49: Breaking Through
Late in the summer of 480 BCE, the Persian invasion force under King Xerxes came to blows with the Greek Allies for the first time. The famous twin battles at Thermopylae and Artemisium played out sur...
17 Feb 202140min
48: What is your profession?
Before launching into the actual warfare between the Persian Empire and Greek city states, it's worth examining how the Greeks prepared for war. Athens prepared by building a navy, everyone prepared b...
2 Feb 202136min
Announcement 2: Darics
Season's Greetings, Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Shab-e Yalda Mubarak, or a pleasant solstice festival of your choice. This is not a holiday episode, but a fundraising announcement to tell you abo...
26 Des 202025min
47: Preparing the Way
From 484-481 BCE, Xerxes directed his subjects to prepare for war in Greece. This didn't just mean assembling soldiers and ships, but also preparing the infrastructure of the western empire to receive...
20 Des 202044min
46: The Persian Emperor
In 486 BCE, Darius the Great died while Egypt was in revolt. Over the following years, Xerxes put his empire back in order. First in Egypt, then twice in Babylon, the new king defeated rebel kings. Th...
7 Des 202037min
45: Xerxes Porphyrogennetos
In 486 BCE, Darius the Great died and passed the Persian Empire on to his son, Xerxes. With plans to invade Greece in development, and Egypt in open revolt, the Achaemenid house had to pause and deal ...
10 Nov 202039min
44: Also Sprach Zarathustra
This is the second part of the two-part discussion on the life and times of Zoroaster. This time, I discuss the Zoroastrian conception of reality and how it is portrayed in the Gathas as well as the l...
24 Okt 202037min
43: Thus Spoke Zarathustra
By audience demand, we're headed back in time. Before wrapping up the reign of Darius, it's time to look back to the bronze age and talk about Zarathustra Spitama, the prophet more often known in the ...
20 Okt 202048min
