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Modern labels like “straight” and “gay” don’t map neatly onto ancient Greek culture. While same-sex relationships were considered normal and even expected, there were still taboos and rules of proper behavior. In this episode, host Scott Emmons explores the courtship rituals and sexual practices that characterized the most accepted forms of Greek homosexuality.

Attention: This episode contains explicit descriptions of sex acts. Listener discretion is advised.

For visuals illustrating aspects of this episode, check out Episode 19 at epicgreekhistory.substack.com.

Reading Suggestions:

Greek Homosexuality by K.J. Dover

The Greeks and Greek Love by James Davidson

One Hundred Years of Homosexuality by David M. Halperin (collection of essays)

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Imagine a state where no citizen works for a living; where children are kept hungry to encourage them to steal; where the most powerful military force in the known world is reluctant to fight far from the city for fear of a slave revolt at home. Such a place was ancient Sparta. In this episode, host Scott Emmons traces the legendary origins of the Spartan state, the wars that shaped its military tradition, the educational system that trained its citizen soldiers, and the unique “mixed” constitution that drew the admiration of historians and philosophers.

For maps and visuals to supplement this episode, check out Episode 18 at epicgreekhistory.substack.com.

Reading Suggestions

Xenophon, Constitution of the Spartans

Plutarch, Life of Lycurgus, Spartan Customs, and Sayings of Spartan Women

Aristotle, Politics (relevant passages)

Paul Cartledge, Sparta and Laconia

Nigel M. Kennel, Spartans: A New History

Sara B. Pomeroy, Spartan Women

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No one was writing history in Greece during the 7th and 6th centuries BCE. But that doesn't mean we have no voices speaking to us from that time. Fragments of works by early Greek poets can provide real-time commentary on the social and political upheaval of their times. In this episode, host Scott Emmons observes the struggles of the early polis through the eyes of two aristocratic poets, Theognis of Megara and Alcaeus of Mytilene.

For maps and images, check out Episode 17 at epicgreekhistory.substack.com.

Reading Suggestions:

A History of Greek Literature by Albin Lesky (chapters on Theognis and Alcaeus)

Greek Lyrics, translated by Richmond Lattimore

Greek Lyric, Vol. 1: Sappho and Alcaeus, translated by David A. Campbell (Loeb Classical Library)

Greek Elegiac Poetry, translated by Douglas E. Gerber (Loeb Classical Library)

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In modern English, a “tyrant” is someone who rules oppressively. To the ancient Greeks, the word tyrannoscould just refer to a king, but more specifically it meant an autocrat who had come to power by overthrowing an existing regime. The 7th and 6th centuries BCE saw the rise of many Greek tyrants who capitalized on class tensions and other forces to gain absolute power. In this episode, host Scott Emmons explores this important phase of Greek history, focusing on powerful tyrannies in Argos, Corinth, and Sicyon.

For images illustrating this episode, visit Episode 16 at epicgreekhistory.substack.com

Reading Suggestions:

The Greek Tyrants by Antony Andrewes (70 years old, but still an excellent introduction to the subject of Archaic Period tyrants)

Archaic Greece: The Age of Experiment by Anthony Snodgrass

Early Greece by Oswyn Murray

A History of the Archaic Greek World by Jonathan M. Hall

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The hoplite infantry was the backbone of a Greek city-state's land army. But hoplites weren't the only ones who served. Those who couldn't afford hoplite armor served as light infantry, hurling javelins, shooting arrows, or even throwing rocks if that was all they had. Those who were wealthy enough to keep horses could serve in the cavalry. In this episode, host Scott Emmons explores the contributions of non-hoplite warriors as well as mercenaries, who could reinforce any army division.

For visuals to accompany this episode, check out Episode 15 at epicgreekhistory.substack.com.

Reading Suggestions:

Greek Warfare: Myth and Realities by Hans van Wees

The Greek and Macedonia Art of War by Frank Adcock

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The polis was the defining sociopolitical system of ancient Greece. It was the environment where Greek drama, architecture, philosophy, and other cultural developments reached their peak. In this episode, host Scott Emmons explores the beginnings of the polis, military developments that helped shape it, and the values that it espoused, even if it didn't always uphold them.

For images associated with this episode, check out Episode 14 at epicgreekhistory.substack.com

Reading Suggestions:

Greece in the Making 1200-479 BC by Robin Osborne

Archaic Greece: The Age of Experiment by Anthony Snodgrass

Men of Bronze: Hoplite Warfare in Ancient Greece edited by Donald Kagan and Gregory Viggiano (This collection of essays by different authors is a good introduction to the academic debates over the development of the hoplite phalanx.)

The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece by Victor Davis Hanson

The Other Greeks: The Family Farm and the Agrarian Roots of Western Civilization by Victor Davis Hanson

Greek Warfare: Myths and Realities by Hans van Wees

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In Greek myth, Delphi was the literal center of the world. In real-world religious practice, it lived up to its reputation. People came from all over the Greek world — and even outside it — to seek Apollo’s guidance in matters both personal and political. In this episode, host Scott Emmons discusses the mythical origins of the Delphic oracle, the mystery of the Pythia’s inspiration, the riddling nature of oracular responses, and the importance of Delphi in the power struggles between Greek states.

For images related to this episode, check out Episode 13 at epicgreekhistory.substack.com.

Suggested Reading:

The Delphic Oracle by H.W. Parke and D.E.W. Wormell (A seminal work in two volumes, published in 1956. Available at the Internet Archive)

Delphi: A History of the Center of the Ancient World by Michael Scott

Oracle: Ancient Delphi and the Science Behind its Lost Secrets by William J. Broad

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Ancient Greece was defined by its culture, not by its borders. Starting in the 8th century BCE, Greeks planted settlements in southern Italy and Sicily — so many that the area came to be known as Magna Graecia, "Great Greece." Hellenic settlements soon spread to other parts of the Mediterranean and also to the northeast, even surrounding the Black Sea. This episode takes you on a whirlwind tour of Greek settlements, then focuses in on Cyrene, a thoroughly Greek city located in North Africa.

For maps and photos accompanying this episode, check out Episode 12 at epicgreekhistory.substack.com.

Reading Suggestions:

The Greeks Overseas by John Boardman

Wandering Greeks by Robert Garland

Greece in the Making, 1200-479 BC by Robin Osborne

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