The Maritime History Podcast

Welcome to our second annual Halloween special here at the Maritime History Podcast. This year I opted for a nautical tale by the ever-popular American author of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe. Some people love this tale, some hate it, but no matter your side, this is a proper sea-tale of weirdness, "ghosts" and an underlying current of horror, so, without any further rambling, I bring you my reading of Manuscript Found in a Bottle by Edgar Allan Poe.

Direct download: Manuscript_Found_in_a_Bottle.mp3
Category:history -- posted at: 12:12am CDT

Today we fill in some gaps concerning Greek colonization, looking first at the founding of colonies along the eastern coast of Sicily. The Greeks colonized by force more so than did the Phoenicians, so we'll draw some distinctions there and see how the two cultures began to come into more conflict in and around the central Mediterranean. Then, we learn a bit more about the process of Greek colonization, including a small bit about the role that religion played. The Homeric epics then inform us about the state of shipbuilding in the 8th century BCE, with the famous passage where Odysseus builds a boat taking central stage. We wrap up by trying to flesh out why exactly the Greeks and Phoenicians developed animosity toward each other, with tales from Odysseus and Eumaeus from the Odyssey giving us a window into Greek perceptions. The Greeks continue the push west!

Direct download: 027_-_Odysseus_Builds_a_Boat.mp3
Category:history -- posted at: 10:39pm CDT

At long last we make first contact with the Greeks! Today we try to cover the earliest periods of Greek colonization and expansion into the central Mediterranean. Hesiod's writings can give us some insight into the socio-economic conditions in Greece proper, the conditions that spurred the colonization of the 9th and 8th centuries BCE. Early Greek colonies in the Levant connected them with the goods and ideas of the east, flowing west as far is Pithecusae, the oldest Greek settlement west of Greece. From there the colonization really picked up, with settlements being established along the sea-road back toward Greece. We finish our episode by looking at multiple ship depictions on Attic pottery found around the Mediterranean. We try to suss out whether some of these depict galleys or biremes, but the bottom line is the transition to biremes and triremes happened during the colonization phase. By the end today we will have set the stage for the conflicts between trade powers in the central Med, conflicts that will be our focus in coming episodes.

Direct download: 026_-_Sailing_Advice_from_Hesiod_the_Farmer-Poet.mp3
Category:history -- posted at: 5:04pm CDT

This week we follow the fleeing Elissa, princess of Tyre, to Qart-ḥadašt, the "New City" that would come into wider fame as Carthage. We start with some talk of the mythical founding of Carthage, some conjecture about when the city was really founded, and an overview of the city's early growth. Then, we look at two Phoenician shipwrecks discovered over 33 nautical miles off Asheklon, Israel. The Tanit and Elissa are two of the oldest Phoenician shipwrecks discovered to date, and then can tell us a fair amount about Phoenician shipping practices, also about their religious practices in relation to maritime travel. Another long episode with the Phoenicians it is!

Direct download: 025_-_Carthage_-_A_New_City-Hope.mp3
Category:history -- posted at: 5:50pm CDT

This week we follow the Phoenicians to the western extremity of their trade network and colonization. While it is difficult to paint a chronological picture of when each colony was established, the city of Cadiz, or Gadir, quickly became the hub of western trade. Ancient historians confirm that the rich source of silver in Andalusia was the main attraction for Tyrian merchants, and the wealth that eventually began to flow back east from Tartessos had an influence on Assyria's relationship with Phoenicia. We also discuss a few depictions of Phoenician warships, an evacuation of Tyre, and the role of religion in controlling colonial government and trade, so today's episode is a long one!

Direct download: 024_-_Go_West_O_Tyre_Go_West.mp3
Category:history -- posted at: 10:56pm CDT

The Phoenicians are now on the move, pushing the scope of our podcast to the west. While they were mainly concerned with expanding their access to natural resources like copper, iron, and silver, they weren't entering a vacuum. The Nuragic people of Sardinia were active in a regional trade centered on the Tyrrhenian Sea, and soon after the Phoenicians reconnected the Euboeans with the Mediterranean trade networks, both of them had set up colonies on Sardinia and in western Italy. We look at archaeological evidence for all the activity there, but in the end, this episode is a stepping stone to the Phoenician presence in the far west of the Mediterranean, just as Sardinia was for the Iron Age mariners.

Direct download: 023_-_Setting_Up_Shop_in_the_Central_Med.mp3
Category:history -- posted at: 9:48pm CDT

The Phoenicians have finally arrived on the historical stage, at least as our humble podcast is concerned. In today's episode, we look at their place in the post-Bronze Age world, along with the rise of the island city of Tyre. The Phoenicians would create a widespread maritime network, leading to their recognition as the preeminent ancient maritime navigators and sailors. This all fell into place after King Hiram I helped Tyre rise to power through an alliance with Israel, after which they founded the first Phoenician colony at Kition on the island of Cyprus. Join us for the first focused look at the Phoenicians.

Direct download: 022_-_Rise_of_the_Phoenicians.mp3
Category:history -- posted at: 10:57pm CDT

This supplemental episode is a reading of the Report of Wenamun, also called the Misadventures of Wenamun.

Direct download: Wenamun_Supp.mp3
Category:history -- posted at: 10:52am CDT

Today's episode is a transition, of sorts. As Season 1 concluded, the Sea Peoples had attempted an invasion of Egypt and the Late Bronze Age Collapse had wreaked havoc on many cultures of the ancient world. Now, we look at how things had settled over the 100 years that followed 1177 BCE. We look at the "Balkanization" of the areas that had once been controlled by powerful empires. In looking at this change, the journey of an Egyptian priest named Wenamun serves as the perfect picture of just how the world had changed by 1050 BCE, and how that change operated to open the door for a new trading power to rise.

Direct download: 021_-_Wenamuns_Journey__Early_Iron_Age_22Balkanization22.mp3
Category:history -- posted at: 10:44am CDT

This episode is a recapitulation of the 20 episodes that make up Series 1. The season as a whole examined the high points of maritime history during the Bronze Age, with a specific focus on Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and the Aegean/Eastern Mediterranean. Hopefully this recap can serve as a good summary as we now look to Series 2 and maritime history during the Early Iron Age.

Direct download: Season_1_Recap.mp3
Category:history -- posted at: 10:25pm CDT

This 'interlude' episode sits in the gap between Seasons 1 and 2 of the podcast. While Season 1 began with ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and the Mediterranean, we didn't really go back further than written history allows. Today we'll take a whirlwind look at the basic types of boats and watercraft that were probably used by prehistoric man in different parts of the globe. From the dugout canoe to the bundle raft, hide boat, and bark canoe, these were the boats that allowed man to occupy the furthest reaches of the globe long before European explorers 'discovered' those islands in the scientific sense.

Direct download: Interlude_-_Boats_of_Prehistory.mp3
Category:history -- posted at: 1:04pm CDT

Today we wrap up our look at the Late Bronze Age Collapse. We focus heavily on Egypt's naval clash with the Sea Peoples in 1177 BCE. Our main sources are the inscriptions and relief at the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu. The relief in particular is very enlightening, revealing for the first time the use of a new sail type by both the Sea Peoples and the Egyptians. We talk about this technological development and finish up by looking a bit at where the Sea Peoples ended up and how the stage was set for the dawn of the Iron Age.

Direct download: 020_-_The_Sea_Peoples_Sail_South_-_Vol._II.mp3
Category:history -- posted at: 1:30pm CDT

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