In Ancient Greece and the Roman empire homosexual relationships were an accepted and common practice. In this hyper-masculine society the male form was revered for its physical perfection while women’s virtue was jealously guarded to ensure the legitimacy of children. In Greece romantic and sometimes sexual relationships between older and younger men was see ... Show More
Jan 13
Lucrezia Borgia - The Pope’s Poison Princess?
For 500 years Lucrezia Borgia has been the focus of operas, novels, movies, and televisions shows. She was one of the inspirations for Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones. Nearly all of these works further her reputation as a femme fatale and one of the most evil women in history ... Show More
32m 40s
Dec 30
A History of Time: Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, Months & Years
Time, it marches on relentlessly outside of human control. But humanity has long found a variety of ways to mark our passage through the eons. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years. But why do we count our collective journey through the ages in these integers? A ... Show More
29m 33s
Feb 2022
Same-Sex Marriages in Renaissance Rome
<p>All this month on the <em>History Hit </em>family of podcasts, we've been marking LGBT+ History Month. To round off the month, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb investigates an extraordinary episode, long denied by scholars. In 1578, a same-sex community that gathered in a ... Show More
48m 21s
Sep 2023
Women who shaped the Roman empire
How do you surface the stories of women in the Roman empire, when the majority of ancient texts were written by men, telling of military victories and losses, or intrigues in the political arena? Speaking to Elinor Evans, Emma Southon chronicles the Roman empire through the stori ... Show More
42m 24s
Dec 2021
Homosexuality & Ancient Greece
Frederick the Great, Marie Antoinette and Oscar Wilde. Each of them have talked about, or been talked about in terms of, Ancient Greek ideas of homosexual love. From men taking on young apprentices, to Sappho’s yearning poetry, the Ancient Greek traditions have long been called u ... Show More
47m 59s