Autocrat- A Roman History Podcast

We set off from the burning rubble of Troy again- but this time instead of Odysseus, it's everyone's favourite serial kidnap victim Aeneas we are following! Join us for Carthage, Dido, very fast mural painters with very up-to-date information and Neptune advocating beaurocracy.Sources for this episode:Virgil (1976), The Aeneid. Translated by W. F. J. Knight. London: Penguin Books Ltd.

Odysseus. The man we accused of being a failure all throughout the Iliad and the Posthomerica. But will we like him any better during his own spin-off show? Join us for an extra long episode hosted by Vince's sister the Jingle-Jangler- who has studied the Odyssey and can help us condense it. Will Vince get increasingly frustrated at the inconsistency of Greek omens? Will Cassie have to employ increasing levels of sarcasm against Odysseus' flaws? Will the hosts become enraged at Odysseus, misogyny in the Greek world and Greek mythology in general? Find out with us!<...

This weekend was meant to be the release date for episode 80 on the Odyssey, but that has had to be pushed back because one of the hosts currently isn't in the country! The perils of international travel and its unexpected delays... In the meantime, this is a bit of a refresher on what our schedule is going to look like (as it's changed a fair bit over the last few months) and when you can expect episode 80 to air.

Agamemnon comes home to find consequences waiting for him in Argos. This sets off a chain reaction resulting in a cycle of violence swirling around Orestes, son of Agamemnon. We get scenes of Furies chasing him from Argos to Athens where his fate will get decided by a trial- with Apollo's only contribution being an attack on all women...Sources for this episode:Aeschylus (1977), The Oresteia. Translated by R. Fagles. London: Penguin Books Ltd.The Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica (date unknown) Zygote (online) (Accessed 27/08/2024).Frazer, J. G. (1921), Apollodorus: The Library (Volume I). London: William...

Now that the Iliad and the Posthomerica are both behind us, it is time for a recap of the craziness that has been the Trojan War! Join us for two mini quizzes, another opportunity to dunk on Achilles and a reminder that all that terrible nonsense the House of Tantalus got up to existed.

Autocrat sat down with Dean Kinzer, the President of Kinzer Coins, to discuss what coins from the Roman and ancient worlds can tell us about what it was like to live in those worlds. Join us for tales of devaluation in the third century, the lack of silver mines in the Byzantine period, and just whether Antoninus Pius was into bobbleheads.

Dominic Perry from the History of Egypt podcast joins us on the show to discuss the mythology of Egypt, its early history, and the state of Egyptian history at around about the time the fall of Troy is set in the 1180s BCE. Expect tales of conspiracies against Ramesses III, Sea Peoples, strife, and a look ahead at later Egyptian history and the last hieroglyphic inscriptions...Thanks so much to Dominic for appearing on the show! Find his podcast here:YouTube: @AncientEgyptHistWebsite: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.comInstagram: @egyptpodcastTikTok: @ancientegypthisSources and further reading for this...

It's all a done deal once that horse gets through the gates. Let's watch Troy crumble- and a heinous crime get committed which ultimately sees the Greek fleet scattered and broken as they set off for home. Oh, and some minor Trojan prince gets away from the burning city, but I'm sure that won't be relevant.Sources for this episode:Dionysus of Halicarnassus (1960), The Roman Antiquities (Vol. I). Translated by E. Cary. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd.Fitton, L. and Villing, A., The British...

It's finally time! As the Trojans are chased into the city, some bright spark (obviously it's Odysseus) suggests that we build a farmyard animal out of wood and push it in front of the Trojan gates! Let's shove some warriors in it and pretend to leave, then the Trojans will surely drag it into the city. But don't worry, there's no way they're foolish enough to actually go for it... Surely?Sources for this episode:Brown, S. P., West, S. A., Diggle, S. P. and Griffin, A. S. (2009), Social evolution in micro-organisms and...

Our alternative title today is Goodbye Paris. Either way, you can probably guess how this is going to go. But before we say farewell to everyone's favourite princess-kidnapper, let's see how his ex-wife feels about saving him! I'm sure there will be no hard feelings there... Right? Please? Oenone?Sources for this episode:The Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica (2015), Philoctetes (online) (Accessed 24/06/2025).Quintus Smyrnaeus (1934), The Fall of Troy. Translated by A. S. Way. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd.Author unknown, Google Maps (online) (Accessed 06/07/2025).Author unknown, Philoctetes (date unknown...

Eurypylus has been killing like there's no tomorrow- and it's up to a boy from Scyros to sort it out. Let's introduce Neoptolemus son of Achilles onto the world stage and watch him wreak havoc while the gods dance in between the lines.Sources for this episode:Quintus Smyrnaeus (1934), The Fall of Troy. Translated by A. S. Way. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd.Smith; W. (ed.) (1867), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. In Three Volumes (Vol. 1-3.). Boston: Little, Brown, And Company.Author unknown, Google...

