The story of ancient Italy is so much more than just Rome. Tristan Hughes visits the extraordinary site of Paestum in southern Italy, home to some of the greatest ancient Greek temples from anywhere in the world.
From majestic temples to pristine wall paintings more that 2,500 years old, he explores the story of the Greeks who settled in Italy and developed prosperous cities long before Rome became dominant. Southern Italy and Sicily was known as 'Magna Graecia' - Greater Greece - because of how many Greek settlements rose to prominence along these coastlines.
This is a story where ancient Greek and Italian cultures collided. Sometimes fighting. At other times influencing each others ways of life.
Guided through Paestum's story with the site's director Dr Tiziana D'Angelo and archaeologist Silvio Leone, Tristan follows the story of Paestum from its Greek beginnings in c.600 BC all the way down to its eventual takeover by Rome more than 300 years later.
Up Next in Digging up History
-
The Untold Story of the Unknown Warrior
The First World War was a conflict like nothing the World had ever known. More than 700,000 men mobilised in the UK would die during the conflict. Roughly 250,000 of those would have no known grave. The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior became a place where all those people who were denied a grave to v...
-
The Hag of Beara
The Hag of Beara, also known as the Hag of Winter, was a mythical figure that predated Christianity in Ireland. She was regarded by people as the mother protector / creator of the landscape. Like many pagan gods and traditions, she did not escape the intolerant wave of Christianity that swept acr...
-
Anglo-Saxon Burial at Bamburgh Castle
A story of bloodshed, tribal rivalries and a warrior class obsessed with and defined by the battlefield has emerged from the discovery of a burial site at Bamburgh Castle. What can the latest archaeological work tell us about the history of Bamburgh, of the people who lived and fought at the cast...
13 Comments