logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2024
44m 48s

Love, Betrayal, and the Battle for Rome ...

The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios
About this episode

HISTORY This Week returns with new episodes starting September 16th! In the meantime, listen to a favorite classic from the archives.


September 2, 31 BCE. Two camps prepare for battle off the coast of Greece. On one side is Octavian, Julius Caesar’s heir apparent. On the other, Marc Antony and his lover, the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. This battle won’t just determine the leader of Rome, but the fate of global civilization. How did Cleopatra wind up in the middle of a Roman game of tug of war? And how did the Battle of Actium change our world forever?


Special thanks to our guest, Barry Strauss, author of The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium.


This episode originally aired on August 29, 2022.


To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Oct 6
Stalin’s War on Genetics
October 11, 1955. Nearly three hundred of the Soviet Union’s top scientists sign a secret letter demanding the removal of one man: Trofim Lysenko. For decades, Lysenko had Joseph Stalin’s ear, ruling Soviet biology with an iron fist—banning genetics, rewriting textbooks, and send ... Show More
40m 38s
Sep 29
The Bone Wars
October 4, 1915. President Woodrow Wilson designates Dinosaur National Monument as a national historic site. That’s a big deal, right? There must’ve been a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony, maybe even a parade. But no. In 1915, nobody really cares about dinosaurs. But that is all ab ... Show More
35m 11s
Sep 22
When Nintendo (and Mario) Rescued Video Games
September 27, 1986. You’re a kid in the mid-80s. You get home from school, flip on the TV, and see something strange: a commercial where a giant egg hatches behind a family’s console, revealing a toy robot. His name is R.O.B. — the Robotic Operating Buddy — but he's just an acces ... Show More
30m 15s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2020
Cleopatra
Cleopatra echoes through history. But who really was she? Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) explore her life. We hear of her dreams for Egypt, her alliance with Rome and her love for Julius Caesar and later Mark Antony.----more---- We explore how she was maligned by Roman historia ... Show More
9m 59s
Sep 7
History of Ancient Rome, Part 1 of 2 - The Republic
This sleepy story about the History of Ancient Rome is the first of two parts, because there were too many things to say for one single episode. The next part about the end of the Republic and the Empire will be out soon. In this episode, I tell you about the origins of Rome, its ... Show More
1h 19m
Jun 2025
571. Hannibal: Roman Bloodbath at Cannae (Part 4)
How did the Battle of Cannae - one of the most important battles of all time for Ancient Rome, with a whole Empire at stake, and a reputation that had reverberated across the centuries - in 216 BC, unfold? What brilliant tactics did Hannibal adopt in order to overcome the Roman k ... Show More
1 h
Sep 2024
499. The Roman Conquest of Britain: Julius Caesar’s Invasion (Part 1)
Julius Caesar saw the Britons as brutal savages. Yet the Romans romanticised their lack of civilisation, deeming them as untainted by Mediterranean luxury. In 55 BC, after sending scouts along the Kentish coast, Caesar launched an invasion of the island as part of his Gallic Wars ... Show More
50m 48s
Jul 2023
Bonus History of Everything: The Monster Emperor Nero
Everyone we are going to start uploading the audio of some youtube episodes to the podcast channel. This is the first of that Series. The episode will post likely on tuesday, wednesday, or thursday of the week depending on the amount as well as filming so please enjoy. Nero Claud ... Show More
26m 27s
Oct 2024
Pyrrhus: Warlord of Ancient Greece
It’s 279 BC. On a large plain in Southern Italy near the town of Asculum, a famous Greek warlord likened to Alexander the Great faces down the legions of the Roman Republic. His name was Pyrrhus of Epirus. And the victory that he won at Asculum would come to define his legacy. In ... Show More
1h 7m
Nov 2024
Gladiator Women of Ancient Rome
Evidence shows us that women gladiators fought in front of baying crowds in Ancient Rome. Who were these women? How would these fights have played out? And what did the rest of Rome think of women taking up such a masculine space? Joining Kate is historian and expert in all thing ... Show More
34m 50s
Dec 2024
The Roman Caesars' Guide to Ruling
The Roman caesars were the rulers of the Roman Empire, beginning in 27 BC with Julius Caesar’s heir Augustus, from whom subsequent caesars took their name, and lasting until around the fall of the Western Empire in 476 AD. The caesars transitioned the Roman Republic to autocratic ... Show More
57m 14s
Jul 2024
Bonus! History Daily - Julius Caesar Crosses the Rubicon
Today I’m dropping a bonus episode to introduce you to one of my favorite history podcasts, History Daily. Every weekday host Lindsay Graham takes you back in time to explore an event that happened ‘on this day’ in history. The show covers everything from famous battles to fashio ... Show More
37m 46s