Pages of History

When Judas betrayed Jesus he was given thirty coins in payment for his treachery. According to medieval legend, these were not just any coins: they were created by the ancient people who first invented money! We hear the full story and explore its implications in this interview.

In this interview we learn about the Semitic language called Aramaic, the language of government in the Achaemenid empire: what do we know about this language, which texts use it, how was it written, and can we say anything about Aramaic as spoken by everyday language users?

The famous story of Cain and Abel in the Book of Genesis is surprisingly sketchy. In this interview, we learn how later commentators and storytellers through the middle ages filled out the tale and what significance they found in it.

In this opening episode of the series, Peter talks to Lorraine Daston about the surprising parallels between philology and sciences like astronomy. Daston argues that philology is not just a science, but an empirical science, and one of the oldest sciences known to humankind.