

Casting Through Ancient Greece
Mark Selleck
A podcast about the history of ancient Greece for people new to and familiar with Ancient Greek history.The Casting Through Ancient Greece podcast will focus on telling the story of Ancient Greece starting from the pre history through Archaic Greece, Classical Greece and up to the Hellenistic period. Featured throughout the podcast series will be Major events such as the Greek and Persian wars, The Peloponnesian war and Alexander the Greats war against Persia. www.castingthroughancientgreece.com for more resources and creditsSupport the series at www.patreon.com/castingthroughancientgreecefacebook: casting through ancient greeceTwitter: @casting_greece
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 27, 2021 • 44min
37: Herodotus, The Father of Lies
Herodotus; The Father of Lies.“Because it is simple and lacking in effort and easily runs over events, has thoroughly deceived many people” (Plutarch, on the Malice of Herodotus)Plutarch would be but one historian to level criticisms at Herodotus from the ancient past all the way through to our times. Often, we see the common title given to Herodotus, the Father of History turned on its head to, Herodotus, the Father of Lies, due to his willingness to include strange and wonderful tales. We will look at a number of aspects that have been used to criticise Herodotus over the ages, with us beginning with the sources he used, were they to be trusted in themselves. As we will discover there is no easy answer to this since Herodotus’ sources would be wide ranging.Next, we will then turn to the reliability of Herodotus’ reporting of his sources and other various means of collecting information. Once again, we will explore some examples and see the challenge before him with such a diverse range of sources to make sense of subjects. Herodotus would also be the target of click bait articles and online forums in our time. Though, we will see often these arguments misrepresent him and miss what Herodotus even tells us in his accounts. We will look at examples involving gold digging ants, Cyclopes’ stealing gold from griffins and the millions of Persians at Thermopylae. One thing I tell people to keep in mind when reading Herodotus, Herodotus wasn’t attempting to invent history. This was a title later ascribed to him because of the novel way he was presenting information in his time. Herodotus may well be the father of history, but like a child history would grow and mature over time, becoming what it is today. Todays episodes sponsor is Hello FreshHead to Hello Fresh here to receive $80 Discount ($50 - $20 - $10) Including Free Shipping on your First Box! with the code HFAFF80Todays book recommendation is A Commentary on Herodotus: Vol 1 & Vol 2Support the show💬 Stay Connected with Casting Through Ancient GreeceFollow us for updates, discussions, and more ancient Greek content:🌐 Website📸 Instagram🐦 Twitter📘 Facebook 🎙️ Love the show? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with fellow history enthusiasts. Your support helps keep the stories of ancient Greece alive!

Aug 13, 2021 • 43min
36. Herodotus: The Father of History
“Herodotus of Halicarnassus here presents his research so that human events do not fade with time. May the great and wonderful deeds – some brought forth by the Hellenes, others by the barbarians – not go unsung; as well as the causes that led them to make war on each other.”Herodotus, ProemThese are the opening lines from the oldest surviving work of history in the western world and would open so much more than just an account of the Greek and Persian wars.In this first episode on Herodotus, we will look at who Herodotus was, as much as the known information lets us. We will also turn to looking at what his ambitious work, the Histories would cover. There is so much more than just a historical account, with geography, anthropology, ethnography, folklore and even hints of Philosophy.His work would be broken up into nine books into the medieval period, each book denoting a scroll that the Histories was originally written on. Within these books would be many digressions that Herodotus would become well known for and where we see many of the elements that would make this so much more than a history come into play.We also look at the potential sources Herodotus would have used, from written accounts, his enquires and his own observations. We take for granted the process of gathering sources today, but back 2500 years ago there would have been a number of hurdles for someone seeking reason for events in the past. Todays episodes sponsor is Hello FreshHead to Hello Fresh here to receive $80 Discount ($50 - $20 - $10) Including Free Shipping on your First Box! with the code HFAFF80Todays book recommendation is Landmark Herodotus Support the show💬 Stay Connected with Casting Through Ancient GreeceFollow us for updates, discussions, and more ancient Greek content:🌐 Website📸 Instagram🐦 Twitter📘 Facebook 🎙️ Love the show? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with fellow history enthusiasts. Your support helps keep the stories of ancient Greece alive!

Jul 30, 2021 • 44min
35: The Greco-Persian Wars
The Greco-Persian Wars:The Greek and Persian wars would be a defining moment in the Greek world helping shape the trajectory of development in Greece and around the Aegean for time to come. Even today a detailed ancient account survives describing the events of 2500 years in what is one of the oldest works of history. Herodotus who has been labelled the father of history would be born during the wars and would travel the Greek world later in life collecting all he could, so as to understand what brought the Greeks and Persian to make war.In this episode we will be looking back at the last 18 episodes that looked at the Greco-Persian Wars and try and tie everything together, so as to refresh ourselves on all that has taken place over the 21 years since the Ionian revolt. This will then put us in a good position to then move on with the narrative of the series.The Greek and Persian Wars are often seen as beginning with the decision by Athens and Eretria to send ships to aide the Ionian revolt. Herodotus would say; “These ships were the beginnings of evil for both Hellenes and Barbarians”. The revolt would ultimately fail and Persian attention would now be focused on Greece.Two main invasions would be launched that would directly attack Greece, these coming in 490 BC and 48 BC. In these two invasions we see some of the most well know battles take place such as Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis. Though some lesser known would also be fought, but just as, if not more important battles, Plataea, Mycale and Artemisium.The Greeks would end up defeating the Persian invasions but this wouldn’t see the end of operations. The Persian threat still loomed large in their minds and measures were taken to strengthen themselves against any further invasions. This as we move forward in the series would have consequences shaping politics and relations as the years past.Todays episodes sponsor is Hello FreshHead to Hello Fresh here to receive $80 Discount ($50 - $20 - $10) Including Free Shipping on your First Box! with the code HFAFF80Todays book recommendation is Persian Fire by Tom Holland Support the show💬 Stay Connected with Casting Through Ancient GreeceFollow us for updates, discussions, and more ancient Greek content:🌐 Website📸 Instagram🐦 Twitter📘 Facebook 🎙️ Love the show? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with fellow history enthusiasts. Your support helps keep the stories of ancient Greece alive!

Jul 16, 2021 • 59min
Interview: Mark Adams
In this interview Episode I sit down and chat with the author Mark Adams about his book, "Meet me in Atlantis". We talk about his experiences and what he learnt about Plato's tale of the lost city of Atlantis. He also talks about the many people he met during his research for the book and where he also tells their stories.MARK ADAMS is the author of the acclaimed history Mr. America, which The Washington Post named a Best Book of 2009, and the bestsellers Tip of the Iceberg, Meet Me in Atlantis and Turn Right at Machu Picchu, which has been named one of the fifty greatest adventure books of all time. His work has appeared in many national publications, including GQ, the New York Times, and Rolling Stone. He has appeared as a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Howard Stern Show, NPR Weekend Edition and other programs. Recently, two of his articles for Men's Journal were selected by the editors for their list of the magazine's ten best stories of the 2010s. He is currently working on a new book about the Catholic monk Thomas Merton's historic 1968 pilgrimage to study Buddhism in the Himalayas.www.markadamsbooks.com Find Mark Adams' books on Amazon Support the show💬 Stay Connected with Casting Through Ancient GreeceFollow us for updates, discussions, and more ancient Greek content:🌐 Website📸 Instagram🐦 Twitter📘 Facebook 🎙️ Love the show? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with fellow history enthusiasts. Your support helps keep the stories of ancient Greece alive!

Jul 2, 2021 • 1h 30min
34: Persia's Greek War with Trevor Culley
We have now reached the end of the Greco-Persian Wars, but with most of our sources focusing on the Greek experience and perhaps not giving us a completely accurate picture of the Persians. In this episode we are going to delve deeper into Persia’s experience in the Wars, look at their motivations and what led them to, ultimately being unsuccessful. To do this I have invited Trevor Culley from the History of Persia Podcast to come on and share his knowledge about the Persians with us, and help us look at the Persian perspective during the Wars. Trevor’s personal experience with both Persian history and podcasts began with a college extra credit assignment to listen to the first Hardcore History episode on the Achaemenids. He was instantly enthralled with the stories of the Kings of Kings and coming a little late to the party, started listening to podcasts. On one hand, He started heading down the road toward PhD that will let him study ancient Persia for a living. On the other, as he binged his way through both the History of Rome and early episodes of the History of Byzantium he was always excited for the episodes dealing with the Parthians and Sassanids. Trevor was surprised and disappointed to discover that there was not a similarly dedicated podcast dealing with the great empires east of Rome. This would inspire and motivate him to create the History of Persia Podcast back at the start of 2019.History of Persia Links:WebsiteFacebookTwitterSpotifyiTunesSupport the show💬 Stay Connected with Casting Through Ancient GreeceFollow us for updates, discussions, and more ancient Greek content:🌐 Website📸 Instagram🐦 Twitter📘 Facebook 🎙️ Love the show? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with fellow history enthusiasts. Your support helps keep the stories of ancient Greece alive!

Jun 18, 2021 • 43min
33: Persia in Defeat
The Persian Empire had launched its first invasion against Greece in 492 BC after their involvement in the Ionian revolt. The campaign that came across the Aegean Sea would fall short of capturing Athens in 490 BC at the Bay of Marathon, seeing the invaders withdraw back into the empire. Though, Greece was not forgotten, Xerxes the new king launching the second invasion in 480 BC.The second invasion would see one of the largest forces ever assembled to march west, heading through northern lands into Greece. This invasion would see a number of land and naval battles fought over the next two years. Defeats at Salamis, Plataea and Mycale would see the second invasion stopped with the Persians failing in subjugating all of Hellas.How did the Persian army being the size it was fail to capture Greece? Had their equipment and training been up to the same standard as the Greeks? Had they underestimated the way the Greeks fought, with their lands and armies quite different to what they encountered in the east. Or had their sheer size and reliance on various nations for their numbers brought them undone? Although the Greeks had won a major victory with it defining a generation, how did this affect the Persian Empire? Victory verses defeat is not often a zero-sum game. The Greek theatre was on the extreme western fringe of the Empire and the integrity of the Persian Empire remained intact. But the defeat and the ongoing operations would have consequences as the decade’s past. Support the show💬 Stay Connected with Casting Through Ancient GreeceFollow us for updates, discussions, and more ancient Greek content:🌐 Website📸 Instagram🐦 Twitter📘 Facebook 🎙️ Love the show? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with fellow history enthusiasts. Your support helps keep the stories of ancient Greece alive!

Jun 4, 2021 • 34min
32: Victory in Greece
The Hellenic league had now been victorious in two major engagements of 479 BC, at Plataea on the Greek mainland and Mycale in Persian territory. This would effectively see the end of the Persian invasion, and the Greeks victorious. Though, this was not immediately apparent and measures would be taken in the years to come to make sure they would not return.With the Greek victory, a responsibility to honour the gods that had assisted them needed to be attended to. One did not want to risk offending a god who had helped their city, or disaster could be just around the corner. The various polies would construct monuments and sanctuaries over the years after the victory to show their gratitude. At Delphi, a collective monument would be constructed that listed all of the Greek cities who had been the defenders of Greece.Back on the ground in Greece after Plataea, mopping up operations continued as Pausanias camped with the army on the Boeotian plains outside of Thebes. His focus now shifted to having the city answer for their crime of Medizing. Operations would also continue off the coast of Anatolia, with the fleet now making for the Hellespont and clearing Persian garrisons on this vital trade route.With the campaign season of 479 coming to a close the Greeks contingents would now make for the safe ports of their various city states and Islands. But this would not be the end of operations in the Aegean. This could be seen as the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. The decisions and events that would follow, would have ramifications for generations to come. Support the show💬 Stay Connected with Casting Through Ancient GreeceFollow us for updates, discussions, and more ancient Greek content:🌐 Website📸 Instagram🐦 Twitter📘 Facebook 🎙️ Love the show? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with fellow history enthusiasts. Your support helps keep the stories of ancient Greece alive!

May 31, 2021 • 1h 37min
Interview: Jeff Murray
Jeff Murray is a pen and ink artist that creates intricate works on canvas inspired by exploration and travel. He resides and has setup a studio in a rural setting in the UK where he can peruse his passion in a peaceful environment.Many of Jeff's works explore the various cities and continents of the world from a very unique perspective. While he has also been inspired by the natural world, either incorporating these elements into his works or taking them as the subject for the piece.Recently Jeff has been exploring the ancient world and making this the subject of some of his most recent works. He has been absorbed in the stories of ancient times through works of history, art, myths, podcasts and even video games. From this he has taken what he has learnt and reimagined these times and stories and translated them onto canvas.In this interview I sit down with Jeff and explore his journey as an artist and then we move onto looking at his Greek and ancient world inspired pieces.For 10% off Jeff's latest creation, Seven, head to www.jeffmurray.co.uk and apply the coupon code "SEVEN10" when checking out (Valid until the 8th June 2021)Visit Jeff’s studio at www.jeffmurray.co.ukFacebook: www.facebook.com/ArtistJeffMurray Instagram: www.instagram.com/jeff_murray_artSupport the show💬 Stay Connected with Casting Through Ancient GreeceFollow us for updates, discussions, and more ancient Greek content:🌐 Website📸 Instagram🐦 Twitter📘 Facebook 🎙️ Love the show? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with fellow history enthusiasts. Your support helps keep the stories of ancient Greece alive!

May 21, 2021 • 38min
31. The Battle of Mycale
The battle of Plataea had been fought and won on the plains of Boeotia, seeing the Persian land forces finally defeated. Though, this wasn’t the end of the campaign, there was still yet another battle to be fought. Tradition would have it that it took place on the very same day as the victory at Plataea. This would see a transition in operations, now seeing the war arrive in Persian territory.The Greek fleet had also been preparing for operations as the campaigning season of 479 BC approached. The navy commanded by the Spartan king Leotychidas had set up base at the island of Delos after being approached by some Ionian exiles to support a revolt in Anatolia. Leotychidas was reluctant, he commanded a much smaller fleet than what had sailed the previous year. The Athenians yet to join the rest of the fleet.Diplomatic manoeuvrings with Sparta may explain the Athenian absence, but perhaps compromise between the two would finally see the Hellenic fleet more than double in size with the Athenians arrival. We are told a Samian delegation to the Greek fleet would finally see it sail, but this influx of ships would have seen Leotychidas become more confident in sailing east. The Hellenic league now made its way to the Persians based at Samos.The Persians would be alerted to the Greeks presence and fell back to the Anatolian coast, beached their ships and prepared defences at Mount Mycale. The Greeks pursued and what had begun as a naval operation would now be decided on land. The Greek victory here at Mycale would see Ionia once again break out in revolt while further operations from the Hellenic league would continue in the Aegean and Hellespont.Support the series at:https://www.patreon.com/castingthroughancientgreece?fan_landing=trueor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/castinggreeceSupport the show💬 Stay Connected with Casting Through Ancient GreeceFollow us for updates, discussions, and more ancient Greek content:🌐 Website📸 Instagram🐦 Twitter📘 Facebook 🎙️ Love the show? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with fellow history enthusiasts. Your support helps keep the stories of ancient Greece alive!

May 7, 2021 • 1h 25min
30. Collaboration Episode: Part 1 Featuring Spartan History Podcast
For this episode I take a break from our narrative to bring you a collaboration that I had teamed up with Steve from Spartan History Podcast to record. We went into this conversation without any scripts and just a rough plan of what we wanted to cover. Steve’s series, Spartan History Podcast, takes a deep dive into the history of the Spartans, beginning back in Mythological times. He is currently in the stages of how the institutions and practices that would define the Spartans were developing. I would encourage everyone to check out his series as I am sure you will learn some elements about the Spartans that I bet you didn’t know about before.For this episode we begin by talking about ourselves and how we got into the podcasting world. We also look at what drew up towards Ancient Greek history. The conversation then evolved of many different tangents around Greek history, but we would come to focus on three many areas. I would look at the founding of Democracy in Athens with the early stages of its development. Steve then takes us for a closer look at Lycurgus and the question of if he was a historical figure. We then turn to the Greek and Persian War looking at who out of Athens and Sparta had been the most influential in their victory of Persia.The collaboration has been split over two parts, with this episode being part 1. Part two is hosted on Steve’s show over at Spartan History Podcast. Below are a number of links to help you find his show and his social media pages, though he is easily found on all good podcast platforms.www.spartanhistorypodcast.comSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2oYdMfzDbVzJUrddjpFF6eiTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/spartan-history-podcast/id1489152895Twitter: @Spartan_HistoryFacebook: Spartan History PodcastSupport the show💬 Stay Connected with Casting Through Ancient GreeceFollow us for updates, discussions, and more ancient Greek content:🌐 Website📸 Instagram🐦 Twitter📘 Facebook 🎙️ Love the show? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with fellow history enthusiasts. Your support helps keep the stories of ancient Greece alive!