Myth Madness: A Mythology Podcast

Many Greek heroes are responsible for founding a city or being the ancestral head of some powerful dynasty of later heroes. This episode (32) focuses on Cadmus, who arrives in Greece while searching for his missing sister. He goes on to found the city of Thebes after killing a serpent dragon and marries Harmonia, an immortal daughter of the gods Ares and Aphrodite. I also discuss how their childre...

Welcome to Season 3 of the Myth Madness Podcast!  Most people are familiar with the names of the more important Greek heroes – ones like Achilles, Oedipus, Hercules, and Theseus. But the Greeks had myths telling the adventures of many different heroes, all living in an Age of Heroes. This episode is an introduction to the Age of Heroes as a whole. The following episodes will each focus on the indi...

This is the final episode in the latest series on Hittite myths. Careful listeners of the past seven episodes were perhaps reminded of things I talked about in the previous Greek myth episodes. In this episode (30), I go back and discuss a few of those similarities between the different Mediterranean mythologies. 

This episode (29) covers yet another attempt by Kumarbi to remove Teshub from power. Kumarbi orchestrates the birth of a son named Ullikummi, a monster made of stone who continually grows larger. This myth is considered the last instalment of the Kumarbi Cycle. 

This episode (28) continues with myths from the Kumarbi Cycle. While the storm god Teshub is now king in heaven, Kumarbi is still around, and instigates fighting between Teshub and several rivals. Some of these include LAMMA, an arrogant god; Kiase, the sea god and close ally of Kumarbi; and Hedammu, a monstrous sea serpent.

This episode (27) 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. 

Like with the storm gods, the Hittites worshipped multiple solar deities too. This episode (26) 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. 

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 (25) 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 monst...

This episode (24) 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. 

This episode (23)  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. 

 Following last episode on the Gigantomachy, this episode (22) 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. 

 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. 

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.

Today’s episode is a little different and 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, making her receive a portion of every sacrifice. Other goddesses covered are Hebe, Eileithyia, Iris, Nike, Nemesis, Tyche, the Horae, the Muses, the Charite...

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...

Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of desire, sex, and love. She causes desire in others, and takes a great joy in using this power, even on the other gods. There are two very different accounts of Aphrodite’s birth and some Greek philosophers attempted to rationalize this. Aphrodite had two important mortal lovers – Anchises and Adonis - and I discuss both of their myths here. 

This episode serves as a geography lesson of the ancient Greek underworld, and covers its ruler Hades and its other inhabitants. Hades largely remains within the underworld and there are not a lot of myths involving him. I also tie the discussion together with the previous two episodes dealing with Persephone. 

Demeter is one of the original six Olympians. She is closely associated with agriculture and fertility and is the mother of the goddess Persephone. After Persephone went missing, Demeter unsuccessfully searched for her and then wandered the Earth. This episode covers what she did in Eleusis and also discusses the Greek mystery cults Demeter was a central figure in. 

Persephone is a goddess associated with nature and death. She was worshipped throughout Greece and had distinct local cults on the mainland,  Greek islands, and what is now Turkey and Italy.  Persephone or Kore "Maiden" as she is also called, was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. The myth of her abduction by Hades explains how she became Queen of the Underworld.

Ares was responsible for the chaotic elements of war and a lust for battle. He did not have many temples but was naturally very important to Greek soldiers when they were on military campaigns. Ares does not feature in many surviving Greek myths – his affair with Aphrodite is the most well-known. I also discuss what is strange about his Homeric Hymn and the Roman’s conception of him. 

Poseidon is known as the Greek god who ruled over the seas. But he was also the Earthshaker and the god of horses. Poseidon was very important in the general Greek religion. Greek colonists who travelled across the sea praised Poseidon for allowing them to reach their destinations safely. But there is also evidence Poseidon was much more important in the earlier days of ancient Greece, and this ma...

Hephaestus was a god of craftsmen, responsible for blacksmiths, metal working, carpenters, and sculptors. In Greek myth, Hephaestus is often more of a supporting character, he stays in his workshop and creates things – typically armour – that are used by other people. This episode focuses on Hephaestus’ fall from the heavens, return to Mount Olympos, failed marriage to Aphrodite, and his fabulous...

This episode will focus on the Greek god Hermes. In Greek mythology, Hermes is shown as a clever god. He is a trickster and also a thief. But he also serves as a humble messenger boy, bringing the will of the gods to human beings. I retell the story of how Hermes stole Apollo's cattle when he was only a baby, and also discuss how Hermes was repackaged during the Medieval Era and even survived...

Athena is the Greek goddess associated with wisdom and war. Athena is one of the most important of the Olympians and be viewed as Zeus lieutenant. In terms of strength and power, she is even said to be Zeus’ equal and often bears his “Aegis”. In this episode I discuss some of the main myths of Athena, what the Aegis is, and what it may actually refer to. 

 Artemis, the "Mistress of Animals", is associated with hunting and the wilderness. The poet Callimachus wrote a long hymn detailing how a young Artemis acquired her responsibilities. Famously, Artemis does not take kindly to mortal men and I retell a few of those stories. The ones involving Orion are the most interesting and show a more complicated side to Artemis.