Ancient History Fangirl

Ancient History Fangirl

Jenny Williamson and Genn McMenemy

An ancient history podcast run by two Millennial women. Misbehaving emperors, poison assassins, mythological mayhem; it’s like if Hardcore History met up with My Favorite Murder in the ancient world, with a heavy helping of booze and laughter.

RE-RELEASE: Attila the Hun and the Rebel Princess

RE-RELEASE: Attila the Hun and the Rebel Princess

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! In 450 AD, the Imperial Princess Honoria--daughter of Galla Placidia--was desperate to escape her arranged marriage. So she made an indecent proposal--to Attila the Hun.On this single action, cities were torched. Saints were raised. Thousands died. And Venice was founded. Find out how it all went down.Sponsors and AdvertisingThis podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertisi

Feb 20, • 37:10

RE-RELEASE: Ataulf x Galla Placidia

RE-RELEASE: Ataulf x Galla Placidia

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! He was a fierce barbarian warlord—a man who had stood between his people and the Roman Empire since the sack of Rome. She was a Roman Imperial princess with a core of iron strength.Born enemies, the love of Ataulf and Galla Placidia is marked by tragedy—but in its time, it burned hot enough to reshape an Empire. This is their story.Sponsors and AdvertisingThis podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on ou

Feb 13, • 38:29

AHFG Book Club: Enemy of My Dreams with Jenny Williamson

AHFG Book Club: Enemy of My Dreams with Jenny Williamson

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This week’s Book Club author interview is none other than up-and-coming romantasy and historical romance author Jenny Williamson, discussing her upcoming debut Enemy of My Dreams: her huge historical crush on Alaric of the Goths, the inspiration for her entirely-made-up hot-mess heroine, and how she adds “verisimilitude” to her fight scenes.Join Genn and guest co-host Liv Albert, of Let’s Talk about Myths, Baby!, as they crack

Feb 6, • 1:21:24

In Search of the Real Alaric (With Douglas Boin)

In Search of the Real Alaric (With Douglas Boin)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Who was Alaric of the Visigoths, really?It’s a difficult question to answer. Alaric left no manifesto. There is nothing in his own words to explain his motivations for sacking Rome, or all the choices he made leading up to that fateful day. All we have are the assumptions of his enemies, which sometimes don’t’ make a lot of sense.Enter Douglas Boin. His groundbreaking biography, Alaric the Goth: an Outsider’s History of the Fall of Rome

Jan 30, • 1:06:46

AHFG Book Club: Sexy Shifters and Fallen Angels with Nalini Singh

AHFG Book Club: Sexy Shifters and Fallen Angels with Nalini Singh

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This week, we feature a conversation with the OG romance novelist—the one all our romance novelist friends list among their favorites. Nalini Singh has an impressive, multi-decade career with several long-running, blockbuster romantasy and paranormal series featuring sexy shifters, fallen angels, and dangerous psychic warriors.Join us as we explore these fascinating worlds and discuss the secrets to a long-running career in romance and

Jan 23, • 57:06

RE-RELEASE: Stuff Alaric Said

RE-RELEASE: Stuff Alaric Said

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! On August 24, 410 AD, Alaric and the Visigoths sacked the city of Rome. Before he sacked it, he starved it. Before that, he went toe to toe with the Roman Empire for fifteen years—uniting disparate tribes, holding a people together, and achieving more against Rome than any barbarian leader before him. Sponsors and AdvertisingThis podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertisi

Jan 16, • 52:25

End of Season 12 Announcement

End of Season 12 Announcement

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! It's the end of Season 12--and what a year it's been! We had some big things happen in 2024 and we hope that 2025 will be even bigger and more exciting.Join us as we discuss what it was like covering the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, our upcoming books and novel projects, and our plans for the podcast going forward. Thank you so much for taking this journey with us!Sponsors and AdvertisingThis podcast is a member of Airwave Media

Jan 9, • 16:34

RE-RELEASE: Janus: God of the New Year

RE-RELEASE: Janus: God of the New Year

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Janus is the two-faced god of the Roman pantheon. He was the god of beginnings and endings, of dual natures, of passageways and passage through time. He’s the god of thresholds and doorways and gates, and the god of change, both concrete and abstract. He’s constantly in motion; he’s the god who’s always just passing through.Janus may not be very well-known. But in his time, he was considered one of the most important gods—perhaps more i

Jan 2, • 1:01:34

A Very Alaric Christmas

A Very Alaric Christmas

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! How would Alaric of the Visigoths celebrate the midwinter holiday (Christmas? Solstice? Yule?). The idea was kicked around a lot between the two of us until it seemed imperative that we actually write this episode. And thus, an episode was born.In this episode, Alaric is about six years old. He doesn’t exactly understand that his life is hanging by a knife’s edge – caught between the invading Huns and the colonizing Romans. This is the

Dec 26, 2024 • 46:49

RE-RELEASE: Frau Holle: Wicked Woman of Yule

RE-RELEASE: Frau Holle: Wicked Woman of Yule

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This year, we’ve found one of the most metal and wild Yuletide goddesses yet – Frau Holle.Human sacrifices, spindles in yer vag, plague, starvation, caves of offerings and bones, the Grimms brothers, golden showers, child cannibalism, ZOMBIES – are any of these putting you in the Yuletide spirit? They should. Because we’re about to share with you the story of a very Frau Holle Christmas.Sponsors & AdvertisingThis podcast is a member of

Dec 24, 2024 • 1:20:34

AHFG Book Club: Metal Death Goddesses, Ravens, and Bears (Oh My!) With Emily Rath

AHFG Book Club: Metal Death Goddesses, Ravens, and Bears (Oh My!) With Emily Rath

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! You may recognize Dr. Emily Rath from our series on Project 2025. Today, we’ve invited her on to discuss her most recent project—North is the Night, a historical fantasy story with a strong, sapphic romantic thread.Join us as Emily introduces us to a world of terrifying metal death goddesses, mystical talking ravens, queer witches and warriors, and a Christianity that seeks to devour everything it touches. Sponsors and AdvertisingThis p

Dec 19, 2024 • 1:00:18

RE-RELEASE: St. Nicholas and the Christmas Cannibals

RE-RELEASE: St. Nicholas and the Christmas Cannibals

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Ah, Christmas—it's a time of cheer, of gift-giving and generosity; and a time to eat yer babies.This year, we’re focusing on two different cannibalistic monsters from Christmas folklore: Père Fouettard and Hans Trapp. Because it turns out that child cannibalism really is the reason for the season—and perhaps Santa Claus is the biggest cannibal of all.What is Santa hiding under those jolly cheeks and that big white beard? Strap in, pour

Dec 17, 2024 • 1:24:15

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus: Part 3

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus: Part 3

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! In our last two episodes we discussed what worship looked like at the temple of Artemis at Ephesus. How the goddess was worshipped, who worshipped her, and what they believed.Now, we’re going talk about what the temple looked like, who built it, who burned it to the ground, who rebuilt it, and what people did at the temple (besides worship). It’s time to dig into the ground and build back up this temple, stone by stone, with the stories

Dec 12, 2024 • 1:37:53

RE-RELEASE: You Don't Know Yule

RE-RELEASE: You Don't Know Yule

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! What do you know about Yule? Maybe a lot. The holiday is widely celebrated in Scandinavian countries, and it's an important part of Wiccan and Pagan tradition. But for many of us, the version that's come down through history is strongly associated with Christmas--and heavily sanitized.When we scratched the surface, however, we found that the origins of Yule were older and darker and weirder than we ever imagined.Sponsors and Advertising

Dec 10, 2024 • 1:29:19

RE-RELEASE: Krampus: The Goat Knows What You Did

RE-RELEASE: Krampus: The Goat Knows What You Did

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This year, we decided that the holiday season wouldn’t be complete without a mythological foray into one of the most famous characters of the season: The Krampus.And some of you might be saying: wait a minute, Krampus isn’t ancient; he’s modern. Also, everyone knows about Krampus, the festive demon of Christmas. Why are you covering this well-trodden topic?Wait until you hear the wild things we uncovered about him and his histo

Dec 5, 2024 • 49:37

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus: Part 2

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus: Part 2

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Last week, we discussed the history of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus—and just who served here, and why. This week, we delve into the mythology of the temple and the goddess worshipped there.The Artemis at Ephesus was a far more ancient goddess than her Classical Greek counterpart. She has roots in the ancient Near East, and is cousin to ancient deities such as Kybele and the Egyptian cat goddess Bastet.What happened to this goddess—a

Nov 28, 2024 • 1:11:19

RE-RELEASE: How to Train Your Gladiator

RE-RELEASE: How to Train Your Gladiator

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! What did it take to be a gladiator? Who ended up in the arena, and why? And how did the gladiatorial games—one of the bloodiest sporting events known in the ancient world—come to be?From the ancient roots of Etruscan funeral games to the height of Roman spectacle, we examine the history of gladiatorial combat—and explore what life was like for gladiators in the time of Spartacus.Sponsors and AdvertisingThis episode was brought to you by

Nov 26, 2024 • 1:23:00

AHFG Book Club: Hot Mess Heroines and the Alarics Who Love Them (With Thea Guanzon)

AHFG Book Club: Hot Mess Heroines and the Alarics Who Love Them (With Thea Guanzon)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This week, we welcome internationally bestselling author and noted enemies-to-lovers enthusiast Thea Guanzon to the podcast.Thea’s debut novel, the Hurricane Wars, is an enemies-to-lovers romantasy with complex layers of worldbuilding and intrigue, rich with mythic resonance, airships, elemental magic, world-rending storms and eclipses, and passionate romance. Join us as we discuss the inspiration for her in-world mythology, ou

Nov 21, 2024 • 58:32

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus: Part 1

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus: Part 1

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This week, we’re covering the final Wonder on our list of Seven Wonders: and this may be the one that broke us. It’s a Wonder located at the nexus of seawater and freshwater on the brackish headwaters of an epic river; a biodiversity hotspot. It was in this primal land that legend of a divine huntress grew.This is not the Artemis of the Classical Greeks. This is the Artemis of Ephesus: a ferocious huntress, yes. But also a wild and fecu

Nov 14, 2024 • 1:19:45

RE-RELEASE: Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Artemis

RE-RELEASE: Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Artemis

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! When you think of Artemis, what springs to mind? Perhaps it’s a fierce huntress with a bow and arrow, a sort of female Peter Pan—wild and untamed, haunting forests drenched in moonlight—a goddess who’s taken a stern vow of chastity, and refuses all company save that of her nymphs.That’s one version of Artemis—the Classical version. But there’s an older, wilder version that pulls back the curtain on a more ancient way of life in Greece.

Nov 7, 2024 • 53:45

RE-RELEASE: Amazons, Part 2: Warrior Women of the Ancient Steppe

RE-RELEASE: Amazons, Part 2: Warrior Women of the Ancient Steppe

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Think the Amazons of Greek myth were mythical? Think again. The Greeks based their Amazons on the real-life warrior women next door.Centuries ago, ancient writers claimed that Scythian women of the Eurasian Steppe fought in battle alongside their men. Now, with modern bioarchaeology, the bones of real female warriors have emerged from their grave mounds and begun to speak to us. This is their story.Sponsors and AdvertisingThis episode w

Nov 5, 2024 • 1:04:25

This Episode is Full of Lies: Lucian's A True History (With Liv Albert from Let's Talk About Myths, Baby!)

This Episode is Full of Lies: Lucian's A True History (With Liv Albert from Let's Talk About Myths, Baby!)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Lucian’s A True History has been called the world’s first work of science fiction—but above all, Lucian of Samosata was a satirist. And he had a bone to pick with the famous historians of his time—guys like Herodotus and Ctesias of Knidos. They were Lying Liars who Lied, you see, and Lucian was mad about it.So he set out to write his OWN monument to lies—lest he be the only writer out there “exempted from the liberty of lying.” The only

Oct 31, 2024 • 1:30:41

RE-RELEASE: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: Ancient World Edition (With Liv Albert from Myths Baby!)

RE-RELEASE: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: Ancient World Edition (With Liv Albert from Myths Baby!)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! What tales kept people from thousands of years ago up at night?This Halloween, Ancient History Fangirl teams up with Liv Albert from Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby! to delve into spooky stories from the ancient world that will send a shiver up your spine—tales of shrieking Banshees, deathly Furies, and the terrors of Samhain.So spread some salt over your threshold. Settle into your favorite chair. Pour yourself a drink to take the chill f

Oct 29, 2024 • 1:14:44

RE-RELEASE: Catholic Werewolves

RE-RELEASE: Catholic Werewolves

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! We’ve covered werewolves in the ancient world before—and their connection to the Berserker myth. But wait til you hear what happened to werewolf mythology when the Catholics got their hands on it.This episode is a wild ride, taking you from the ancient Greek and Roman werewolves to a Medieval monster tied to the mysteries of serial killing, mental illness, domestic abuse, and the paranoia of the Witch Trials. It turns out Catholic werew

Oct 24, 2024 • 1:17:44

RE-RELEASE: Werewolves of Wolf Mountain: Terrors of Ancient Greece

RE-RELEASE: Werewolves of Wolf Mountain: Terrors of Ancient Greece

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! The werewolf myth as we know it today generally involves getting bitten by a werewolf, transforming during the full moon, and being very susceptible to silver bullets. But werewolves in ancient Greece and Rome were a little different.Join us for a spooky-season deep dive into ancient werewolf mythology from thousands of years ago. We'll take a look at the pre-Christian origins of the werewolf myth and its connections to death, starvatio

Oct 22, 2024 • 1:24:20

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon: Part 2

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon: Part 2

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! In the last episode we discussed why the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are the only Wonder that historians don’t believe existed. There’s no archaeological evidence for it, and archaeologists have been scouring the ruins of Babylon since the 1800s. Also, Nebuchadnezzar himself—who could not shut up about all his own great building projects—never mentioned it.But there’s one audacious theory that suggests the Hanging Gardens did exist—just

Oct 17, 2024 • 49:46

AHFG Book Club: Smouldering Hellscapes and Sexy Vamps with Carissa Broadbent

AHFG Book Club: Smouldering Hellscapes and Sexy Vamps with Carissa Broadbent

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! What is it that makes the grimdark so sexy? NYTimes bestselling author Carissa Broadbent would know. She has been, in her own words, “concerning teachers and parents with mercilessly grim tales since she was roughly nine years old.”Today, her worlds are dark, gritty, war-blasted magical realms featuring (hot) characters caught in desperate, heart-pounding situations—and relentlessly drawn to each other. Join us as we explore a world of

Oct 10, 2024 • 1:03:16

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon: Part 1

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon: Part 1

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This week, we’re going to cover what may be the most mysterious of the Seven Wonders: a wonder that rose from the desert like a mirage, one whose name suggests it defied gravity itself; a wonder that may not have been a wonder at all: that may, in fact, never have existed.Join us as we explore the enigma of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.Sponsors and AdvertisingThis episode was brought to you by Taskrabbit. Go to Taskrabbit.com and use

Oct 3, 2024 • 1:03:09

A Cheeky Preview: With a Rebel Yell (an Excerpt from the Partial Historians' New Book!)

A Cheeky Preview: With a Rebel Yell (an Excerpt from the Partial Historians' New Book!)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! The hosts of the Partial Historians Podcast—Dr. Rad and Dr. G—have written a book! Your Cheeky Guide to the Roman Empire takes you from the regal period through to the so-called 'fall' in the 5th century, covering topics such as:We Built This City on Rock and Roads - learn about the walls and aqueducts!Let's Get Mythical Armed and Dangerous - the Romans didn't always win on the battlefield! Of course, no book on ancient Rome wo

Oct 1, 2024 • 37:51

Enemy of My Dreams: Jenny Tells All About Her Spicy Historical Romantasy

Enemy of My Dreams: Jenny Tells All About Her Spicy Historical Romantasy

Preorder Enemy of my Dreams here! Epic news alert! We're so thrilled that the cover for Jenny's Alaric historical romantasy, Enemy of My Dreams is here! As many of you know, the research for this book was her inspiration for this podcast, and our listeners have been with her every step of the way. We are so excited for you to continue following her on this journey. To celebrate the cover reveal, we put together this brand new episode where Genn interviews Jenny and we both fangirl about Alaric,

Sep 24, 2024 • 44:42

The Colossus of Rhodes

The Colossus of Rhodes

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Today we’re going to talk about yet another giant statue in the Seven Wonders lexicon—one that was once pictured straddling the harbor at Rhodes, holding aloft a torch. He was supposed to depict the god Helios, although some said it looked more like Alexander the Great.Rhodes was an island full of pirates, smugglers and ne’er-do-wells. What would have possessed them to build a giant statue of Helios in their harbor? Why that god? Why in

Sep 19, 2024 • 1:33:48

AHFG Book Club: Go Big or Go Home (With Katee Robert)

AHFG Book Club: Go Big or Go Home (With Katee Robert)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This week, we invited onto the show one of our all-time favorite romance authors—New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katee Robert. Katee has written over 100 books and sold over two million copies worldwide. They are truly an author who Goes Big, swimming in the currents of dark and taboo romance, romantasy, paranormal and monster romance—with relationships that are often queer, poly, and kinky.Join us as we explore

Sep 11, 2024 • 1:20:22

The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Today, we’re going to talk about a wonder that was built for a man who was once extremely powerful. But today, he’s known primarily for the grandness of his tomb—a tomb commissioned not by him, but by his wife (and sister)—a tomb so great that much like the Pharos’ name has been used in some languages to mean all lighthouses, his name in English now means all tombs.  Who was Mausolus? What made his tomb so great? And why was it named a

Sep 5, 2024 • 1:34:03

RE-RELEASE: Amazons, Part 3: Warrior Queens and Generals

RE-RELEASE: Amazons, Part 3: Warrior Queens and Generals

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! It's easy to get the impression that no women were allowed in the war games of the ancient world, but nothing could be further from the truth. Female generals and warrior queens were everywhere—leading armies into battle by land and sea.In this episode, we cover five female military commanders—powerful allies and enemies of the ancient Greeks and Romans.Sponsors and AdvertisingThis episode was brought to you by Taskrabbit. Go t

Sep 3, 2024 • 1:15:29

The Threat of Project 2025 (Part 3) With Brad Onishi from Straight White American Jesus

The Threat of Project 2025 (Part 3) With Brad Onishi from Straight White American Jesus

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This is a Podcast Takeover about the real threat that is Project 2025.Joining us is Dr. Brad Onishi, co-host of the podcast Straight White American Jesus, a podcast that explores the culture and politics of Christian Nationalism from the perspective of two ex-evangelical ministers turned professors of religion.In this episode, Brad walks us through the influence of Christian Nationalism on Donald Trump's second-term agenda--and exactly

Aug 29, 2024 • 1:04:01

The Threat of Project 2025 (Part 2) With Emily Rath

The Threat of Project 2025 (Part 2) With Emily Rath

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This is a Podcast Takeover about the real threat that is Project 2025. If enacted, Project 2025 would touch on all aspects of American life—and we couldn’t get into all of it in one episode. This week, we invited Dr. Emily Rath onto the show to give us a first-hand perspective on what life would be like if Project 2025 was made into law. In addition to a bestselling romance novelist, Dr. Rath has been a professor in Florida under the “

Aug 15, 2024 • 1:15:34

The Threat of Project 2025 (Part 1) With Professor Buzzkill

The Threat of Project 2025 (Part 1) With Professor Buzzkill

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This is a Podcast Takeover about the real threat that is Project 2025.We decided to take a break from our usual ancient history episodes to tell you about the Christo-fascist playbook that’s closer to being enacted into law than you might think. Project 2025 is a 900-page document that, if enacted, would rearrange our government to put unprecedented power in the hands of the president. And that president would be Donald Trump.Joining us

Aug 8, 2024 • 1:04:01

AHFG Book Club: Music of the Night with Angela J. Ford

AHFG Book Club: Music of the Night with Angela J. Ford

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Angela J. Ford is the author of over 30 books, mostly steamy fantasy romance and romantic thrillers. Like Jenny, she fell in love with the Phantom of the Opera at an early age. And she wrote a romance novel inspired by that story--with the mysterious Phantom as the hero.Join us as we discuss Angela's Phantom-inspired novel, Music of the Night, and what makes a certain Opera Ghost so sexy.Sponsors and AdvertisingThis podcast is a member

Aug 1, 2024 • 1:09:09

A Day at the Ancient Olympics

A Day at the Ancient Olympics

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! With the 2024 Olympics beginning any day now, you’re probably (if you’re a nerd like us) asking yourself one question: what would it have been like to attend a day at the world’s first Olympic Games? The Games in ancient times were not like they are today. The punishment for cheating was being whipped before a screaming crowd, Opening Ceremonies involved making sacrifices at a thousand-year-old primordial mound of gelatinous flesh and

Jul 25, 2024 • 47:00

AHFG Book Club: a Walk on the Dark Side with Sav R. Miller

AHFG Book Club: a Walk on the Dark Side with Sav R. Miller

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Sav R. Miller is a USA-Today bestselling author of steamy dark romances often inspired by Greek mythology, including the Monsters and Muses series and the upcoming Monsters Within. Her romances are often contemporary, and frequently delve into the dark and steamy side of the underworld, the mafia, and the criminal element.Join us as we discuss why we’re so intrigued by the dark side of romance—and what is it about morally grey villain-h

Jul 11, 2024 • 53:11

Reclaiming Hera (with Jennifer Saint)

Reclaiming Hera (with Jennifer Saint)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Hera is one of the most unsympathetic goddesses in Greek mythology. Trapped in a toxic marriage with the King of the Gods, her vast power relegated only to wives and marriage, she often takes her fury at Zeus’s infidelities out on his victims and their children. But is there more to Hera’s story than tragically misplaced vengeance?Today, we discuss this complicated, fascinating goddess with bestselling author Jennifer Saint—and uncover

