Epic Greek History

Episoder

• You Say You Want a Revolution: Cleisthenes and Athenian Democracy 01.06.2026 48min

  After the expulsion of the tyrant Hippias, two prominent citizens were foremost in the competition for power. Isagoras was a conservative aristocrat who favored a narrow oligarchy. Cleisthenes, although a member of the blue-blooded Alcmaeonid clan, drew support from the people by proposing radical democratic reforms. In this episode, host Scott Emmons narrates the birth of the Athenian democracy, which soon had to defend itself against threats from within Athens and from anti-democratic Spart...
• Hurrah for the Pirate King! Polycrates and the Tyranny of Samos 15.05.2026 21min

  The tyrant Polycrates of Samos impressed classical authors by building the first naval empire in the Aegean since the legendary king Minos of Crete. He dominated island cities, employed his navy for piracy, dedicated an island to Delian Apollo, and forged a strong alliance with the Egyptian pharaoh Amasis II in the face of growing Persian power. The unraveling of that alliance gives us one of the classic Greek cautionary tales on the fragility of human glory. In this episode, host Scott Emmon...
• Won't You Be My Ally? The Expansion of Spartan Power in the Peloponnese 01.05.2026 37min

  While Athens was transforming itself under the lawgiver Solon and the tyrant Pisistratus, Sparta was busy extending its influence in the Peloponnese. What began as an attempt to conquer and enslave the Arcadian city of Tegea evolved into a policy of expansion through alliances. The result was the Peloponnesian League, which would play a crucial role in the conflicts of the following century. In this episode, host Scott Emmons guides you through the military victories and a bold religious init...
• Hey, Gang, Let's Put On a Show! Thespis and the Origins of Greek Tragedy 15.04.2026 23min

  The Athenian tyrant Pisistratus centralized the Attic worship of Dionysus with an elaborate new festival. The Great Dionysia went on to become the city’s main dramatic festival, where later giants like Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides would compete for top honors. In this episode, host Scott Emmons explores the obscure origins of tragedy and the role of the legendary Thespis in creating Greek drama. There are few if any confirmed depictions of Thespis in ancient Greek art, but supplem...
• Pisistratus and Sons: The Age of Tyranny in Athens 01.04.2026 49min

  Despite the best efforts of the lawgiver Solon, political upheaval continued in Athens. A strongman named Pisistratus, after twice seizing power and losing it, ultimately established an autocratic regime that lasted over 35 years. During that time, he and his successors improved city infrastructure, strengthened Athenian control over Attica, created lasting cultural institutions, and introduced policies that paved the way for a more democratic system. In this episode, host Scott Emmons guides...
• Weird Science: The Beginnings of Greek Philosophy 15.03.2026 25min

  While the Athenians were setting up a new constitution under Solon, the Milesians across the Aegean were busy inventing philosophy. Perhaps not philosophy as we usually think of it, but a search for rational principles to explain the natural world. In this episode, host Scott Emmons guides you through the bold — and sometimes bizarre — theories advanced by three philosophical pioneers: Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes. For a few visuals to illustrate this episode, check out Episode 2...
• Chaos and Compromise: Early Athens and the Reforms of Solon 01.03.2026 45min

  At the start of the 6th century BCE, Athens had only recently escaped a tyranny. Draco's published law code made the law accessible to more people but did nothing to alleviate the crushing debt that afflicted the poor. As Aristotle puts it, the poor were slaves of the rich. To forestall the rise of a tyranny, the Athenians gave an exceptionally adept nobleman named Solon full powers to solve the economic crisis and reorganize the state. In this episode, host Scott Emmons examines the causes o...
• Nothing Queer About It: Same-Sex Relationships in Ancient Greece 15.02.2026 42min

  Modern labels like “straight” and “gay” don’t map neatly onto ancient Greek culture. While same-sex relationships were considered normal and even expected, there were still taboos and rules of proper behavior. In this episode, host Scott Emmons explores the courtship rituals and sexual practices that characterized the most accepted forms of Greek homosexuality. Attention: This episode contains explicit descriptions of sex acts. Listener discretion is advised. For visuals illustrating aspects ...
• This... Is... Sparta!!! 01.02.2026 59min

  Imagine a state where no citizen works for a living; where children are kept hungry to encourage them to steal; where the most powerful military force in the known world is reluctant to fight far from the city for fear of a slave revolt at home. Such a place was ancient Sparta. In this episode, host Scott Emmons traces the legendary origins of the Spartan state, the wars that shaped its military tradition, the educational system that trained its citizen soldiers, and the unique “mixed” consti...
• Poetry Slam: Early Greek Politics in Verse 15.01.2026 32min

  No one was writing history in Greece during the 7th and 6th centuries BCE. But that doesn't mean we have no voices speaking to us from that time. Fragments of works by early Greek poets can provide real-time commentary on the social and political upheaval of their times. In this episode, host Scott Emmons observes the struggles of the early polis through the eyes of two aristocratic poets, Theognis of Megara and Alcaeus of Mytilene. For maps and images, check out Episode 17 at epicgreekhistor...
• Not Such an Ugly Word: Tyranny in Archaic Greece 01.01.2026 48min

