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W.

W. Empire pod UK.com. Hello and me, Empire with me Anita Arnan

and me William Durm.

Now today I think it's fair to say that we have the historians historian on

because never has there been somebody

that I've had so many people say he's brilliant he's so brilliant he's my

Inspiration he used to I mean he bought me a pony for Christmas. And they loved our next guest he's like he's very much he's very much loved

poor cartilage AG Leventis professor of Greek culture at Cambridge author of

thermopoli the battle that changed the World and the Spartans and epic history and the

absolutely perfect guest to talk about the Battle of Thermopoly.

One of the most famous battles of history fought between the Persians and the Greeks following the Persian

invasion of Greece. Welcome Paul.

Thank you so much. No pressure then, eh?

Paul, we've come at this very much from the Persian angle. Most of us who have studied

Thermopylae have done so from the point of view of the classics, from Herodotus, and in some versions of that Thermopylae and this whole conflict is looked at as a great

sort of monumental moment for Europe, the moment that Europe defied the tyranny of the East and so on and yet when we look in the Persian

sources there's barely a mention of this battle and there are those who question whether Herodotus is really the father of history that

were all taught he is and a reliable source of any sort.

Do you think that the story that we're going to have today really is a central story in all our consciousness or is it the making of Herodotus and a bigging up by interested parties of what was actually a fairly small skirmish.

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