Best Herodotus Podcasts (2024)

1
Among the Ancients II: Herodotus 10:30

26d ago10:30

10:30

Some of the most compelling stories of the Classical world come from Herodotus‘ Histories, an account of the Persian Wars and a thousand things besides. Emily and Tom chart a course through Herodotus‘ history-as-epic, discussing how best to understand his approach to history, ethnography and myth. Exploring a work full of surprising, dramatic and f…

1
Medieval LOLs: Fabliaux 34:45

12h ago34:45

34:45

Fabliaux were short, witty tales originating in northern France between the 12th and 14th centuries, often featuring crafty characters in rustic settings and overwhelmingly concerned with money and sex. In this episode Irina and Mary look at two of these comic verses, both containing surprisingly explicit sexual language, and consider the ways in w…

1
191. 540s BC part 7 China - Sun Tzu 31:30

6d ago31:30

31:30

We have a jam packed episode here for you guys! They say Genghis Khan was born clutching a bloody blood clot... but here we have Sun Tzu born on the same year of a major peace conference in China. History loves irony that's for sure. If you've been following along, you know that warfare in China during this period is endemic... maybe more like an e…

1
Human Conditions: ‘The Human Condition’ by Hannah Arendt 11:49

9d ago11:49

11:49

In the fourth episode of Human Conditions, the last of the series with Judith Butler, we fittingly turn to The Human Condition (1956). Hannah Arendt defines action as the highest form of human activity: distinct from work and labour, action includes collaborative expression, collective decision-making and, crucially, initiating change. Focusing on …

1
What´s New In History - A Letter to Constantine 14:47

9d ago14:47

14:47

Dan, our Roman expert, helps Bernie with this episode. Constantine was the first Christian emperor, and as a Christian would never be into ancestor worship... Right? Find out right here! LINK to article https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ancient-letter-emperor-constantine-monumental-discovery-temple-italy/ This is a podcast by Dan Hörning and Bernie Maop…

1
On Satire: The Earl of Rochester 13:14

14d ago13:14

13:14

According to one contemporary, the Earl of Rochester was a man who, in life as well is in poetry, ‘could not speak with any warmth, without repeated Oaths, which, upon any sort of provocation, came almost naturally from him.’ It’s certainly hard to miss Rochester's enthusiastic use of obscenities, though their precise meanings can sometimes be obsc…

1
190. 540s BC part 6 China - 6 battles and 1 murder 37:46

20d ago37:46

37:46

In this first of 3 episodes on China in the 550's, we have the year 549 covered... You know you always get a DEEP DIVE on Fan of History! We give you more background on the O.G. state of QI and the current drama going on there (murder, intrigue, deception.... you know, the usual stuff) You'll also get some wise advice from Confucius, Lao Tzu, and D…

1
H.I. Marrou’s A History of Education in Antiquity, Part VII (Ad Navseam, Episode 146) 1:02:48

16d ago1:02:48

1:02:48

Herein Dave and Jeff resume their tour through Henri-Irénée Marrou's ground-breadking volume on ancient education. We wrap up Chapter VI, "The Masters of the Classical Tradition", and see what Plato thought about mathematics, elementary education, gymnastics, plastic-segmented jumpropes, playing the triangle and blocks in Kindergarten, and more. Ho…

1
Political Poems: 'Easter 1916' by W.B. Yeats 33:54

22d ago33:54

33:54

Yeats’s great poem about the uprising of Irish republicans against British rule on 24 April 1916 marked a turning point in Ireland’s history and in Yeats's career. Through four stanzas Yeats enacts the transfiguration of the movement’s leaders – executed by the British shortly after the event – from ‘motley’ acquaintances to heroic martyrs, and int…

1
What´s New In History - "Mummy-Making" $ecrets Revealed! 12:08

23d ago12:08

12:08

Special thanks to listener Nancy Jo for sending this to us! This short episode explores the fascinating discovery of an ancient mummification workshop. Check it out! Show notes: Link to article https://www.science.org/content/article/secrets-mummy-making-revealed-residues-ancient-urns How to make a mummy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg8254OKt_s …

1
Make it Come Alive: A Conversation with Veteran Translator Stanley Lombardo (Ad Navseam, Episode 145) 1:02:09

24d ago1:02:09

1:02:09

This week tune in as the guys interview one of the greatest and most prolific translators of this and the previous century—Dr. Stanley Lombardo. In this conversation we hear about Stanley’s early education where he was, yes, drawn to Greek and Latin but especially the rhythms and performance of poetry. The idea that these ancient works were meant t…

1
189. 540s BC part 5 Babylon, Egypt & India 41:42

1M ago41:42

41:42

King Nabonidus of Babylon focuses on everything else but the impending doom. He becomes the first archaeologist, stays away from Marduk, worships the moon and is generally an absent monarch. Amasis II rules over a golden era of Egypt, also blissfully unaware of the coming doom. Bimbisara assumes the throne of Magadha in India and begins the rise of…

1
Oh boy oh boy: A Conversation with Gary "Hercules" Schmidt (Ad Navseam, Episode 144) 1:10:23

1M ago1:10:23

1:10:23

This week the guys welcome back good friend, former colleague, and two-time Newberry Medal honoree, young-adult writer Gary Schmidt. How did Jeff and Dave manage that? Well we invited him in, and just like that he accepted our invitation. He found the studio comfortable, or at least okay for now, but the conversation was more than a little bit supe…

