This episode kicks off a three-part retelling of a wacky series of myths called the Kumarbi Cycle. These myths, while important to the Hittites, were originally Hurrian. The stories revolve around two groups of gods fighting for power over the universe. The first part tells how Kumarbi took the throne and fathered a younger generation of gods.
Episode 26: The Sun & The Underworld
Like with the storm gods, the Hittites worshipped multiple solar deities too. This episode covers them, two sun goddesses and one sun god. I also explore the Hittite’s ideas on the underworld. The different traditions for solar deities and underworld likely come from the different population layers of the Hittite world.
Episode 25: A Family of Storm Gods
The Hittites worshipped multiple storm gods, all with power over weather and living atop mountains, and several of them are arranged in a family relationship. This episode explores this family of storm gods. But, the Hittites also had a main storm god, called Tarhunna, who was considered a protector of the entire kingdom. His most important myths featured his conflicts with Illuyanka, a monstrous serpent creature. For fun, I also talk about a myth from Ireland.
Episode 24: Telipinu & What Happens When Gods Go Missing
This episode covers how the Hittites imagined their gods, and how they worshipped them. The Hittites took special care in keeping their gods’ attention, and if they failed, disaster struck! The Hittites had myths about the disappearance of certain gods. The best preserved tells how the god Telipinu left in a rage and how the other gods tried to find him.
Episode 23: Land of a Thousand Gods
This episode begins an eight-part series on Hittite mythology. The Hittite civilization existed throughout the 2nd millennium BC and was a great power in the ancient Middle East. The Hittites worshipped A LOT of gods. In this episode, I introduce the Hittite civilization, briefly describe its origins and constituent groups, and discuss how they got so many gods.
Episode 22: Typhon
Following last episode on the Gigantomachy, this episode discusses another threat to the Olympians: the monster Typhon. This humanoid serpentine enemy of Zeus was lurking in the background of a few of the past episodes. I discuss different versions for his birth, physical description, and his battles with Zeus for control of the universe.
Episode 21: The Gigantomachy
Even though Zeus ruled over the universe, his position was not entirely secure. Today I’m going to talk about a collection of different threats to the Olympian divine order. Many of them are giants – superhuman beings, of a very large size that fight the gods. This episode mostly focuses on the war between the Olympians and the Gigantes, a group of arrogant giants descended from Gaia.
Episode 20: Zeus
The most important god in Greek mythology is Zeus, who is both “King” and “Father of Gods and Men”. In this episode I cover how Zeus became king of the universe and how he consolidated his power, plus give details on some of his numerous children and his cults.
Episode 19: Hestia (and Other Goddesses)
Today’s episode is a little different. It will cover a few different goddesses who inhabit Mount Olympos and pop up occasionally in the Greek myths. The most important is probably Hestia, who presided over a Greek home’s sacrificial fireplace. This made her receive a portion of every sacrifice. Other goddesses covered are Hebe, Eileithyia, Iris, Nike, Nemesis, Tyche, the Horae, the Muses, the Charites, and Eris.
Episode 18: Dionysus
Dionysus is commonly known as the Greek god of wine and imagined spending time in forest groves, drinking and partying with his worshippers. But there is also a more complicated, and even darker side to Dionysus. He is responsible for madness and frenzy, and apparently also world travel. Many Dionysus myths show an antagonistic relationship with humans, yet his cult was incredibly important in the ancient Greek religion.