Les meilleurs podcasts Ancient History (2025)

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Daemons, Tantra, and Cultural Exchange with David Gordon White 1:02:16

7h ago1:02:16

1:02:16

In this episode, Dr. Pierce Salguero sits down with David Gordon White, a distinguished indologist and scholar of Tantra. Our conversation focuses on David’s most recent project tracing the transregional histories of spirits, gods, demons, and their associated rituals across Eurasia. Along the way, we dive into an intellectual conversation about do…

1
Podcast update! 3:01

9d ago3:01

3:01

Don't worry, nothing serious but just to keep you in the loop. The next episode will be out mid-April. Apologies for the delay but it's not always easy to schedule regularly when you are a solo podcaster who has a full time job and other commitments. It'll be worth the wait - trust me! Till then why not check out the podcast back catalogue? You can…

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Rebel Daughters of the Roman Empire (With Tana Rebellis) 1:08:40

12d ago1:08:40

1:08:40

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! In Enemy of My Dreams, Jenny based her heroine Julia partially on Julia the Elder—rebellious daughter of Augustus who got herself exiled to Pandateria for being, as the ancients say, “too slutty.” Julia the Elder refused, REFUSED to rein it in. And for that, we adore her. But accounts of h…

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Alexandra F. Morris, "Disability in Ptolemaic Egypt and the Hellenistic World: Plato’s Stepchildren" (Routledge, 2024) 40:20

2d ago40:20

40:20

Through a thoughtful investigation, Disability in Ptolemaic Egypt and the Hellenistic World: Plato’s Stepchildren (Routledge, 2024) reveals often-overlooked narratives of disability within Ptolemaic Egypt and the larger Hellenistic world (332 BCE to 30 BCE). Chapters explore evidence of physical and intellectual disability, ranging from named indiv…

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Vera Tiesler, "Ancient Maya Teeth: Dental Modification, Cosmology, and Social Identity in Mesoamerica" (U Texas Press, 2024) 47:05

6d ago47:05

47:05

Dental modification was common across ancient societies, but perhaps none were more avid practitioners than the Maya. They filed their teeth flat or pointy, polished and drilled them, and crafted decorative inlays of jade and pyrite. Unusually, Maya of all social classes, ages, and professions engaged in dental modification. What did it mean to the…

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Isabel Moreira, "Balthild of Francia: Anglo-Saxon Slave, Merovingian Queen, and Abolitionist Saint" (Oxford UP, 2024) 1:05:32

8d ago1:05:32

1:05:32

This book tells the remarkable life of Balthild of Francia (c. 633-80), a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon slave who became a queen of France. Described in contemporary sources as beautiful and intelligent, she rose to power through her marriage to the short-lived King Clovis II. As regent for her young son, she promoted social and political reforms in …

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Hallie Franks, "Ancient Sculpture and Twentieth-Century American Womanhood: Venus Envy" (Bloomsbury, 2025) 59:41

9d ago59:41

59:41

Ancient Sculpture and Twentieth-Century American Womanhood: Venus Envy (Bloomsbury, 2025) by Dr. Hallie Franks examines the reception of Graeco-Roman sculptures of Venus and their role in the construction of the body aesthetics of the “fit” American woman in the decades around the turn of the 20th century. In this historical moment, 19th-century an…

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Ellen Fenzel Arnold, "Medieval Riverscapes: Environment and Memory in Northwest Europe, C. 300-1100" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 53:35

10d ago53:35

53:35

Jana Byars talks to Ellen Arnold about Medieval Riverscapes: Environment and Memory in Northwest Europe, 300 - 1100 (Cambridge UP, 2024). Fishermen, monks, saints, and dragons met in medieval riverscapes; their interactions reveal a rich and complex world. Using religious narrative sources to evaluate the environmental mentalities of medieval commu…

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Malka Z. Simkovich, "Letters from Home: The Creation of Diaspora in Jewish Antiquity" (Eisenbrauns, 2024) 49:54

16d ago49:54

49:54

Dr. Simkovich taught in a Catholic University and now is at JPS and YU. She continues her interfaith dialogue throughout. But here we spoke, among other things, about the concept of diaspora and exile - what is a Judean, a Judahite, and an Israelite. These are terms that are often thrown around interchangeably, but understanding the meaning and ety…

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Kara Cooney, "Recycling for Death: Coffin Reuse in Ancient Egypt and the Theban Royal Caches" (American U in Cairo Press, 2024) 55:24

