The Classical Antiquity Sidequest

Classical Antiquity Sidequest
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A Bull City Coordinators Podcast. This podcast covers topics from the era of Classical Antiquity. We cover the era that Edgar Allan Poe referred to as "the glory that was Greece, and the grandeur that was Rome. This is the ultimate historical sidequest podcast.

  1. MAY 1

    Sidequest 33 - Violence To Memory: Destruction of Heritage with Dr. Katherine Blouin

    #iranwar #iran #gaza #palestine #genocide #israel #culturalheritage As you may know, the US-Israeli Axis launched a preemptive, and unnecessary, war on Iran. This war of choice has destablized the region, caused economic disruptions at home and created a humanitarian crisis throughout the Middle East. One somewhat overlooked part of this war includes the destruction of UNESCO recognized cultural heritage sites. Dr. Katherine Blouin stopped by the podcast to discuss this erasure of both history and culture. In addition to talking about the Iran War and its effects on history, archaeology and culture, we discuss the Israeli government's genocide of the Palestinian people and Israel's deliberate attempt to wipe Palestinian culture off the map to justify its own existence. For additional reading on these topics, check out the following: Save Sebastia Archaeologists Against Apartheid Everyday Orientalism Follow the Pots Project Nelly Abboud While this may not be the most cheerful conversation we've ever had on the podcast, it is a necessary one. And it gave us the chance to remind everyone of the best episode of Drunk History ever - Tiffany Haddish discussing Rose Valland. You will need to watch it at some point to get your mind off of current events. Your reading assignments include Sally Rooney's Intermezzo and Caroline Dodd Pennock's On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe. The theme music is from Brent Arehart. Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Bluesky, on Mastodon, on Reddit, or on Instagram. And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

    1h 7m

  2. APR 15

    Sidequest 32 - The First Millennium with Dr. Rhiannon Garth Jones

    #antiquity #mediterranean #rome #greece #islam #thelevant #history #classicalantiquity #lateantiquity Friend of the podcast Dr. Rhiannon Garth Jones returns to discuss the time period that some scholars refer to as "The First Millennium". This period covers ... And now I'm using a word to define itself, so instead of that, let me just say that it's the period from 1 CE to 1000 CE. During the episode, we discuss what the time period is, what historians who study it look at and the common threads that exist between societies that we think of as separate and distinct. The episode touches on a lot of topics including English Premier League football, the narrow focus of Antiquity on Greece and Rome at the exclusion of the rest of the Mediterranean, Late Antiquity, Islamic kingdoms and empires and their connections to both Antiquity and to Late Antiquity. As you should know by now from listening to the podcast, there are a lot more similarities between "different" peoples and civilizations than we might think. We explore those similarities in this episode including how many societies expressed power by channelling the Roman state. Your reading assignments include the graphic novel Squire, Ancient Mediterranean Incarceration and The White Pedestal. The theme music is from Brent Arehart. Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Bluesky, on Mastodon, on Reddit, or on Instagram. And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

    1h 6m

  3. MAR 15

    Sidequest 31 - Palestine and The Levant with Dr. Chance Bonar

    #palestine #thelevant #palestinian #antiquity #history Back in February, Dr. Chance Bonar was kind enough to stop by the podcast to talk about a completely non-controversial topic that doesn't generate strong opinions from anyone - Palestine and the Levant. We recorded this before Iran and Israel launched an unnecessary war in the United States, so we don't get into any issues surrounding that. We do, however, cover the history of the term "Palestine", the Levant functioning as a crossroads throughout history, political agendas which complicate the historian's job of telling people what happened and a whole lot more. For those of you who don't know a lot about the history of that region, this is a good place to start. If you want to learn more about the history of the region, Dr. Bonar's suggested reading includes Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History, Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From?, and Judea Under Greek and Roman Rule. You can also check out Everyday Orientalism. Your reading assignment is Freedom is a Constant Struggle. The theme music is from Brent Arehart. Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Bluesky, on Mastodon, on Reddit, or on Instagram. And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

    1h 3m

  4. FEB 15

    Sidequest 30 - Pompeii is an Explosion of Slop

    #pompeii #movie #moviereviews #movies #romanhistory #rome #ancientrome #antiquity #classicalantiquity #kitharington In this episode, me and Victor test my wife's theory that a volcano exploding makes a movie better by reviewing 2014's Pompeii. TLDL - this movie was pretty awful. However, the volcano exploding did improve what was otherwise a flaming pile of garbage. In our review, we bring back McNulty Subplot, spend a lot of time discussing how could this movie be made better, nickname Kit Harrington's character "Roman Snow" and complain about this movie wasting an excellent cast. If you have seen the movie and have any thoughts on how it could've been better, please reach out and let us know. I'll read your ideas on the next movie review episode. If we get enough submissions, I'll do a special episode. The theme music is from Brent Arehart. Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Bluesky, on Mastodon, on Reddit, or on Instagram. And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

