Legend Has It

There are some myths that haunt us; they lurk in the dark corners of our mind and play to our most primal fears. I can think of very few stories that evoke a more visceral reaction from me than labyrinth. The word alone conjures up a claustrophobic nightmare; one where you are trapped in a constantly winding dungeon with no escape, and a horrible monster hounding your every step. This story is almost as convoluted as the labyrinth its self. There are many characters that come and go, and a lot of divine bovine interventions; but what really struck me was how Icarus, one of the most popularly depicted characters in all of mythology, is all but side notes in this grand tale. And what a tale it is.

There are two sides to every story. For every villain slain by a hero, there is a story that was cut short. We have all heard of the fabled Gorgon Medusa, with a gaze so fierce that it turned all who looked her in the eye to stone; but who was she? This week we take a closer look at the story of Medusa and examine the duality of the myth. Was she a seductress, that was punished by her goddess because she broke her vows of chastity? Or was she a victim of rape, whose goddess comforted her, and made sure that she would never be at the mercy of anyone else ever again? How did this story evolve from one extreme to its polar opposite?

This marks the first episode in our Heroes of Ancient Greece chapter. Jason is one of the oldest stories we have and once you learn the tale you will know why; there are daring escapes, misguided battles, sirens, and a ship that talks - Jason's tale has something for everyone! We as humans love a good epic quest; which is why even if you don't know the story of Jason off the top of your head, you have heard it all before. A young adventurer is called to action and sets off on an epic quest to regain lost glory or whatever. But why do we love these stories? What do they say about us and why do we hear similar tales being retold over and over again all throughout history?

We have come a long way listeners, we now know how the whole universe was created. We have heard of great wars and know of the fickle ways of the Gods; but where does humanity come in? In this weeks episode we learn about mans creation from clay by Prometheus; and how Pandora fit in to that whole situation. We touch on the Gods Poseidon and Hades; and learn what the souls of the dead had to look forward to in their journey to the after life. Finally the story of Persephone is told and we take a look at why eating some lousy pomegranate seeds meant that she had to keep going back to the Underworld.

It is said that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned; so you can only imagine how bad a goddess’ fury must be. Hera was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, the sister and unhappy wife of Zeus, the Queen of the gods - and she was not to be trifled with. This week we take a closer look at Hera and discuss some of the queens attempts to get even with her husband and what that meant for man kind.

In the beginning there was nothing but chaos and darkness, but that didn't last long. Soon there were more gods and goddesses than you could shake a stick at and, probably unsurprisingly, there was a lot of fighting. This episode is the first in a our chapter about Greek Mythology; it covers the creation of everything through the downfall of the Titans.