Six and a half years since we first started this journey, we finally have reached episode 100. Taking the least original approach possible, I decided to host another question and answer session to celebrate. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2024/10/05/100-qa-2-electric-boogaloo/) Bad Ancient - "Are the Homeric Epics an Accurate Source for the Bronze Age Aegean?" (https://www.badancient.com/claims/homeric-epics-source-bronze-age-aegean/) Natty Lifting - "Why Did Bronze Age Lifters Have Flat Chests?" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIcbKGilhME&pp=ygUXYnJvbnplIGFnZSBib2R5YnVpbGRpbmc%3D) 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)

<p>Hello everyone,</p><br /><p>Here are 3 podcast-related things you may be interested in.</p><br /><p><strong>Roman Graphic Novel</strong></p><p>Friend of the show Marco Capelli has made a comic book set in 6th&nbsp;century Italy. It follows two figures that we know about from an Ostrogothic jewellery collection that was discovered in 1938. A Roman Patrician Stephanus who marries a Gothic noblewoman Valatrud. They are subjects of King Theodoric who is trying to create a functioning Gothic-Roman kingdom in Italy. But their union comes shortly before Italy submerges into chaos. And Justinian sends Belisarius out to retake the home peninsula.</p><p>You can get your hands on a copy in English or Italian. In paper or in a digital format. Plus loads of other goodies are available from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/originespictae/ammianus-vesper-mundi?ref=1tae67" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Marco’s Kickstarter campaign</a>.</p><p>The Kickstarter ends on October 11th&nbsp;so act now.</p><br /><p><strong>Tour of Greece</strong></p><p>Lantern Jack, the host of the podcast Ancient Greece Declassified, is leading a tour to Greece.</p><p>It’s taking place from January 3rd&nbsp;to the 11th&nbsp;2025. And it visits every site connected with the famous war between the Persians and the Athenians and Spartans. If you want to go you will visit the Acropolis, the Straits of Salamis, Marathon, Eubeoa, Thermopylae, Delphi, Plataea and you’ll get to try on Hoplite Armour!</p><p>Click&nbsp;<a href="https://www.greecepodcast.com/tour4/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;to find out more</p><br /><p><strong>The History of Byzantium T-Shirts</strong></p><p>Finally my new friend Magnus who creates Roman themed merchandise on Etsy has created an actual History of Byzantium podcast t-shirt. Or I should say t-shirts. Branded with the podcast logo you have several to choose from. I’m sure they will light up any occasion you go to with looks of confusion and bewilderment. But I think they look beautiful.</p><br /><p>Check them out&nbsp;<a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/ImperialWares" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>. He also has t-shirts and mugs celebrating lesser figures than me – such as Constantine, Justinian, Basil II, Marcus Aurelius and others.</p><br /><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>When Andronikos' son dies he ponders whether to disinherit his Grandson Andronikos III. This prompts two bouts of civil war as the younger generation try to force change on their elders.</p><br /><p>Period: 1310-1328</p><br /><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Andronikos roles the dice and hires the Catalan Grand Company to fight the Turks. Those who advised the Emperor not to hire them could never have imagined just how badly things would go. Meanwhile Latin forces continue to take Aegean islands for themselves.</p><br /><p>Period: 1281-1303</p><br /><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>We look at Andronikos II Palailogos' domestic arrangements and European wars. After disbanding his fleet to save money the Emperor was repeatedly humiliated by the Venetians. We also look at the Emperor's personality to understand why he was not best suited to the difficult times he lived in.</p><br /><p>Period: 1281-1303</p><br /><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Our understanding the cosmos and our place in it has perplexed humanity for untold generations. The astronomers and geographers of the Hellenistic period were no different, looking to explain celestial phenomena and the nature of the Earth. Eratosthenes of Cyrene managed to calculate the circumference of the Earth to an astonishingly close value, Hipparchus did the same with the distance of the Moon, and Aristarchus of Samos proposed the earliest known model of heliocentrism 1800 years before Copernicus. The pinnacle of these theories came together was the incredible Antikythera Mechanism, the world's oldest analog computer, which will bring our series on science and technology to an end. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2024/08/30/099-hellenistic-science-geography-and-astronomy/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/099-hellenistic-science-astronomy-and-geography-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)

<p>The arrival of the Mongols in Anatolia would eventually lead to the expulsion of the Romans. Mongol dominance of the plateau sent waves of tribes into Byzantine territory. It was a crisis which the Emperor Andronikos was not equal to.</p><br /><p>Period: 1281-1303</p><br /><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>The Union of Lyons had unleashed bitter division within Byzantium. We follow Michael and his son Andronikos as they try to make peace with the various factions that had opposed them.&nbsp;</p><br /><p>Period: 1281-1310</p><br /><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>The Pope responds with despair to the news of Constantinople's fall. He calls for a Crusade to restore the Latin position. The man who answers is the brother of the King of France, Charles of Anjou. Michael Palaiologos is willing to do whatever it takes to stop them. This means he must agree to church union.</p><br /><p>Period: 1261-82</p><br /><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Michael VIII Palaiologos enters the city of Constantine for the first time. He has a lot of work to do to rebuild the city and restore its prestige. He must also navigate a complex diplomatic position which sees his forces in action on five fronts simultaneously.</p><br /><p>Period: 1261-5</p><br /><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

It's never easy coming up with your own origin story, and the ascendant Hellenistic dynasties tried their best to justify their legitimacy in an age of shifting alliances. PhD candidate Angus Jacobson joins the show to discuss the "Flight of Seleucus" story presented to us by Libanius of Antioch (314-392 A.D.), offering insights as to how the Successors used (or manipulated) events in their royal propaganda, and the challenges of separating fact from fiction. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2024/07/30/interview-the-flight-of-seleucus-and-dynastic-propaganda-with-angus-jacobson/) 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)

<p>We look at listener questions about this period of narrative. Were the Varangian Guard still employed at Nicaea? Had Greek Fire been lost? How many Emperors are actually Saints? Why did Nicaea win? Should they have moved back to Constantinople? Were the Romans Greeks now?&nbsp;</p><br /><p>Period: 1204-61</p><br /><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>