Have Toga, Will Travel

About Have Toga, Will Travel

A podcast exploring the Mediterranean world, ancient and modern, through the eyes of two former Classics professors. Join Emily and Cam as they chat about all things Ancient Greek and Roman and share their own adventures exploring the Mediterranean world through history, travel, literature, and film. Emily Jusino is a specialist in ancient Greek tragedy who also thinks deeply about how modern culture interacts with the literature and mythology of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. Cam Hawkins has spent years reading, teaching, and writing about ancient history—ancient Greek history, ancient Roman history, and the history of a smattering of other cultures. Both have travelled extensively in Italy and Greece and love talking about their travels. We release new episodes on or about the 1st and 15th of every month. https://havetogawilltravel.com

Publisher

Emily Jusino, PhD (Classics) and Cam Hawkins, PhD (Ancient History)

Category

history · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

26 Jun 2025

Latest episode

1 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

31 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   1 Oct 2026

   Hadrian in Athens (or, When a Roman Emperor Gave a Greek City a Reno)

   Athens was the city the Roman Emperor Hadrian loved most in the world, and he left his mark there by commissioning a bunch of new monumental public buildings for the city and its people. In this episode, Emily and Cam talk about the long and sometimes tense history of Romans building things in Athens, Hadrian’s own architectural sensibility, and some of the key structures he left behind (including the Library of Hadrian and the Temple of Olympian Zeus). Visit our homepage to subscribe, to find us on social media, and to contact us by email: https://havetogawilltravel.com (https://havetogawilltravel.com/) If you liked this episode, buy us a coffee: Our Ko-Fi page (https://ko-fi.com/havetogawilltravel) Links to other episodes we made that touch on Hadrian: Hadrian Tours the Roman World (https://havetogawilltravel.com/podcast/have-toga-will-travel/episode/hadrian-tours-the-roman-world) Hadrian’s Wall, Part I: The Romans in Britain and the Imperial Frontier (https://havetogawilltravel.com/podcast/have-toga-will-travel/episode/hadrians-wall-part-i-the-romans-in-the-britain-and-the-imperial-frontier) (the first of four episodes on Hadrian’s Wall) Thermae Romae: A Japanese Film about Ancient Roman Bathing—and Time Travel! (https://havetogawilltravel.com/podcast/have-toga-will-travel/episode/thermae-romae-a-japanese-film-about-ancient-roman-bathing-and-time-travel) The cover image is our own photo of the Arch of Hadrian by night! ---------- 00:10 - Introduction 03:29 - Athens: A Brief History 03:38 - The buildings of the fifth century BCE: products of the Athenian empire 04:23 - Athens in the Fourth Century 04:43 - Athens under Macedonian and Roman Domination 05:26 - Athens and its fame as an artistic, intellectual, and religious center 07:07 - Gifts from powerful rulers (and a digression on the Stoa of Attalos) 12:00 - Augustan Athens 12:27 - Architecture and political messaging in Athens under the Romans 14:10 - The Odeion of Agrippa and the Athenian Agora 18:28 - The Temple of Rome and Augustus on the Acropolis 21:08 - The Roman Agora: the Gate of Athena Archegetis 24:06 - Hadrian’s Athens 24:34 - Hadrian’s architectural style 25:07 - Hadrian builds a great big aqueduct 26:30 - The Eridan0s River gets a makeover 27:13 - North of the Acropolis: the Pantheon and the Library of Hadrian 32:09 - South of the Acropolis: Hadrian’s Gymnasium and the temple of Zeus Panhellenios 33:53 - South of the Acropolis: the Temple and Precinct of Olympian Zeus (and Hadrian among the gods) 44:53 - The Temple of Olympian Zeus Today (featuring a story about a magic pomegranate) 48:23 - The Arch of Hadrian 51:21 - Wrap-up

2. 

