Podcast
Ancient Lives with Mary Beard
Hosted by BBC Radio 4 · EN
Mary Beard unearths the lives of the Ancients. Join Mary as she discovers the real lives of people from the ancient Greek world and the Roman empire.
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2w ago00:03:01Tap to summarizeFrom Christopher Nolan blockbusters to presidential elections, their powerful influence endures on our stories, philosophies and politics, but what it was it like to be an Ancient Greek? Scattered clues need to be gathered until they form a living, breathing human, witness to the cultural powerhouse that was Ancient Greece.In Being Greek- her sequel to Being Roman- Mary Beard, Britain’s best-selling historian of the ancient world, rebuilds the lives of six people, from a priestess to a murderer. Her investigations reveal the limits of female independence and take us deep into the marriage of an Athenian power couple. Themes of faith, politics and justice reveal the foundations of Greek society, but it’s the thoughts, feelings and lifestyles of individual Greeks she’s really interested in. Gods and legendary heroes are easy to come by, but Mary looks behind the temples and beyond the classic myths, filling in her stories with the relatable detail of Greek life, uncovering what they ate, how they decorated their homes and raised their children.Mary visits the sites that help cast fresh light on past lives- the grave of a powerful woman in prehistoric Mycenae, an exquisite temple clutching the slopes of the Acropolis and the dusty plains of Marathon. Experts in Greece and the UK help Mary interpret the clues, along with film director Martin Scorsese who’s fascinated by the story of a gangster of the ancient world who called in favours from powerful friends to escape justice.Producer: Alasdair CrossResearcher: Anna CharalambouSound Design: Suzy RobinsOriginal Music: McassoCommissioning Editor for BBC Radio Four: Daniel Clarke
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The Wolf of Via Vesuvio
Jun 11, 202400:28:08Tap to summarizeLucius Caecilius Iucundus kept the economic wheels of Pompeii well greased. He was a middle man doing very nicely - part money-lender, part auctioneer, part banker, all hustler. Thanks to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the preservation of the ruins of Pompeii, we can still visit his house, look at his bronze portrait, and read his account books. 150 tablets of receipts, carbonised in the destruction of Pompeii, lead us through the deals that keep the city’s economy moving. If you want to buy a Ferrari-level horse but only have the cash for a Fiesta then Iucundus is your man. It might look like dry stuff, but it's as revealing of real life as snooping on someone’s Paypal account or leafing through their credit card receipts might be now. Never mind imperial plunder and luxury lifestyles, it’s a glimpse of how the economy works in a regular town. Mary Beard visits Iucundus's home and talks to the novelist Robert Harris about his fascination with the Pompeii moneylender.Producer: Alasdair CrossExpert Contributors: Sophie Hay, Parco Archeologico di Pompei; Matthew Nicholls, Oxford UniversitySpecial thanks to National Archaeological Museum, Naples and Parco Archeologico di Pompei
Transcribe →Three Lovers and a Funeral
Jun 4, 202400:27:30Tap to summarizeAllia Potestas is a woman remembered in one of the most intriguing and affecting funeral orations of the ancient world. Her lover remembers her diligent application to housework before praising to the skies her beauty and her erotic skills. But he didn’t have Allia to himself. She was shared in a ménage à trois with his male friend. It’s an unusual domestic arrangement and a surprising one to advertise on a tombstone. The lines themselves reveal an enormous amount about Roman morality and the sexual politics of the time, but the story between the lines is even more fascinating. Can we dig beneath the emotional turmoil of the man and guess what Allia herself thought about the arrangement? Mary Beard is joined in Rome by Allison Emmerson of Tulane University to examine this extraordinary funerary monument at the Baths of Diocletian.Producer: Alasdair CrossExpert contributors: Allison Emmerson, Tulane University; Helen King, Open University; Mairead McAuley, University College LondonCast: Tyler Cameron as AlliusSpecial thanks to Museo Nazionale Romano
Transcribe →A Bag of Snails and a Glass of Wine
May 28, 202400:28:17Tap to summarizeAn obscure carved stone dug up from a vineyard in southern Italy tells the story of a pair of publicans- the delightfully named Calidius Eroticus and Fannia Voluptas- and their bawdy adventures in the pub trade. Fans of Frankie Howard, the Carry On films and the sitcom Plebs will instantly feel at home with the Roman sense of humour, but these two characters have so much more to offer than lame jokes and a glass of rough wine- they’re our window into the fascinating bar culture of the Romans.Most urban Romans had neither the facilities nor the time to cook their own food so meals were eaten and drinks drunk from bars. New discoveries at Pompeii reveal the complex stratification of the culture, from the most basic takeaways to dining rooms that mimicked the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Producer: Alasdair CrossCast: Robert Wilfort and Tyler CameronExpert contributors: Allison Emmerson, Tulane University, Claire Holleran, Exeter University and Sophie Hay, Archaeological Park of PompeiiSpecial thanks to Antonio Valerio of Campi Valerio and Museo Archeologico di Santa Maria delle Monache, IserniaTranslations by Mary Beard
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Soldiering for Softies
May 21, 202400:28:29Tap to summarizeThe image of the battle-hardened, well regimented Roman soldier has been set in stone by movies, novels and video games. The letters of Claudius Terentianus reveal something very different. A terrible moaner, the young soldier has to beg his father to send the most basic of equipment, from sandals to swords. Stuck in the marines, the poorly paid squad tasked with guarding grain supplies, he bribes and wangles his way into a more illustrious legion, but still seems to spend more time shopping than fighting.Mary Beard catches up with Terentianus at the British Museum's Legion exhibition and discovers more about his uncanny ability to avoid conflict and ensure a prosperous retirement.Producer: Alasdair CrossExpert Contributors: Carolina Rangel de Lima, British Museum; Livia Capponi, Pavia University and Claire Holleran Exeter UniversityCast: Terentianus played by Robert Wilfort
