The Epic of Gilgamesh (Complete Audiobook, Unabridged)Ancient Recitations2015-05-18 | A full recitation of the Epic of Gilgamesh, transcribed approximately 2100 BCE.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsThe Popul Vuh - The Mayan Epic of CreationAncient Recitations2023-12-31 | The full audiobook of the Quiche Mayan creation epic, featuring the hero twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque, human sacrifices to the god Tohil, and the kinglists from the beginning to the end of their civilisation.
#populvuh #audiobook #mayan #aztecs #historyThe Laws of King Alfred the GreatAncient Recitations2023-12-16 | An ancient legal code of the Anglo-Saxons, as written by Alfred the Great. The "dooms" (laws) were mostly not innovated by Alfred, but compiled by him from existing laws he collected from around England.The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (full text)Ancient Recitations2023-12-02 | The full text of the foundational work of Taoism by Lao Tzu.Works and Days by Hesiod (Full Text)Ancient Recitations2023-11-24 | A complete and unabridged recording of Hesiod's Works and Days.Platos Account of Atlantis (Complete Audiobook)Ancient Recitations2023-10-31 | The original description of Atlantis from Plato's Critias.
#atlantis #platoThe Wanderer | Anglo-Saxon LamentAncient Recitations2023-07-26 | A reading of The Wanderer, an Anglo-Saxon lament from the Exeter Book.On the Misery of the Human ConditionAncient Recitations2018-11-07 | 5 minutes of Catholic condemnation of the depravity of man.
1190-1198AD by Lothario de Segni, Cardinal-Deacon (later Pope Innocent III).
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsEuropean Arms and Armour at the MetAncient Recitations2017-10-21 | A look at the Metropolitan Museum's collection of Medieval arms and armour from Europe. Notable displays include the field armour of Henry VIII and full displays of mounted knights.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsA Letter from Hulagu Khan to the Caliph of BaghdadAncient Recitations2016-12-20 | The Mongol Khan let's the Caliph know who's boss.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsDemosthenes Rebukes the Athenian Echo ChamberAncient Recitations2016-11-17 | Demosthenes' Third Philippic has haunting echoes of modern politics.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsOtto von Bismarcks Blood and Iron SpeechAncient Recitations2016-11-11 | Bismarck responds to Max von Forckenbeck's lengthy arguments about appropriation rights and Art. 99 of the constitution and the people's wish for a shortened military service.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsA Walking Tour of the Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral in SantoriniAncient Recitations2016-10-04 | A short first-person look at the beautiful Greek Orthodox cathedral at Fira, Santorini.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsA Walking Tour of Fortezza of RethymnoAncient Recitations2016-10-03 | A first-person tour of the massive 16th century Venetian fortress of Fortezza at Rethymno, Crete.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsA Walking Tour of the Bascilica of Santa Maria de MontserratAncient Recitations2016-09-30 | A first-person exploration of the Basilica at the monastery of Santa Maria at Montserrat in Catalonia, Spain.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsA Walking Tour of KnossosAncient Recitations2016-09-30 | A first-person look at the ancient Minoan ruins of Knossos that inspired the maze from the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsThe 10 Laws of William the ConquerorAncient Recitations2016-09-15 | The ten laws William the Conqueror imposed on the English after the invasion of 1066. Most notable for outlawing the slave trade.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsThe Apology of Socrates by PlatoAncient Recitations2016-08-24 | Plato's famous record of Socrates' defence against accusations of atheism and corrupting the youth. This speech is well worth your time.
Translation: http://www.sjsu.edu/people/james.lindahl/courses/Phil70A/s3/apology.pdfQueen Elizabeths Address to the Troops at TilburyAncient Recitations2016-07-29 | Queen Elizabeth's 1588 speech to the English troops at Tilbury ahead of the invasion of the Spanish.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsThe Book of KellsAncient Recitations2016-04-11 | The Book of Kells is an early Medieval illustrated manuscript of the four Gospels from the New Testament. Created around 800AD, the Book of Kells is considered to be the finest example of insular art and a masterpiece of Western calligraphy.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsBiography of an Ancient Egyptian ChampionAncient Recitations2016-04-04 | The Great Inscription of Amen-Em-Heb details the rise of an Egyptian soldier to commander of the Pharaoh's army, chronicling the battles in which he fought and the enemies he defeated and took prisoner.
Amen-Em-Heb served as a soldier in the Egyptian army under Pharaoh Thutmose III (1479 BC to 1425 BC) and under his son Amenhotep II.
