Ancient History Fangirl

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AHFG Book Club: Aphrodite & Ares: An Immortal Affair (With Jennifer Saint) Jun 11, 2026

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Aphrodite, goddess of love and sex, took many lovers in the mythology. But perhaps the most important was Ares. They adored each other; they had many children together; they could not keep apart . Their relationship was (for the ancient Greeks) surprisingly…healthy?

Today we talk all things Aphrodite with bestselling author Jennifer Saint: her relationship with Ares, her many other lovers, and what her story tells us about how the ancients viewed love and romance.

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Clodia: Champion of Democracy (With Douglas Boin) Jun 04, 2026

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Due to changing marital laws (among other things), the late Roman Republic saw a rise in a certain kind of wealthy elite woman with more independence and power than her foremothers. These women were financially independent, highly educated, sexually liberated, and unafraid to seize the reins of power. One of those was a woman named Clodia.

Daughter of the aristocratic Claudii, Clodia (and her brother Clodius) changed her name to reflect a more plebeian status. A fierce populist, she was vilified by Cicero even as she was the victim of a murder plot. And she was an unlikely champion of true democratic values.

Join us as we discuss her fascinating life with author and biographer Douglas Boin—and explore what her life tells us about the state of the patriarchy then and now.

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This episode is sponsored by Taskrabbit. Get $15 off your first task at Taskrabbit.com or the Taskrabbit app using promo code FANGIRL.

This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com.

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The Lex Juliae: How Augustus Brought Women to Heel May 21, 2026

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You may have noticed that MAGA (Republicans in general, really) are weird about women.

That weirdness is ancient. It goes all the way back to ancient Rome, all the way back to ancient Greece, and all the way back to the beginning of the city-state, when gender-based oppression was built into the foundations of the polis. Augustus was similarly weird about women, and so were (and are) many fascist leaders from more modern times.

Augustus enacted laws called the Lex Juliae two thousand years ago, as part of his project to dismantle democracy and install an authoritarian state with himself at the head. Join us as we deconstruct those laws, compare them to Project 2025 and 2026, and try to figure out why oppression of women is so important to fascism.

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AHFG Book Club: If Villain Bad, Why Villain Hot? (With Elizabeth May) May 14, 2026

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We are thrilled to welcome #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Elizabeth May to the podcast. Elizabeth May is the author of The Wolf and the Crown of Blood, a bestselling new release about deranged homicidal gods and the equally deranged princesses who drag them around like stuffie toys.

Join us for a fun and laughter-filled conversation with an author whose playground is somewhere at the intersection of sex and violence, which is just where we like it.

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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 advertising@airwavemedia.com.

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How to Destroy a Democracy (Welcome to the Augustan Age) May 07, 2026

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When Augustus rolled into town after defeating Marc Antony and Cleopatra, he was greeted as a hero—because the Senate ordered its people to stand outside the gates and cheer. The reality was, there was fear on both sides. Augustus was afraid to grab power too quickly—or he’d find himself meeting Caesar’s fate. The Senators feared bloody proscriptions, like the ones Augustus (Octavian) unleashed with the Second Triumvirate just a few years ago.

Standing outside those walls, anything could have happened. Octavian could have been murdered. He could have given Rome back its democracy, just like it was. Just like before. And for a while, it looked like he was going to do that. He kept promising he would.

But that’s not how it went down. Today we’ll explore how you kill a democracy—with a thousand tiny cuts, or one single stab to the heart.

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Was Rome Always Like This? (With Mike Duncan) Apr 23, 2026

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When we look at the demise of Roman democracy, we think of the time of Augustus—and maybe Caesar before him. But in reality, the seeds of the republic’s destruction were planted at the time of its birth.

It’s probably not too far out on a limb to say that Caesar couldn’t have grabbed so much power if there hadn’t been a Sulla, or a Marius, or the Gracchi brothers, or innumerable revolutionaries and power players of centuries before.

That is the subject of The Storm Before the Storm, the New York Times bestselling book by author and podcaster Mike Duncan. This week, Mike takes us back to the beginning—to show us the faultlines built into the very foundation of democracy. Sponsors and Advertising

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AHFG Book Club: Cleopatra: The Last Pharaoh (With Saara El-Arifi) Apr 16, 2026

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Join us as we return to Cleopatra’s Alexandria—the glamor, the political intrigue, the history—and take a second in-depth look at Egypt's last Pharaoh. Our guide for this episode is none other than Saara El-Arifi, bestselling author of The Ending Fire and Faebound trilogies and the exciting new release, Cleopatra: A Novel.

In this episode we’ll discuss Cleopatra’s life and loves, the challenges of breathing new life into a very examined historical figure, and exactly what we do and don’t know about the real Cleopatra.

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Rome Has No Kings Apr 09, 2026

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⁠Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! When Octavian (Augustus) returned home victorious from his final battle against Marc Antony and Cleopatra, he was met by an ecstatic crowd. The Senate had ordered all classes and priesthoods, including the Vestal Virgins, to joyously greet him at the entrance to the city.

This was the man who would be responsible for demolishing their democracy and ushering in an imperial military state that would last another 500 years (roughly).

What was it like to stand in the shadow of the walls that day? What questions were burning in the people’s hearts? What did they think that they did not dare say? Was the mood celebratory? Raucous? Rebellious? Join us as we travel back in time to the gates of Rome, to watch Octavian return.

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RE-RELEASE: Actium, Baby! (With Barry Strauss) Apr 02, 2026

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In this episode, we return to the beach at Actium with author, historian, and academic Barry Strauss as our tour guide. His new book, The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium, discusses the infamous sea battle Marc Antony and Cleopatra fought against Octavian and Agrippa for love, for supremacy, for their very survival.

Join us as we deconstruct this battle, paint a vivid picture of ancient war at sea, and tackle the one question everyone’s asking: why did Cleopatra flee the battlefield?

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ALL IN ONE PLACE: Marc Antony x Cleopatra: Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Parts 4 & 5) Mar 26, 2026

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This file contains the last two episodes in our series on Marc Antony and Cleopatra: Lovers in a Dangerous Time, all in one place.

This series has everything: love, war, violence, betrayal, Marc Antony barfing everywhere, and Cleopatra being extremely glamorous at all times. Please enjoy while you wait for us to return from hiatus on April 9.

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