Episodes

  • Priam's Treasure: Schliemann's Lie and the Real Trojan Gold

    Priam's Treasure: Schliemann's Lie and the Real Trojan Gold
    Jul 1 2026
    Heinrich Schliemann claimed to have discovered the treasure of King Priam at Hisarlik in 1873, but the gold he found belonged to a city destroyed centuries before the Trojan War. This episode explores the story behind Priam's Treasure—its discovery, the controversy over its dating, and its fate during World War II. We examine Schliemann's methods, his later admission that the treasure was from Troy II, not Troy VI or VIIa, and the ongoing debate over whether the artifacts still exist. Along the way, we touch on the Pompadour treasure, the Pushkin Museum, and the question of repatriation. A careful look at how one man's ambition shaped our understanding of a legendary war. #TrojanWar #PriamTreasure #Schliemann #Hisarlik #Troy #Archaeology #PompadourTreasure #PushkinMuseum #TroyII #TroyVI #TroyVIIa #Calvert #FrankCalvert #AncientGreece #Mediterranean #BronzeAge #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 mins
  • Hector's Funeral: The Iliad's Most Human Moment

    Hector's Funeral: The Iliad's Most Human Moment
    Jul 1 2026
    In this episode of The Trojan War: Myth, Reality, or Both?, Lucas and Luna explore the funeral of Hector as described in Book 24 of Homer's Iliad. They discuss how this scene—a nine-day truce, a pyre, a golden urn, and a mound by the Scamander—transforms Hector from a warrior into a symbol of shared humanity. They contrast Greek cremation with Hittite and Mycenaean burial practices, examine the Iliad's final lines as a deliberate narrative choice, and consider how the funeral serves as a ritual that ends the poem's cycle of rage. The episode also touches on the archaeological evidence for cremation at Hisarlik (Troy VI–VIIa), the political significance of a mound tomb, and the way Priam's journey to ransom his son reflects Homeric ideas of pity and reconciliation. Specific names and terms include: Hector, Priam, Achilles, Andromache, Hecuba, Scamander, Troy VI, Troy VIIa, Hisarlik, Hittite, Mycenaean, tholos tomb, tumulus, pyre, sēma, Kleos, Thetis, Hermes, Astyanax. #HectorFuneral #IliadBook24 #TrojanWar #Homer #Priam #Achilles #Andromache #Hecuba #Scamander #Hisarlik #TroyVI #TroyVIIa #HittiteBurial #MycenaeanBurial #Cremation #Sema #Kleos #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    5 mins
  • Helen of Troy: Woman, Myth, and Historical Agency

    Helen of Troy: Woman, Myth, and Historical Agency
    Jun 30 2026
    Was Helen of Troy a passive victim or an active participant in her own story? In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the figure of Helen beyond the Homeric archetype—her pre-Homeric roots as a Spartan goddess, her contested portrayal in the Iliad, and her alternative traditions in Stesichorus, Herodotus, and Euripides. They examine the Egyptian account from Herodotus's Histories, where Helen never went to Troy but waited out the war in Memphis. They also discuss the cult of Helen at Therapne and the Spartan shrine where she was worshipped alongside Menelaus. Finally, they consider how the Archaic and Classical Greeks themselves debated Helen's agency, and what that tells us about ancient views of women, fate, and historical truth. This episode does not retread the Trojan Horse, the Judgment of Paris, or the war's other major figures, but instead focuses on the most controversial woman in the ancient world. #HelenOfTroy #TrojanWar #GreekMythology #Sparta #Herodotus #Homer #Iliad #Stesichorus #Euripides #Therapne #AncientCults #Agency #WomenInAntiquity #FexingoHistory #Mythology #BronzeAge #Aegean #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 mins
  • Trojan Allies: The Lycians and Sarpedon

    Trojan Allies: The Lycians and Sarpedon
    Jun 30 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Lycians, one of Troy's most important allies, and their king Sarpedon as depicted in Homer's Iliad. They discuss the historical Lycian kingdom in southwestern Anatolia, its unique language and culture, and Sarpedon's pivotal role in the Trojan War narrative. Lucas explains how Lycian inscriptions and archaeological evidence from Xanthos and Patara align with Homeric descriptions, and considers the debated historicity of Sarpedon, including Hittite texts that mention a figure named Sarpedon. The episode also touches on Lycian funerary practices and the famous Harpy Tomb. This episode offers a fresh perspective on the Trojan War by focusing on a lesser-known but crucial contingent. #Lycians #Sarpedon #TrojanWar #Iliad #Homer #LycianLanguage #Xanthos #Patara #Hittite #HarpaTomb #Anatolia #BronzeAge #AncientHistory #Classics #Archaeology #GreekMythology #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 mins
  • Memnon the Ethiopian: The Last Hope of Troy

