Mythology

He’s the swashbuckling fox of Southern California, a masked bandit who fights injustice with skill and swagger. In our Thanksgiving Special, meet the Curse of Capistrano, the lion-hearted legend himself, as he outwits his ruthless enemies and falls in love! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Terrified by a vision of Camelot’s doom, Merlin plots to put an end to Lancelot and Guinevere’s affair — and unwittingly steps into his own downfall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Arthurian lore, their affair is infamous — the gallant Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere. They wrestle with their desires before a quest pulls the White Knight away. But defeating one enemy will reveal another... and this time, the whole kingdom may be at stake. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After Pixar’s Coco, you may think you know The Day of the Dead. But the roots of this holiday can be traced back centuries, long before Mesoamerica spoke Spanish. Today, we’ll follow a king’s descent through the hellish levels of the Aztec underworld… until at last, he meets face-to-skull with the Lady of Death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stories of ghost ships are as old as mythology itself… This Halloween, we’re bringing life to one of the most famous of them all: the Flying Dutchman. It vanished sometime in the 1600s, only to reappear as a specter that foretells doom for anyone sailing along South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope — once known as “The Cape of Storms.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hanuman volunteers to rescue Sita from her prison high up in the mountains — but only Rama can defeat the evil that lurks there. He prepares to face off against the demon Ravana and his horde of Rakshasas in a battle of epic proportions, where only one can survive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana arrive in the forest that is to be their home for the next 14 years. But they are not its only residents. Demons walk these woods. And when one falls in love with Rama, his rejection spurs her to call upon a greater evil: her big brother. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He was the son born to defeat evil. She was the princess shackled by a curse. Together, Rama and Sita would rule a kingdom — if not for a promise made long ago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Titans have been torn apart, their limbs scattered across multiple realities. They’ll never be whole again. But in the Underworld, another kind of brokenness has taken root in the heart of young Zagreus, the brooding son of Hades and Persephone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hades' story continues as we turn our attention from the Lord of Shades to the underworld he ruled — starting at its very bottom: the dreaded prison pits of Tartarus. This episode originally aired in October 2021. We’ll be back with a new episode next week — but in the meantime, enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Listeners, this week we’re sharing a classic episode from the Mythology archive on the Lord of Shades himself. Hades is one of the most famous gods in the Greek Pantheon, and possibly its most misunderstood. Today, we descend into the underworld, piecing together disparate stories and long-forgotten myths in an attempt to understand this grim ruler of the dead. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Decades have passed since Fafner walked out of Valhalla with the Ring of Power. He has since transformed into a dragon, and holds the ring in his hoard. Wotan is playing the long game, scheming to take back the ring — whether to use it or destroy it, even he isn’t sure. This is our second episode on Richard Wagner’s epic opera cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before there was Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, there was Richard Wagner’s The Ring of Nibelung. Infused with ancient Norse and Germanic myths, the composer’s epic opera cycle deals in power, corruption, and uncontrollable destruction. At its center is a ring forged from the enchanted riches of the Rhine river. All who look upon it will do anything to possess it.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plotting to save Camelot puts Morgana head-to-head with King Arthur. Believing he has grown mad with power, Morgana embraces her abilities to become a magical force feared across Britannia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sexy, scheming, and filled with magic, Morgana le Fay is one of the most infamous characters of Arthurian lore. Often using her powers for good and evil, she sets out to save Camelot — even if it means going against her half-brother, King Arthur. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices