logo
episode-header-image
Yesterday
53m 7s

How Homer's Odyssey Conquered the Ancien...

Vespucci
About this episode
Ever since the Odyssey was composed, people have retold the story, played with it or used it as a departure point for similar or related stories. In this episode, Mary and Charlotte look at what happened next. How the Odyssey inspired other writers long before Christopher Nolan thought of adapting it for the big screen.  As now, the ancients were drawn ... Show More
Up next
Sep 3
The Vestal Virgins - just how virginal were they?
Few elements of ancient Rome have inspired quite such lurid speculation – by the Romans as well as ourselves – as the vestal virgins. Mary and Charlotte enter the (imaginary) temple of Vesta to separate fact from myth. The Vestal Virgins were six (at any given time) priestesses w ... Show More
54m 6s
Aug 27
Classic Chats: Robert Harris on ‘Agrippa’
Mary and Charlotte talk to best-selling author Robert Harris about his new novel ‘Agrippa’. Robert Harris has published 16 novels, of which nine have been made into films, including The Ghost Writer, Enigma and the Oscar-winning papal thriller Conclave. Five of Robert’s novels ar ... Show More
54m 27s
Aug 20
Marcus Agrippa: Power behind the throne
Of all the Roman Emperors, Augustus has the reputation of being the most… well… august. That is to say, competent, level-headed and judicious. Not to mention one of the few who died of natural causes. But, according to Mary and Charlotte, the main reason Augustus got anything don ... Show More
54m 8s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2019
Sappho
Sappho is described as the greatest female poet of ancient Greece. Or, the greatest Greek lyric poet, period. Her reputation as one of the world’s finest poets has persisted for more than 2500 years, but the overwhelming majority of her work has not. Learn more about your ad-choi ... Show More
35m 9s
Apr 2015
Sappho
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Greek poet Sappho. Born in the late seventh century BC, Sappho spent much of her life on the island of Lesbos. In antiquity she was famed as one of the greatest lyric poets, but owing to a series of accidents the bulk of her work was lost t ... Show More
46m 2s
Feb 2022
Sappho: The Poet from Lesbos
<p>Famous throughout antiquity, yet retold only in fragments today - who is Sappho?&nbsp;Her poetry inspired generations, from Catullus to Byron, so how come we know so little about her life? This week Tristan is joined by Professor Margaret Reynolds from Queen Mary University in ... Show More
32m 20s
Nov 2015
4 Sappho
Ancient Greece viewed her as Homer’s poetic equal; Plato referred to her as the “tenth muse.” As a fearless and lyrical chronicler of female desire, she had a profound impact on literature and society. Author Jacke Wilson takes a look at the genius of Sappho, the first great fema ... Show More
29m 27s
Dec 2020
Poetess of the Ancient World, Sappho (with Ellie and Alyse of the Sweetbitter Podcast)
Finally, Sappho! Along with Ellie and Alyse of the Sweetbitter podcast devoted to her, Liv discusses Sappho, the very real Greek poet and overall badass woman. Make sure to subscribe to the Sweetbitter podcast where ever you listen, or visit sweetbitterpodcast.com. Liv is on thei ... Show More
58m 4s
May 2022
Homer
<p>The Iliad and the Odyssey are two of the world’s most famous poems. But who was their author, Homer, and how have his name and poems survived so long, preserved for almost 3 millennia?</p><br><p>In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan is joined once again by author, classicis ... Show More
51m 35s
Feb 2021
Where do we get the term “lesbian”?
The word "lesbian" comes from the name of the Greek island of Lesbos, which is the homeland of the poetess Sappho. Sappho is an ancient Greek poetess who lived in the 7th and 6th centuries BC, in Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos. Because she was inhabitant of the island of ... Show More
2m 30s
Mar 2025
The Iliad
<p>A story of war, honour, and destiny, <em>The Iliad</em> is one of the greatest epics in history. Written by Homer and featuring legendary figures like Achilles, Hector, and Agamemnon, it captures the drama and devastation of the final days of the Trojan War.</p><br><p>In this ... Show More
53m 28s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami