Hello and welcome to the history of ancient Greece.

If you haven't listened before, you're in for a treat.

Ryan Stitt is taking us on an in-depth exploration of Greek history, culture, and philosophy.

And this week, he's introducing us to the adventful reign of the Persian king Cambyses, Cyrus's son and successor.

Cambyses took the Persian army to Egypt. You can imagine him looking at the great pyramid,

already over 2,000 years old at that point, and saying, whoa,

or something like that. Records are sketchy. But anyway, the pyramid is where I come in. I'm Drew

Varenkamp, host of a new podcast, The Wonders of the World. In my podcast, I visit the great places

on Earth to tell the story of our people, our civilization,

and our planet. I started with the original seven wonders, like the Great Pyramid,

and over the course of my podcast, I'll take you to many other amazing places around the world,

and share the story of how they came to be, the people who built them, travel tips on how to visit today,

and even what to eat when you're there, because come on, you got to eat. As Ryan tells you

about the history, the tragedy, and in some cases the comedy of ancient Greece and its neighbors,

drop by my podcast where I'll tell you more about places like Olympia, Haliccanarcis, and Alexandria.

So I'll turn this over to Ryan as he tells you about Cambyses and the important lesson of how not to travel to Egypt.

Hello, and welcome back to the history of ancient Greece. Episode 32, Cambyses.

With his customary wisdom and foresight,

Cyrus had already pondered the question of royal succession,

and with his actions, he had made it very clear that he wanted his eldest son,

Cambyses, known by modern scholars as Cambyses II, to succeed him. After Cyrus had conquered

Babylon, Cambyses was selected to lead the religious ceremonies, endearing him to the pious

...