    1h 6m

  5. JAN 6

    Sidequest 29 - The White Pedestal: How White Nationalists Use the Classics

    #classics #whitenationalists #whitenationalism #rome #greece #ancientrome #ancientgreece #history #theclassics I've been a fan of Dr. Curtis Dozier for a while. I stumbled on his podcast, The Mirror of Antiquity, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I then came across his website, Pharos, where he chronicles (mostly horrible and some who are only somewhat horrible but still horrible) people invoking the Classics to justify their horrible beliefs. When I reached out to Dr. Dozier to see if he would come on the podcast, not only did he say yes, but he told me about his current book which is now available for purchase - The White Pedestal: How White Nationalists Use Ancient Greece and Rome to Justify Hate. Naturally, this book which is now available for purchase, is the topic of the episode. In Dr. Dozier's book, which I read and highly recommend, he outlines the goals of white nationalists and where in the Classics white nationalists look to find support for their horrible beliefs. It turns out that they aren't necessarily misrepresenting history to support their hate-filled, racist and reprehensible beliefs. Rather, such hatred, bigotry and racist beliefs are common and permeate our entire historical and philosophical narrative. And that is the key part of Dr. Dozier's book - he isn't just exposing the logical fallacies of white nationalists, he's exposing the problems inherent with our historical narratives upon which white nationalists rely. And it's understanding that issue which makes the discussion we need to have about history so important. Put simply, if we're going to have a discussion about white nationalists co-opting the Classics, we need to have a discussion about what the Classics are, what they aren't and our obligations as students and teachers to telling an accurate and complete narrative about the past and how that reflects on the present. We have to stop idolizing the subject matter and be honest about it. Look, folks, if there's one theme of this podcast, it's that history is messy. And this episode returns to that theme again and again and again. There's nothing perfect about the past. The folks who preceded us weren't saints. They were people, and people are imperfect. So, let's stop putting the past on a pedestal and get to work making our present and our future a better place. While I often kick around politics and current events, this is one of the few episodes that covers both in detail. I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed participating in the discussion. Your reading assignment is Empire of Ruin. The theme music is from Brent Arehart. Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Bluesky, on Mastodon, on Reddit, or on Instagram. And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

    1h 20m

  6. 12/15/2025

    Sidequest 28 - Labor Movements in Ancient Rome with Dr. Sarah Bond

    #ancientrome #romanempire #romanantiquity #labormovements #strike #unions #union #unionmovement #classicalantiquity #antiquity Dr. Sarah Bond, Roanoke, Virginia native and author of the hit book Strike: Labor, Unions, and Resistance in the Roman Empire, stopped by the podcast to talk about how people engaged in collective action in Antiquity. In addition to discussing how Roman workers engaged in actions that are similar to the modern labor movement, such as by forming collegia of various types, we cover a lot of topics including why Roanoke is so great, how we should approach the study of history and the power that laborers have. Another topic we get into is how the Roman state restricted collegia and why Christians were persecuted. And if that weren't enough, we also discuss the Mint Strike during Aurelian's reign. Not to give away the ending, but as Omar warned us, "You come at the king, you best not miss." Your reading assignments include The Great Leveler and Surviving Rome. The theme music is from Brent Arehart. Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Bluesky, on Mastodon, on Reddit, or on Instagram. And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

    1h 13m

  7. 11/20/2025

    Sidequest 27 - Magic and Early Christianity with Dr. Shaily Patel

    #magic #christianity #history #religion #religioushistory #antiquity #rome #romanhistory #romanempire In response to a suggestion from Dr. Rhiannon Garth Jones, I reached out to Dr. Shaily Patel at Virginia Tech (GO HOKIES!) to see if she would come on the podcast. Turns out she was willing to do so and this led to a discussion about the complex relationship between early Christianity and magic. This includes how early Christians employed heresy to attack and marginalize non-Christian practitioners of magic (looking at you, Augustine). Dr. Patel has covered this topic thoroughly and written a book about it that is very, very good. Please check out the book. You will enjoy it. In addition to covering the complex role that early Christianity and Christians had with magic, we discuss the state of higher education, how we should discuss history and the complexities involved in putting together historical narratives, the D.C. Comics character John Constantine, the brilliant TV show Grimm and The Dresden Files. Don't judge us. Your reading assignments include the Scholomance series and Things Unseen. The theme music is from Brent Arehart. Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Bluesky, on Mastodon, on Reddit, or on Instagram. And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

    1h 27m

  8. 10/25/2025

    Sidequest 26 - Drinking in Ancient Greece with Dr. Amy Pistone

    #highereducation #highered #historiography #ancientgreece #drinkinggames #odysseus #theodyssey #antiquity #classicalantiquity Our friend Amy Pistone returns to the podcast to educate us on drinking habits in Ancient Greece. During this episode, we'll hear about the current climate in higher education and discuss the uncertainty professors have. We will also cover what would go down at a symposium and how people in Antiquity knew how to play drinking games. And, if that weren't enough, we answer a question that has stumped scholars for centuries - was Odysseus a woo girl, or did he just keep it real? Listen and find out. Your reading assignments include Glorious Exploits and Sarah Bond's Strike. Given the number of times that Strike has been suggested as a book to read, isn't it time for Dr. Bond to come on the podcast? I think so. The theme music is from Brent Arehart. Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Bluesky, on Mastodon, on Reddit, or on Instagram. And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

    1h 37m
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

A Bull City Coordinators Podcast. This podcast covers topics from the era of Classical Antiquity. We cover the era that Edgar Allan Poe referred to as "the glory that was Greece, and the grandeur that was Rome. This is the ultimate historical sidequest podcast.

Information

  • Creator
    Classical Antiquity Sidequest
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    33
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Classical Antiquity Sidequest
  • Show Website
    The Classical Antiquity Sidequest

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