Patrick Wyman's survey of the deep past; only the Greek episodes are indexed

Tides of History

51 episodes indexed · 35 hours

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

Themes · War Empire and colonies The polis

Patrick Wyman, known for Fall of Rome, hosts Wondery's survey of how past events shaped states, language and religion; only the Greek episodes are included here, 51 of 442, spanning eight eras across 36 hours.

Where to start. The earliest indexed episode is 'Achilles, Gilgamesh, and Epic Poetry: Interview with Professor Michael Clarke' (2021); 51 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 · 5

57mHow Ancient Economies Fell Apart: Interview with Professor Sarah Murray Tides of HistoryPodcast

With Sarah Murray

50mMycenaean Greece and Minoan Crete Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode traces how Minoan civilization on Crete reached an apex of sophistication in the Late Bronze Age, while the Mycenaeans emerged on the Greek mainland, building the palaces and society that founded the later Greek world.

47mThe Early Aegean Bronze Age and Minoan Crete Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode asks what tied together mainland Greece, Minoan Crete and the city of Troy within the Bronze Age world, pointing to trade, the emergence of cities and elite classes, and the development of state structures and writing.

46mThe Fall of Mycenaean Greece and the Trojan War Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode asks whether burned palaces in Mycenaean Greece, and a city known as Troy among those destroyed on the Asian side of the Aegean, were the context that centuries later gave rise to Homer's tale of the Trojan War.

43mAchilles, Gilgamesh, and Epic Poetry: Interview with Professor Michael Clarke Tides of HistoryPodcast

With Michael Clarke

The episode asks what Achilles and Gilgamesh have in common, drawing on Professor Michael Clarke's book on mortality and wisdom in early epic poetry to discuss Homer, the Bronze Age world, and shared motifs in heroic literature.

Dark Age and Archaic Greece 1100 - 480 BC · 6

53mGreek Colonies and Networks in the Iron Age: Interview with Dr. Lieve Donnellan Tides of HistoryPodcast

With Lieve Donnellan

The episode presents Dr. Lieve Donnellan's use of network theory to study southern Italy and the Greek world in the Iron Age, offering fascinating and innovative ways of understanding the ancient Mediterranean.

48mGreece after the Bronze Age Collapse: Interview with Professor Alex Knodell Tides of HistoryPodcast

With Alex Knodell

41mSicily and the Making of the Greek Mediterranean Tides of HistoryPodcast

41mGreece's Dark Age Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode asks how dark Greece's so-called Dark Age truly was after the Bronze Age Collapse, when the palaces were gone, long-distance trade declined, crafts became much simpler and fewer people lived in Greece than during the Mycenaean period.

39mCompetition, Tyranny, and the Birth of Ancient Greece Tides of HistoryPodcast

38mThe Roots of Archaic Greece Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode dates Greece as an unremarkable corner of the Aegean in 800 BC, tracing a century in which its population exploded, cities emerged, long-distance trade boomed, and the first overseas colonies were founded.

The Persian Wars 499 - 449 BC · 6

1h 01mThinking Like a Persian King: Professor John Hyland on the Persian Perspective of the Greco-Persian Wars Tides of HistoryPodcast

With John Hyland

The usual perspective on the Greco-Persian Wars is quite explicitly that of the Greeks; the episode asks how the Persians viewed these conflicts and what they were after, presenting Professor John Hyland's research on how the Persians understood war.

41mThe Greco-Persian Wars, Part 1: The Ionian Revolt to the Battle of Marathon Tides of HistoryPodcast

Covering the Ionian Revolt to the Battle of Marathon, the episode argues the Persian Wars were far more complicated than a simple civilizational clash, and sets out the background that made them possible.

