Wine-Dark Sea

Marcus Agrippa: The Emperor's Right Hand | A Tale from Ancient Rome

As the Roman Republic slid into civil war and re-emerged as an empire in the late first century BC, Marcus Agrippa was a key figure in this radical transformation. The best friend and right-hand man of Augustus, first Roman emperor, he was both a witness to and active participant in the climactic battles and sweeping reforms that birthed the Pax Romana. A story from Roman history (63 - 12 BC), featuring: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Gaius Octavius / Octavian / the emperor Augustus, Julius Caesar, Sextus Pompey, Mark Antony, Cleopatra --- CREDITS:  Music by Scott Buckley Thumbnail Images: Bust of Agrippa (c. 25 BC) Augustus of Prima Porta (1st century AD) Panel from Trajan's Column featuring Roman soldiers (113 AD) WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)

Battle of Salamis: The Wooden Walls and the War for Athens | Story + Historical Commentary

*Stay tuned after the story for analysis and commentary!* As the Battle of Salamis looms, the Athenian leader Themistocles struggles to save Athens--and all of Greece--during a second war against Persia. How will Themistocles and the allied Greeks defend their land against the invading Persian Empire of King Xerxes? A mysterious oracle from Delphi may hold the answer: they must trust in the "Wooden Walls" at "Divine Salamis"... A story from Greek history (Persian Wars, 480 BC), based on Herodotus' Histories, featuring: Themistocles, Xerxes, the Pythia/Oracle of Delphi, Artemisia, Eurybiades - - - CREDITS Music by Scott MacLeod, StoryBlocks, and Scott Buckley Battle of Lade, 494 BCE (Radu Oltean, 2014; featured in Ancient Warfare VIII.2)

War on Olympus: Zeus and the Gods vs. the Titans | Story + Historical Commentary

*Stay tuned after the story for analysis and commentary!* War rages between the Titans and the Olympian gods as the story of Zeus' rise to kingship continues. The Olympians battle to establish their reign against Cronus, the other Titans, and finally the fearsome monster Typhon, the very embodiment of primal chaos. A story from Greek mythology, based on Hesiod's Theogony, featuring: Zeus, the Titans, Typhon, the Hecatonchires (Cottus, Briareus, Gyges), the Cyclopes, Gaia, Tartarus, Prometheus, Atlas - - - CREDITS Music by Scott Buckley Thumbnail Image: The Gods of Olympus (Giulio Romano, 1528)

Zeus and the Rise of the Olympians | Story + Historical Commentary

*Stay tuned after the story for analysis and commentary!* The origin of Zeus, king of the gods, is a tale of danger and deception. How did his father, the Titan Cronus, come to reign as king of the cosmos, how was Zeus born, and how did he free his brother and sister Olympians to usher in a new age? A story from Greek mythology, based on Hesiod's Theogony, featuring: Zeus, Cronus, Rhea, Gaia, Uranus, Metis, the Titans - - - CREDITS Music by Kevin MacLeod Thumbnail Image: Council of the Gods (Giovanni Lanfranco, 17th century)

Caesar at the Rubicon | Story + Historical Commentary

*Stay tuned after the story for analysis and commentary!* Julius Caesar stands at the Rubicon river, as the Roman Republic teeters on the brink of civil war. Will he cross the Rubicon, march on Rome against his rival Pompey the Great and the Roman senate, and plunge the Republic into civil war? A story from Roman history (Late Roman Republic, Civil Wars, 49 BC), featuring: Gaius Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great), Marcus Licinius Crassus - - - CREDITS Music by Kevin MacLeod Thumbnail Image: Caesar Crosses the Rubicon (Adolphe Yvon, 1875)