16d ago55:24

55:24

Today I talked to Kara Cooney about Recycling for Death: Coffin Reuse in Ancient Egypt and the Theban Royal Caches (American U in Cairo Press, 2024). The book is a meticulous study of the social, economic, and religious significance of coffin reuse and development during the Ramesside and early Third Intermediate periods, illustrated with over 900 …

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Andrew Jotischky, "The Monastic World: A 1,200-Year History" (Yale UP, 2024) 29:25

18d ago29:25

29:25

From the late Roman Empire onwards, monasteries and convents were a common sight throughout Europe. But who were monasteries for? What kind of people founded and maintained them? And how did monasticism change over the thousand years or so of the Middle Ages? Andrew Jotischky traces the history of monastic life from its origins in the fourth centur…

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RE-RELEASE: Attila the Hun and the Rebel Princess 37:10

19d ago37:10

37:10

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! In 450 AD, the Imperial Princess Honoria--daughter of Galla Placidia--was desperate to escape her arranged marriage. So she made an indecent proposal--to Attila the Hun. On this single action, cities were torched. Saints were raised. Thousands died. And Venice was founded. Find out how it …

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Shane Bobrycki, "The Crowd in the Early Middle Ages" (Princeton UP, 2024) 1:13:47

22d ago1:13:47

1:13:47

By the fifth and sixth centuries, the bread and circuses and triumphal processions of the Roman Empire had given way to a quieter world. And yet, as Shane Bobrycki argues, the influence and importance of the crowd did not disappear in early medieval Europe. In The Crowd in the Early Middle Ages (Princeton UP, 2024), Bobrycki shows that although dem…

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Glen L. Thompson, "Jingjiao: The Earliest Christian Church in China" (Eerdmans, 2024) 1:07:45

24d ago1:07:45

1:07:45

Many people assume that the first introduction of Christianity to the Chinese was part of nineteenth-century Western imperialism. In fact, Syriac-speaking Christians brought the gospel along the Silk Road into China in the seventh century. Glen L. Thompson introduces readers to the fascinating history of this early Eastern church, referred to as Ji…

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RE-RELEASE: Ataulf x Galla Placidia 38:29

26d ago38:29

38:29

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! He was a fierce barbarian warlord—a man who had stood between his people and the Roman Empire since the sack of Rome. She was a Roman Imperial princess with a core of iron strength. Born enemies, the love of Ataulf and Galla Placidia is marked by tragedy—but in its time, it burned hot enou…

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Eric Cline, "After 1177 B.C.: The Survival of Civilizations" (Princeton UP, 2025) 34:16

1M ago34:16

34:16

At the end of Eric Cline's bestselling history 1177 B.C., many of the Late Bronze Age civilizations of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean lay in ruins, undone by invasion, revolt, natural disasters, famine, and the demise of international trade. An interconnected world that had boasted major empires and societies, relative peace, robust commerce,…

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AHFG Book Club: Enemy of My Dreams with Jenny Williamson 1:21:24

1M ago1:21:24

1:21:24

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This week’s Book Club author interview is none other than up-and-coming romantasy and historical romance author Jenny Williamson, discussing her upcoming debut Enemy of My Dreams: her huge historical crush on Alaric of the Goths, the inspiration for her entirely-made-up hot-mess heroine, a…

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Vittorio Bufacchi, "Why Cicero Matters" (Bloomsbury, 2023) 1:07:45

1M ago1:07:45

1:07:45

Why Cicero Matters (Bloomsbury, 2023) shows us how the Roman philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius, better known as Cicero, can help realize a new political world. His impact on humanitarianism, the Enlightenment and the Founding Fathers of America is immense. Yet we give Julius Caesar all our attention. Why? What does this say about modern poli…

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Sarah E. Bond, "Strike: Labor, Unions, and Resistance in the Roman Empire" (Yale UP, 2024) 1:19:55

1M ago1:19:55

1:19:55

Historian Sarah E. Bond retells the traditional story of Ancient Rome, revealing how groups of ancient workers unified, connected, and protested as they helped build an empire From plebeians refusing to join the Roman army to bakers withholding bread, this is the first book to explore how Roman workers used strikes, boycotts, riots, and rebellion t…

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Anand Venkatkrishnan, "Love in the Time of Scholarship: The Bhagavata Purana in Indian Intellectual History" (Oxford UP, 2024) 38:12

