Have Toga, Will Travel: Exploring Greece and Rome, Ancient and Modern: the Greek episodes reviewed

Emily Jusino, a specialist in Greek tragedy, and Cam Hawkins, an ancient historian, talk about the Greek and Roman worlds and their own travels in the Mediterranean through history, literature and film; only the Greek episodes are here, 14 of 30, 4 eras, 12 hours.

Where to start. The earliest indexed episode is 'Holding Out for a Hero (in Ancient Greece)' (2025); 14 episodes of this show are in the section.

Minoans and Mycenaeans c. 3000 - 1100 BC · 4

1h 23mHomer’s Odyssey: A Deep Dive (before Christopher Nolan’s Film!) Have Toga, Will Travel: Exploring Greece and Rome, Ancient and ModernPodcast

Before Christopher Nolan's film, Emily and Cam break down Homer's Odyssey, questioning Odysseus's reliability as a narrator and examining Penelope's own craftiness throughout the poem.

1h 02mEuripides’ Trojan Women: The Fall of Troy in Greek Tragedy Have Toga, Will Travel: Exploring Greece and Rome, Ancient and ModernPodcast

Euripides staged Trojan Women in Athens months after Athenians captured Melos, and Hecuba, Cassandra and Andromache carry the play's depiction of the fall of Troy.

53mOdysseus in Greek Tragedy: Sophocles’ Philoctetes Have Toga, Will Travel: Exploring Greece and Rome, Ancient and ModernPodcast

Sophocles adapted a story about Odysseus in his play Philoctetes, using it to explore deception, persuasion and intractable situations, following the same adaptive precedent modern filmmakers like Christopher Nolan continue.

37mHomer’s Odyssey on Film: “The Return” Have Toga, Will Travel: Exploring Greece and Rome, Ancient and ModernPodcast

Emily and Cam review The Return, starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche and directed by Uberto Pasolini, for how it adapts Homer's Odyssey into a modern interpretation.

The Persian Wars 499 - 449 BC · 6

1h 07mThe Persians and the Greeks, Part III: Xerxes and the Road to Thermopylae Have Toga, Will Travel: Exploring Greece and Rome, Ancient and ModernPodcast

Emily and Cam trace Xerxes's decision to invade Greece and his expedition toward the Battle of Thermopylae, with a brief digression on the film 300.

1h 02mThe Persians and the Greeks, Part IV: Salamis, Plataea, and Everything After Have Toga, Will Travel: Exploring Greece and Rome, Ancient and ModernPodcast

In the final part of a four-part series, Emily and Cam cover the Battle of Salamis and the Battle of Plataea, closing with the Serpent Column as a monument to Greek victory.

46mThe Persians and the Greeks, Part II: Darius, Great King, King of Kings Have Toga, Will Travel: Exploring Greece and Rome, Ancient and ModernPodcast

Emily and Cam continue the Persian-Greek conflict series, covering Cyrus's son Cambyses, the rise of Darius, and Darius's relationships with Greeks along his empire's western frontier.

40mThe Persians and the Greeks, Part I: The Rise of the Persian Empire Have Toga, Will Travel: Exploring Greece and Rome, Ancient and ModernPodcast

40mAeschylus' "Persians": The OG Greek Tragedy Have Toga, Will Travel: Exploring Greece and Rome, Ancient and ModernPodcast

Aeschylus's Persians stands as the oldest surviving Greek tragedy, offering what Emily and Cam call a surprisingly sympathetic take on Athens's ancient Persian enemies.

33mThe Athens Marathon, Part I: In the Footsteps of Pheidippides? Have Toga, Will Travel: Exploring Greece and Rome, Ancient and ModernPodcast

Classical Athens and Sparta 479 - 386 BC · 2

1h 04mThe Athenian Acropolis, Then and Now Have Toga, Will Travel: Exploring Greece and Rome, Ancient and ModernPodcast

Emily and Cam compare visiting the Athenian Acropolis today with the fifth century BCE, explaining why the Parthenon and Erechtheion exist and what they meant to ancient Athenians.

49mThe Athenian Acropolis, Throughout the Ages Have Toga, Will Travel: Exploring Greece and Rome, Ancient and ModernPodcast

The Athenian Acropolis carried a long history before and after the Parthenon's construction in the fifth century BCE, and Emily and Cam trace that history at Athens's most iconic landmark.

Greek Life, Thought and the Wider World across the centuries · 2

46mHolding Out for a Hero (in Ancient Greece) Have Toga, Will Travel: Exploring Greece and Rome, Ancient and ModernPodcast

Emily and Cam ask what a 'hero' is and explore how heroes were imagined in ancient Greece, laying groundwork for the next episode on Eleven's heroic journey.

45mAt Play in the Theater of Dionysus Have Toga, Will Travel: Exploring Greece and Rome, Ancient and ModernPodcast

The original Theater of Dionysus differed greatly from today's ruins in Athens; Emily and Cam trace its development alongside the genre it hosted, Greek tragedy, from Aeschylus to Euripides.