Episoder

  • What was the most popular sporting spectacle in ancient Rome? Gladiator bouts? Beast hunts? It was in fact chariot racing! For centuries the Romans were enraptured by the galloping of horses and the thill of the chase. And it all took place in perhaps Rome's greatest arena. A massive racetrack that could hold over 100,000 spectators - The Circus Maximus.


    In today's episode of The Ancients Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Matthew Nicholls to discover all there is to know about this famous ancient sporting amphitheatre, how it came into being and how chariot racing captured the minds of the Roman people.


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription


    You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • The Edomites are in the Old Testament, an ancient people who lived around Petra, Jordan before the Nabateans and before Petra was even created. King Herod was a descendant of the Edomites, and perhaps most infamously they are remembered for supporting the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, rejoicing when he sacked Jerusalem in the 6th century BC.


    Tristan Hughes is joined by archaeologist Dr Matthew Vincent, who has been excavating tombs in Petra, to discuss what is known about the Edomites as archaeology and newly-discovered written sources reveal fascinating insights into how they lived.


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. The producer is Joseph Knight, audio editor is Max Carrey. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription


    You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK

  • Manglende episoder?

    Klik her for at forny feed.

  • Tristan Hughes and his guest Dr. Joyce Tyldesley OBE are heading to the Underworld for the final installation of The Ancients exploration of the Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. They encounter the infamous jackal-headed deity Anubis, analyse Egyptian archaeology and discuss the origins of mummification, the Book of the Dead and the weighing of hearts.


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited and produced by Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Scriptwriter is Andrew Hulse. Voice Actor is Menna Elbezawy.


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription


    You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • One of the most famous and recognisable Persian kings of antiquity, Darius the Great was an Achaemenid superstar, ruling the Achaemenid Persian Empire some 2,500 years ago. His tale is preserved in the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus; Darius’ story stretches from India to Ukraine and the Great Steppe.


    Reverend Professor Lloyd LLewellyn-Jones joins Tristan Hughes to discuss the rise, reign and fall of one of the most extraordinary Persian kings; Darius I, ‘Darius the Great’.


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Max Carrey and produced by Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription


    You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • The story of Osiris and how he became King of the Dead is a gruesome tale and one of the most famous legends from Egyptian mythology.


    Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Campbell Price to explore the myth which culminates in a divine and bloody battle between the God of Chaos Set and Osiris’ son Horus.


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited and produced by Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Scriptwriter is Andrew Hulse. Voice Actor is Menna Elbezawy.


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription


    You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • It’s 146 BC. Fire rises high over the North African coast. The once-thriving port city of Carthage is burning. Thousands of Roman soldiers have breached the defences and swarmed into the city, intent on wiping this city from the face of the earth. This is the fall of Carthage.


    Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Eve MacDonald to plot the steps that lead to the Romans ruthlessly crushing this ancient Mediterranean power, once and for all. In the infamous words of the Roman statesman Cato the Elder; ‘Carthago Delenda Est’ - Carthage Must be Destroyed’


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited and produced by Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription


    You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • Isis, Hathor, Sekhmet and Bastet were adored and honoured in Ancient Egypt, with their stories passed between thousands of followers and down through the generations through spoken word and painted hieroglyph. But there weren't simply maternal, wifely, caring deitites. They could also transform into deadly beasts and deliver horrific vengeance when crossed.


    Tristan Hughes is joined by archaeologist and Egyptologist Dr. Joyce Tyldesley to unravel the myths of these ancient Egyptian goddesses.


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Scriptwriter is Andrew Hulse. Voice Actor is Menna Elbezawy.


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription


    You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • 67 million years ago the most famous meat-eating dinosaur prowled the earth - the Tyrannosaurus Rex. At it's full size, this prehistoric apex predator was taller than a double decker bus and weighed more than seven tonnes, whilst it's teeth were the size of bananas. But how much do we actually know about this so called 'King of the Dinosaurs'?


    In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Steve Brusatte to explore the ins and outs of this most iconic of dinosaurs - from their tiny little arms to their fossilised poo.