1
Medieval LOLs: Old English Riddles 41:58

1M ago41:58

41:58

Riddles are an ancient and universal form, but few people seem to have enjoyed them more than English Benedictine monks. The Exeter Book, a tenth century monastic collection of Old English verse, builds on the riddle tradition in two striking ways: first, the riddles don’t come with answers; second, they are sexually suggestive. Were they intended …

1
What´s New In History - This CHANGES EVERYTHING we knew 15:36

1M ago15:36

15:36

This discovery certainly did blow Dan and Bernie's minds! And that's not hyperbole, exaggeration, or click bait. No kidding. A really old city has been found in the heart of the Amazon jungle where only stone age hunter gatherers were supposed to be. Wait till you hear how many people lived there and when. Don't miss this episode. Amazon study http…

1
Human Conditions: ‘Black Skin, White Masks’ by Frantz Fanon 12:58

1M ago12:58

12:58

Begun as a psychiatric dissertation, Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks (1952) became a genre-shattering study of antiblack racism and its effect on the psyche. At turns expressionistic, confessional, clinical, sharply satirical and politically charged, the book is dazzlingly multivocal, sometimes self-contradictory but always compelling. Judit…

1
188. 540s BC part 4 Cyrus vs the Ionians 38:52

1M ago38:52

38:52

With his new advisor Croesus at his side, Cyrus the great ponders the problem with those devious Ionian Greeks. Link to passages in Herodotus for this episode https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Herodotus/1C*.html This is a podcast by Dan Hörning and Bernie Maopolski. If you like what we do you can support the Fan of History project …

1
On Satire: Ben Jonson's 'Volpone' 11:51

2M ago11:51

11:51

What did English satirists do after the archbishop of Canterbury banned the printing of satires in June 1599? They turned to the stage. Within months of the crackdown, the same satirical tricks Elizabethans had read in verse could be enjoyed in theatres. At the heart of the scene was Ben Jonson, who for many centuries has maintained a reputation as…

1
Political Poems: W.H. Auden's 'Spain 1937' 42:55

2M ago42:55

42:55

In their second episode, Mark and Seamus look at W.H. Auden's ‘Spain’. Auden travelled to Spain in January 1937 to support the Republican efforts in the civil war, and composed the poem shortly after his return a few months later to raise money for Medical Aid for Spain. It became a rallying cry in the fight against fascism, but was also heavily cr…

1
H.I. Marrou’s A History of Education in Antiquity, Part VI (Ad Navseam, Episode 143) 1:06:15

2M ago1:06:15

1:06:15

This week, Jeff and Dave resume their woolly perambulations through the wonders of Henri-Irénée Marrou's august volume on ancient education. Specifically, we look at Chapter VI, entitled "The Masters of the Classical Tradition" to get our bearings on Plato's pedagogical revolution. Along the way, we ask, and seek to answer, such questions as: What …

1
Among the Ancients II: Aesop 10:26

2M ago10:26

10:26

Supposedly an enslaved man from sixth-century Samos, Aesop might not have ever really existed, but the fables attributed to him remain some of the most widely read examples of classical literature. A fascinating window into the ‘low’ culture of ancient Greece, the Fables and the figure of Aesop appear in the work of authors as diverse as Aristophan…

1
Episode 12: The Fall of Sardis (1.79-84) 19:03

2M ago19:03

19:03

Cyrus uses the power of camels to defeat Croesus, and a botched prophecy allows him to capture Sardis. Plus, Spartan hair styles!By Ted Graham

1
187. 540s BC part 3 - Cyrus vs Croesus 34:05

2M ago34:05

34:05

Herodotus tells us Croesus gave a bunch of nice things to Delphi and the other oracle. Many of the items were still seen in his day. That is why the Greeks said Rich as Croesus… The oracle famously tells Croesus that if he attacks the Persians he will destroy a mighty empire. LOL. But also to make an ally of whoever was the most powerful of the Gre…

1
Anna Maria van Schurman and Women's Education, with Anne Larsen and Steve Maiullo of Hope College (Ad Navseam, Episode 142) 1:16:21

2M ago1:16:21

1:16:21

This week the guys are joined in the Bunker (via Zoom) by scholars Anne Larsen (emerita, French, Hope College) and Stephen Maiullo (Classics, Hope College) for a fascinating discussion of the “Minerva of Utrecht” and "Tenth Muse", Anna Maria van Schurman (1607-1678). Van Schurman was not only an accomplished painter, engraver, and calligraphist, sh…

1
Medieval LOLs: The Colloquies of Aelfric Bata 35:28

2M ago35:28

35:28

All teachers know that the best way for students to learn a language is through swear words, and nobody knew this better than Aelfric Bata, a monk from Winchester whose Colloquies, compiled in around the year 1000, instructed pupils to swear in Latin with elaborate and vivid fluency. Mary and Irina work through some of Aelfric’s fruitier dialogues,…

1
What´s New In History - Why Fred Can't Wear His Crown 30:23

2M ago30:23

30:23

See Fred. See Fred's crown. But you'll never see it on his head! King Charles III of the UK became King on Sept 8, 2022 and was coronated on May 6 2023 Frederick X of Denmark became king of Denmark on Jan 14 2024 and but he never had a coronation. In fact he's not even allowed to wear his crown! WHY?? Well that's the focus of this episode with Spec…

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