Jul 4, 2024 • 1:00:28

History Daily: China's Terracotta Warriors

History Daily: China's Terracotta Warriors

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Introducing History Daily, a podcast that tells the fascinating stories of what happened “on this day” in history, with host Lindsay Graham.The episode we chose to release tells the fascinating story of China’s Terracotta Army—an entire army of 8,000 terracotta soldiers, each one unique and human sized, along with horses, weapons, chariots and more, dating from the 200s BC.Sponsors and AdvertisingThis episode is brought to you

Jun 27, 2024 • 21:04

The Lighthouse of Alexandria: Part 2

The Lighthouse of Alexandria: Part 2

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! In our last episode, we discussed the Lighthouse of Alexandria during its early years--the Ptolemaic and Roman eras. In this episode, we'll take a look at its later history--during the Islamic era, which is where many of our most detailed descriptions--and fantastical legends about the lighthouse--date from. The Lighthouse of Alexandria cast a long shadow. It's the shadow of the Dark Pharos, which lives in all of us. Join us as we disc

Jun 20, 2024 • 54:37

AHFG Book Club: Lady Assassins and Horny Dragons with Kit Rocha

AHFG Book Club: Lady Assassins and Horny Dragons with Kit Rocha

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This week, we teamed up with the dynamic duo of Donna Herren and Bree Bridges--writing under the bestselling pseudonym of Kit Rocha. They're best known for gritty dystopian romances featuring queer relationships, why choose sexiness, badass mercenary heroines, and an extra dash of kinkiness. Join us for a fun and fierce conversation where we discuss nontraditional publishing, queer and poly romance, tropes we love, and what rules are m

Jun 13, 2024 • 1:14:13

The Lighthouse of Alexandria: Part 1

The Lighthouse of Alexandria: Part 1

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! The Lighthouse of Alexandria became iconic in both the ancient and medieval worlds. People began to call it ‘The Pharos,” after the island it stood on. It changed drastically over the years—and so has what it represented. It was built during the reign of the Ptolemies in Egypt, and stood for about 1,600 years. In that time it came to represent a beacon of light and learning. But it also represented other, darker things. And looking bac

Jun 6, 2024 • 1:00:56

RE-RELEASE: Cleopatra and the Urban War

RE-RELEASE: Cleopatra and the Urban War

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! We're re-releasing this episode because it mentions a Seven Wonder that appears in our next brand new episode! When Cleopatra met Julius Caesar, sparks flew. The daring Egyptian queen beguiled the conquering Roman general—and then enlisted him to fight her battles. Outnumbered five to one in a city full of ancient wonders, Cleopatra and Caesar spent the next ten months barricaded in a luxurious palace while outside, the enemy howled fo

May 30, 2024 • 52:33

The Great Pyramid of Giza: Part 2

The Great Pyramid of Giza: Part 2

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! In our last episode, we took you on a tour of the Great Pyramid of Giza: perhaps the greatest of all the Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one that still exists today. We explored the outside of the Pyramid, the inside of the pyramid, we poked into all the nooks and crannies, and we explored all its secrets. But we left one secret out—and that is the one we are going to discuss today: how was the pyramid built? And who were t

May 23, 2024 • 1:11:44

RE-RELEASE: Is the Sphinx 10,000 Years Old?

RE-RELEASE: Is the Sphinx 10,000 Years Old?

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Carved from the very living bedrock of the Giza plateau, the Sphinx is shrouded in mystery. Archaeologists believe it’s about 4,500 years old. But there’s a fringe theory—the Sphinx Water Erosion Theory—that suggests it’s much, much older. Join us as we explore this wild theory that completely explodes the prevailing wisdom, and asserts that the Sphinx is in fact 10,000 years old—or maybe even more. Sponsors and Advertising This podcas

May 16, 2024 • 1:39:06

The Great Pyramid of Giza: Part 1

The Great Pyramid of Giza: Part 1

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! The list of Seven Wonders of the Ancient World has changed over the centuries. But there’s one item that’s almost always included—and when it’s not, the list-maker has to make it the honorary eighth wonder. Because leaving it out is so egregious. This is the oldest and largest of the Seven Wonders, the only one to survive into modern times, and it is the mother, the daddy, the true parental unit of all wonders: The Great Pyramid of Giz

May 9, 2024 • 1:29:22

AHFG Book Club: Sexy Dragons and Dangerous Dukes with Elizabeth May

AHFG Book Club: Sexy Dragons and Dangerous Dukes with Elizabeth May

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! It’s our inaugural episode of AHFG Book Club, and we are so thrilled to feature Sunday Times bestselling author Elizabeth May! Join us for a wild conversation where we talk about our favorite tropes, writing queer romance, ne’er-do-well con artist heroes, and why we’re all so into dukes and dragons these days. Elizabeth May has two recent books out in stores now: the epic romantasy To Cage a God, and the steamy historical romance A Tou

May 2, 2024 • 1:19:32

Orphia x Eurydicius and the Enduring Power of Women’s Voices (With Elyse John)

Orphia x Eurydicius and the Enduring Power of Women’s Voices (With Elyse John)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is a tragic story of love and loss. In this gender-bent version, author and prize-winning poet Elyse John crafts the tale of the warrior-poet Orphia, her love for the handsome shieldmaker Eurydicius, and the lasting power of women’s voices.  Join us and author Elyse John for a fresh new look at one of the most compelling and frequently-retold Greek myths—a story of love, loss, grief, and poetry. Sponso

Apr 25, 2024 • 58:07

RE-RELEASE: The Sacred Band of Thebes: All in One Place

RE-RELEASE: The Sacred Band of Thebes: All in One Place

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! We're re-releasing our epic story about the Sacred Band--all three episodes in one place!The time was the 300s BC. The place was Thebes. And in this place, in this time, there was an elite military force—the best of the best special ops shock troops—made up of 150 male lovers.Their love for each other was the key to their strength. It made them better fighters. More effective. It made them strong enough to break the iron-fisted

Apr 18, 2024 • 2:45:33

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia: Sweaty, Oily, and Judging You

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia: Sweaty, Oily, and Judging You

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! The Statue of Zeus at Olympia is not well remembered today. But in its time, it seared itself into the minds and memories of all who saw it. An enormous, glowering, formidable statue built into a temple of otherworldly, translucent light, it was as tall as a three-storey building. People said it crouched on its throne as if it was about to stand—and break through the roof of its temple. Zeus’ skin glistened. Made of yards and yards of

Apr 11, 2024 • 1:39:19

The Murderous Magic of Medea (With Rosie Hewlett)

The Murderous Magic of Medea (With Rosie Hewlett)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Perhaps the most infamous bad girl of ancient Greek mythology, Medea is also so much more complex than her end game makes her appear. She’s also a betrayed wife, an isolated immigrant in a hostile new country, and a woman trying to survive in a dark and violent world—who is ultimately driven to the brink by the men around her. In this episode, bestselling author Rosie Hewlett takes us on a deep dive into what makes Medea tick: her magi

Mar 28, 2024 • 50:39

History of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

History of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Perhaps the first list of Seven Wonders was written by Herodotus sometime in the 400s BC. But the list didn’t really get popularized until the 200s. Why was that? What did this list mean, and why did lists of “Wonders” become popular at this time in the ancient Greek world?Before we get into each of the Seven Wonders, we thought we’d introduce our series by talking about that list itself: its history, where it comes from, what

Mar 14, 2024 • 1:08:40

RE-RELEASE: Could You Survive Pompeii? A Choose Your Own Adventure Episode

RE-RELEASE: Could You Survive Pompeii? A Choose Your Own Adventure Episode

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! You’ve been transported almost 2,000 years into the past, to the streets of Pompeii. It’s a brisk autumn morning, around, oh…10 AM…and all hell is about to break loose. What's your next move? You could live through it, maybe. If you were lucky. And made all the right choices. At exactly the right time. The actions you take in these first moments could make the difference between life and death. Yes, this is Ancient History Fangirl – co

Mar 7, 2024 • 1:22:43

RE-RELEASE: The Pompeii Refugee Crisis (With Elodie Harper)

RE-RELEASE: The Pompeii Refugee Crisis (With Elodie Harper)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! We’ve covered the deadly day in 79 AD when Mt. Vesuvius erupted, burying Pompeii in a suffocating layer of ash and pumice. But we haven’t covered the aftermath: where did the survivors go? How were they received? And what did the recovery effort look like?  Today, we’re joined by Elodie Harper—bestselling author of the Wolf Den trilogy, whose last installment, The Temple of Fortuna, has just been released. Join us in exploring how this

Feb 29, 2024 • 53:49

RE-RELEASE: The Invisible Thread: Life after Slavery in Pompeii (With Elodie Harper)

RE-RELEASE: The Invisible Thread: Life after Slavery in Pompeii (With Elodie Harper)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! What happened to people in ancient Rome who were freed from slavery? Turns out there were still invisible threads--economic pressures, imbalances of status, and debts owed to wealthy patrons--that kept many of them in bondage. On the streets of Pompeii, freedom came at a steep price--especially for women. Today, we talk to Elodie Harper--bestselling author of the Wolf Den and the House with the Golden Door--about enslaved people, freed

Feb 22, 2024 • 1:02:15

RE-RELEASE: Women of the Wolf Den: Sex Workers of Pompeii (With Elodie Harper)

RE-RELEASE: Women of the Wolf Den: Sex Workers of Pompeii (With Elodie Harper)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! The Lupanar, or “Wolf Den,” is the infamous brothel of Pompeii. Elodie Harper’s bestselling novel follows the lives of the sex workers who lived and worked there—their passions, their heartbreaks, and the tightly-knit community they built for themselves.  Today, we’ve invited Elodie on the show to talk about the realities of sex workers’ lives in the Wolf Den—and how sex work was practiced in Pompeii near the time of the Vesuvius erupt

Feb 15, 2024 • 1:01:07

RE-RELEASE: The Cult of Aphrodite

RE-RELEASE: The Cult of Aphrodite

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! If you know anything about Aphrodite, then you know she is the ancient Greek goddess primarily associated with love, beauty, sex, reproduction, and passion. She was also the patron goddess of sex workers in the ancient Classical world.Join us as we explore how Aphrodite was worshipped in ancient Greece, the goddess's history and ancient roots, and how the Romans transformed her into Venus.Sponsors and AdvertisingThis podcast is

Feb 8, 2024 • 1:10:37

RE-RELEASE: Aspasia x Pericles: Love in the Time of Plague

RE-RELEASE: Aspasia x Pericles: Love in the Time of Plague

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Last week, we told you about the lives of five courtesans in Classical Athens. But we left someone out--perhaps the most elite hetaera of them all. Long-term partner of a leading Athenian statesman, darling of the philosophical set, survivor of the plague of Athens—she threw her own parties, and they were the best parties ever thrown within a hundred-mile radius of Athens. No one has done better since. Her name was Aspasia. Sponsors an

Feb 1, 2024 • 48:58

RE-RELEASE: Hustlers, Harlots, Heroines: The Elite Courtesans Who Ruled Classical Athens

RE-RELEASE: Hustlers, Harlots, Heroines: The Elite Courtesans Who Ruled Classical Athens

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! In our last few episodes on sex workers in ancient Greece, we tried to paint a picture of a group of women, in some cases, with more freedom and independence than most in the ancient Greek world could dream of. But that freedom came at a price. Now, we’re going to tell you about the lives of some of ancient Greece’s most famous Hetaerae. Sponsors and Advertising This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to adverti

Jan 25, 2024 • 1:31:07

RE-RELEASE: Dangers of the Symposium

RE-RELEASE: Dangers of the Symposium

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! The symposia--all-male drinking parties--were the playground and hunting ground of Athens' elite courtesans. But they had their dangers, too.Join us as we attend a symposium with the fast set of Ancient Athens. We’re going to hang out with the hetaerae, drink our faces off, flirt outrageously with everyone in range, and debate with the philosophers until the sun comes up.Sponsors and AdvertisingThis podcast is a member of Airwa

Jan 18, 2024 • 56:18

RE-RELEASE: Rules of the Game: Sex Workers of Ancient Greece

RE-RELEASE: Rules of the Game: Sex Workers of Ancient Greece

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! The conventional wisdom is that sex workers in ancient Greece were divided into two main categories: pornai who were enslaved in brothels, and hetaerae, who were elite courtesans. That’s actually a drastic oversimplification. This is the beginning of a journey into the world of sex workers in ancient Greece. Join us as we explore what life was like for sex workers at every level of the profession—including those who didn't fit easily i

Jan 11, 2024 • 1:03:48

RE-RELEASE: Janus: God of the New Year

RE-RELEASE: Janus: God of the New Year

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Janus is the two-faced god of the Roman pantheon. He was the god of beginnings and endings, of dual natures, of passageways and passage through time. He’s the god of thresholds and doorways and gates, and the god of change, both concrete and abstract. He’s constantly in motion; he’s the god who’s always just passing through. Janus may not be very well-known. But in his time, he was considered one of the most important gods—perhaps more

Jan 4, 2024 • 57:34

End of Season 11 Announcement

End of Season 11 Announcement

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! It's the end of Season 11--and we had so much fun putting this season together! We've got some big changes in store for Season 12--tune in to find out more! Sponsors & Advertising This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 28, 2023 • 21:39

RE-RELEASE: Frau Holle: Wicked Woman of Yule

RE-RELEASE: Frau Holle: Wicked Woman of Yule

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This year, we’ve found one of the most metal and wild Yuletide goddesses yet – Frau Holle. Human sacrifices, spindles in yer vag, plague, starvation, caves of offerings and bones, the Grimms brothers, golden showers, child cannibalism, ZOMBIES – are any of these putting you in the Yuletide spirit? They should. Because we’re about to share with you the story of a very Frau Holle Christmas. Sponsors and Advertising This podcast is a memb

Dec 26, 2023 • 1:16:34

St. Nicholas and the Christmas Cannibals

St. Nicholas and the Christmas Cannibals

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Ah, Christmas—it's a time of cheer, of gift-giving and generosity; and a time to eat yer babies. This year, we’re focusing on two different cannibalistic monsters from Christmas folklore: Père Fouettard and Hans Trapp. Because it turns out that child cannibalism really is the reason for the season—and perhaps Santa Claus is the biggest cannibal of all. What is Santa hiding under those jolly cheeks and that big white beard? Strap in, po

Dec 21, 2023 • 1:19:15

RE-RELEASE: You Don't Know Yule

RE-RELEASE: You Don't Know Yule

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! What do you know about Yule? Maybe a lot. The holiday is widely celebrated in Scandinavian countries, and it's an important part of Wiccan and Pagan tradition. But for many of us, the version that's come down through history is strongly associated with Christmas--and heavily sanitized. When we scratched the surface, however, we found that the origins of Yule were older and darker and weirder than we ever imagined. Sponsors and Advertis

Dec 19, 2023 • 1:25:19

Baiae Breathes: Sunken City of Sin (With Julius Caesar)

Baiae Breathes: Sunken City of Sin (With Julius Caesar)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! During the ancient Roman Republic and into the Empire, there was a place all the fabulously wealthy went. An escape from the real world. A place where they could unleash all their most hedonistic and murderous urges. That place was Baiae. Baiae was the playground of Rome’s rich and infamous, whose baths alone were the size of palaces. It had many secrets—but perhaps the most deadly was that the entire city was built on a supervolcano.

Dec 14, 2023 • 1:35:39

RE-RELEASE: Saturnalia: So Much More than Roman Christmas

RE-RELEASE: Saturnalia: So Much More than Roman Christmas

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Wish you had a holiday all about feasting, drinking, the upending of the social order, blood sacrifices, the harvest, pranks, novelty gifts, honouring a god who devoured his kids, and the returning sun? Don’t we all??? Welcome to Saturnalia. Sponsors and Advertising This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com. Learn more ab

Dec 12, 2023 • 1:03:18

Psyche x Eros: A New Look at an Ancient Love Story (With Luna McNamara)

Psyche x Eros: A New Look at an Ancient Love Story (With Luna McNamara)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Psyche and Eros is an ancient love story that has always had the power to compel. It’s the story of a god of passion who falls in love with the personification of the human soul—and the lengths these two will go to in order to be together. But the lone source we have for this myth is The Golden Ass by Apuleius—a satirical novel about a man who gets turned into a donkey. What can we learn about this myth by looking at its original sourc

Dec 7, 2023 • 1:07:43

RE-RELEASE: Krampus: The Goat Knows What You Did

RE-RELEASE: Krampus: The Goat Knows What You Did

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This year, we decided that the holiday season wouldn’t be complete without a mythological foray into one of the most famous characters of the season: The Krampus. And some of you might be saying: wait a minute, Krampus isn’t ancient; he’s modern. Also, everyone knows about Krampus, the festive demon of Christmas. Why are you covering this well-trodden topic? Wait until you hear the wild things we uncovered about him and his history, an

Dec 5, 2023 • 45:37

Warrior Queens of Nubia

Warrior Queens of Nubia

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! When we think of pyramids, hieroglyphs, and Pharaohs, most people think about Egypt. But there was a civilization to the south that was just as fascinating, just as complex, just as sophisticated—and it wasn’t Egypt. It was Nubia. The Nubians built temples, cities, and pyramids to rival those of the Egyptians. And they had a fascinating history of strong female leaders, including warriors, generals and queens. And after Cleopatra lost

Nov 30, 2023 • 52:56

Lady Poisoners: Dangerous Women of History (With Lisa Perrin)

Lady Poisoners: Dangerous Women of History (With Lisa Perrin)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Throughout history, there have been a number of women who had—shall we say—a penchant for poison. Women who poisoned for power and influence; to rid themselves of enslavers and abusive husbands; and for monetary gain. Who were these women? How did they enact their deadly plans? How did they avoid getting caught (until they didn’t)? Join us as we acquaint ourselves with a dangerous sisterhood of lady poisoners—with Dr. Lisa Perrin, auth

Nov 23, 2023 • 59:58

The Pompeii Refugee Crisis (With Elodie Harper)

The Pompeii Refugee Crisis (With Elodie Harper)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! We’ve covered the deadly day in 79 AD when Mt. Vesuvius erupted, burying Pompeii in a suffocating layer of ash and pumice. But we haven’t covered the aftermath: where did the survivors go? How were they received? And what did the recovery effort look like?  Today, we’re joined by Elodie Harper—bestselling author of the Wolf Den trilogy, whose last installment, The Temple of Fortuna, has just been released. Join us in exploring how this

Nov 16, 2023 • 53:49

Greek Fire: Mystery Weapon of the Byzantines

Greek Fire: Mystery Weapon of the Byzantines

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Greek fire was an incendiary weapon of the ancient world—and perhaps the sole reason that the Byzantine Empire stood long after the rest of Rome. It was a terrifying weapon used for centuries to dominate on land and sea; intimidating vastly more powerful foes into backing down. Those who beheld its power always fled in fear. Greek fire was a closely guarded secret of the Byzantine Empire. And eventually the recipe for making and using

Nov 9, 2023 • 1:07:53

Vikings: Fact and Fiction (With Kelsey Fuller-Shafer)

Vikings: Fact and Fiction (With Kelsey Fuller-Shafer)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! When we talk about the Vikings, who are we talking about, exactly? What can we learn about Viking culture by looking at their myths? And which of the ancient sources about them (if any) can we trust? This week, we take a look at Norse mythology and history with Dr. Kelsey Fuller-Shafer, author of Norse Mythology: The Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook: From Vikings to Valkyries, an Epic Who's Who in Old Norse Mythology (a kind of com

Nov 2, 2023 • 1:01:14

RE-RELEASE: Ancient Vampires: They Only Knock Once

RE-RELEASE: Ancient Vampires: They Only Knock Once

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Communities all over the ancient world had a problem: their dead wouldn't stay in the ground. They rose up as shambolic corpses, gusts of wind and evil spirits, draining human life force and devouring flesh and blood.The vampire myth is an ancient one, found on every continent. Join us as we explore the oldest vampire myths we could find from Sumeria, Greece, Rome, and Germania--and discover the clues they leave us about those

Oct 31, 2023 • 1:28:49

History Daily: Great Fire of Rome

History Daily: Great Fire of Rome

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Introducing History Daily, a podcast that tells the fascinating stories of what happened “on this day” in history, with host Lindsay Graham. This is a History Daily episode about the Great Fire of Rome–another natural or potentially man made disaster that we felt was perfect for our odds and sods season–topics that just didn’t fit into past arcs or that we didn’t get to. The day was July 18, 64 AD. When the Great Fire of Rome reduces t

Oct 28, 2023 • 23:04

Cult of the Severed Head

Cult of the Severed Head

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! The Celts of the Iron age—roughly 600s BC to 43 AD—had a real preoccupation with severed heads. They took heads in battle. They displayed the heads of their enemies in prominent places. But what did all this decapitation mean? Some believe there was a set of religious beliefs around severed heads—but nobody knows what they were. And the severed head keeps popping up in later mythology and legend, creating more questions than answers. J

Oct 26, 2023 • 1:28:36

RE-RELEASE: Werewolves of Wolf Mountain: Terrors of Ancient Greece

RE-RELEASE: Werewolves of Wolf Mountain: Terrors of Ancient Greece

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! The werewolf myth as we know it today generally involves getting bitten by a werewolf, transforming during the full moon, and being very susceptible to silver bullets. But werewolves in ancient Greece and Rome were a little different. Join us for a spooky-season deep dive into ancient werewolf mythology from thousands of years ago. We'll take a look at the pre-Christian origins of the werewolf myth and its connections to death, starvat

