The Dark Side of Ancient Rome

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

History Hit

Myths, Folklore, Mystery, History, Ghosts, Society & Culture, Murder, Ufos, True Crime, Paranormal, Supernatural, Serial Killers

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2025

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As a lot of new listeners have joined us, and it's a bank holiday in the UK, we thought we'd re-run one of our earliest, goriest episodes. Trust us, this episode is a bloody delight: from flesh-eating fish and humiliating deaths inside sacks, to a deadly re-enactment of the Icarus myth. For a culture that is seen as an emblem of civilisation (whatever that means), the Romans expended a lot of creative energy on inventing new ways to kill people. And our guest today knows them all!

Anthony Delaney and Maddy Pelling are joined by the one and only Emma Southon author of A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Her new book is A History of Rome in 21 Women.

Mixed by Tom Delargy. Producer is Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, we're your host's Anthony Delaney and Maddie Pelling.
0:03.7	And if you would like After Dark myths, misdeeds and the paranormal, ad free and get early access, sign up to History Hit.
0:11.1	With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries with top history presenters and enjoy a new release every week.
0:20.7	Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com forward slash subscribe. top history presenters and enjoy a new release every week.
0:24.7	Sign up now by visiting history hit.com forward slash subscribe.
0:30.7	Hi everyone, it's Maddie. I'm jumping on to say that we've had a lot of new and lovely listeners lately who've joined us and we're wanted to say that you are really welcome.
0:35.5	Now, because of this and because it's a bank holiday here
0:38.7	in the UK, we thought that we would rerun one of our earliest episodes, one with the great
0:44.1	historian Emma Southern. It's all about the dark and gory side of ancient Rome. It's a good
0:49.9	one. And trust us, it gets very dark. So needless to say, there is adult and sensitive content
0:55.7	throughout this episode. We will be back with new episodes on Thursday, including the story of
1:02.3	the Edwardian Doctor Death. See you then. Hello and welcome to After Dark, Myths, Mist deeds, and the Paranormal, the podcast that takes you to the shadier corners of the past, unpicking history's spookiest, strangest, and most sinister stories.
1:19.9	Indeed. I'm Anthony.
1:21.5	And I'm Maddie. And today we're shining a light on murder in ancient Rome.
1:26.4	Because that's what we do here on After Dark. It was a
1:30.3	really interesting conversation that we had with Emma Southen, right? Like it was one of those ones where
1:34.3	there was a couple of times where you and I just looked at each other going, is this actually
1:37.8	being said out loud? She, I mean, she's just the most fantastic guest. She is so incredibly
1:43.4	knowledgeable and so generous with that knowledge.
1:46.3	And she's great fun as well.
1:47.6	And we talked about possibly some of the most gruesome things we've ever talked about.
1:51.8	For me, it's the flesh-eating fish that stand out more on that to come.
	...

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