← Home
The Rest Is History · May 3, 2026 · 1h 15m

666. Wine and the Birth of Civilisation

Dominic Sandbrook, Tom Holland

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace the long history of wine, from its earliest evidence in ancient Jordan to its role in Bronze Age Greece, the Roman Empire, and Viking culture. They discuss wine's appearances in The Odyssey, Julius Caesar's shrewd use of it, and the 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting that shook the wine world.

This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.

Highlights

•
Wine in The Odyssey and ancient Greece
The episode explored how wine is depicted in Homer's Odyssey and what it reveals about ancient Greek society.
ClaudeChatGPTGemini
•
Julius Caesar's strategic use of wine
Julius Caesar reportedly used wine as a tool of conquest, whether to motivate troops or placate enemies.
ClaudeChatGPTGemini
•
The Judgement of Paris wine tasting
The 1976 Judgement of Paris blind tasting pitted American wines against French ones and overturned the hierarchy of the wine world.
ClaudeChatGPTGemini
•
Wine's journey from Neolithic origins to Viking culture
The history of wine stretches from its origins in ancient Jordan through the Bronze Age, the Roman Empire, and into the Viking world.
ClaudeChatGPTGemini
Was this useful?