Oct 24, 2023 • 1:20:20

Catholic Werewolves

Catholic Werewolves

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! We’ve covered werewolves in the ancient world before—and their connection to the Berserker myth. But wait til you hear what happened to werewolf mythology when the Catholics got their hands on it. This episode is a wild ride, taking you from the ancient Greek and Roman werewolves to a Medieval monster tied to the mysteries of serial killing, mental illness, domestic abuse, and the paranoia of the Witch Trials. It turns out Catholic wer

Oct 19, 2023 • 1:12:44

RE-RELEASE: The Mystery of Skeleton Lake

RE-RELEASE: The Mystery of Skeleton Lake

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! In 1942, a forest ranger was hiking on an isolated trail deep in the Himalayas. Rising over 16,000 feet in elevation, he climbed a ridge that looked down a steep-sided funnel of ice and boulders. At the bottom was a small, perfectly circular glacial lake, frozen in a solid blue lens.And there, strewn about the icy, rocky beach, lay skeletons. Hundreds of skeletons.Nobody knew whose bones they were. Theories and folklore would p

Oct 17, 2023 • 46:40

A Rome of One's Own (With Emma Southon)

A Rome of One's Own (With Emma Southon)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Men aren’t the only ones who think about the Roman Empire (Or the Roman Republic!) all the time. We do too–and so does Dr. Emma Southon, creator of the History is Sexy podcast and author of many fascinating, women-centered books on ancient Rome.  Her most recent book, a Rome of One’s Own—the Forgotten Women of the Roman Empire, tells the story of 21 fascinating women often overlooked by history–who nevertheless played a huge role in sh

Oct 12, 2023 • 1:18:27

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Spartacus: Parts 1, 2 and 3

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Spartacus: Parts 1, 2 and 3

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This file contains the first three episodes of our Spartacus series. You'll learn about the conditions in Italy that gave rise to the Third Servile War; how Spartacus rebelled and the pressures he was under in holding together a disparate crowd of rebels with differing priorities. It's a riveting tale that's sure to keep you hooked. Sponsors and Advertising This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on

Oct 10, 2023 • 2:38:50

Berserkers on the Battlefield

Berserkers on the Battlefield

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This is an episode about the shock troops of Viking Armies—the most violent, the most terrifying, the men who ran out ahead of the army to shatter shield walls and break the minds of the enemy. There are accounts of great acts of heroism and self sacrifice among them in the ancient histories—but they were also on the margins of society, mistrusted and despised even by their own side. Why is that? And what drugs were these guys on, exac

Oct 5, 2023 • 1:35:32

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Julius Caesar: Parts 1 and 2

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Julius Caesar: Parts 1 and 2

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Most accounts of Caesar's life start later on--such as during his time in Gaul or crossing the Rubicon. But his early life was just as fascinating; maybe even more so.This is the Caesar who stood up to Sulla and refused to divorce his wife. The Caesar who made an early career of prosecuting corrupt governors to cement his cred as a populist--even as it made him powerful enemies. The Caesar who, when kidnapped by pirates, demand

Oct 3, 2023 • 2:08:08

RE-RELEASE: Last Refuge of the Minoans

RE-RELEASE: Last Refuge of the Minoans

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! We'll be back October 5. In the meantime please enjoy this episode from our vault about another ancient natural disaster--and the trauma it inflicted on a people. High in the mountains of eastern Crete, there’s a secret that has been kept since the 1200s BC. It’s the secret of the strange and still-unexplained 80+ ancient villages hidden in the Cretan mountains that may have been the last refuges of the Minoan people. The ancient Minoa

Sep 28, 2023 • 1:32:00

RE-RELEASE: Aspasia x Pericles: Love in the Time of Plague

RE-RELEASE: Aspasia x Pericles: Love in the Time of Plague

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! We'll be back October 5. In the meantime please enjoy this episode from our vault about another ancient plague--the Plague of Athens--and one of its most esteemed survivors. Long-term partner of a leading Athenian statesman, darling of the philosophical set, survivor of the plague of Athens—she threw her own parties, and they were the best parties ever thrown within a hundred-mile radius of Athens. No one has done better since. Her nam

Sep 26, 2023 • 50:08

End of Season 10 Announcement

End of Season 10 Announcement

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! We're taking a very brief hiatus this time--just until October 5. In the meantime, tune in to hear us talk rivers of pus, transformed worlds, and all things volcanoes--as well as our plans for the upcoming season.Sponsors and AdvertisingThis podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. V

Sep 21, 2023 • 19:26

Could You Survive Pompeii? A Choose Your Own Adventure Episode

Could You Survive Pompeii? A Choose Your Own Adventure Episode

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! You’ve been transported almost 2,000 years into the past, to the streets of Pompeii. It’s a brisk autumn morning, around, oh…10 AM…and all hell is about to break loose. What's your next move? You could live through it, maybe. If you were lucky. And made all the right choices. At exactly the right time. The actions you take in these first moments could make the difference between life and death. Yes, this is Ancient History Fangirl – co

Sep 14, 2023 • 1:22:43

Great Yu Controls the Waters

Great Yu Controls the Waters

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Cultures on every continent have flood myths, and China is no exception. One of China’s founding myths is one about a singular hero, Yu the Great, and his brilliant works of water engineering that tamed a deadly flood—roughly four thousand years ago.But did this great flood really occur? Was there really a Yu, or someone like him? Join us as we delve into the Bronze-age civilizations of ancient China, the history of its legenda

Sep 7, 2023 • 1:04:33

Atlit Yam: Forgotten City Beneath the Waves

Atlit Yam: Forgotten City Beneath the Waves

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Off the coast of Israel there is an underwater megalithic stone circle dating back to the 7000s BC – that is perfectly preserved, keeping its secrets from another time. This is the story of a prehistoric city (well, village) off the coast of Israel. Thousands of years ago, it sank beneath the waves. Its discovery was revolutionary and changed what we thought about the people who lived in this area during the stone age. Today, we’re goi

Aug 31, 2023 • 58:22

Buzzballs and Buboes: The Plague of Justinian (a Drunk Deep Dive)

Buzzballs and Buboes: The Plague of Justinian (a Drunk Deep Dive)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This is an episode about a plague that killed up to 100 million people by the time it was done—as many as 60% of its victims. It’s the first documented occurrence of a pandemic that we have, and it’s the first documented outbreak of the deadlyYersinia pestis. No, we're not talking about the Black Death of Medieval Europe. We're talking about the Plague of Justinian. The Plague of Justinian was just one part of the fallout of the global

Aug 24, 2023 • 1:25:38

536 AD: A Volcanic Murder Mystery

536 AD: A Volcanic Murder Mystery

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! What was the worst year to be alive? Some researchers have a very specific answer to this question: 536 AD.  This is a year when the global temperature dropped, and it was winter all year round—for multiple years. The sun disappeared for 18 months as the world was covered in a veil of sulfuric dust. Crops failed. People starved, and fell to eating each other and warring over scarce resources. From China to Mexico, thriving civilization

Aug 17, 2023 • 1:15:08

RE-RELEASE: Nazca Lines: Secrets in the Sand

RE-RELEASE: Nazca Lines: Secrets in the Sand

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Imagine a desert stretching over 1,500 miles along the Peruvian coastline, between the high Andes to the east and the vast Pacific coastline to the west. A place of brilliant colors and contradictions. This is the driest desert in the world. Astronauts use it to simulate conditions on Mars. This is the home of the Nazca Lines: huge, beautifully made 2,000-year-old geoglyphs, visible only from the sky. Some are elaborate images of anima

Aug 10, 2023 • 1:14:25

RE-RELEASE: Teotihuacan: Eat the Rich

RE-RELEASE: Teotihuacan: Eat the Rich

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Teotihuacan is an ancient pre-Colombian city in central America, founded two thousand years ago. It’s the home of some of the most iconic Mesoamerican monuments in existence, including the Pyramids of the Moon and Sun.The city was abandoned after about 750 years of habitation. When the Aztecs first encountered it, it had stood empty for 600 years. Walking through the empty ruin, they marveled at the towering pyramids, the incre

Aug 8, 2023 • 1:36:02

In the Time of the Green Sahara

In the Time of the Green Sahara

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Deep in the western Sahara—in perhaps one of the driest parts of the driest desert in the world—there are cave paintings that depict people swimming. These cave paintings date to 10,000 years ago. Back then, there would have been plenty of water to swim in. It was a time when the Sahara was green. Join us as we pull back the curtain on a tantalizing time when the Sahara was a wetland paradise, with enormous megalakes, vast networks of

Aug 3, 2023 • 1:16:03

The Haunting of Crater Lake

The Haunting of Crater Lake

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Crater Lake is a caldera lake in the Cascade Mountains in Oregon—the remnants of an ancient volcanic eruption. It’s the deepest lake in the country and one of the deepest in the world. And this place is steeped in lore: unexplained events, murders and suicides, disappearances and hauntings, and a strange 200-year-old floating log that probably controls the weather. But the history of this lake goes back even farther: to the volcanic er

Jul 27, 2023 • 1:04:52

Ghosts of Wrangel Island

Ghosts of Wrangel Island

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Mammoths existed on our planet for roughly five million years, and they were perfectly adapted to the ice age world they inhabited. So perfectly adapted that when the last ice age ended, so did they. No woolly mammoths have walked the earth for the last 10,000 years. Or did they? It turns out that the last mammoths didn’t disappear 10,000 years ago. For thousands of years after their extinction in the rest of the world, a small populat

Jul 20, 2023 • 48:20

The Drowning of Doggerland

The Drowning of Doggerland

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Ten thousand years ago, there was no North Sea. Instead, there was a vast landscape that connected the UK and Ireland to the rest of Europe. Archaeologists call it Doggerland.This was a Mesolithic paradise. A great biodiversity hotspot where we had all the food and raw materials we could ask for within arm’s reach—an immense forest and wetland paradise as big as a second France. It was the beating heart of Mesolithic Europe.But

Jul 13, 2023 • 1:02:12

The Ten Plagues of Egypt: An Ancient Disaster Story

The Ten Plagues of Egypt: An Ancient Disaster Story

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! The story of The Ten Plagues of Egypt is important in both Jewish and Christian mythology. It’s a dark, haunting tale that features a capricious God meting out increasingly terrible punishments on the Egyptian people for their Pharaoh’s refusal to release the Israelites from slavery. But that’s not all there is to this story. It’s also a Bronze Age narrative that may be based on an ancient psychic trauma. Just what was that trauma? And

Jul 6, 2023 • 1:26:55

RE-RELEASE: Actium Baby (With Barry Strauss)

RE-RELEASE: Actium Baby (With Barry Strauss)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! In this episode, we return to the beach at Actium with author, historian, and academic Barry Strauss as our tour guide. His new book, The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium, discusses the infamous sea battle Marc Antony and Cleopatra fought against Octavian and Agrippa for love, for supremacy, for their very survival. Join us as we deconstruct this battle, paint a vivid picture of ancient war at s

Jun 29, 2023 • 1:05:04

PATREON BONUS: Cleopatra x King Herod: Wouldn't Touch You With a Barge Pole (Part 2)

PATREON BONUS: Cleopatra x King Herod: Wouldn't Touch You With a Barge Pole (Part 2)

This episode originally appeared as a Patreon Exclusive episode. Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! In the second installment of our Cleopatra x King Herod arc, the slow-motion train wreck continues. Herod makes increasingly ill-advised decisions as schemes and intrigue simmer around him. Meanwhile, Cleopatra influences things from afar, empowering Herod's enemies and relatives (who are frequently one and the same).  Find out how it all went down when their feud reached

Jun 27, 2023 • 25:32

PATREON BONUS: Cleopatra x King Herod: Wouldn't Touch You With a Barge Pole (Part 1)

PATREON BONUS: Cleopatra x King Herod: Wouldn't Touch You With a Barge Pole (Part 1)

This episode originally appeared as a Patreon Exclusive episode. Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! In our episode Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 3), we alluded to a story about King Herod (yes, that King Herod) and Cleopatra—and an epic feud between them. We didn’t have time to go into that story in the bigger arc on Cleopatra and Marc Antony, but we thought it was a perfect topic for a minisode.  Unlike Cleopatra and Marc Antony, Cleopatra a

Jun 22, 2023 • 25:32

RE-RELEASE: Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 5)

RE-RELEASE: Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 5)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! After the disaster at Actium, Marc Antony's entire army--100,000 strong--surrendered to Octavian. Marc Antony and Cleopatra fled to Alexandria to negotiate the terms of their defeat. Those were dark, foreboding days. Friends and allies fled the palace. Marc Antony fell into a deep depression, while Cleopatra searched desperately for a way out--one that would keep her kingdom intact and her children alive. But the reckoning was coming.

Jun 20, 2023 • 1:15:29

RE-RELEASE: Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 4)

RE-RELEASE: Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 4)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! As Marc Antony and Cleopatra lived and loved in Alexandria, Octavian whipped up a toxic garbage fire of racism, misogyny, and xenophobia in Rome--and then declared war. Not against Marc Antony, but against Cleopatra. Soon, the lovers would be forced to defend their home, their family, and their life together on the shores of the Ambracian Gulf. Find out how it all went down--at a town called Actium. Sponsors and Advertising This podcas

Jun 15, 2023 • 58:40

RE-RELEASE: Transgender Achilles and Found Family in the Illiad (With Maya Deane)

RE-RELEASE: Transgender Achilles and Found Family in the Illiad (With Maya Deane)

We're re-releasing this episode in honor of Maya Deane's book Wrath Goddess Sing coming out in paperback. Available wherever books are sold! Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Many of us have preconceived notions about what the Illiad was like. Prepare to have those notions blown away. In this episode, debut author Maya Deane methodically strips away the lenses of the Victorian era, Classical Greece, and the modern day to reveal an Illiad that’s older and darker and wei

Jun 13, 2023 • 1:15:43

RE-RELEASE: Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 3)

RE-RELEASE: Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 3)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! After four years of marriage with Octavia, Marc Antony followed Cleopatra to Alexandria—and settled into life there. He oversaw festivals and athletic contests, cheered Cleopatra on as she ruled Egypt, and showered her and their children with honors and territories. For all intents and purposes, he was the consort of Egypt’s beloved Pharaoh, the father of her children—and he was home. But the propaganda war between Antony and Octavian

Jun 8, 2023 • 1:28:29

RE-RELEASE: Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 2)

RE-RELEASE: Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 2)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! When Cleopatra and Marc Antony met by the River Tarsus, Antony was smitten. And when Cleopatra went back to Alexandria, he forgot about invading Parthia and followed her home. The two then spent a magical few months in Alexandria, where they threw each other lavish banquets, made bets and compacts, played ridiculous practical jokes on each other and the public--and fell in love. But nothing good can ever stay. The real world came knock

Jun 6, 2023 • 1:05:25

RE-RELEASE: Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 1)

RE-RELEASE: Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 1)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Shakespeare wrote about them. Hollywood glamorized them. For thousands of years, they've come down to us as the ultimate star-crossed lovers: the Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra, and the Roman commander Marc Antony. In the wake of Caesar's death, Cleopatra fled to Egypt--and began picking up the pieces. Meanwhile, Marc Antony defeated Caesar's assassins in battle, and then set his sights on invading Parthia. But to invade Parthia, he needed

Jun 1, 2023 • 1:12:46

RE-RELEASE: Cleopatra and the Urban War

RE-RELEASE: Cleopatra and the Urban War

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! When Cleopatra met Julius Caesar, sparks flew. The daring Egyptian queen beguiled the conquering Roman general—and then enlisted him to fight her battles. Outnumbered five to one in a city full of ancient wonders, Cleopatra and Caesar spent the next ten months barricaded in a luxurious palace while outside, the enemy howled for their blood--fighting a deadly urban war for Cleopatra's throne and both of their survival. Get ad-free episo

May 30, 2023 • 52:33

RE-RELEASE: Cleopatra and the King of Rome

RE-RELEASE: Cleopatra and the King of Rome

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! When Julius Caesar arrived in Egypt, he walked into a civil war between the country’s new co-rulers: Ptolemy XIII and his sister Cleopatra. The romance between Caesar and Cleopatra is one of the most epic of ancient times. But we can’t tell you that story until you understand who Cleopatra was. And to understand Cleopatra, you have to understand the political element in which she swam. In this episode, we take you from the cutthroat in

May 25, 2023 • 1:09:11

End of Season 9 Announcement

End of Season 9 Announcement

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! It's the end of our Women of Myth season, and wow, has it been a whirlwind! We had a blast on this season and we hope you did too. We'll be back July 6 with a brand-new season--one that's all about ancient history and returns to our roots. Listen in to hear some behind the scenes info, and all about our plans for the coming few months and the season beyond. Sponsors & Advertising This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast networ

May 18, 2023 • 21:55

Hot Sauron Summer (With Liv Albert from Myths Baby!)

Hot Sauron Summer (With Liv Albert from Myths Baby!)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Feminism in Lord of the Rings: let’s discuss. How were women depicted in the famous trilogy, and how has that depiction changed from the books to the movies and then to the Rings of Power TV show? Join us and Liv Albert from Let’s Talk About Myths Baby! for a very serious, very scholarly contemplation of women and feminism in Lord of the Rings. LOL just kidding. Mainly this episode involves Jenny shrieking about Hot Sauron, Genn gettin

May 11, 2023 • 1:08:12

The Chaotic Olympians (With Bea Fitzgerald from Chaos on Olympus)

The Chaotic Olympians (With Bea Fitzgerald from Chaos on Olympus)

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! We’re joined today by YA romance author and Tiktok star Bea Fitzgerald, who brings Greek mythology to life on her Tiktok channel Chaos on Olympus. In this conversation, we talk about the female goddesses, monsters and heroines of Greek mythology: what makes them tick, which ones are the most fun to skewer in bite-sized video format, and the surprising queer romance hiding in monster mythology. This podcast is a member of Airwave Media

May 4, 2023 • 54:08

Falling in Love with Ancient History (With Jasmine Elmer of Legit Classics)

Falling in Love with Ancient History (With Jasmine Elmer of Legit Classics)

Just who are the classics for, anyway?Our guest Jasmine Elmer has been an educator in the classics for decades—through educational charity work, as a TV presenter and through her podcast, Legit Classics. She is passionate about making the classics accessible to all—and the new and important perspectives brought to the field by scholars of diverse nontraditional backgrounds. This week, we discuss how to make the ancient world more accessible to everyone, of all backgrounds—as well as Jas

Apr 27, 2023 • 1:04:17

RE-RELEASE: Women in Welsh Mythology (With Mari Catrin Phillips from MythsnTits)

RE-RELEASE: Women in Welsh Mythology (With Mari Catrin Phillips from MythsnTits)

This week, we’re taking a deep dive into Welsh mythology from a queer, feminist perspective with the phenomenally talented Welsh artist Mari Catrin Phillips of MythsnTits. Join us as we get acquainted with the women of the Mabinogion. Check out MythsnTits: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MariCatrinPhillips Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries

Apr 20, 2023 • 53:03

Atalanta and the Heroine's Journey (With Jennifer Saint)

Atalanta and the Heroine's Journey (With Jennifer Saint)

This week, we delve deeper into the legend of Atalanta, with bestselling author Jennifer Saint as our guide. Join us as we discuss Atalanta’s heroine’s journey, her connection to Artemis and a more ancient concept of the feminine, and what it was really like being stuck on the Argo with all those dudes. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquir

Apr 13, 2023 • 1:00:14

RE-RELEASE: Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Atalanta

RE-RELEASE: Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Atalanta

Atalanta was an avatar of an older, wilder time, created in the image of an ancient Artemis—goddess of the fields and forests who had a strong association with bears. Perhaps Atalanta represents an older image of that goddess before Classical Athens got its hands on her. Join us as we take a deep dive into the story of Atalanta: a gender rebel and sexually liberated heroine who—maybe—peels back the curtain on what life was like for women on the margins, living pre-agrarian lifestyles outside of

Apr 6, 2023 • 1:18:02

Bad Girls of the Bible and Caribbean Lore (With Princess O'Nika Auguste)

Bad Girls of the Bible and Caribbean Lore (With Princess O'Nika Auguste)

Today, we’re joined by Caribbean feminist Biblical scholar and author Princess O’Nika Auguste to discuss the female monsters and goddesses of Caribbean lore, African diaspora religions, and the Bible.Join us for a wide-ranging discussion where we talk about the most fearsome feminine monsters of Caribbean legend and African diaspora religion, as well as the bad girls of the Bible—including everybody’s favorite patriarchy-smashing rebel of Jewish lore, Lilith.Get ad-free episodes here: h

Mar 30, 2023 • 1:12:17

Secrets of the Aztec Codices (With Camilla Townsend)

Secrets of the Aztec Codices (With Camilla Townsend)

Decades after the Spanish conquest, Aztec survivors wrote down their histories and mythology in documents called Codices. Many were written at the behest of Spanish priests, and come to us through a Spanish lens. But some were written in secret, by Aztecs and for Aztecs, with no Spanish involvement at all. Long ignored by historians, these documents provide us with what is perhaps the most authentic history of the Aztec people in their own voice. Today, we’re joined by Camilla Townsend, a leadin

Mar 23, 2023 • 56:14

RE-RELEASE: The Morrigan: Celtic Goddess of War

RE-RELEASE: The Morrigan: Celtic Goddess of War

The Morrigan has many names: Badb, the scald-crow. Red-haired Macha. Nevin of the battle-frenzy. Fea; the deathly. Be Neit; the Woman of Battle. But first and foremost, the Morrigan was a goddess of war. And to understand her, you have to understand her battlefield. Join us as we get to know the Morrigan—and explore the bloody waters in which she swam. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to adver

