Episode 12: The Silent Years from Byzantion's Founding to Darius' Crossing (667 BC to 513 BC)

For more than a century after its founding, Byzantion lived in quiet balance — a small city suspended between continents and empires, watching the world’s storms pass along the strait it guarded. Its people traded grain and wine, whispered stories of gods who once crossed these waters, and learned to live by the moods of the sea. Theirs was a life defined less by glory than by endurance: fishermen and merchants anchoring their fortunes to the narrow current that linked two worlds. Yet that calm was never meant to last. In 513 BC, when the armies of Darius the Great marched across the Bosphorus on a bridge of boats, Byzantion’s tranquil horizon shattered. The city that had once lived by the tides would now be swept into the tempests of history — its long silence giving way to the thunder of empires.

Franz Gordon, Hanna Ekström, Anna Dager / Boxes of Memories / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Gavin Luke / Crucial Calculations / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

A biography of the Queen of Cities in its many incarnations. Today, it is Istanbul, which is a Turkish rendering of the Greek phrase εἰς τὴν πόλιν (eis ten polin), meaning "in or to the city." That simply saying, "The City," was enough for the hearer to understand Constantinople, speaks volumes. Its history stretches back well before the Greeks arrived, and founded Byzantion. In 330 AD, Constantine the Great proclaimed it the new Roman capital, or Nova Roma. It remained the Imperial capital of the Roman Empire for over a millennium until the Ottoman conquest of 1453 AD.

Constantinople's key advantages could be summarized as follows: "Walls, Water & Warriors." Constantinople's imposing triple-layered Theodosian Walls protected The City and its residents for many centuries. And the city was surrounded by waters on three sides, with dangerous currents in the Sea of Marmara and Bosphorus Strait; in contrast with the calm, safe waters of the Golden Horn, entrance to which could be blocked by a great chain. Constantinople's military apparatus, while not always dominant offensively-speaking, did (with only a few exceptions) successfully defend the core of Byzantine territory and the capital for 1,000 years.

There has never been a podcast dedicated solely to this most majestic of cities. We will cover Constantinople's vast history from its Greek founding as Byzantion at least up until 1453 AD. While there have been many great cities throughout human civilization, Constantinople alone has earned the title: Primus Inter Pares or "first among equals."

Episode 11 - Founding of Byzantion (Later Constantinople) Part 2

In this episode, we turn from the act of Byzantion’s founding to the way that founding was remembered. Herodotus gives us the first glimpse, a passing mention that anchors the city in the wider story of Greek colonization. Later writers would add layers of detail—some sober, some fanciful—until the tale of Megarian settlers and Delphic oracles became part of a larger myth about destiny on the Bosphorus. Byzantine chroniclers, looking back from the vantage point of empire, recast the city’s origins as a providential beginning, while Renaissance scholars like Petrus Gyllius sifted through ruins and fragments to preserve what remained of the earliest traditions. By following this chain of memory, we’ll see how Byzantion’s birth was never just a single event, but a story retold and reshaped across the centuries.

Franz Gordon, Hanna Ekström, Anna Dager / Boxes of Memories / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Gavin Luke / Crucial Calculations / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

CHAPTERS:

Introduction (0:00)

Herodotus (3:45)

Polybius (9:04)

Diodorus Siculus (17:17)

Strabo (20:48)

Pliny the Elder (24:03)

Tacitus (27:16)

Dionysius of Byzantium (30:34)

Paulus Orosius (33:58)

John Malalas (36:23)

Stephanus of Byzantium (38:25)

Hesychius of Miletus (41:11)

Petrus Gyllius (47:47)

Recap (52:43)

Conclusion (56:30)

Episode 10 - Founding of Byzantion (Later Constantinople) Part 1

By the middle of the 7th century BC, the restless energy of the Greek Archaic period was spilling out across the seas. Colonists from Megara, like so many of their contemporaries, were looking for new land, new trade, and new opportunities. When they reached the Bosphorus, they found a site that was almost absurdly well-positioned—commanding the narrows between the Black Sea and the Aegean, with a defensible peninsula jutting into the water. According to later tradition, the oracle at Delphi had told them to settle “opposite the blind,” a cryptic phrase that made sense only when they saw Chalcedon, founded earlier on the less advantageous shore. Byzas and the Megarians, not being blind, chose the better spot, and so Byzantion was born. At the time, it was just another colonial outpost in a world full of them. But geography has a way of shaping destiny, and this little settlement on the Bosphorus was already set apart—its future greatness written into the landscape itself.

MUSIC:

Franz Gordon, Hanna Ekström, Anna Dager / Boxes of Memories / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Johannes Bornlöf / Colors in Movement / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Gavin Luke / Crucial Calculations / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Episode 9

In this episode, we wrap up our long journey through the prehistoric and early Greek past of the Bosphorus—moving from Paleolithic hunters to Bronze Age farmers, and finally through the shadowy centuries of the Greek Dark Ages. While we pause to apologize for lingering so long in the mists before Byzantion’s founding, we also explain why this deep background matters: it sets the stage for the city’s birth and extraordinary future. Unlike broader histories of the Byzantine Empire, this series focuses on the city itself—its streets, walls, and people—telling the biography of Byzantion, later Constantinople, in all its vivid detail. With the Archaic Greeks just over the horizon, the true story of the city is about to begin.

MUSIC:

Franz Gordon, Hanna Ekström, Anna Dager / Boxes of Memories / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Episode 8 (The Greek Dark Ages Part 3)

In this episode, we descend into the long twilight of the Greek Dark Ages, a period when the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces had left the Aegean world scattered, impoverished, and—at least in the archaeological record—eerily quiet. Yet across the centuries between 1100 and 800 BC, the seeds of Byzantion’s future were being sown. We follow the slow trickle of Greek-speaking migrants eastward, their iron tools and oral traditions carried across the wine-dark sea to the rugged shores of Thrace and the rich, contested lands of northwestern Anatolia. Here, amid Thracian tribes, Phrygian newcomers, and the lingering shadow of Hittite collapse, the Bosphorus was already a place of passage and peril, its currents binding and dividing worlds. We trace how shifting trade routes, the spread of the Greek alphabet’s precursors, and the forging of new warrior aristocracies began to knit together a cultural fabric that would, in time, support a city of global consequence. And while our sources—Homer’s epics, Hesiod’s laments, and the mute testimony of pottery shards—speak in fragments, they hint at a truth worth noting: even in an age called “dark,” the straits where Europe meets Asia were never truly asleep. By the dawn of the 8th century BC, the darkness was lifting, and the stage was set for the Archaic age—and for the founding of Byzantion itself.

Episode 7 (The Greek Dark Ages Part 2)

In this episode, we descend into the long twilight of the Greek Dark Ages, a period when the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces had left the Aegean world scattered, impoverished, and—at least in the archaeological record—eerily quiet. Yet across the centuries between 1100 and 800 BC, the seeds of Byzantion’s future were being sown. We follow the slow trickle of Greek-speaking migrants eastward, their iron tools and oral traditions carried across the wine-dark sea to the rugged shores of Thrace and the rich, contested lands of northwestern Anatolia. Here, amid Thracian tribes, Phrygian newcomers, and the lingering shadow of Hittite collapse, the Bosphorus was already a place of passage and peril, its currents binding and dividing worlds. We trace how shifting trade routes, the spread of the Greek alphabet’s precursors, and the forging of new warrior aristocracies began to knit together a cultural fabric that would, in time, support a city of global consequence. And while our sources—Homer’s epics, Hesiod’s laments, and the mute testimony of pottery shards—speak in fragments, they hint at a truth worth noting: even in an age called “dark,” the straits where Europe meets Asia were never truly asleep. By the dawn of the 8th century BC, the darkness was lifting, and the stage was set for the Archaic age—and for the founding of Byzantion itself.

Episode 6 (The Greek Dark Ages Part 1)

In this episode, we descend into the long twilight of the Greek Dark Ages, a period when the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces had left the Aegean world scattered, impoverished, and—at least in the archaeological record—eerily quiet. Yet across the centuries between 1100 and 800 BC, the seeds of Byzantion’s future were being sown. We follow the slow trickle of Greek-speaking migrants eastward, their iron tools and oral traditions carried across the wine-dark sea to the rugged shores of Thrace and the rich, contested lands of northwestern Anatolia. Here, amid Thracian tribes, Phrygian newcomers, and the lingering shadow of Hittite collapse, the Bosphorus was already a place of passage and peril, its currents binding and dividing worlds. We trace how shifting trade routes, the spread of the Greek alphabet’s precursors, and the forging of new warrior aristocracies began to knit together a cultural fabric that would, in time, support a city of global consequence. And while our sources—Homer’s epics, Hesiod’s laments, and the mute testimony of pottery shards—speak in fragments, they hint at a truth worth noting: even in an age called “dark,” the straits where Europe meets Asia were never truly asleep. By the dawn of the 8th century BC, the darkness was lifting, and the stage was set for the Archaic age—and for the founding of Byzantion itself.

