Scott Rank's call-in show and expert interviews; only the Greek episodes are indexed

History Unplugged Podcast

21 episodes indexed · 14 hours · History Unplugged

Periods · The Bronze Age, Archaic Greece, The Persian Wars, Classical Greece, Philip and Alexander, The Hellenistic world, Greece under Rome

Themes · War Philosophy

A call-in show where listeners ask resident historian Scott Rank anything, plus long-form interviews with experts, billed as the most comprehensive show of its kind; only the Greek episodes are here, 21 of 1120, 7 eras, 14 hours.

Where to start. The earliest indexed episode is 'How Was Alexander Able to Supply His Army Deep Into Asia?' (2017); 21 episodes of this show are in the section.

I feel like…

ThinkingAny

ideas, belief and how a polis was ordered

FeelingAny

stories, performance, art and ordinary lives

DoingAny

war and expansion

PeriodAny

when it happens

LengthAny

how much time you have

Minoans and Mycenaeans c. 3000 - 1100 BC · 2

53mA Classicist Believes that Homer Directly Dictated the Iliad, and Was Also an Excellent Horseman History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

With Robin Lane Fox

Robin Lane Fox, who has taught Homer for over forty years and wrote 'Homer and His Iliad,' argues Homer directly dictated the epic himself; where, how, and when it was composed remain open questions.

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10mThe Bronze Age Collapse of 1177 BC: The Most Catastrophic Event in History History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

The Bronze Age Collapse of 1177 BC, called the Dark Ages before the Dark Ages, was worse than World War One and the Mongol invasions that killed 40 million; it later inspired Homer's Iliad.

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The Persian Wars 499 - 449 BC · 1

51m"Thermopylae, the “300” Spartans, and the 26 Other Battles Fought There Over the Last 2,400 Years History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

With Michael Livingston

Thousands have lost their lives fighting over the pass at Thermopylae from the Greek Classical Era to World War II; the 300 Spartans of 480 BC were one battle among twenty-six others fought there, with guest Michael Livingston.

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Classical Athens and Sparta 479 - 386 BC · 3

51mThe Greek Triple Agent: Alcibiades, The Strategist Who Fought On 3 Sides of the Peloponnesian War History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

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49mWhy the Anabasis is the Second-Most Influential Greek Epic (After Homer’s Works) History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

With Alex Petkas

Stranded deep in enemy territory with 10,000 soldiers and no clear way home, Xenophon and his Greek mercenaries could escape only on foot; guest Alex Petkas discusses the leadership of this student of Socrates, whose account Napoleon referenced.

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46mThe Thucydides Trap: How A Rising Athens Made The Peloponnesian War Inevitable History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

With Polly Low

The Peloponnesian War, fought between Athens and Sparta from 431 to 404 BC and documented by the Athenian general and historian Thucydides, lasted 27 years and drew in Greek states as far as Sicily.

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Philip and Alexander 359 - 323 BC · 3

1h 05mAlexander the Great’s Final Battle Nearly Killed Him with Drowning and War Elephants History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

With Nic Fields

After his victory at Gaugamela in 331 BC, Alexander's Macedonian and Greek army fought its last major battle in 326 BC against King Poros on the Hydaspes River, moving a select force across it by feints and deception.

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34mFailed Futures: If Alexander The Great Hadn’t Died, He Might Have Conquered Europe, Circumnavigated Africa, and Built His Own Silk Road History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

With Anthony Everitt

Alexander the Great died in 323 BC at Babylon, leaving an empire stretching from Greece to India; guest Anthony Everitt asks whether, had he lived, he might have conquered Europe and circumnavigated Africa.

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9mHow Was Alexander Able to Supply His Army Deep Into Asia? History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

Alexander the Great conquered the known world and beyond without modern communications; this episode asks how he supplied tens of thousands of soldiers deep in hostile territory, far from home, for over a decade.

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The Hellenistic Age 323 - 31 BC · 2

47mThe 7 Wonders of the Ancient World Were Colossal, Prone to Destruction, and Not All May Have Existed History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

With Bettany Hughes

The Seven Wonders include the Temple of Artemis, the Statue of Zeus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse at Alexandria, alongside the pyramids of Giza and Babylon's Hanging Gardens; guest Bettany Hughes traveled to each site.

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47mThe Seven Cleopatras Who Ruled Egypt History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

With Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

Behind the singular figure of Cleopatra stood six other women who bore her name, seven queens ruling from 192 to 30 BC; guest Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones unearths their lost stories in The Cleopatras, exploring a part of the Hellenistic World.

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Rome and the Greek World 200 - 31 BC · 2

47mRome Definitively Eclipsed Greece in 197 BC By Making the Alexandrian Phalanx/Cavalry Obsolete History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

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9mThe Greek Military Owned The Ancient World. Why Did They Roll Over For the Romans? History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

After beating the Persian empire and conquering the known world, Greeks who once dominated the Eastern Mediterranean ended up as slave tutors for the Romans or philosophers in their major cities; this episode asks why their armies faded.

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Greek Life, Thought and the Wider World across the centuries · 8

52mAncient Athens Picked Its Leaders by Lottery for Over 200 Years. Some Think This System Should Replace Electoral Democracy History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

With Terry Bourcious

For almost two centuries, Athens filled most public offices and the Council of 500 by lottery, a reform from 508 BC meant to curb aristocratic control; guest Terry Bourcious argues modern democracies should adopt this sortition model too.

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49mDiogenes, the Father of Ancient Greek Stoicism, Loving Trolling His Audience and Could Out-Shock Borat History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

Diogenes the Cynic lived in a clay wine jar, owned almost nothing, and defecated in public to argue that social shame is arbitrary; he died in 323 BC, and Hegel later dismissed him as a shock jock.

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45mThe Life and Times of Aristotle, and How His Philosophy Conquered the World—Lantern Jack from the Ancient Greece Declassified Podcast History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

With Lantern Jack

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43mSocrates May Have Been Executed For Revealing Secrets of Athens’ Religious Rituals History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

With Matt Gatton

Socrates remains renowned over two thousand years after his death; impiety, a lack of reverence for the gods, was a religious crime in Athens, and from the perspective of the religious authorities of the time that charge was warranted.

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42mDespite the Spartans’ Last Stand at Thermopylae, They Are Still the Most Overrated Warriors of the Ancient World History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

With Myke Cole

Their last stand at Thermopylae made the Spartans legends, but guest Myke Cole's book 'The Bronze Lie' argues their militarism aimed mainly at controlling the helot population, and their hegemony over Greece was brief.

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38m95% of Ancient Greek Theater Is Gone. Here's How One Classicist Resurrected 500 Lost Playwrights History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

With James Romm

Of an estimated 1,500 ancient Greek plays, only 33 survive complete; a fifth-century AD anthology preserved excerpts from over 500 Greek authors, and guest James Romm became the first scholar to translate many fragments as poetry.

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33mAesop’s Fables and Whether They Were Written By an Ugly, Enslaved “Barbarian” Who Discretely Mocked His Masters History Unplugged PodcastPodcast

With Robin Waterfield

Aesop's fables, roughly 2,600 years old, were written by a non-Greek slave who may not have existed and was reported to be very ugly; guest Robin Waterfield has newly translated four hundred of them.

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