40mCarthage, Syracuse, and the Battle for Sicily Tides of HistoryPodcast

40mThe Greco-Persian Wars, Part 2: Xerxes and the Invasion of Greece Tides of HistoryPodcast

37mThe Greco-Persian Wars, Part 3: Athens in Flames and the Battle of Salamis Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode describes the Persian invasion burning much of Athens after defeating Leonidas, before the Greek allies met them nearby at Salamis in what became one of the largest and most decisive naval battles in history.

35mThe Greco-Persian Wars 4: Plataea and the Aftermath Tides of HistoryPodcast

In the spring of 479 BC the allied Greeks' land forces met the Persian army at Plataea, and the legacy of the Persian Wars would shape memory, identity and the future relationship between Greeks and Persians for decades and centuries.

Classical Athens and Sparta 479 - 386 BC · 9

49mWhat Made Classical Greece Special? Interview with Professor Josiah Ober Tides of HistoryPodcast

With Josiah Ober

45mSicily, Defeat, and the End of the Athenian Empire Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode traces nearly 30 years of the Peloponnesian War across the whole of Greece, concluding that Athens' fate was decided in faraway Sicily and not in Greece itself.

44mThe Peloponnesian War, Part 1: Plague, Attrition, and a Decade of Bloodshed Tides of HistoryPodcast

41mThucydides, the Greatest Historian of All Time: Interview with Robin Waterfield and Professor Polly Low Tides of HistoryPodcast

With Robin Waterfield, Polly Low

The episode calls Thucydides perhaps the greatest historian to ever live, whose account of the Peloponnesian War has been read, digested and debated for more than 2,400 years.

41mThe Aftermath of the Peloponnesian War and the March of the 10,000 Greeks Tides of HistoryPodcast

40mThe Athenian Empire and the Coming of the Peloponnesian War Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode traces the Peloponnesian War's roots back to the Persian Wars, when Athens seized the chance to build an empire in their aftermath, setting up the 30-year conflict with Sparta for control of Classical Greece.

38mWhy Was Classical Athens So Rich? Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode traces classical Athens' wealth to democracy, law and institutions that made people feel safe doing business, beyond the silver lodes of Attica and access to the sea.

38mClassical Greece Tides of HistoryPodcast

35mThe Economic Life of Megakles, Farmer of Classical Athens Tides of HistoryPodcast

Philip and Alexander 359 - 323 BC · 10

56mAlexander the Great: Soldier, Priest, and God. Interview with Professor Fred Naiden Tides of HistoryPodcast

With Fred Naiden

The episode presents Professor Fred Naiden's view of Alexander the Great as a deeply religious figure, arguing that his beliefs about religion were at the core of understanding his actions, unlike the warrior king so often seen in modern treatments.

42mPhilip the One-Eye and the Macedonian Conquest of Greece Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode credits Philip the One-Eye with turning Macedonia into the preeminent power in the Greek world within just 20 years, laying the foundation for the much better-known exploits of his son Alexander.

40mAlexander the Great, the End of the Persian Empire, and the Descent into India Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode follows Alexander the Great's campaigns beyond his defeat of the Persian king Darius III, into the Iranian Plateau, Central Asia, and finally south into India.

38mThe Death of Alexander the Great Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode describes the troubled final years of Alexander's reign, when his soldiers were spent from campaigning even as the king wanted to keep fighting, until his sudden death left the generals to decide the empire's fate.

38mAlexander the Great Invades Persia Tides of HistoryPodcast

38mPhilip the One-Eye and the Rise of Macedonia Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode describes Macedonia as a semi-barbarian backwater on the fringes of the Greek world for most of ancient Greek history, until the rise of King Philip II began to change that very quickly.

37mIssus, Gaugamela, and Alexander's Conquest of Persia Tides of HistoryPodcast

37mThe Assassination of Philip and the Rise of Alexander the Great Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode credits Philip of Macedonia as a towering figure, assassinated in 336 BC at the peak of his powers, leaving Alexander a kingdom he expanded beyond anyone's wildest dreams.

33mHow Alexander the Great's Soldiers Spent Their Money Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode imagines a Macedonian soldier called Red Cleitus and asks how he spent the vast amounts of coin he plundered and earned fighting across Asia under Alexander the Great.

32mWhat If: Alexander the Great had Died at the Granicus River? Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode asks how history would look different if Alexander the Great had died at the Granicus River in 334 BC, and whether Macedonia would still have conquered most of Asia.

The Hellenistic Age 323 - 31 BC · 12

44mSoldiers and Labor Markets in the Hellenistic World: Interview with Dr. Charlotte van Regenmortel Tides of HistoryPodcast

With Charlotte van Regenmortel

The episode traces how the decades after Alexander the Great's death saw warfare intensify across an area stretching from Italy to Afghanistan, and how that warfare created a concept of wage labor transforming the Hellenistic world's economies.

42mWar and the Hellenistic World Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode describes the Hellenistic world stretching from Sicily to India across centuries of new kingdoms, and argues that war, more than any other phenomenon, defined it for the whole of its existence.

42mThe Tyrants of Syracuse and the Wars with Carthage Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode places Syracuse and Carthage battling for dominance in Sicily and beyond as the fourth century drew to a close, fighting wars of ever-increasing scale that led directly to the eventual conflicts known as the Punic Wars.

42mThe Foundation of the Hellenistic Kingdoms Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode traces how, after Alexander's death, the chance of a relative truly ruling the empire shrank while the generals fought for power, and the outlines of a new world order began to take shape.

41mAlexander's Successors and the Danube Frontier Tides of HistoryPodcast

While Alexander the Great's successors fought over control of his empire, Celtic-speaking migrants moved east along the Danube largely unnoticed by the Greeks to their south, before those Celts launched one of the largest invasions of Greece in recorded history.

40mThe Celts Invade Greece Tides of HistoryPodcast

40mThe Defeat of Pyrrhus and the Road to the Punic Wars Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode credits Pyrrhus of Epirus with costly but clear victories in his first battles against Rome, yet says he could not win the war, which Rome's dogged determination eventually won, opening the path to seemingly inevitable conflict with Carthage.

40mThe Pyrrhic War Tides of HistoryPodcast

By 281 BC Rome controlled much of Italy, still a minor player on the larger Mediterranean scene, until King Pyrrhus of Epirus crossed the Adriatic with Macedonian pikemen and war elephants.

40mThe Rise of the Hellenistic World Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode credits Antigonus the One-Eyed with coming closer than almost any other post-Alexander figure to recreating the dead king's empire, though his success aroused the other Successors' anger and his downfall soon followed.

39mThe End of the Age of the Successors Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode places the 280s BC as the moment when only a few men who had campaigned across Asia with Alexander remained alive, and the Hellenistic world they fought to create was ready to be born.

38mKing Pyrrhus of Epirus and a New Age of Mediterranean Politics Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode argues that Rome's entrance onto the stage of Mediterranean power politics came a decade before the Punic Wars, in a bloody, grinding war against the Hellenistic king Pyrrhus of Epirus.

38mThe Successors of Alexander the Great Tides of HistoryPodcast

Rome and the Greek World 200 - 31 BC · 2

43mThe Roman Conquest of the Hellenistic World Tides of HistoryPodcast

The episode notes Rome barely bothered with the Greek east for most of its history, then suddenly laid low the two most powerful Hellenistic warrior-kings of the past century and became the Mediterranean's hegemonic power within ten years.

39mRome Enters the Hellenistic World Tides of HistoryPodcast

Greek Life, Thought and the Wider World across the centuries · 1

56mUnderstanding the Alien World of Ancient Greece: Interview with Professor Greg Anderson Tides of HistoryPodcast

With Greg Anderson

It's often said that the past is a foreign country where basic assumptions about how the world is supposed to work don't apply; Professor Greg Anderson has ideas about understanding people of the past on their terms in ancient Greece.

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