Start the Week

The Iliad and the right to rule


Listen Later

After her translation of Homer’s The Odyssey the classicist Emily Wilson tackles his epic, The Iliad. She brings to life the battle cries between the Greeks and the Trojans, the bellicose leaders, the political manoeuvres and the deals with the gods.

Mary Beard looks at the expression of power in the ancient Roman world in her new study of Emperor of Rome. From Julius Caesar to Alexander Severus nearly two hundred years later, she explores just how much control and authority these rulers had, and the lengths they had to go to in order to cling on to power.

The Westminster journalist Ben Riley-Smith looks at how the Conservative Party has clung on to power over the past dozen years in his story, The Right to Rule. With five Prime Ministers in the last decade, this tale of political control involves betrayal, rebellion and the merciless ousting of leaders, in the bid to remain in government.

Producer: Katy Hickman

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Start the WeekBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

152 ratings


More shows like Start the Week

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,395 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

381 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,837 Listeners

Front Row by BBC Radio 4

Front Row

129 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,899 Listeners

Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4

Arts & Ideas

295 Listeners

Thinking Allowed by BBC Radio 4

Thinking Allowed

316 Listeners

Profile by BBC Radio 4

Profile

107 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

501 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,814 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,118 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

868 Listeners

The Forum by BBC World Service

The Forum

275 Listeners

A Point of View by BBC Radio 4

A Point of View

75 Listeners

The Reith Lectures by BBC Radio 4

The Reith Lectures

156 Listeners

Books and Authors by BBC Radio 4

Books and Authors

385 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,065 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,051 Listeners

In Our Time: History by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: History

1,892 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

213 Listeners

Moral Maze by BBC Radio 4

Moral Maze

59 Listeners

The Briefing Room by BBC Radio 4

The Briefing Room

70 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

723 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,975 Listeners