clay451

In this episode we’re looking at the early days of the Roman Republic, before it all fell apart. When Rome got rid of her last king, one aftereffect was that Rome had a long-lasting hatred of tyrants, and so the government they set up was designed to prevent any one man from taking power.   … Read more

OK, I’ve been building up to Rome for basically this whole podcast so far, and now it’s time to finally start talking about it.  In this episode, I want to answer the question, ‘Why is Rome so important?’   Before I even get around to talking about the history of Rome, which is incredibly cool … Read more

So far in this podcast I have mostly focused on the events that shaped western history, but doing that admittedly leaves out a lot of other events that were happening in places like China, Japan, Africa, and India.  We kind of drifted near India in the last episode, because Alexander went conquering over in that … Read more

The really golden part of the Golden Age of Greece took place in a pretty small area, actually.  It took place mostly on the Attic peninsula, and mostly in the city of Athens.  But most scholars include the years after Athens was destroyed as part of the Golden Age, the years when Greece was conquered … Read more

Last episode, we talked about the wars between Sparta and Athens, the Peloponnesian wars.  We also mentioned how Sparta eventually defeated Athens, tore down the long walls, and installed a puppet government called ‘the 30.’  Sparta defeated Athens in 404 BC.  As the battles between Athens and Sparta were going on, oddly enough, some very … Read more

The Golden Age of Greece, which we focused on last episode, lasted from around 528 BC to 323 BC, and it was a time of great prosperity in Greece.  And that very prosperity brought about some inter-city rivalries, as the city-states of Greece competed for their share, or more than their share, of the riches. … Read more

The Golden Age of Greece lasts from the reign of Pisistratus, a tyrant who ruled over Athens around 528 BC, until the death of Alexander the Great, in 323 BC.  So right about 200 years.  The Golden Age of Greece is also known as the Classical Period, or Classical Greece.  So what made it golden?  … Read more

This episode is a side trip to look at ancient Greek military strategy and weapons.  Specifically hoplites and triremes.  I’ve mentioned that ancient Greece wasn’t that large of a place, and they weren’t as populous as some of the other larger empires that they fought against, but they were still somehow able to defeat many … Read more

In this episode we talk about the ancient wars between Greece and Persia.  I’ve mentioned that Greece has had an important impact on the western world, but did you know that ancient Greece was almost wiped out?  A couple of times?  Greece was a small country, but they tangled with the biggest empire of their … Read more

Back in Episode 5, I mentioned that Israel had an outsized influence on the history of the Western world, considering its size and significance in Ancient history.  If you were able to go back in time to the ancient world, and gone to visit someone in some other part of the Mediterranean, like Greece, and … Read more