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription


    You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • Of all the Egyptian Gods it is Ra, the God of the Sun, who is perhaps most well known in the popular imagination. He is said to have voyaged across the sky on his solar barge and then come nightfall descended into the underworld to battle all sorts of monstrous creatures. But Ra is a complicated character. He is often fused with other Egyptian gods and transformed into different solar deities entirely. So who really is he? And where do the tales about him come from?


    In today's episode of The Ancients - the second in our 5 part series on Egyptian Gods and Goddesses - Tristan Hughes is joined by Egyptologist Campbell Price to unpack to story of Ra and the Sun Gods and explore the deity who the Ancient Egyptians arguably revered most highly.


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff. The script writer is Andrew Hulse. The voice actor is Menna Elbezawy


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription


    You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • In the early 5th century AD, after almost four centuries of iron-fisted Roman rule, the empire in Britain was beginning to fade. Franks, Saxons and Roman usurpers were running rampant. Britannia was on its last legs and in 410 AD, the Britons were told to ‘look to their own defences’.


    However the story of the fall of Roman Britain is far more complex than the traditional tale of swift Roman withdrawal. In today's episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Rob Collins and Dr James Gerrard to journey from Londinium to Hadrians Wall and unpick the ultimate fate of Roman Britannia.


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription


    You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • The legends of Ra and Hathor, of Osiris and Isis, of Anubis and Set have been passed from mouth to ear in Egypt for millennia. They were painted on temple walls, etched on delicate papyrus and discovered at the heart of the pyramids. But who were the Gods of Egypt? How did their myths originate? And from where did the ancient Egyptians believe their Gods came from?


    On the Ancients this September and October - across five special episodes - join Tristan Hughes to delve into the meaning of these stories and unpack Egypt's mysterious deities. In today's episode he is joined by Egyptologist Joyce Tyldesley to kick off the series and explore the origins of the Gods and their enthralling creation story.


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Scriptwriter is Andrew Hulse. Voice Actor is Menna Elbezawy.


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription


    You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • 2000 years ago, in the year 9 AD, a Roman Army walked into a trap deep in wilds of Germania. Over 15,000 men were massacred at Teutoburg Forest, making it one of the bloodiest ambushes in history. But what happened next? 


    Today's episode of the Ancients continues the terrifying story we began last week, as Tristan Hughes is joined by a host of leading experts to analyse the moves that played out on the battlefield, and the earth-shattering consequences that came after.


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription


    You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • Ancient India was the single greatest trading partner of the Roman Empire. For centuries, Indian sailors navigated the Indian Ocean and Red Sea to bring goods, ideas and religious beliefs to the Greco-Roman ports based on the Egyptian coast. But how did this lucrative trade begin? And what sorts of goods passed along it?


    In today's episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by William Dalrymple to explore 'The Golden Road' - one of the great trade routes of ancient history - and discover how India became the beating heart of the ancient world.


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription


    You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • Tristan Hughes travels to the site of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, one of the most epic defeats of the Roman army when an alliance of Germanic peoples ambushed three Roman legions.


    Across two episodes leading experts analyse every move leading up to those terrifying days in early September 9 AD, deep in the Teutoburg Forest. All stemming from the Roman Invasion of Germany.


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription

  • Despite being one of the most visited historic spots on the planet today, Petra was once a so-called ‘lost city,’ hidden from western eyes in a vast desert landscape for hundreds of years.


    What is the story of this rose-red ancient city and its inhabitants? The powerful Nabataean civilisation who built Petra more than two thousand years ago, but remain a mystery to so many today.


    Who were their kings? Their gods and goddesses? And how were they able to turn an arid desert into a green oasis?


    In this special episode, Tristan Hughes goes to Petra in Jordan, one of the seven wonders of the world, to discover the secrets himself.


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Written and produced by Charlotte Long. Mixed and edited by Aidan Lonergan. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.


    Special thanks to Visit Jordan, Matthew Vincent and Jodi Magness.


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    The Ancients is recording our first LIVE SHOW at the London Podcast Festival on Thursday 5th September 2024! 

    Book your tickets now to be in the audience and ask Tristan and his guest your burning questions. 

