Hour 6 | 575 - 480 BCE
Indo-European Language Family · Celts · Buddha · Buddhism · Spring and Autumn · Confucius · Contention of the Hundred Schools of Thought · Cyrus · Persian Empire · Behistun Inscription · Zoroastrianism · New Discovery in Ecuador
Browse the main books, articles, lectures, and interviews we relied on to make this episode.
Note: We’ve added links throughout the SYNOPSIS which are not our official sources. We’ve linked pictures, maps, encyclopedia entries, etc for you to enjoy if you want to see the things we are discussing, or get a quick reminder of people, time periods, concepts etc (what is an australopithecine again??). For our official sources check out the BOOKS, ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS, and LECTURE tabs.
In this Season 1 Finale, we cover the years from 575 and to 480 BCE. Three massive philosophical and spiritual shifts take place in these years, Confucius in China, Buddha in India and Zoroastrianism in Persia. We will visit the Celts across Europe and end with with a discussion of a newly discovered civilization hidden for millenia beneath the trees of the Amazon which will rewrite the history of Ecuador.
Celts
We begin the episode with an explanation of expansion of the Indo-European Language Family.
Proto-Indo-European is the reconstructed ancestor language of dozens of languages and language families across Eurasia, including Persian, Sanskrit and Celtic. We don’t usually link to Wikipedia, but this chart is an incredibly clear and concise layout of the ancient language families and their modern descendants.
You can hear an attempted recreation of Proto-Indo-European here!
One of the branches of this language family is the Celtic languages.
The druids were critically important parts of Celtic society. They played the many roles as diplomats and advisors, as well as healers, historians and priests.
Celtic chariots were important war tools.
Buddha
A little more context for the word Aryan including how it was hijacked in the modern world.
Or check out the book Which of Us Are Aryans? for an in depth look from many perspectives on all the controversy surrounding the influx of Vedic culture into India.
The Buddha’s possible birth site is a Unesco World Heritage Site
The Caste System.
There are many variations on the story of the Buddha’s life. Many are told through art including the incredible frescos in the Ajanta Caves, now a Unesco World Heritage site.
Buddhism
The Four Noble Truths.
The Zhou Dynasty and Confucius in China
The Duke of Zhou was a leader from before Confucius’ time. He was remembered as just and wise.
Confucius’ life fell between the Spring and Autumn Period of the Zhou Dynasty and the Warring States Period.
Confucius teachings were compiled by his followers into the Analects.
Contention of the 100 Schools of Thought were a time when so many important pieces of philosophy and literature and history were written, including The Art of War and the The Spring and Autumn Annals.
The Persian Empire
Cyrus the Great first conquers Media and Lydia.
The Babylonian Empire falls to Cyrus.
Cyrus allows the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.
The Hebrew Bible refers to Cyrus as a Messiah.
Way too much incest in royal families throughout the ages.
This podcast discusses Persepolis, the political or ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire. The three different historians give their perspective on what the role of Persepolis was. *Heads up, the interviewer feels frustratingly rude to me, doesn’t let them talk, cuts them off, etc.
The Behistun Inscription - the “Rosetta Stone” for cuneiform.
Besides The Rosetta Stone, Other Stone Texts Have Interpreted Ancient Cultures | Discover Magazine.
The Trojan War, likely a mythologized memory of the Bronze Age Collapse, becomes an important part of Greek Origin stories.
The Battle of Marathon.
Battle of Thermopylae or you can watch this if you prefer your history to be utter nonsense.
Zoroastrianism
Zarathustra or Zoroaster is the profit or the Zoroastrian religion.
Zoroastrianism is the world’s first major Monotheistic religion. The one true god, Ahura Mazda, has a counterpart, Angra Mainyu.
The Magi are Zoroastrian priests.
Fire is very sacred to the Zoroastrians. example, example, example.
The Faravahar, the winged sun symbol appears through out ancient Persia and is an important symbol for Zoroastrians. example example.
A newly discovered “ancient civilization” in Ecuador
There aren’t yet books written about this culture. Here are a few articles I relied on.
Ancient Amazon Civilization Developed Unique Form of Garden Urbanism.
Laser Mapping Reveals Oldest Amazonian Cities Built 2500 Years Ago.
This photograph of one of the canals connecting the groups of homes shows how difficult they would be to find and recognize with out lidar technology.
Archeologists knew there were mounds and other sites of habitation but had no idea of the extent of the complexity.
Thrilling to think how historical narratives will be rewritten by new technology!
The Current, “Huge Ancient City Discovered in Amazon”
A short interview with one of the main archeologists, Stephen Rostain about the discovery in Ecuador. Also includes a explanation of lidar technology from archeologist Jay Silverstein
Tides of History, “When did things happen in the ancient world? Interview with Professor Sturt Manning”
Great conversation about how technological advances allow archeologists to date things more accurately.
The Forum, “What is Zoroastrianism?”
Dr. Sarah Stewart, Shapoorji Pallonji, Malcolm Deboo, and Yuhan Vevaina, discuss the origins and beliefs of Zoroastrianism.
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Episodes
- Jan 24, 2023 Hour 1 | 3,300,000 - 4000 BCE
- Jan 23, 2023 Hour 2 | 4000 - 1700 BCE
- Jan 22, 2023 Hour 3 | 1700 - 1200 BCE
- Jan 21, 2023 Hour 4 | 1200 - 800 BCE
- Jan 20, 2023 Hour 5 | 800 - 575 BCE
- Jan 19, 2023 Hour 6 | 575 - 480 BCE
- Jan 1, 2023 Season 2 [Coming April 24]
A fascinating look at the Indo European expansion. Due to many recent discoveries and new research methods, some of it is already out of date. The author is currently writing a new book. Still absolutely worth reading for the first third alone, which explains the evolution of languages and the way linguists worked backwards to recreate Proto-Indo-European.