I am (as you all probably guessed) a huge Dan Carlin fan and I often find myself re-listening to his different series. Recently I put fresh ears on his King of Kings episodes about the ancient Persians. One rough quote, or paraphrase is probably more accurate, from historian Pierre Briant that stuck with me is “you must believe in ancient history, even if it never happened.” As I put this episode on Troy together this idea keeps slamming me in the head. I’m not sure there is an episode in military history that better encapsulates the sentiment Briant is trying to get across than the Trojan War and subsequent fall of the great city itself. There isn’t a hell of a lot of evidence, but, if you don’t believe the siege of Troy occurred, ancient history becomes a much less human, colorful, and tangible world. Now, you don’t need to believe gods like Athena and Apollo fought alongside the Trojans and the Achaeans, but damn if that doesn't make for a hell of a story!