Another year, another episode of the Ancient World Magazine podcast! In this episode, Josho Brouwers is joined by contributing editor Joshua Hall, regular contributor Arianna Sacco, and special guest Silvannen Gerrard to talk about chariots. A chariot is a fast and light vehicle with two spoked wheels, drawn by a team of at least two horses. In this sense, it should not be confused with the heavier two-wheeled carts or with waggons, which have four wheels. We start with a brief survey of the...

It’s been a while, but here’s finally a new episode of the Ancient World Magazine podcast. In this episode, Dr Joshua Hall talks with Dr Ulla Rajala (Stockholm University) about Early Rome, with special reference to a number of books that have recently been published on this topic. The first of these books is Nicola Terrenato’s The Early Roman Expansion into Italy: Elite Negotiation and Family Agendas (2019). The second is Gabriele Cifani’s The Origins of the Roman Economy: From the Iron Age...

Special guest Helena Meskanen joins the regular team of Matthew Lloyd, Joshua Hall, and Josho Brouwers to talk about museums, including some that are not strictly archaeological. We talk about our favourite museums, relate personal experiences when visiting them, and discuss what the role of archaeological museums should be. We also touch upon open air or “living history” museums.

Special guest Dr Helena Meskanen joins the regular team of Matthew Lloyd, Joshua Hall, and Josho Brouwers to talk about museums, including some that are not strictly archaeological. We talk about our favourite museums, relate personal experiences when visiting them, and discuss what the role of archaeological museums should be. We also touch upon open air or “living history” museums.

This episode picks up from where we left off last time by focusing on ancient Greek sculpture of the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Among other things, we devote quite a bit of time to talking about male and female nudity, and what this says about Classical and Hellenistic perceptions of the role of men and women in the ancient Greek world. We also talk about the sculpture of Etruria and Central Italy, and touch upon statuary from Magna Graecia.

This episode picks up from where we left off last time by focusing on ancient Greek sculpture of the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Among other things, we devote quite a bit of time to talking about male and female nudity, and what this says about Classical and Hellenistic perceptions of the role of men and women in the ancient Greek world. We also talk about the sculpture of Etruria and Central Italy, and touch upon statuary from Magna Graecia.

The team talk about sculpture in the ancient Greek world. There was a lot of ground to cover so we decided to spread it out across two episodes. In part 1, our focus is on the Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, and Archaic period, so down to ca. 500 BC. Part 2 will be uploaded in the next few days. That episode picks up where we leave off here by examining sculpture of the Classical age and beyond.

The team talk about sculpture in the ancient Greek world. There was a lot of ground to cover so we decided to spread it out across two episodes. In part 1, our focus is on the Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, and Archaic period, so down to ca. 500 BC. Part 2 will be uploaded in the next few days. That episode picks up where we leave off here by examining sculpture of the Classical age and beyond.

Joshua Hall, Matthew Lloyd, and Josho Brouwers talk about sanctuaries in ancient Greece. We define what a "sanctuary" is and what kind of sacred places there in the ancient Greek world. Sanctuaries are the focal point for religion, so we naturally also talk about priests and priestesses, festivals, and sacrifices. We also talk about the main elements of the typical sanctuary and pay particular attention to the altar.

Joshua Hall, Matthew Lloyd, and Josho Brouwers talk about sanctuaries in ancient Greece. We define what a "sanctuary" is and what kind of sacred places there in the ancient Greek world. Sanctuaries are the focal point for religion, so we naturally also talk about priests and priestesses, festivals, and sacrifices. Greek plays and athletic competitions were usually organized in honour of the gods. We also talk about the main elements of the typical sanctuary and pay particular attention to the...

In this episode, Joshua Hall and Josho Brouwers are joined by experts Stephanie Craven and Hannah Ringheim to discuss mercenaries in the ancient world. This podcast is dedicated to the memory of Matthew Trundle. His scholarship had a significant impact on our discussion of mercenaries. The introduction and closing are handled by contributing editor Matthew Lloyd.

In this episode, Joshua Hall and Josho Brouwers are joined by experts Stephanie Craven and Hannah Ringheim to discuss mercenaries in the ancient world. This podcast is dedicated to the memory of Matthew Trundle. His scholarship had a significant impact on our discussion of mercenaries. The introduction and closing are handled by contributing editor Matthew Lloyd.

