The Mystery of Mithras: A Pagan Christmas?
The clichéd Christmas: white snow, hot fires, mulled wine and a feast. This might not be the case were the holiday not to fall on 25 December and, although many things have been missed in 2020, the us...
24 Dec 202054min
Saturnalia: Bonus Episode!
In this episode from the History Hit archive, Dan talks to Kevin Butcher about the Roman festival of Saturnalia. Held between the 17 and 23 December, Saturnalia invloved plenty of drinking, gift-givin...
22 Dec 202026min
Hannibal: Crossing the Alps
In 218 BCE, Hannibal Barca's Carthaginian army, accompanied by horses and elephants, completed one of the most audacious military marches of ancient Mediterranean history. Setting off from southeast S...
20 Dec 202028min
Thucydides: Thoughts on the Athenian Empire
From 478 BCE until 404 BCE, a collection of Greek city-states were united under the leadership of Athens. Beyond inscriptions and a few minor sources, there is very little to tell us about life within...
17 Dec 202040min
The Garamantes: Farming the Sahara
Greco-Roman historians including Herodotus, Tacitus and Pliny the Elder would have us believe that the Garamantes were simple uncivilized cattle herders, living in sporadic camp dwellings. Until archa...
13 Dec 202050min
Scotland's Enigmatic Ancient Structures
Brochs. Early archaeologists believed that they must have been built by the Danish, that the indigenous population could never have managed it. More recent suggestions have been that architects travel...
10 Dec 202031min
Old Testament Warriors
It’s probably the most famous book in the world, and it’s also essentially the only literary source which covers the genesis of warfare and the nation state. Simon Elliott is an archaeologist, histori...
6 Dec 202049min
Spartacus: Life or Legend?
‘I’m Spartacus!’ In the field of epic film making, the 1960 historical drama ‘Spartacus’, is legendary. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, adapted from the Howard Fast novel by Red Scare blacklisted screenw...
3 Dec 202047min
