Join Emily and Cam as they discuss the Romans in Britain from the time of Caesar to the emperor Hadrian, and then talk about Hadrian’s monumental wall—what it was, how it was built, what it was for, and why some bits of it still survive today.

Visit our homepage to subscribe, to find us on social media, and to contact us by email:

1. https://havetogawilltravel.com

Links

1. David Keys, “Roman Invasion Beach Found in Kent”, The Independent (Friday October 3, 2008).

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00:11 - Introduction

01:58 - The Romans in Britain, from Caesar to Hadrian

1. 02:22 - Caesar’s campaigns in Gaul and Britain, and their aftermath
2. 03:35 - Claudius “defeats” Caratacus and conquers southern England
3. 13:37 - Boudicca’s Rebellion
4. 18:54 - Vespasian and the governorship of Agricola
5. 22:05 - Hadrian visits the frontier

23:31 - Building Hadrian’s Wall

1. 23:25 - The route: from Segedunum to Maia
2. 25:41 - The wall and its features: stone, turf, milecastles, turrets, and outworks
3. 28:57 - Why build part in stone and part in turf?
4. 29:28 - The legions and the process of building the wall
5. 32:25 - Changing plans: wall gauges, wall forts, and turf replaced by stone

37:56 - The Purpose of Hadrian’s Wall

1. 38:25 - Some puzzling features of Rome’s northern frontier
2. 39:07 - A zone of transition: the Roman Empire and British social structures
3. 44:22 - The Romans, the Wall, and the transformation of Britain

46:24 - The Wall after Hadrian

1. 46:42 - The Wall from Antoninus Pius to Septimius Severus
2. 49:04 - The Wall in the time of Bede
3. 51:17 - The 17th and 18th centuries: Hadrian’s Wall and the Military Road
4. 53:19 - John Clayton
5. 54:39 - The National Trust and UNESCO

55:20 - Wrap-up

Emily and Cam chat about whether Monty Python's Life of Brian is truly the greatest movie about ancient Rome (as Cam claimed in the last episode). They also explore what "truths" the movie might expose about life under Roman occupation, and contemplate the Pythons’ love for Aristophanes.

Visit our homepage to subscribe, to find us on social media, and to contact us by email:

1. https://havetogawilltravel.com

Cover photo adapted from an image by Grufo (Wikimedia Commons).

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00:11 - Introduction

01:54 - Monty Python: A Primer

1. 02:25 - Five Brits and an American: Monty Python comes together (probably at a bar)
2. 04:00 - The Pythons venture into feature-length films

06:56 - Production, Release, Reception

1. 06:58 - On location in Tunisia
2. 08:00 - The man they call Brian: the basic plot of the movie
3. 09:52 - George Harrison to the rescue!
4. 11:13 - Brian banned!
5. 12:08 - The peculiar case of Aberystwyth, Wales

13:38 - Some cringey bits: viewer beware!

1. 13:53 - Blackface and ethnic slurs
2. 15:20 - Stan / Loretta: mildly transphobic, or surprisingly progressive?
3. 16:56 - Some ableist-seeming jokes

19:02 - The Pythons do history hilariously

1. 20:45 - Women and agency
2. 22:59 - Businesspeople and professional pride
3. 24:36 - Gladiator games, Python-style
4. 28:10 - British and Roman imperialism, or what have the Romans ever done for us?
5. 32:54 - Ridiculous resistance groups (Splitters!)
6. 37:33 - Everyday acts of genuine resistance
7. 41:21 - Prophets, saviors, and messiahs—in Roman Judea and elsewhere

45:08 - The Pythons as PhDs of Comedy

1. 45:42 - Learned spoofs of literature and film: The Iliad and Spartacus
2. 48:15 - Silly costumes, silly names, silly plots: the Pythons pay homage to Plautus and Aristophanes
3. 54:39 - Romanes eunt domus!
4. 56:55 - The art of nudity: the Pythons spoof Zeffirelli

59:14 - Wrap-up

In the final installment of a four-part series on the Greeks and the Persians, Emily and Cam discuss both the Battle of Salamis and the Battle of Plataea, and finish off with some remarks about the Serpent Column—a living monument to the accomplishment of the Greeks.

Visit our homepage to subscribe, to find us on social media, and to contact us by email:

• https://havetogawilltravel.com

Links

• Our Blog Post on the Serpent Column.
• The first episode in this series (The Persians and the Greeks, Part I: The Rise of the Persian Empire).
• The second episode in this series (The Persians and the Greeks, Part II: Darius, Great King, King of Kings).
• The third episode in this series (The Persians and the Greeks, Part III: Xerxes and the Road to Thermopylae).

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00:12 - Introduction

00:58 - Xerxes on the Acropolis

• 01:18 - The aftermath of Thermopylae and Artemision: Xerxes in Central Greece
• 04:22 - The Athenians face a dilemma
• 07:03 - The Pythia, the wall of wood, and the evacuation of Athens
• 12:46 - The Persians in Athens

14:52 - Blessed Salamis

• 15:26 - Dissension among the Greeks
• 19:21 - Xerxes, his commanders, and Artemisia the wise advisor
• 24:29 - Themistokles’ Gambit
• 32:21 - The Battle of Salamis
• 36:17 - Xerxes puts Mardonius in charge and heads for home

39:15 - The Campaign and Battle of Plataea

• 39:19 - Mardonius, Alexander, and an offer to the Athenians
• 41:11 - Spring 479: Mardonius’ capture of Athens, and its aftermath
• 43:23 - All roads lead to Plataea
• 48:21 - The Battle of Plataea

56:09 - Epilogue: the Serpent Column, from Delphi to Istanbul

61:07 - Wrap-up