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 shepherd as the main subject, using idyllic scenes from the ancient countryside to illuminate his poems in a fashion that would be emulated by later artists such as Virgil. Episode...

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 interactions of everyday people, popularizing the use of “stock characters” and romance plots that audiences could appreciate regardless of background or education. Of his 108 plays, only one has survived in complete form (The Dyskolos or “The Bad...

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 prophecies associated the anchor with his imperial destiny. These stories might have been tied to the now-lost Seleucus Romance, but the anchor continued to be used by later monarchies, a testament to the lasting appeal of Seleucid kingship in the...

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 India for the next 300 years, the former heartlands of the Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kingdoms. Dr. Lauren Morris lends her expertise on this often poorly understood group, tracing the history of the Kushans and their impact on the...

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. This fostered the exchange of goods and ideas, leading some scholars to identify it as the first period of globalization. Joining the show is Dr. Serena Autiero, who helps elaborate on how we can apply modern concepts like globalization in...

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 and India was brought to a definitive end. In their wake, later powers like the Kushan Empire established control over Bactria and Gandhara, and trade with the Roman Empire would flourish along the sailing routes of the Indian Ocean. Despite the...

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 human form. However, the Gandharan artists also drew a great amount of inspiration from the traditions of the Greco-Roman world, borrowing Hellenistic designs and mythological figures to tell the story of the Buddha in often powerful ways. Dr....

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 the idea of “Greco-Buddhism”, tracing the origins of the Buddha and the establishment of his teachings in Gandhara, before comparing and contrasting the philosophical outlooks of Greek and Indian schools of thought like Pyrrhonian Skepticism and...

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 these connections: the Pali text known as the Milindapañha ("The Questions of King Milinda") portrays the Indo-Greek king Menander I Soter as a Buddhist convert and saint swayed by the wisdom of the Sage Nagasena, while Emperor Ashoka dispatched...

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 (southern Afghanistan and Pakistan) as their new domains, the so-called "Indo-Greek" kingdoms. Despite the hostilities, the Indo-Greeks would quickly acclimate to their new cultural environment: figures like Heliodorus, a...

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 alliance with the Yuezhi nomads, who migrated to Bactria in the 130s and contributed to the collapse of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. Though the alliance fell through, Zhang’s reports on the wealthy lands of “Daxia” and “Dayuan” tantalized the Emperor’s political ambitions,...

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 and the formation of brand new identities. Dr. Rachel Mairs, a historian of Hellenistic Central Asia and author of "The Hellenistic Far East", joins the show to discuss the nature of identity, reassessing how we perceive "Greekness" or any other type of...

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 continued to hold a powerful influence. In this episode, we take a deeper look at Greco-Bactria by analyzing the archaeological and epigraphical record, looking at key examples relating to questions of identity and organization, and ultimately...

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 such as "Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria" and "Lost World of the Golden King: In Search of Ancient Afghanistan", who discusses how coins can be used (or misused) to tell the story of Hellenistic Bactria, and their...

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 one of the most fascinating yet poorly understood regions in antiquity, we will try to piece together the fragmented history of Bactria and its inhabitants from the invasion of Alexander the Great to the reign of Eucratides I. Episode 074...

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 over the wayward satrapies and kingdoms that splintered away during the troubled reigns of his predecessors. Marching from Armenia to India between 212-205, Antiochus and his army would battle the likes of Arsaces II of Parthia and...

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 tries to rejuvenate the now-rusty Egyptian army by ordering a massive recruitment drive and issuing reforms, and the two kings would come to blows at Raphia, where over 140,000 men would take part in one of the largest battles of the ancient world. Episode 072...

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 from falling apart in the face of rebellions and the assassination of his older brother, the laziness of Ptolemy allows the court of Alexandria to fall into a whirlwind of conspiracies and corruption among his advisors, serving as a dramatic prelude to the Fourth...

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 Scipio Africanus) becomes the premier general of the Republic, bringing the fight to Africa itself as he clashes with Hannibal at the legendary confrontation at Zama. Episode 070...

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 of Cannae in 216. Meanwhile, Marcus Claudius Marcellus leads a campaign in Sicily against the once-loyal city of Syracuse, contending with war machines devised by the likes of Archimedes in one of the great sieges of...

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 their greatest foe to date: Hannibal Barca, son of Hamilcar. To the surprise and horror of the Senate, Hannibal would audaciously plan and execute a crossing of the Alps and bring the war to Italy, slaughtering the Roman armies thrown at him at the Trebia River...

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 the career of Perdiccas, the standing regent of Philip III Arrhidaeus and Alexander IV, the book itself dedicates to covering the wide-reaching events that gripped Europe and Asia as the Argead Empire began to struggle in its first...

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 Carthaginians went to battle once again. Rome fought to stem the tide of Celtic warbands invading from Northern Italy, whereas Carthage faced an existential crisis with the Mercenary War (241-237) before its rescue by Hamilcar Barca. Hamilcar and his clan then expanded into Spain,...

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 to talk about the perception of Antiochus IV in the Jewish literary tradition, viewed as both an incompetent ruler and great persecutor, and the prototype of the Antichrist. Episode...

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 of his courtiers and for the many belligerent powers of the Greek Peninsula. Philip however proved to be a king in the mold of Pyrrhus and Alexander, spearheading a campaign against the transgressions of the Aetolian League in the so-called Social War (the War of the Allies) while also...