If you are the production team at History Hit, the answer involves two charter yachts, a waterproof GoPro, some incredibly cooperative wild pigs, and a highly optimistic shooting schedule.

In this exclusive behind-the-lens diary filming The Odyssey: Exploring the Greatest Voyage Ever Told, Bill Locke – Executive Producer and Head of Programming at History Hit – takes us on board the monohull Melikertis as the crew sails the stunning Ionian Sea. From exploring the ancient, wind-swept ruins of Ithaca to lashing presenter Dan Snow to a mast (and gently teasing him for packing thermals meant for upstate New York), Bill reveals what it really takes to bring the world’s greatest adventure story to life.

Pack your gear, watch out for wild boars, and step aboard…

Saturday 18 April

The History Hit team arrives at the harbour in Lefkas bright and early, ready to meet Sunsail’s Claire and the local team. Our goal is to make a fascinating series exploring the fact and fiction of the Odyssey – but to make that a reality we need a top team to help us with the crucial sailing element of the story.

Everyone seems super relaxed as we meet our two skippers, Tom and Sitha, for our briefing.  Ahead lies an exciting and very packed itinerary as we try to cram Odysseus’s 10 year voyage into just 4 days sailing around the Ionian islands. We’re making a 90 minute Odyssey special for Channel 5 and also a two-part deep dive for our own History Hit channel – plus podcasts and a host of social media. 

There’s a lot to do as we’ll try to capture everything from a sorceress’s island to Calypso’s cave, and are hoping for a combination of calm conditions and occasional stronger winds to reflect the twists and turns of Homer’s Odyssey…

Dan admiring the Greek islands featured in The Odyssey

The team divides into two – Giles our assistant producer has the expansive luxury of the catamaran Second Wind, skippered by Sitha, whilst our presenter Dan Snow, director Mark Edger, me and skipper Tom are in the cosier setting of the mono hull Melikertis (Tom confirms that no-one knows what that name means). 

The plan is that Melikertis stands in on camera for the ship of Odysseus, and Second Wind is the stable filming platform when we shoot boat-to-boat and also provides extra space to spread out our equipment.  Claire has planned everything to perfection – the boat combination works very smoothly from the start.

Left: Director Mark Edger – dedication to the shot! Right: Dan and Mark Edger aboard Melikertis – the boat that stands in on camera for the ship of Odysseus.

The whole trip is a dream come true for Dan – he’s sailed all his life and has wanted to cover the Odyssey for years. However, he has un-characteristically overpacked, bringing lots of warm clothes as he has mistakenly been looking at the chilly forecast for the American town of Ithaca in upstate New York!

As we leave the marina it’s soon clear that Tom is the perfect skipper for this job – calm at all times and a great talker, full of local knowledge. Departing Lefkas canal he’s happy to let Dan take the wheel as we get set for the open sea. 

Dan giving Skipper Tom a hand

Image Credit: History Hit

As is so often the case with filming, we’re shooting events out of order – Claire’s wise advice was to head all the way south first, reaching Odysseus’s home island, Ithaca on day one, and then work our way back through all the coves, caves and beaches that help explore the story.

Dan with a copy of The Odyssey

Image Credit: History Hit

The wind starts getting up in the afternoon and we are soon getting up to around 9 knots as we cleave our way through the ‘wine dark seas’ – Tom explains about the catabatic effect of the mountains, causing stronger winds later in the afternoon. It’s just right for us as we need to show how exciting sailing can be and also get a small sense of the challenges that Odysseus faced.

Blown by a fair breeze we reach the lovely harbour of Kioni in north west Ithaca in good time – a well earned glass of ‘Odyssey – red ale’ awaits in a local bar, followed by a delicious harbour side meal.  This filming trip seems like a very good idea.

Left: Dan sailing. Right: Odyssey red ale

Image Credit: History Hit

Sunday 19 April

A day filming ashore on Ithaca.  We get a taxi up to the “Palace of Odysseus’ (also known as the School of Homer), a collection of fine buildings from the Late Bronze Age, the era of the Odyssey and Trojan War.

Whether this really was the palace of Odysseus is much debated – in fact the arguments have gone on forever about whether modern day Ithaca was actually Odysseus’s home island of the same name or whether it all happened on Cephalonia or somewhere else entirely – or no such palace ever existed! It’s all part of the delight of exploring the Odyssey, an ancient myth full of fantasy, half truths and a few tantalising facts – sorting the fiction from the reality is a big editorial challenge, but very enjoyable.

In the afternoon we venture into a fabulous cave, which is standing in for the home of the cyclops. Meanwhile Tom and Sitha sail both of the yachts around to Vathy where we meet up with them. Vathy is a larger place than Kioni, a good berth for us to continue our adventure – and full of good places to eat. We are early in the season here, so there are plenty of options and everyone seems very pleased to see some of the first arrivals of the summer.

Dan, ready to take on the cyclops

Image Credit: History Hit

Monday 20 April

A busy day ahead as we film various boating details.  Both yachts head south to a narrow channel between Ithaca and tiny island of Ligia.  Here we spend a long time showing how Odysseus would have moored from rocks on the shore – no smart harbours for our heroes 3,000 years ago!

Dan dives in to take a line ashore, somehow I volunteer to jump in with him and shoot the swimming sequence on a waterproof GoPro camera. It’s a really fun morning as we get out some of the toys too – edging along the rocky edge of Ligia in the blow up canoe, but being careful not to moor up there as there are reports of rats ashore and we don’t want any of them trying to stow away on our yachts.

The afternoon we sail north as we want to recreate Odysseus’s first arrival on Ithaca. We’ve identified a nice quiet cove near Kourvoulia. Dan rows ashore and sets a kedge anchor to hold us firm. Tom is an ace at mooring up nice and snugly so we get a good night’s sleep.

Tonight we cook on board the catamaran using supplies we picked up in Lefkas – my culinary skills don’t extend far beyond pasta with tomato sauce, but the hungry team seem happy enough after a long and very enjoyable day.

Dan rows ashore

Tuesday 21 April

Lots to do today. After an early start at our lovely isolated mooring, filming Homer’s ‘rosie fingered dawn’, we sail to Atokos, a small island that is famous for its beaches and population of wild pigs. Mark’s plan is that this will be the perfect way to illustrate the story of the sorceress Circe turning Odysseus’s crew into swine, but everyone has warned us that the pigs can be aggressive, so we approach with caution, mooring in the bay and rowing ashore. Tom and Sitha stay on board the yachts…

Of course, no pigs are anywhere to be seen. We wander about as the day starts to heat up, Mark and Dan start to plan a slightly disappointing sequence where Dan explains there are usually pigs here, but not today… But then, right on cue, two adults and a crowd of piglets come scampering down the beach and start cooling off in the surf. Dan launches into a perfect piece to camera and we have all the cameras running to capture the scene. Thankfully the pigs don’t gore us to death (I can’t guarantee this will be the case if you visit) and it makes for a great scene. The gods were smiling on us after all.

