History of the World podcast

510 - 323 BCE - Greek Gods, Olympic Games, Oracle of Delphi, architecture, pottery, Great Dionysia, historians, science, mathematics, philosophy and education all rolled up into one complete episode.

With Athens a shadow of its former self, the road to glory was left open to the Spartans, but an old adversary called Thebes would have something to say about it.

447 - 404 BCE - The conflict reaches a defining climax as natural events and individual decisions involve much of the Greek speaking world.  Will it be Athens or Sparta who prevails?

479 - 447 BCE - The Persians had been expelled from the Balkan peninsula. Fate deals its hand to the Greek lands as the region heads towards further conflict.

480 - 479 BCE - The Achaemenid Persians were now able to march on Athens.  Would the Athenians stay and fight, or abandon their city?  Would the Spartans assist the Athenians, or would either polis put itself in front of their alliance now that the pressure was so high?

480 BCE - Following defeat at Marathon, the Persians were back.  Had the Greeks done enough to prepare for the return and would the interminably militant force of Sparta make the difference?

490 BCE - The Achaemenid Persians had been succesfully expanding their influence across the known world, but when the Athenians supported a revolt of Greek people within the Persian Empire, the Achaemenids sought revenge.

750 - 550 BCE - For a couple of centuries, the people of the Greek poleis all jumped into their boats and scattered in all directions.  Where were they going?  What were they doing?  Why were they doing it?

565 - 493 BCE - The Peisistratid tyranny came under pressure as Athens demanded democracy so vehemently that even the mighty Spartans could not impose their authority over the Athenians.

800 - 565 BCE - We walk through the journey of the Greek capital during the Archaic period and discover what this independent city did to avoid tyranny before succumbing to it.