Joshua Hall, Matthew Lloyd, and Josho Brouwers are joined by special guest Dr Lieve Donnellan of Aarhus University to talk about networks and interconnectivity in the ancient Mediterranean. The discussion is prompted by our reading of Cyprian Broodbank’s monumental work, The Making of the Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean from the Beginning to the Emergence of the Classical World, published in 2013 by Thames & Hudson.

Joshua Hall, Matthew Lloyd, and Josho Brouwers are joined by special guest Dr Lieve Donnellan of Aarhus University to talk about networks and interconnectivity in the ancient Mediterranean. The discussion is prompted by our reading of Cyprian Broodbank’s monumental work, The Making of the Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean from the Beginning to the Emergence of the Classical World, published in 2013 by Thames & Hudson.

This is the first instalment of a series that deals with the history of Carthage. Joshua Hall talks with Josho Brouwers about Phoenicia, the Phoenicians (whoever they might be), and colonization in the Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. We also touch upon the differences between territorial states and city-states in the Levant, and how the Phoenician cities interacted with their neighbours.

This is the first instalment of a series that deals with the history of Carthage. Joshua Hall talks with Josho Brouwers about Phoenicia, the Phoenicians (whoever they might be), and colonization in the Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. We also touch upon the differences between territorial states and city-states in the Levant, and how the Phoenician cities interacted with their neighbours. A key question to ask is who the Phoenicians were. We talk about the...

We've been writing a lot about the Trojan War on Ancient World Magazine and also devoted an earlier episode of the podcast to chat about the 2004-movie Troy. Virgil's Aeneid is a useful topic of discussion, since it connects the world of Greek mythology with that of Roman legend, and also connects myth to history. Virgil (70–19 BC) consciously modelled the Aeneid after the two Homeric epics, Iliad and Odyssey.

We've been writing a lot about the Trojan War on Ancient World Magazine and also devoted an earlier episode of the podcast to chat about the 2004-movie Troy. Virgil's Aeneid is a useful topic of discussion, since it connects the world of Greek mythology with that of Roman legend, and also connects myth to history. Virgil (70–19 BC) consciously modelled the Aeneid after the two Homeric epics, Iliad and Odyssey. The first half of the poem (books 1 through 6) focus on Aeneas' wanderings and are...

In this fourth episode of the podcast, we try to show that ancient Egypt was every bit as dynamic as any other region of the world (ancient or modern), with plenty of change over time and a large amount of regional variation. Host Josho Brouwers is joined by two Italian researchers who are both writing their PhD theses at Leiden University, Renata Schiavo and Arianna Sacco.

Ancient Egypt is often seen as a monolithic entity, something that sprang into being around 3000 BC and then remained virtually unchanged for several millennia. In the popular imagination, Egypt is the land of gold masks and pyramids. And surely, we know all that there is to know about ancient Egypt, don't we? In this fourth episode of the podcast, we try to show that ancient Egypt was every bit as dynamic as any other region of the world (ancient or modern), with plenty of change over time...

In this third episode, archaeologists Matthew Lloyd and Josho Brouwers, and ancient historian Roel Konijnendijk, discuss the Brad Pitt vehicle Troy, a 2004-movie directed by Wolfgang Petersen. They talk at length about the film: the choices made in fitting the story within a fairly limited running length; the curious mix of Bronze Age and Archaic/Classical elements for a movie ostensibly set around 1200 BC; why more Sean Bean is the best reason to watch the Director's Cut, and more.

In this third episode, we discuss the Brad Pitt vehicle Troy, a 2004-movie directed by Wolfgang Petersen. The movie doesn't focus exclusively on the Homeric epics, but draws from the entire Epic Cycle, covering the whole of the Trojan War, from its immediate cause (the abduction of the Spartan queen Helen) to the sack of the city. The team for this episode consists of archaeologists Matthew Lloyd and Josho Brouwers, and ancient historian Roel Konijnendijk. They talk at length about the film:...

We talk about the ancient Greek hoplite. Josho Brouwers, Joshua R. Hall, and Roel Konijnendijk are joined by archaeologist Matthew Lloyd and ancient historian Owen Rees. They focus mostly on issues of definition, as well as socio-economic and cultural aspects of the hoplite, rather than tactics, although they do briefly discuss the phalanx.