The Hellenistic Age Podcast

By The Hellenistic Age Podcast

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082: Hellenistic Literature...

01.27.2023

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 ...

The Hellenistic Age Podcast episodes:

01.27.2023 082: Hellenistic Literature - Court Poetry and Propaganda 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 ...
01.02.2023 Bonus: The Antikythera Shipwreck 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 ...
12.10.2022 081: Hellenistic Literature - Theocritus and Bucolic Poetry 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 ...
11.25.2022 080: Hellenistic Literature - Menander and New Comedy 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 ...
11.05.2022 Bonus: Anchors Aweigh - The Seleucid Anchor and Imperial Iconography 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 ...
10.27.2022 Interview - The Kushan Empire with Dr. Lauren Morris 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 ...
10.22.2022 Interview: Globalization in the Ancient Mediterranean and Indian Ocean with Dr. Serena Autiero 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. ...
09.27.2022 079: The Indo-Greeks - Homer on the Indus 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 ...
09.03.2022 Interview: Greco-Indian and Buddhist Art of Gandhara with Dr. Osmund Bopearachchi 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 ...
08.25.2022 Interview: Greco-Buddhism in Central Asia and India with Lee Clarke 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 ...
08.12.2022 078: The Indo-Greeks - Heracles, Menander, and the Buddha 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 ...
07.28.2022 077: The Indo-Greeks - Invasion of the Yavanarajas 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 ...
07.21.2022 076: Greco-Bactria - Han China and the War of the Heavenly Horses 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 ...
07.07.2022 Interview: Ai Khanoum and Identity in Hellenistic Bactria with Dr. Rachel Mairs 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 ...
07.01.2022 075: Greco-Bactria - Alexandria Eschate to Ai Khanoum 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 ...
06.17.2022 Interview: Coinage and Numismatics in Greek Central Asia with Dr. Frank Lee Holt Coins are the most enduring symbols of the Greco-Bactrian and the Indo-Greek kingdoms, considered to be invaluable tools in reconstructing their chronologies in absence of a written history. Joining our series is numismatist Dr. Frank Lee Holt, author of books ...
06.11.2022 074: Greco-Bactria - Land of a Thousand Cities In the first of several episodes on the "Hellenistic Far East", we will cover the history of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, which controlled the lands of Central Asia stretching from Afghanistan to Kazakhstan during the third and second centuries B.C. As ...
06.04.2022 073: The Seleucid Empire - The Anabasis of Antiochus the Great Despite the defeat at Raphia, Antiochus III was not discouraged from further conquests. After dealing with his final rival Achaeus in 213, the Seleucid king would lead a massive expeditionary force into Asia, an anabasis, intending to assert his authority ...
05.21.2022 072: The Fourth Syrian War - The Battle of Raphia Only a few short years after his coronation, Antiochus III would invade the kingdom of Ptolemy IV in 219 B.C., intent on reclaiming the lands of Coele Syria as part of his birthright. To stem the tide, the Ptolemaic government ...
05.06.2022 071: The Fourth Syrian War - A Tale of Two Kingdoms In 222 B.C., two of the world's most powerful kingdoms saw the coronation of two young monarchs: Antiochus III of the Seleucid Empire, and Ptolemy IV Philopator of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. As Antiochus tries to keep his realm ...
04.25.2022 070: The Second Punic War - To the Victors... In this episode, we bring the Second Punic War to a close as Hannibal tries to conquer southern Italy, while the Scipio and Barcid families clash over control of the Iberian Peninsula. During the Spanish campaigns, Publius Scipio (the future ...
03.12.2022 069: The Second Punic War - Hannibal at the Gates After the losses at Trebia and Trasimene, the strategies of Fabius Maximus Cuncutator ("the Delayer") manages to give the Republic some valuable breathing room. Despite Fabius' best efforts, Hannibal manages to deliver Rome its most devastating defeat on the plains ...
