Welcome to Episode 38. In this episode we follow six cursed generations known as the House of Atreus. A classic Greek tragedy, the story involves gods and men, wives and daughters, and spans 800 miles of geography from Troy to Athens. Like so many of these tales, it begins with Zeus, who has a son who has a son. What follows? Murder, deceit, incest, matricide and suicide … Narrated by mythologist and best-selling author, Patrick Garner, Garner's Greek Mythology is unlike any other Greek...

Welcome to Episode 37. Imagine beasts that are half-horse and half-man. They’re crude. Their weapons are broken branches and rocks. The ancient Greeks called them Centaurs. But among them was a unique and sophisticated being. A centaur named Kheiron (pronounced Sheer-roan) was so wise and wily that gods and men asked him to teach their children. He raised Asklepios, Peleus, Jason and Achilles. He was friends with the hero Heracles. Although immortal, after a long life he was wounded by a...

Welcome to Episode 36. Today we examine the difficult topic of sacrifice. The discussion of killing animals upsets many people. If you’re one of them, this may be an episode to avoid. Sacrifice was so common in the ancient world that no one thought twice about the practice. On the contrary, sacrifice was an essential means of communication between mortals and divinities. Every ceremony, every celebration, every festival and every battle included the practice. In fact, not sacrificing was...

Welcome to Episode 35. In this show we identify the most exalted and powerful mortal women in Greece. Who were they? ... Priestesses, serving goddesses, and in some cases, gods. These women were the equivalent of today’s superstars. Their names were known by everyone, they conducted sacrifices, and they led festivals and celebrations throughout the year. But their most important function was to act as intermediaries, connecting ancient Greek women to the divine ... Narrated by mythologist and...

Welcome to Episode 34! Here we take our inspiration from the Muses, nine goddesses and daughters of the mighty Zeus. 3,000 years ago they lit the fire behind every masterpiece. Many of us say they play the identical role today, inspiring songwriters, poets, playwrights and writers. They inspired artists and scientists alike. Pythagoras, the father of mathematics, was also a mystic and credited the Muses with many of his innovations.  Narrated by mythologist and best-selling author, Patrick...

Welcome to Episode 33 where we meet Pythagoras, a 6th century B.C. genius. Was he man or god? Not even his contemporaries were sure. Pythagoras himself once said, “There are gods … and there are men … and there is Pythagoras.” Avowedly the son of Apollo, he is known today as the father of mathematics. All modern science and logic sprung from his original insights. Yet he was also a mystic and the founder of a revolutionary society. Men and women were equals, and all followed Pythagoras’...

Welcome to Episode 32. In this episode we hang with the mighty Spartans. Where did they come from? How did they grow to dominate the Greek world in all things relating to war?  Their society was founded by a man named Lycurgus. Or was it…? Some say it was Apollo — others claimed their bloodline ran directly from the sons of Heracles. They rose and fell like all great heroes, their glory lasting a mere 300 years. But what a glorious roll for a city-state whose name became synonymous with...

Welcome to Episode 31. In this episode we drill down into the world of ancient Greek healing. Was Hippocrates the father of medicine? Hardly. He was preceded by a demi-god, a son of Apollo named Asklepios.  Asklepios, who flourished 800 years before Hippocrates, specialized in cures that reset a patient’s age. They were akin to today’s breakthroughs in anti-aging, which are typified by researchers such as Harvard’s David Sinclair ... Narrated by mythologist and best-selling author, Patrick...

Welcome to Episode 30 where we survey ancient war and how it formed the Greek notion of the ideal hero. Thousands of years ago heroes were, without exception, brave young men. They expected to die young, valiantly and with the bodies of those they’d slain lying at their feet. In this episode we contrast ancient war involving the gods to modern, secular war. Millennium ago, more frequently than not, Greek generals led the charge. Because they were first to leap toward the enemy, they inspired...

Welcome to Episode 29 … Listen as we learn about the real Heracles, Greece’s indisputable superhero. A semi-divine being and the son of Zeus, Heracles experienced tragedies and triumphs. He never refused a challenge. In this episode we look at his 12 labors, his loves and his transformation from mortal to immortal god  … Narrated by mythologist and best-selling author, Patrick Garner, Garner's Greek Mythology is unlike any other Greek history series.  Here these divine beings are viewed as...

Welcome to EPISODE 28 -- The Proud, Audacious Amazons The Amazons were sired by the war god, Ares. They reflected their parentage well.  As fighting machines they were almost unstoppable. That is, until they confronted Greece's greatest heroes. In this episode we look at their life style -- and their grandest conflicts. Over the course of almost a thousand years they opposed Heracles, Theseus, Achilles and even partied with Alexander the Great. Narrated by mythologist and best-selling author,...

