They were ancient masters of cavalry, creators of dazzling treasures, and the ancestors of the legendary Spartacus, but who exactly were the Thracians?Join Tristan Hughes and Dr. Zosia Archibald in today's episode of The Ancients as they uncover the fascinating world of the Thracians, an extraordinary people that lived in the rugged mountains of eastern Europe. From their vital role in Greek mythology and Homer's epic poem The Iliad to archaeological wonders like the Panagyurishte Treasure and the bronze head of Seuthes III, they explore how this overlooked ancient culture shaped Eastern Europe from the Bronze Age to Roman times.Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here:https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MKTheme music from Motion Array, all other music from Epidemic Sound.
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It's The Ancients on History Hit. I'm Tristan Hughes, your host, and this is an episode that many of you have been clamouring for, both in recent polls that we've released on Spotify and in emails that you've sent to me. A regular request for an Ancients episode over the last year has been the Thracians. Now, I'm very excited to say that that is what we're covering today.
The Thracians were a culture that's lived in Eastern Europe, largely in what is today Bulgaria. We hear a lot about them from the ancient Greeks, with whom the Thracians had a lot of contact throughout ancient history. They feature in Greek mythology. They are mentioned in Homer's epic poem, the Iliad, with a particular Thracian king siding with the Trojans during the Trojan War.
Indeed, the Thracians are linked to many of the biggest names from Greek and Roman history. Spartacus, the world's most famous gladiator who led a revolt against the Romans, well, he was a Thracian. Now, the Thracians are an extraordinary ancient people, often overlooked compared to the Greeks and Romans. And yet, archaeology is revealing a lot about them and how they lived.
Today, we're going to shine the ancient spotlight on the Thracians and give you a taster of just how interesting they are. Our guest today is Dr. Zosia Archbold, Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool and an expert on the Thracians and their archaeology.
We cover everything from Thracian expertise as cavalrymen and the strange weapons some of them wielded, like this large bladed weapon called the bonfire, to great archaeological treasures of Thrace, such the Panagirishti treasure and the remarkable bronze statue head of a powerful ruler called Suthes III. There's a lot to talk about, so let's get into this long-awaited episode.
Zosia, it is such a pleasure to have you on the podcast today.
Thank you. Thank you, Tristan. I'm really pleased to be contributing something on this exciting topic.
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