02.27.2022 068: The Second Punic War - Over the Mountains With the destruction of the Celtiberian city of Saguntum in 219, much of the Mediterranean world was plunged into a state of warfare for nearly two decades, as the Roman Republic would once again battle Carthage for dominance, and face ...
01.26.2022 Interview: "Alexander's Successors at War: The Perdiccas Years" w/ Tristan Hughes Fellow history podcaster Tristan Hughes (The Ancients Podcast) joins the show to discuss his new book, "Alexander's Successors at War: The Perdiccas Years, 323-320 BC", which covers the first tumultuous years of the Wars of the Successors. Though framed around ...
12.13.2021 067: Rome and Carthage Between the Punic Wars The period from the signing of the Treaty of Lutatius in 241 until the siege of Saguntum in 219 is often passed over by those learning about the Punic Wars, but it is integral to understanding how the Romans and ...
11.29.2021 Interview: Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Jewish Tradition w/ Dr. Joseph Scales Thanks to his role in the Maccabean Revolt, Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid Empire played an important part in the history of Judaism. From the prophecies of Daniel to the histories of Josephus, Dr. Joseph Scales joins the show ...
11.11.2021 066: Antigonid Macedon - Philip V and the Social War At only 18 years of age, Philip V was crowned with the diadem following the death of his uncle Antigonus III Doson in 221. Many believed that the boy was going to be a pushover, easy prey for the machinations ...
10.10.2021 065: Antigonid Macedon - The Last March of the Spartans Despite the failure of Agis IV to reform a weakened Sparta, a more politically astute (and ruthless) successor could be found in the rival Agiad house, Cleomenes III. Under his reign, Sparta would be restored to a level of power ...
09.12.2021 064: Antigonid Macedon - Of Revolutions and Reforms It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, and the 240s and 230s saw several shakeups in the political order of Greece. Macedonia under Demetrius II Aetolicus struggled to deal with an onslaught of Greek Leagues, ...
08.29.2021 Interview: On Hellenistic Federalism w/ Dr. Elke Close (Hellenistic History) The proliferation of the Greek Federal states, those such as Achaean and Aetolian Leagues, was a major political development in the Greek Peninsula during the 3rd century. Despite being in an age of kings, several poleis were able to present ...
08.15.2021 063: Ptolemaic Egypt - Berenice's Lock and the Gates of Babylon As the power couple of the Mediterranean, Ptolemy III and Berenice II Euergetes (Benefactor)would oversee the apogee of Hellenistic Egypt. Ptolemy's successful blitzkrieg against the Seleucid Empire during the Third Syrian War would see a near-total conquest of Syria and ...
08.01.2021 062: Ptolemaic Egypt - Egyptians in a Greek Land The conquest of Egypt by Alexander and establishment of the Ptolemaic dynasty differed from previous foreign invaders like the Hyksos or the Persians. While the Ptolemies would very much present themselves as traditional pharaohs, they would bring thousands of Greek ...
07.18.2021 Interview: On the Cavalry of the Seleucid Empire w/ Dr. Silvannen Gerrard The Seleucid Empire's vast geographic spread made it the heir to a wide variety of cavalry traditions, with the fighting style of each region being incorporated into an army of Macedonian origin: units like armored cataphracts and horse archers from ...
07.04.2021 061: Ptolemaic Egypt - Greeks in an Egyptian Land Drawn by the prospects of providing service to the Ptolemaic government in either the bureaucracy or the army, or perhaps seeking to settle and farm some of the most productive land in the world, tens of thousands of Greeks would ...
05.14.2021 060: Ptolemaic Egypt - A Traveler's Guide to Alexandria Alexandria, or Alexandria-by-Egypt as it was called, was the easily the greatest city of the Hellenistic Age. Founded by Alexander the Great in 332/331, it became the pet project of the Ptolemaic dynasty, who turned it into the capital of ...
04.18.2021 Interview: On Antigonus II Gonatas w/ Robin Waterfield After facing decades of civil wars and invasions following the death of Alexander, peace was restored in Macedonia by the capable Antigonid king Antigonus II 'Gonatas', who strengthened the kingdom's hegemony over the Greek Peninsula in a reign that lasted ...
