for the allies, Sparta had at her com...
Second up for my Greco-Persian war series is the Battle of Marathon, fought in 490 BCE. The first time in living and recorded memory that a foreign invader attempted such a thing in Greece. Joining me to discuss the events is author and historian, Dr Owen Rees. Owen specialises in warfare in the ancient world and has a penchant for dissecting the psychological effects it had on the ancient psyche. I bring that specialisation to bear in concerning the aftermath of the battle, moreover Owen...
EPISODE 35 A TALE OF TWO TYRANTS The Greco-Persian wars were a series of truly tectonic engagements fought during the first half of the 5th century BCE. On one side was a lose coalition of free Greek cities versus the autocratic behemoth that was the Persian empire. A real David and Goliath style conflict, with this episode I'll be kicking off a series on the conflicts to describe the period in as much detail as possible. First up I take a look at the genesis behind the wars themselves, t...