We sail in good winds to Sivota, at the southern tip of Lefkas. We’ve booked a lovely harbourside restaurant to shoot a delicious sequence where Dan describes how Odysseus’s crew angered the sun god by eating his cattle. It’s the perfect excuse to enjoy a fabulous beef stew as the sun goes down with our two boats moored alongside on the restaurant’s own pontoon.

Wednesday 22 April

A busy final day of sailing lies in store – lots of storylines to fit in before we finish. We sail straight to Meganisi where the huge Papanikolis cave is standing in as the home of Calypso. Tom reckons the weather is perfectly calm so we won’t be bashed by any big waves. It’s an amazing spot that should be on any itinerary if the weather is right. Then the cliffs of Meganisi provide the background for the story of the monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis.  

One final story to fit in – the Sirens who lured sailors to their deaths. Tom puts cotton wool in his ears so he can’t hear their fatal call and lashes Dan to the mast.  

Dan lashed to the mast!

Image Credit: History Hit

A final bit of drone filming and then we sail north to Sunsail’s home base at Lefkas. It has been an amazing few days of sailing – fun, exhilarating and beautiful, often all at the same time. Great company, great sailing, great filming, all in the wake of the greatest voyage ever told!

Melikertis at dusk – the boat that stands in on camera for the ship of Odysseus.

Image Credit: History Hit

________

You can see this trip for yourselves on History Hit – our in depth two-part Odyssey series – The Odyssey: Exploring the Greatest Voyage Ever Told is available to subscribers all over the world from 17 July.  The shorter version was broadcast in the UK on Channel 5 on 16 July and is subsequently available on their catch up service – this version is also available on SBS in Australia.

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This July, History Hit’s The Ancients podcast is launching a spectacular three-part special series dedicated entirely to The Odyssey.

Guiding us through these treacherous waters is our host Tristan Hughes, alongside acclaimed classicist and storyteller Emily Hauser. Together, their expert insight brings Odysseus’s epic journey to life – unpacking the myth, its hidden meanings, and its lasting cultural influence.

Whether you are a lifelong classics fan or looking for the ideal companion guide to give you richer context before watching the new cinematic adaptation, this series is essential listening.

Here’s what’s coming up:

Episode 1. Surviving Cyclops, Circe and Calypso (Out Now!)

We go right back to the beginning: to the poet himself, the world that produced this epic, and the opening stages of Odysseus’ long journey home.

We’ll meet the cunning king of Ithaca as both legend and literary creation, explore how Homer shapes him on the page, and follow the early twists of the narrative – from the ruins of Troy to the perilous seas and fateful encounters that set the tone for everything that follows.

Episode 2. Sea of Monsters & Slaughter of the Suitors (18th July)

The voyage continues as Tristan and Emily follow Odysseus through the terrifying Sea of Monsters. Can he navigate the supernatural dangers of the deep and reach home before his wife’s ruthless suitors take over his kingdom?

Episode 3. Hollywood’s Odyssey: The Historians’ Verdict (25th July)

In the final installment, Tristan and Emily review the highly anticipated new blockbuster movie. They’ll reveal what Hollywood got right, what they got wrong, and deliver the ultimate historians’ verdict on whether it does true justice to Homer’s epic masterpiece. 

Part 1 is officially live, so dive in and start listening today, or you can watch the podcast here

But as Dan Snow reveals in History Hit’s gripping documentary, Secrets of the Maya, the true story is far more sophisticated. Travelling through the rugged terrain of Belize – the absolute crossroads of the ancient Maya world – Dan joins pioneering archaeologists to strip away the overgrowth. What they uncover is not a short-lived empire like the later Aztecs or Incas, but an astonishingly urbanised, interconnected network of independent kingdoms that flourished for more than 3,000 years.

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Terraforming the jungle: the sprawl of Caracol

Deep in the jungles of western Belize lies Caracol, a vast ancient metropolis that at its peak around 650 CE stretched across 200 square kilometres – vastly larger than modern-day Belize City.

Dan meets archaeologists Drs. Arlen and Diane Chase. When they first arrived in the 1980s, the site was invisible, buried beneath centuries of dense jungle growth. Early explorers had even mistaken its colossal central structures for natural hills.

Dan in the jungles of western Belize

Today, the excavated, uncovered downtown core is dominated by Caana (Maya for “Sky Place”), a breathtaking palace-temple complex that, at 141 feet tall, remains the tallest building in Belize.

What makes Caracol a true revelation is its progressive layout. Rather than an elite enclave isolated from the working class, it was a highly integrated “sprawl city” where different social classes lived side-by-side.

Dan on top of pyramid in Caana, Belize

Equally staggering is how the Maya sustained an urban population of over 100,000 people deep within a jungle isolated from major rivers. They were master environmental engineers who “terraformed” the landscape. By constructing thousands of agricultural terraces and practicing intensive “night soiling” – recycling waste into high-phosphorus fertiliser – they generated exceptionally fertile soils. At its height, Classic Period Central America was one of the most densely populated and urbanised landscapes in the ancient world.

Face-to-Face with a founding king

The documentary captures an unforgettable milestone in Mesoamerican archaeology: the discovery of a pristine, open-air royal tomb tucked beneath a residential terrace wall. Unveiled by Diane Chase after 40 years of digging, the chamber yielded an extraordinary treasure – a life-sized royal death mask meticulously crafted from jadeite and shell.

In Maya culture, jade was a sacred gemstone synonymous with water and the immortal soul. Because jade does not occur naturally in Belize, this find tracks extensive trade routes reaching deep into the Motagua River Valley of Guatemala, hundreds of miles away.

Crucially, this tomb aligns perfectly with Caracol’s complex hieroglyphic record. The elaborate logo-syllabic script – which experts only began decoding in the late 20th century – identifies the occupant as Tikab Chahk, the legendary founding king who established Caracol’s royal dynasty in 331 CE.

Dan by a monument to Tikab Chahk

Image Credit: History Hit

Into the womb of Earth

To explore the spiritual forces that bound this society together, Secrets of the Maya  plunges deep into the restricted underground limestone caverns of Belize. The Maya viewed this subterranean world as a sacred, liminal zone – the womb of Mother Earth and the gateway to the supernatural underworld.

