Muses of Mythology

“You think you know wrestling?!" Darien (she/her) and DJ (he/him) know nothing about wrestling. If only someone would show up and help them get through this episode about wrestling! Other topics include deadly bearhugs, reused plot lines, kayfabe, and Darien's heel turn to becoming the villain of the podcast. Learn more about the Malala Fund at https://malala.org/ Check out TheCrystalCon...

“The most Sad Girl in the Rick Riordan books.” Experiencing heartache? Maybe skip this episode for now. Darien (she/her) and DJ (he/him) present their most melancholy episode yet by discussing Calypso. She’s sad, she’s pretty, and she’s nothing like her mythic source material in The Odyssey. Other topics include Darien being weirdly cool with age gaps getting explained away in fantasy romance stor...

“Hephaestus is our protagonist, so we’re on his side right now.” Leo the GeekScorpio (he/him) returns to discuss the god of the forge, Hephaestus! And that means DJ, once again, gets to dunk on Eternals (2021). Other topics include wedding anniversary gifts, reorganizing the Periodic Tables of Elements, DC Hephaestus being a secret-keeping bro, Pandora’s Box v. Pithos, and the correct way to impar...

“Riddles are hard! Even Tolkien.” The Sphinx arrives from a distant land, which means it’s time for a battle of wits! DJ (he/him) challenges the listeners to a riddle contest. Darien (she/her) did not come prepared. Other topics include conspiracies surrounding ancient sculpture techniques, math tricks for solving riddles, Darien’s favorite riddle answers, and how “What is in my pocket?” is absolu...

“He gets bodied by an eleven-year-old!” King Minos was a malevolent tyrant who became a judge of the Underworld because he happened to be a son of Zeus. Talk about a nepo baby. In this week’s episode, DJ presents the single example he could find of King Minos in modern pop culture. Then Darien throws out the script to present her essay on the ancient Minoan civilization. Enjoy the ride, folks. Oth...

“Don’t fly too close to the sun.” Let’s fly into 2023 with a big myth that doesn’t have much to it. In fact, it really is just the one thing. But the story of Icarus flying too close to the sun has permeated storytelling for centuries. So, naturally, Darien and DJ take the opportunity to discuss how much they dislike Eternals (again). Other topics include a vague understanding of video game lore b...

“I will watch Troy BURN!” After finally escaping the Labyrinth, the siblings come face to face with what might be the scariest goddess of all: Hera. Fortunately, writer and podcaster Megan Peterson (they/she) is here to provide literary insight, historical context, and biting wit. Other topics include the Cold War and the American Nuclear Family, lessons about dangerous men, women’s footraces that...

Is A Christmas Carol the best holiday story ever told? Yes, and we're not taking feedback at this time.  Enjoy the first episode of our special Patreon Holiday Event: 12 Days of Musemas! Listen to the rest of the series over the next 11 days at Patreon.com/musesofmythology Spoilers for  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Support the show No portion of this episode may be used for AI trainin...

“Have you heard about the Ship of Theseus?” We’ve talked about the Labyrinth. We’ve talked about the Beast of the Labyrinth. We’ve talked about the woman who navigated the Labyrinth. Now, we finally discuss the hero who gets all the credit: Theseus. Bad news, y’all. He’s actually pretty cool. Owen from Through the Mist returns to talk about all the other things Theseus should be known for. Will Ow...

“There’s nothing there, so I’m projecting onto Ariadne so hard!”  Quinn from The Monsterous Woman Pod joins the show for an episode about Ariadne. Not Theseus, Dionysus, Medea, Renya’s sister, Quinn’s niece, or Megara from Disney’s Hercules . Ariadne. Seriously. Other topics include Theseus, Dionysus, Medea, Renya’s sister, Quinn’s niece, and Megara from Disney’s Hercules. Find more of Quinn! The...

“Run! Just run! Go!” Darien (she/her) and DJ (he/him) are trapped in a labyrinth! Which is totally fine cause it turns out a labyrinth is just basically a really long hallway. So, why did Theseus need help navigating it to slay the Minotaur? Turns out, Daedalus really is just that good. Other topics include not-so-hot takes about the Frozen level in Kingdom Hearts 3 , DJ’s maze-solving superpower,...

“If you can't make your own goat's blood, store-bought is fine.” Darien (she/her) and DJ (he/him) find themselves haunted by another podcast! Tim (he/him) and AJ (he/they) from Standby Line have materialized to socialize over ghosts, shades, and happy haunts of all shapes and sizes. Other topics include the nuances of cheating death, how children of Hades operate as ghosts, that one time...

