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Ryan Stitt

The History of Ancient Greece Podcast is a deep-dive into one of the most influential and fundamental civilization in world history. Hosted by philhellene Ryan Stitt, THOAG spans over two millennia. From the Bronze Age to the Archaic Period,  from Classical Greece to the Hellenistic kingdoms, and finally to the Roman conquest, this podcast will tell the history of a fundamental civilization by bringing to life the fascinating stories of all the ancient sources and scholarly interpretations of the archaeological evidence. And we won't just detail their military and political history, but their society, how the Greeks lived day-to-day, as well as their culture—their art, architecture, philosophy, literature, religion, science, and all the other incredible aspects of the Greek achievement , while situating the Greeks within a multicultural Mediterranean whose peoples influenced and were influenced by one another.

The History of Ancient Greece

The first part of this episode is a brief introduction to the podcast (who I am, what my motivation is for doing this, and what I hope to achieve), and in the second part, we describe the geography of Greece (Hellas) and its natural resources
 
Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/04/001-let-there-be-greece.html

001 Let There Be Greece!

In this episode, we take a look at Creation, according to the Greeks; the Titanomachia, the Gigantomachia, and the ascendancy of the Olympian Gods; the creation of the first humans; the story of Prometheus and the first woman, Pandora; Deucalion and the great flood; and the progenitors of the various Greek tribes
 
Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/04/002-greek-genesis.html

002 The Greek Genesis

In this episode, we leave the realm of myth and trace the development of early primate/human activity in Greece in the Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Age), culminating in the domestication of plants and animals, the rise of the earliest villages, and the development of metallurgy in the Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)
 
Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/04/003-stone-age-greece.html

003 The Stone Age

In this episode, we discuss the archaeological evidence for the early Bronze Age on mainland Greece and the Cycladic Islands; the arrival of the Indo-Europeans in Greece (known as the proto-Greeks); and the rediscovery and excavation of three legendary Bronze Age cities (Troy, Knossos, and Mycenae) in the latter part of the 19th century AD by the infamous Heinrich Schliemann and Sir Arthur Evans that brought to light the Bronze Age peoples who would become known as the "Minoans" and "Mycenaeans"
 
Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/04/004-early-bronze-age-greece.html

004 Early Bronze Age

In this episode, we discuss the myths and archaeological evidence for the Minoans on Crete, who were an early source of cultural inspiration for the Mycenaean Greeks; the palace complex (labyrinth) at Knossos; the volcanic eruption that blew apart the island of Thera (Santorini) in the mid-17th century BC, which was a catalyst for the decline of the Minoan civilization (and perhaps was the inspiration for Plato's infamous Atlantis); the ultimate subordination of the Minoans by the Mycenaean Greeks in the 15th and 14th centuries BC; and the decipherment of Linear B (an early form of Greek) by Michael Ventris in the mid-20th century AD
 
Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/04/005-minoan-crete.html

005 Minoan Crete

In this episode, we discuss the archaeological evidence of the Mycenaean Greeks of the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1650-1250 BC), particularly from the major palace centers at Mycenae, Tiryns, and Pylos; what the Linear B tablets can tell us about their society, economy, and religion; and their extensive trade network throughout the Mediterranean
 
Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/04/006-mycenaean-greece.html

006 Mycenaean Greece

In this episode, we briefly discuss the Trojan War myth; the historical evidence for Mycenaean conflict in the eastern Mediterranean and Anatolia (by looking at the Egyptian and Hittite records); the archaeological evidence for layer VI and VII on the citadel of Hisarlik, i.e. ancient Troy (Wilion/Ilion); the Bronze Age collapse in both Greece and the Near East and its possible causes/explanations; the mysterious group of people known as the "Sea Peoples"; and the so-called "Dorian Invasion" of Greece
 
Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/04/007-late-bronze-age-collapse.html

007 Late Bronze Age Collapse

In this episode, we discuss the archaeological evidence for the early "Dark Age" during the 11th and 10th centuries BC, particularly at the site of Nichoria in Messenia and the pottery of the Sub-Mycenaean and Protogeometic periods; the emigration of mainland Greeks to the Aegean islands and the western coast of Anatolia; and the first great author of ancient Greece, the mysterious Homer, who gives us insight into early Dark Age society and culture through his two great epic poems—the Iliad and the Odyssey
 
Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/05/008-dark-age-and-homer.html

008 The "Dark Age" and Homer

In this episode, we discuss the archaeological evidence for the late "Dark Age" during the 9th and early 8th centuries BC, especially the Heroon at Lefkandi and the Keremeikos at Athens; Greece's cultural reawakening and reconnection with the Near East thanks to their contact with the Phoenicians; the development of the Greek alphabet and its impact on Greek cultural development; the establishment of three trading posts/colonies at El-Mina (in the Levant) and Pithekoussai and Kyme (central Italy); and the evolution of "Geometric" vase painting, especially on kraters and amphoras and their role in the funerary process
 
Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/05/009-greek-resurgence.html

009 Greek Resurgence

In this episode, we discuss early Greek religion as it was formalized in the writings of Homer and Hesiod; the various rituals that were performed when the Greeks worshipped their deities; the evidence for the earliest sanctuaries and hero cults in the 8th century BC that developed hand-in-hand with the city-state and their increasing wealth (as seen through votive offerings); the early developments of the idea of Panhellenism (a sense of a common Greek identity); and the foundation myths, archaeological evidence, and importance for the four predominant Panhellenic sanctuaries that gained massive popularity in the 8th and 7th centuries BC (Zeus and Hera at Olympia, Apollo and Artemis at Delos, Apollo at Delphi, and Zeus and Dione at Dodona—with the latter two having popular oracular shrines)
 
Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/06/010-panhellenism.html

010 Religion and Panhellenism

In this episode, we describe the new schools of thought that began to percolate in the 6th century BC about our existence and role in this universe absent from the gods, and we detail the lives, influences, and various theories put forth by the earliest of these so-called "Pre-Socratic" philosophers; included among them are Thales, Anaximandros, Anaximenes, Pherekydes, Pythagoras, Xenophanes, and Heraklitos
 
Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/08/020-intellectual-revolution.html

020 The Intellectual Revolution

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