Mar 16, 2023 • 1:20:12

Urduja: Warrior Princess of the Philippines (With HERstory: Southeast Asia)

Urduja: Warrior Princess of the Philippines (With HERstory: Southeast Asia)

Urduja was a celebrated warrior princess who ruled the kingdom of Tawalisi, said to exist in the Philippines. The first recorded mention of her comes from the travelogue of Ibn Battuta, an explorer and scholar who lived in the 1300s AD and who claimed to have met her. Much is mysterious about Urduja--including whether her kingdom ever existed. However, her story has become so compelling over the centuries that today she is considered a national heroine of the Philippines. This week, we're joined

Mar 9, 2023 • 1:05:01

Inventing Medusa: Reclaiming the Gorgon Girl (With Natalie Haynes)

Inventing Medusa: Reclaiming the Gorgon Girl (With Natalie Haynes)

The traditional myth about Medusa is that she was the monster—a fearsome snake-haired gorgon who could turn men to stone with a glance—and her killer, Perseus, was the hero of the tale. But give the story a closer look, and it’s not even clear the Greeks always saw it that way. Ancient depictions of this myth don’t always show Perseus as the hero. And there’s evidence that gorgons originally had a protective role in Greek iconography. In this episode, Natalie Haynes—bestselling author of Stone B

Mar 2, 2023 • 1:25:03

Women of Norse Mythology (With Joanne Harris)

Women of Norse Mythology (With Joanne Harris)

This week, we welcome internationally bestselling author Joanne Harris to our podcast. Joanne is the author of over 29 novels and novellas for adults and children, including Chocolat, which was turned into an Oscar winning film, and the fantasy series Runemarks and Runelight; The Gospel of Loki and The Testament of Loki, and many others.Join us for a wild conversation that will break down all your preconceptions about Norse mythology, its ancient roots and hidden goddesses, and women’s

Feb 23, 2023 • 1:11:08

Women in Greek and Hindu Mythology (With Nikita Gill)

Women in Greek and Hindu Mythology (With Nikita Gill)

Both Greek and Hindu mythology are populated with fascinating women—goddesses, heroines, and monsters alike. Award-winning and best-selling author and poet Nikita Gill incorporates both into her work, forging a compelling connection between ancient narratives and personal mythologies of place and family. Nikita’s poetry is haunting, fiercely feminist, and filled with insight and heartbreak. Join us for a conversation about the women of Hindu and Greek mythology, the feminist themes in both, and

Feb 16, 2023 • 1:16:56

A Sneak Peek at our Women of Myth Audiobook

A Sneak Peek at our Women of Myth Audiobook

This week we thought we’d do something a little different–and bring you a sneak peek of our audiobook version of Women of Myth. This version is available for preorder, and we recorded it ourselves, along with Liv from Let's Talk About Myths Baby! who recorded her introduction. We picked three entries to share, from three different areas of the world. These women are so fascinating and awesome that we're sure you'll love them as much as we did. We hope you enjoy! Get ad-free episodes here: https:

Feb 9, 2023 • 30:16

Drawing the Women of Myth (With Illustrator Sara Richard)

Drawing the Women of Myth (With Illustrator Sara Richard)

We’re joined today by Sara Richard—our Eisner and Ringo Award–nominated illustrator for the Women of Myth series. Sara worked with us to create the amazing illustrations for Women of Myth.Join us as we take you behind the scenes to discuss what it was like illustrating these incredible characters; which women of myth Sara felt the strongest connection to; Sara and Jenny's shared love of SKULLS and historic graveyards; and what's in Sara's Cabinet of Curiosities.Get ad-free episodes here

Feb 2, 2023 • 1:03:04

PATREON BONUS: Atargatis: The Syrian Mermaid Goddess who Made Men Castrate Themselves

PATREON BONUS: Atargatis: The Syrian Mermaid Goddess who Made Men Castrate Themselves

This episode originally appeared on our Patreon! We're releasing it on our main feed because we also include Atargatis in Women of Myth. We hope you enjoy! The Spartacus of the First Servile War--a man named Eunus--was a worshipper of Atargatis, an ancient goddess of the sea often depicted as a mermaid. Atargatis was one of the most important goddesses of ancient Syria--with roots that went all the way back to the Bronze Age. Her temple in Hierapolis had a lake hundreds of fathoms deep, filled w

Jan 26, 2023 • 49:16

Creepiest Monsters of Southeast Asia (With Creepy Conversations Podcast)

Creepiest Monsters of Southeast Asia (With Creepy Conversations Podcast)

This week, we explore monster mythology from countries all over southeast Asia—and we invited Nikki and Kalai from the Creepy Conversations podcast to come on our show and creep us out. Hailing from the Philippines and Singapore, they cover all things creepy from southeast Asian mythology, including monsters, urban legends, ghost stories, true crime and serial killers, and more.Today we try to answer the age-old question: which Southeast Asian country has the creepiest female monsters?

Jan 19, 2023 • 1:17:59

RE-RELEASE: We Wrote a Book!

RE-RELEASE: We Wrote a Book!

We are SO excited that we have a book coming out in February 2023! Our book, Women of Myth, will be available worldwide from Simon and Schuster.  Listen in as we talk about our favorite Women of Myth from around the world with Liv Albert from Let's Talk About Myths, Baby! Our book is about epic women in mythology from around the world. We cover a diverse range of cultures, from Greek and Roman mythology to important figures from regions such as Africa and African Diaspora countries, the Pacific

Jan 12, 2023 • 43:28

End of Season 8 Announcement

End of Season 8 Announcement

It's the end of Season 8! It's been a wild, weird and wonderful season of ancient mysteries and we are so glad we got to tell you these tales! We'll be plunging right into our next season the week after this drops--no break this time. Listen in to hear our thoughts about the previous season and our plans for the future. Thank you so much for coming on this journey with us? Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f

Jan 5, 2023 • 24:01

Nazca Lines: Secrets in the Sand

Nazca Lines: Secrets in the Sand

Imagine a desert stretching over 1,500 miles along the Peruvian coastline, between the high Andes to the east and the vast Pacific coastline to the west. A place of brilliant colors and contradictions. This is the driest desert in the world. Astronauts use it to simulate conditions on Mars.This is the home of the Nazca Lines: huge, beautifully made 2,000-year-old geoglyphs, visible only from the sky. Some are elaborate images of animals, plants, and people. Others are perfectly straight

Dec 29, 2022 • 1:18:24

RE-RELEASE: Merry Mithras: International God of Mystery

RE-RELEASE: Merry Mithras: International God of Mystery

If you know anything about Mithras, you might have the impression that he was kind of a proto-Jesus. Turns out that’s wrong.Think of this as less of a seasonal episode, and more of a seasonal myth-busting episode. Get ready for the epic story of a bull-slaughtering, mushroom-tripping, light-bringing, Emperor-pee-drinking, hierarchy-maintaining, Smurf-hat-wearing cosmic warrior. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph

Dec 27, 2022 • 1:18:20

BONUS: Cuchulainn's Boyhood Feats (Feat. Liv Albert and Cuchulainn)

BONUS: Cuchulainn's Boyhood Feats (Feat. Liv Albert and Cuchulainn)

This is a bonus episode from our Patreon-exclusive catalog! This episode is usually only available to subscribers at the $10 level and up, but we decided to release it on our main feed as a Saturnalia gift to our listeners.We have a lot of episodes in our Patreon back catalog where Liv Albert of Let's Talk About Myths, Baby joins in with Genn to explain a Greek myth to Jenny. It's always a fantastic time with plenty of booze and laughter. In this episode, we turn the tables and explain a myth to

Dec 24, 2022 • 34:30

Frau Holle: Wicked Woman of Yule

Frau Holle: Wicked Woman of Yule

This year, we’ve found one of the most metal and wild Yuletide goddesses yet – Frau Holle. Human sacrifices, spindles in yer vag, plague, starvation, caves of offerings and bones, the Grimms brothers, golden showers, child cannibalism, ZOMBIES – are any of these putting you in the Yuletide spirit? They should. Because we’re about to share with you the story of a very Frau Holle Christmas. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. V

Dec 22, 2022 • 1:20:34

RE-RELEASE: Saturnalia: So Much More than Roman Christmas

RE-RELEASE: Saturnalia: So Much More than Roman Christmas

Wish you had a holiday all about feasting, drinking, the upending of the social order, blood sacrifices, the harvest, pranks, novelty gifts, honouring a god who devoured his kids, and the returning sun? Don’t we all??? Welcome to Saturnalia.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 20, 2022 • 1:07:18

BONUS: Cartimandua: The Anti-Boudicca

BONUS: Cartimandua: The Anti-Boudicca

This is a bonus episode from our Patreon-exclusive catalog! This episode is usually only available to subscribers at the $5 level and up, but we decided to release it on our main feed as a Saturnalia gift to our listeners. Boudicca wasn't the only Celtic warrior queen who shows up in the ancient sources. We know of one other: Cartimandua, queen of the Brigantes. The Brigantes were neighbors of Boudicca's people, the Iceni. But while Boudicca rebelled against Rome, Cartimandua sided with the Roma

Dec 17, 2022 • 32:07

Teotihuacan: Eat the Rich

Teotihuacan: Eat the Rich

Teotihuacan is an ancient pre-Colombian city in central America, founded two thousand years ago. It’s the home of some of the most iconic Mesoamerican monuments in existence, including the Pyramids of the Moon and Sun. The city was abandoned after about 750 years of habitation. When the Aztecs first encountered it, it had stood empty for 600 years. Walking through the empty ruin, they marveled at the towering pyramids, the incredible murals, the enormous palaces—and wondered where the people had

Dec 15, 2022 • 1:39:49

RE-RELEASE:  You Don't Know Yule

RE-RELEASE: You Don't Know Yule

What do you know about Yule? Maybe a lot. The holiday is widely celebrated in Scandinavian countries, and it's an important part of Wiccan and Pagan tradition. But for many of us, the version that's come down through history is strongly associated with Christmas--and heavily sanitized.When we scratched the surface, however, we found that the origins of Yule were older and darker and weirder than we ever imagined.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more

Dec 13, 2022 • 1:29:19

Mohenjo Daro: Mound of the Dead Men

Mohenjo Daro: Mound of the Dead Men

The Indus Valley civilization is one of the oldest, largest, most sophisticated Bronze Age civilizations we know about today. Roughly 80 cities and towns have been unearthed that were part of it. The biggest—perhaps the most important—was a city called Mohenjo Daro. There were no kings at Mohenjo Daro, no priests and few signs of organized religion. There are few if any signs of war, slavery, wealth inequality or violence. There was a very high standard of living for its time, including indoor f

Dec 8, 2022 • 1:33:54

RE-RELEASE: Krampus: The Goat Knows What You Did

RE-RELEASE: Krampus: The Goat Knows What You Did

It's a holiday season re-release!This year, we decided that the holiday season wouldn’t be complete without a mythological foray into one of the most famous characters of the season: The Krampus.And some of you might be saying: wait a minute, Krampus isn’t ancient; he’s modern. Also, everyone knows about Krampus, the festive demon of Christmas. Why are you covering this well-trodden topic?Wait until you hear the wild things we uncovered about him and his history, and then make your judgements ab

Dec 6, 2022 • 49:37

Where Was the Land of Punt?

Where Was the Land of Punt?

For over a thousand years, the ancient Egyptians sent their ships out to trade with a fabulous kingdom. They dragged their ships from the Nile to the coast of the Red Sea, and those ships returned groaning with luxuries beyond anyone’s wildest imaginings.The place they got it all from was the Land of Punt—known to the Egyptians as the Land of the Gods. The Egyptians described just about everything about it, except how to get there.Was Punt in Africa? Was it in Arabia? Was it an island i

Dec 1, 2022 • 1:13:41

Inside the Skara Brae Sex Cult

Inside the Skara Brae Sex Cult

Perched on a cliff at the edge of the world in the remote Orkney Islands, the ancient village of Skara Brae is a picturesque and dramatic sight. Carved into an ancient midden, it’s a warren of interconnected dwellings with built-in furniture, secret compartments, and more than a few mysteries. What did the people of Skara Brae get up to when the lights were out? Why did they build their village so that you had to go through your neighbors’ houses to get to your own? How many people were sleeping

Nov 24, 2022 • 1:30:59

The Mound Builders of Cahokia

The Mound Builders of Cahokia

Hundreds of years before European contact, the biggest city in North America was located along the Mississippi River. At its peak, perhaps 15,000 people lived there—and over 30,000 in the surrounding suburbs. Today, we call it Cahokia.Nobody knows what the original name of this city was. But there was a time when everybody knew its name—from the Great Lakes to the Eastern Seaboard, and from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico. What was that name, and why was it lost to time and me

Nov 17, 2022 • 1:42:29

The Headless Megaliths of Gobekli Tepe

The Headless Megaliths of Gobekli Tepe

In our episode on the Sphinx Water Erosion Theory, we discussed the theory that the Sphinx was 10,000 years old. This date would require us to completely reorder our sense of how humanity evolved. We decided it’s simply too out there to be true.But what if we told you that there is an archaeological site 10,000 years old whose shocking discovery did indeed require archaeologists to change the way they interpreted history? It’s like if the Sphinx really did turn out to be really 10,000 y

Nov 10, 2022 • 1:42:25

History Daily PIRATE TAKEOVER

History Daily PIRATE TAKEOVER

Introducing History Daily, a podcast that tells the fascinating stories of what happened “on this day” in history, with host Lindsay Graham. Today, we're hosting two episodes from History Daily, both about famous pirates from the Golden Age of Piracy! First up: The arrest of famous pirate captain William Kidd ends the reign of plunder of one of history's most infamous pirates and sparks rumors of buried treasure. And second: The trials of notorious pirates Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and John Rackham

Nov 8, 2022 • 42:52

Serial Killers of Ancient Greece and Rome (With Debbie Felton)

Serial Killers of Ancient Greece and Rome (With Debbie Felton)

Serial killers may seem like a modern phenomenon. But there were serial killers in operation in the ancient world—or so it would seem. Evidence for them is everywhere—in mythology and in history, we see predators killing their victims in surprisingly modern ways.  Was it easier to be a serial killer in ancient Greece and Rome? Could they find victims more easily and operate more anonymously than they can today? Were there roles and professions that gave cover to those born with an urge to kill?

Nov 3, 2022 • 1:13:20

INTRODUCING: They Did That (By Somethin' Else and Sony Music Entertainment)

INTRODUCING: They Did That (By Somethin' Else and Sony Music Entertainment)

Who built the modern world? The answer to that question might surprise you. (Or maybe not...) There's a long list of global innovators and trailblazers who’ve been erased from history books because of who they were: women, people of color, LBGTQ and more. Each week They Did That tells one of these people's stories and how their life’s work has changed our lives for the better. Hosted by Takara Small. A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

Nov 1, 2022 • 10:04

Sea of Trees: The Japanese Suicide Forest

Sea of Trees: The Japanese Suicide Forest

In this episode, we’ll delve into the mystery of Aokigahara, known in Japanese as the Sea of Trees—and to the rest of the world as the Suicide Forest. After the Golden Gate Bridge, it is the second most popular suicide destination in the world.  The forest is over a thousand years old. It grew over lava floes laid down in a devastating volcanic eruption on the slopes of Mt. Fuji, a holy mountain believed to be a gateway to the spirit world. Perhaps this is why it’s said to be the birthplace of t

Oct 27, 2022 • 56:22

RE-RELEASE: Vampires II: Disease and the Engines of Myth (With Tiny Vampires Podcast)

RE-RELEASE: Vampires II: Disease and the Engines of Myth (With Tiny Vampires Podcast)

Last time we covered vampires, we were struck by the haunting connection between vampire myths and real disease. Between that and the many vampire myths from around the world that we didn’t have time to cover, you might say we had unfinished business with vampires.This Halloween, Ancient History Fangirl teams up with Raven Forrest Fruscalzo from the Tiny Vampires podcast to explore the intriguing connection between vampires and disease.Join us as we discuss some fascinating vampire myths from re

Oct 25, 2022 • 1:07:16

Witches of Ancient Greece and Rome (with Daniel Ogden)

Witches of Ancient Greece and Rome (with Daniel Ogden)

Who were the witches and sorceresses of ancient Greece and Rome--and how did they wield their power? In this episode, ancient occult expert Daniel Ogden introduces us to the world of Greco-Roman witchcraft--including necromancy, love spells, curse tablets, and real-life magical manuals written thousands of years ago by Alexandrian sorcerers. Join us as we explore both mythology and history to uncover a forgotten world of clandestine magic, primarily wielded by women. Get ad-free episodes here: h

Oct 20, 2022 • 1:14:42

RE-RELEASE: Ancient Vampires: They Only Knock Once

RE-RELEASE: Ancient Vampires: They Only Knock Once

Communities all over the ancient world had a problem: their dead wouldn't stay in the ground. They rose up as shambolic corpses, gusts of wind and evil spirits, draining human life force and devouring flesh and blood.The vampire myth is an ancient one, found on every continent. Join us as we explore the oldest vampire myths we could find from Sumeria, Greece, Rome, and Germania--and discover the clues they leave us about those cultures.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthi

Oct 18, 2022 • 1:32:49

The Mystery of Skeleton Lake

The Mystery of Skeleton Lake

In 1942, a forest ranger was hiking on an isolated trail deep in the Himalayas. Rising over 16,000 feet in elevation, he climbed a ridge that looked down a steep-sided funnel of ice and boulders. At the bottom was a small, perfectly circular glacial lake, frozen in a solid blue lens. And there, strewn about the icy, rocky beach, lay skeletons. Hundreds of skeletons. Nobody knew whose bones they were. Theories and folklore would proliferate over the years, but the mystery would remain—and the mor

Oct 13, 2022 • 50:40

RE-RELEASE: Three Ghost Stories From Ancient Greece (with Liv Albert)

RE-RELEASE: Three Ghost Stories From Ancient Greece (with Liv Albert)

Dads who devour their children. Disembodied baby heads. Corpses that stand up on the battlefield to prophesy doom. Women who return from the grave to carry on steamy affairs.The Ancient Greeks did ghost stories...a little differently. This week, we team up with Liv Albert from Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby! to bring you three ghostly tales from ancient Greece that will send a shiver down your spine.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad c

Oct 11, 2022 • 1:19:58

Sea Monsters of the Ancient World (With Ryan Denson)

Sea Monsters of the Ancient World (With Ryan Denson)

Did you know that the ancient Greeks and Romans didn't have a word for sharks--despite the fact that they must have seen them eating sailors during sea battles all the time? For that matter, they didn't have a word for "whale" either. But they did describe the most fantastical sea creatures, including Nereids, Ketos, and "sea dogs." Whatever those were. Just what were the ancients seeing in the sea, anyway? In this episode, ancient sea monster expert Ryan Denson helps us unpack it all. Get ad-fr

Oct 6, 2022 • 1:14:17

RE-RELEASE: Werewolves of Wolf Mountain: Terrors of Ancient Greece

RE-RELEASE: Werewolves of Wolf Mountain: Terrors of Ancient Greece

The werewolf myth as we know it today generally involves getting bitten by a werewolf, transforming during the full moon, and being very susceptible to silver bullets. But werewolves in ancient Greece and Rome were a little different.Join us for a spooky-season deep dive into ancient werewolf mythology from thousands of years ago. We'll take a look at the pre-Christian origins of the werewolf myth and its connections to death, starvation, cannibalism, and transformation. Get ad-free episodes her

Oct 4, 2022 • 1:24:20

Last Refuge of the Minoans

Last Refuge of the Minoans

High in the mountains of eastern Crete, there’s a secret that has been kept since the 1200s BC. It’s the secret of the strange and still-unexplained 80+ ancient villages hidden in the Cretan mountains that may have been the last refuges of the Minoan people. The ancient Minoans were master seafarers. But sometime between the 1200s and the 1000s BC, they abandoned their coastal villages, their palaces, their fertile farmlands, their trade routes—and simply withdrew from the world. Today, we’re go

Sep 29, 2022 • 1:34:39

Is the Sphinx 10,000 Years Old?

Is the Sphinx 10,000 Years Old?

