Myth Madness

Welcome back to Myth Madness! This season of the podcast covers Persian mythology. The Persian or Iranian civilization’s roots go back over 3000 years ago, and this episode (63) gives a summary of that history from antiquity to the middle ages. For most of that time, the dominant religion in Persia was Zoroastrianism, and this means its stories have a very distinct Zoroastrian flavour. This episode covers the Zoroastrian creation myth and explains how the forces of Good and Evil battle for co...

(62) Greek mythology is full of terrible tales, and the story of the brothers Atreus and Thyestes includes murder, adultery, incest and cannibalism. These two cursed sons of Pelops were exiled from their homeland. Later, they fought against each other for control of Mycenae. Tragedy and nastiness ensued.

(61) When the Seven Against Thebes were killed, they left behind children - Epigoni/Epigonoi. Athena assigned these Sons of the Seven the task of destroying Thebes and avenging their fathers. Some, like Thersander, Aegialeus, and Diomedes were enthusiastic in building an army. Alcmaeon, the son of the champion Amphiaraus, was not. Alcmaeon also blamed his mother Eriphyle for the death of his father and was at first torn between two conflicting duties. After the war was over, the Sons of the ...

The battle between Eteocles and Polynices is over and the sons of Oedipus are dead. The fate of Oedipus’s daughters – Antigone and Ismene – is a less epic more personal tragedy story and is told in a handful of plays by the Greek playwright Sophocles. One of those tells how the willful Antigone felt she was duty-bound to ensure her brother Polynices got a proper burial. This brought her into tragic conflict with Thebes’ new regent, the powerful nobleman Creon. This episode (60) retells ...

(59) Eteocles and Polynices were the sons of Oedipus and like their father they were cursed. In their case, they were doomed to kill each other. Eteocles and Polynices fought over their father’s throne and Polynices was eventually exiled from Thebes. He gained the support of Adrastus, the king of Argos; and a collection of un-heroic scoundrels, including the unpredictable Tydeus. Together, they led a great army against Thebes with the intent of making Polynices king.

Oedipus is probably the one Greek hero who has broken free from Greek mythology and become something else entirely. That of course is all thanks to psychologist Sigmund Freud. Many people today are familiar with the hero, who is cursed with killing his father and sleeping with his mother. But the wider tradition of Greek myth about Oedipus is much more complex. Stretching at least as far back as the 8th century BC, Oedipus is another of the famous beast-slayers of Greek mythology. Additionall...

(57) The great hero twins Castor and Polydeukes (Roman Pollux) were known as the Dioscuri / Dioskouroi ‘ which means Sons of Zeus”. Considered by the ancient Greeks to be two of the greatest heroes, there are surprisingly not a whole lot of stories starring them that survive to today, but there are a few important incidents, which are covered in this episode. Beyond the Dioscuri, Greek mythology features several examples of other hero twins with interesting similarities to the Dioscuri.

In Greek mythology, centaurs were dangerous. Numerous heroes got into fights with them and there was even a centaur war. In it, the half-horse creatures fought against an equally fierce human tribe called the Lapiths, led by a hero named Pirithous. Pirithous is an interesting character in Greek mythology. He is not well known today, but its clear he was important to the ancient Greeks. This episode covers: The mythical origins of the centaurs and LapithsHow trouble at Pirithous’s weddin...

(55) Theseus was one of the heroic monster-slayers of ancient Greece. This episode covers his most famous deed – the slaying of the Minotaur. As a punishment for the Athenian king’s involvement in the murder of his son, Minos of Crete demanded a tribute of 7 young men and 7 young women every nine years to feed the Minotaur. Theseus was one of these youths. He went to Crete, and with help from the princess Ariadne, killed the Minotaur. After returning to Athens, Theseus ascended the throne and...

(54) Theseus was one of the heroic monster-slayers of ancient Greece. This episode covers his beginnings. The Athenian king Aegeus was childless and worried about his hold on the throne. The fairly unhelpful advice he got from the Oracle of Delphi brought him to the palace of his friend Pittheus. What followed was the pregnancy of Pittheus’ daughter Aethra, and the birth of Theseus. When Theseus grew up, he set out to meet his father, and met some dangerous characters along the way.

(53) Peleus is a Greek hero who is not well known today but was important during ancient times. He was an Argonaut searching for the Golden Fleece, and a hunter for the Calydonian Boar. Peleus enjoyed a special relationship with the centaur Chiron, and the fondness of the Olympian gods. His most important myth was his marriage to the goddess Thetis.

(52) A few special events in Greek mythology have multiple heroes from different parts of Greece all come together to get a certain job done. One of these was the Hunt for the Calydonian Boar. The boar was sent by an angry Artemis, and the hero Meleager organized a party of heroes to stop the beast’s rampage through his homeland. Another central figure was the female hunter Atalanta, and this episode covers her role in the Hunt and what she did afterwards.

(51) Orpheus was a hero from the Greek region of Thrace. The the ancient Greeks considered Thrace a wild and barbarous place full of warring tribes. Surprisingly though, Orpheus was not warlike. He was a talented musician and a keeper of strange sacred knowledge. The best-known myth about Orpheus involves his wife Eurydice and his descent to the underworld to rescue her. This episode also explores the Orphic Argonautica, which tells the story of the Golden Fleece from Orpheus’ perspective.&nb...

In the last four episodes, I covered the story of Jason and the Argonauts. In the poem the Argonautika, which was the basis of my retelling, the success of their adventure mostly revolved around the actions of the young woman Medea. In this episode (50), I continue on from last time and tell what happened to Medea after she returned with Jason to Greece. I also go into more detail on the figure of Medea herself. She had a very well-developed body of mythic material going back to the earliest ...

(49) With the Golden Fleece secured, Jason and his crew of heroes made the long voyage back home to Greece. Along the way, they were chased by fleets of angry and vindictive enemies, and made their way through a series of dangerous trials. The anger of gods made the voyage dangerous and only the aid of goddesses made their return possible. Some topic covered: - The Pursuit of the Argo - The Murder of Absyrtus - The Marriage of Jason and Medea - Talos, the Bronze Giant - Hints of lost v...