Ancient History Fangirl

Ancient History Fangirl

True stories and tall tales of the ancient world.

  • 1 hour 13 minutes
    RE-RELEASE: Spartacus vs. Toussaint L'Ouverture (With Mike Duncan)

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    More than 1,800 years after Spartacus fought for his freedom, another rebel leader spearheaded the most successful slave revolt in history: the Haitian Revolution. That leader was a man named Toussaint L’Ouverture.

    This week, we invited Mike Duncan of The History of Rome and Revolutions to help us compare these two revolutionaries and discuss what advice Toussaint L'Ouverture might have had for Spartacus.

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    5 March 2026, 6:00 am
  • 2 hours 38 minutes
    ALL IN ONE PLACE: Spartacus Parts 1, 2 & 3

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    This file contains the first three episodes of our Spartacus series. You'll learn about the conditions in Italy that gave rise to the Third Servile War; how Spartacus rebelled and the pressures he was under in holding together a disparate crowd of rebels with differing priorities. It's a riveting tale that's sure to keep you hooked.

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    26 February 2026, 6:00 am
  • 1 hour 44 minutes
    RE-RELEASE: Dionysus: Religion of Revolution

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    Dionysus was a god of revolutions. He featured prominently in two out of three major Roman slave rebellions. Why is that? And why was that aspect of Dionysus forgotten?

    In this episode, we'll focus on what happened after Dionysus won his place as a god on Mount Olympus--how people worshiped him on earth, and what made him so dangerous to the Roman status quo.

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    19 February 2026, 6:00 am
  • 1 hour 35 minutes
    RE-RELEASE: Teotihuacan: Eat the Rich

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    Teotihuacan is an ancient pre-Colombian city in central America, founded two thousand years ago. It’s the home of some of the most iconic Mesoamerican monuments in existence, including the Pyramids of the Moon and Sun.

    The city was abandoned after about 750 years of habitation. When the Aztecs first encountered it, it had stood empty for 600 years. Walking through the empty ruin, they marveled at the towering pyramids, the incredible murals, the enormous palaces—and wondered where the people had gone. They thought these people must have become gods.

    This city has something for everyone: mysterious skeletons. Volcanoes. An eating of the rich. And so many mysteries, it’s hard to pick just one.

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    12 February 2026, 6:00 am
  • 2 hours 13 minutes
    ALL IN ONE PLACE: The First and Second Servile Wars

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! When we think of large Roman slave rebellions, we usually think of Spartacus. But what if we told you that Spartacus was only the third in a 30-year cycle of slave rebellions that happened twice before?

    The wars that came before Spartacus were larger, more all-encompassing, and maybe more violent—sweeping up hundreds of thousands of people before the rebellions were done. And their leaders—one a very salty birthday magician, the other a skilled astrologer —were just as epic.  

    We’re on hiatus until April 9. Until then, enjoy our episodes on the First and Second Servile Wars, all in one place.

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    This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to [email protected].


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    5 February 2026, 6:00 am
  • 1 hour 39 minutes
    RE-RELEASE: The Mound Builders of Cahokia

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    Hundreds of years before European contact, the biggest city in North America was located along the Mississippi River. At its peak, perhaps 15,000 people lived there—and over 30,000 in the surrounding suburbs. Today, we call it Cahokia.

    Nobody knows what the original name of this city was. But there was a time when everybody knew its name—from the Great Lakes to the Eastern Seaboard, and from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico. What was that name, and why was it lost to time and memory? That’s just one of the many mysteries of Cahokia.

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    29 January 2026, 6:00 am
  • 3 hours 48 minutes
    ALL IN ONE PLACE: Boudicca Parts 1, 2 & 3

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    We're on hiatus until April 9. Until then, please enjoy our entire Boudicca series, all in one place. 

    The story of Boudicca’s revolt is as epic as you can get. It’s got murder and pillage, Romans behaving badly, cities on fire, and a layer of destruction that was scorched into the earth. But it's also the story of a people on a precipice of great change.

    Who was Boudicca? Who was this iron-age warrior queen who stood up to the Romans—and whose name was so revered and feared that stories of her are still being spun almost 2,000 years later? In these episodes, we’re going to find out.

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    This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to [email protected].

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    22 January 2026, 6:00 am
  • 22 minutes 59 seconds
    End of Season 14 Announcement

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    It is the End of Season 14--a brief but intense season! Big changes have come in our lives over the past year, and in this episode we take you behind the scenes and discuss the past year and our upcoming plans!

    Find Jenny's book, ⁠Enemy of My Dreams⁠, Here! (And preorder the sequel, Game of Thieves!)

    Get Genn's most recent book, the ⁠Official Lore Olympus Cookbook⁠, here!

    Find our book Women of Myth here!

    Sponsors and Advertising

    This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to [email protected].

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    15 January 2026, 6:00 am
  • 57 minutes 34 seconds
    RE-RELEASE: Janus: God of the New Year

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    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 god who’s always just passing through.

    Janus may not be very well-known. But in his time, he was considered one of the most important gods—perhaps more important than Jupiter himself. Today, we’re going to tell you all about him.

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    This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to [email protected].

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    1 January 2026, 6:00 am
  • 1 hour 3 minutes
    RE-RELEASE: Saturnalia: So Much More than Roman Christmas

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    Wish you had a holiday all about feasting, drinking, the upending of the social order, blood sacrifices, the harvest, pranks, novelty gifts, honouring a god who devoured his kids, and the returning sun? Don’t we all??? Welcome to Saturnalia.

    Sponsors and Advertising

    This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to [email protected].

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    25 December 2025, 6:00 am
  • 45 minutes 37 seconds
    RE-RELEASE: Krampus: The Goat Knows What You Did

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    This year, we decided that the holiday season wouldn’t be complete without a mythological foray into one of the most famous characters of the season: The Krampus.

    And some of you might be saying: wait a minute, Krampus isn’t ancient; he’s modern. Also, everyone knows about Krampus, the festive demon of Christmas. Why are you covering this well-trodden topic?

    Wait until you hear the wild things we uncovered about him and his history, and then make your judgements about how old and well-trodden this topic is.

    Sponsors and Advertising

    This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to [email protected].

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    18 December 2025, 6:00 am
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