Priam reaches out for help to yet another ally- this time the grandson of Heracles. Meanwhile, over in the Greek camp- or Greel if you believe Vince's mangled pronounciation- Ajax and Odysseus get into an argument over who gets Achilles' armour. I'm sure that will go swimmingly...Sources for this episode:Marks, A. and Tingay, G. (date unknown), Romans. London: Usborne Publishing.Quintus Smyrnaeus (1934), The Fall of Troy. Translated by A. S. Way. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd.Smith; W. (ed.) (1867), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography...

Here at Autocrat, we quite often cover a lot of mythical beasts. Examples would include the Lernaean Hydra which Heracles and Iolaus dealt with, the sphinx tormenting Thebes, and the sea monster Cetus which Perseus rescued Andromeda from.However, how possible would some of these creatures really be? Take, for example, the griffin and the hippogriff. We know what species create these two, so could we see whether the number of chromosomes they have make them feasible?Well, on today's episode, we re-release episode 67 of Biopedia to answer this very question!<...

On today's installment of the Trojan War, Apollo lands a well-aimed shot to finally lay Achilles low. Oh, and also a debate about chariots. That, and Vince may have rediscovered the reverb function on his Audacity. Either that, or we've been graced with a visit from the Greek gods. One of these two things.Sources for this episode:Arrian (1805), Arrian's Voyage Round the Euxine Sea (etc.). Oxford: S. Collingford.Graves, R. (1981), Greek Myths: Illustrated Edition. London: Cassell Ltd.Quintus Smyrnaeus (1934), The Fall of Troy. Translated by A. S. Way. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London...

Quintus Smyrnaeus may have been the least favourite child according to Autocrat lore, but he did give us a new source called the Posthomerica- a.k.a. the Fall of Troy- which takes us all the way to the end of the Trojan War! Our first two books of the Posthomerica see two different attempts by outside armies to rescue Troy- and they both go the same way...Sources for this episode:Quintus Smyrnaeus (1934), The Fall of Troy. Translated by A. S. Way. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann...

It's finally the end of the Iliad! But before we wrap up, we still have time for a few questions. For instance, are all Achilles' funeral games either problematic or rigged? Will Cassie pointing out errors in the script lead to an increasingly irate Vince? And will the Jingle-Jangler make a cameo? All that to come on the final part of the Iliad!Sources for this episode:Homer (1965), The Iliad. Translated by E. V. Rieu. Harmondsworth; Penguin Books Ltd.Author unknown, Theoi (date unknown), Sperkheios (online) (Accessed 03/04/2025).Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Spercheios...

It's been a long time in the making, but we finally get the fight between Achilles and Hector. Tune in for Priam and Hecabe trying to make their son see reason, a surprise cameo from Eddie Redmayne and how not to be respectful to your enemy's corpse...Sources for this episode:Homer (1965), The Iliad. Translated by E. V. Rieu. Harmondsworth; Penguin Books Ltd.

A shorter episode today discussing book XXI of the Iliad! Achilles goes round murdering people like there's no tomorrow, and one of the rivers he keeps flinging people into objects to this. Not only that, but we get more partisanship from the gods and an honouring of a grisly promise.Sources for this episode:Homer (1965), The Iliad. Translated by E. V. Rieu. Harmondsworth; Penguin Books Ltd.Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Scamander (online) (Accessed 03/04/2025).As also stated in the episode audio, there will be no episode for the next...

Patroclus is dead and Achilles is feeling seriously unhappy about it. And the Trojan army is going to know about it. But along the way, join us to give a sulking Odysseus a video game controller as a distraction and watch two grown men negotiate over a woman! Yay...Sources for this episode:Homer (1965), The Iliad. Translated by E. V. Rieu. Harmondsworth; Penguin Books Ltd.Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Antenor (Trojan) (online) (Accessed 22/02/2025).

We're sorry.Sources for this episode:Apollonius of Rhodes (1972), The Voyage of Argo. Translated by E. V. Rieu. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.The Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica (2018), Linus (online) (Accessed 31/03/2025).The Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica (2021), Lake Avernus summary (online) (Accessed 31/03/2025).Frazer, J. G. (1921), Apollodorus: The Library (Volume I). London: William Heinemann.Ovid (1968), Metamorphoses. Translated by M. M. Innes. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.Smith; W. (ed.) (1867), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. In Three Volumes (Vol. 1-3.). Boston: Little, Brown, And Company.Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Oeagrus (online) (Accessed 31/03/2025).