The Seleucid realm experienced twelve unusual years of peace during the reign of Seleucus IV Philopator (187-175), but his alleged murder by a corrupt court official paved the way for Antiochus IV Epiphanes (“God Manifest”) to usurp the throne of Syria from his nephew. An incredibly polarizing figure, Antiochus was renowned for his generous donations towards cities and temples, often in honor of his new patron deity Zeus Olympios, but his behavior earned him the scorn of those like Polybius, who nicknamed him Epimanes (“The Madman”).

Episode Notes:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/02/06/104-the-seleucid-empire-madness-and-the-divine/)

Episode Transcript:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/104-the-seleucid-empire-madness-and-the-divine-transcript.pdf)

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After Rome’s declaration of war in 171, Perseus desperately attempts to stand his ground. When the “Third Macedonian War” drags on longer than anticipated, the consul Lucius Aemilius Paulus is called in and destroys the royal army at Pydna in 168, leading to the end of the Antigonid dynasty and the Macedonian kingdom.

Episode Notes:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/01/13/103-antigonid-macedon-the-first-domino-falls/)

Episode Transcript:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/103-antigonid-macedon-the-first-domino-falls-transcript.pdf)

Family Tree - Reign of Perseus:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/reign-of-perseus-1.pdf)

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Despite a controversial rise to the throne, King Perseus showed himself to be an able ruler. Continuing his father’s policies of restoring the strength of Macedonia, he earned a positive reputation across the Greek world through his philanthropy and general good behavior. His rising popularity earned the enmity of those like Eumenes II of Pergamon, who accused Perseus of secretly carrying out plans for a war against the Roman Republic, inheriting his father's schemes. Tensions would soon boil over, and the king would find himself in the crosshairs of the Senate, leading to the Third Macedonian War.

Episode Notes:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2024/11/21/102-antigonid-macedon-sins-of-the-father/)

Episode Transcript:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/102-antigonid-macedon-sins-of-the-father-transcript.pdf)

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The long reign of Philip V comes to an end after nearly 42 years on the throne. Following the defeat at Cynoscephalae, the Antigonid ruler spends the next two decades restoring his kingdom through economic and military reforms. By 179, Macedonia was once again a powerhouse to be reckoned with. However, infighting between the two princes Perseus and Demetrius would threaten to undermine the dynasty's unity, as an appropriately Greek tragedy stains the final days of Philip's career.

Episode Notes:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2024/10/16/101-antigonid-macedon-a-house-divided/)

Episode Transcript:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/101-antigonid-macedon-a-house-divided-transcript.pdf)

Family Tree (Reign of Philip V):

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/reign-of-philip-v.pdf)

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Six and a half years since we first started this journey, we finally have reached episode 100. Taking the least original approach possible, I decided to host another question and answer session to celebrate.

Episode Notes:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2024/10/05/100-qa-2-electric-boogaloo/)

Bad Ancient - "Are the Homeric Epics an Accurate Source for the Bronze Age Aegean?"

(https://www.badancient.com/claims/homeric-epics-source-bronze-age-aegean/)

Natty Lifting - "Why Did Bronze Age Lifters Have Flat Chests?" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIcbKGilhME&pp=ygUXYnJvbnplIGFnZSBib2R5YnVpbGRpbmc%3D)

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Our understanding the cosmos and our place in it has perplexed humanity for untold generations. The astronomers and geographers of the Hellenistic period were no different, looking to explain celestial phenomena and the nature of the Earth. Eratosthenes of Cyrene managed to calculate the circumference of the Earth to an astonishingly close value, Hipparchus did the same with the distance of the Moon, and Aristarchus of Samos proposed the earliest known model of heliocentrism 1800 years before Copernicus. The pinnacle of these theories came together was the incredible Antikythera Mechanism, the world's oldest analog computer, which will bring our series on science and technology to an end.

Episode Notes:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2024/08/30/099-hellenistic-science-geography-and-astronomy/)

Episode Transcript:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/099-hellenistic-science-astronomy-and-geography-transcript.pdf)

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It's never easy coming up with your own origin story, and the ascendant Hellenistic dynasties tried their best to justify their legitimacy in an age of shifting alliances. PhD candidate Angus Jacobson joins the show to discuss the "Flight of Seleucus" story presented to us by Libanius of Antioch (314-392 A.D.), offering insights as to how the Successors used (or manipulated) events in their royal propaganda, and the challenges of separating fact from fiction.

Episode Notes:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2024/07/30/interview-the-flight-of-seleucus-and-dynastic-propaganda-with-angus-jacobson/)

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The developments in theoretical mathematics were also translated into practical (and sometimes impractical) applications during the Hellenistic period. New weapons of war like torsion catapults and enormous ships found their way on the battlefield, and this love for all things big extended to Rhodian architects who constructed their famous Colossus. Under the Alexandrian inventors Ctesibius and Hero, the rise of pneumatics saw the the creation of the earliest known robots (automatons) and the predecessor of the steam engine that continues to amaze viewers down to the present day.

Episode Notes:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2024/07/01/098-hellenistic-science-mechanics-engineering-and-technology/)

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(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/098-hellenistic-science-mechanics-engineering-and-technology-transcript.pdf)

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The third century B.C. witnessed the greatest outburst of Greco-Roman mathematics in the entirety of antiquity. Euclid of Alexandria's "Elements" served as *the* textbook in the study of geometry for over two thousand years, while the archetypal mad scientist Archimedes of Syracuse allegedly was so fond of mathematical inquiries that it lead to his own demise. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here, as we look at the theoretical developments pioneered by the Hellenistic mathematicians.

Episode Notes:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2024/05/31/097-hellenistic-science-mathematics/)

Episode Transcript:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/097-hellenistic-science-mathematics-transcript.pdf)

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As the first episode in our series on science and technology, we begin by looking at the advancements in medicine during the Hellenistic Age. In Alexandria, Herophilus and Erasistratus became the first doctors to practice human dissections in any significant capacity until the Middle Ages, greatly improving our understanding of anatomy and physiology. Developments in pharmacology followed the botanical work of Theophrastus, while Mithridates VI of Pontus performed diabolical experiments with poisons and antidotes. From OBGYN to trepanation, there is bound to be something in here that will make you squeamish.

Episode Notes:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2024/04/29/096-hellenistic-science-medicine-and-the-healing-arts/)

Episode Transcript:

(https://hellenisticagepodcast.files.wordpress.com/2024/04/096-hellenistic-sciences-medicine-and-the-healing-arts-transcript.pdf)

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