  In modern English, a “tyrant” is someone who rules oppressively. To the ancient Greeks, the word tyrannoscould just refer to a king, but more specifically it meant an autocrat who had come to power by overthrowing an existing regime. The 7th and 6th centuries BCE saw the rise of many Greek tyrants who capitalized on class tensions and other forces to gain absolute power. In this episode, host Scott Emmons explores this important phase of Greek history, focusing on powerful tyrannies in Argos,...
• Light Infantry, Cavalry and Mercenaries: What Were They, Chopped Liver? 15.12.2025 23min

  The hoplite infantry was the backbone of a Greek city-state's land army. But hoplites weren't the only ones who served. Those who couldn't afford hoplite armor served as light infantry, hurling javelins, shooting arrows, or even throwing rocks if that was all they had. Those who were wealthy enough to keep horses could serve in the cavalry. In this episode, host Scott Emmons explores the contributions of non-hoplite warriors as well as mercenaries, who could reinforce any army division. ...
• Tales of the City-State: The Rise and Flourishing of the Greek Polis 01.12.2025 1t 1min

  The polis was the defining sociopolitical system of ancient Greece. It was the environment where Greek drama, architecture, philosophy, and other cultural developments reached their peak. In this episode, host Scott Emmons explores the beginnings of the polis, military developments that helped shape it, and the values that it espoused, even if it didn't always uphold them. For images associated with this episode, check out Episode 14 at epicgreekhistory.substack.com Reading Suggestions:...
• Delphi: The Magic Eight Ball of Greece 15.11.2025 39min

  In Greek myth, Delphi was the literal center of the world. In real-world religious practice, it lived up to its reputation. People came from all over the Greek world — and even outside it — to seek Apollo’s guidance in matters both personal and political. In this episode, host Scott Emmons discusses the mythical origins of the Delphic oracle, the mystery of the Pythia’s inspiration, the riddling nature of oracular responses, and the importance of Delphi in the power struggles between Greek st...
• Straight Outta Greece: The Age of Expansion 01.11.2025 45min

  Ancient Greece was defined by its culture, not by its borders. Starting in the 8th century BCE, Greeks planted settlements in southern Italy and Sicily — so many that the area came to be known as Magna Graecia, "Great Greece." Hellenic settlements soon spread to other parts of the Mediterranean and also to the northeast, even surrounding the Black Sea. This episode takes you on a whirlwind tour of Greek settlements, then focuses in on Cyrene, a thoroughly Greek city located in North Africa. F...
• (Bonus Episode) The First Truly Historical Greek War — Maybe 22.10.2025 20min

  The Lelantine War between Khalkis and Eretria was the first major historical conflict that drew in combatants from around the Greek world. And yet, we know next to nothing about it. Ancient historians and other authors mention it in passing, but they don’t tell us exactly when it happened, how long it lasted, or even who won. While it’s possible to reconstruct a rough outline from ancient sources, some scholars maintain that the war may never have taken place at all. The Lelantine War can giv...
• Owned! People as Possessions in Ancient Greece 15.10.2025 25min

  In ancient Greece, freedom was something to be cherished — in part because its opposite was an ever-present part of Greek life. Slaves worked as farmhands, domestic servants, skilled craftsmen, miners, prostitutes, and more. While some lived almost as independently as free wage workers and could even aspire to purchase their freedom, others were condemned to a life of hard labor under the harshest conditions. In this episode, host Scott Emmons provides and introduction to Greek slavery and th...
• The Great Greek Reboot 01.10.2025 52min

  The 8th century BCE brought big changes to Greece, including an increase in population and a dramatic upswing in economic activity. Many of the defining features of Greek civilization began to take shape. Monumental temples appeared. The Olympic Games began, inspiring a sense of a common Greek identity. Perhaps most importantly, the Greeks adapted a Phoenician alphabet and produced the writing system through which we can experience all of ancient Greek literature, history, philosophy, and sci...
• It's Greek to Me: How to Pronounce Greek Like an Ancient Athenian (Or a Modern American) 15.09.2025 21min

  Any student of Greek history will occasionally come across a Greek word or name that's hard to pronounce. In this episode, host Scott Emmons offers a few pointers — but only after exploring the more interesting question of how we know what classical Greek sounded like. We know a lot more about it than you might think! For a few accompanying visuals, check out Episode 8 at epicgreekhistory.substack.com Reading suggestion: Vox Graeca by W. Sidney Allen Support the show
• The Period Formerly Known as the Dark Age of Greece 01.09.2025 50min

  The Early Iron Age in Greece has traditionally been called a dark age, both because of the economic decline after the fall of the Mycenaean palaces and because the archaeological evidence is less abundant for this period. The picture is still far from clear, but archaeology continues to turn up more information. In this episode, host Scott Emmons draws on ancient legends, archaeological evidence, and the Homeric epics to shine some light on this puzzling yet fascinating early phase in Greek h...