Herostratus: Burning Ambition

Published: July 21, 2023, midnight

The fire that destroyed the second Temple of Artemis - one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world - was supposedly set on the day Alexander the Great was born: 21st July, 356 BC. The story goes that the arsonist, Herosratus, was simply seeking notoriety.\nHerostratus was captured and tortured on the rack, where he confessed to having committed the arson in an attempt to immortalize his name. To dissuade those of similar intentions, the Ephesian authorities not only executed Herostratus, but attempted to condemn him to a legacy of obscurity by forbidding mention of his name under penalty of death.\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider herostratic fame as a live issue when it comes to school shooters and terrorists; take a peek round the ancient Temple to see if it would have been worth a trip; and consider whether its successors deserved their places in the subsequent \u2018Seven Wonders\u2019 lists\u2026\xa0\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 \u201821 July: On this day in history\u2019 (HistoryExtra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/on-this-day/21-july-on-this-day-in-history/\n\u2022 \u2018Monumental Fury - The History of Iconoclasm and the Future of Our Past - By Matthew Fraser\u2019 (Prometheus, 2022): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Monumental_Fury/FVV-EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=herostratus&pg=PA35&printsec=frontcover\n\u2022 \u2018The Temple of Artemis and Herostratus | Legendary Wonder of the Ancient World Destroyed!\u2019 (Because It\u2019s Interesting, 2019):\xa0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pnGjfPvN58\n#Turkey #Greece #Crime #Person #BC #Strange\nWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join\xa0\U0001f334CLUB RETROSPECTORS\U0001f334, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!\nPlus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.\nJoin now via\xa0Apple Podcasts\xa0or\xa0Patreon.\xa0Thanks!\n\xa0\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices