035. Greco-Persian wars: A Tale of Two Tyrants

The battle of Salamis was the defining naval conflict of the ancient Greek world. Occurring in the wake of the Greek defeat at Thermopylae, the allied Hellenic fleet lined up in the narrow strait between mainland Attica and the nearby island of Salamis. Opposing them was the might of Persia's seabound forces. Although whittled down somewhat via storms, attrition and conflict, the Mede still outnumbered their opponents by a ratio of around 4 to 1.

Joining me to discuss the conflict is Cornell University Professor and esteemed author, Professor Barry Strauss.  Released in 2006, his work titled the Battle of Salamis was in the Professor's own words his 'love letter to Athens.' And it is to the Athenians that the lion's share of glory belongs to in this episode.

Although nominally under Spartan command, the backbone of the fleet was made up by Athenian citizens who, under the guidance of the visionary Themistocles, built a navy capable of withstanding the will of an eastern potentate. 

I hope you enjoy our discussion and, take good care.

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Thermopylae. The title is synonymous with a bygone age of glory, bravery and defiance. It is an event entirely pivotal to the Spartan story and indeed, of this podcast as well. The events at the hot gates were one of the few natural places a chronological history of the Spartans would assuredly cover. It would be fair to say I dragged it out for as long as possible, well we are here now.

I'm joined by Professor Paul Cartledge who is without a doubt the greatest living expert on Sparta, there could be no one more fitting to discuss this topic with. With his customary eloquence, breathtaking knowledge and passion for Laconia he takes us through those 3 fateful days that saw Leonidas and his brave 300 write their Polis' legend into the annals of history.

There were of course others who stood with the Spartans at the pass, but although mentioned, this isn't the podcast for their story. With the Professors help we zero in on the facts and the myth making that has made Thermopylae one of the most recognizable events of all those that have come down to us. 

I hope you all enjoy, and take good care.

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In the third installment of my Greco-Persian war series we take a look at the Interbellum. The years between Marathon and Thermopylae.  A pivotal decade for both Greek and Persian alike.

Alliances were an incredibly shaky proposition in ancient Greece but they would need something rock solid if they were to resist the coming enemy. We look at the Athenian naval build up during the period, the result of the visionary called Themistocles.

Fortunately for the allies, Sparta had at her command the Peloponnesian League but the city of Lycurgus had two very new kings, with unstable thrones, in power at the time. They missed Marathon, Greece could not afford for them to miss what came next.

Lastly, we'll head east and go into the detail around the build up of Xerxes' forces in Persia. He assembled a mighty army and navy, and the steps he took to get them to Greece were nothing short of astounding.

I hope you all enjoy, and take good care. 

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Second up for my Greco-Persian war series is the Battle of Marathon, fought in 490 BCE. The first time in living and recorded memory that a foreign invader attempted such a thing in Greece.

Joining me to discuss the events is author and historian, Dr Owen Rees. Owen specialises in warfare in the ancient world and has a penchant for dissecting the psychological effects it had on the ancient psyche.

I bring that specialisation to bear in concerning the aftermath of the battle, moreover Owen walks us through the build up to the conflict, the peculiarities of Athenian general Miltiades and gives a gripping retelling of the battle itself.

For anyone interested in getting in touch with Owen, his links will be below. Aside from that, I hope you all enjoy and take good care.

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EPISODE 35 A TALE OF TWO TYRANTS

The Greco-Persian wars were a series of truly tectonic engagements fought during the first half of the 5th century BCE. On one side was a lose coalition of free Greek cities versus the autocratic behemoth that was the Persian empire.

A real David and Goliath style conflict, with this episode I'll be kicking off a series on the conflicts to describe the period in as much detail as possible.

First up I take a look at the genesis behind the wars themselves, that is the Ionian revolt. Aristagoras of Miletus is often credited with stirring up a sense of nationalism amongst the cities of the Ionian coast, in western Turkey. From there his actions set the Greek world down a path to the serious engagements that would follow, Marathon, Thermopylae, Plataea and Salamis.

However, Aristagoras' position as tyrant was underpinned by his father-in-law, Histiaeus, the real tyrant of Miletus. The  story of the Ionian revolt is just as much about the former man as it is about the latter. We'll look deeper into both these tyrants stories and drill into the events surrounding the Ionian revolt.

Hope you all enjoy and take care.

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EPISODE 34 THE HISTORY OF PERSIA WITH TREVOR CULLEY

The Persian empire constituted the greatest threat to Greek independence the individual city-states had yet faced. Indeed, it was a threat of such dire concern that its degree wasn't  equalled until the Roman conquest of Greece in the 2nd century BCE.

As we are now embarking upon a series of episodes to tell the story of the Greco-Persian wars, it is only fitting that we take the time to introduce this eastern antagonist into our narrative. 

The History of Persia Podcast is hosted by podcaster, Trevor Culley. In common with my own show, Trevor is a real detail orientated individual who knows how to sweat the small stuff to add the richness necessary to any broad retelling of history. We are lucky enough to have his services in this interview episode to bring the Persian story up to the dawn of the 5th century, and the out break of hostilities between  the Greeks and Persians. 

I hope you all enjoy the chat and take care. 

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EPISODE 33 CLEOMENEAN SPARTA

Cleomenes the first sat upon the Agiad throne of Sparta from around 520 to 490 BCE. Although his downfall just preceded the advent of the Greco-Persian wars, his reign was nonetheless pivotal to ultimate Greek victory in those conflicts.

Despite the various levels of government in Sparta designed to curtail individual regel authority, Cleomenes practically dictated Spartan policy for the entirety of his rule.  Through sheer dynamism,  ruthlessness and often varying degrees of impiety his story is more or less the story of Sparta at the end of 6th and beginning of the 5th centuries.

He had his enemies within the city, namely his co-king Demaratus who headed up the anti-Cleomenean party. He also had his enemies without. Regardless of these, and also his many unsuccessful endeavours, Cleomenes ruled with an iron fist and brooked little to no dissent.

His life is a compelling tale that had everything from claims of illegitimacy, episodes of betrayal, sacrilegious intentions, and all the while the spectre of the Achaemenid  Persian empire and possible Hellenic subservience loomed in the background.

His end was sticky, and fittingly rife with controversy. However, he left Sparta and more broadly Greece, in a position to not only take on the most deadly threat Hellenic civilisation had yet seen,  but also to win glory in the face of it.

I hope you all enjoy and take good care.

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EPISODE 32 EMBASSIES AND ENEMIES

By the middle of the 6th century, Sparta was, through her alliances, the most powerful military force Hellas had yet seen. There was just one thorn in their side, one pressing issue that hadn't been sufficiently resolved, Argos. 

This time around I'll take an expansive look at the Argive history and break down the enmity between the two cities. Predictably, and it should come as no surprise, it will take war to settle the disputes.

Such power and prestige as they could now muster, the Spartans were being noticed on the world stage. King Croesus of Lydia to the west is desperate for aid against the encroaching Persians. He turns to Sparta, as the most powerful of the Greeks. We'll pick apart the story of Croesus and how it relates to Sparta.

Lastly the focus will be turned to the little known Spartan invasion of Samos in 525 BCE to oust the tyrant Polycrates. Using modern historical analysis, and the ancient source material, I hope to portray the implications of such an undertaking and the possibility of long standing Xenia relationships between Spartan and Samian families.

I hope you all enjoy and take care.

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EPISODE 31 A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN

Likely by around 550 BCE, Sparta had the most powerful military in ancient Greece. They used that to their favour and created a coalition of Peloponnesian cities all bound to Sparta through unequal treaties of relative, mutual alliance. Called the, Lakedaimonians and their allies by ancient authors we know this union as the, Peloponnesian League.

In the episode I get right into the nuts and bolts of how the early league formed and introduce a little of the background information for the individual polis as we go along.  Sparta used the 6th century to, whether by plan or providence, develop the Peloponnese into a fortress.

It was also a prison. One of the primary reason's for the league's creation was to ensure the Helot population was surrounded by states completely antithetical to their cause.

The end result saw Sparta Hegemon over the largest army Greece had seen since the mythical Trojan war. Leaving them prepared for an even bigger army, that of Xerxes at Plataea in 479 BCE. The land-based victory of the Greeks was a direct result of Spartan activities during the 6th century with the league being pivotal.

Hope you all enjoy, welcome back and take care.

If you're looking for other great history podcast's, checkout Feedspot's top 25 below. There's some awesome shows on the list.

https://blog.feedspot.com/ancient_history_podcasts/

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EPISODE 30 A SUMMARY OF LYCURGAN SPARTA WITH PROFESSOR PAUL CARTLEDGE

Over the past half a century no one has done more to forward the field of ancient Spartan research than Professor Paul Cartledge. His gravitas and authority on the topic are second to none and his eloquence in describing these ancient warriors is more akin to poetry than prose.

His presence on the Spartan History Podcast is most fitting, in that without his extensive body of work, the show would in all likelihood not exist.

This is the final episode on the topic of archaic, or more specifically Lycurgan, Sparta . Having previously described the different facets of Spartan societal, political and religious reforms I invited the Professor on to bring's his considerable knowledge to bear in a succinct summary of the time frame.

The conversation at certain points got extremely academic and specific in it's approach to the task of summary, just the way I like it. It added immense value to my understanding of this confusing era and I trust it adds value to your own.

Enjoy, and as always, take good care.

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