Andrew Schiestel on the Mediterranean, 2021 to 2022; only the Greek episodes are indexed
50 episodes indexed · 39 hours · Ithacabound.com
Periods · The Bronze Age, Archaic Greece, The Persian Wars, Classical Greece, Philip and Alexander, The Hellenistic world, Greece under Rome
Themes · Religion War Art and building Empire and colonies The polis
Andrew Schiestel explored history and mythology in the Mediterranean Basin in 188 episodes between March 2021 and January 2022; only the Greek episodes are here, 50 of 188, 7 eras, 39 hours.
Where to start. The earliest indexed episode is '#181 Bronze Age Palaikastro Crete w. Professor Carl Knappett' (2021); 50 episodes of this show are in the section; the show ended in January 2022.
I feel like…
ideas, belief and how a polis was ordered
stories, performance, art and ordinary lives
war and expansion
when it happens
how much time you have
Minoans and Mycenaeans c. 3000 - 1100 BC · 13
With Louise Hitchcock
Professor Louise Hitchcock of the University of Melbourne returns to discuss Thera, the Bronze Age name for Santorini, and what civilization looked like there at the time.
With Kim Shelton
Dr Kim Shelton of the University of California, Berkley, explains what is known about Mycenaean settlements on mainland Greece and how they would have been used in the Bronze Age.
Professor Louise Hitchcock of the University of Melbourne returns to discuss the Minoans, a civilization on Crete that flourished, and ultimately ended, during the Bronze Age.
With Dimitri Nakassis
Linear B is the writing system used by the civilization known as the Mycenaeans; Dr. Dimitri Nakassis, professor and chair of Classics at the University of Colorado Boulder, discusses this Late Bronze Age writing system.
With Joel P. Christensen
Dr Joel Christensen of Brandeis University discusses Achilles, one of the central figures in Homer's The Iliad, who lives on in Greek mythology and in the commonly used idiom Achilles' heel.
Dr Louise Hitchcock of the University of Melbourne discusses architecture on the Greek islands during the Bronze Age, including the islands of Crete and Santorini.
With Uroš Matić
Dr Uroš Matić of the Austrian Academy of Sciences discusses how communities from the Aegean, including the Minoans and Mycenaeans, carried on trade in Egypt during the Late Bronze Age.
Professor Louise Hitchcock of the University of Melbourne, in a fourth appearance, discusses Minoan palaces, villas and other residential buildings, in settlements advanced for the time, with labyrinthine architecture in the palatial buildings.
With Carl Knappett
Professor Carl Knappett of the University of Toronto discusses Palaikastro, a Minoan urban centre on Crete that lasted more than two millennia and may never have had a palatial building.
With Michael Galaty
Dr Michael Galaty of the University of Michigan discusses the Mycenaean Greeks of the Bronze Age, one of the most prominent civilizations of the Mediterranean Basin.
Professor Joel Christensen of Brandeis University discusses Paris, the Trojan prince whose choice of Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddess set the stage for the Trojan War.
With Brent Davis
Dr Brent Davis of the University of Melbourne explains Linear A, the undeciphered writing system used by the Minoans on Crete during the Bronze Age.
Dark Age and Archaic Greece 1100 - 480 BC · 3
With Adam Schwartz
Dr Adam Schwartz of the University of Copenhagen returns to discuss how an alphabet reached Greece after centuries without written evidence, bringing literacy with it.
With Saro Wallace
Dr Saro Wallace, a Senior Research Fellow at the Gerda Henkel Research Foundation, explains what life on Crete looked like in the Iron Age that followed the Bronze Age.
With Paul Cartledge
Emeritus Professor Paul Cartledge of the University of Cambridge discusses commerce in archaic Greece; the description names that subject and nothing further, seventeen words in total.
The Persian Wars 499 - 449 BC · 1
With Chris Carey
Emeritus Professor Chris Carey of University College London recounts the Battle of Thermopylae, where a heavily outnumbered Greek army under a Spartan commander fought, a story that has captured interests and imaginations for eons.
Classical Athens and Sparta 479 - 386 BC · 5
With Edward Harris
Emeritus Professor Edward Harris of the University of Durham returns to discuss how Classical Athens ran its court trials under a legal system whose principles echo in many legal systems today.
With Adrien Delahaye
Dr Adrien Delahaye of the French School at Athens discusses how pottery in ancient Sparta served storage, shipping, moral lessons and more, tracing its use through the Archaic and Classical periods.
Emeritus Professor Edward Harris of Durham University explains how Classical Athens became an early adopter of the rule of law.
With Jeffrey Rusten
Dr Jeffrey Rusten, Professor at Cornell University, discusses how Athens, though not the first major city-state in Greece, rose to become the most prominent one during the Classical period.
With Philip Davies
Dr Philip Davies of the University of Nottingham explains how Classical Sparta was governed by a diarchy, two kings who ruled together alongside a citizen body that passed its laws.
Philip and Alexander 359 - 323 BC · 2
With Pat Wheatley
Professor Pat Wheatley of the University of Otago discusses Alexander III of Macedon, known as Alexander the Great, who conquered vast territory in a short time and defeated the formidable Achaemenid Empire.
With Ian Worthington
Dr Ian Worthington, Professor of Ancient History at Macquarie University, discusses King Philip II of Macedon, famous on a number of counts, among them being the father of Alexander the Great.
The Hellenistic Age 323 - 31 BC · 5
With Charlotte Dunn
Dr Charlotte Dunn of the University of Tasmania returns to discuss how the relationship Greek polities had with the Kingdom of Macedon was mixed after Alexander III's death, some congenial, some acquiescing, others outright revolting.
Dr Charlotte Dunn of the University of Tasmania returns to discuss the rise of Ptolemy I, forefather of an Egyptian dynasty that lasted nearly 300 years before ending with Cleopatra VII.
Professor Ian Worthington of Macquarie University returns to discuss Ptolemy, whose reign in Egypt was successful by many standards, including an heir, Ptolemy II, who succeeded him without turbulence.
Dr Charlotte Dunn of the University of Tasmania explains how the unexpected death of Alexander III of Macedon, known as Alexander the Great, closed the Classical period and opened the Hellenistic age.
With Jane Masséglia
Dr Jane Masséglia of the University of Leicester discusses how the Hellenistic period brought greater variety and diversity to art in the Mediterranean, and turns to the eastern part of the Basin.
Greek Life, Thought and the Wider World across the centuries · 21
With Mercedes Aguirre, Richard Buxton
Dr Mercedes Aguirre and Dr Richard Buxton explore the role of the Cyclopes in Greek mythology, asking whether they are malevolent, benign, or something else.
With Michael Scott
Professor Michael Scott of Warwick University discusses ancient Delphi, sought for its oracle, host to games held every four years, and a hub for culture and information.
With Ivana Petrovic
Professor Ivana Petrovic joins the final episode of Ithaca Bound to discuss what scholars know about the Greek pantheon; she chairs the Department of Classics at the University of Virginia.
With Tae-Yeoun Keum
Dr Tae-Yeoun Keum of the University of California, Santa Barbara, discusses the myths that show up in Plato's writings, among the variety of topics Plato wrote on.
With Olympia Bobou
Dr Olympia Bobou, a classical archaeologist specializing in Greek sculpture at Aarhus University, discusses how sculpture changed and developed across ancient Greece over time.
With Alexander Jones
Professor Alexander Jones of New York University explains how varied and plentiful Greek calendars were in this region of the Mediterranean in the first millennium BCE.
With Anthony Kaldellis
Professor Anthony Kaldellis, Chair of the Department of Classics at Ohio State University, discusses what civilization looked like in Attica, Greece, in Late Antiquity.
With Judith Barringer
Professor Judith Barringer of the University of Edinburgh returns to discuss the ancient Olympic Games, held every four years, with prizes reserved for winners and tax exemptions and free food for life from some city-states.
With Emma Aston
Dr Emma Aston of the University of Reading discusses centaurs, the part-human, part-horse figures who appear across Greek mythology and the role they play there.
With Mary Lefkowitz
Dr Mary Lefkowitz, Professor Emerita of Classical Studies at Wellesley College, discusses Athena, one of the most written-about deities in Greek mythology, known for her intelligence and power.
With Oswyn Murray
Dr Oswyn Murray, Emeritus Fellow at the University of Oxford, discusses the life and writings of Herodotus, the oldest Greek historian whose work survives, who has been called the father of history.
Professor Emma Aston of the University of Reading returns to discuss Thessaly's place in Greek mythology, a region that is home to centaurs, Achilles, Jason and more.
With Scott Smith
Professor Scott Smith of the University of New Hampshire discusses the Chimera, a creature of Greek mythology made up of lion, goat and snake parts.
Dr Adam Schwartz of the University of Copenhagen explains the hoplites, Greek people, most of them citizens, who fought in battles as their city-states required.
With Stephen Hodkinson
Emeritus Professor Stephen Hodkinson of the University of Nottingham examines the revered reputation of ancient Sparta's military, its practices, and to what degree the evidence matches that reputation.
With Andrew Walker White
Dr Andrew Walker White of George Mason University discusses how the 5th century BCE shaped Athenian theatre, a period formative for the industry as a whole.
With Zosia Archibald
Dr Zosia Archibald, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool, discusses how primeval coinage, bars of iron, animal products, olive oil, wine and more facilitated trade across the ancient Northern Aegean.
With Sarah Iles Johnston
Dr Sarah Iles Johnston of The Ohio State University discusses Greek mythology, which is proverbial and legendary alike.
Professor Judith Barringer of the University of Edinburgh discusses Olympia, the site in Greece where the ancient Olympic Games began, and its ancient history.
Theatre artist and cultural historian Dr Andrew Walker White discusses what scholars know about early theatre in Greece.
With William Hansen
Professor Emeritus William Hansen of Indiana University, Bloomington, discusses the Titans, who in Greek mythology reigned over the cosmos before the Olympian Gods and before humans existed.