IT'S OUR BIRTHDAY!!! Muses of Mythology turns two this month! We're celebrating by unlocking special bonus episodes from Patreon, giving listeners new episodes every week!  This week, we're unlocking our very first Remyth episode, previously only heard by our Podcast Hero and God-tier level Patrons. In this episode, we discuss the 1997 Disney animated masterpiece  Hercules  and argu...

“I’m pretty sure—with very little evidence to support this—that nymphs and satyrs are the same species.” Women in mythology deserve more respect, and nymphs are no exception. In this episode, Darien (she/her) and DJ (he/him) examine how nymphs went from revered nature goddesses to helpful but unimportant NPCs. Then, the show briefly becomes an episode of Through the Mist as the siblings try to fig...

IT'S OUR BIRTHDAY!!! Muses of Mythology turns two this month! We're celebrating by unlocking special bonus episodes from Patreon, giving listeners new episodes every week!  Let's start with a hiatus favorite: DJ tells Darien about one of the books in the YA Disney AU Twisted Tales series.  Go the Distance: A Twisted Tale by Jen Calonita asks the question, "What if Meg had to be...

“Why? Why?!” The podcast finally gives Grover Underwood and all satyrs their proper due! Darien (she/her) and DJ (he/him) talk about Percy and Grover’s friendship, the difference between Greek satyrs and Roman fauns, and… Wait. What’s with all this art featuring naked, horse-tailed men balancing wine goblets on their genitals?  Spoilers for Go the Distance (A Twisted Tale), This is the End, Good O...

“Can I talk about Good Omens?” Who’s a good boy? None of these hounds of damnation, that’s for sure. Darien (she/her) and DJ (he/him) dive into the infernal realms to discuss hellhounds of all shapes and sizes — but mostly big, black, and red-eyed.  Other topics include why Cerberus both is and is not a hellhound, the lack of hellhounds in Africa, the most upsetting creature origin story, and that...

"You've seen my ex!" In this episode, Darien (she/her) and DJ (he/him) agree that the Greek Empusa is probably not the direct inspiration for the modern vampire. So obviously, they spend most of the episode talking about vampires! (Mostly Marceline the Vampire Queen) Other topics include Darien recounting the plot of Dracula , Jenny Nicholson’s two-hour video essay on The Vampire Di...

"Nico, you're eleven and you need a nap!" Muses of Mythology has arrived! Darien (she/her) and DJ (he/him) kick off the new season by getting lost in the Labyrinth—and getting into fierce debates about godly parental roles, Camp Half-Blood culture and safety, and why Pan might be their least favorite character. What Once Was Mine, A Whole New Wolrd, and As Old A Time Twisted Tales B...

It's our last episode for The Titan's Curse ! We finish with the death of Zoë Nightshade and the fantastical world of constellations. Then we wrap with a Major Announcement! Other topics include stellarfication, the logistics of monarchy in The Lion King , the science behind identifying constellations, DJ's favorite Final Fantasy XIV class, and far too much conversation about Sesame...

Atlas is a titan who was forced to hold the sky on his shoulders for all eternity. So, how did the name become associated with big books of maps? Darien (she/her) and DJ (he/him) explore that and more in this week's episode! Other topics include old-timey maps, who really killed Zoe Nightshade, finding Australia, video game skins, and Mickey Mouse. Spoilers for Smite, Wishbone, Shrek, Mario O...

DRAGONS That's it. That's the description.  Okay, the episode also includes why How to Train Your Dragon is the best film trilogy, DJ trying to trick the show into being about Norse mythology, Darien's favorite dragon story, and a fierce debate over whether or not Charizard is a dragon.  Spoilers for Smite, Heroes of Olympus, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Hard Core Leveling W...

Athena has entered the podcast! Goddess of wisdom, warfare, architecture, strategy, and pretty much everything Ancient Greek culture cared about. Athena isn’t just some goddess. She just, like, better than other girls, ya know?   Other topics include who invented how gods solve their problems, Athena versus Ares, real brain children, art featured in every American history book, and why Greek philo...

Listen. This started out as a normal episode about Talos with Owen (he/him) from Through the Mist podcast. But then somebody (Darien) had to go and ask if the giant robot was alive. And all Tartarus broke loose.   Other topics include who invented Mythomagic, Hephestaus being a big nerd, bronze men from the Bronze Age, maintenance hatch placement on giant robots, alive versus sentient, Oxford dict...

Time to celebrate the ultimate Messy Bitch™: Aphrodite! Sam (she/her) from The Chaos-Cast joins the pod to discuss Aphrodite as the goddess of self-love, beauty being in the eye of the beholder, and why a mortal man will NOT get away with stabbing a goddess.  Other topics include what reality TV shows the gods watch, horses vs wolves, quality character designs, when video game nudity doesn’t suck,...