1M ago38:12

38:12

Where is the "life" in scholarly life? Is it possible to find in academic writing, so often abstracted from the everyday? How might religion bridge that gap? In Love in the Time of Scholarship: The Bhagavata Purana in Indian Intellectual History (Oxford UP, 2024), author Anand Venkatkrishnan explores these questions within the intellectual history …

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In Search of the Real Alaric (With Douglas Boin) 1:06:46

1M ago1:06:46

1:06:46

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Who was Alaric of the Visigoths, really? It’s a difficult question to answer. Alaric left no manifesto. There is nothing in his own words to explain his motivations for sacking Rome, or all the choices he made leading up to that fateful day. All we have are the assumptions of his enemies, …

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Joel M. Rothman, "The Cosmic Journey in the Book of Revelation: Apocalyptic Cosmology and the Experience of Story-Space" (T&T Clark, 2023) 21:02

1M ago21:02

21:02

Cosmology and cosmic journeys play a significant role in biblical and extra-biblical texts, especially in apocalyptic narratives. What about for the book of Revelation? The answer is yes. Join us as we speak with Joel Rothman about his recent book, The Cosmic Journey in the Book of Revelation: Apocalyptic Cosmology and the Experience of Story-Space…

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Karenleigh A. Overmann, "The Material Origin of Numbers: Insights from the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East" (Gorgias Press, 2024) 10:50

1M ago10:50

10:50

What are numbers, and where do they come from? Based on her groundbreaking study of material devices used for counting in the Ancient Near East, Karenleigh Overmann proposes a novel answer to these timeless questions. Tune in as we talk with Karenleigh Overmann about her book, The Material Origin of Numbers: Insights from the Archaeology of the Anc…

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On the Book of Psalms: Exploring the Prayers of Ancient Israel by Nachum Sarna 35:58

1M ago35:58

35:58

In this episode we delve into one of the most profound and enduring works of sacred poetry: the Book of Psalms. Emotional and spiritual, joyful and despairing, triumphant and trembling with terror, the psalms have given voice to humanity's deepest yearnings for millennia. These timeless prayers and hymns have offered solace, inspiration, and a path…

1
Petya Andreeva, "Fantastic Fauna from China to Crimea: Image-Making in Eurasian Nomadic Societies, 700 BCE-500 CE" (Edinburgh UP, 2024) 1:20:54

2M ago1:20:54

1:20:54

Across Iron Age Central Eurasia, non-sedentary people created, viewed, and considered animal-style imagery, creating designs replete with feline bodies with horse hooves, deer-birds, animals in combat, and other fantastic creatures. Fantastic Fauna from China to Crimea: Image-Making in Eurasian Nomadic Societies, 700 BCE-500 CE (Edinburgh Universit…

1
AHFG Book Club: Sexy Shifters and Fallen Angels with Nalini Singh 57:06

2M ago57:06

57:06

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This week, we feature a conversation with the OG romance novelist—the one all our romance novelist friends list among their favorites. Nalini Singh has an impressive, multi-decade career with several long-running, blockbuster romantasy and paranormal series featuring sexy shifters, fallen …

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Rafael Rachel Neis, "When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven: Rabbis and the Reproduction of Species" (U California Press, 2023) 1:36:52

2M ago1:36:52

1:36:52

When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven: Rabbis and the Reproduction of Species (U California Press, 2023) investigates rabbinic treatises relating to animals, humans, and other life-forms. Through an original analysis of creaturely generation and species classification by late ancient Palestinian rabbis and other thinkers in the Roman Empire, Rafael R…

1
Pliny the Younger 30:16

2M ago30:16

30:16

In this episode I cover the life of Pliny the Younger and his famous letters. In his writings he gave a eye witness account of the eruption of Vesuvius and pondered how to deal with Christians. As well as looking into these instances I talk about what his letters tell us about him and the world he lived in. Whatever platform you are using - leave a…

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RE-RELEASE: Stuff Alaric Said 52:25

2M ago52:25

52:25

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! On August 24, 410 AD, Alaric and the Visigoths sacked the city of Rome. Before he sacked it, he starved it. Before that, he went toe to toe with the Roman Empire for fifteen years—uniting disparate tribes, holding a people together, and achieving more against Rome than any barbarian leader…

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Chaya T. Halberstam, "Trial Stories in Jewish Antiquity: Counternarratives of Justice" (Oxford UP, 2024) 1:11:30

