Épisodes

  • 113: The War of the Three Kings

    113: The War of the Three Kings
    Nov 24 2025
    Civil war continues to grip the Seleucid Empire, as Alexander I Balas is challenged by the young Demetrius II for the throne of Syria. Things come to a head when Ptolemy VI, tied by marriage to Balas through his daughter Cleopatra Thea, launches an invasion of Coele Syria. In August 145 BC, the armies of Demetrius, Alexander, and Ptolemy meet at the Oenoparus River in a showdown whose outcome will surprise everyone involved. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/10/14/111-the-seleucid-empire-the-elephant-in-the-throne-room/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/113-the-war-of-the-three-kings-transcript.pdf) Family Tree - Antiochus IV to Alexander I (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/reign-of-antiochus-iv-to-alexander-i.pdf) Family Tree - Ptolemy VI (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/reign-of-ptolemy-vi.pdf) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/hellenisticpod.bsky.social) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)
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    25 min
  • 112: The Seleucid Empire - Breaking the Hammer

    112: The Seleucid Empire - Breaking the Hammer
    Nov 5 2025
    The newly enthroned Demetrius I Soter managed to instill a degree of order throughout the Seleucid realm, crushing the would-be king Timarchos in Babylonia and the rebellion of Judas Maccabee. Yet his behavior abroad alienated many of the other kings like Attalus II of Pergamon and Ptolemy VI, who in turn bankrolled the ambitions of another Seleucid usurper: Alexander Balas, the (supposed) lost son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/112-the-seleucid-empire-breaking-the-hammer/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/112-the-seleucid-empire-breaking-the-hammer-transcript.pdf) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/hellenisticpod.bsky.social) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)
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    37 min
  • 111: The Seleucid Empire - The Elephant in the (Throne) Room

    111: The Seleucid Empire - The Elephant in the (Throne) Room
    Oct 14 2025
    With Antiochus IV Epiphanes’ death in Persia, the throne passed to the boy-king Antiochus V Eupator and his standing regent Lysias in 164. Between the Maccabean Revolt, would-be usurpers, and arrogant Roman emissaries, few of the kingdom’s subjects had faith in the ruling pair. This was sensed by Prince Demetrius, the son of Seleucus IV held hostage in Rome, who escaped captivity with the aid of Polybius of Megalopolis and returned to Syria to reclaim his birthright. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/10/14/111-the-seleucid-empire-the-elephant-in-the-throne-room/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/111-the-seleucid-empire-the-elephant-in-the-throne-room-transcript.pdf) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/hellenisticpod.bsky.social) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)
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    26 min
  • 110 Ptolemaic Egypt - Two's Company, Three's a Crowd

    110 Ptolemaic Egypt - Two's Company, Three's a Crowd
    Sep 20 2025
    In the aftermath of the Sixth Syrian War, the tripartite division of authority between Ptolemy VI , Cleopatra II, and Ptolemy VIII was a tenuous one at best, having to deal with rebellions of ambitious courtiers and disgruntled subjects. On top of this, the two brothers schemed for control over the Egyptian kingdom, and through their manipulations brought the intervention of the Roman Senate to handle one of the most dysfunctional families in all of antiquity. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/09/20/110-ptolemaic-egypt-twos-company-threes-a-crowd/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/110-ptolemaic-egypt-twos-company-threes-a-crowd-transcript.pdf) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/hellenisticpod.bsky.social) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)
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    34 min
  • 109: The Seleucid Empire - A Sinful Root

    109: The Seleucid Empire - A Sinful Root
    Sep 4 2025
    Despite the humiliation at Eleusis in 167 and the troubles in Judea, Antiochus organizes an enormous festival in Daphne to rival the games of Lucius Aemilius Paulus in Amphipolis, showcasing the prosperity of the empire that looked as strong as it ever had before. He would follow this celebration with an anabasis into the Upper Satrapies, but would die in Iran in November 164, and the dynasty would begin on a dark path towards its eventual decline. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/09/04/109-the-seleucid-empire-a-sinful-root/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/109-the-seleucid-empire-a-sinful-root-episode-transcript.pdf) Family Tree - Seleucus IV to Antiochus IV (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/reign-of-seleucus-iv-to-antiochus-iv.pdf) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/hellenisticagepodcast) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)
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    21 min
  • 108: The Seleucid Empire - The Maccabean Revolt

    108: The Seleucid Empire - The Maccabean Revolt
    Aug 26 2025
    The tension between the various factions vying for power in Jerusalem leads to a crisis, when Antiochus IV retaliates by attacking the city and plunders its famed Temple in 168. A wave of persecutions against Jewish religion and customs inspires a rebellion, spearheaded by Judas Maccabee (“the Hammer”) and the Hasmonean family, who achieve victories against the Seleucid crown to reclaim and purify the Temple, later the basis for the holiday of Hanukkah. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/08/26/108-the-seleucid-empire-the-maccabean-revolt/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/108-the-seleucid-empire-the-maccabean-revolt.pdf) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/hellenisticagepodcast) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)
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    46 min
  • 107: Jews and Judaism from Alexander the Great to Antiochus III

    107: Jews and Judaism from Alexander the Great to Antiochus III
    Jul 30 2025
    In this episode, we delve into the history of the Jews – both in the homeland of Judea and the many communities of the Diaspora. From the conquests of Alexander, the Jews navigated through a new paradigm that favored “Greekness” and embraced many aspects of Hellenistic culture, while also trying to uphold the Laws of Moses that linked them back to the glory days of Solomon and David. The flowering of diasporic literature, such as the creation of the Septuagint, was one byproduct of Judeo-Greek interaction. Yet tensions with the Hellenistic monarchies could lead to severe unrest, as will eventually culminate in the Maccabean Revolt. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/07/30/107-jews-and-judaism-from-alexander-the-great-to-antiochus-iii/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/107-jews-and-judaism-from-alexander-the-great-to-antiochus-iii-transcript.pdf) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/hellenisticagepodcast) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)
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    46 min
  • Interview: "The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World" with William Dalrymple

    Interview: "The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World" with William Dalrymple
    Jun 15 2025
    Historian and broadcaster William Dalrymple (“The Company Quartet“, “Empire“) joins the podcast to discuss his latest book “The Golden Road“. A survey covering from antiquity to the early medieval period, the book seeks to address India’s far-reaching (and often forgotten) influence across the entirety of Eurasia, from tracking the spread of religions like Buddhism and Hinduism, investigating the growing evidence of Indo-Roman trade, and even down to the invention of “Arabic” numerals based on Indian scripts and mathematics. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/06/15/interview-the-golden-road-how-ancient-india-transformed-the-world-with-william-dalrymple/) William Dalrymple: https://williamdalrymple.com/ https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/golden-road-9781639734146/ https://x.com/DalrympleWill Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)
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    46 min