The Colosseum

The Colosseum

Author: History Hit August 20, 2025 Duration: 1:12:46

Join Dan in Rome as he unravels the dramatic story of the Colosseum and the gladiators who fought — and died — for glory. From the origins of gladiatorial combat in funerary rites to the elaborate, politically charged spectacles of the Imperial era, Dan reveals what it took to reach the top and what really happened when a fighter lost.


Beginning in 64 AD with the Great Fire of Rome, he charts the rise of a new emperor, the construction of the colossal amphitheatre, and the ingenuity and brutality of the inaugural 100 days of games in 80 AD. Along the way, expert historians join Dan to separate fact from Hollywood fiction, bringing to life the greatest show on earth.


This is part of our series 'Dan Snow's Guide to Europe' and a version of this episode was released as a mini-series in November 2024.


Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore


You can watch Dan's documentary on Gladiators on our History Hit documentary channel - sign up at: https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.


Join Dan and the team for a special LIVE recording of Dan Snow's History Hit on Friday, 12th September 2025!


To celebrate 10 years of the podcast, Dan is putting on a special show of signature storytelling, never-before-heard anecdotes from his often stranger-than-fiction career, as well as answering the burning questions you've always wanted to ask!


Get tickets here, before they sell out: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/dan-snows-history-hit/.


We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.


You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


There’s history you might recall from a textbook, and then there’s the kind that feels like you’re standing right there in the moment. Dan Snow's History Hit is firmly in the latter category. Hosted by the historian Dan Snow, this podcast doesn't just recount dates and facts; it transports you. Each episode is built from Dan's travels to the actual locations where history unfolded, from the echoing floor of the Roman Colosseum to the silent expanse of the Waterloo battlefields and the awe-inspiring presence of the Great Wall of China. The conversations dig into the compelling human stories-the motivations of heroes and villains, the engineering behind great monuments, and the pivotal decisions that changed everything. You’ll hear the how and why behind the world's most defining events, delivered with a palpable sense of place and curiosity. New episodes arrive twice weekly, on Mondays and Thursdays, with additional subscriber episodes every other Friday, making this a consistently engaging dive into our shared past. It’s a history podcast that treats the subject not as a static record, but as a living, breathing narrative waiting to be explored.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Dan Snow's History Hit
Podcast Episodes
The Battle of Bosworth [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:28
In August 1485, the would-be king Henry Tudor went head-to-head with King Richard III - the final, decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses. Only one of these men would leave the battlefield alive, and this bloody clash…
The Top Assassination Attempts on Hitler [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:20
What does it take to kill a dictator? In this episode, we explore the most dramatic assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler. From Georg Elser, the lone-wolf carpenter who built a bomb by hand, to the Polish underground’s…
A History of Iran [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:10
How does Iran's history underpin today's unrest? Dan traces more than 2,500 years of Iran's story — from the first Persian empires through conquest, dynasties, and revolution — to understand how power, identity, and sove…
U.S. Interventions in Latin America and Beyond [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:18
For over 200 years, American presidents have repeatedly justified intervention as 'protection' - from the Monroe Doctrine of the 1820s, Teddy Roosevelt at the turn of the 20th century, to Richard Nixon and George H.W. Bu…
A history of (American) occupation in Greenland [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:05
This isn't the first or even second time the U.S has made moves to procure Greenland in the last 160 years. President Donald Trump has stepped up his rhetoric, now saying that the use of US military is ‘always an option’…
The Rise, Fall and Rise of the Taliban [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:25
The Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 shocked the world. But, it was not an abrupt collapse — it was decades in the making. Lyse Doucet has spent her career reporting from the world's war zones and at the key mome…
How Did Ancient Romans become Christians? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:11
Around 50 CE, a small group of travellers began to preach that a Jewish man, crucified by the Romans, had risen from the dead. Teaching love, forgiveness and eternal life, this new faith quickly gained followers. By the…
What was the Hanseatic League? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:23
The Hanseatic League was a medieval trading network that stretched across Northern Europe. Formed in Northern Germany in the 12th century, it was an economic powerhouse of the age. Over the next five centuries, it negoti…
How Did the British Empire Build the Modern World? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:24
Tobacco, sugar, rum, cotton, rubber, tea, coffee, spices, industry, borders, slavery, war - all things spread across the globe thanks to the British Empire. At its height in 1922, it was the largest empire the world had…
King Herod [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:11
Appointed by the Romans as king of Judaea, King Herod's reign was defined by great architectural projects and canny diplomacy. But he could also be cruel and paranoid, with scandal and family intrigue marring his rule. K…