    Memnon the Ethiopian: The Last Hope of Troy
    Jun 29 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the story of Memnon, the Ethiopian king who arrived at Troy as Troy's last great ally. Drawing from the lost epic Aethiopis, vase paintings, and the historical kingdom of Kush, they discuss Memnon's divine parentage as the son of Eos (Dawn) and Tithonus, his aristeia where he kills Antilochus and nearly defeats Nestor, and his climactic duel with Achilles. They examine how Memnon was remembered in Greek art, including his portrayal as black African in Attic pottery, and the later tradition that his army became the ancestors of the Persians. The show also touches on the historical connection between the Greeks and the kingdom of Kush via Nubian mercenaries in the Archaic period. The episode ends with a reflection on the pathos of Troy's doomed allies and the loss of the Aethiopis. #Memnon #Aethiopis #TrojanWar #Ethiopia #Kush #Achilles #GreekMythology #EpicCycle #VasePainting #Antilochus #Nestor #Eos #Tithonus #BlackHistory #AncientGreece #Classics #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 mins
  • Penthesilea: The Amazon Queen Who Fought Achilles

    Penthesilea: The Amazon Queen Who Fought Achilles
    Jun 29 2026
    Lucas and Luna explore the story of Penthesilea, the Amazon queen who came to Troy's aid in the final year of the war. They discuss the archaeological evidence for Amazon-like warrior women among the Scythians, the epic fragments of the Aethiopis, and the poignant duel between Penthesilea and Achilles as depicted in art and literature. The episode touches on Greek vase paintings, the controversy over the Amazons' historicity, and how later writers like Quintus Smyrnaeus and the Roman poet Virgil reimagined her tale. The conversation also wades into modern DNA studies of Scythian graves that reveal women buried with weapons, suggesting the myth may have roots in reality. This episode offers a fresh angle on the Trojan War cycle by focusing on a figure who embodies both the allure and the ambiguity of the epic tradition. #Penthesilea #Amazons #Aethiopis #Achilles #TrojanWar #Scythians #GreekMythology #EpicCycle #QuintusSmyrnaeus #VasePainting #Herodotus #DNAEvidence #WarriorWomen #AncientGreece #Hisarlik #Troy #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 mins
  • The Trojan Horse's Forgotten Architects: Epeius, Sinon, and the Wooden Deception

    The Trojan Horse's Forgotten Architects: Epeius, Sinon, and the Wooden Deception
    Jun 28 2026
    Everyone knows the Trojan Horse, but few remember the men who actually built it and sold the lie. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the overlooked figures behind the ruse: Epeius, the master carpenter who constructed the horse under Athena's guidance, and Sinon, the Greek spy who convinced the Trojans to drag it inside their walls. Drawing from the Little Iliad, the Iliou Persis, Quintus Smyrnaeus, and Virgil's Aeneid, they unpack the technical details of the horse's construction—how it was built, how many men it held, and whether a fleet could really hide at Tenedos. They also examine archaeological evidence from Hisarlik for seismic activity that may have collapsed Troy's walls, and the Hittite records that mention a certain 'Alaksandu' of Wilusa. The episode threads the needle between myth and plausible military deception, asking: if the Trojan Horse didn't exist, why does every ancient source agree it did? #TrojanWar #TrojanHorse #Epeius #Sinon #LittleIliad #IliouPersis #QuintusSmyrnaeus #Virgil #Aeneid #Odyssey #Hisarlik #Troy #Wilusa #Alaksandu #Hittite #GreekMythology #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    10 mins
  • Priam's Troy: The King Who Ruled at the Edge of Myth

    Priam's Troy: The King Who Ruled at the Edge of Myth
    Jun 28 2026
    We know Priam as the old, grieving king from Homer's Iliad—but who was he in the real world of Late Bronze Age Anatolia? This episode digs into the historical figure behind the myth, exploring what Hittite texts, archaeology, and comparative linguistics tell us about a ruler named Piyama-Radu or Alaksandu who may have inspired the Priam legend. Lucas and Luna discuss the name 'Priam,' its possible Luwian roots, the political landscape of Wilusa (Troy), and how a regional king became an icon of doomed majesty. They also examine the famous 'Priam's Treasure' excavated by Heinrich Schliemann and debate whether it really belonged to the Trojan king or to someone else entirely. Along the way, they cover Hittite diplomacy, the Ahhiyawa problem, and the tragic archetype of the aged monarch watching his city fall. This is a nuanced look at how myth and history collide—and what we can really know about the man who ruled at the edge of the known world. #Priam #Troy #Wilusa #Hittite #Ahhiyawa #Luwwian #Schliemann #PriamTreasure #LateBronzeAge #Anatolia #Iliad #Homer #PiyamaRadu #Alaksandu #Hisarlik #TrojanWar #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    13 mins