The fall of the Assyrian Empire was marked with anger and vengeance from the people. Soldiers were motivated by more than just taking loot and slaves, as demonstrated by the defacing of Assyrian reliefs in the British Museum today.
Herodotus tells one of the most horrific stories in his writings, but he tells it like Alfred Hitchcock or Wes Craven. He weaves in stories and anecdotes to his work, trying to give reasons for the events that occurred without having any real way of knowing.
The podcast discusses how ancient fortresses and cities such as Nineveh can go from being top of their era to being unrecognizable in a very short period of time, as discussed through the story of Xenophon camping by the ruins.
In this episode, we are given a recap and analysis of a dramatic scene from Herodotus' Histories featuring a false king, a Persian eunuch and a wrestling match.
The story of how the fake king of Persia met his end is not a particularly pleasant one, but its articulation allows historians to uncover interesting pieces of information that may have been overlooked.