How to Survive in Carthage

The Ancients

History Hit

History

4.7 • 3.5K Ratings

🗓️ 10 August 2025

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

From towering tenements to Punic porridge — step into the streets of ancient Carthage.

In this immersive episode of The Ancients, Tristan travels back to 210 BC to explore daily life in the heart of one of the ancient world’s richest and most vibrant cities. Joined by Dr Eve MacDonald, together they uncover what it took to survive in Carthage before its fall — from bustling markets to religious rituals. Discover how Carthaginians lived, worked, ate, and worshipped in this thriving cosmopolitan hub - arguably the capital of the ancient Mediterranean.

Origins of Carthage:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/522qoJ8gm5pQT0IYunKiTJ

Fall of Carthage:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5C37HVbPQnUujk2qBZ45HA

Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan and the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

LIVE SHOW: Buy tickets for The Ancients at the London Podcast Festival here: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/the-ancients-2/

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey guys, Tristan here, and I have an exciting announcement. The Ancients will be returning to the
0:06.0	London Podcast Festival. Now, last year tickets, they sold out at record speed. So this time,
0:12.6	we've been upgraded. We've got a bigger room. And you, you can be there too on Friday the 5th of
0:18.8	September at 7pm at King's Place.
0:21.6	Now I've invited Friend of the podcast, the fabulous Dr. Eve MacDonald, to join me on stage
0:27.6	where we will be exploring the gripping story of ancient Carthage.
0:32.6	Carthage, the Phoenician city that became a superpower, an empire that rivaled Rome for control in the
0:38.9	Western Mediterranean, and ultimately had a terrible traumatic demise.
0:44.8	Of course, the ancients is nothing without you, so we want you to be there in the audience
0:49.5	taking part and asking us your burning questions. Tickets for the festival always sell fast. So book yourself
0:56.7	a seat now at www.kingsplace.co.com.com.org. We'll click the link in the show notes of this
1:04.3	episode. The team and I cannot wait to see you there. Hey guys, I hope you're doing well.
1:12.6	Welcome to today's episode of the ancients, all about ancient Carthage, daily life and society
1:18.6	in this great rival city of Rome in the Western Mediterranean.
1:22.6	Forget Hannibal, forget Queen Dido.
1:25.6	We're exploring what we know about how people lived in this
1:28.7	great trading cosmopolitan city, including the controversial question of whether the Carthaginians
1:36.3	really did sacrifice children. Our guest today is Dr. Eve MacDonald from the University of Cardiff,
1:42.4	who is also going to be our guest for our special
1:44.4	live show in London on the 5th of September. More information on that you can find in the show notes.
2:10.3	It's 210 BC, and you're walking through the streets of one of the wealthiest cities in the Mediterranean.
2:21.6	Overlooking the Bay of Tunis in North Africa, this was the flourishing cosmopolitan port city of Carthage. People from far and wide sailed into its majestic port. They traded in its great market and walked along streets in the
	...

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