Most notably, Amen-Em-Heb fought a bull elephant in hand-to-hand combat and emerged victorious, hacking off the the beast's foot while it was still alive. His skills as a soldier brought him to the Pharaoh's attention, who rewarded him with wealth and promotion.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsLetters from Canaanite Vassals (The Armarna Letters)Ancient Recitations2016-03-11 | The letters from Canaanite vassal rulers to the Pharaoh of Egypt are a fascinating look at the gradual disintegration of the Egyptian Empire in the Middle East and document in detail the internal diplomatic machinery of the Empire.
Source: http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/amarnaletters.htmLetters from the Great Kings (The Armarna Letters)Ancient Recitations2016-03-07 | The Armarna Letters are a collection of diplomatic messages sent between the great rulers of the ancient Middle East, from 1350 to 1330 BC.
The letters from the great kings makes up the first half of the letters found at Tel Armarna. They feature the kings of most Middle Eastern kingdoms and shed light on the diplomatic status each had with Egypt, from the glowing praise of Babylonian and Mittani kings to the icy reserve of the kings of Hatti and Assyria.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsThe Seven Evil SpiritsAncient Recitations2016-03-06 | The Seven Evil Spirits is a translation of hymns and incantations against the supernatural forces that haunted ancient Babylonia.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsThe Sayings of Kings and CommandersAncient Recitations2016-02-23 | An entertaining collection of the sayings of the most famous Greek and Roman leaders from the classical era.
Although alleged to have been written by Plutarch it is likely these sayings were sourced from his works by later authors.
Sources: http://www.attalus.org/old/sayings1.htmlPope Urban IIs Speech to the Council of Clermont (Robert the Monk version)Ancient Recitations2016-02-07 | In 1095, Pope Urban II delivered a blistering incitement to the warriors of Christendom to march to the Middle East and retake the holy city of Jerusalem for the Christian faith.
Several versions of this speech were recorded, the most famous of which is by Fulcher of Chatres. However, other versions of the speech are equally as rousing.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsThe Sword of DamoclesAncient Recitations2016-02-04 | The Sword of Damocles is the cautionary tale of Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse, who demonstrates to Damocles, an admirer and lackey at his court, that the riches and power the tyrant possesses cannot be enjoyed because the tyrant is but a horse-hair away from death at the hands of his own subjects.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsThe Assyrians #1 - Military Forces of the Neo-Assyrian EmpireAncient Recitations2016-02-02 | The Assyrian bas-reliefs on display at the British Museum are not only beautiful to behold but present to us a wealth of information about contemporary Assyrian life.
This video is part 1 of 3, looking at the Assyrian army from 900 BC - 635 BC, the height of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsExplicit Graffiti from Pompeii (Very NSFW)Ancient Recitations2016-01-15 | A selection of wall art and graffiti from the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, which was destroyed by an eruption from Mount Vesuvius in 79AD.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsThe Battle of Himera (The Histories of Herodotus Excerpt)Ancient Recitations2016-01-02 | Upon learning of Xerxes’ invasion of Greece, the Spartans and Athenians send envoys to treat with Gelon, tyrant of Syracuse to come to their aid. Gelon agrees on the condition that he is made overall commander of the Greek forces, given that his personal army would make up the bulk of the Greek forces.
The ancestral pride of the Spartans and Athenians will not permit this, and so Gelon refuses the envoys help from what is possibly the most powerful army in the Greek world.
However, it turns out on the very same day as the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC that the Carthaginians (the Carchedonians, in the text) invaded Sicily with “300,000 men” drawn from the Western Mediterranean.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsThe Battle of Salamis (The Histories of Herodotus Excerpt)Ancient Recitations2015-12-23 | The Battle of Salamis was the major turning point in the Second Persian Invasion of Greece. Although the Persian host had suffered setbacks, delays and even minor reversals at Thermopylae and Artemesium, the main body of the force had not suffered any major setbacks.
Themistocles' ruse that the Greek fleet at Salamis was all but ready to retreat embolded the Persians to attack despite the natural force multiplier that the Straits of Salamis provided to the Greeks.
After this defeat, Xerxes could see the writing on the wall, and sent word back to Persia of his "victory" over the Athenians and that he would be returning to Persia.
Source: http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Herosal.html
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsThe Battle of Artemesium (The Histories of Herodotus Excerpt)Ancient Recitations2015-12-08 | The Battle of Artemesium was a 3-day naval action by the combined fleet of the Greek coalition against the enormous naval forces of the Persian Empire.
The battle took place in 480 BC during the Second Persian Invasion of Greece, on the same three days as the Battle of Thermopylae.
The Greeks were victorious due to clever maneuvering and a fortuitous storm that wrecked a large detachment of the Persian fleet that was rounding Euboea to encircle the Greek fleet.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsThe Ancient Podcast #1 - The Road to ThermopylaeAncient Recitations2015-12-07 | Instead of doing commentaries on each video, I've decided to compile them into a podcast.
