236: Legends of Ramesses "the Great" episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 15, 2026 · 30 MIN

236: Legends of Ramesses "the Great"

from The History of Egypt Podcast · host Dominic Perry

How does Ramesses II stack up to his predecessors? Why did ancient writers connect him with the Trojan War? In this episode we explore tales of Ramesses, told in antiquity, and consider his legacy in the modern world. Music: Keith Zizza and Luke Chaos. Bibliography Brand, P. (2010a). Reuse and Restoration. In W. Wendrich (Ed.), UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2vp6065d Brand, P. (2010b). Usurpation of Monuments. In W. Wendrich (Ed.), UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5gj996k5 Brand, P. J. (2023). Ramesses II: Egypt’s Ultimate Pharaoh. Breasted, J. H. (1912). A History of Egypt. Bunsen, C. C. J. von. (1848). Egypt’s place in universal history: An historical investigation in five books (C. H. Cottrell, Trans.; Vols. 1–5). https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015050932519 Cooney, K. M. (2022). The New Kingdom of Egypt Under the Ramesside Dynasty. In D. T. Potts, N. Moeller, & K. Radner (Eds.), The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East, Volume III: From the Hyksos to the Late Second Millennium BC (pp. 251--366). https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190687601.003.0027 Davies, B. G. (1997). Egyptian Historical Inscriptions of the Nineteenth Dynasty. Edwards, A. B. (1899). A Thousand Miles up the Nile (2nd edn). https://archive.org/details/thousandmilesupn0000edwa_e0y7/page/n9/mode/2up Kelly, B. (2010). Tacitus, Germanicus and the Kings of Egypt (tac. Ann. 2.59–61). The Classical Quarterly, 60(1), 221–237. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40984750 Kitchen, K. A. (1982). Pharaoh Triumphant: The Life and Times of Ramesses II, King of Egypt. Lietzelman, H. (2014). Pharaonism: Decolonizing Historical Identity. Prized Writing 2014-2015, 46–51. Neville, J. W. (1977). Herodotus on the Trojan War. Greece & Rome, 24(1), 3–12. https://www.jstor.org/stable/642683 Said, S. (2012). 2 Herodotus and the ‘Myth’ of the Trojan War. In E. Baragwanath & M. de Bakker (Eds.), Myth, Truth, and Narrative in Herodotus (pp. 87--106). https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199693979.003.0003 Sourouzian, H. (1988). Standing Royal Colossi of the Middle Kingdom Reused by Ramesses II. Mitteilungen Des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo, 44, 229--254. Sourouzian, H. (2019a). Catalogue de la statuaire royale de la XIXe dynastie [Database]. https://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/publications/bietud177/ Sourouzian, H. (2019b). Catalogue de la statuaire royale de la XIXe dynastie. https://www.ifao.egnet.net/publications/catalogue/9782724707571/ Tyldesley, J. (2001). Ramesses: Egypt’s Greatest Pharaoh. Wilkinson, T. (2023). Ramesses the Great: Egypt’s King of Kings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How does Ramesses II stack up to his predecessors? Why did ancient writers connect him with the Trojan War? In this episode we explore tales of Ramesses, told in antiquity, and consider his legacy in the modern world. Music: Keith Zizza and Luke Chaos. Bibliography Brand, P. (2010a). Reuse and Restoration. In W. Wendrich (Ed.), UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2vp6065d Brand, P. (2010b). Usurpation of Monuments. In W. Wendrich (Ed.), UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5gj996k5 Brand, P. J. (2023). Ramesses II: Egypt’s Ultimate Pharaoh. Breasted, J. H. (1912). A History of Egypt. Bunsen, C. C. J. von. (1848). Egypt’s place in universal history: An historical investigation in five books (C. H. Cottrell, Trans.; Vols. 1–5). https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015050932519 Cooney, K. M. (2022). The New Kingdom of Egypt Under the Ramesside Dynasty. In D. T. Potts, N. Moeller, & K. Radner (Eds.), The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East, Volume III: From the Hyksos to the Late Second Millennium BC (pp. 251--366). https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190687601.003.0027 Davies, B. G. (1997). Egyptian Historical Inscriptions of the Nineteenth Dynasty. Edwards, A. B. (1899). A Thousand Miles up the Nile (2nd edn). https://archive.org/details/thousandmilesupn0000edwa_e0y7/page/n9/mode/2up Kelly, B. (2010). Tacitus, Germanicus and the Kings of Egypt (tac. Ann. 2.59–61). The Classical Quarterly, 60(1), 221–237. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40984750 Kitchen, K. A. (1982). Pharaoh Triumphant: The Life and Times of Ramesses II, King of Egypt. Lietzelman, H. (2014). Pharaonism: Decolonizing Historical Identity. Prized Writing 2014-2015, 46–51. Neville, J. W. (1977). Herodotus on the Trojan War. Greece & Rome, 24(1), 3–12. https://www.jstor.org/stable/642683 Said, S. (2012). 2 Herodotus and the ‘Myth’ of the Trojan War. In E. Baragwanath & M. de Bakker (Eds.), Myth, Truth, and Narrative in Herodotus (pp. 87--106). https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199693979.003.0003 Sourouzian, H. (1988). Standing Royal Colossi of the Middle Kingdom Reused by Ramesses II. Mitteilungen Des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo, 44, 229--254. Sourouzian, H. (2019a). Catalogue de la statuaire royale de la XIXe dynastie [Database]. https://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/publications/bietud177/ Sourouzian, H. (2019b). Catalogue de la statuaire royale de la XIXe dynastie. https://www.ifao.egnet.net/publications/catalogue/9782724707571/ Tyldesley, J. (2001). Ramesses: Egypt’s Greatest Pharaoh. Wilkinson, T. (2023). Ramesses the Great: Egypt’s King of Kings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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236: Legends of Ramesses "the Great"

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How does Ramesses II stack up to his predecessors? Why did ancient writers connect him with the Trojan War? In this episode we explore tales of Ramesses, told in antiquity, and consider his legacy in the modern world. Music: Keith Zizza and Luke...

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