Guided by local archaeologist Rafael Guerra, Dan enters a dramatic, subterranean world discovering ancient stone altars surrounded by millennia-old offerings. But when severe environmental crises and prolonged droughts pushed these communities to the absolute edge of survival, the rituals turned grim. The team confronts haunting evidence of the ultimate sacrifice: the remains of high-status individuals offered to the dark in a desperate bid to appease the rain gods.

Dan heads deep into restricted underground limestone caverns, Belize

The living legacy: adaptation and survival

The climax of the documentary tackles one of the grandest historical mysteries of all: what actually caused the great Maya collapse between 800 and 950 CE? To find the answer, Dan travels by water to the coastal ruins of Lamanai (“Submerged Crocodile”).

While inland super-cities like Caracol buckled under severe droughts, Lamanai’ unique access to a massive fresh-water lagoon allowed it to thrive for centuries longer, surviving right up to the arrival of European explorers, meeting them face-to-face.

When climate change destabilised the inland kingdoms, the populations didn’t mysteriously vanish; they adapted, overthrew the rulers who failed to conjure rain, and migrated to reshape their society.

Ultimately, Secrets of the Maya delivers an inspiring conclusion: the Maya are not a lost, dead civilisation. Today, their descendants make up over 10% of Belize’s population. Witnessing modern families grinding corn on four-generation metate stones, preparing elite cacao drinks, and playing Pokta-Puk – the oldest team sport in the world – proves that the real secret of the Maya is their magnificent, unbroken survival.

Dan with a Pokta Puk team

Image Credit: History Hit

Watch Secrets of the Maya now on History Hit to see these breathtaking discoveries unfold.

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In Rise of Augustus, historians including Tristan Hughes, Dr Hannah Cornwell, Adrian Goldsworthy, and Dr Simon Elliot explore how a frail and inexperienced teenager transformed himself into the most powerful man in the Roman world. Caesar may have destabilised the Republic, but Augustus rebuilt its ruins into an empire that endured for centuries. 

The documentary examines how Octavian survived an era of violence and political collapse through ruthless pragmatism, calculated alliances, and a remarkable understanding of public image. More than a military leader, Augustus was a political architect who understood that perception could be as powerful as armies.

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Born into a Republic in decline

Octavian was born in 63 BC during the final years of the Roman Republic. By then, Rome was already dominated by corruption, rivalry, and civil unrest. Powerful generals controlled private armies, while senators fought for influence and wealth.

Growing up fatherless, Octavian learned early that noble birth alone meant little. Calculated ambition and careful political positioning mattered far more. Aged 12, he delivered a public funeral speech for his grandmother Julia, the sister of Julius Caesar. The speech openly connected him to Caesar, already one of Rome’s most influential and controversial figures.

Caesar soon recognised potential in the young aristocrat and gradually drew him into his circle. But closeness to Caesar also meant danger.

Caesar’s war and the rise of an heir

When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BC, he defied the Senate and triggered a civil war that divided Rome. Caesar’s enemies, led by Pompey the Great, fought to preserve the Republic, while Caesar pursued greater authority. The teenage Octavian found himself in a position of immediate, terrifying vulnerability. 

The multi-continental civil war completely reshaped the Mediterranean, and eventually reached Egypt. The sudden, shocking execution of Pompey by local rulers hoping to win Caesar’s favour and the entrance of Cleopatra VII and her alliance with Caesar created a volatile political environment, especially after the birth of Caesarion, Cleopatra’s son. For Octavian, the existence of another possible heir threatened his future before it had properly begun.

Everything changed in 44 BC with Caesar’s assassination. A group of senators believed killing him would restore the Republic, but instead they plunged Rome into chaos.

Dr Hannah Cornwell, Associate Professor in Roman History

Image Credit: History Hit

At just 18 years old, Octavian received astonishing news while studying across the Adriatic: Caesar had named him his adopted son and principal heir. Against his family’s advice, he returned to Rome to claim the inheritance and took the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus.

Rome’s political elite underestimated him. The orator Cicero believed Octavian could be used against Mark Antony and later discarded. Instead, the teenager rapidly built support among Caesar’s veterans, raised a private army, and forced his election as consul at only 19.

Soon afterward, Octavian allied himself with Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus to form the Second Triumvirate, a legally recognised dictatorship that stood above the Senate. To fund their war against Caesar’s assassins, they introduced proscriptions – official death lists that led to mass executions and confiscated property.

The violence shocked Rome. Even Cicero, once convinced he could control Octavian, became one of the victims.

Dr Simon Elliot, historian and author

Image Credit: History Hit

Antony, Cleopatra, and the Battle for Rome

After defeating Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi, the triumvirs divided the Roman world. Antony took the wealthy eastern provinces, while Octavian controlled Italy and the West.

The alliance quickly deteriorated. Antony became increasingly tied to Cleopatra and Egypt, while Octavian remained in Rome building support. Using propaganda with extraordinary skill, Octavian portrayed Antony as a Roman leader corrupted by a foreign queen.

One of his boldest political moves came when he illegally seized Antony’s private will and read it publicly, fuelling outrage among Romans. Octavian then framed the coming conflict not as another civil war, but as a patriotic struggle against Cleopatra – a strategy that united Rome behind him.

The decisive confrontation came at the naval Battle of Actium in 31 BC. Octavian’s forces defeated Antony and Cleopatra, who later took their own lives in Alexandria. With their deaths, Octavian became the sole ruler of the Roman world.

Adrian Goldsworthy, historian and author

Image Credit: History Hit

The creation of Augustus

Although Octavian now held complete power, he had witnessed his great-uncle murdered for acting like a king, and refused to repeat the mistake.

Instead of openly becoming a monarch, he carefully preserved the illusion that the Republic still existed. He adopted the modest title Princeps, meaning “first citizen,” while quietly controlling the army, government, and finances. He also accepted the honorific name Augustus.

Under Augustus, Rome entered a long period of peace and stability after decades of civil war. Many citizens willingly accepted the loss of political freedom in exchange for order and prosperity under the illusion of a free republic.

The empire Augustus created lasted for centuries and reshaped the western world. His political system became the model for imperial rule long after Rome itself declined.

Rise of Augustus is more than the story of a Roman emperor. It is the story of how modern autocracy was born. Augustus succeeded not simply because he defeated his enemies, but because he mastered the art of ruling without appearing to rule.

Through intelligence, patience, and relentless calculation, the overlooked teenager who inherited Caesar’s name transformed himself into the architect of one of history’s greatest empires.