2M ago1:11:30

1:11:30

What can early Jewish courtroom narratives tell us about the capacity and limits of human justice? By exploring how judges and the act of judging are depicted in these narratives, Trial Stories in Jewish Antiquity: Counternarratives of Justice (Oxford University Press, 2024), Chaya T. Halberstam challenges the prevailing notion, both then and now, …

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Richard H. Davis, "Religions of Early India: A Cultural History" (Princeton UP, 2024) 41:09

2M ago41:09

41:09

From its earliest recorded history, India was a place of remarkable and varied religious activity, ranging from elaborate sacrificial rituals and rigorous regimes of personal austerity to psycho-spiritual experimentation and utopian visions. In Religions of Early India: A Cultural History (Princeton UP, 2024), Richard Davis offers a history of Indi…

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End of Season 12 Announcement 16:34

2M ago16:34

16:34

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! It's the end of Season 12--and what a year it's been! We had some big things happen in 2024 and we hope that 2025 will be even bigger and more exciting. Join us as we discuss what it was like covering the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, our upcoming books and novel projects, and our pl…

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Caitlín Eilís Barrett, "Domesticating Empire: Egyptian Landscapes in Pompeian Gardens" (Oxford UP, 2019) 1:42:22

2M ago1:42:22

1:42:22

Domesticating Empire: Egyptian Landscapes in Pompeian Gardens (Oxford University Press, 2019) is the first contextually-oriented monograph on Egyptian imagery in Roman households. Caitlín Eilís Barrett, Associate Professor of Classics at Cornell University, draws on case studies from Flavian Pompeii to investigate the close association between repr…

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Catherine Hezser, "Rabbinic Scholarship in the Context of Late Antique Scholasticism: The Development of the Talmud Yerushalmi" (Bloomsbury, 2024) 59:15

2M ago59:15

59:15

Based on an understanding of scholasticism as a cross-cultural phenomenon, undertaken by rabbinic, Graeco-Roman, and Christian scholars in late antiquity, this book examines the development of Palestinian rabbinic compilations from social-historical and literary-historical perspectives. Rabbinic Scholarship in the Context of Late Antique Scholastic…

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Arvind Sharma, "From Fire To Light: Rereading the Manusmriti" (Harper Collins, 2024) 30:57

2M ago30:57

30:57

Why yet another book on the Manusmriti? In From Fire To Light: Rereading the Manusmriti (Harper Collins, 2024), acclaimed academic Arvind Sharma argues that the present understanding of the Manusmriti - regarded as a text designed by the higher castes, especially brahmanas, to oppress the lower castes and women - only tells one side of the story. A…

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RE-RELEASE: Janus: God of the New Year 1:01:34

2M ago1:01:34

1:01:34

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Janus is the two-faced god of the Roman pantheon. He was the god of beginnings and endings, of dual natures, of passageways and passage through time. He’s the god of thresholds and doorways and gates, and the god of change, both concrete and abstract. He’s constantly in motion; he’s the go…

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Robert D. Miller II, "Yahweh: Origin of a Desert God" (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2021) 26:14

2M ago26:14

26:14

Recognizing the absence of a God named Yahweh outside of ancient Israel, this study addresses the related questions of Yahweh's origins and the biblical claim that there were Yahweh-worshipers other than the Israelite people. Beginning with the Hebrew Bible, with an exhaustive survey of ancient Near Eastern literature and inscriptions discovered by…

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A Very Alaric Christmas 46:49

3M ago46:49

46:49

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! How would Alaric of the Visigoths celebrate the midwinter holiday (Christmas? Solstice? Yule?). The idea was kicked around a lot between the two of us until it seemed imperative that we actually write this episode. And thus, an episode was born. In this episode, Alaric is about six years o…

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Markus Vinzent, "Christ's Torah: The Making of the New Testament in the Second Century" (Routledge, 2023) 1:02:12

3M ago1:02:12

1:02:12

Christ's Torah: The Making of the New Testament in the Second Century (Routledge, 2023) explores the creation of the collection now known as the New Testament. While it is generally accepted that it did not emerge as a collection prior to the late second century CE, a more controversial question is how it came to be. How did the writings that make …

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RE-RELEASE: Frau Holle: Wicked Woman of Yule 1:20:34

3M ago1:20:34

1:20:34

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! This year, we’ve found one of the most metal and wild Yuletide goddesses yet – Frau Holle. Human sacrifices, spindles in yer vag, plague, starvation, caves of offerings and bones, the Grimms brothers, golden showers, child cannibalism, ZOMBIES – are any of these putting you in the Yuletide…

