

Ancient History Fangirl
Jenny Williamson and Genn McMenemy
An ancient history podcast run by two Millennial women. Misbehaving emperors, poison assassins, mythological mayhem; it’s like if Hardcore History met up with My Favorite Murder in the ancient world, with a heavy helping of booze and laughter.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 5, 2021 • 1h 4min
RE-RELEASE: War Elephants Part 2: Land Pirates of the Ancient World
We're on hiatus until September 2. Until then, please enjoy some of our favorite episodes from the back catalog.In this episode, the epic story of the elephant of war continues. Join noted elephant adventurers King Pyrrhus of Epirus (he of the Pyrrhic victory), Julius Caesar, Hannibal Barca, and Lady Trieu of Vietnam as they stomp their enemies into submission on the ancient battlefield.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 29, 2021 • 1h 47min
RE-RELEASE: Dionysus Part 1: Have You Heard the Good News (About Me?)
We're on hiatus until September 2. Until then, please enjoy some of our favorite episodes from the back catalog.Forget what you thought you knew about Dionysus and his cozy wine-drinking image. This is the Dionysus of Thrace. The Dionysus of Mithradates. Of Spartacus. Of revolutionaries across the classical world. This is the story of how one wandering god inspired people to rise up against injustice.In this episode, we look at Dio's origin story, his mythography, and how his journey across the ancient world followed in the steps of winemaking.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 22, 2021 • 1h 4min
RE-RELEASE: Amazons Part 2: Warrior Women of the Ancient Steppe
We're on hiatus until September 2. Until then, please enjoy some of our favorite episodes from the back catalog.Think the Amazons of Greek myth were mythical? Think again. The Greeks based their Amazons on the real-life warrior women next door.Centuries ago, ancient writers claimed that Scythian women of the Eurasian Steppe fought in battle alongside their men. Now, with modern bioarchaeology, the bones of real female warriors have emerged from their grave mounds and begun to speak to us. This is their story.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 15, 2021 • 1h 4min
RE-RELEASE: Locusta the Poisoner
We're on hiatus until September 2. Until then, please enjoy some of our favorite episodes from the back catalog.Ancient Rome was full of rich, ambitious social climbers in a cutthroat political environment—people who had enemies to get rid of, and deep pockets to pay for the service.Poison assassins were in high demand—and one of the most notorious was a woman named Locusta the Poisoner. Learn her story--and get a crash course on poison and poisonings in the ancient world.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 8, 2021 • 52min
RE-RELEASE: Stuff Alaric Said
We're on hiatus until September 2. Until then, please enjoy some of our favorite issues from the back catalog.On August 24, 410 AD, Alaric and the Visigoths sacked the city of Rome. Before he sacked it, he starved it. Before that, he went toe to toe with the Roman Empire for fifteen years—uniting disparate tribes, holding a people together, and achieving more against Rome than any barbarian leader before him.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 24, 2021 • 26min
End of Season 6 Announcement
We're going on hiatus! We'll be back September 2.Thank you so much for joining us on the wild ride that was Season 6. Listen in as we discuss some highlights and behind-the-scenes goings on, and find out what we've got planned for our upcoming season.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 10, 2021 • 1h 16min
Rivers of Old Londinium (With Ben Aaronovitch)
London began its life as Old Londinium—an informal trading community that sprang up around the narrowest point in the Thames, and was burned to the ground by Boudicca’s army just decades after its founding.This week, we asked bestselling urban fantasy author Ben Aaronovitch to take us on a tour of Old Londinium—say, the day before Boudicca’s arrival.Join us as we explore the streets and rivers of this diverse and enterprising trading town, and then wander all the way up Watling Street to Hadrian’s Wall. Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 27, 2021 • 1h 19min
Boudicca Part 3: Last Ride of the Iceni
The people of Camulodunum had found out the hard way that Rome’s promises of protection weren’t enough to save them from Boudicca’s rampaging army—and so did the people of London and Verulamium. Boudicca burned these cities to the ground, unleashing a cleansing fire that was seared into the British landscape.From there, Boudicca and her army set out on Watling Street, an ancient Iron-age road that led all the way to Wales—where the fires of rebellion still burned. If Boudicca could reach the Druids of Anglesey, perhaps together they could drive the Romans out of Britain for good.But first, she would have to get through the Roman general Suetonius Paulinus.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 13, 2021 • 1h 22min
Boudicca Part 2: Hares and Foxes Amongst the Wolves
When Boudicca rebelled against the Romans, she knew exactly who to turn to for allies: the Trinovantes.Years ago, the Romans had taken over their town, Camulodunum—and made it over into a veterans’ retirement colony, subjugating the Trinovantes in the process. When the opportunity came to drive the Romans out, they seized the opportunity.But many of those living in Camulodunum were Britons themselves—some who had been enslaved, and others trying to maintain an uneasy peace with the Roman conquerors. Find out what happened when Boudicca’s army rolled into their town.This episode was sponsored by the TimeTravelRome app: https://www.timetravelrome.com/Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 29, 2021 • 1h 12min
Boudicca Part 1: The Seeds of Rebellion
The story of Boudicca’s revolt is as epic as you can get. It’s got murder and pillage, Romans behaving badly, cities on fire, and a layer of destruction that was scorched into the earth. But it's also the story of a people on a precipice of great change.Who was Boudicca? Who was this iron-age warrior queen who stood up to the Romans—and whose name was so revered and feared that stories of her are still being spun almost 2,000 years later? In this episode, we’re going to find out.Get ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/ancienthistoryfangirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices