Embark on a historical odyssey with us as we temporarily halt our regular series for a well-deserved January respite. However, the annals of ancient Greek history remain open with an exclusive miniseries treat—a deep exploration of the enigmatic Battle of Marathon. Journey back to 490 BC and unravel the mysteries of this legendary conflict through five episodes that will remain unfettered and freely accessible throughout the holiday season, a perfect complement to the main saga awaiting us in the coming months.
Looking ahead, we're reigniting the fires of fascination in February, where the narrative torch of the Peloponnesian War will be passed back to you, the esteemed listeners, whose zeal for the past powers our present endeavor. Expect the same meticulous attention to the storied details, driven by your encouragement and curiosity, which not only sustains our regular programming but also breathes life into the bonus content we so love to craft. A heartfelt salute to the patrons whose support elevates our capabilities—their contributions have not only sustained the digital hearth of our series but have also furnished the tools necessary to forge ahead with enhanced vigor. Join us, share with kin and comrades, and continue to shape the future of our historical quest with your invaluable suggestions and enthusiasm.
Hello everyone. Thank you for supporting the series and joining me on this journey through ancient Greek history, and I hope you have all been having a great holiday period. I just wanted to provide a bit of an update on where we are now in the series and what is happening over this holiday period. I've decided to take a break over the holidays. Those of you who have been following the show for a couple of years will see this as my usual approach. I will be holding off releasing anything new over January, but we will be back for the first release of 2024 on Friday, the 2nd of February. I'll be still working on material for the episodes over January, though it would just be a little more sporadic. Once the holidays are done with, I will then be able to settle back into my usual routine. However, what I've decided to do for the holiday period is take a miniseries I have just finished up over on Patreon and make it available for the month of January. This bonus miniseries was a closer look at the Battle of Marathon and some of the big questions that still remained around this battle that took place in 490 BC. This will see that everyone will have access to 5 bonus episodes over the month that focus on explaining these questions. My plan is to have them go live in the new year where they can be listened to for all of January. Once we come back in February to begin the new year with the main series, they will be going back behind the membership tiers over on Patreon.
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Speaking of Patreon, I know I advertised the Patreon page in most of the episodes, but if you are enjoying the series and would like to support the show further, I would greatly appreciate it if you come visit the Patreon page. If you do decide to sign up, some of the main bonuses that you will receive are add free series episodes, early access, as the episodes are released over there two days earlier. Also, probably the biggest perk, are the bonus episodes that come out monthly. Here I like to revisit topics and subjects we have covered in the series already, but pick out certain elements and look at them in more detail. You can kinda think of these episodes as an appendices. They complement the main series. Anyway, if you have a listen to the bonus marathon mini series we did over there, you'll get a good idea of what happens.
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I also want to take the opportunity to thank everyone over on Patreon for the support they have been providing the show. This has allowed me to cover the costs of web hosting and podcast hosting, while also allowing me to put some extra money aside for larger purchases for the show. I had been saving for some time and just recently I was able to purchase a new computer, which is going to make producing the series much more user friendly, as my old computer was quite old and providing me issues of late when producing. So without your support, I would still be struggling with my ancient laptop. Remember, if there are areas that have been covered in the series so far that you would like to see a deeper dive on, please let me know and I can see what I can do about creating a bonus episode around it. I have done this on a couple of occasions already and I love doing it, as I want to give you all what you want to hear about. I also want to thank everyone who has been following along with the series, whether you have been a long time listener or just discovered the show. Just having people listen to the show greatly helps the series as well. While it has always been my aim to share my love of the ancient Greek world with others, if you want to support the show in other ways, as Patreon may not be your thing, please consider leaving reviews or ratings where you listen to your podcasts. Also, getting involved on social media also helps, whether this be liking, sharing or leaving a comment on posts. Also, just recommending the show to a family member or a friend that is interested in history would be very much appreciated too.
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As we get things started back in 2024, we will be picking back up the narrative in the series where we will continue with events around the Peloponnesian war. I hope you have been enjoying the approach I have taken when dealing with this conflict. You may have noticed the pace of the show has come to a slower advance now, with us covering entire years in their own episode, or even over two sometimes. This has been a bit of a change from the periods before, as we are now provided with much more information with what was taking place in a much more condensed space of time. We did see this occur to some extent when we dealt with the Greek and Persian war. However, I wanted to provide a good level of detail of the Peloponnesian war, as it is a little more complex I have found brief accounts leave so many unanswered questions and even make understanding the conflict difficult. My aim with how I am approaching it is to provide a comprehensive account, but without getting too caught up with the minor details.
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As we continue into the new year, I plan on doing more interviews as well. I have found that most listeners seem to really enjoy these. While I also enjoy doing them, they have allowed me to talk with and learn from some leading experts in their fields. If you have any ideas of topics you would like to see covered in an interview or someone you would like to see me talk with, please email me or send me a message on social media. Anyway, this covers most of what I wanted to bring up as we wrap up 2023 and head into 2024.
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I can't believe. As of mid January 2024, the show will have been running for 4 years and has, at this point, been listened to just over 350,000 times. This is far beyond what I thought would happen when I first began at the start of 2020. Anyway, it has been possible because of you and all the support you have been providing the series. Once again, I thank you all for the support and look forward to getting back on track in the start of February 2024. Also, make sure to look out for the bonus miniseries on Marathon that will appear on your podcast app in the next few days. I hope you all enjoy this holiday period and have a great new year.