LOST ROMAN HEROES

Mar 02 2025 64 ep. 73 mins 62

LOST ROMAN HEROES Podcast artwork

Two nerds-for-Rome that explore the lives and times of lost Roman heroes, from Aeneas to Constantine the XI, the Marble Emperor, and rank them for their cool hero-ness….

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Lost Roman Heroes - Episode 64: Aetius (Part 1)

Mar 02 2025 76 mins

This is the man that even contemporaries referred to as THE LAST ROMAN. Only son of General Gaudentius, born in Durostorum, a frontier fortress on the Danube, Aetius, he wound up in the West after his father fought under Emperor Theodosius at the Frigidus. From there he found himself on a fast track that would send him as a hostage to Alaric and the Goths, and from there to Uldin a

Lost Roman Heroes - Episode 63: Galla Placidia

Feb 16 2025 101 mins

Granddaughter of bear-loving Emperor Valentinian I, granddaughter of last-of-the-mohicans Count Theodosius, and daughter of Emperor Theodosius who salvaged the Empire after Adrianople, Galla Placidia had the bluest blue running through her veins. One might be tempted to think, that after having been born in this most privileged of positions, she had an easy life? Yet that could not

Lost Roman Heroes - Episode 62: Stilicho & Alaric (Part 2)

Feb 02 2025 124 mins

Just one year after the Emperor Theodosius died in 395AD, Stilicho, his son in law and the man he trusted to carry the Empire forward, is struggling with an impossible situation. The frontiers are overrun by an unholy coaltion of barbarian tribes, pushed inexorably towards Rome by the approaching Hun menace. Meanwhile, Alaric and his Goths, the most powerful military force in the E

Lost Roman Heroes - Episode 61: Stilicho & Alaric (Part 1)

Jan 19 2025 106 mins

Meet Stilicho, the half Vandal, half Roman soldier who joins Emperor Theodosius' bodyguard in his late teens, catches the eye of the emperor's niece, marries into the imperial family, and rises to the highest military ranks in the Empire! A devoutly loyal and honest man, Stilicho makes a plethora of enemies along the way, but never loses sight of his loyalties, to Emperor and natio

Lost Roman Heroes - Episode 60: Ambrose of Milan

Jan 05 2025 98 mins

Born in Trier in 339AD, Ambrose was the privileged son of the praetorian prefect of Gaul. As a young man, he entered the Roman civil service and rose quickly to the role of governor in north Italy during the reign of Emperor Valentinian. Though he was not a Christian and did not seek the honor, Ambrose was elected Bishop of Mediolanum in 374AD, making him one of the most important

Lost Roman Heroes - Episode 59: Theodosius I

Dec 22 2024 110 mins

Theodosius, son of the legendary Count Theodosius, was thrust into one of the most desperate situations in Rome's history, in the wake of the utter bloodbath at Adrianople in 378AD. Inheriting the mantle of the East, with no army to call upon, and with the Goths rampaging in the Roman heartland, for some reason, Theodosius answered the call, in somehow, he would find a way to put t

Lost Roman Heroes - Episode 58: Count Theodosius

Dec 08 2024 96 mins

Count Theodosius, born in Hispania to a military family, he rose through the ranks and accomplished remarkable things lost in the mists of time. When he emerges into the spotlight he is the Emperor Valentinian's fixer, who recovers Britannia, settles the Rhine, and recovers Africa for the Empire without breaking a sweat, with humility and grace. But no good deed ever goes unpunishe

Lost Roman Heroes - Episode 57: Valentinian

Nov 24 2024 96 mins

Valentinian, son of the Rope Man, emerged from dad's shadow, paid his dues in the army, and was in the right place at the right time when Julian's short-lived successor Jovian died somewhere outside Ancyra. Rising to the purple with his brother Valens (Adrianople anyone?) by his side, Valentinian would go on to rule from the west, holding the Rhine, recovering Britannia, and quashi

Lost Roman Heroes - Episode 56: Julian

Nov 10 2024 111 mins

Julian, nephew of Constantine the Great, cousin of Constantius the Murderous, aspiring philosopher, Emperor almost against his will, unfortunate soul! He would be the last pagan emperor of Rome, though the Empire would last for another 1100 years, trying in vain to turn back to the clock to a simpler world that no longer existed.

Lost Roman Heroes - Episode 55: Q&A

Oct 27 2024 96 mins

Join us for our long awaited first Q&A episode, where we take on listener questions and do our level best to answer! From "why did Marc Antony fall in love with Cleopatra" to "did Livia kill Augustus" and "which Roman Emperor would you want to have a beer with"? This was the most fun we've had on an episode for some time, thanks to all of you! (We just republished this one with