logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2024
40m 59s

The Mediterranean World in 500 BC

Wondery / Patrick Wyman
About this episode
After our long sojourn in Central, East, and South Asia, it's time to return to a Mediterranean on the cusp of enormous changes. Around 500 BC, Rome was shedding its kings, Carthage was about to become the greatest power in the Central Mediterranean, and Greece would soon enter its Classical Era. Let's take a tour. Patrick's book is now available! Get Th ... Show More
Up next
Apr 16
Lost Worlds Audiobook Chapter: "The World As It Was"
Patrick's new book Lost Worlds: How Humans Tried, Failed, Succeeded, and Built Our World comes out May 5th! Check out a free preview of the first chapter of the audiobook, "The World As It Was," and learn about the Clovis people and reindeer hunters in Europe at the end of the la ... Show More
50m 43s
Apr 9
What I've Learned From Tides of History
Does history repeat itself? Not really, but that's not the reason it's worth studying: Our past is nothing more or less than the collective record of our species' achievements and failures, and it contains a variety of lessons, few of them easy and straightforward. In this episod ... Show More
33m 56s
Apr 2
Gladiators and the Roman Psyche: Interview with Dr. Harry Sidebottom
Gladiators are one of the most instantly recognizable yet alien aspects of Roman society, and Dr. Harry Sidebottom's new book - Those Who Are About to Die - offers a cutting-edge view of these fascinating entertainers based on the most recent research. We discuss what recent rese ... Show More
44m 44s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2023
Birth of Cornwall
<p>In the fifth century, Western Europe began remaking itself in the turmoil that followed the collapse of the Roman Empire.&nbsp;In south-west Britain, old tribal authorities and identities reasserted themselves and a ruling elite led a vibrant and outward-looking kingdom - toda ... Show More
35m 33s
Jul 2023
Medieval Eastern Europe
<p>From the Baltics to the Balkans, from Prague to Kiev, Eastern Europe is more than the sum total of its annexations, invasions and independence declarations.</p><br><p>In this episode of <em>Gone Medieval</em>, Matt Lewis meets Jacob Mikanowski, author of <em>Goodbye Eastern Eu ... Show More
32m 1s
Feb 2022
The Phoenician World
<p>Imagine you are a traveller sailing to the major cities around the Mediterranean in 750 BC. You would notice a remarkable similarity in the dress, alphabet, consumer goods, and gods from Gibraltar to Tyre. This was not the Greek world—it was the Phoenician. Based in Tyre, Sido ... Show More
1h 2m
Jun 2023
The Persian Empire(s)
Located roughly in the territory of the modern-day nation of Iran is the ancient region known as Persia.  Persia sat at a strategic crossroad between South Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, and Asia Minor. It was influenced not only by all of the great c ... Show More
13m 37s
May 2023
How the Mediterranean Created Wealth
<p>What does archaeology tell us about how regions in the Mediterranean built their wealth between the 10th and 12th centuries?&nbsp;How did economies grow in Egypt, Tunisia, Sicily, the Byzantine empire, Islamic Spain and Portugal, and north-central Italy? And what were their tr ... Show More
27m 42s
Sep 2023
The Legacy of Rome
<p>Rome has attracted aspiring conquerors and leaders for millennia, not just as a great metropolis, but as an idea. It has long been a symbol of military might and universal power, defined by political and religious authority as well as great feats of engineering that would leav ... Show More
23m 24s
Jan 2022
USS Indianapolis: Disaster at Sea | Abandon Ship | 1
<p>In the final weeks of World War II, the Navy cruiser U.S.S. Indianapolis was attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine in the middle of the Philippine Sea. The nine hundred survivors found themselves stranded in the middle of the open ocean, many without rafts or life vests, w ... Show More
42m 28s
Oct 2023
Kings of Medieval Ethiopia
<p>Overseeing a rich and diverse kingdom, Ethiopia’s medieval monarchs consolidated their power by claiming descent from the Biblical King Solomon. But why did they pursue long-distance diplomatic contacts with Latin Europe?&nbsp;</p><br><p>In this episode of <em>Gone Medieval</e ... Show More
38m 22s