    Tickets on sale HERE https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/the-ancients/


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription

  • The word 'Sirens' conjures up many images, possibly of beautiful mermaid-like creatures luring sailors to their watery deaths. These ancient Greek mythical creatures, linked to the Queen of the Underworld Persephone, feature in well known myths such as Jason and the Argonauts and Homer’s story of Odysseus - The Odyssey. But their popular modern portrayal as 'sexy maidens' does not originate from ancient Greece, that is a much later invention. 


    Sarah Clegg joins Tristan Hughes to discuss the story of the Sirens and how their legacy is intertwined with a number of other mythical creatures such as nymphs, the Mesopotamian demoness Lilith and, of course mermaids.


    Listen to Tristan and Sarah Clegg's previous episode on Lillith here: https://podfollow.com/the-ancients/episode/83e3167b27baefea4d862da99ce26425ba43e291/view


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    The Ancients is recording our first LIVE SHOW at the London Podcast Festival on Thursday 5th September 2024!

    Book your tickets now to be in the audience and ask Tristan and his guest your burning questions.

    Tickets on sale HERE https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/the-ancients/


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription

  • It's one of the most popular alcoholic drinks in the world. But did you know that beer is also one of the world's oldest beverages, with a history that stretches back more than 10,000 years. Beer was the beverage of choice for a whole host of ancient Bronze Age civilisations arrayed across Mesopotamia. But why did cities like Babylon and Uruk become the first great beer drinking cultures in history? And what traces of this love of alcohol did they leave behind?


    In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Prof. Tate Paulette to discover how those living on the plains of ancient Mesopotamia bred such a love for liquid amber and explore how exactly they brewed it.


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    The Ancients is recording our first LIVE SHOW at the London Podcast Festival on Thursday 5th September 2024!

    Book your tickets now to be in the audience and ask Tristan and his guest your burning questions.

    Tickets on sale HERE https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/the-ancients/


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription


    You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • Cats! These much loved furry friends have brightened people’s lives for millenia. And it was the same in ancient times. They were pets. They were pest control against rats. They were even in some cases considered sacred. But how did they become the pet of choice for homes the world over? And why were they first domesticated?


    In today's episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor James Serpell, an anthrozoologist from the University of Pennsylvania to delve into the origins of the First Cats and explore how they evolved from self-sufficient wildcats to the lovable felines we're familiar with today.


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    The Ancients is recording our first LIVE SHOW at the London Podcast Festival on Thursday 5th September 2024!

    Book your tickets now to be in the audience and ask Tristan and his guest your burning questions.

    Tickets on sale HERE https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/the-ancients/


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription


    You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • It is the most famous monument of ancient Greece. Its remains standing tall above modern Athens today, more than 2,000 years old. The Parthenon. A temple, treasury, the residence of a powerful general after Alexander the Great’s death…and his courtesans, a church, a mosque, a gunpowder store, a tourist site. It’s safe to say that the Parthenon has had a pretty fascinating story over the past two and a half millennia. Not to mention the amazing art and architecture of the building that continues to awe people down to the present day. In this episode of our sister podcast Echoes of History, our very own Tristan Hughes joins Matt Lewis to find out more.


    Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.


    The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


    The Ancients is recording our first LIVE SHOW at the London Podcast Festival on Thursday 5th September 2024!

    Book your tickets now to be in the audience and ask Tristan and his guest your burning questions.

    Tickets on sale HERE https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/the-ancients/


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription


    You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • Overlooking the Argolid Plain in the eastern Peloponnese, Mycenae was once the envy of the Mediterranean world. It rose to prominence in the late Bronze Age, centuries before the great Greek states of Athens, Sparta and Corinth, and is known as the birthplace of mythical bronze age figures such as Agammemnon, King of the Greeks. But how do know so much about it? What remains of this once glittering Greek citadel?


    In today's episode of The Ancients Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Jorrit Kelder to talk through Mycenae's archeology - from its Cyclopaean stone walls and monumental Tholos tombs, to it’s golden face masks and great lion entrance gate.


    Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Peter Dennis and Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.


    The Ancients is a History Hit Podcast


    The Ancients is recording our first LIVE SHOW at the London Podcast Festival on Thursday 5th September 2024!

    Book your tickets now to be in the audience and ask Tristan and his guest your burning questions.

    Tickets on sale HERE https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/the-ancients/


    Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription


    Vote for The Ancients in the Listeners Choice category of British Podcast Awards here.