Watch Rise of Augustus on History Hit to uncover the definitive story of the man who rewrote the rules of power to form the blueprint of the modern empire

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However, at Duropolis in Dorset – Britain’s largest known Iron Age cemetery – archaeologists are uncovering a society that looks less like a patriarchy and more like a sophisticated matrilocal network. New DNA evidence suggests that 2,000 years ago, it was the women who anchored the community, owned the land, and wielded the keys to the supernatural.

In History Hit’s documentary Iron Age Women: Rulers of the Land, Tristan Hughes explores how groundbreaking genetic research is dismantling the warrior myth to reveal the true prominence of women in pre-Roman Britain.

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Reassessing power

Traditional narratives focus on the localised male violence that met the Roman legions in 43 AD. However, modern archaeology is dismantling the myth of the singular “warrior king.” Evidence now reveals a nuanced social structure where women frequently held central authority. Findings suggest many hilltop strongholds were abandoned long before Rome arrived, replaced by settlements ruled not by male aggression, but by stable, female-led lineages.

Duropolis: the “silent majority” of the Iron Age

Fifteen miles east of Maiden Castle, excavations near Winterborne Kingston are rewriting history. Led by Bournemouth University’s Dr. Miles Russell, the site – dubbed “Duropolis” – reveals an expansive settlement of elite farmsteads. Unlike most tribes, the Durotriges practiced formal burial in large numbers, providing a unique bioarchaeological window into ancient life via 50+ unearthed skeletons.

Dr. Russell argues these domestic farmsteads are more representative of the true Iron Age experience than rare, militarised strongholds. Here, skeletal evidence provides physical proof of female prominence, suggesting a world where women held significant territorial and domestic authority.

Techniques such as photogrammetry create high-resolution 3D digital renders, enabling the preservation of the spatial context of remains for post-excavation study. This synergy of digital reconstruction and paleogenetics allows researchers to reconstruct Iron Age family trees with unprecedented accuracy.

Tristan Hughes and archaeologist Dr. Miles Russell from Bournemouth University, at the Duropolis site.

Image Credit: History Hit

The “Durotrigian Eve”

The most startling revelation comes from the laboratory. Tristan joins Dr. Lara Cassidy of Trinity College Dublin to examine the DNA of 55 individuals from Duropolis, which she explains reveal a “classic signature of matrilocality”. 

Two-thirds of the community share an identical mitochondrial type, tracing back seven generations to a single female ancestor – a “Durotrigian Eve” from the 2nd century BC. While these female lines remained unbroken, male lineages were incredibly diverse, with men migrating from as far as Derbyshire and France to join established, female-led households.

In archaeological terms, matrilocality is a high-accuracy predictor of elevated female status. As Dr. Cassidy notes: “If you were going to pick a period of prehistory to be a woman, it probably was a pretty good one.” This genetic precision allows researchers like Dr. Martin Smith to move beyond generalities, constructing specific “histories” of human connection that effectively bridge the gap between prehistory and the recorded past.

Dr Lara Cassidy, a Geneticist from Trinity College, Dublin, and Dr Martin Smith, Biological Anthropologist at Bournemouth University, with Tristan Hughes seeing three generations of female skeletons from the Duropolis site.

Image Credit: History Hit

Wealth, mirrors, and magic

Dr. Martin Smith (Biological Anthropologist, Bournemouth University) highlights that the ‘wealthy burials’ at Duropolis “always seem to be women”. These graves contain high-value objects suggesting women were the primary holders of material and spiritual prestige.

Among the most intriguing finds are rare Iron Age mirrors. Far from vanity items, Professor Melanie Giles from the University of Manchester, describes them as “potent, even dangerous weapons of the spirit world.” In the flickering light of a roundhouse, a woman wielding such a captivating object held a domain of authority reserved exclusively for females.

This power extended to the battlefield. One young woman’s grave contained a chariot amulet depicting a victorious female driver – a symbol mirrored in the massive Melsonby Hoard. It suggests the “War-Queen” archetype, famously associated with Boudica, was a standard feature of British social structures rather than a historical fluke.

Close-up of Iron Age mirror, found at the Duropolis site, with Celtic art motifs on one side

Image Credit: History Hit / The Dorset Museum

From ritual sacrifice to female judges

Bioarchaeological analysis also reveals a darker, more nuanced hierarchy. Dr. Martin Smith identified vitamin C deficiencies (scurvy) in certain skeletons, suggesting distinct dietary tiers and social differentiation. While elite women received elaborate burials, other remains found in storage pits point to potential human sacrifice.

Yet for the living, the roundhouse served as a sophisticated political hub. Therese Kearns of Butser Ancient Farm points to ancient origins of the “Brehon Laws” – suggesting women held high-status roles as Druids, poets, judges and healers. 

The end of an era

The arrival of the Roman Legions in 43 AD imported a rigid patriarchal hierarchy that effectively ended this age of female power. As Roman law took hold, the ancient custom of matrilocality faded. 

However, now, by combining archaeology, history, and DNA, we are finally reading the biographies of the women who truly ruled the land.

Watch Iron Age Women: Rulers of the Land now on History Hit to see the DNA evidence for yourself.

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But in 100 BC, a child was born into an aristocratic yet faded lineage – a man who would dismantle this 400-year-old system and  build something new.

In the gripping documentary Rise of Caesar, renowned historians Adrian Goldsworthy, Dr. Simon Elliott, and Dr. Hannah Cornwell, alongside History Hit’s Tristan Hughes, peel back the layers of the man, the myth, and the massive political ego that transformed the Western world forever. Together, they trace Gaius Julius Caesar’s journey from a fugitive teenager to a ‘warlord’ who gambled everything on a single river crossing.

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The crucible of ambition

Born into the Gens Julia – an ancient aristocratic family claiming descent from the goddess Venus – Caesar’s lineage was prestigious, yet his family lacked the wealth and political clout of Rome’s top-tier elite.

Caesar’s hunger for power was forged in crisis. When he was just a teenager, his father died suddenly, thrusting him into the role of family patriarch. This premature responsibility forced a rapid maturity. As Tristan Hughes explains, the political landscape was already fracturing between the conservative Sulla and Caesar’s radical uncle, Marius.

The ‘Marian reforms’ had recently transformed the Roman army from a citizen militia into a professional force loyal to their generals rather than the state. “This suddenly gives you the power of a warlord,” notes Dr. Simon Elliott. When Sulla emerged victorious in a bloody civil war, Caesar found himself on a hit list. Only through his family’s influence was he pardoned – though Sulla famously warned that “in this Caesar, there are many Mariuses.”