Welcome to EPISODE 27 -- The Dishonored Sky Gods Zeus did not have the sky to himself, and shared it with the sun god Helios, the moon goddess Selene, and others. This arrangement worked well until an even greater force than Zeus came on the scene. This episode tells the story of the sky gods who were bested by science. That was a new way to explain the workings of the world—one without the flourishes of divine powers and personalities—and it continues to this day. Narrated by mythologist and...

Welcome to Episode 26, THE THREE HELENS This episode features the story of Helen of Troy, also known as the woman whose "face  launched a thousand ships.”  She was beautiful, but ended up being a pawn of the gods in the Trojan War. The effort to rescue her actually changed Greek history by being the impetus to unite the Greek city-states.    As often happens in these tales, nothing is as it seems. In this case, we learn there were at least three versions of the story, but none of them work...

EP 25: You Tell Apollo He’s A Myth … Welcome to Episode 25. This episode explores whether the gods are real or -- as scholars state -- myths. In this unique podcast we take a different approach, daring to examine whether we’ve all been misled. What if the Greek gods simply walked? What if they tired of the affairs and the squabbling that was a constant background on beautiful Mt. Olympus? After all, they’re immortal. They can go anywhere and be anything ... Listen in as we examine the...

… Welcome to Podcast 24. This episode excavates the story of Medusa. I say ‘excavate’ because today we think of Medusa as a monster whose glance could turn men to stone.  But there’s much more to her story. It’s been buried. So first we shovel aside the stones and debris. What do we find? Before she was a monster, she was a beautiful girl. While a temple attendant, she was seduced by one of the gods. She was punished for the indiscretion, while the god who seduced her got away...

Welcome to Episode 23, DEMETER -  BEST GIFT EVER! The Greek gods do everything humans can do, but on a grander scale. When Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, gives bountiful harvests, all rejoice. How do you top that? When her kidnapped daughter is returned, the grateful goddess gives Greeks the promise of a happy afterlife. Talk about the BEST GIFT EVER! This episode is narrated by mythologist and best-selling author, Patrick Garner. His Garner's Greek Mythology is unlike any other Greek...

Welcome to Episode 22, SATYRS & CYCLOPES  You’ve probably heard of satyrs, but not thought beyond their strange appearance. They are the combination of 4 or 5 animals, including humans. The big difference between satyrs and humans, though, is in their approach toward life.  In this episode, satyrs collide with a one-eyed giant called a cyclopes--as well as encountering Greece's wily warrior, Odysseus.  “Drink, dance & be merry” was the satyrs' motto. No wonder moralists like the...

Welcome to Episode 21, Oedipus & the Sphinx..  This episode features the story of Oedipus, an extraordinarily tragic figure in Greek mythology who tries to do his best, but is bested by the Fates.  He meets the Sphinx—not the Egyptian version but the divine sphinx that terrified the Greeks in the city of Thebes. She killed man after man by posing impossible riddles. All who failed to answer correctly were promptly eaten alive.  Although Oedipus prevails, he cannot escape his dismal...

Welcome to Episode 20. We’re taking a short break from our usual episodes to listen to Chapter 1 of the upcoming audible book, Homo Divinitas.  It has the same Greek gods you love, but they show up in the modern world where they meddle and maneuver as...

Welcome to Episode 19 … This episode focuses on a woman who was, perhaps, the most powerful in all of Greece.The daughter of the sun god, Helios, Medea was a sorceress and the infamous wife of Jason, the hero and leader of the Argonauts …Medea was...

Welcome to Episode 18 … Here we open Pandora’s Box, and inside, to our horror, we find ... the Fates and the Furies.All divine, the Three Fates and the Three Furies were daughters of the ancient being Nyx, who was herself the daughter of Chaos …The...

Welcome to Episode 17 … In this podcast we enter the extraordinary world of nymphs.These semi-divine beings were young girls who populated and protected every waterway, spring and sacred grove. They were not deathless, but could live for centuries, and...

Welcome to Episode 16 … where we linger on the mysterious island of Aeaea with the goddess Circe.She trafficked in herbs and magical spells, and became infamous for turning sailors who stumbled onto her beaches into wolves, and wolves into swine, and...

Welcome to Episode 15 where we travel back to Athens in our mythology time machine for one grand purpose: We seek to experience the famous Eleusinian Mysteries. The Mysteries were a must-attend, life-or-death ritual. Those who successfully participated...

Welcome to Episode 14 where we look at the adventures — and the strangely modern travails — of the wine-god, Dionysos, whom the Romans called Bacchus.An ancient being, he was the exotic god of ecstasy and dance. The inventor of theater and wine, he was...