You’re probably familiar with the idea of godly pharaohs, menacing mummies and their deadly curses. But how much do you actually know about the fundamental facts of ancient Egyptian civilisation? In this first episode of our new series Ancient Egypt: the big questions, Emily Briffett is joined by curator and Egyptologist Campbell Price to chart ancient Egypt ... Show More
Yesterday
The hidden history behind Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore is one of the most iconic images in US history – but its story is far more complex and controversial than that of a simple sculpture. In this episode, historian Matthew Davis joins Elinor Evans to discuss his latest book, A Biography of a Mountain, which delves int ... Show More
40m 29s
Mar 3
Juana Inés de la Cruz: life of the week
She led “a life that really, in many ways, shouldn't have been possible”. So says historian Paul Gillingham of Juana Inés de la Cruz. This 17th-century polymath and nun challenged a host of social conventions – earning, through her extraordinary books and poems, a place in the pa ... Show More
30m 40s
May 2025
The Dark Side of Ancient Egypt
<p>When people talk about Ancient Egypt, they often focus on the amazing pyramids, mummies, and the advanced civilisation.</p><br><p>At After Dark, we love to explore the grim reality of all of this: what was life like for the people who built those pyramids? What happened if yo ... Show More
41m 41s
Sep 2024
Origins of the Egyptian Gods
<p>The legends of Ra and Hathor, of Osiris and Isis, of Anubis and Set have been passed from mouth to ear in Egypt for millennia. They were painted on temple walls, etched on delicate papyrus and discovered at the heart of the pyramids. But who were the Gods of Egypt? How did the ... Show More
46m 14s
Apr 2025
The Egyptian Sphinx
Measuring 240 feet long from paw to tail, and around the height of a six-story building, the Great Sphinx is one of Egypt’s most spectacular, and mysterious, monuments. Believed to have been built over four millennia ago, much of its story has been lost to history, and the rest i ... Show More
56 m
Feb 2013
06: Khufu's Great Pyramid
Khufu and the Great Pyramid. Around 2580 BCE, King Khnum-Khufu ("Khnum Protects Me") came to power. His reign lasted more than 25 years, and over this quarter century, Egyptians would build the largest pyramid in history...
Date c. 2580 - 2550 BCE, www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com ... Show More
31m 44s
Mar 2013
07: Khafra, He Appears Like the Sun
A forgotten heir; a Great Sphinx. Following the death of King Khufu, the throne passed to one of his sons, Djed-ef-Ra. Then, it passed to Khafra ("He Appears Like Ra"). These kings are important, but only Khafra is remembered thanks to his enormous pyramid and the Great Sphinx of ... Show More
37m 4s
Apr 2013
09: She Is Foremost (Khenty-kaus, Queen of Egypt)
Khenty-kaus, the Lady Ruler. Around 2500 BCE, Menkaure died without an heir. His sister Khenty-Kau-es ("She is Foremost") stepped into the vacuum and governed the state on behalf of her young sons. This was an interesting period, with a lasting impact on royal power...
Date c. 2 ... Show More
34m 39s