The Cursus Honorum: climbing the ladder

To reach the top, Caesar had to navigate the Cursus Honorum (the “Ladder of Offices”). This was a rigid hierarchy of financial, judicial, and administrative roles that every ambitious Roman aristocrat was required to climb.

Caesar’s ascent was marked by a relentless pursuit of renown. After winning the Civic Crown – the Roman equivalent of the Victoria Cross – for saving a comrade’s life in battle, he returned to Rome to master the art of law and oratory. He famously took on high-profile legal cases just to get noticed, even if it meant making enemies of the senior nobility.

Caesar with Civic Crown

Image Credit: History Hit

His journey was never dull; while traveling to Rhodes to study, he was captured by pirates. In a display of the “immense self-confidence” Adrian Goldsworthy highlights, Caesar laughed at their low ransom demand, insisted they double it, and joked that he would return to crucify them – a promise he grimly kept.

Bread, circuses, and massive debt

By the 60s BC, Caesar understood that in Rome, politics was a rich man’s game. To win the hearts of the masses, he spent lavishly. As an Aedile in 65 BC, he staged games featuring 320 pairs of gladiators. “Being active in Roman politics is not cheap,” says Dr. Hannah Cornwell.

To fund this “bread and circuses” strategy, Caesar turned to Crassus, the wealthiest man in Rome. This calculated risk helped secure his election as Pontifex Maximus in 63 BC – the high priesthood of Rome. This move provided him with the sacrosanctity and influence needed to begin his true power play.

The documentary then details Caesar’s rivalry with Cato and his time serving as Praetor, before explaining how Caesar stayed ahead of his creditors by securing governorships abroad, first in Spain, and later in Gaul, where the spoils of war finally began to settle his astronomical debts.

The First Triumvirate

By 60 BC, Caesar realised that the Senate’s shared power was a wall he couldn’t climb alone. He orchestrated the First Triumvirate, a secret and staggering political alliance with Pompey the Great, Rome’s most celebrated general, and Crassus, its wealthiest citizen.

This was the moment the Republic truly began to wobble – the alliance effectively bypassed the Senate, allowing Caesar to secure the consulship and, subsequently, the governorship of Gaul.

Assignment of Roman provinces to Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus.

Gaul and the British expeditions

To rule Rome, Caesar knew he needed two things: gold and glory. The documentary takes us into the Gallic Wars, where Caesar’s genius for logistics and psychological warfare was on full display. He didn’t just conquer territories; he systematically erased opposition.

In 55 and 54 BC, Caesar turned his gaze toward the mysterious island of Britain. While these expeditions were militarily inconclusive, they were propaganda masterpieces. By crossing the “Ocean” at the edge of the known world, Caesar framed himself as a pioneer-hero, outshining even Pompey’s eastern victories.

The point of no return: the Rubicon

By 50 BC, Caesar had become too powerful for the Roman establishment to ignore. His former ally, Pompey, had aligned with the conservative faction led by Cato the Younger. The Senate issued an ultimatum: disband your army or be declared an enemy of the state (hostis). Caesar knew that returning to Rome without his legions meant certain prosecution and political ruin.

On 10 January 49 BC, Caesar arrived at the Rubicon, a small, unremarkable river in Northern Italy marking his provincial boundary. He’d been told to cross it with an army would be an act of high treason. With the famous words, “Alea iacta est” (The die is cast), he crossed. The Republic was dead; the Civil War had begun.

Caesar crossing the Rubicon, 49 BC

Image Credit: Lanmas / Alamy Stock Photo

Dictatorship and the Ides of March

The aftermath saw Caesar sweep through Italy, defeating Pompey at Pharsalus. His victory was the death knell for Republican governance. Eventually declared Dictator Perpetuo (Dictator for Life), he began a whirlwind of reforms, including the creation of the Julian Calendar and an expansion of the Senate to include his loyal supporters. 

However, his absolute power became his death warrant. To the old guard, Caesar wasn’t a reformer; he was a tyrant. On the Ides of March – 15 March 44 BC – the very principles the Republic was built upon – shared power and the rejection of kingship – struck back. Led by Brutus and Cassius, a group of senators assassinated Caesar in the Theatre of Pompey. While they hoped to restore the Republic, they only succeeded in accelerating its collapse, paving the way for his heir, Augustus, to become the first Emperor.

Step into the world of ancient Rome and learn more about what led to the gamble that ended an era in Rise of Caesar.

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But hidden within ‘Cave 3’ was an anomaly that defied every convention of the collection. It wasn’t written on fragile papyrus or animal skin, but on pure copper. Heavily oxidised and encrusted with dirt, it contained no prayers or prophecies. Instead it was a cold, hard inventory of unimaginable wealth – recording vast quantities of gold and silver equal to millions today, buried across the Holy Land.

In History Hit’s latest documentary, The Copper Scroll: Dead Sea Scrolls Mystery, Tristan Hughes investigates one of history’s most tantalising cold cases.

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Discovery at Qumran

The story begins in 1947 with a shepherd named Muhammad edh-Dhib. While grazing sheep near Qumran, he tossed a stone into a cave and heard the distinct sound of breaking pottery. This led to the discovery of a cave containing a hidden library belonging to the Essenes. 

The Essenes were a respected ancient Jewish sect in Judea that flourished in the 1st century BC. They were known for their strict interpretation of Jewish law and their apocalyptic ‘end times’ predictions. Their theological beliefs are preserved in documents like the Testimonies, a collection of biblical quotes dating to the first century BC that prophesies the arrival of a new prophet and the destruction of the unfaithful. 

To protect their most important documents, including sacred guides and communal laws, they meticulously wrapped their scrolls in linen and sealed them inside ceramic jars, effectively transforming part of the Qumran caves into a protected archive. Today, the majority of the discovered scrolls are housed and exhibited in Jerusalem.

Qumran National Park

Image Credit: History Hit

The metal map

Tristan begins his journey at the Jordan Museum in Amman – home to the Copper Scroll. Following its discovery, researchers faced a daunting challenge: two millennia of oxidation had transformed the metal into a brittle, green crust, making it impossible to unroll without shattering the precious text within.

To solve this, the scroll was transported to Manchester University in 1955. Under the supervision of philologist John Allegro, specialist Henry Wright Baker used a modified, hair-thin circular saw to slice the scroll into 23 semi-cylindrical strips. As the layers were peeled back, they revealed a Hebrew script detailing 64 secret locations where a staggering 120 tonnes of gold and silver were purportedly hidden – a fortune valued in the hundreds of millions by modern standards.