04.12.2021 059: Ptolemaic Egypt - Kingdom of Gold, Kingdom of the Nile Herodotus described Egypt as the gift of the Nile River, and without a doubt the Ptolemaic rulers took full advantage of the land’s agricultural prosperity. In addition to their exploitation of the Nile’s annual inundation, the Ptolemies would introduce the ...
02.27.2021 058: Ptolemaic Egypt - Two Lands, Two Peoples, One Ruler Throughout the three centuries of Ptolemaic control over Egypt, their dynasty can be best described as having a split identity. Ruling from Alexandria, the new intellectual and cultural capital of the Greek-speaking world, the Ptolemies were very much Hellenistic kings ...
02.14.2021 Interview: On Demetrius Poliorcetes w/ Dr. Charlotte Dunn Among the many colorful characters of the Wars of the Diadochi, Demetrius I Poliorcetes ("the Besieger") stands out as one of its most prominent, portrayed by the likes of Plutarch as a skilled commander and larger-than-life personality. Dr. Charlotte Dunn, ...
01.31.2021 057: The Seleucid Empire - My Brother's Keeper The troubled reigns of Seleucus II Callinicus and Seleucus III marked over 20 years of instability for the empire. A 3rd Syrian War led by a vigorous Ptolemy III Euergetes would penetrate into Syria and Mesopotamia, Parthia saw the invasion ...
01.22.2021 Interview: Alexander the Great in Ancient Art & Literature w/ Meg Finlayson Alexander the Great is easily one of the most popular subjects for writers and artists throughout antiquity. In addition to the many biographies that present wildly different views on the man, there are a dazzling number of depictions of the ...
12.27.2020 056: The Seleucid Empire - A Royal Wedding, A Bactrian Revolt, & A Parthian Invasion The relatively brief reign of Antiochus II Theos is noted for his conflict with Ptolemy II Philadelphus and his controversial marriage with Berenice Phernophoros (“the dowry-bringer”). But the true focus of this episode is the convoluted yet critically important events ...
12.21.2020 Interview: On the Army of Ptolemaic Egypt w/ Dr. Paul Johstono Though the longest-lived and most wealthy of the Hellenistic "Big 3", the Ptolemaic rulers in Egypt have never really held the distinction as a major military player in the violent struggles of the Hellenistic period, instead often seen as decadent ...
11.26.2020 055: The Seleucid Empire - Syrian Nights, Macedonian Dreams As the most prolific of city-founders, the Seleucids sought to dramatically reshape the lands of the Near East and most especially North Syria, which would become the dynasty's new imperial heartland and something of a stand-in for their ancestral homeland ...
11.08.2020 Interview: On the Illyrian Wars w/ Dr. Christopher Gribbin The 1st and 2nd Illyrian Wars, fought between the Roman Republic and the peoples of Illyria (approximately modern Albania to Croatia) in 229-228 and 220-219 BC respectively, are often neglected in favor of the more famous 2nd Punic War. The ...
11.02.2020 054: The Seleucid Empire - Kingship & Governance in the Arche Seleukia To rule over the largest and most diverse empire of the Hellenistic realms, the Seleucids needed to deal with serious logistical and administrative challenges. The identity of the Seleucid kings can be viewed through either a Macedonian-Greek, Near-Eastern, or Iranian ...
10.18.2020 053: The Bosporan Kingdom - Greeks of the Crimea Straddling the Strait of Kerch in the Northern Black Sea, the Bosporan Kingdom provides an unusual case study within the Hellenistic period. Originally settled by Greeks during the 6th century BC, the Cimmerian Bosporus would become host to a powerful ...
09.28.2020 052: Mapping the Oikoumene - Explorers & Exploration of the Hellenistic World Though they viewed themselves as the civilized center of the world, the Greeks had always expressed a curiosity for what lay on the periphery. The conquests of Alexander the Great had thrown open the doors of Asia and Africa, lands ...
09.13.2020 051: Peoples of the Steppe - Scythians & Saka to Parthians & Yuezhi The world of the nomads who lived upon the Eurasian Steppe would face a radical transformation between the 4th-2nd centuries BC. Originally dominated by the Scythians and Saka, the Pontic-Caspian and Central Asian Steppes saw the migration and invasion of ...
08.21.2020 050: A Q&A Celebration With 49 episodes published, I decided to celebrate by making episode 50 a question and answer session, where I respond to topics fielded by listeners of the show. We dive into discussions on favorite history books, how to get into ...