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Blake Leyerle, "Christians at Home: John Chrysostom and Domestic Rituals in Fourth-Century Antioch" (Penn State UP, 2024) 42:16

3M ago42:16

42:16

What did it mean for ordinary believers to live a Christian life in late antiquity? In Christians at Home: John Chrysostom and Domestic Rituals in Fourth-Century Antioch (Penn State University Press, 2024), Blake Leyerle explores this question through the writings, teachings, and reception of John Chrysostom—a priest of Antioch who went on to becom…

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Paula Fredriksen, "Ancient Christianities: The First Five Hundred Years" (Princeton UP, 2024) 54:42

3M ago54:42

54:42

The ancient Mediterranean teemed with gods. For centuries, a practical religious pluralism prevailed. How, then, did one particular god come to dominate the politics and piety of the late Roman Empire? In Ancient Christianities: The First Five Hundred Years (Princeton University Press, 2024), Dr. Paula Fredriksen traces the evolution of early Chris…

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AHFG Book Club: Metal Death Goddesses, Ravens, and Bears (Oh My!) With Emily Rath 1:00:18

3M ago1:00:18

1:00:18

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! You may recognize Dr. Emily Rath from our series on Project 2025. Today, we’ve invited her on to discuss her most recent project—North is the Night, a historical fantasy story with a strong, sapphic romantic thread. Join us as Emily introduces us to a world of terrifying metal death goddes…

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Minisode: Gifts. 14:21

3M ago14:21

14:21

(please note that there is reference to suicide and murder as per the myths involved). In this minisode I pick out some examples of gifts in ancient Mesopotamia and Greece where the outcome wasn't as planned or it just went plain wrong. Let me know what you think by leaving a review or getting in touch. You can find me as @ancientblogger on social …

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RE-RELEASE: St. Nicholas and the Christmas Cannibals 1:24:15

3M ago1:24:15

1:24:15

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Ah, Christmas—it's a time of cheer, of gift-giving and generosity; and a time to eat yer babies. This year, we’re focusing on two different cannibalistic monsters from Christmas folklore: Père Fouettard and Hans Trapp. Because it turns out that child cannibalism really is the reason for th…

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Leyla Ozgur Alhassen, "Qur'ānic Stories: God, Revelation, and the Audience" (Edinburgh UP, 2022) 51:03

3M ago51:03

51:03

Leyla Ozgur Alhassen’s book Qur’anic Stories: God, Revelation and the Audience (Edinburgh University Press, 2021) provides excellent analyses of several Qur’anic surahs, or chapters, to explore how Qur’anic stories function as narratives – but not just any kind of narratives: narratives with a theological purpose behind them. The specific stories s…

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The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus: Part 3 1:37:53

3M ago1:37:53

1:37:53

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! In our last two episodes we discussed what worship looked like at the temple of Artemis at Ephesus. How the goddess was worshipped, who worshipped her, and what they believed. Now, we’re going talk about what the temple looked like, who built it, who burned it to the ground, who rebuilt it…

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Nick Posegay and Melonie Schmierer-Lee, "The Illustrated Cairo Genizah" (Gorgias Press, 2024) 1:03:57

3M ago1:03:57

1:03:57

Starting nearly a thousand years ago at the Ben Ezra Synagogue of Old Cairo, worn-out books and scrolls were put in the genizah, a storage area for sacred texts. In The Illustrated Cairo Genizah: A Visual Tour of Cairo Genizah Manuscripts at Cambridge Univertity Library (Gorgias Press, 2024), Nick Posegay and Melonie Schmierer-Lee tell the story of…

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RE-RELEASE: You Don't Know Yule 1:29:19

3M ago1:29:19

1:29:19

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! What do you know about Yule? Maybe a lot. The holiday is widely celebrated in Scandinavian countries, and it's an important part of Wiccan and Pagan tradition. But for many of us, the version that's come down through history is strongly associated with Christmas--and heavily sanitized. Whe…

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A. J. Berkovitz, "A Life of Psalms in Jewish Late Antiquity" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2023) 1:11:23

3M ago1:11:23

1:11:23

The Bible shaped nearly every aspect of Jewish life in the ancient world, from activities as obvious as attending synagogue to those which have lost their scriptural resonance in modernity, such as drinking water and uttering one’s last words. And within a scriptural universe, no work exerted more force than the Psalter, the most cherished text amo…

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