Part of the Copper Scroll, with Hebrew text visible on the oxidised copper – on display at the Jordan Museum in Amman

Image Credit: History Hit

The scroll is now the centrepiece of a dedicated gallery in Amman. While the instructions are remarkably specific, experts such as Dr Jihad Kafafi remain divided on whether the scroll records a genuine buried treasury or represents an elaborate ancient legend.

Millions in gold?

To find out more, Tristan meets a leading expert on the Copper Scroll, Dr Joan Taylor at Manchester University to analyse a replica of one of the rolls that were contained within it. The text uses specific ancient measurements, citing distances in “cubits” and weights in “talents.”

The instructions are maddeningly specific yet geographically elusive:

In the ruin of the valley of Achor, under the stairs that ascend towards the east… at a distance of 40 cubits, there is a silver chest and its vessels, weighing 17 talents.

Dr Taylor points out a fascinating detail: although copper was a luxury material at the time, the script itself appears “rushed”, with letters bunched together, suggesting the scribe was working under extreme pressure or imminent threat.

Replica of some of the Hebrew writing found in the Copper Scroll

Image Credit: History Hit

The Temple connection

Why hide such vast wealth? The scroll mentions sacred items, including a High Priest’s ephod (a ritual garment), leading many to believe this wasn’t a private hoard, but the treasure of the nation from the Temple in Jerusalem.

Historians link this massive concealment to two major periods of crisis: the Great Revolt (70 AD), when the Temple was destroyed by Roman forces, or the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-136 AD), a final, desperate where the ‘hurried’ script suggests a scribe recording the locations as Roman soldiers closed in on the final Jewish strongholds. 

The elusive hoard

To date, no-one has definitively claimed the treasure. Did the Romans torture the locations out of survivors? Or does some of the gold still lie buried beneath the sands of Jericho and the salt-crusted shores of the Dead Sea?

From the high-tech labs of Manchester to the sun-scorched cliffs of the Holy Land, Tristan Hughes pieces together a story of ancient survival and modern obsession.

Watch The Copper Scroll: Dead Sea Scrolls Mystery to see the evidence for yourself. The greatest treasure hunt in history is far from over.

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Following her exploration of the Bronze Age marvels at Uffington and the atmospheric legends of Wayland’s Smithy, the second episode sees Mary-Ann Ochota complete her adventure, heading north through the Avebury World Heritage Site – a landscape so saturated with archaeology that prehistory feels palpable in every step. This is far more than a simple hike; it is a ground-level investigation into the minds of our ancestors, exploring why they spent thousands of hours moving earth and stone to create a landscape dedicated to both the dead and the divine.

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The first architecture: West Kennet Long Barrow

As the Ridgeway winds toward Overton Hill, the landscape undergoes a dramatic transformation. Here, the modern countryside recedes, and every other field seems to reveal a burial mound, an earthwork, or a weathered standing stone. Mary-Ann’s first stop is the West Kennet Long Barrow, a monumental tomb dating back to roughly 3,650 BC. To put its age in perspective, this structure was already over a millennium old by the time the iconic stone circles were raised at Stonehenge.

Mary-Ann Ochota talks to English Heritage Prehistory Curator Dr Jennifer Wexler at West Kennet Long Barrow

Image Credit: History Hit

At 100 metres long and three metres high, it is one of the largest and most impressive long barrows in Britain. Accompanied by English Heritage Prehistory Curator Dr Jennifer Wexler, Mary-Ann ventures deep into the dark, stone-lined interior.

“They’re the first architecture that we have,” Wexler explains, “they’re our first standing monuments.” Archaeologists discovered the remains of 46 individuals here, interred alongside pottery and stone tools. Remarkably, the barrow remained a site of active ritual for over 1,000 years. It was only around 2,000BC that the chambers were ceremonially filled with rubble and the entrance sealed by massive sarsen blocking stones.

Filming inside the West Kennet Long Barrow

Image Credit: History Hit

Thanks to a meticulous reconstruction in the 1950s, it is one again possible to step inside and experience the heavy, silent atmosphere of the tomb just as the barrow’s original Neolithic builders did five millennia ago. 

The mystery of Silbury Hill

Visible from the mouth of the Long Barrow is the enigmatic Silbury Hill. Built in several stages between 2,400 and 2,300 BC, this gargantuan chalk mound is a feat of engineering that continues to baffle experts. Standing nearly 40 metres high, it remains the largest man-made mound in Europe – a structure so vast that the entirety of Stonehenge could almost fit upon its summit.

The folklore surrounding the hill is as tall as the monument itself. Some say the Devil dropped the mound in a fit of rage after a defeat in nearby Marlborough; others believe the golden treasures of King Sil lie buried deep within. However, Dr Wexler explains that modern archaeology has revealed something even more fascinating: the mound contains no central burial or ‘kingly treasure’.

Instead, analysis of the internal layers reveals turf and material brought from across the wider landscape, suggesting Silbury was a massive communal project.  Dr Wexler theorises that its construction may have been a response to a period of “crisis” or rapid change at the end of the Neolithic, as new groups arrived from Europe with revolutionary metal-working technology. Perhaps the mound was a final, monumental effort to honour an old religion or anchor a shifting identity to the land.

Filming near Silbury Hill

Image Credit: History Hit

The Avenue

After a night camping at the Farm at Avebury – where she meets owner Rob Hughes to hear how his family have worked this land for generations – Mary-Ann follows the ancient tracks toward the village of Avebury, via the West Kennet Avenue. In antiquity, this ceremonial corridor was lined with 100 pairs of massive sarsen stones, some weighing upwards of 20 tonnes.

Experts believe these stones were meticulously paired by shape, often categorised as “male” (tall and columnar) and “female” (broad and diamond-shaped). This intentional design likely served to control, impress or even intimidate pilgrims as they progressed toward the sacred centre. Walking between these giants today, one can still feel the intended psychological effect: a sense of being funnelled toward something immense, ancient, and powerful.

Mary-Ann walking through part of the West Kennet Avenue

Image Credit: History Hit

Avebury Henge: megalithic stadium?

The journey reaches its climax at Avebury Henge. Unlike the fenced-off experience of Stonehenge, Avebury remains a living part of the landscape, where visitors are free to walk among and touch the ancient sarsens.

Construction here began around 2,800 BC, with the site evolving through continuous modifications over the next 600 years. The outer great henge spans almost 500 metres in diameter, and in its prime, the chalk bank towered 17 metres above the floor of a steep, deep ditch. Within this large perimeter stood an  outer circle of approximately 100 stones, which in turn enclosed two smaller stone circles containing complex arrangements of stone and timber. 