   15 Sept 2026

   Hadrian Tours the Roman World

   The emperor Hadrian didn’t just build a wall across Britain! During a career that involved a “world tour” to pretty much every province of the Roman Empire, he rubbed elbows with provincial aristocrats; showered gifts on the cities of the empire; climbed a couple of mountains and hunted at least one big cat; hung out for years in Greece; murdered the odd senator; and loved, lost, and deified his cherished friend Antinous. (Maybe he even wore a toga while he travelled!) Listen as Emily and Cam hit the highlights of his career. Visit our homepage to subscribe, to find us on social media, and to contact us by email: https://havetogawilltravel.com (https://havetogawilltravel.com/) If you liked this episode, buy us a coffee: Our Ko-Fi page (https://ko-fi.com/havetogawilltravel) Links to other episodes we made that touch on Hadrian: Hadrian’s Wall, Part I: The Romans in Britain and the Imperial Frontier (https://havetogawilltravel.com/podcast/have-toga-will-travel/episode/hadrians-wall-part-i-the-romans-in-the-britain-and-the-imperial-frontier) (the first of four episodes on Hadrian’s Wall) Thermae Romae: A Japanese Film about Ancient Roman Bathing—and Time Travel! (https://havetogawilltravel.com/podcast/have-toga-will-travel/episode/thermae-romae-a-japanese-film-about-ancient-roman-bathing-and-time-travel) Cover image adapted from a photo of a gold coin minted between 134 and 138 CE, depicting Hadrian in profile and bearing the legend “Hadrianus Augustus P(ater) P(atriae)” (Hadrian Augustus, Father of his Country). American Numismatic Society, Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gold_Aureus_of_Hadrian_(MANTIS).jpg). ---------- 00:10 - Introduction 02:22 - Not Quite Emperor 02:28 - Hadrian’s early life 03:26 - Ward of Trajan 04:55 - Domitian, Nerva, and Trajan’s path to imperial power 05:57 - Hadrian’s career under Trajan during the Dacian Wars, the Parthian War, and the Rebellion of the Jewish diaspora 09:24 - Trajan is dead, long live Hadrian 11:23 - New Frontiers 11:24 - Hadrian’s lack of interest in expanding the Roman Empire 11:37 - Earlier emperors and wars of conquest 12:08 - Hadrian abandons Trajan’s conquests 13:16 - Hadrian, Nigrinus, and the execution of four senators 14:53 - Hadrian’s World Tours 15:02 - An inward focus 15:41 - Hadrian tours the provinces (of a really big empire!) 17:45 - Hadrian the intellectual: a conversation with Apollo’s oracle at Delphi about Homer 19:33 - Hadrian the adventurer: lighting, lions, and bears, oh my! 21:14 - Inspecting the army and securing the frontiers 23:01 - Hadrian and imperial patronage: local elites, imperial benefactions, and loyalty 26:47 - Antinous: a short digression 27:06 - Antinous’ background 27:48 - Antinous’ death and speculations about its cause 29:07 - Hadrian’s grief, the deification of Antinous, and Antinous at Tivoli 32:28 - The Olympian: Hadrian in Greece 32:48 - Hadrian’s early fascination with Greek culture 34:28 - Hadrian’s first trip to Greece: Athenian citizen, Eponymous Archon, and friends with Epictetus and Plutarch 37:55 - Hadrian Reborn: the Emperor and the Eleusinian Mysteries 41:52 – Hadrian’s plan for the Panhellenion and the Sanctuary of Zeus 43:17 - Hadrian among the gods: Hadrianus Olympios, Hadrianus Panhellenios 46:32 - Rebellion in Judaea 46:54 - The Bar Kokhba Rebellion 47:47 - Untangling the roots of the rebellion: a messianic movement? 48:50 - Imperial plans and Judaean politics 51:05 - Succession Crisis 51:22 - Imperial succession in the Roman World 52:24 - Hadrian’s potential successors 54:19 - Two adoptions, a death, and two murders 57:39 - Legacy 60:42 - Wrap-up

3. 

   1 Sept 2026

   Euripides’ Trojan Women: The Fall of Troy in Greek Tragedy

   In “Trojan Women”, the Athenian playwright Euripides highlights an aspect of the Trojan War neglected by Christopher Nolan in “The Odyssey”: the true horror of Troy’s capture and destruction. In this episode, Emily and Cam break down Euripides’ play. Produced at Athens mere months after the Athenians captured Melos (where the Athenians killed all of the men and enslaved the city’s women and children), Euripides’ play offers a powerful and moving depiction of war’s impact on its victims by exploring the suffering and heroism of three Trojan women: Hecuba, Cassandra, and Andromache. Visit our homepage to subscribe, to find us on social media, and to contact us by email: https://havetogawilltravel.com (https://havetogawilltravel.com/) If you liked this episode, buy us a coffee: Our Ko-Fi page (https://ko-fi.com/havetogawilltravel) Links to previous episodes mentioned in this show: Our episode about Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey (https://havetogawilltravel.com/podcast/have-toga-will-travel/episode/the-odyssey-by-christopher-nolan-our-take-on-the-movie-of-the-summer). Our episode about Sophocles’ Philoctetes (https://havetogawilltravel.com/podcast/have-toga-will-travel/episode/odysseus-in-greek-tragedy-sophocles-philoctetes). Watch Michael Cacoyannis’ film version of the Trojan Women on Daily Motion (https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xaitjxe). Cover image adapted from a photo of George Romney’s “Lady Emma Hamilton as Cassandra”, taken by Jan Arkesteijn (Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lady_Emma_Hamilton,_as_Cassandra,_by_George_Romney.jpg)). ---------- 00:10 - Introduction 02:16 - Content Warning! 02:53 - Euripides’ Trojan Women 02:56 - Euripides and his work 06:49 - The Play’s Context: the Peloponnesian War and the sack of Melos 11:12 - Plot Synopsis 11:14 - Poseidon and Athena hatch a scheme 13:16 - Talthybius, Hecuba, and the Allotment of the Captives to Agamemnon, Neoptolemus, and Odysseus 15:09 - Cassandra 16:05 - Andromache 17:16 - The agon: Menelaus, Helen, and Hecuba 21:57 - The funeral of Astyanax and the death of Troy 23:00 - War and Suffering: Hecuba and Talthybius 23:26 - Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey and Euripides’ Trojan Women: a difference in perspective 25:09 - The Pain of Hecuba, Cassandra, and Andromache (and a digression on Odysseus) 29:35 - Hecuba: Leadership and Resilience 33:11 - The Empathy of Talthybius 39:23 - Agency and Humanity 39:46 - The women as heroes 39:54 - Cassadra’s vengeance 40:42 - Andromache, Neoptolemus, and Astyanax 41:57 - Hecuba 43:04 - Helen and Talthybius 45:04 - Fortune is Fickle 45:51 - Greek literature and the instability of fortune 48:00 - Agency again: fate and choice 50:57 - The Victors and their Comeuppance 51:20 - Nolan’s view on war and society 52:12 - Euripides and the wrath of the gods 54:54 - Digression: Michael Cacoyannis’ “Trojan Women”, featuring Irene Papas 55:53 - Athens and the Trojan Women 56:53 - Empathy for the victims of warfare 57:32 - Euripides as Cassandra? 59:11 – Final Thoughts and Wrap-up

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

64

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Podcast Authority Score: 41 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

58

Social presence

0

YouTube

63

Engagement

0

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Guest appearances

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