The Hellenistic Age Podcast

Following the aftermath of Pydna in 167, the Attalid dynasty in Pergamon enjoyed the next three decades as the most preeminent Greek power in the Aegean while competing with neighboring powers like Bithynia and the Galatians. Yet when Attalus III Philometor died childless in 133, his will dissolved the kingdom and bequeathed much of it to his official heir and executor, the Roman Republic. A bastard son of Eumenes II named Aristonicus rose up to claim the kingship for himself, leading a revolt that would see the establishment of a permanent Roman presence in Asia for over fifteen hundred years. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/09/27/126-attalid-pergamon-aristonicus-and-the-city-of-the-sun/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/126-attalid-pergamon-aristonicus-and-the-city-of-the-sun-transcript.pdf) Alexandria: A Hellenistic World Podcast: Website (https://alexandriapod.wordpress.com/) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/hellenisticpod.bsky.social) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) ImperialWares (https://tinyurl.com/ybmpk7xd) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)

In the aftermath of the Sixth Syrian War, the tripartite division of authority between Ptolemy VI , Cleopatra II, and Ptolemy VIII was a tenuous one at best, having to deal with rebellions of ambitious courtiers and disgruntled subjects. On top of this, the two brothers schemed for control over the Egyptian kingdom, and through their manipulations brought the intervention of the Roman Senate to handle one of the most dysfunctional families in all of antiquity. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/09/20/110-ptolemaic-egypt-twos-company-threes-a-crowd/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/110-ptolemaic-egypt-twos-company-threes-a-crowd-transcript.pdf) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/hellenisticpod.bsky.social) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)

The tension between the various factions vying for power in Jerusalem leads to a crisis, when Antiochus IV retaliates by attacking the city and plunders its famed Temple in 168. A wave of persecutions against Jewish religion and customs inspires a rebellion, spearheaded by Judas Maccabee (“the Hammer”) and the Hasmonean family, who achieve victories against the Seleucid crown to reclaim and purify the Temple, later the basis for the holiday of Hanukkah. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/08/26/108-the-seleucid-empire-the-maccabean-revolt/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/108-the-seleucid-empire-the-maccabean-revolt.pdf) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/hellenisticagepodcast) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)

Historian and broadcaster William Dalrymple (“The Company Quartet“, “Empire“) joins the podcast to discuss his latest book “The Golden Road“. A survey covering from antiquity to the early medieval period, the book seeks to address India’s far-reaching (and often forgotten) influence across the entirety of Eurasia, from tracking the spread of religions like Buddhism and Hinduism, investigating the growing evidence of Indo-Roman trade, and even down to the invention of “Arabic” numerals based on Indian scripts and mathematics. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/06/15/interview-the-golden-road-how-ancient-india-transformed-the-world-with-william-dalrymple/) William Dalrymple: https://williamdalrymple.com/ https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/golden-road-9781639734146/ https://x.com/DalrympleWill Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)

“Cleopatra” (1963), a four-hour epic starring Elizabeth Taylor as the titular queen, is legendary in the history of filmmaking. Its notoriously troubled production made it one of the most expensive movies ever made and brought 20th Century Fox on the verge of collapse, but Taylor’s portrayal has defined the image of Cleopatra in pop culture for over sixty years. We look back on the history of the film itself, assess its presentation of Hellenistic Egypt, and talk about the problems of telling the story of powerful woman whose life was so entangled with that of the men around her. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/04/01/bonus-elizabeth-taylors-cleopatra-1963/) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/hellenisticpod.bsky.social) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/hellenisticagepodcast) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)

The Seleucid realm experienced twelve unusual years of peace during the reign of Seleucus IV Philopator (187-175), but his alleged murder by a corrupt court official paved the way for Antiochus IV Epiphanes (“God Manifest”) to usurp the throne of Syria from his nephew. An incredibly polarizing figure, Antiochus was renowned for his generous donations towards cities and temples, often in honor of his new patron deity Zeus Olympios, but his behavior earned him the scorn of those like Polybius, who nicknamed him Epimanes (“The Madman”). Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/02/06/104-the-seleucid-empire-madness-and-the-divine/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/104-the-seleucid-empire-madness-and-the-divine-transcript.pdf) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/hellenisticagepodcast) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)