Episode 5 (Aegean Bronze Age Part 2)

Listeners journey through the flourishing world of early Aegean civilizations—with the enigmatic Cycladic culture of the islands, the palatial sophistication of Minoan Crete with its labyrinthine architecture and far-reaching trade, and culminating in the militarized dominance of Mycenaean Greece. Through captivating archaeological discoveries and vivid storytelling, the episode explores how these societies shaped the cultural tapestry of the region, influencing early settlement patterns along the Thracian coast and in western Anatolia, including Troy and the Hittite frontier. Migration waves and colonization efforts across the Aegean fostered technological exchange and mythological traditions that would echo for millennia. As the story builds toward the dramatic collapse of the Mycenaean palace system around 1200 BC—possibly triggered by systemic instability, foreign incursions, or environmental upheaval—the foundations are laid for the coming Greek Dark Age and, in time, the birth of Byzantion itself.

Episode 4 Part 1

Listeners journey through the flourishing world of early Aegean civilizations—with the enigmatic Cycladic culture of the islands, the palatial sophistication of Minoan Crete with its labyrinthine architecture and far-reaching trade, and culminating in the militarized dominance of Mycenaean Greece. Through captivating archaeological discoveries and vivid storytelling, the episode explores how these societies shaped the cultural tapestry of the region, influencing early settlement patterns along the Thracian coast and in western Anatolia, including Troy and the Hittite frontier. Migration waves and colonization efforts across the Aegean fostered technological exchange and mythological traditions that would echo for millennia. As the story builds toward the dramatic collapse of the Mycenaean palace system around 1200 BC—possibly triggered by systemic instability, foreign incursions, or environmental upheaval—the foundations are laid for the coming Greek Dark Age and, in time, the birth of Byzantion itself.

Episode 3: Prehistoric Thrace & Anatolia

Long before Byzantion rose on its rocky promontory, the Thracian Peninsula and the adjacent coasts of northwest Anatolia were carved and recarved by shifting seas and ice-age climates. As early as the Lower Paleolithic, hunter-gatherers left flint tools and butchery marks in caves around the Sea of Marmara, hinting at intermittent human presence driven south by expanding glaciers. With the last glacial retreat, Mesolithic bands expanded into the flooded coasts, mastering fishing in newly forming estuaries at the Bosphorus mouth. Over millennia, mobile foragers exploited rich woodlands and wetlands, their seasonal camps evolving into semi-permanent encampments as they tracked wild boar, deer, and migratory fish through an ever-changing landscape.

By the seventh millennium BC, these groups quietly ushered in the Neolithic revolution: they cleared oak groves, domesticated sheep and goats, and fashioned the first locally fired pottery on the peninsula’s sheltered bays. Obsidian from the nearby Anatolian highlands and copper ingots from the early Chalcolithic workshops testify to growing trade networks along Marmara’s shores. By the Bronze Age, tell sites atop low hills reveal walled settlements where metallurgy advanced alongside weaving and grain surplus. These early communities, forged in the crucible of climate change, resource exchange, and maritime corridors, set the stage for the great Greek migrations that would soon transform this crossroads into Byzantion.

Episode 2: The Untamed Peninsula - Nature's Prologue to Byzantion

In this episode, we journey back to a time long before human hands shaped history on the future site of Byzantion. We imaginatively explore the primordial environment of the prehistoric peninsula—its rugged geology, shifting coastlines, and dynamic climate—that laid the groundwork for human settlement. Listeners will delve into the fascinating interplay between tectonic activity and ecological evolution, uncovering how natural forces sculpted dramatic land forms and nurtured diverse ecosystems. We'll examine a landscape alive with ancient flora and fauna, and discuss how these natural elements set the stage for Byzantion. This episode offers an imaginative glimpse into nature’s role as the silent architect of one of history’s most storied cities.

In this introductory episode, we open on the glittering horizon of Miklagarth — the Norsemen’s fabled “Great City” — and trace the breathtaking rise of Constantinople from a windswept prophecy on the Bosphorus to the radiant heart of a Christian empire. Empires clash, faith ignites, and the city endures — a bridge of worlds where myth becomes marble and heaven seems to touch the sea. But as twilight falls over its domes of gold, shadows stir beyond the walls, and the Queen of Cities — eternal, untouchable — stands on the brink of a gathering storm.

Franz Gordon, Hanna Ekström, Anna Dager / Boxes of Memories / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Gavin Luke / Crucial Calculations / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Episode updated 10/23/2025.