The Ancients

Roman Emperor Augustus and His Trusted General

The Ancients

Show Notes

Augustus was Rome's first Emperor. But who made his empire possible? Behind the throne stood Marcus Agrippa, the brilliant general whose victories secured the Roman world yet whose name was consciously erased from the record by his erstwhile great friend.

In this very special episode Tristan Hughes is joined by bestselling author Robert Harris to uncover the remarkable life of Agrippa. How did a man from relative obscurity become Augustus’s most trusted ally? What role did he play in the victory at Actium and the birth of the Roman Empire? And why did this extraordinary figure disappear from Rome’s public memory?

MORE How Slavery Built the Roman Empire Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify

Young Caesar v Mark Antony Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify

The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: @TheAncientsPodcast

Presented by Tristan Hughes. Editor is Natasha Hughes. Produced by Joseph Knight and McKenna Fernandez. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff. All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds The Ancients is a History Hit podcast. History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

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

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

More from The Ancients

Oct 22, 2026

Why did Emperor Constantine abandon Rome to build a spectacular new capital from scratch? In the year 312 a bloody civil war and a miraculous heavenly vision changed the Roman world forever.

Oct 18, 2026

It's one of history’s most compelling cold cases. What happened to the Ninth Legion, a crack unit of 5,000 Roman soldiers who vanished from the historical record without a trace?

Oct 15, 2026

Two thousand years ago, centuries before the Vikings, there was another Scandinavia. An Iron Age world.

Oct 11, 2026

Before Boudicca, another British leader brought the Roman war machine to a grinding halt. Meet Caratacus; the cunning King of the Britons who spent seven years outmaneuvering the empire. Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. Miles Russell to uncover the forgotten story of this charismatic guerrilla fighter. From leading fierce resistance in Wales to his betrayal, capture, and a life-saving speech in Rome, Caratacus was Britain’s ultimate escape artist.

Oct 8, 2026

The frozen continent of Antarctica was once a land of forests, rivers and thriving ecosystems. And millions of years before humans ever existed it was home to a whole host of ancient creatures, from the first sharks to the earliest marsupials.

See all episodes →