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Death on the Nile
May 7, 202400:28:13Tap to summarizeJulia Balbilla is an accomplished poet and close friend of the wife of one of Rome’s mightiest emperors. Hadrian loves to travel and takes Julia and an entourage of thousands on the ultimate elite tourist trip- a leisurely Nile cruise to the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Colossus of Memnon, a statue that will sing for anyone blessed by the gods. Julia inscribes her poems on the giant foot of the statue, praising the power of Hadrian and the beauty of his wife, Sabina. It’s a charming scene, darkened only by the fact that Hadrian’s male lover, Antinous has only just drowned in the Nile. Was he murdered by jealous rivals, killed in a lover’s tiff or did he drunkenly slip from the deck? Hadrian is publicly bereft, founding a new city in the name of Antinous, but seems happy to continue his luxury cruise. Mary Beard hops aboard Ancient Rome's most intriguing cruise with historian T. Corey Brennan and archaeologist Elizabeth Fentress. Producer: Alasdair CrossExpert Contributors: Corey Brennan, Rutgers University and Lisa Fentress Cast: Julia Balbilla played by Juliana LiskSpecial thanks to Andrea Bruciati, Villa Adriana
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The Whistleblower
May 7, 202400:28:13Tap to summarizeBeneath starched Shakespearean togas and the pungent fug of gladiator sweat there are real Romans waiting to be discovered. To know what it was to be Roman you need to gather the scattered clues until they form a living, breathing human, witness to the highs and horrors of Europe’s greatest empire.Mary Beard, Britain’s best-selling historian of the ancient world, rebuilds the lives of six citizens of the Roman Empire, from a poet to a squaddie. Her investigations reveal death and deceit on the Nile and the art of running a Roman pub, but it’s the thoughts and feelings of individual Romans she’s really interested in.It's 61CE. The rebellion of Boudicca has finally been quashed, but London and other Roman cities lie in ruins. A new finance officer for the province, Gaius Julius Classicianus arrives, to face an enormous recovery job. Standing in his way is the Governor, busy exacting terrible reprisals from the local population. Classicianus does what brave subordinates have done ever since. He whistle-blows – writing to the emperor to remove the Governor from British shores. The stage is set for an imperial face-off. For the people of Britain, the stakes could not be higher.Producer: Alasdair CrossExpert Contributors: Matthew Nicholls, University of Oxford and Michael Marshall, Museum of London ArchaeologyCast: Tacitus played by Robert WilfortTranslations by Mary BeardSpecial thanks to the British Museum
Transcribe →Love in the Borderlands
Nov 8, 202300:28:07Tap to summarizeAt the very edge of Empire, inscribed on a beautifully carved tombstone, there’s a story of love across the tracks. On Hadrian’s Wall a slave girl from Hertfordshire and a lonely traveller from Syria meet and marry. The story of Regina and Barates has inspired poets and writers eager for a simple love story to illuminate a dark and dangerous world. But how true might this be? What brought this couple together across cultures and thousands of miles? Was their alliance true love or forced marriage? Mary Beard tracks our couple from Palmyra to South Shields, revealing the cultural mix of the Empire and the power dynamics of slave and master with the help of Syrian poet, Nouri Al-Jarrah.Producer: Alasdair CrossExpert Contributors: Greg Woolf, University of California Los Angeles and Frances McIntosh, English HeritageCast: John Collingwood Bruce played by Josh Bryant-Jones and reading of The Stone Serpent by Tyler CameronTranslation of The Stone Serpent: Catherine CobhamArabic Translation: Samira KawarSpecial thanks to Alex Croom and Tyne and Wear Museums
Transcribe →Battling Bureaucrats
Nov 8, 202300:27:26Tap to summarizeWhat does it take to run an Empire? Armies and slaves, of course, but also bureaucrats. At its height the Roman Empire employed thousands of men charged with keeping Rome and its provinces fed, watered and content. This was no easy job. A remarkable set of papyrus scrolls reveals the life of Roman Egypt's very own David Brent, preparing for a a visit from the fearsome Emperor Diocletian.Infuriated by hopeless staff and venal local politicians and continuously harassed by his superiors, Apolinarius of Panopolis becomes increasingly desperate as Diocletian approaches and the tension cranks up. Mary Beard follows Apolinarius's story to reveal the messy realities of Roman administration.Producer: Alasdair CrossExpert Contributors: Colin Adams, Liverpool University and Margaret MountfordCast: Apolinarius played by Josh Bryant-JonesSpecial thanks to Jill Unkell and the Chester Beatty collection, Dublin
Transcribe →What We Lost in the Fire
Nov 8, 202300:27:27Tap to summarizeFor an aspiring medic it was a dream assignment- official team doctor to the gladiators of Pergamon. The top names in the arena were worth a lot of money and it was up to young Galen to keep them alive. Slash and stab wounds had to be closed quickly and cleanly and diets devised to maintain the perfect balance of fat and muscle for the finest fighters. It gave Galen unrivalled insight into the workings of the human body, knowledge he would use as he went on to treat emperors and write the textbooks that would guide doctors for hundreds of years.Mary Beard traces the career of Rome's greatest medic from its highs to its lowest of lows- the moment when a great fire swept through Rome, threatening to wipe out his life's work.Producer: Alasdair CrossExpert Contributors: Helen King, Open University and Matthew Nicholls, Oxford UniversitySpecial thanks to the British Museum and the Parco Archeolgico del Colosseo, Roma
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