Antoninus became emperor in 138CE as part of a solid succession plan, keeping the empire safe until Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus came of age. No one expected him to be so successful, ruling over a peaceful and prosperous Rome for 22 years.

Listeners provide questions and Rhiannon and Matt answer! In this episode:

- What did the Romans know about China and India?

- At what point does someone who is conquered become a slave?

- Where did the colours come from for Roman garments?

- What did Romans celebrate?

- What did Romans eat?

- Do we know where Julius Caesar was stabbed?

- Who is our favourite Emperor?

- How did the ancient texts get to us today?

- How do we prepare and do our research for the podcast?

All our talk of Roman writing has focused on men, for the simple reason that, for the most part, that is all we have. This makes the fragments of work we have by Roman women an important aspect of life and culture in ancient Rome. Unfortunately, it can be covered in a single episode.

Juvenal was a poet from the second century CE, and was one of the last and greatest satirical poets of the Roman empire. His five books, collectively known as the Satires, can be a brutal critique of life in Rome, but his use of comedic expression and his tendency to exaggerate has made interpreting them a field of debate.

One of the treasures of the British Museum collection is a bronze head of Augustus. Matt Smith is introduced by Dr Lily Withycombe, a curator from the National Museum of Australia.

The movie Gladiator is a work of historical fiction, telling the story of the fallen Roman general Maximus, his journey as a Gladiator, and his fight in the arena against the Emperor Commodus. So how much did Ridley and Rusty get right?

Cleopatra was a ruler of Egypt at a time when the land of the Pharaohs were coming to an end. The impression we have of her will always be through the relationships she had with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. So what's her real story?

Recorded live at the Wheeler Centre, Melbourne, on 22nd November, 2016.

Martial was a poet writing during the time of Domitian, Nerva and Trajan. He was famous during his time, well-known for his books of epigrams, many of them witty, brief, and/or offensive.

As this is a historical work and a historical figure, we are presenting this uncensored.

"It is the rare fortune of an age in which we may feel what we wish and may say what we feel." - Tacitus, Histories, Book I.I

Tacitus is one of the most important historians of the Roman empire, writing some of the most reputable biographies of early Roman emperors.

Hadrian has wandered to every province in the empire, built impressive buildings, waged war against the jews, and ruled a vast empire. He now withdraws to live in seclusion, and spends the rest of his life struggling to find a suitable heir.