Antony and Cleopatra
The Ancients
History Hit
4.7 • 3.5K Ratings
🗓️ 9 November 2025
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Rome. Egypt. Love. War. Over 2,000 years ago, the fates of two ancient worlds collided in one of history’s most legendary love stories: Antony and Cleopatra.
In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Daisy Dunn to uncover the truth behind the myth - from their first meeting at Tarsus to the political intrigue that scandalised Rome. It was an affair that ignited a civil war, forged an empire that lasted for an age and gave rise to one of world history's most dramatic and tragic deaths, so join us to discover how passion, ambition, and betrayal reshaped the ancient Mediterranean world.
Watch this episode on our NEW YouTube channel: @TheAncientsPodcast
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Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, I hope you're doing well. I'm in a very good mood here. |
| 0:04.0 | One, because I'm just off to the pub to see my friends this fine Sunday afternoon, |
| 0:08.0 | and secondly, because we've just released, we've just published the Ancients YouTube channel. |
| 0:14.0 | I'm really excited to see the channel finally up so you can watch these episodes as well as listen to them, if you so wish. A new exciting age |
| 0:22.8 | in the story of the ancients. Now, today we have a classic for you. We're exploring the story |
| 0:28.0 | of Anthony and Cleopatra. What's the fact? What's the fiction with the likes of Shakespeare |
| 0:32.4 | and so on? It's a great episode and I'm delighted to welcome back for it. My good friend, Dr. Daisy Dunn. |
| 0:38.8 | Daisy, she's fantastic. |
| 0:40.3 | Such a wonderful speaker, so much fun and I hope you enjoy. |
| 1:02.4 | Just over 2,000 years ago, the world witnessed the fall of ancient Egypt and the rise of imperial Rome. |
| 1:04.5 | Two civilizations closely intertwined in more ways than one. |
| 1:09.6 | At the heart of this tale is one of history's most famous love stories, a Roman general |
| 1:14.3 | and a Ptolemaic queen, Anthony and Cleopatra. |
| 1:19.4 | It's a story immortalised, thanks to Shakespeare and so many others down through the centuries. |
| 1:24.9 | But what's the truth behind these legendary lovers? |
| 1:28.6 | How did their paths cross? Why did Anthony's affair with Cleopatra become so despised in Rome? What were |
| 1:34.7 | Cleopatra's motives behind the match? And how did it all end up so tragically? With the Mediterranean-wide |
| 1:41.2 | civil war that ended both the Roman Republic and Pheronic Egypt. |
| 1:46.3 | This is the story of Antony and Cleopatra, with our guest, Dr. Daisy Dunn. |
| 1:53.5 | Daisy Dunn, it is great to have you back on the show. It has been too long. |
| 1:57.5 | It has been too long. |
| 1:58.7 | And we are talking about Anthony and Cleopatra. They must be one of the |
... |
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