Carved from the very living bedrock of the Giza plateau, the Sphinx is shrouded in mystery. Archaeologists believe it’s about 4,500 years old. But there’s a fringe theory—the Sphinx Water Erosion Theory—that suggests it’s much, much older. Join us as we explore this wild theory that completely explodes the prevailing wisdom, and asserts that the Sphinx is in fact 10,000 years old—or maybe even more. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad

Sep 22, 2022 • 1:43:06

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Hadrian's Wall, Parts 1, 2 and 3

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Hadrian's Wall, Parts 1, 2 and 3

We're on hiatus until September 22. Until then, please enjoy this deep dive into Hadrian's Wall.  Hadrian’s Wall is a jaw-dropping engineering achievement stretching 73 miles across hundred-foot-high escarpments and rushing rivers, its earthworks dug deep into unforgiving igneous bedrock. From its walls, Roman and auxiliary soldiers had a unique view of the fall of the Empire. We visited Hadrian's Wall this May, and are currently releasing videos on our Patreon that we filmed during our visit. D

Sep 15, 2022 • 2:57:36

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Boudicca: Parts 1, 2 and 3

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Boudicca: Parts 1, 2 and 3

We're on hiatus until September 22. Until then, please enjoy our entire Boudicca series, all in one place.  The story of Boudicca’s revolt is as epic as you can get. It’s got murder and pillage, Romans behaving badly, cities on fire, and a layer of destruction that was scorched into the earth. But it's also the story of a people on a precipice of great change. Who was Boudicca? Who was this iron-age warrior queen who stood up to the Romans—and whose name was so revered and feared that stories of

Sep 8, 2022 • 3:48:32

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Three Fun Episodes on Celtic Mythology

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Three Fun Episodes on Celtic Mythology

We're on hiatus until September 22. Until then, please enjoy this deep dive into Celtic mythology.We've assembled here some of our favorite episodes dealing with Celtic myths and legends: including the Hound of Ulster, the Morrigan, and The Pictish Beast: What Is It?Join us for a lighthearted, high-energy and very bingeable series that will put you in a good mood this summer.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

Sep 1, 2022 • 3:47:44

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Spartacus: Parts 1, 2 and 3

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Spartacus: Parts 1, 2 and 3

We're on hiatus until September 22. Until then, please enjoy this deep dive into the life and times of Spartacus. This file contains the first three episodes of our Spartacus series. You'll learn about the conditions in Italy that gave rise to the Third Servile War; how Spartacus rebelled and the pressures he was under in holding together a disparate crowd of rebels with differing priorities. It's a riveting tale that's sure to keep you hooked. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/

Aug 25, 2022 • 2:38:31

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Vercingetorix: All You Love Must Burn: Parts 1, 2 and 3

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Vercingetorix: All You Love Must Burn: Parts 1, 2 and 3

We're on hiatus until September 21 Until then, please enjoy all the Vercingetorix episodes in one long, binge-able file.  This is the story of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object: Julius Caesar bringing the might of the Roman military machine to bear against a proud warrior culture that had existed for centuries. Most accounts of Julius Caesar in Gaul focus on the Battle of Alesia. We broaden our scope, centering the Gauls, their culture and the increasingly terrible trade-offs Verc

Aug 18, 2022 • 2:52:53

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Julius Caesar: Parts 1 and 2

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Julius Caesar: Parts 1 and 2

We're on hiatus until September 22. Until then, enjoy this long, binge-able episode on Julius Caesar's early life.Most accounts of Caesar's life start later on--such as during his time in Gaul or crossing the Rubicon. But his early life was just as fascinating; maybe even more so.This is the Caesar who stood up to Sulla and refused to divorce his wife. The Caesar who made an early career of prosecuting corrupt governors to cement his cred as a populist--even as it made him powerful enem

Aug 11, 2022 • 2:08:45

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Marc Antony x Cleopatra: Lovers in a Dangerous Time: Parts 1, 2 and 3

ALL IN ONE PLACE: Marc Antony x Cleopatra: Lovers in a Dangerous Time: Parts 1, 2 and 3

This file contains the first three episodes in our series on Marc Antony and Cleopatra: Lovers in a Dangerous Time, all in one place. This series has everything: love, war, violence, betrayal, Marc Antony barfing everywhere, and Cleopatra being extremely glamorous at all times. If you've listened to our interview with Barry Strauss on the Battle of Actium, you may be in the mood to dive into this story--or revisit it. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn

Aug 9, 2022 • 3:41:13

ALL IN ONE PLACE: The Cult of Aphrodite, Mythology of Aphrodite, Transgender Aphrodite

ALL IN ONE PLACE: The Cult of Aphrodite, Mythology of Aphrodite, Transgender Aphrodite

We're on hiatus until September 22. Until then, enjoy this long, binge-able episode on all things Aphrodite.  Some of you may be here because you saw our presentation on Transgender Aphrodite at Intelligent Speech. If so, welcome! We thought we'd put together our first long file all about the goddess so you can learn more about Aphrodite--how she was worshipped in the ancient world, the. main mythology about her, and our original deep dive into transgender Aphrodite. Get ad-free episodes here: h

Aug 4, 2022 • 3:09:02

End of Season 7 Announcement

End of Season 7 Announcement

It's the end of Season 7! We can't believe we made it...something like 42 episodes later?It's been a wonderful, weird, challenging, and heartbreaking season, for many different reasons. Find out what went on behind the scenes, and what we've got planned for the future.We'll be back September 22. Have a great summer!Get new episodes throughout the summer break here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 2, 2022 • 27:20

Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Atalanta

Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Atalanta

It’s the last episode in our Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology series—and perhaps you’ll agree we saved the best for last.Atalanta was an avatar of an older, wilder time, created in the image of an ancient Artemis—goddess of the fields and forests who had a strong association with bears. Perhaps Atalanta represents an older image of that goddess before Classical Athens got its hands on her.Join us as we take a deep dive into the story of Atalanta: a gender rebel and sexually liberated he

Jul 28, 2022 • 1:13:12

Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Artemis

Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Artemis

When you think of Artemis, what springs to mind?  Perhaps it’s a fierce huntress with a bow and arrow, a sort of female Peter Pan—wild and untamed, haunting forests drenched in moonlight—a goddess who’s taken a stern vow of chastity, and refuses all company save that of her nymphs. That’s one version of Artemis—the Classical version. But there’s an older, wilder version that pulls back the curtain on a more ancient way of life in Greece. Join us as we explore who Artemis was, how she was worship

Jul 21, 2022 • 49:45

RE-RELEASE: Werewolves of Wolf Mountain: Terrors of Ancient Greece

RE-RELEASE: Werewolves of Wolf Mountain: Terrors of Ancient Greece

The werewolf myth as we know it today generally involves getting bitten by a werewolf, transforming during the full moon, and being very susceptible to silver bullets. But werewolves in ancient Greece and Rome were a little different.Join us for a spooky-season deep dive into ancient werewolf mythology from thousands of years ago. We'll take a look at the pre-Christian origins of the werewolf myth and its connections to death, starvation, cannibalism, and transformation. Get ad-free episodes her

Jul 14, 2022 • 1:23:05

RE-RELEASE: Amazons Part 1: Warrior Women of Greek Mythology

RE-RELEASE: Amazons Part 1: Warrior Women of Greek Mythology

Hippolyte and her golden belt. Penthesilea and the fall of Troy. The Daughters of Ares. Atalanta and the golden apples. They're everywhere in Greek mythology: fierce, deadly women warriors.But in a society as male-dominated as ancient Greece, what did this obsession with strong warrior women mean? We take a look at some of the more well-known Amazon myths of ancient Greece--and the mystery of their meaning in context.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn

Jul 12, 2022 • 1:17:56

Actium Baby (With Barry Strauss)

Actium Baby (With Barry Strauss)

This week, we’re taking a bit of a detour into a previous, much-loved topic: Marc Antony, Cleopatra, and How it All Went Wrong. In this episode, we return to the beach at Actium with author, historian, and academic Barry Strauss as our tour guide. His new book, The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium, discusses the infamous sea battle Marc Antony and Cleopatra fought against Octavian and Agrippa for love, for supremacy, for their very survival. Join us as we

Jul 7, 2022 • 1:05:04

Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Pallas x Athena

Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Pallas x Athena

Most myths say that Athena sprung from Zeus’ head fully formed, totally brilliant, and just a badass war goddess. We don’t get a lot of stories about her youth, the way we have about Dionysus, or Artemis, or Heracles. Right from the start, Athena is just a fully formed adult who does adult things. Right? Well, not exactly. There’s this one story that tells of how, when Athena was young, she had a very intense relationship with another girl named Pallas—perhaps the only person Athena ever truly l

Jun 30, 2022 • 50:11

Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Heracles x Omphale

Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Heracles x Omphale

This week, we’re going to talk about that time Heracles, the strong man, son of Zeus and noted impenetrable penetrator, lived as a woman. Yes, you read that right. And not only did he live as a woman, he was the submissive to a powerful female dom who took up his lionskin and club as symbols of her own power.Get ready for a fun, gender-bending episode that completely overturns the ancient Greek binary.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more ab

Jun 23, 2022 • 1:07:18

Dionysus: Patron God of Gender Rebels (With Cait Corrain)

Dionysus: Patron God of Gender Rebels (With Cait Corrain)

Who's the queerest of the gods? It's hard to say...but there's a strong case to be made that it's Dionysus. The god of wine and revolutionaries who rebelled ferociously against the gender binary, Dionysus breaks the mold in so many ways--and he does it with a sense of joy that's irresistible.In this episode, debut author and unabashed Dionysus fan Cait Corrain joins us to talk about why Dionysus is awesome, why we love him so SO much, and what exactly went on at his wedding to Ariadne.Get ad-fre

Jun 16, 2022 • 1:03:43

Transgender Achilles and Found Family in the Illiad (With Maya Deane)

Transgender Achilles and Found Family in the Illiad (With Maya Deane)

Many of us have preconceived notions about what the Illiad was like. Prepare to have those notions blown away. In this episode, debut author Maya Deane methodically strips away the lenses of the Victorian era, Classical Greece, and the modern day to reveal an Illiad that’s older and darker and weirder than any of us could ever have dreamed. This is the Illiad of your darkest and deepest imaginings, an Illiad like you’ve never seen before—but somehow always knew existed. It’s the Illiad of Wrath

Jun 9, 2022 • 1:15:38

Zeus x Ganymede: Not Gender Rebels

Zeus x Ganymede: Not Gender Rebels

We’re taking a slight departure from our Gender Rebels series to tell you the story of Zeus and Ganymede. This is the story about the time Zeus kidnapped a teenage boy named Ganymede and brought him to Olympus to be his “cup bearer.”Zeus and Ganymede were not gender rebels. In fact, they set the standard for the erastes-eromenos binary of the time. This story was used to send the message that the gods approved of pederastic practices that were widespread in ancient Greece and Rome.It’s

Jun 2, 2022 • 48:28

Abortion in the Ancient World (With Princess O'Nika Auguste)

Abortion in the Ancient World (With Princess O'Nika Auguste)

Not only was abortion broadly legal in ancient Greece and Rome, but some of the methods used were surprisingly similar to today. And the Bible doesn’t mention it at all—except in one obscure passage, where it tells you how to administer one. In this episode, we’re joined by feminist Biblical scholar and author Princess O’Nika Auguste to discuss the history of abortion in ancient Greece and Rome, as well as in Biblical times. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangir

May 26, 2022 • 46:21

Abortion Rights Takeover: Silphium

Abortion Rights Takeover: Silphium

This episode is part of our abortion rights takeover series. It was originally dropped on our Patreon. It deals with the miracle plant of ancient Greece and Rome: Silphium. The people of Cyrene printed it on their money. It was considered a delicacy throughout the Greek and Roman world, as well as a powerful medicine that could be used to cure everything from baldness to epilepsy to poisonings. And it may have even functioned as a contraceptive--and an abortifacent. Get ad-free episodes here: ht

May 19, 2022 • 28:36

Abortion Rights Takeover: Bathroom Business (With Kate the Exploress)

Abortion Rights Takeover: Bathroom Business (With Kate the Exploress)

This episode is part of our abortion rights takeover. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled series on gender rebels on June 2.In this re-release, Kate from the Exploress podcast joined us to discuss the intimate lives of sex workers in ancient Greece and Rome--including methods of contraception and abortion. Pliny the Elder interviewed sex workers to get the lowdown on how they dealt with unwanted pregnancies (but we suspect the ladies were having him on).Get ad-free episodes here: h

May 17, 2022 • 1:08:34

The Invisible Thread: Life after Slavery in Pompeii (With Elodie Harper)

The Invisible Thread: Life after Slavery in Pompeii (With Elodie Harper)

What happened to people in ancient Rome who were freed from slavery? Turns out there were still invisible threads--economic pressures, imbalances of status, and debts owed to wealthy patrons--that kept many of them in bondage. On the streets of Pompeii, freedom came at a steep price--especially for women. Today, we talk to Elodie Harper--bestselling author of the Wolf Den and the House with the Golden Door--about enslaved people, freedwomen, and glamorous sex workers whose lives were far more pr

May 12, 2022 • 1:02:15

Podcast Takeover for Abortion Rights

Podcast Takeover for Abortion Rights

As most of you probably already know, abortion rights in the US are under attack. Somebody leaked a Supreme Court initial majority draft that was a full throated, loud and proud revocation of pregnant-capable people’s right to choose who gets to use our bodies. Abortion is a totally normal procedure that people have been doing for millennia--probably for as long as people could get pregnant, they've been trying to end their pregnancies. We have several episodes that discuss abortion, and in the

May 10, 2022 • 4:52

Elektra, Clytemnestra, Cassandra, and the Curse of Atreus (With Jennifer Saint)

Elektra, Clytemnestra, Cassandra, and the Curse of Atreus (With Jennifer Saint)

This week, we're taking a break from the story of Achilles to discuss the Illiad from an angle that's not as often covered: the story of the women of the House of Atreus, the family of Agamemnon. In this episode, bestselling author Jennifer Saint introduces us to Clytemnestra and Elektra--Agamemnon's wife and daughter--as well as the priestess and prophetess Cassandra, and the murderous curse that casts a shadow over their fates. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryf

May 5, 2022 • 51:14

Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Achilles at War

Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Achilles at War

In this episode, we explore what happened to gender in the pressure-cooker of ancient war. To do that, we skip ahead ten years to a different beach: the war-blasted, corpse-strewn sands below the walls of Troy. As the Trojan War dragged on, the most respect went to those who were able to slaughter and pillage and plunder: gender for men devolved into “Smash and Grab” masculinity. Meanwhile, gender for women became “Gender as Property”—in the most explicit terms. It's in this toxic wasteland that

Apr 28, 2022 • 1:01:14

Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Achilles' Beach Vacation

Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Achilles' Beach Vacation

In our last episode we looked at Achilles’ early life and his relationships with the women who crossed his path. In this episode, we follow him to the beach at Aulis—where all the Greek kings and heroes, anyone who was anyone, had gathered at the start of the Trojan War. Achilles left Pyrrha behind, but his time as a dancing girl followed him to that beach. This is where the wind stalled. This is where Achilles first clashed with that titan of fragile masculinity, Agamemnon. And this is where a

Apr 21, 2022 • 57:40

Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Achilles Could Rock a Dress

Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Achilles Could Rock a Dress

Achilles is so often portrayed as the most masculine of heroes, but those portrayals generally leave out that he spent a few years of his life passing as a girl. Today, we’re going to explore that time in Achilles’ life, and what it tells us about his gender. We’ll also delve into his relationships with the women in his early life: his mom, Thetis, and a girl named Deidameia.  Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho

Apr 14, 2022 • 59:54

Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Achilles x Patroclus

Gender Rebels of Greek Mythology: Achilles x Patroclus

In the first part of our Gender Rebels series, we talked about queer history—queer women, Intersex people, transgender people, and eunuchs. Now, we’re going to begin another series that takes that lens to Greek mythology.   There are plenty of queer myths that break the binary as the ancient Greeks saw it—and heroes and gods who were gender rebels. Sometimes those gender rebels aren’t who you’d expect—and who they’re usually portrayed to be. That’s what this episode is all about. Join us as we e

Apr 7, 2022 • 1:22:10

The Sacred Band of Thebes: Parts 1, 2 and 3 All in One Place

The Sacred Band of Thebes: Parts 1, 2 and 3 All in One Place

We love the mini-series we’ve done on the Sacred Band of Thebes. And we wanted to give you a chance to binge the entire thing. So, for the first time ever we’re dropping a really really long episode. Like road trip long! If you were planning a trip through the Peloponnese (swoon) – then this is the episode for you.Next week we’re going to follow our series on Gender Rebels into the wild world of Greek mythology. We’re going to be visiting some of the most famous characters in Greek mythology and

Mar 31, 2022 • 2:53:33

RE-RELEASE: In Search of Female Druids

RE-RELEASE: In Search of Female Druids

In our episode "Anglesey: The Druids' Last Stand," we alluded to the fact that there were female as well as male Druids in the Celtic iron age. But if the picture of male Druids is spotty, the picture of female Druids is more mysterious still.We decided to delve into Celtic culture, myth, and archaeology to see what we could uncover about female Druids in the ancient world.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirlLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm

Mar 28, 2022 • 1:05:13

The Sacred Band of Thebes (Part 3)

The Sacred Band of Thebes (Part 3)

Last week, we told you about the Sacred Band’s first important military victories—victories that depended on the intense trust and love the Sacred Band members had for each other. Victories that showed that the Spartans weren’t so tough after all. But as Spartan control in Greece receded, opportunistic warlords and upstart city-states rose up to take advantage of a power vacuum. One of their most dangerous new opponents was a man named Philip of Macedon—and his 18-year-old son, Alexander. Get ad

Mar 24, 2022 • 1:02:49

RE-RELEASE: Amazons: Warrior Queens and Generals

RE-RELEASE: Amazons: Warrior Queens and Generals

This is a re-release in honor of Women's History Month.It's easy to get the impression that no women were allowed in the war games of the ancient world, but nothing could be further from the truth. Female generals and warrior queens were everywhere—leading armies into battle by land and sea.In this episode, we cover five female military commanders—powerful allies and enemies of the ancient Greeks and Romans.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirlLearn more about

Mar 21, 2022 • 1:16:46

The Sacred Band of Thebes (Part 2)

The Sacred Band of Thebes (Part 2)

In our last episode, we told you the story of how the Spartans took over the city of Thebes and how an intrepid and very queer group of Theban rebels, led by a firebrand named Pelopidas, took it back while dressed as women.The Thebans had their city back. Now they had to figure out how to hold it against the Spartans, because the Spartans would strike back. Their solution was to form an elite 300-man fighting force to counter the dreaded Spartan hippeis—held together by the bonds of lov

Mar 17, 2022 • 47:38

RE-RELEASE: Boudicca Part 1: The Seeds of Rebellion

RE-RELEASE: Boudicca Part 1: The Seeds of Rebellion

This is a re-release in honor of Women's History Month.The story of Boudicca’s revolt is as epic as you can get. It’s got murder and pillage, Romans behaving badly, cities on fire, and a layer of destruction that was scorched into the earth. But it's also the story of a people on a precipice of great change.Who was Boudicca? Who was this iron-age warrior queen who stood up to the Romans—and whose name was so revered and feared that stories of her are still being spun almost 2,000 years later? In

Mar 14, 2022 • 1:15:05

The Sacred Band of Thebes (Part 1)

The Sacred Band of Thebes (Part 1)

The time was the 300s BC. The place was Thebes. And in this place, in this time, there was an elite military force—the best of the best special ops shock troops—made up of 150 male lovers.Their love for each other was the key to their strength. It made them better fighters. More effective. It made them strong enough to break the iron-fisted control of oppressive regimes. This is their incredible story.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more ab

Mar 10, 2022 • 55:31

RE-RELEASE: Fulvia: Original Gangster of Ancient Rome

RE-RELEASE: Fulvia: Original Gangster of Ancient Rome

This is a re-release in honor of Women's History Month.The romance between Mark Antony and Cleopatra has beguiled us for centuries. What most people don’t realize is that when Mark Antony met Cleopatra, he was already married—to someone just as epic. Her name was Fulvia.Cleopatra had glamour and divinity and lots of money. But Fulvia had the gangs. She was a populist firebrand, military leader, and for a while, the undisputed power in Rome: both in the Senate and in the streets.Get ad-free episo

Mar 7, 2022 • 1:42:59

Gender Rebels of Ancient Greece and Rome: Eunuchs (Part 2)

Gender Rebels of Ancient Greece and Rome: Eunuchs (Part 2)

Last week, we focused on people who chose to undergo castration for religious reasons. But this probably wasn’t the most common experience most people had who were castrated. Enslaved people were castrated as well--often in childhood. Today, we're going to take a deep dive into their lives and circumstances. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 3, 2022 • 56:42

Gender Rebels of Ancient Greece and Rome: Eunuchs (Part 1)

Gender Rebels of Ancient Greece and Rome: Eunuchs (Part 1)

In ancient Rome, there were a lot of eunuchs. Some were enslaved, some were free; some were members of religious cults, some were not. No study of queer history in ancient Greece and Rome would be complete without them.  Today, we’re going to take a look at the history of people who underwent castration in the Roman Empire—why they did it, when they did and didn’t have a choice, and what their lives were like. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more ab

Feb 24, 2022 • 50:33

Gender Rebels of Ancient Greece and Rome: Intersex People

Gender Rebels of Ancient Greece and Rome: Intersex People

Intersex people are sometimes featured in Greek mythology in a positive way—for instance, the beautiful child of Aphrodite who became an important part of her entourage. But the ancient Romans saw Intersex people as imbued with a specific kind of magic associated with frightening signs and portents—and that made it dangerous to be Intersex in the ancient world. Join us as we explore the lives of Intersex people in ancient Greece and Rome. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancien

Feb 17, 2022 • 1:06:20

BONUS: We Wrote a Book!

BONUS: We Wrote a Book!

