Agrippina the Younger was one of the most prominent women in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Born during a time of radical political change in the Roman Empire, she had a very powerful pedigree. Great granddaughter of Augustus. Niece of Tiberius. Daughter of Germanicus. Sister of Caligula. She was also a wife of the Emperor Claudius and the mother of the infamous Nero. Today she is remembered as one of the most notorious women of ancient Roman history, thanks largely to her negative portrayal in the works of Cassius Dio, Suetonius and Tacitus. But how much of what they say is true? Joining me to help sort the fact from the fiction is Carey Fleiner, Senior lecturer in Classical Roman History at the University of Winchester. A brilliant communicator, Carey convincingly explains how the material record reveals a very different Agrippina to the infamous power-hungry murderess depicted by Roman writers. This was a fantastic chat and it was great to have Carey on the show to chat all things Agrippina.
Move over Hannibal. More over Carthage. This podcast is all about a much BIGGER elephant power in antiquity. A power that, at its height, stretched from modern day Bulgaria to the Hindu Kush: the Seleucid Empire. Existing for almost 250 years, throughout this Empire’s long history the Indian elep...
Around this time 2,499 years ago the famous Battle of Thermopylae was raging. But it is important to remember that this clash was not happening on its own. At the same time, to the east of Leonidas' defence, another battle was underway at sea between Xerxes' great armada and a much smaller Hellen...
Along the banks of the River Nile, directly south of ancient Egypt and hundreds of miles away from the Mediterranean, there was a flourishing kingdom. The Kingdom of Kush. The Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Nabataeans, Libyans, Romans, and not to mention countless African kingdoms - the ...