Older episodes

The Hellenistic Age Podcast

What's The Hellenistic Age Podcast about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Hellenistic Age Podcast episodes:

082: Hellenistic Literature - Court Poetry and Propaganda

Bonus: The Antikythera Shipwreck

081: Hellenistic Literature - Theocritus and Bucolic Poetry

080: Hellenistic Literature - Menander and New Comedy

Bonus: Anchors Aweigh - The Seleucid Anchor and Imperial Iconography

Interview - The Kushan Empire with Dr. Lauren Morris

Interview: Globalization in the Ancient Mediterranean and Indian Ocean with Dr. Serena Autiero

079: The Indo-Greeks - Homer on the Indus

Interview: Greco-Indian and Buddhist Art of Gandhara with Dr. Osmund Bopearachchi

Interview: Greco-Buddhism in Central Asia and India with Lee Clarke

078: The Indo-Greeks - Heracles, Menander, and the Buddha

077: The Indo-Greeks - Invasion of the Yavanarajas

076: Greco-Bactria - Han China and the War of the Heavenly Horses

Interview: Ai Khanoum and Identity in Hellenistic Bactria with Dr. Rachel Mairs

075: Greco-Bactria - Alexandria Eschate to Ai Khanoum

Interview: Coinage and Numismatics in Greek Central Asia with Dr. Frank Lee Holt

074: Greco-Bactria - Land of a Thousand Cities

073: The Seleucid Empire - The Anabasis of Antiochus the Great

072: The Fourth Syrian War - The Battle of Raphia

071: The Fourth Syrian War - A Tale of Two Kingdoms

070: The Second Punic War - To the Victors...

069: The Second Punic War - Hannibal at the Gates

068: The Second Punic War - Over the Mountains

Interview: "Alexander's Successors at War: The Perdiccas Years" w/ Tristan Hughes

067: Rome and Carthage Between the Punic Wars

Interview: Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Jewish Tradition w/ Dr. Joseph Scales

066: Antigonid Macedon - Philip V and the Social War

065: Antigonid Macedon - The Last March of the Spartans

064: Antigonid Macedon - Of Revolutions and Reforms

Interview: On Hellenistic Federalism w/ Dr. Elke Close (Hellenistic History)

063: Ptolemaic Egypt - Berenice's Lock and the Gates of Babylon

062: Ptolemaic Egypt - Egyptians in a Greek Land

Interview: On the Cavalry of the Seleucid Empire w/ Dr. Silvannen Gerrard

061: Ptolemaic Egypt - Greeks in an Egyptian Land

060: Ptolemaic Egypt - A Traveler's Guide to Alexandria

Interview: On Antigonus II Gonatas w/ Robin Waterfield

059: Ptolemaic Egypt - Kingdom of Gold, Kingdom of the Nile

058: Ptolemaic Egypt - Two Lands, Two Peoples, One Ruler

Interview: On Demetrius Poliorcetes w/ Dr. Charlotte Dunn

057: The Seleucid Empire - My Brother's Keeper

Interview: Alexander the Great in Ancient Art & Literature w/ Meg Finlayson

056: The Seleucid Empire - A Royal Wedding, A Bactrian Revolt, & A Parthian Invasion

Interview: On the Army of Ptolemaic Egypt w/ Dr. Paul Johstono

055: The Seleucid Empire - Syrian Nights, Macedonian Dreams

Interview: On the Illyrian Wars w/ Dr. Christopher Gribbin

054: The Seleucid Empire - Kingship & Governance in the Arche Seleukia

053: The Bosporan Kingdom - Greeks of the Crimea

052: Mapping the Oikoumene - Explorers & Exploration of the Hellenistic World

051: Peoples of the Steppe - Scythians & Saka to Parthians & Yuezhi

050: A Q&A Celebration