They built the great fortresses of the Bronze Age, developed a mysterious writing system and, according to Homer, led the Greek assault on Troy. But how much of the legend is rooted in reality? Was Agamemnon a real Mycenaean king?Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Steve Kershaw to explore the world of the Mycenaeans. Who were these formidable Bronze Age Greeks, and what do their extraordinary palaces, tombs and undeciphered history reveal about the civilisation behind the legends?MOREThe Trojan WarListen on AppleListen on SpotifyBronze Age Cataclysm: The Minoan EruptionListen on AppleListen on Spotify The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch HEREPresented by Tristan Hughes. Editor is Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Joseph Knight and McKenna Fernandez. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™Want even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS ad-free, early access podcasts AND exclusive subscriber-only Ancients episodes. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you make a giant stone statue walk? On one of the most isolated islands on Earth, the people of Rapa Nui carved AND moved the extraordinary Moai, colossal faces hewn from soft volcanic rock that still inspire wonder today.Today, Tristan Hughes is joined by Prof. Terry Hunt to uncover the story of Easter Island. How did its first settlers build a thriving society in such a remote and resource-limited environment? And what ingenious techniques allowed them to disperse these monumental statues across the island?MOREThe First New ZealandersListen on AppleListen on Spotify The First HawaiiansListen on Apple Listen on SpotifyPresented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Hittites usually dominate the story of the Bronze Age. But Syria was home to some of the region's most powerful cities and kingdoms and helped forge the ancient Mediterranean world.Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Amanda Podany to uncover this lost cradle of cities, from the wealthy trading hub of Ebla to the royal intrigues of Mari and the rise of the mysterious Mitanni. How did these cities and kingdoms build their wealth and forge alliances with distant rulers and what can their remarkable archives reveal about the trials and tribulations of everyday life in the Bronze Age Near East?MOREThe Bronze Age Brotherhood of KingsListen on AppleListen on Spotify Hammurabi: Rise of the BabyloniansListen on AppleListen on Spotify The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch HEREPresented by Tristan Hughes. Editor is Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Joseph Knight and McKenna Fernandez. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™Want even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS ad-free, early access podcasts AND exclusive subscriber-only Ancients episodes. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why did Emperor Constantine abandon Rome to build a spectacular new capital from scratch? In the year 312 a bloody civil war and a miraculous heavenly vision changed the Roman world forever.Tristan Hughes and Professor Judith Herrin uncover the epic origins of Constantinople. Discover how Constantine ruthlessly eliminated his imperial rivals, harnessed the strategic power of the Bosphorus, and erected a glittering metropolis that outshone the failing West.MORERavenna and the Fall of RomeListen on AppleListen on SpotifyDecline & Fall of the Ancient WorldListen on AppleListen on SpotifyPresented by Tristan Hughes. Edited and produced by Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™Want even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS ad-free, early access podcasts AND exclusive subscriber-only Ancients episodes. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's one of history’s most compelling cold cases. What happened to the Ninth Legion, a crack unit of 5,000 Roman soldiers who vanished from the historical record without a trace?Tristan Hughes is joined by Roman historian Dr Simon Elliott to investigate the fate of the legion that helped conquer Britain. Was the Ninth wiped out in a bloody defeat on Rome’s northern frontier, or did it meet its end thousands of miles away in the East? Sifting through the surviving Roman records, can Tristan and Simon finally uncover what really happened to Rome’s most famous missing legion?MOREThe Roman Secret ServiceListen on AppleListen on Spotify Julius Caesar’s Invasions of BritainListen on AppleListen on Spotify Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Robin McConnell. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch HEREWant even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for early access ad-free, plus exclusive subscriber-only episodes. PLUS with a History Hit subscription you can watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two thousand years ago, centuries before the Vikings, there was another Scandinavia. An Iron Age world.Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Marianne Hem Eriksen to uncover the deep roots of the seafaring North, journeying through a forgotten world of elite halls, Roman encounters, and ancient burial rites.MOREIron Age BritainListen on AppleListen on SpotifyIron Age IrelandListen on AppleListen on SpotifyPresented by Tristan Hughes. Produced and edited by Aidan Lonergan. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™Want even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS ad-free, early access podcasts AND exclusive subscriber-only Ancients episodes. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before Boudicca, another British leader brought the Roman war machine to a grinding halt. Meet Caratacus; the cunning King of the Britons who spent seven years outmaneuvering the empire.Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. Miles Russell to uncover the forgotten story of this charismatic guerrilla fighter. From leading fierce resistance in Wales to his betrayal, capture, and a life-saving speech in Rome, Caratacus was Britain’s ultimate escape artist.MOREWho Was The Real King Arthur?Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyThe Roman Invasion of BritainListen on AppleListen on SpotifyPresented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Natasha Hughes. The studio manager is Hanif Hussain, the producer is Robin McConnell, the video producer is McKenna Fernandez. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch HEREWant even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for early access ad-free, plus exclusive subscriber-only episodes. PLUS with a History Hit subscription you can watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The frozen continent of Antarctica was once a land of forests, rivers and thriving ecosystems. And millions of years before humans ever existed it was home to a whole host of ancient creatures, from the first sharks to the earliest marsupials.Tristan Hughes is joined by paleontologist Professor John Long to uncover what the trilobite and dinosaur fossils buried beneath the ice reveal about this lost world and what they can reveal about Antarctica’s role in the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana.MOREMegalodonListen on AppleListen on SpotifyThe First SharksListen on AppleListen on SpotifyPresented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™Want even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS ad-free, early access podcasts AND exclusive subscriber-only Ancients episodes. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs, one remarkable avian survivor traded the skies for the sea. Tristan Hughes and paleontologist Dr Steve Brusatte explore how prehistoric penguins emerged on ancient Zealandia, lost their flight and grew into colossal apex predators. But how did these giant ocean rulers eventually shrank to conquer the frozen continent of Antarctica?MORETerror BirdsListen to AppleListen to SpotifyDinosaurs: The Last DaysListen to AppleListen to SpotifyPresented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Joseph Knight and McKenna Fernandez. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch HEREWant even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for early access ad-free, plus exclusive subscriber-only episodes. PLUS with a History Hit subscription you can watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Babylon was one of the greatest cities of the ancient world. But what was life really like for the people who lived there? Behind its magnificent temples and royal palaces lay a city of crowded streets, disease, danger and everyday struggles.Tristan Hughes is joined by friend of the show and Babylonian extraordinaire Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones to uncover the realities of life in Hammurabi's Babylon. Drawing on the remarkable texts left behind by its people, they explore everything from marriage and childbirth to taverns, rubbish-filled streets and the strange demons believed to haunt the home. What did it mean to walk the streets of Mesopotamia's most famous ancient city?MOREThe Fall of BabylonListen on AppleListen on SpotifyThe Tower of BabelListen on Apple Listen on Spotify Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Tim Arstall. Producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS early ad-free podcasts and exclusive subscriber-only episodes every fortnight. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.