We are SO excited that we have a book coming out in August 2022! Our book, Women of Myth, will be available worldwide from Simon and Schuster.  Listen in as we talk about our favorite Women of Myth from around the world with Liv Albert from Let's Talk About Myths, Baby! Our book is about epic women in mythology from around the world. We cover a diverse range of cultures, from Greek and Roman mythology to important figures from regions such as Africa and African Diaspora countries, the Pacific Is

Feb 15, 2022 • 39:28

Gender Rebels of Ancient Greece and Rome: Transgender People

Gender Rebels of Ancient Greece and Rome: Transgender People

Join us for a deep dive into queer history in ancient Greece and Rome. This week, we focus on transgender men and women. It's a common belief that being trans is somehow a "modern" invention and there were no trans people in the ancient world. But nothing could be further from the truth. From the trans women who led the worship of an influential state cult to the trans guys who lived right under the noses of Greek and Roman society, transgender people were gender rebels in an extremely patriarch

Feb 10, 2022 • 1:03:52

Gender Rebels of Ancient Greece and Rome: Queer Women

Gender Rebels of Ancient Greece and Rome: Queer Women

This mini-series-within-a-series will be a deep dive into queer history in ancient Greece and Rome--starting with queer women.Because how could we do a season about sex and sex magic without talking about the magical provenance of those who fell outside the accepted binary?Women who loved other women were gender rebels in the ancient world. They challenged the gender binary in some of the most basic and fundamental ways—ways that the ancient Greeks and Romans found profoundly destabiliz

Feb 3, 2022 • 1:00:40

Life of Sappho (With Leesa Charlotte from Sweetbitter)

Life of Sappho (With Leesa Charlotte from Sweetbitter)

She's the Tenth Muse, Western literature's first lyric poet, and a woman who openly, unabashedly loved women and wrote about it--in an extremely patriarchal society where queer women's experiences were almost universally erased. But what has come down to us about the life and times of Sappho? Like her poetry, our picture of Sappho's life is very fragmentary. This week, we team up with Leesa Charlotte from Sweetbitter to try piecing the puzzle together. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patr

Jan 27, 2022 • 44:25

RE-RELEASE: Praetorian Guard Part 2: Caligula & Friends

RE-RELEASE: Praetorian Guard Part 2: Caligula & Friends

In this episode, it's Roman Emperors behaving badly--and Praetorian Prefects behaving even worse. Beginning with Caligula, Emperors were assaulted in their homes, killed with their families, dragged through the streets, and mutilated by angry mobs.At one point, the Praetorians even assassinated an Emperor, then auctioned off the Empire to the highest bidder. Find out just how bad it got.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Vis

Jan 20, 2022 • 36:22

RE-RELEASE: Child Emperors Part 1: Sharks in the Womb

RE-RELEASE: Child Emperors Part 1: Sharks in the Womb

In ancient Rome, being made Emperor could be a death sentence. Experienced generals and statesmen lasted weeks or months sometimes.In some cases, children were raised to the role. What became of them? Part 1 of our series looks at two very different kinds of child tyrant: Elagabalus and Caracalla.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 13, 2022 • 37:42

Ariadne, Dionysus, and the Theseus of it All (With Jennifer Saint)

Ariadne, Dionysus, and the Theseus of it All (With Jennifer Saint)

In this episode, we talk to Jennifer Saint, bestselling author of Ariadne, to discuss myth, storytelling, the lives of women in Minoan Crete--and the process of recreating mysterious, ancient religious rites based on the clues left in mythology. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 6, 2022 • 52:46

Janus: God of the New Year

Janus: God of the New Year

Janus is the two-faced god of the Roman pantheon. He was the god of beginnings and endings, of dual natures, of passageways and passage through time. He’s the god of thresholds and doorways and gates, and the god of change, both concrete and abstract. He’s constantly in motion; he’s the god who’s always just passing through. Janus may not be very well-known. But in his time, he was considered one of the most important gods—perhaps more important than Jupiter himself. Today, we’re going to tell y

Dec 30, 2021 • 57:34

BONUS: Jackasses of the Arena: Commodus

BONUS: Jackasses of the Arena: Commodus

This is a bonus episode from our Patreon at the $2 level. It's the third installment of our Jackasses of the Arena series--and we saved the best for last.  The Emperor Commodus didn't just disguise himself as Hercules and compete in the arena (against drugged animals and gladiators with blunted swords, naturally). He turned the arena into a playground of terror so complete that even now, the PTSD of those who witnessed it leaps off the page.  Ladies and gentlepeople, we give you: King Jackass of

Dec 27, 2021 • 51:13

Krampus: The Goat Knows What You Did

Krampus: The Goat Knows What You Did

This year, we decided that the holiday season wouldn’t be complete without a mythological foray into one of the most famous characters of the season: The Krampus.And some of you might be saying: wait a minute, Krampus isn’t ancient; he’s modern. Also, everyone knows about Krampus, the festive demon of Christmas. Why are you covering this well-trodden topic?Wait until you hear the wild things we uncovered about him and his history, and then make your judgements about how old and well-tro

Dec 23, 2021 • 45:37

BONUS: King Midas and the Golden Touch

BONUS: King Midas and the Golden Touch

This is a bonus episode from our Patreon at the $2 level. When King Midas did Dionysus a favor and let his favorite satyr and father-figure, Silenus, crash on his couch after a wild bender, everyone's favorite god of wine visited the king to show his gratitude. But his gift was a double-edged sword.  Find out what happened when Dionysus granted King Midas the gift and curse of the Golden Touch. Get more like this one here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad ch

Dec 20, 2021 • 36:03

RE-RELEASE: Saturnalia: So Much More than Roman Christmas

RE-RELEASE: Saturnalia: So Much More than Roman Christmas

Wish you had a holiday all about feasting, drinking, the upending of the social order, blood sacrifices, the harvest, pranks, novelty gifts, honouring a god who devoured his kids, and the returning sun? Don’t we all??? Welcome to Saturnalia.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 16, 2021 • 1:05:18

BONUS: Bulla Felix: Outlaw With a Heart of Gold

BONUS: Bulla Felix: Outlaw With a Heart of Gold

This is a bonus episode from our Patreon at the $2 level. We all know the story of Robin Hood--the outlaw famous for robbing the rich and giving to the poor. The earliest Robin Hood stories in England we know about date from around the 15th century AD. But Robin Hood wasn’t the first heroic outlaw with a heart of gold and a mandate for redistribution of wealth. His story is predated by 1,200 years--by a tall tale from Ancient Rome.  Get more like this here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistory

Dec 13, 2021 • 28:53

RE-RELEASE: You Don't Know Yule

RE-RELEASE: You Don't Know Yule

What do you know about Yule? Maybe a lot. The holiday is widely celebrated in Scandinavian countries, and it's an important part of Wiccan and Pagan tradition. But for many of us, the version that's come down through history is strongly associated with Christmas--and heavily sanitized.When we scratched the surface, however, we found that the origins of Yule were older and darker and weirder than we ever imagined.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more

Dec 9, 2021 • 1:27:19

BONUS: Yule Cat

BONUS: Yule Cat

This is a bonus episode from our Patreon at the $2 level. Deep in the storied past of Iceland, the Yule Cat once roamed the snowy forests, valleys and villages—stalking and devouring any who weren’t given new clothes for the holiday. Pour yourself a holiday-themed beverage and get ready for a feline-centric midwinter myth that will get you in the mood for Yule.  Get more like this here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 6, 2021 • 21:58

Bathroom Business (With Kate the Exploress)

Bathroom Business (With Kate the Exploress)

How did sex workers in ancient Greece and Rome manage their periods? What were the most popular fashions for pubic hair? What underwear was everyone wearing? And how did sex workers handle contraception and unwanted pregnancies?In this episode, we team up with Kate the Exploress to delve into the most intimate aspects of daily life for sex workers in ancient Greece and Rome, including the most powerful sex magic of all: the blood magic of periods.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.p

Dec 2, 2021 • 1:08:34

BONUS: Special Announcement!

BONUS: Special Announcement!

We’re dropping this bonus episode to let you know we’re going to be doing something a little different in December. In addition to dropping our normal scheduled episodes once a week on Thursday, we’re going to be dropping a second episode on Mondays from our bank of extra Patreon episodes at the $2 level. It's a way to boost traffic for the holidays. It's an extended ad for our Patreon. But mostly, it's a gift for our loyal listeners. We hope you enjoy these extra episodes as well as the main fe

Nov 29, 2021 • 7:50

Transgender Aphrodite

Transgender Aphrodite

Despite inspiring desire of all kinds in people of all genders, Aphrodite herself is often depicted as a cisgender woman. But not always. Ancient writers tell us of mystery cults that worshipped Aphrodite as a transgender woman--or perhaps as nonbinary or intersex. And when you delve into her most ancient roots, there’s an even older tradition of worship led by transgender priestesses. Join us as we uncover the historical and mythological evidence for a transgender Aphrodite. Get ad-free episode

Nov 25, 2021 • 43:05

Mythology of Aphrodite

Mythology of Aphrodite

Goddess of sex workers, Our Lady of the Castration Foam, the walking embodiment of orgasm herself—Aphrodite was one of the most powerful goddesses in the Olympian pantheon. And as a free, unattached woman with lots of sexual agency, she directly threatened the patriarchy.In this episode, we’ll examine the stories told about Aphrodite--and what they reveal about how the Ancient Greeks felt about women, love, lust, and relationships. Join us for a mythology-packed episode that will demyst

Nov 18, 2021 • 1:19:46

The Cult of Aphrodite

The Cult of Aphrodite

If you know anything about Aphrodite, then you know she is the ancient Greek goddess primarily associated with love, beauty, sex, reproduction, and passion. She was also the patron goddess of sex workers in the ancient Classical world. Join us as we explore how Aphrodite was worshipped in ancient Greece, the goddess's history and ancient roots, and how the Romans transformed her into Venus. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices.

Nov 11, 2021 • 1:10:37

Assassin's Creed Odyssey (With Liv Albert from Myths Baby!)

Assassin's Creed Odyssey (With Liv Albert from Myths Baby!)

Liv Albert from Let's Talk About Myths Baby! has an obsession, and the name of that obsession is Assassin's Creed Odyssey. This game immerses you immediately in Ancient Greece--and provides loads of historically accurate settings from the world we've been exploring this season: the symposia of Athens, the pleasures of Corinth, the Peloponnesian War and exactly who's responsible, and the mysteries of Crete and other Greek islands. Come join us on a tour of Ancient Greece as Assassin's Creed Odyss

Nov 4, 2021 • 1:14:09

Werewolves of Wolf Mountain: Terrors of Ancient Greece

Werewolves of Wolf Mountain: Terrors of Ancient Greece

The werewolf myth as we know it today generally involves getting bitten by a werewolf, transforming during the full moon, and being very susceptible to silver bullets. But werewolves in ancient Greece and Rome were a little different. Join us for a spooky-season deep dive into ancient werewolf mythology from thousands of years ago. We'll take a look at the pre-Christian origins of the werewolf myth and its connections to death, starvation, cannibalism, and transformation.  Get ad-free episodes h

Oct 28, 2021 • 1:20:20

RE-RELEASE: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: Ancient World Edition (With Liv Albert from Myths Baby!)

RE-RELEASE: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: Ancient World Edition (With Liv Albert from Myths Baby!)

What tales kept people from thousands of years ago up at night?This Halloween, Ancient History Fangirl teams up with Liv Albert from Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby! to delve into spooky stories from the ancient world that will send a shiver up your spine—tales of shrieking Banshees, deathly Furies, and the terrors of Samhain.So spread some salt over your threshold. Settle into your favorite chair. Pour yourself a drink to take the chill from your bones. And if there’s a knock on your door, whateve

Oct 21, 2021 • 1:12:44

Three Ghost Stories from Ancient Greece (with Liv Albert from Myths Baby!)

Three Ghost Stories from Ancient Greece (with Liv Albert from Myths Baby!)

Dads who devour their children. Disembodied baby heads. Corpses that stand up on the battlefield to prophesy doom. Women who return from the grave to carry on steamy affairs. The Ancient Greeks did ghost stories...a little differently. This week, we team up with Liv Albert from Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby! to bring you three ghostly tales from ancient Greece that will send a shiver down your spine. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad

Oct 14, 2021 • 1:15:58

RE-RELEASE: Ancient Vampires: They Only Knock Once

RE-RELEASE: Ancient Vampires: They Only Knock Once

Communities all over the ancient world had a problem: their dead wouldn't stay in the ground. They rose up as shambolic corpses, gusts of wind and evil spirits, draining human life force and devouring flesh and blood.The vampire myth is an ancient one, found on every continent. Join us as we explore the oldest vampire myths we could find from Sumeria, Greece, Rome, and Germania--and discover the clues they leave us about those cultures.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthi

Oct 7, 2021 • 1:30:49

Women of the Wolf Den: Sex Workers of Pompeii (With Elodie Harper)

Women of the Wolf Den: Sex Workers of Pompeii (With Elodie Harper)

The Lupanar, or “Wolf Den,” is the infamous brothel of Pompeii. Elodie Harper’s bestselling novel follows the lives of the sex workers who lived and worked there—their passions, their heartbreaks, and the tightly-knit community they built for themselves.  Today, we’ve invited Elodie on the show to talk about the realities of sex workers’ lives in the Wolf Den—and how sex work was practiced in Pompeii near the time of the Vesuvius eruption. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancie

Sep 30, 2021 • 1:01:07

Aspasia x Pericles: Love in the Time of Plague

Aspasia x Pericles: Love in the Time of Plague

Last week, we told you about the lives of five courtesans in Classical Athens. But we left someone out--perhaps the most elite hetaera of them all.Long-term partner of a leading Athenian statesman, darling of the philosophical set, survivor of the plague of Athens—she threw her own parties, and they were the best parties ever thrown within a hundred-mile radius of Athens. No one has done better since. Her name was Aspasia.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistory

Sep 23, 2021 • 48:58

Hustlers, Harlots, Heroines: The Elite Courtesans Who Ruled Classical Athens

Hustlers, Harlots, Heroines: The Elite Courtesans Who Ruled Classical Athens

In our last few episodes on sex workers in ancient Greece, we tried to paint a picture of a group of women, in some cases, with more freedom and independence than most in the ancient Greek world could dream of. But that freedom came at a price. Now, we’re going to tell you about the lives of some of ancient Greece’s most famous Hetaerae. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 16, 2021 • 1:31:07

Dangers of the Symposium

Dangers of the Symposium

The symposia--all-male drinking parties--were the playground and hunting ground of Athens' elite courtesans. But they had their dangers, too. Join us as we attend a symposium with the fast set of Ancient Athens. We’re going to hang out with the hetaerae, drink our faces off, flirt outrageously with everyone in range, and debate with the philosophers until the sun comes up. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f

Sep 9, 2021 • 56:18

Rules of the Game: Sex Workers of Ancient Greece

Rules of the Game: Sex Workers of Ancient Greece

The conventional wisdom is that sex workers in ancient Greece were divided into two main categories: pornai who were enslaved in brothels, and hetaerae, who were elite courtesans. That’s actually a drastic oversimplification. This is the beginning of a journey into the world of sex workers in ancient Greece. Join us as we explore what life was like for sex workers at every level of the profession—including those who didn't fit easily into these categories.  Get ad-free episodes here: https://www

Sep 2, 2021 • 1:03:48

BONUS EPISODE: Special announcement!

BONUS EPISODE: Special announcement!

We're so thrilled to announce our very first live(streamed) event, in partnership with Liv Albert from Let's Talk About Myths, Baby! and Moment House! We'll be taking our drunk mythology series live to tell you the story of the founding of Athens--from a rooftop in Athens, in sight of the Parthenon!  Listen in as Genn and Jenny tell you more about this event and how it came about. The event will be livestreamed on September 12: 7pm Athens time, 12 PM EST, 5PM UK time. Tickets start at $15, with

Aug 29, 2021 • 12:20

RE-RELEASE: The Ancient-World Stark Family Part 1: Germanicus the Manicus

RE-RELEASE: The Ancient-World Stark Family Part 1: Germanicus the Manicus

We're on hiatus until September 2. Until then, please enjoy some of our favorite episodes from the back catalog.Close your eyes and imagine a loving family. Devoted parents and six children: three happy brothers and three happy sisters. The father, Germanicus, is a war hero—beloved by the people, and next in line for the throne. Life is good. Life is perfect.But nothing good can ever stay. It begins with a cough—a funny turn—and suddenly the family of Germanicus is torn apart, caught in

Aug 26, 2021 • 1:24:37

RE-RELEASE: Cocktails & Caligula (With Queens Podcast)

RE-RELEASE: Cocktails & Caligula (With Queens Podcast)

We're on hiatus until September 2. Until then, please enjoy some of our favorite episodes from the back catalog. Our only explanation for this episode is that it was Jenny's birthday and she wanted to have some friends over. So we invited Katy and Nathan from Queens Podcast to come on our podcast and drink us under the table. Join us on a drunken ramble through the Julio-Claudian dynasty, where we go on and ON about our favorite topics: Agrippina (Elder and Younger), Cleopatra, badass women in h

Aug 19, 2021 • 1:27:57

RE-RELEASE: Amazons Part 1: Warrior Women of Greek Mythology

RE-RELEASE: Amazons Part 1: Warrior Women of Greek Mythology

We're on hiatus until September 2. Until then, please enjoy some of our favorite episodes from the back catalog. Hippolyte and her golden belt. Penthesilea and the fall of Troy. The Daughters of Ares. Atalanta and the golden apples. They're everywhere in Greek mythology: fierce, deadly women warriors. But in a society as male-dominated as ancient Greece, what did this obsession with strong warrior women mean? We take a look at some of the more well-known Amazon myths of ancient Greece--and the m

Aug 12, 2021 • 1:13:43

RE-RELEASE: War Elephants Part 2: Land Pirates of the Ancient World

RE-RELEASE: War Elephants Part 2: Land Pirates of the Ancient World

We're on hiatus until September 2. Until then, please enjoy some of our favorite episodes from the back catalog. In this episode, the epic story of the elephant of war continues. Join noted elephant adventurers King Pyrrhus of Epirus (he of the Pyrrhic victory), Julius Caesar, Hannibal Barca, and Lady Trieu of Vietnam as they stomp their enemies into submission on the ancient battlefield. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. V

Aug 5, 2021 • 1:04:07

RE-RELEASE: Dionysus Part 1: Have You Heard the Good News (About Me?)

RE-RELEASE: Dionysus Part 1: Have You Heard the Good News (About Me?)

We're on hiatus until September 2. Until then, please enjoy some of our favorite episodes from the back catalog. Forget what you thought you knew about Dionysus and his cozy wine-drinking image. This is the Dionysus of Thrace. The Dionysus of Mithradates. Of Spartacus. Of revolutionaries across the classical world. This is the story of how one wandering god inspired people to rise up against injustice. In this episode, we look at Dio's origin story, his mythography, and how his journey across th

Jul 29, 2021 • 1:46:31

RE-RELEASE: Amazons Part 2: Warrior Women of the Ancient Steppe

RE-RELEASE: Amazons Part 2: Warrior Women of the Ancient Steppe

We're on hiatus until September 2. Until then, please enjoy some of our favorite episodes from the back catalog. Think the Amazons of Greek myth were mythical? Think again. The Greeks based their Amazons on the real-life warrior women next door. Centuries ago, ancient writers claimed that Scythian women of the Eurasian Steppe fought in battle alongside their men. Now, with modern bioarchaeology, the bones of real female warriors have emerged from their grave mounds and begun to speak to us. This

Jul 22, 2021 • 1:01:40

RE-RELEASE: Locusta the Poisoner

RE-RELEASE: Locusta the Poisoner

We're on hiatus until September 2. Until then, please enjoy some of our favorite episodes from the back catalog.Ancient Rome was full of rich, ambitious social climbers in a cutthroat political environment—people who had enemies to get rid of, and deep pockets to pay for the service.Poison assassins were in high demand—and one of the most notorious was a woman named Locusta the Poisoner. Learn her story--and get a crash course on poison and poisonings in the ancient world.Get ad-free ep

Jul 15, 2021 • 1:03:30

RE-RELEASE: Stuff Alaric Said

RE-RELEASE: Stuff Alaric Said

We're on hiatus until September 2. Until then, please enjoy some of our favorite issues from the back catalog. On August 24, 410 AD, Alaric and the Visigoths sacked the city of Rome. Before he sacked it, he starved it. Before that, he went toe to toe with the Roman Empire for fifteen years—uniting disparate tribes, holding a people together, and achieving more against Rome than any barbarian leader before him. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more ab

Jul 8, 2021 • 49:26

End of Season 6 Announcement

End of Season 6 Announcement

We're going on hiatus! We'll be back September 2. Thank you so much for joining us on the wild ride that was Season 6. Listen in as we discuss some highlights and behind-the-scenes goings on, and find out what we've got planned for our upcoming season. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 24, 2021 • 25:38

Rivers of Old Londinium (With Ben Aaronovitch)

Rivers of Old Londinium (With Ben Aaronovitch)

London began its life as Old Londinium—an informal trading community that sprang up around the narrowest point in the Thames, and was burned to the ground by Boudicca’s army just decades after its founding.This week, we asked bestselling urban fantasy author Ben Aaronovitch to take us on a tour of Old Londinium—say, the day before Boudicca’s arrival.Join us as we explore the streets and rivers of this diverse and enterprising trading town, and then wander all the way up Watling Street t

Jun 10, 2021 • 1:15:53

Boudicca Part 3: Last Ride of the Iceni

Boudicca Part 3: Last Ride of the Iceni

The people of Camulodunum had found out the hard way that Rome’s promises of protection weren’t enough to save them from Boudicca’s rampaging army—and so did the people of London and Verulamium. Boudicca burned these cities to the ground, unleashing a cleansing fire that was seared into the British landscape.From there, Boudicca and her army set out on Watling Street, an ancient Iron-age road that led all the way to Wales—where the fires of rebellion still burned. If Boudicca could reac

May 27, 2021 • 1:19:07

Boudicca Part 2: Hares and Foxes Amongst the Wolves

Boudicca Part 2: Hares and Foxes Amongst the Wolves

When Boudicca rebelled against the Romans, she knew exactly who to turn to for allies: the Trinovantes.Years ago, the Romans had taken over their town, Camulodunum—and made it over into a veterans’ retirement colony, subjugating the Trinovantes in the process. When the opportunity came to drive the Romans out, they seized the opportunity.But many of those living in Camulodunum were Britons themselves—some who had been enslaved, and others trying to maintain an uneasy peace with the Roma

May 13, 2021 • 1:22:01

Boudicca Part 1: The Seeds of Rebellion

Boudicca Part 1: The Seeds of Rebellion

The story of Boudicca’s revolt is as epic as you can get. It’s got murder and pillage, Romans behaving badly, cities on fire, and a layer of destruction that was scorched into the earth. But it's also the story of a people on a precipice of great change. Who was Boudicca? Who was this iron-age warrior queen who stood up to the Romans—and whose name was so revered and feared that stories of her are still being spun almost 2,000 years later? In this episode, we’re going to find out. Get ad-free ep

Apr 29, 2021 • 1:11:30

BONUS EPISODE: Liv Wrote a Book! + Drunk Mythology

BONUS EPISODE: Liv Wrote a Book! + Drunk Mythology

Our dear friend Liv (from Let's Talk About Myths, Baby!) wrote a book, Greek Mythology: the Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook. And it’s already a bestseller in Canada and a #1 new release on Amazon!! We just had to celebrate by dropping an extra bonus episode where we interview Liv about her book like super serious professionals. At least, that’s how this episode starts. For the past year, we’ve teamed up with Liv to bring a series of drunken myth retellings to both of our Patreon channels. W

Apr 22, 2021 • 46:27

Hadrian in Athens (With Liv Albert from Myths Baby!)

