Myth Madness: A Mythology Podcast

Apollo is one of the most complicated of all the Greek gods. He was a god who had many different responsibilities, and gained more over time. In this episode, I go over the myths of Apollo’s birth and the more convoluted stories on how he founded his temple and oracle at Delphi.

In this episode, I enter what can be loosely called the ancient Greeks’ mythic Bronze Age. This episode focuses on the goddess Hera, the Queen of Heaven. In myth, Hera is typically portrayed as an angry wife, constantly dealing with the affairs of her husband Zeus. But those stories do not capture how important Hera was in ancient Greek religion. I also introduce the poet Homer, the Iliad, and the Homeric Hymns.

With the universe now under the control of Zeus and the Olympians, the uninhabited world now had to peopled with humans. In this episode I discuss several different ideas on the creation of humans held by the ancient Greeks. But regardless of how humans came to be, Hesiod says the Titan Prometheus took it upon himself to look after them. Prometheus ended up going against the will of Zeus and was punished accordingly.

Now the king, Zeus picks up the pieces following the defeat of Kronos. And he does that in the most “Zeus” way possible – by taking several lovers and having children. He assigns responsibilities to each of the gods and even keeps around those Titans who did not side with Kronos. The Titan Helios is kept responsible for the Sun. But, the world is almost destroyed by his son, Phaeton. I also introduce Hekate, another Titan ally of Zeus.

Kronos deals with the aftermath of his decision to eat his own children. His youngest son, Zeus, is raised in secret and returns to lead the Olympian gods against the older generation of Titans; with a little help from Gaia, the Cyclopes and the Hekatonchieres. To the victor will go control of the universe. I also discuss different versions and what we know about a lost epic poem likely about the war.

In episode 2, I go to the very beginning with Greek myths on the origins of the universe and the immortal beings who  first inhabited it. Things get dramatic fairly quickly when one of these beings – Kronos – decides to kill his own father.  I also explore what it means to be a “god” in Greek mythology. 

Welcome to the Pod!

In my first episode, I introduce Greek mythology.  First, there’s a brief overview of the history of ancient Greece. Today’s myth is the “Ages of Man” which details the gods’ different attempts to create humans and how life gets more difficult in each successive age. I compare two versions of this myth – one by the Greek poet Hesiod and the other by the Roman poet Ovid, and also compare them to a similar story from India.