The Ridgeway’s proximity to Avebury is almost certainly no accident. Mary-Ann meets legendary archaeologist Phil Harding to discuss the colossal human effort required to sculpt this terrain. “You don’t build something like Avebury with a gang of ten people,” Harding notes. “You need masses and masses of labour.”

Mary-Ann Ochota and archaeologist Phil Harding at Avebury

Image Credit: History Hit

While we often view these sites with a sense of somber ritual, Phil and Mary-Ann explore a more vibrant, human theory: that Avebury functioned as a prehistoric “stadium.” With the capacity to hold thousands of people, it likely also served as a social hub – a place for festivals, dancing, and meeting new people from far-flung regions – and a site where the spiritual and the social collided in a magnificent, open-air arena.

Preservation

Phil describes walking the Ridgeway as “not just a walk in the countryside, it’s almost a spiritual thing”. The unique geology of the Wiltshire chalk served as the fuel for this prehistoric explosion of activity. Its well-drained, easily cultivated soil transformed the ridge into a bustling Neolithic highway of the Stone Age.

As Mary-Ann reflects on her trek, she observes that walking the Ridgeway is far more than a physical challenge; it’s an act of historical preservation. By following these ancient tracks, we forge a direct connection to the shelter, the industry, and the spirituality of those who came before us. As she poignantly concludes: “When we walk these ancient ways, we keep them alive.”

Watch Part 2 of Ancient Ways: The Ridgeway now, exclusively on History Hit.

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In the two-part special Ancient Ways: The Ridgeway, anthropologist and keen hiker Mary-Ann Ochota tracks these prehistoric pathways along the Ridgeway – one of England’s oldest routes and a true ‘Stone Age Highway’. Join Mary-Ann as she visits some of the trail’s most iconic landmarks, from the enigmatic Uffington White Horse to the megalithic wonders of Avebury Henge.

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A braid of routes

Five thousand years ago, the Ridgeway wasn’t a single, officially designated path; it was a braid of multiple routes heading roughly in the same direction across the high ground. While the modern Ridgeway National Trail spans 87 miles from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to Avebury in Wiltshire, the original prehistoric route stretched much further – running from the Wash in Norfolk, southwest all the way to the Dorset coast.

“To understand the past,” Mary-Ann explains, “we need to understand how people moved and why.” The Neolithic people who first used this route – the same builders responsible for Stonehenge – were farmers who raised cattle and sheep. They travelled for trade, pilgrimage, and community events, using the high chalk ridges to stay above the marshy, wooded and often dangerous valleys below.

Production shot – filming on The Ridgeway

This path forms a distinctive white ribbon through the landscape. This chalk was formed 145 to 65 million years ago, in the age of the dinosaurs, when the area sat near the equator under a subtropical sea. Created by the compacted skeletons and shells of ancient sea creatures, this unique geology now supports a rare ecosystem of specialist plants, insects, and birds.

Production shot from The Ridgeway

Uffington: the horse and the hillfort

Mary-Ann begins her journey at Uffington Hill, a site thick with prehistoric treasures. At the summit sits a massive Iron Age hillfort, half a mile in circumference. But the true mystery lies beside it: the Uffington White Horse.

At 111 metres long, this semi-abstract ‘geoglyph’ is the oldest hill figure in Western Europe. National Trust ranger Andy Foley explains that while it looks like a simple chalk drawing, it is actually a complex feat of engineering. Trenches were dug a metre deep, backfilled with chalk rubble, and smoothed off on top.

Scientific dating reveals that the horse’s deepest layers are at least 2,500 to 3,000 years old. Created at the dawn of the Iron Age – coinciding with the introduction of domesticated horses to Britain – the figure was likely a tribal statement of status and power. Remarkably, the figure only remains visible because it has been scoured and cared for by the local community for three millennia. Andy suggests that the horse’s specific placement may indicate its care was initially connected to religion.

Mary-Ann Ochota with National Trust ranger Andy Foley at the Uffington White Horse

Image Credit: History Hit

Wayland’s Smithy

Walking west, Mary-Ann reaches Wayland’s Smithy, a burial chamber nearly 2,000 years older than the White Horse. This megalithic monument, dating to roughly 3,400 BC, is a ‘Cotswold-Severn’ type barrow, consisting of a stone edifice, an earthen mound over 100 metres long, containing a central passage with chambers inside to bury the dead.

Although seeming quite a straightforward burial site, archaeology reveals a complex history: a smaller timber-and-earth burial site existed here first. A century later, as farmers claimed territory more permanently, they constructed longer-lasting monuments to house the dead, including the massive stone edifice seen today. Curiously, historians believe the design was already ‘old-fashioned’ when it was built, suggesting the builders were attempting to claim a deep, ancestral association with the land to legitimise their presence.

Production shot of Mary-Ann Ochota filming at Wayland’s Smithy

Image Credit: History Hit

The site is steeped in Saxon legend. Historian and storyteller Jason Buck explains that the name comes from Wayland, the Germanic smith of the gods. Legend says that if you leave your horse here with a coin, the invisible smith will have it shod by morning.

Production shot – Mary-Ann Ochota shares a cuppa with historian and storyteller Jason Buck as she sets up camp for the night

Image Credit: History Hit

The Neolithic toolkit

After a night in a tent, Mary-Ann’s journey continues from Hackpen Hill to Fyfield Down, where she uncovers the reality of prehistoric industry. Though they lacked metalworking, people at this time were using stone tools, flint tools, leather, bone, antler, and natural textiles. As Mary-Ann explains, stone tools weren’t just bashing two rocks together, “they were really sophisticated craftspeople. They really understood their materials.” 

In the Neolithic period (4,500 BC to 2,300 BC), stone axes were one of the key components in their toolkit – the ‘Swiss Army Knives’ of the age. While flint axes were used for everyday timber work, ‘posh’ versions of axes made from carefully chosen polished volcanic and sedimentary stones were symbols of elite status. These were either ground into shape or, in the case of flint and chert, fashioned through ‘knapping’ – a precise process of striking the stone to chip away the edges. To achieve a mirror-like, glass-smooth finish, craftsmen would rub the piece against abrasive sarsen stones for days or even years to get it perfectly polished. 

Remarkably, these stones weren’t local; analysis shows that rough-cut blocks for polished axes were quarried across the UK – from the Lake District to Cornwall, even as far as Northern Ireland – and traded along the Ridgeway.

