The Hellenistic Age Podcast
Podcast by The Hellenistic Age Podcast
Episodes
May 20, 2023 • 34 mins
The Attalid dynasty that ruled over the city of Pergamon (modern Bergama) is the first Greek monarchy to arise outside of the Successor Kingdoms. Founded by a eunuch named Philetaerus in western Asia Minor, the Attalids went from small regional power to major player in under a generation, in part thanks to their alliance with the Roman Republic. Their smart fiscal policies and unusually stable family life allowed them to become ext...
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April 29, 2023 • 36 mins
Emboldened by his success in the Social War, Philip's desire for world conquest leads him to ally with Hannibal Barca against the Roman Republic in 215. The so-called "First Macedonian War" (215-206 BC) is mainly a conflict between the various states of Greece, leading to the king tightening his grip over the Symmachy, and the end of his relationship with Aratus of Sicyon.
Episode Notes:
(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.co...
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April 7, 2023 • 64 mins
The Roman Republic went from a regional power ruling over Italy to master of a Mediterranean-wide empire in under 50 years, warring against powerful states like the Carthaginians and the Hellenistic kingdoms, yet always coming out on top. Dr. Bret Devereaux joins the show to discuss the Roman military and analyze the various factors that enabled their rapid expansion into the Hellenistic East, and eventually the downfall of the Rep...
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March 16, 2023 • 21 mins
During the Illyrian Wars of 229-228 and 219, the Roman Republic would intervene in the affairs of Greece for the first time. Their swift defeats of Queen Teuta and Demetrius of Pharos impressed the Greek communities, but would draw the attention of King Philip V of Macedonia.
Episode Notes:
(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2023/03/16/084-rome-arrives-in-the-hellenistic-east/)
Episode Transcript:
(https://hellenisticag...
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March 4, 2023 • 33 mins
The “Argonautica”, written by the third century poet Apollonius of Rhodes, is the only surviving epic poem from the Hellenistic period. Recounting the travels of the hero Jason and his crew of Argonauts as they searched for the Golden Fleece, Apollonius managed to pay homage to the works of Homer while also reinventing the genre to better reflect the scholarship coming out of Alexandria.
Episode Notes:
(https://hellenisticagepodca...
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January 27, 2023 • 26 mins
The various dynasties that rose from the ashes of Alexander's empire proved to be a lucrative source of income for aspiring poets. Ptolemaic Alexandria hosted some of the influential artists of the day, such as Callimachus of Cyrene and Theocritus of Syracuse. Euphorion of Chalcis would move to Seleucid Antioch, and Aratus of Soli would compose his famous Phaenomena under the auspices of Antigonus II Gonatas. These figures would re...
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January 2, 2023 • 11 mins
In April 1900, a crew of Greek sponge divers found a 2,000 year old shipwreck at the bottom of the sea of the small island of Antikythera. A century of underwater expeditions has revealed many works of art such as rare life-sized bronze statues and glassware that provides a snapshot of the Late Hellenistic economy, along with the famous Antikythera Mechanism, the world’s oldest surviving analog computer.
Episode Notes:
(https://he...
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December 10, 2022 • 16 mins
Rather than writing tales of gods and heroes or flattering court panegyrics, the poet Theocritus of Syracuse (early second century B.C.) chose to focus on the simple life. As the founder of "Bucolic" or pastoral poetry, Theocritus cast the humble shepherd as the main subject, using idyllic scenes from the ancient countryside to illuminate his poems in a fashion that would be emulated by later artists such as Virgil.
Episode Notes...
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November 25, 2022 • 35 mins
The playwright Menander of Athens (342/341 – 290 B.C.) was the most renowned comedic author of antiquity, surpassing even Aristophanes in popularity. As the father of the New Comedy, Menander moved away from biting satire to draw humor from the interactions of everyday people, popularizing the use of “stock characters” and romance plots that audiences could appreciate regardless of background or education. Of his 108 plays, only on...
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November 5, 2022 • 12 mins
The anchor was the most recognizable image associated with the Seleucids, who used it as their dynastic seal to symbolize their royal authority. Its origins are interwoven into the stories of the dynasty’s founder, Seleucus I Nicator, as omens and prophecies associated the anchor with his imperial destiny. These stories might have been tied to the now-lost Seleucus Romance, but the anchor continued to be used by later monarchies, a...
