Movies We Dig: The Ancient World on Film

Before we dig our way through some of the most famous archaeologists found on screen, we figured it would be a good idea to reflect back on Season 4 of Movies We Dig. We talk about the season as a whole, our favorite and least favorite series, and...Demon Slayer? Come on, you should all know we're big nerds at this point. Come for the anime discussion, but stay for the bonus content on Spartacus!

Our friends and fellow podcasters, Dr. Rad and Dr. G of the Partial Historians have a new book coming out November 2024! In Your Cheeky Guide to the Roman Empire, the authors provide a sneak peek behind Rome’s curtains to bring you some of the amazing feats of the Romans, their less than spectacular moments, and some tales they’re probably embarrassed that have survived in the evidence! If you enjoy learning about ancient Rome (We know you do!), then please support the Partial Historians by pre-ordering the book. Find the book here along with other merch and their first title, Rex.

And be sure to check back later this week for the second part of our discussion, where Colin, Lij, and Christie play some fun games and look forward to Season 5 focusing on Archaeology in Film. We hope you dig it!

That's right, we did a thing! Our first-ever livestream crossover event with the hosts of Movies We Dig, Ancient History Fangirl, and Let's Talk About Myths, Baby! And if you want a chance to watch rather than just listen to the show, you can do so on our new YouTube channel! Here is the link for the recorded livestream: https://youtube.com/live/qtUMQm0no1c

To celebrate International Podcast Day your favorite podcasters on antiquity and pop-culture indulged in an evening of fun, frolicking and some light dismemberment! The show includes answering questions from fans and listeners, testing our knowledge of ancient myth and history, imbibing cocktails from Nectar of the Gods, and performing a live (slightly-tipsy) read-through of Euripides’ Bacchae.

Show your favorite podcasters some love by subscribing to their YouTube channels and social media pages. Feeling extra generous? Then leave comments and reviews wherever you listen (or watch) your podcasts. Here's some helpful links to get you there!

Movies We Dig- Find the website at https://www.movieswedig.com and all our socials at https://linktr.ee/movieswedig.

Special thanks to Genn, Jenny, and Liv for taking part in this special livestream event! Please be sure to support them, their podcasts, and all their other amazing projects!

We also want to thank Emma Pauly for providing their translation of the Bacchae for our live read-through of the play. To hear Emma speak about their work on the play, check out this episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/conversations-nonbinary-dionysus-a-look-at/id1264449047?i=1000527595570. You can learn even more about Emma on their website at https://www.emmapauly.com.

Finally, thank you to our listeners for being a part of this amazing community! These shows would not be possible without you!

You already got a small taste of Season 5, but get hyped as we prepare to discuss all your favorite fictional archaeologists! We love that Hollywood makes us (Lij and Christie specifically) look like bad asses, but sometimes they miss out on what makes archaeology awesome. We have an amazing lineup of guests from both the academic and the public scholarship world, so grab a trowel and help us dig into the newest season of Movies We Dig!

And if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, subscribe, and write a review! For more news about the upcoming season, be sure to follow us on social media. And stay tuned for a big announcement about International Podcast Day!

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

Elementary my dear Adso! We kick off our new archaeology-focused season with director Jean-Jacques Annaud's 1986 adaptation of Umberto Eco's medieval mystery thriller The Name of the Rose. Joining us are super-special return guests: Joel Christensen & Tim Gerolami. We host our own little ecumenical discussing everything from the poverty of Christ to the hotness of Christian Slater. Come learn how cult horror films inform medieval dogma.

Ready your quardriga and place your bets as we race to the finish of Movies We Dig Season 4! We end the season with the most recent series depicting ancient Rome, Peacock's Those About to Die. Oddly enough, there's not a single Julio-Claudian in sight. That's right, new imperial family=new opportunities to plot and scheme your way to the top! And if anyone can pull it off, it's Ramsey Bol...excuse us, its Tenax and company. It's time to "Rise or Die!" (sigh). Anyone else getting a strong sense of déjà vu here?

And whenever we see a gladiator, you know we have the call in our good friend and Roman spectacle specialist, Alexandra Sills! Does a show about Roman entertainment manage to entertain a modern audience? Let's find out!

Want to learn more about gladiators in modern media? Then be sure to check out Alexandra’s webpage, writing, social media, and much more at https://linktr.ee/alexandrasills.

Rome wasn't founded in a season of television, but you can watch it on Tubi. Joined by super-special guests and experts of archaic Rome, Dr. Peta Greenfield and Dr. Fiona Radford (aka The Partial Historians), we dig into the first season of Romulus (2020), an Italian historical drama retelling the founding of Rome. Familicide, divine epiphanies, pre-agricultural wolf cults, eyeball-poking-masks, this show has everything. It's also the only piece of television (to our knowledge) spoken entirely in Archaic Latin. We also did the whole episode in Archaic Latin too.

You can find out more about the Partial Historians on their website and listen to their show on most streaming services. Pre-order their new book, Your Cheeky Guide to the Roman Empire, now!

What if you made a coming of age film, but it was about a Macedonian Prince who conquered Asia? Joined by super special guest and Alexander expert (*Alexpert) Jenn Finn, we psychoanalyze history's most famous military wunderkind as presented in Oliver Stone's 2004 historical epic Alexander. As we learn from the film, the secret to making a great conqueror is equal parts traumatic childhood and cave-based myth lessons.

He's just a Big Guy who does Big Guy things! Joined by special return guest, Amy Pistone, we unpack this true gem of a Greek myth adaptation that's really just a delightful D&D excursion. Starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as the titular hero, Hercules, it's no surprise that we all come away loving this quirky film produced at a time when every one else is trying to be gritty with their mytho-historical retellings. All it really needs is one more living-breathing female character and a good heist to make it the greatest film of all time! And maybe drop the random date. Just sayin'.

You can learn more about Amy and her research at https://www.amypistone.com/ or find her on Twitter under the handle @apistone.

And if you like what you hear, please be sure to like, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. For the latest updates on the show, check out our social media pages available here.

Returning to our debut topic, we dig into the 2004 attempt to keep the Gladiator train going, Wolfgang Petersen's Troy. Joined by super-special guest Joel Christensen (of Sententiae Antiquae fame), we revisit this oddly situated film. Spurned by many, beloved by some, and forgotten by most, this film sits at an interesting crossroads in Hollywood and classical reception. Is it a secret masterpiece? Probably not. Is it an interesting mirror of what had and was yet to come? Definitely.

Podcasters, what is your profession? If it's bragging about how you don't have a job, then you might be a Spartan! We return once again to the film that launched a thousand memes: Zack Snyder's 2006 adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel 300. Joined by super-special guest and military history extraordinaire, Roel Konijnendijk, we approach this film as the revealing study of masculinity it really is. Why did this movie stick in our collective cultural craw like it did? What does it's enduring appeal say about our own cultural ideals and aspirations? Why is something so beloved by self-described alpha-males so homoerotic? Listen now to find out.

Follow Roel on Twitter and read his posts as Iphikrates on r/askhistorians