Autocrat- A Roman History Podcast

Sometimes we get tales of star-crossed lovers and, well... sometimes we get whatever this is. Let's explore the bizarre story of Psyche, a tale which feels as though every character needs to be sat down in a psychiatric chair and work through some issues. Just an advance warning- there are some references to suicide in the story itself (although this is kept to an absolute minimum in our retel...

Another fetching job! Heracles might be the equivalent of an Ancient Greek delivery man, but this time he's being sent to fetch a boar... Sources for this episode: Frazer, J. G. (1921), Apollodorus: The Library (Volume I). London: William Heinemann. Guerber, H. A. (1929), The Myths of Greece & Rome: Their Stories Signification and Origin. London: George G. Harrap & Company Ltd. Oldfath...

Arachnaphobes, look away- this is where all your problems originate! Today's story is basically How the Spider Came to Be. And yes, we know that about 6% of the population has a fear of spiders; let's hope Arachne's presence this episode doesn't alienate that many people... Sources for this episode: Agnarsson, I. (2023), Grand challenges in research on arachnid diversity, conservat...

A little break for another bonus episode today. This time, we sit around the podcast campfire with a student of Roman history and delve into the topic of the fall of the Roman Republic- as well as touching on his next realm of study in the form of the fall of the Western Roman Empire... Sources used for our discussion this episode: Caesar (1953), The Conquest of Gaul. Translated by S. A. Hanford....

Task number three! The fact that we jokingly labelled it 'deer fetch-quest' in one of our thumbnails basically tells you everything you need to know. This week, we've got a deer that runs way too fast. That, and a man who has so far been way too used to hitting problems with a club having to take on a running challenge. Sources for this episode: Bejan, A., Gunes, U., Charles, J. D. and...

There's a strong reptilian theme on Autocrat today! It's the episode all about Cadmus- who we last dealt with properly during Typhon's days in episode 3. Get ready to discuss adultery among the gods, yet another instance of basing city locations on bovine migration, and a very high number of snakes and dragons... Sources for this episode: du Toit, B. M. (1960), Some Aspects of the Soul...

Not only is this episode yet another monster for Heracles to hit really hard with his club, it's an opportunity to sneak some maths into the podcast! Sources for this episode: Bianconi, E., Piovesan, A., Facchin, F., Beraudi, A., Casadei, R., Frabetti, F., Vitale, L., Pelleri, M. C., Tassani, S., Piva, F., Perez-Amodio, S., Strippoli, P. and Canaider, S. (2013), An estimation of the number of...

On April Fools' Day, we declared Autocrat to be the digital home of a new Roman Empire, with ourselves as co-emperors. We put up an election poll thinking it was a fun, light-hearted way to interact with the community and, well- here's the results!

All you need is a flying horse, a false accusation and a fear of accidental immodesty in women to get a pretty interesting story... That's the tale of Bellerophon and his sidekick Pegasus! But for all his questing and Perseus-style protagonist energy, pride comes before a fall... Sources for this episode: Babbitt, F. C. (editor) (1931), Plutarch's Mulierum virtutes. London and Cambridge, M...

Nemea has a lion waiting for Heracles. Expect stories of fighting in caves, thirty-day deadlines and a king cowering in a jar... Sources for this episode: Alden, M. (2005), Lions in Paradise. The Classical Quarterly 55(2):335-342. Evelyn-White, H. G. (1943), Hesiod: The Homeric Hymns and Homerica. London: William Heinemann Ltd. Frazer, J. G. (1921), Apollodorus: The Library (Volume I). London: Wil...

As of episode 23, we are still right at the start of our story. However, there's an interesting story from the end of the life of the Roman Empire to consider. This is the myth of the Marble Emperor, otherwise known as Constantine XI. As it turns out, this myth is more common than it first appears... Sources for this episode: Mijatovich, C. (1892), Constantine: the Last Emperor of the Greeks,...

In this second part of the Heracles saga, let us introduce Heracles and his very special to-do list. What sounds like a very mundane list of chores might reveal to be more dangerous than you might think. Oh, and the gods are also going to throw a huge reward into the mix as well.. Thanks to Lost Roman Heroes for collaborating with us! Find their show at the following links: Spotify: https://open.s...

A new era dawns today. We welcome a new emperor and a new empress of the Romans... Vote on our elevation at the following links! Results will be declared on the 3rd of May after we consider the vote closed on the 1st. Website: https://wordpress.com/page/autocratpodcast.wordpress.com/587 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C5N4UZGq-Em/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== YouTub...