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October 27, 2022 • 52 mins
The Kushans were the premier dynasty of the Yuezhi, a nomadic confederation that migrated and settled in northern Bactria during the mid-to-late second century BC. With a steady hand, their empire would eventually encompass most of Central Asia and Northwestern India for the next 300 years, the former heartlands of the Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kingdoms. Dr. Lauren Morris lends her expertise on this often poorly understood grou...
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October 22, 2022 • 39 mins
The period from the first century B.C. through the third century A.D. saw a time of unprecedented economic contact between the Mediterranean world (under the dominion of the Roman Empire) and the political entities bordering along the Western Indian Ocean. This fostered the exchange of goods and ideas, leading some scholars to identify it as the first period of globalization. Joining the show is Dr. Serena Autiero, who helps elabor...
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September 27, 2022 • 64 mins
Following the death of Menander I Soter, the Indo-Greeks would decline in power over the next 150 years as the newly arrived Indo-Scythians/Indo-Saka seized the Punjab, and with the last king disappearing by 10 A.D, Greek rule in Central Asia and India was brought to a definitive end. In their wake, later powers like the Kushan Empire established control over Bactria and Gandhara, and trade with the Roman Empire would flourish alon...
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September 3, 2022 • 51 mins
It has been argued that the most influential contribution of Gandhara (modern Pakistan and southern Afghanistan) was its role in the creation of several works of art centered around Buddhist themes, including the first known depictions of the Buddha in human form. However, the Gandharan artists also drew a great amount of inspiration from the traditions of the Greco-Roman world, borrowing Hellenistic designs and mythological figure...
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August 25, 2022 • 44 mins
In the wake of Alexander the Great, the traditions of Hellenism and Buddhism thought came into close contact in Central Asia and India. Lee Clarke, a PhD student in cross-cultural philosophy at Nottingham Trent University, joins the show to discuss the idea of “Greco-Buddhism”, tracing the origins of the Buddha and the establishment of his teachings in Gandhara, before comparing and contrasting the philosophical outlooks of Greek a...
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August 12, 2022 • 58 mins
In antiquity, Gandhara was one of the most deeply-rooted hubs of Buddhism, and scholars have attempted to search for any possible encounters between Buddhists and the Greeks who settled in Central Asia and India. Fascinating pieces of evidence hint at these connections: the Pali text known as the Milindapañha ("The Questions of King Milinda") portrays the Indo-Greek king Menander I Soter as a Buddhist convert and saint swayed by th...
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July 28, 2022 • 60 mins
With the collapse of the Mauryan Empire, the rulers of Greco-Bactria would seize the opportunity to invade India in approximately 185 B.C. Famous conquerors like Demetrius and Menander would campaign throughout the subcontinent, seizing the lands of Arachosia and Gandhara (southern Afghanistan and Pakistan) as their new domains, the so-called "Indo-Greek" kingdoms. Despite the hostilities, the Indo-Greeks would quickly acclimate to...
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July 21, 2022 • 58 mins
In 128 B.C., an explorer and diplomat named Zhang Qian had arrived in the Ferghana Valley in modern Uzbekistan. As the first known Chinese visitor in Central Asia, he was originally tasked by the Han Emperor Wudi to seek an alliance with the Yuezhi nomads, who migrated to Bactria in the 130s and contributed to the collapse of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. Though the alliance fell through, Zhang’s reports on the wealthy lands of “Daxi...
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July 7, 2022 • 37 mins
With the discovery of the city of Ai Khanoum in northeastern Afghanistan, the idea of a strong Greek presence in the makeup of Hellenistic Bactria was reinforced. At the same time, they also demonstrate a reliance on local Bactrian traditions and the formation of brand new identities. Dr. Rachel Mairs, a historian of Hellenistic Central Asia and author of "The Hellenistic Far East", joins the show to discuss the nature of identity,...
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July 1, 2022 • 62 mins
The conquests of Alexander the Great resulted in tens of thousands of Greek colonists settling in Central Asia. While excavations of places like the city ruins of Ai Khanoum hint at a flourishing Hellenic culture, local Bactrian and Sogdian traditions continued to hold a powerful influence. In this episode, we take a deeper look at Greco-Bactria by analyzing the archaeological and epigraphical record, looking at key examples relati...
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