Hadrian in Athens (With Liv Albert from Myths Baby!)

Hadrian was the Roman emperor who commissioned Hadrian’s Wall--and he probably had a hand in designing it. But the Wall was only a very small part of Hadrian's life, and it’s not the only massive building project that comes down to us today from his reign. This week, Liv Albert from Let's Talk About Myths, Baby! joins us to talk about how Hadrian combined his obsession with architecture and his passion for all things Greek to transform the city of Athens. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.p

Apr 15, 2021 • 1:00:35

The Pictish Beast: What is It?

The Pictish Beast: What is It?

The Pictish Beast is a mysterious animal carved on Pictish standing stones. Nobody knows what kind of animal it is. But it must have been really important to the Picts, as over 40% of animals carved into their stones are the Pictish Beast.Is it an elephant? Is it a kelpie? Is it an ancient prehistoric monster the likes of which no living person has ever seen? What is it??In this episode, Genn and Jenny spend roughly an hour debating what, exactly, the Pictish Beast might have been. We s

Apr 1, 2021 • 57:25

Who Were the Picts?

Who Were the Picts?

The Picts burst onto the Romano-British scene as terrifying Celtic pirates, overwhelming Hadrian’s Wall from the north, sweeping in from the sea to ravage and burn Romano-British settlements as the power of the Roman Empire slowly receded. In the centuries after Rome faded, they were the true Kings in the North—building a powerful kingdom in the northernmost highlands that lasted more than 600 years. Until, around 900 AD, they disappeared from the record. They simply vanished. Who were the Picts

Mar 18, 2021 • 1:30:55

Hadrian's Wall, Part 4: Wall at the End of the World

Hadrian's Wall, Part 4: Wall at the End of the World

By the end of the 300s, the soldiers on Hadrian's Wall were hungry, they were under-equipped, and they hadn't been paid in years. Even so, many stayed at their posts--even as the Roman Empire lost its grip on Britain entirely. Find out how the fall of Rome looked from the view of Hadrian's Wall--and what became of those stationed there, holding the frontiers of an empire as it swiftly crumbled around them. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about

Mar 4, 2021 • 49:51

RE-RELEASE: Praetorian Guard, Part 2: Caligula & Friends

RE-RELEASE: Praetorian Guard, Part 2: Caligula & Friends

In this episode, it's Roman Emperors behaving badly--and Praetorian Prefects behaving even worse. Beginning with Caligula, Emperors were assaulted in their homes, killed with their families, dragged through the streets, and mutilated by angry mobs. At one point, the Praetorians even assassinated an Emperor, then auctioned off the Empire to the highest bidder. Find out just how bad it got. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. V

Feb 25, 2021 • 34:12

Hadrian's Wall, Part 3: After Hadrian

Hadrian's Wall, Part 3: After Hadrian

The living at Hadrian's Wall wasn't as austere as you might think for those stationed there--especially in the beginning. Merchants flocked from all over the Empire to sell their wares to soldiers with regular paychecks. But conditions changed drastically in the decades and centuries after Hadrian died. New Emperors--Antoninus Pius, Diocletian, Septimius Severus, and others--would all leave their mark on the Wall and its territory. This week, we’re going to talk about what became of the Wall—and

Feb 18, 2021 • 51:16

RE-RELEASE: Praetorian Guard, Part 1: The Beast in Your House

RE-RELEASE: Praetorian Guard, Part 1: The Beast in Your House

The Praetorian Guard was the elite military unit tasked with protecting the Emperors of Rome. Except when they held the assassin's blade themselves. The Praetorians brought emperors low and raised them up; shaped the fate of the Empire and were eventually destroyed by it. This is their story. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 11, 2021 • 33:32

Hadrian's Wall, Part 2: Life and Death on the Wall

Hadrian's Wall, Part 2: Life and Death on the Wall

What was life like on Hadrian's Wall? This week, we're going to explore the living conditions along the Wall--at the forts and the milecastles, in the officers' quarters and soldiers' barracks, and in the bustling civilian towns that sprang up around the military encampments. There's a treasure trove of archaeology at forts along the Wall--especially at Vindolanda, where fragile artifacts are perfectly preserved in deep anaerobic soil. Find out what we've managed to piece together about life on

Feb 4, 2021 • 52:24

RE-RELEASE: Child Emperors, Part 2: Lambs to the Slaughter

RE-RELEASE: Child Emperors, Part 2: Lambs to the Slaughter

Some child emperors became tyrants. Others were taken advantage of by stronger regents and family members--frequently with tragic results. In this episode, we'll take a look at weaker child emperors who struggled to overcome the influence of power-hungry adults around them. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 28, 2021 • 36:25

Hadrian's Wall, Part 1: Mysteries of the Wall

Hadrian's Wall, Part 1: Mysteries of the Wall

Hadrian’s Wall is a jaw-dropping engineering achievement stretching 73 miles across hundred-foot-high escarpments and rushing rivers, its earthworks dug deep into unforgiving igneous bedrock.It’s the largest Roman artifact in existence, and yet we still have no idea why it was built. It’s barely mentioned in the ancient sources, but in its rise and fall, you can trace the rise and fall of Roman Britain as a whole. This is the epic story we’re going to tell you: the story of Hadrian’s Wa

Jan 21, 2021 • 1:15:22

RE-RELEASE: Child Emperors, Part 1: Sharks in the Womb

RE-RELEASE: Child Emperors, Part 1: Sharks in the Womb

In ancient Rome, being made Emperor could be a death sentence. Experienced generals and statesmen lasted weeks or months sometimes. In some cases, children were raised to the role. What became of them? Part 1 of our series looks at two very different kinds of child tyrant: Elagabalus and Caracalla. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 14, 2021 • 35:30

Women in Welsh Mythology (With Mari Catrin Phillips from MythsnTits)

Women in Welsh Mythology (With Mari Catrin Phillips from MythsnTits)

This week, we’re taking a deep dive into Welsh mythology from a queer, feminist perspective with the phenomenally talented Welsh artist Mari Catrin Phillips of MythsnTits. Join us as we get acquainted with the women of the Mabinogion. Check out MythsnTits: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MariCatrinPhillips Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 7, 2021 • 52:19

Merry Mithras: International God of Mystery

Merry Mithras: International God of Mystery

If you know anything about Mithras, you might have the impression that he was kind of a proto-Jesus. Turns out that’s wrong.Think of this as less of a seasonal episode, and more of a seasonal myth-busting episode. Get ready for the epic story of a bull-slaughtering, mushroom-tripping, light-bringing, Emperor-pee-drinking, hierarchy-maintaining, Smurf-hat-wearing cosmic warrior. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Vis

Dec 24, 2020 • 1:18:20

RE-RELEASE: Saturnalia: So Much More than Roman Christmas

RE-RELEASE: Saturnalia: So Much More than Roman Christmas

Wish you had a holiday all about feasting, drinking, the upending of the social order, blood sacrifices, the harvest, pranks, novelty gifts, honouring a god who devoured his kids, and the returning sun? Don’t we all??? Welcome to Saturnalia. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 17, 2020 • 1:04:41

The Morrigan: Celtic Goddess of War

The Morrigan: Celtic Goddess of War

The Morrigan has many names: Badb, the scald-crow. Red-haired Macha. Nevin of the battle-frenzy. Fea; the deathly. Be Neit; the Woman of Battle. But first and foremost, the Morrigan was a goddess of war. And to understand her, you have to understand her battlefield. Join us as we get to know the Morrigan—and explore the bloody waters in which she swam. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 10, 2020 • 1:15:29

You Don't Know Yule

You Don't Know Yule

What do you know about Yule? Maybe a lot. The holiday is widely celebrated in Scandinavian countries, and it's an important part of Wiccan and Pagan tradition. But for many of us, the version that's come down through history is strongly associated with Christmas--and heavily sanitized. When we scratched the surface, however, we found that the origins of Yule were older and darker and weirder than we ever imagined. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn mor

Dec 3, 2020 • 0:00

In Search of Female Druids

In Search of Female Druids

In our last episode, we alluded to the fact that there were female as well as male Druids in the Celtic iron age. But if the picture of male Druids is spotty, the picture of female Druids is more mysterious still. We decided to delve into Celtic culture, myth, and archaeology to see what we could uncover about female Druids in the ancient world. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 26, 2020 • 1:01:49

Anglesey: The Druids' Last Stand

Anglesey: The Druids' Last Stand

When Julius Caesar conquered Gaul, the Druids suffered a swift and catastrophic loss of status and position. Persecuted and demonized by later Emperors, many fled to Britain, where Roman influence didn’t reach. But eventually, the Romans followed. The Druids were driven to the island of Anglesey— the last stronghold of Druidic life and learning. From there, they incited rebellion among Welsh tribes, firing up a fierce resistance. Until finally, standing on the last stretch of beach on the last i

Nov 12, 2020 • 1:40:42

RE-RELEASE: The Hound of Ulster

RE-RELEASE: The Hound of Ulster

Ahead of our series on Roman Britain, we decided to re-release The Hound of Ulster. This episode gives background to some of the things we delve into in our upcoming episodes, and we reference it a lot--so we thought it'd be a good idea to put it back in our feed beforehand. What can a story from ancient Ireland tell us about the Gauls before Caesar? Maybe a lot. The Hound of Ulster is synonymous with Irish history. But it also draws back the curtain on a world we see echoed in the archaeology o

Nov 5, 2020 • 0:00

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: Ancient World Edition (With Liv Albert from Myths Baby!)

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: Ancient World Edition (With Liv Albert from Myths Baby!)

What tales kept people from thousands of years ago up at night? This Halloween, Ancient History Fangirl teams up with Liv Albert from Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby! to delve into spooky stories from the ancient world that will send a shiver up your spine—tales of shrieking Banshees, deathly Furies, and the terrors of Samhain. So spread some salt over your threshold. Settle into your favorite chair. Pour yourself a drink to take the chill from your bones. And if there’s a knock on your door, whate

Oct 29, 2020 • 1:10:44

RE-RELEASE: Ancient Vampires: They Only Knock Once

RE-RELEASE: Ancient Vampires: They Only Knock Once

Communities all over the ancient world had a problem: their dead wouldn’t stay in the ground. They rose up as shambolic corpses, gusts of wind and evil spirits, draining human life force and devouring flesh and blood. The vampire myth is an ancient one, found on every continent. Join us as we explore the oldest vampire myths we could find from Sumeria, Greece, Rome, and Germania–and discover the clues they leave us about those cultures. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienth

Oct 22, 2020 • 0:00

RE-RELEASE: Vampires: Disease and the Engines of Myth

RE-RELEASE: Vampires: Disease and the Engines of Myth

Last time we covered vampires, we were struck by the haunting connection between vampire myths and real disease. Between that and the many vampire myths from around the world that we didn’t have time to cover, you might say we had unfinished business with vampires. This Halloween, Ancient History Fangirl teams up with Raven Forrest Fruscalzo from the Tiny Vampires podcast to explore the intriguing connection between vampires and disease. Join us as we discuss some fascinating vampire myths from

Oct 15, 2020 • 0:00

End of Season 5 Announcement

End of Season 5 Announcement

Ancient History Fangirl is taking a break. We'll be busy getting ready for Season 6--which we're really psyched about.Listen in as we discuss highlights of the previous season, our big plans for Season 6, and some other important developments.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 1, 2020 • 23:59

Spartacus vs. Toussaint L'Ouverture (With Mike Duncan)

Spartacus vs. Toussaint L'Ouverture (With Mike Duncan)

More than 1,800 years after Spartacus fought for his freedom, another rebel leader spearheaded the most successful slave revolt in history: the Haitian Revolution. That leader was a man named Toussaint L’Ouverture.This week, we invited Mike Duncan of The History of Rome and Revolutions to help us compare these two revolutionaries and discuss what advice Toussaint L'Ouverture might have had for Spartacus.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more

Sep 17, 2020 • 1:13:00

Spartacus Part 4: Sine Missione

Spartacus Part 4: Sine Missione

Crixus is dead. Spartacus has given up on crossing the Alps. And he has a new enemy: a man with endless money, endless resources, and a lot to prove. Nobody asked for more Crassus. Not Spartacus, not the Roman Senate, and not the hundred thousand people following Spartacus to a better life. But in this episode, that’s exactly what everyone is going to get. In this episode, Spartacus faces off against the Roman Republic’s richest man, sine missione: to the death. No quarter given; no mercy shown.

Sep 3, 2020 • 1:35:37

Spartacus Part 3: World on Fire

Spartacus Part 3: World on Fire

After defeating Glaber on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius, Spartacus and his rebels enjoyed a glorious Italian summer—taming wild ponies for their infantry, attracting new recruits, and raiding in the rich Italian farmlands. But all good summers come to an end. The Roman Senate continued to send more experienced generals against Spartacus--even as he struggled to reign in his followers' worst instincts toward violence. And meanwhile, Rome’s foreign wars were winding down. The clock was ticking.

Aug 20, 2020 • 41:35

Spartacus Part 2: Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?

Spartacus Part 2: Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?

In our last episode, Spartacus and his compatriots broke out of the ludus and began their rebellion. Spurred on by the Dionysian prophecies of his lover, the Thracian Lady, Spartacus’ legend grew.  But the Roman Senate was not going to let his army rampage unchecked—and soon Spartacus would face troubles without and tribal conflicts within. It all came to a head on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choice

Aug 6, 2020 • 54:36

Spartacus Part 1: Breaker of Chains

Spartacus Part 1: Breaker of Chains

The story of Spartacus is the story of the Roman Republic at a crossroads.In the 70s BC, the city of Rome was a powderkeg, the peninsula was wracked with starvation and violence, the Mediterranean was crawling with pirates, and two major wars raged overseas.This was the state of affairs when Spartacus rebelled. Join us as we explore the volatile conditions that allowed a hero to rise.Get ad-free episodes here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 23, 2020 • 1:06:16

A Day at the Gladiatorial Games

A Day at the Gladiatorial Games

Join us as we travel back in time to the amphitheatre of Capua—mainland Italy's largest amphitheatre in its day—and experience a day at the gladiatorial games during the time of Spartacus. This episode was sponsored by Oneshi Press. Sound sculpting by Lens Group Media. Get ad-free episodes here. Mr. Guy Lens Group Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 9, 2020 • 42:45

How to Train Your Gladiator

How to Train Your Gladiator

What did it take to be a gladiator? Who ended up in the arena, and why? And how did the gladiatorial games—one of the bloodiest sporting events known in the ancient world—come to be? From the ancient roots of Etruscan funeral games to the height of Roman spectacle, we examine the history of gladiatorial combat—and explore what life was like for gladiators in the time of Spartacus. Get ad-free episodes here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 25, 2020 • 1:18:39

Come See Us at Intelligent Speech 2020!

Come See Us at Intelligent Speech 2020!

We're thrilled to announce we'll both be participating in Intelligent Speech 2020 this year! This year, the conference will be held entirely online, from 10 AM to 6 PM on June 27. Tickets are $10 (early) and $15 (starting June 19). We had the pleasure of sitting down to talk podcasting, history, and our upcoming presentation with Roifield Brown, producer of six podcasts including DumteeDum, 10 American Presidents, and How Jamaica Conquered the World.Get tickets for Intelligent Speech he

Jun 17, 2020 • 25:37

Spartacus in Film and Popular Culture (With the Partial Historians)

Spartacus in Film and Popular Culture (With the Partial Historians)

We invited the Partial Historians onto our show to discuss one of their favorite topics and ours: Spartacus in film and pop culture. Join us in a no-holds-barred conversation in which Dr. Rad unleashes the beast, Dr. G stages a rebellion-within-the-rebellion, and Dr. Rad's cat has a LOT to say. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl https://partialhistorians.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 11, 2020 • 1:33:40

Thracians: Heart of Ares

Thracians: Heart of Ares

The Thracians were the most feared professional killers of the ancient world—serving as hired assassins, enforcers, and mercenaries in famous battles from one end of the Mediterranean to the other. They were the ones the Romans and Greeks hired for their really dirty work. But there was more to the Thracians than violence. In this episode, we use ancient sources and modern archeology to build a picture of how these epic people lived, loved, fought, and died. Get ad-free episodes here: https://ww

May 28, 2020 • 1:18:11

Thracians: Shoot the Messenger

Thracians: Shoot the Messenger

Who was Spartacus, really? It’s not an easy question to answer. The ancient sources agree that he was Thracian, but even this is up for debate. Still, we’re going to go out on a limb and say that to know Spartacus, you have to know the Thracians. The Thracians were a fierce warrior people, consummate mercenaries who fought in every major Greek and Roman war—and believed that they would never die. Join us as we try to breathe life into these epic people by exploring their unique mythology and rel

May 14, 2020 • 1:10:03

Salvius and the Star-Reader: The Second Servile War

Salvius and the Star-Reader: The Second Servile War

During the First Servile War, the epic prophet and fire-breather named Eunus led a rebellion that threatened the Republic to its foundations. For a time, Eunus controlled all of Sicily. But he ended his life devoured by lice in a jail cell. After Eunus’ death, the great Sicilian latifundia recovered. Within a few years, they were up and running again—just as strong, profitable, and cruel as before. But just 28 years later, another major uprising—the Second Servile War—would shake that system to

Apr 30, 2020 • 56:14

Eunus and the Mermaid Goddess: The First Servile War

Eunus and the Mermaid Goddess: The First Servile War

The First Servile War started in 135 BC—about 62 years before Spartacus led his rebellion. It lasted about twice as long as the Spartacus war, and involved hundreds of thousands of people.The Spartacus of this rebellion was a man named Eunus—a fire-breather and miracle worker whose courage inspired additional revolts throughout the Italian peninsula and beyond. This is his story.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Vi

Apr 16, 2020 • 1:18:56

Dionysus: Myths and Madness (With Liv Albert from Myths Baby!)

Dionysus: Myths and Madness (With Liv Albert from Myths Baby!)

This week, Ancient History Fangirl teams up with Liv Albert from Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby! to drink wine, drop some f-bombs, and dish about everyone’s favorite god of theatre, orgies, booze and madness.Join us as we explore all the ways Dionysus subverted the Roman patriarchy, theatre practices of the ancient Greeks, woman-centric retellings of Medea and Medusa, and the most radically feminist Greek playwright of his time: Euripides.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com

Apr 2, 2020 • 1:03:42

AHFG: Coronavirus Edition

AHFG: Coronavirus Edition

So, up until this point all the episodes we've put out recently were recorded before the coronavirus hit us where we lived. But the world has drastically changed since then. We wanted to give our audience an update about what we're up to, how we're coping, and the direction for the podcast in the coming weeks and months. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 23, 2020 • 9:41

Dionysus: Religion of Revolution

Dionysus: Religion of Revolution

In our last episode we talked about the journey Dionysus took to become a god. We followed his travels across the Mediterranean as he went on an epic quest to spread the cultivation of wine. In this episode, we'll focus on what happened after Dionysus won his place as a god on Mount Olympus--how people worshiped him on earth, and what made him so dangerous to the Roman status quo. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg

Mar 19, 2020 • 1:45:43

Dionysus: Have You Heard the Good News (About Me)?

Dionysus: Have You Heard the Good News (About Me)?

Forget what you thought you knew about Dionysus and his cozy wine-drinking image. This is the Dionysus of Thrace. The Dionysus of Mithradates. Of Spartacus. Of revolutionaries across the classical world. This is the story of how one wandering god inspired people to rise up against injustice. In this episode, we look at Dio's origin story, his mythography, and how his journey across the ancient world followed in the steps of winemaking. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthi

Mar 5, 2020 • 1:45:06

End Of Season 4 Announcement

End Of Season 4 Announcement

So...we have no idea what we're doing. Season 4 is officially over! Listen in as we discuss our big plans for Season 5. Get ad-free episodes here: www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 6, 2020 • 14:43

Cocktails & Caligula (with Queens Podcast)

Cocktails & Caligula (with Queens Podcast)

Our only explanation for this episode is that it was Jenny's birthday and she wanted to have some friends over. So we invited Katy and Nathan from Queens Podcast to come on our podcast and drink us under the table. Join us on a drunken ramble through the Julio-Claudian dynasty, where we go on and ON about our favorite topics: Agrippina (Elder and Younger), Cleopatra, badass women in history, and whether Caligula and Henry VIII were in fact the same person. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.