Heracles is here! Or Hercules... or Alcides... He's got a lot of names. His early life will involve an ancient Greek case of superfecundation, a half-brother who needs a hug, and a lesson that all babies are different. Some may act as pest control for giant snakes! Sources for this episode: Blickstein, I. (2003), Superfecundation and superfetation: lessons from the past on early human developm...

He thinks he has it all. A kingdom just falls into his lap with a ready-made queen. But the gods- and the playwright Sophocles- are just waiting to undo him... Sources for this episode: Boothe, B. (2017), Oedipus Complex. Chapter in: Ziegler-Hill, V. and Shackleford, T. K. (editors), Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Cham: Springer International Publishing. Frazer, J. G. (192...

The world's first game show (involving a spiral shell), a Greek mythology spa treatment and ant-related hijinks all lie in store for us in the conclusion of our minotaur trilogy... Sources for this episode: Alvarez, L. W., Anderson, J. A., El Bedwei, F., Burkhard, J., Fakhry, A., Girgis, A., Goneid, A., Hassan, F., Iverson, D., Lynch, G., Miligy, Z., Moussa, A. H., Sharkawi, M. and Yazolino, L...

Only one man can save Athens from the Minotaur. And he's a surprisingly terrible human being. Join us for a tale of how not to treat women, bad decisions and a euphemistic prophecy about a wineskin which sees Aegeus dying of grief- all because he had a kid before he got back to Athens. Talk about not obeying oracles... Sources for this episode: Clough, A. H. (date unknown), Plutarch’s Lives (V...

Sometimes the foundation of a dynasty can lead to unexpected outcomes. Minos II of Crete- great-grandson of Zeus and Europa- is about to find out that a tryst between his wife Pasiphae and a bull is going to create a monster... Sources for this episode: The Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica (2024), Minoan civilisation (online) (Accessed 29/02/2024). Frazer, J. G. (1921), Apollodorus: The Library (V...

Being the lover of Zeus can be a difficult job. Just ask Semele or Io... However, it turns out being his son can be very, very easy. Join us for the story of Perseus- the man who, after a. bit of a rocky start, had everything pretty much handed to him on a silver plate. Many thanks to Quest for Power for collaborating with us! You can find them at the following links: Spotify:  ⁠https://open.spoti...

Troy is finally going to be introduced into the mix! To get there, we need a few ingredients- a cow won by wrestling, a statuette falling from the heavens, and of course a descendant of Zeus whose name is pronounced shockingly inconsistently throughout. Sources for this episode: Church, A. J. (1900), The Story of the Iliad. London: MacMillan & Co, Ltd. Cooke. T. (1728), The Works of Hesiod, Tr...

Zeus has just about had enough of humanity- perhaps set off by a human sacrifice incident- and decides it's time to wipe the slate clean. With water. Lots of it. But one son of Prometheus isn't going to be swept away that easily... Sources for this episode: Blennow, A. (date unknown), Exiled words and lost worlds- the tale of Sappho in Sicily. Språkens magi 31. Bye, O., YouTube (2015), His...

Hello! In today's episode we are exploring a quite well-known myth, but some facts may surprise you.....Enjoy! Sources for this episode: The Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica (2023), Pandora (online) (Accessed 29/01/2024). Evelyn-White, H. G. (1943), Hesiod: The Homeric Hymns and Homerica. London: William Heinemann Ltd. Murray, A. T. (1954), Homer The Iliad, with an English Translation (Volume...

We’ve made it to the story of Prometheus! Expect trickery, fennel stalks filled with fire and a bird of uncertain taxonomy which seems to like liver a whole lot more than it should… Sources for this episode:  Evelyn-White, H. G. (1943), Hesiod: The Homeric Hymns and Homerica. London: William Heinemann Ltd. Frazer, J. G. (1921), Apollodorus: The Library (Volume I). London: William Heinemann. Guerbe...

Persephone. Daughter of Zeus and Demeter. And the deity behind an example of of either Stockholm syndrome or a custody battle (albeit between her husband and her mother) in Greek mythology... Sources for this episode: Cooke. T. (1728), The Works of Hesiod, Translated from the Greek (Volume II). London: Printed by N. Blandford. Evelyn-White, H. G. (1943), Hesiod: The Homeric Hymns and Homerica. Lon...

Zeus may have dodged one usurpation, but there's another heir to the sky god's throne we need to discuss. This heir is the predecessor of a very unassuming god- Dionysus, the god of wine. Our Dionysus, known as Lysios when he was born, can be called Dionysus II. Dionysus I, or Zagreus, has a much more violent story... Sources for this episode: Evelyn-White, H. G. (1943), Hesiod: The Homeri...