Epic Greek History

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Modern labels like “straight” and “gay” don’t map neatly onto ancient Greek culture. While same-sex relationships were considered normal and even expected, there were still taboos and rules of proper behavior. In this episode, host Scott Emmons explores the courtship rituals and sexual practices that characterized the most accepted forms of Greek homosexuality.

Attention: This episode contains explicit descriptions of sex...

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Imagine a state where no citizen works for a living; where children are kept hungry to encourage them to steal; where the most powerful military force in the known world is reluctant to fight far from the city for fear of a slave revolt at home. Such a place was ancient Sparta. In this episode, host Scott Emmons traces the legendary origins of the Spartan state, the wars that shaped its military tradition, the educationa...

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No one was writing history in Greece during the 7th and 6th centuries BCE. But that doesn't mean we have no voices speaking to us from that time. Fragments of works by early Greek poets can provide real-time commentary on the social and political upheaval of their times. In this episode, host Scott Emmons observes the struggles of the early polis through the eyes of two aristocratic poets, Theognis of Megara and Alc...

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In modern English, a “tyrant” is someone who rules oppressively. To the ancient Greeks, the word tyrannoscould just refer to a king, but more specifically it meant an autocrat who had come to power by overthrowing an existing regime. The 7th and 6th centuries BCE saw the rise of many Greek tyrants who capitalized on class tensions and other forces to gain absolute power. In this episode, host Scott Emmons explores this i...

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The hoplite infantry was the backbone of a Greek city-state's land army. But hoplites weren't the only ones who served. Those who couldn't afford hoplite armor served as light infantry, hurling javelins, shooting arrows, or even throwing rocks if that was all they had. Those who were wealthy enough to keep horses could serve in the cavalry. In this episode, host Scott Emmons explores the contributions of n...

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The polis was the defining sociopolitical system of ancient Greece. It was the environment where Greek drama, architecture, philosophy, and other cultural developments reached their peak. In this episode, host Scott Emmons explores the beginnings of the polis, military developments that helped shape it, and the values that it espoused, even if it didn't always uphold them. 

For images associated with this episode, ch...

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In Greek myth, Delphi was the literal center of the world. In real-world religious practice, it lived up to its reputation. People came from all over the Greek world — and even outside it — to seek Apollo’s guidance in matters both personal and political. In this episode, host Scott Emmons discusses the mythical origins of the Delphic oracle, the mystery of the Pythia’s inspiration, the riddling nature of oracular respon...

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Ancient Greece was defined by its culture, not by its borders. Starting in the 8th century BCE, Greeks planted settlements in southern Italy and Sicily — so many that the area came to be known as Magna Graecia, "Great Greece." Hellenic settlements soon spread to other parts of the Mediterranean and also to the northeast, even surrounding the Black Sea. This episode takes you on a whirlwind tour of Greek settlem...

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The Lelantine War between Khalkis and Eretria was the first major historical conflict that drew in combatants from around the Greek world. And yet, we know next to nothing about it. Ancient historians and other authors mention it in passing, but they don’t tell us exactly when it happened, how long it lasted, or even who won. While it’s possible to reconstruct a rough outline from ancient sources, some scholars maintain ...

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In ancient Greece, freedom was something to be cherished — in part because its opposite was an ever-present part of Greek life. Slaves worked as farmhands, domestic servants, skilled craftsmen, miners, prostitutes, and more. While some lived almost as independently as free wage workers and could even aspire to purchase their freedom, others were condemned to a life of hard labor under the harshest conditions. In this epi...

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The 8th century BCE brought big changes to Greece, including an increase in population and a dramatic upswing in economic activity. Many of the defining features of Greek civilization began to take shape. Monumental temples appeared. The Olympic Games began, inspiring a sense of a common Greek identity. Perhaps most importantly, the Greeks adapted a Phoenician alphabet and produced the writing system through which we can...

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Any student of Greek history will occasionally come across a Greek word or name that's hard to pronounce. In this episode, host Scott Emmons offers a few pointers — but only after exploring the more interesting question of how we know what classical Greek sounded like. We know a lot more about it than you might think!

For a few accompanying visuals, check out Episode 8 at epicgreekhistory.substack.com

Reading suggesti...

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The Early Iron Age in Greece has traditionally been called a dark age, both because of the economic decline after the fall of the Mycenaean palaces and because the archaeological evidence is less abundant for this period. The picture is still far from clear, but archaeology continues to turn up more information. In this episode, host Scott Emmons draws on ancient legends, archaeological evidence, and the Homeric epics to...

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The discoveries of Troy and Mycenaean Greece in the 19th century led to a shift in attitudes toward Ancient Greek legends. If archaeology showed that Troy had existed, was it possible that the Trojan War saga had its basis in historical fact? In this episode, Scott Emmons sifts through clues from the Homeric epics, excavations at Troy, and ancient Hittite documents to explore a question that has fascinated both scholars ...

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The decipherment of the Linear B tablets from Knossos and Pylos revolutionized our understanding of the Mycenaean world. But how did a small group of dedicated Greek scholars arrive at the solution? This episode recounts the painstaking process that ultimately led to the paradigm-shifting conclusion that Linear B was an early form of Greek.

For samples of the writing system and a link to an interactive site where you can ...

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Centuries before the Parthenon, Greek drama, and the Olympic Games, a highly developed Bronze Age culture evolved in Greece. This was the Mycenaean civilization, where warrior kings ruled from great palaces that dominated the surrounding territories. But the Mycenaeans drew heavily from the early Minoan culture on the island of Crete. In this episode you'll learn about the legendary excavation of the Minoan palace a...

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Welcome to the first episode of Epic Greek History! In this introduction, amateur historian Scott Emmons lays out his vision for this podcast. Taking inspiration from two of his favorite history podcasts, he'll focus on the human experience in a way that he hopes will bring ancient Greece to life. His guiding principle will be a short quote by historian Neville Morley: "History is a kind of story."

See the ...

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Every now and then, the story of a discovery is as compelling as the thing discovered. One such story is the discovery of Bronze Age Troy and Mycenae by an eccentric German businessman turned archaeologist named Heinrich Schliemann. At a time when most scholars thought the Homeric epics were nothing more than myth and legend, Schliemann proved that they looked back on an age of great palaces and powerful warrior kings. T...