‘Polisher stone’ at Fyfield Down

Image Credit: History Hit

Mary-Ann visits a ‘polisher stone’ at Fyfield Down – a sarsen boulder featuring deep, smooth grooves used to create, sharpen and shape the edges of the axe. These marks were created by humans sitting for hundreds of hours, grinding stone axe heads against the rock using wet sand to achieve a mirror-like finish. Standing by the stone, one can almost feel the presence of the craftsmen who laboured here 5,000 years ago. It’s unknown why this particular sarsen stone was chosen above the others for this purpose, but it is seen as a treasure of the Neolithic age.

Watch Episode 1 of Ancient Ways: The Ridgeway on History Hit to join Mary-Ann Ochota on this incredible trek through time and learn more about these ancient landmarks.

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Join Natalie as she reveals how this myth gave birth to the ancient world’s most profound and secretive religious tradition: the Eleusinian Mysteries. Tracing the path of ancient initiates from Athens to Eleusis, Natalie examines rare fragments like the ‘Great Eleusinian Relief’ and the ‘Ninnion Tablet’ to uncover the only surviving visual clues to these top-secret rituals. She explores why thousands of pilgrims flocked to Eleusis for centuries, and how this visceral tale of maternal fury and restorative love has inspired two and a half millennia of art. 

A mother’s strike

Greece has always been a land of harsh agricultural reality. In the ancient world, if the land failed, death followed swiftly. When Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, abandoned Mount Olympus in grief over her daughter’s abduction, the world withered.

Natalie explains that Demeter’s fury was a cosmic strike, refusing to let the earth be fertile until Persephone was returned. This forced the hand of Zeus, who intervened not out of compassion, but because the mortals had stopped sending sacrifices – there were simply no crops to offer the gods.

The pomegranate trap

In the myth, Zeus sent Hermes to the Underworld to retrieve Persephone, but Hades, the possessive and cunning King of the Dead, was prepared – freedom would come at a price. He offered Persephone a parting gift: a handful of pomegranate seeds.

In the ancient logic of the Underworld, eating the food of the dead binds you to that realm forever. This was no romantic gesture; in the oldest versions of the Homeric Hymn, Persephone is trapped by a “trap wrapped in sweetness.” 

Persephone was returned to her mother in an ecstatic homecoming. Interestingly, Natalie points out how although the Homeric Hymn was written in patriarchal times, the poet still knew the depth and value of the female bond between mother and daughter. However, their joy was cut short when Demeter realised Persephone had eaten while in the Underworld. 

Zeus, keen to restore the flow of mortal offerings, brokered a dodgy deal: Persephone would spend one-third of the year with Hades and two-thirds of each year above ground with her mother. This “dark compromise” created the seasons: the winter of Demeter’s mourning and the spring of her daughter’s return.

Interestingly, Natalie explains how “this is one of the few times in all of Greek mythology that a god or goddess stands their ground against Zeus, king of the gods, and wins – at least a partial victory”.

Hermes delivers the message to Persephone and Hades

Image Credit: History Hit

The Eleusinian Mysteries

The myth explains how in gratitude to the people of Eleusis who sheltered her during her grief, Demeter gifted them sacred rites. These became the Eleusinian Mysteries, a phenomenon that lasted for over a millennium, promising immense spiritual wealth.

The story of Demeter’s gift grew into a phenomenon of the ancient world, with evidence as far back as the 7th century BC of people gathering in Athens to process to Eleusis. Thousands flocked to Eleusis each year. Anyone – regardless of class, age or gender – could take part, provided they hadn’t committed murder – from common servants to philosophers such as Plato, orators like Cicero, and even Roman Emperors like Hadrian and Augustus. 

The appeal was simple but revolutionary: the Mysteries offered hope. While most Greeks viewed the afterlife as a dreary existence as a powerless “shade,” initiates were promised a better fate.

Tantalising clues: the archaeology of a secret

Because the rites were protected by a vow of silence – punishable by execution – nothing was ever written down. Natalie visits the National Archaeological Museum in Athens to speak with Dr Tulsi Parikh, an expert on the archaeology of Ancient Greek religion, and piece together the rituals from “tiny, tiny fragments” of evidence that have survived – noting how remarkable it is “how much we can still uncover from so little”.

• The Great Eleusinian Relief: A 5th-century marble masterpiece showing Demeter handing sheaves of wheat to Triptolemus, teaching humankind the art of agriculture. He is also pictured with a winged, serpent-entwined chariot,  gifted so he could spread agricultural knowledge across the globe.
• The Ninnion Tablet: The only known visual representation of the rituals. It depicts initiates with lit torches and wreaths walking toward the goddesses, suggesting the ceremony’s climax took place in the dead of night.

Dr Tulsi Parikh and Natalie Haynes standing by The Great Eleusinian Relief

Image Credit: History Hit

Ritual purification and hallucinogens?

Natalie follows the 13-mile ‘Sacred Way’ from the Acropolis to Eleusis for the 9 day celebration. Archaeologist Professor Rebecca Sweetman explains the visceral nature of the purification: initiates would carry animals (usually piglets) into the sea to wash them before a massive sacrifice.

After reaching the sanctuary at Eleusis (surrounded by symbols and performances to remind them of the myth), the climax occurred in the Telesterion, the “holiest of holies.” Inside this auditorium, the deepest secrets were revealed. Rebecca shares a fascinating theory: given the massive grain silos nearby, initiates may have been given kykeon – a grain-based drink that potentially contained ergot (mouldy grain). This would have provided a potent hallucinogenic effect, ensuring the “mind-blowing” spiritual experience that kept pilgrims returning for centuries.

Sanctuary of Demeter at Eleusis

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A legacy of maternal fury

The power of this myth lies in its rare focus on female emotion in what was a patriarchal Greece. Natalie examines how this “maternal fury” has inspired two and a half millennia of art, from 4th-century BC frescos to the modern musical Hadestown.

In the Broadway hit, Persephone is reimagined as a darker queen, a modern woman yearning for the surface, while Hades remains the manipulative schemer of the ancient sources.

The unbreakable bond

Finally, Natalie views the ‘Demeter of Knidos’, a breathtaking statue capturing the goddess’s patient, serene expression – a reminder that Demeter is a goddess who will wait as long as it takes to get what she wants.

Natalie concludes by reflecting how “The ultimate victory of the myth is that maternal devotion proved to be the single unbreakable force in the Greek cosmos”. The bond between mother and daughter was a source of both destructive fury and creative, restorative love – a power that forced even the King of the Gods to compromise.

Watch the series conclusion of Divine Fury: Demeter and Persephone – The Mystery on History Hit to see Natalie Haynes delves into the dark compromise that resolved the myth of Demeter and Persephone.

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