The Classical Antiquity Sidequest

Sidequest 34 - Gladiator Isn't Good

#gladiator #gladiators #rome #ancientrome #movies #antiquity #classicalantiquity We are finally getting around to reviewing the movie that started a string of copycat Roman history movies by reviewing the blockbuster that is Gladiator. For reasons that me and Victor don't understand, people like this movie. We, if you couldn't tell from the episode's title, don't particularly care for it. The film is full of dumb plot points, bad dialogue, slow motion and several things that make no sense (like the fact that Maximus became a gladiator because ... Reasons!). If we're being honest, this entire movie is avoided by Marcus Aurelius writing a will. If you rewatch Gladiator, take time to watch The Fall of the Roman Empire which is the inspiration for Gladiator. That will also help you unlock the secret of this movie which we stumble on as we discuss it. Turns out that there's a connection between Maximus and Obi-Wan Kenobi which we think Ridley Scott clearly intended to convey in Gladiator. I also go on a rant about Boomers. This shouldn't surprise you given one of the books I reviewed [https://classicalantiquitypod.com/2026/01/01/book-review-a-generation-of-sociopaths-how-the-baby-boomers-betrayed-america/] here. 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 [https://bsky.app/profile/antiquitypod.bsky.social], on Mastodon [https://mastodon.social/@antiquitypod], on Reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanHistoryPodcasts/], or on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/dukefbcoverage/]. And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

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 [https://heritagewatch.camelab.net/]. Dr. Katherine Blouin [https://bsky.app/profile/isisnaucratis.bsky.social] 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 [https://www.un.org/unispal/document/special-rapporteur-report-gaza-genocide-a-collective-crime-20oct25/] and Israel's deliberate attempt to wipe Palestinian culture off the map [https://www.npr.org/2023/12/03/1216200754/gaza-heritage-sites-destroyed-israel] to justify its own existence. For additional reading on these topics, check out the following: Save Sebastia [https://www.instagram.com/savesebastia/] Archaeologists Against Apartheid [https://www.instagram.com/archaeologistsagainstapartheid/] Everyday Orientalism [https://everydayorientalism.wordpress.com/2022/09/07/the-gates-3-ancient-studies-heritage-and-war-eotalks-panel/] Follow the Pots Project [https://www.facebook.com/groups/410281482394332] Nelly Abboud [https://www.instagram.com/nelly.abb/] 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 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermezzo_(novel)] and Caroline Dodd Pennock's On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/646154/on-savage-shores-by-caroline-dodds-pennock/]. 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 [https://bsky.app/profile/antiquitypod.bsky.social], on Mastodon [https://mastodon.social/@antiquitypod], on Reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanHistoryPodcasts/], or on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/dukefbcoverage/]. And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

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 [https://bsky.app/profile/rhigarthjones.bsky.social] 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 [https://sara-alfa.com/books/squire/], Ancient Mediterranean Incarceration [https://www.ucpress.edu/books/ancient-mediterranean-incarceration/paper] and The White Pedestal [https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300272734/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 [https://bsky.app/profile/antiquitypod.bsky.social], on Mastodon [https://mastodon.social/@antiquitypod], on Reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanHistoryPodcasts/], or on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/dukefbcoverage/]. And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

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

#palestine #thelevant #palestinian #antiquity #history Back in February, Dr. Chance Bonar [https://bsky.app/profile/chancebonar.bsky.social] 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 [https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/palestine-9780755649426/], Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From? [https://www.amazon.com/Were-Early-Israelites-Where-They/dp/0802844162], and Judea Under Greek and Roman Rule [https://academic.oup.com/book/58629]. You can also check out Everyday Orientalism [https://everydayorientalism.wordpress.com/eopalestine/]. Your reading assignment is Freedom is a Constant Struggle [https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/780-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 [https://bsky.app/profile/antiquitypod.bsky.social], on Mastodon [https://mastodon.social/@antiquitypod], on Reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanHistoryPodcasts/], or on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/dukefbcoverage/]. And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

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 [https://classicalantiquitypod.com/2025/10/14/sidequest-25-ben-and-victor-review-troy-the-directors-cut/] by reviewing 2014's Pompeii [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii_(film)]. 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 [https://classicalantiquitypod.com/2025/09/11/classical-antiquity-sidequest-6-ben-and-victor-review-300/], 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 [https://bsky.app/profile/antiquitypod.bsky.social], on Mastodon [https://mastodon.social/@antiquitypod], on Reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanHistoryPodcasts/], or on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/dukefbcoverage/]. And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.