Jan 23, 2020 • 1:26:13

Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 5)

Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 5)

After the disaster at Actium, Marc Antony's entire army--100,000 strong--surrendered to Octavian. Marc Antony and Cleopatra fled to Alexandria to negotiate the terms of their defeat. Those were dark, foreboding days. Friends and allies fled the palace. Marc Antony fell into a deep depression, while Cleopatra searched desperately for a way out--one that would keep her kingdom intact and her children alive. But the reckoning was coming. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthis

Jan 9, 2020 • 1:15:29

Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 4)

Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 4)

As Marc Antony and Cleopatra lived and loved in Alexandria, Octavian whipped up a toxic garbage fire of racism, misogyny, and xenophobia in Rome--and then declared war. Not against Marc Antony, but against Cleopatra.Soon, the lovers would be forced to defend their home, their family, and their life together on the shores of the Ambracian Gulf. Find out how it all went down--at a town called Actium.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about

Dec 26, 2019 • 58:40

Badass Women Make Ancient History (with Kate the Exploress)

Badass Women Make Ancient History (with Kate the Exploress)

Why were Civil War-era female spies so successful in smuggling guns across enemy lines? What secret superpower gave Scythian women an edge in battle? In heavily patriarchal ancient Greece, what made athletic, confident Spartan women so exceptional? Badass women have existed throughout ancient history. In this bonus AHFG episode, Kate from the Exploress Podcast joins us in a freewheeling conversation that finds those women throughout the ages--from Civil War battlefields to ancient Egyptian bathr

Dec 19, 2019 • 1:10:33

You Don't Know Yule

You Don't Know Yule

What do you know about Yule? Maybe a lot. The holiday is widely celebrated in Scandinavian countries, and it's an important part of Wiccan and Pagan tradition. But for many of us, the version that's come down through history is strongly associated with Christmas--and heavily sanitized.When we scratched the surface, however, we found that the origins of Yule were older and darker and weirder than we ever imagined.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Le

Dec 12, 2019 • 1:25:19

Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 3)

Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 3)

After four years of marriage with Octavia, Marc Antony followed Cleopatra to Alexandria—and settled into life there. He oversaw festivals and athletic contests, cheered Cleopatra on as she ruled Egypt, and showered her and their children with honors and territories. For all intents and purposes, he was the consort of Egypt’s beloved Pharaoh, the father of her children—and he was home. But the propaganda war between Antony and Octavian was building to a fever pitch in Rome, even as the Parthians

Nov 28, 2019 • 1:28:29

Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 2)

Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 2)

When Cleopatra and Marc Antony met by the River Tarsus, Antony was smitten. And when Cleopatra went back to Alexandria, he forgot about invading Parthia and followed her home. The two then spent a magical few months in Alexandria, where they threw each other lavish banquets, made bets and compacts, played ridiculous practical jokes on each other and the public--and fell in love. But nothing good can ever stay. The real world came knocking, and soon Marc Antony was forced to choose between his he

Nov 14, 2019 • 1:05:25

Vampires II: Disease and the Engines of Myth (With Tiny Vampires Podcast)

Vampires II: Disease and the Engines of Myth (With Tiny Vampires Podcast)

Last time we covered vampires, we were struck by the haunting connection between vampire myths and real disease. Between that and the many vampire myths from around the world that we didn’t have time to cover, you might say we had unfinished business with vampires.This Halloween, Ancient History Fangirl teams up with Raven Forrest Fruscalzo from the Tiny Vampires podcast to explore the intriguing connection between vampires and disease.Join us as we discuss some fascinating vampire myth

Oct 31, 2019 • 1:07:16

Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 1)

Cleopatra x Marc Antony: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Part 1)

Shakespeare wrote about them. Hollywood glamorized them. For thousands of years, they've come down to us as the ultimate star-crossed lovers: the Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra, and the Roman commander Marc Antony.In the wake of Caesar's death, Cleopatra fled to Egypt--and began picking up the pieces. Meanwhile, Marc Antony defeated Caesar's assassins in battle, and then set his sights on invading Parthia.But to invade Parthia, he needed the money and support of Rome's richest client ruler:

Oct 17, 2019 • 1:12:46

Fulvia: Original Gangster of Ancient Rome

Fulvia: Original Gangster of Ancient Rome

The romance between Mark Antony and Cleopatra has beguiled us for centuries. What most people don’t realize is that when Mark Antony met Cleopatra, he was already married—to someone just as epic. Her name was Fulvia. Cleopatra had glamour and divinity and lots of money. But Fulvia had the gangs. She was a populist firebrand, military leader, and for a while, the undisputed power in Rome: both in the Senate and in the streets. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangi

Oct 3, 2019 • 1:41:19

End Of Season 3 Announcement

End Of Season 3 Announcement

Season III is over, and we're gearing up for Season IV! We'll be back on October 3. Listen up to find out what we've got coming up! Also, if you want to get more of us during our break, subscribe to our Patreon! We've got exclusive episodes up just for Patreon subscribers. For just $2 a month you can get more Fangirl episodes and support the podcast! Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 29, 2019 • 13:33

Julius Caesar and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Julius Caesar and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

When Julius Caesar returned to Rome after his last military campaign, he had big plans. Plans like remaking Rome in the image of Alexandria—as a beacon of light and learning. Transforming the Roman calendar and enacting sweeping government reforms. Invading Parthia for some reason. And making himself Dictator for Life—and the next best thing to a king and god. But Caesar should have been more on his guard--because a secret movement to assassinate him was building steam. Find out how it all went

Aug 15, 2019 • 2:00:50

Julius Caesar and the 11-Day Parade

Julius Caesar and the 11-Day Parade

After winning the Alexandrian War and restoring Cleopatra to her throne, Julius Caesar returned to Rome. And then—he kept busy. Settling an insurrection among his troops, getting himself declared dictator for another 10 years, cleaning up the resistance, packing the Senate with his friends, and throwing himself not one, not two, not three—but four epic Triumphs. All Caesar's barriers to power had been removed. Now there was no one to stop him from doing exactly what he wanted with the Roman Empi

Aug 1, 2019 • 1:29:18

Cleopatra and the Urban War

Cleopatra and the Urban War

When Cleopatra met Julius Caesar, sparks flew. The daring Egyptian queen beguiled the conquering Roman general—and then enlisted him to fight her battles.Outnumbered five to one in a city full of ancient wonders, Cleopatra and Caesar spent the next ten months barricaded in a luxurious palace while outside, the enemy howled for their blood--fighting a deadly urban war for Cleopatra's throne and both of their survival.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangir

Jul 18, 2019 • 52:33

Cleopatra and the King of Rome

Cleopatra and the King of Rome

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! When Julius Caesar arrived in Egypt, he walked into a civil war between the country’s new co-rulers: Ptolemy XIII and his sister Cleopatra. The romance between Caesar and Cleopatra is one of the most epic of ancient times. But we can’t tell you that story until you understand who Cleopatra was. And to understand Cleopatra, you have to understand the political element in which she swam. In this episode, we take you from the cutthroat in

Jul 4, 2019 • 1:09:11

Julius Caesar and the Death of the Republic

Julius Caesar and the Death of the Republic

Within sixty days of crossing the Rubicon, Julius Caesar took control of the entire Italian peninsula—almost without bloodshed. But until he defeated Pompey, Caesar’s victories were temporary.Now Caesar would face Rome's greatest general and his own greatest rival. Pompey had more experience, more troops, and more supplies, and he knew every move Caesar planned to make before he made it.The odds were not in Caesar's favor. But that's just how he liked it.Get ad-free episodes here: https

Jun 20, 2019 • 1:06:30

Julius Caesar and the Point of No Return

Julius Caesar and the Point of No Return

Julius Caesar was in Gaul for eight years—and while he was gone, things in Rome didn’t just stop. His enemies were sharpening their knives, just salivating for him to come back so they could prosecute him. If they got their way, Caesar could lose his legions, his fortune, and his position—and see all his achievements undone.Caesar was backed into a corner. His only chance to survive involved taking an extreme action that he'd never be able to take back. An action that would catapult him

Jun 6, 2019 • 1:30:15

Vercingetorix: All You Love Must Burn (Part 3)

Vercingetorix: All You Love Must Burn (Part 3)

This episode is a whole divided into three parts. In Part 3, Vercingetorix has been in the field for less than a year--fighting Julius Caesar by burning his own towns, fields, and grain supplies to keep them out of Roman hands. And he's managed to hold his proud, independent people together--by any means necessary. But now Vercingetorix will face his greatest challenge yet--at a town called Alesia. Get ad-free episodes here: www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices.

May 23, 2019 • 59:31

Vercingetorix: All You Love Must Burn (Part 2)

Vercingetorix: All You Love Must Burn (Part 2)

This episode is a whole divided into three parts. In Part 2, Vercingetorix steps onto the stage, and all of Gaul unites behind him against the armies of Caesar. But Vercingetorix faces an enemy that's better organized, better armed, and more cohesive--and his margin of error is razor-thin. To save his people, Vercingetorix must do more than unite them. He must be willing to sacrifice everything. Get ad-free episodes here: www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Vi

May 9, 2019 • 1:06:53

Vercingetorix: All You Love Must Burn (Part 1)

Vercingetorix: All You Love Must Burn (Part 1)

This episode is a whole divided into three parts. In Part 1, we send Julius Caesar and his army on a collision course toward the people of Gaul. This is an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object; the disciplined might of the Roman Republic coming up against an epic warrior culture that had existed in this place for centuries. Find out how it all started. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 25, 2019 • 53:57

The Hound of Ulster

The Hound of Ulster

What can a story from ancient Ireland tell us about the Gauls before Caesar?Maybe a lot. The Hound of Ulster is synonymous with Irish history. But it also draws back the curtain on a world we see echoed in the archaeology of ancient Gaul: a world of epic feasts, the hero’s portion, cattle raiding, magical cauldrons, and chariot warfare.Think of this episode as a sort of Cauldron of Rebirth. We’re going to go out on a limb and operate under the assumption that a tall tale from Celtic Ire

Apr 11, 2019 • 1:38:23

The Gauls: Everything Belongs to the Brave

The Gauls: Everything Belongs to the Brave

In 58 BC, Julius Caesar set his sights on conquering the Gauls. But who were the Gauls? They didn't write things down—and much of what we know about them comes from Caesar himself. An outsider, and a conqueror. Before we tell you about the Gallic Wars, we want to let the Gauls speak for themselves—or come as close as they can, through archaeology, myth, and other writers who got to know them not as conquerors, but chroniclers. Meet the Celtic warrior poets, artists, Druids, bards, and artisans w

Mar 28, 2019 • 1:19:41

Julius Caesar and the Devil's Threeway

Julius Caesar and the Devil's Threeway

After an epic quarter-life crisis, Julius Caesar returned to Rome and started to kick things up a notch—winning honors, elections, and the love of the public. But as his power grew, his enemies multiplied. To fight back, Caesar made an unholy bargain with two very powerful players: Rome’s richest man and its most renowned general. With money in his pocket and soldiers at his back, there was nothing Caesar couldn’t strong-arm the Senate into. But as Caesar tested the rules of Roman democracy, he

Mar 14, 2019 • 1:11:57

Julius Caesar and the Pirates' Ransom

Julius Caesar and the Pirates' Ransom

Julius Caesar came of age in a Rome where severed heads hung in the Rostra, bodies choked the Tiber, and murderous mobs stalked the streets. Even at 16, this was Caesar's element. And by 30, he'd stood up to a terrifying dictator, got kidnapped by pirates, and made a career out of prosecuting powerful governors for corruption. Not to mention, he had an epic quarter-life crisis. Most stories about Caesar's life don't start at the beginning. But this one does. Find out how Caesar became Caesar. Ge

Feb 28, 2019 • 57:56

End Of Season 2 Announcement

End Of Season 2 Announcement

It's the end of Season 2--and we'll be back February 28! Listen in as we tell you what we've got coming up in Season 3. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 31, 2019 • 8:39

The Ancient-World Stark Family, Part 4: Dux Femina

The Ancient-World Stark Family, Part 4: Dux Femina

Of the six children of Germanicus, Agrippina the Younger is the last woman standing. Both savvier than her siblings and more ruthless, she quickly rises to stratospheric levels of power--using any and all means necessary. But plenty of dangerous people in ancient Rome don't like seeing a woman in control, and they'll do anything to stop her. Agrippina will need all her wits and courage to keep her position--and keep herself alive. Everything comes up Agrippina--until it doesn't. Get ad-free epis

Jan 17, 2019 • 1:39:27

The Ancient-World Stark Family, Part 3: Agrippina and the Wolf Girl

The Ancient-World Stark Family, Part 3: Agrippina and the Wolf Girl

With their brother Caligula dead, the two remaining Germanicus children--Julia Livilla and Agrippina--are called home from exile. The new emperor, their uncle Claudius, welcomes them with open arms. Life is good. Life...is perfect.But in ancient Rome, the knives in the dark are still sharp. The sisters find themselves facing threats from all sides. Chief among those threats is the most powerful woman in Roman society--an enemy known as the Wolf Girl.Get ad-free episodes here: https://ww

Jan 3, 2019 • 1:15:39

Saturnalia: So Much More than Roman Christmas

Saturnalia: So Much More than Roman Christmas

Wish you had a holiday all about feasting, drinking, the upending of the social order, blood sacrifices, the harvest, pranks, novelty gifts, honouring a god who devoured his kids, and the returning sun? Don’t we all??? Welcome to Saturnalia.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 20, 2018 • 1:03:18

The Ancient-World Stark Family, Part 2: The Rise and Fall of Little Boots

The Ancient-World Stark Family, Part 2: The Rise and Fall of Little Boots

With their parents and older brothers dead, the four remaining Germanicus children (Agrippina, Julia Drusilla, Julia Livilla, and Caligula) face an uncertain future.Caligula falls into the clutches of his creepy uncle Tiberius. The sisters are married off in their teens to men more than twice their age—some with violent reputations.But a family’s fortune can change in a heartbeat. Suddenly Caligula is thrust into power, and the sisters finally have a chance at determining their own live

Dec 6, 2018 • 1:28:24

The Ancient-World Stark Family, Part 1: Germanicus the Manicus

The Ancient-World Stark Family, Part 1: Germanicus the Manicus

Close your eyes and imagine a loving family. Devoted parents and six children: three happy brothers and three happy sisters. The father, Germanicus, is a war hero—beloved by the people, and next in line for the throne. Life is good. Life is perfect. But nothing good can ever stay. It begins with a cough—a funny turn—and suddenly the family of Germanicus is torn apart, caught in the political riptides of Imperial Rome. This dynasty would give rise to two of Rome’s most infamous emperors and some

Nov 22, 2018 • 1:23:29

Locusta the Poisoner: Rome's Deadliest Assassin

Locusta the Poisoner: Rome's Deadliest Assassin

Ancient Rome was full of rich, ambitious social climbers in a cutthroat political environment—people who had enemies to get rid of, and deep pockets to pay for the service. Poison assassins were in high demand—and one of the most notorious was a woman named Locusta the Poisoner. Learn her story--and get a crash course on poison and poisonings in the ancient world. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic

Nov 8, 2018 • 1:03:23

Ancient Vampires: They Only Knock Once

Ancient Vampires: They Only Knock Once

Communities all over the ancient world had a problem: their dead wouldn't stay in the ground. They rose up as shambolic corpses, gusts of wind and evil spirits, draining human life force and devouring flesh and blood. The vampire myth is an ancient one, found on every continent. Join us as we explore the oldest vampire myths we could find from Sumeria, Greece, Rome, and Germania--and discover the clues they leave us about those cultures. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancient

Oct 25, 2018 • 1:28:49

Amazons: Warrior Queens and Generals

Amazons: Warrior Queens and Generals

It's easy to get the impression that no women were allowed in the war games of the ancient world, but nothing could be further from the truth. Female generals and warrior queens were everywhere—leading armies into battle by land and sea. In this episode, we cover five female military commanders—powerful allies and enemies of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 11, 2018 • 1:11:29

Amazons: Warrior Women of the Ancient Steppe

Amazons: Warrior Women of the Ancient Steppe

Think the Amazons of Greek myth were mythical? Think again. The Greeks based their Amazons on the real-life warrior women next door. Centuries ago, ancient writers claimed that Scythian women of the Eurasian Steppe fought in battle alongside their men. Now, with modern bioarchaeology, the bones of real female warriors have emerged from their grave mounds and begun to speak to us. This is their story. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your a

Sep 27, 2018 • 1:02:04

Amazons: Warrior Women of Greek Mythology

Amazons: Warrior Women of Greek Mythology

Hippolyte and her golden belt. Penthesilea and the fall of Troy. The Daughters of Ares. Atalanta and the golden apples. They're everywhere in Greek mythology: fierce, deadly women warriors. But in a society as male-dominated as ancient Greece, what did this obsession with strong warrior women mean? We take a look at some of the more well-known Amazon myths of ancient Greece--and the mystery of their meaning in context. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Lear

Sep 13, 2018 • 1:11:28

End of Season 1 Announcement

End of Season 1 Announcement

We've got a little announcement for all of you. We're taking a break. We'll be back September 13, and have we got some stories to tell you then. Also, to Patreon or not to Patreon? Listen in for the full scoop--and tell us what you think! Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 16, 2018 • 10:21

Attila the Hun and the Rebel Princess

Attila the Hun and the Rebel Princess

In 450 AD, the Imperial Princess Honoria--daughter of Galla Placidia--was desperate to escape her arranged marriage. So she made an indecent proposal--to Attila the Hun. On this single action, cities were torched. Saints were raised. Thousands died. And Venice was founded. Find out how it all went down. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 2, 2018 • 34:50

Real Life Romance from the Fall of Rome: Ataulf x Galla Placidia

Real Life Romance from the Fall of Rome: Ataulf x Galla Placidia

He was a fierce barbarian warlord—a man who had stood between his people and the Roman Empire since the sack of Rome. She was a Roman Imperial princess with a core of iron strength. Born enemies, the love of Ataulf and Galla Placidia is marked by tragedy—but in its time, it burned hot enough to reshape an Empire. This is their story. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 19, 2018 • 36:09

Stuff Alaric Said

Stuff Alaric Said

On August 24, 410 AD, Alaric and the Visigoths sacked the city of Rome. Before he sacked it, he starved it. Before that, he went toe to toe with the Roman Empire for fifteen years—uniting disparate tribes, holding a people together, and achieving more against Rome than any barbarian leader before him. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 5, 2018 • 50:05

War Elephants Part 2: Land Pirates of the Ancient World

War Elephants Part 2: Land Pirates of the Ancient World

In this episode, the epic story of the elephant of war continues. Join noted elephant adventurers King Pyrrhus of Epirus (he of the Pyrrhic victory), Julius Caesar, Hannibal Barca, and Lady Trieu of Vietnam as they stomp their enemies into submission on the ancient battlefield. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 21, 2018 • 1:02:02

War Elephants Part 1: Alexander's Immortals

War Elephants Part 1: Alexander's Immortals

Few sights terrorized ancient armies more than that of a wall of elephants, tusks drenched in blood, bearing down on them in a killing frenzy. From the mighty armies of ancient India to the crack troops of Alexander the Great, all of them faced down weaponized elephants—and used them to crush their enemies. We call upon you now to bear witness to an epic story: that of the awesome and great-hearted elephant of war. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn mo

Jun 7, 2018 • 52:19

Praetorian Guard, Part 2: Caligula & Friends

Praetorian Guard, Part 2: Caligula & Friends

In this episode, it's Roman Emperors behaving badly--and Praetorian Prefects behaving even worse. Beginning with Caligula, Emperors were assaulted in their homes, killed with their families, dragged through the streets, and mutilated by angry mobs. At one point, the Praetorians even assassinated an Emperor, then auctioned off the Empire to the highest bidder. Find out just how bad it got. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. V

May 24, 2018 • 34:47

Praetorian Guard, Part 1: The Beast in Your House

Praetorian Guard, Part 1: The Beast in Your House

The Praetorian Guard was the elite military unit tasked with protecting the Emperors of Rome. Except when they held the assassin's blade themselves.The Praetorians brought emperors low and raised them up; shaped the fate of the Empire and were eventually destroyed by it. This is their story.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 10, 2018 • 31:24

Child Emperors Part 2: Lambs to the Slaughter

Child Emperors Part 2: Lambs to the Slaughter

Some child emperors became tyrants. Others were taken advantage of by stronger regents and family members--frequently with tragic results. In this episode, we'll take a look at weaker child emperors who struggled to overcome the influence of power-hungry adults around them. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 26, 2018 • 36:17

Child Emperors Part 1: Sharks in the Womb

Child Emperors Part 1: Sharks in the Womb

In ancient Rome, being made Emperor could be a death sentence. Experienced generals and statesmen lasted weeks or months sometimes. In some cases, children were raised to the role. What became of them? Part 1 of our series looks at two very different kinds of child tyrant: Elagabalus and Caracalla. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 12, 2018 • 36:06

How to Survive a Siege, Part 2: Gnaw Off Your Finger, Leave it On the Ground

How to Survive a Siege, Part 2: Gnaw Off Your Finger, Leave it On the Ground

Did the Mongols really kill 1.3 million people in a single day? How does civilization devolve in a city under siege when the food runs out? What really went down during the sack of Troy--and what clues did ancient writers leave us?All of this--plus our best siege survival hacks from the ancient world.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 29, 2018 • 41:34

How to Survive a Siege, Part 1: Street Cleaners of Carthage

How to Survive a Siege, Part 1: Street Cleaners of Carthage

How would you survive an ancient siege? We take a close look at the brutal siege of Carthage at the end of the Punic Wars--and give you a few tips and hacks for staying alive when the enemy has breached the gates. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 15, 2018 • 32:07

Teaser

Teaser

A new podcast is coming--one that looks at the mythology and real-life experience of the ancient world, from the eyes of two avid storytellers. Join historical / fantasy / romance novelists and ancient history fangirls Genn McMenemy and Jenny Williamson on this epic journey to the distant past. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 13, 2018 • 2:04

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