In this first episode, we look at the reasons the Persians brought 3 million men to fight with a few thousand at the Battle of Thermopylae.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsThe Battle of Thermopylae (The Histories of Herodotus Excerpt)Ancient Recitations2015-12-05 | The Battle of Thermopylae was the initial engagement between the Persian Empire and the confederation of Greek city-states led by Sparta during the Second Persian Invasion of Greece in 480 BC.
The vast Persian army first encounters significant Greek resistance at the narrow pass of Thermopylae (the Hot Gates), where he found an advance force of approximately 4,000 troops from various Greek city-states.
Unable to break through the Greek line, Persian King-of-Kings Xerxes was confounded until a local man named Ephialtes betrayed the Greek confederacy by informing him of a hidden trail over the mountains.
Xerxes sent a force around to the back of the Greek army holding the narrow pass of Thermopylae, outflanking and eventually overwhelming them.
Although this battle was not especially significant other than a delaying action against the Persian invasion, the story of the events is so compelling, combined with the sheer heroism displayed by the hugely-outnumbered Greek troops, that it has become the most famous last stand in history.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsThe Battle of Marathon (The Histories of Herodotus Excerpt)Ancient Recitations2015-12-02 | The Battle of Marathon was a battle that took place in 490 BC in Attica, Greece, between the independent city-state of Athens and the vast Persian Empire.
The Persian force of approximately 30,000 infantry, arches and cavalry landed at the Bay of Marathon to encounter an Athenian hoplite force of approximately 10,000 heavy infantry in a defensive position.
Instead of holding back, the Athenians charged the Persians, routed the Persian wings and turned on the centre, putting the whole Persian army to flight and forcing those left alive to escape via their ships.
The battle was chronicled by Herodotus in his work The Histories (Enquiries).
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsPolishing a Bronze SwordAncient Recitations2015-11-28 | Short video to demonstrate how beautiful a replica of an ancient bronze-age Irish shortsword can be once given a polish with brasso.
"Rite of Passage" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0The Communist Manifesto (Complete Audiobook)Ancient Recitations2015-11-24 | The Communist Manifesto is a political pamphlet written by German philsophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. First published in 1848 in London, the manifesto helped fuel the Spring of Nations revolutions of the same year.
The manifesto is an examination of historical and (then) contemporary class struggles, framing all of history as a series of class struggles between the haves and the have-nots. It also details how communism could be implemented in Western, economically-liberal societies by means of transitioning through socialism.
For good or for ill, the Communist Manifesto is one of the most important political documents of all time.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsThe Sennacherib PrismAncient Recitations2015-10-16 | Sennacherib's Annals are recorded on three prisms of cuneiform in 701 BC.
The annals are most remarkable for detailing an alternative to the Biblical account of Sennacherib's Siege of Jerusalem, against king Hezekiah, but also details Sennacherib's conquest of Syria and Lebanon.
Gilgamesh and Enkidu go to the Cedar Forest to slay the demon Humbaba. The new translation gives greater richness to the story and explains more of our heroes' motivations, and confirms Enkidu's childhood spent with the demon.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsThe Enchiridion of Epictetus (Full Text)Ancient Recitations2015-10-01 | The Enchiridion of Epictetus is a handbook of Stoic ethics, compiled in 135AD by Epictetus's student, Arrian.
The values espoused in the Enchiridion are the essence of Stoicism, written as a list of 52 short maxims.
These maxims outline the virtues by which Stoic philosophers should live by, and can be summed up as thus:
"What upsets people is not things themselves but their judgments about the things."
In the Enchiridion, Epictetus advises that one takes full responsibility of one's actions and disregards anything one does not have full control over.
In this way, the philosopher can never be subject to a will that is not their own.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsForging a Bronze-Age SwordAncient Recitations2015-09-28 | How to craft a replica of an Irish bronze-age shortsword.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsExaltation of InannaAncient Recitations2015-09-18 | The Exaltation of Inanna is an Akkadian hymn to Ishtar (Sumerian: Inanna) and is the world's oldest attributed writing.
The hymn was written by the Enheduana, the daughter of Sargon of Akkad, during her time as the high priestess of the moon god Sin (Sumerian: Nanna), and is one of a body of work attributed to her.
The purpose of the hymn is to both praise and placate Inanna, so that she will not destroy Akkad but turn her anger to the "foreign lands" and destroy them instead.
Follow Ancient Recitations for extra content on Facebook: facebook.com/AncientRecitationsThe Code of Ur-Nammu (Full Text)Ancient Recitations2015-09-11 | The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest surviving code of laws.
Written in Sumerian in cuneiform and dating from around 2100 BC, what remains of the code of laws gives us an insight into Mesopotamian life around fifty years after the fall of the Akkadian Empire.
Ur-Nammu's code was written in what is now known as the "Sumerian Renaissance" or the Third Dynasty of Ur.