Let's Talk About Myths, Baby! | Greek Mythology & the Ancient Mediterranean - podcast cover

Let's Talk About Myths, Baby! | Greek Mythology & the Ancient Mediterranean

Liv Albert mythsbaby.com

The most entertaining and enraging stories from 'Classical' mythology (and, often, ancient history of the wider Mediterranean!) told casually, contemporarily, and (more often than not) sarcastically. The world of Greek mythology and the history of the wider ancient Mediterranean is full of wonder, horror, and utter hilarity. These myths and stories are timeless for a reason, they're just as relevant today as they were 2500+ years ago. With over 700 episodes and counting, we dive deep into the realm of gods, goddesses, heroes, monsters, and everything in between.


Regular episodes every Tuesday, conversations with authors and scholars or readings of ancient epics every Friday. LTAMB: The Oracle Edition has ad-free episodes and so much more. Learn more about the podcast, and Liv's work, including her book Greek Mythology: the Gods, Goddess, and Heroes Handbook at mythsbaby.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

Conversations: When the Network Went Down, the Bronze Age Collapse w/ Dr Eric H Cline

Liv is joined by Eric H Cline to look at what we know of the end of the Bronze Age, what did and did not contribute to its collapse, and so much more. Learn about the books 1177 BC and After 1177 BC, and more, here . Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Attributions and licensi...

Apr 30, 20241 hr 34 minSeason 7Ep. 603

Conversations: The Evidence is in the Thigh Bone, Climate and Collapse in the Bronze Age w/ Dr Flint Dibble

Liv is joined by Flint Dibble to talk all things animal bones... How climate change and food production contributed to the end of the Late Bronze Age. Check out Flint's YouTube Channel here . Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Attributions and licensing information for music ...

Apr 26, 20241 hr 36 minSeason 7Ep. 602

Not With a Bang, but a Whimper, the Collapse of the Bronze Age Mediterranean

A brief look at the causes behind the societal collapse of the Bronze Age Mediterranean. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Sources: The Landmark Thucydides edited by Robert B. Strassler, translated by Richard Crawley; The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean edited by Er...

Apr 23, 202447 minSeason 7Ep. 601

Conversations: From Homer, With Love… The Evolution of Oral Storytelling w/ Dr Joel Christensen

Liv is joined by Joel Christensen to talk all things oral storytelling, the tradition, theories on its origins, and how the Iliad and the Odyssey intersect with their ancient origins. Read more from Joel on Sententiae Antiquae . Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Attributions...

Apr 19, 20241 hr 26 minSeason 7Ep. 600

How History Becomes Mythology, Bronze Age Greece in the Wider Mediterranean

A brief look at the wider Mediterranean during the Bronze Age and their interactions with Greece (mostly... the Evidence For Troy). Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Sources: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, translated by Richard Crawley; The Oxford Handbook of ...

Apr 16, 202447 minSeason 7Ep. 599

Conversations: The Things They Found in Tombs, Bronze Age Mycenae w/ Dr Kim Shelton

Liv is joined by Dr Kim Shelton to dive deeper into the real world of Bronze Age Mycenae and all we've learned from what they left behind. Learn more about Dr Shelton's work here. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Attributions and licensing information for music used in the ...

Apr 12, 20241 hr 18 minSeason 7Ep. 598

Under the Shadow of Agamemnon, the Real Bronze Age Mycenae

Continuing on with the Bronze Age history of Greece, a look at the famed Mycenaeans, the historical origins behind the mythic heroes of Homer. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Sources: The Landmark Thucydides edited by Robert B. Strassler, translated by Richard Crawley; The...

Apr 09, 202443 minSeason 7Ep. 597

There Once Was a Man Named Minos, the Bronze Age Minoans of Crete

A (very brief) history of the Minoan people of Bronze Age Crete. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Sources: The Landmark Thucydides edited by Robert B. Strassler, translated by Richard Crawley; The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean edited by Eric H. Cline; Rodney Cast...

Apr 05, 202446 minSeason 7Ep. 596

The Bronze Age, Mythic Origins and the Real People Behind Them

Introducing: the Bronze Age Collapse series. Today, grounding ourselves in a world so far removed from the ancient Greece and its mythic history. Friday, we visit Crete and the Minoans.  Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Sources: The Landmark Thucydides edited by Robert...

Apr 02, 202436 minSeason 7Ep. 595

Conversations: Charybdis, a Gaping, Hungry Hole; Fear of the Monstrous Woman w/ Cosi Carnegie

Liv is joined by Cosi Carnegie to talk all things horny (boob cups! the threat of a sexual woman! all the erotic pottery you can imagine!) Follow Cosi on Instagram ; read more from her; and learn more about Propylaea Productions ! Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Attributio...

Mar 29, 20241 hr 35 minSeason 7Ep. 594

High Priestess of Ur, the World’s First Author, Enheduanna

The first recorded author in all of human history was a woman, a high priestess, her name was Enheduanna. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Sources: The Complete Poems of Enheduanna, the World's First Author by Sophus Helle; Enheduanna.org . Things The Mesopotamians Did Firs...

Mar 26, 202445 minSeason 7Ep. 593

LTAMB: The Bronze Age Collapse Coming April 2

Coming soon... Let's Talk About Myths, Baby!'s next big special research series is the Bronze Age Collapse. Who were the cultures thriving in the Bronze Age Mediterranean, and what caused them to collapse entirely? Episodes start April 2, 2024 and run through the month! Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf...

Mar 25, 20243 min

Liv Reads Quintus Smyrnaeus: The Fall of Troy (Book 3)

Liv reads Book 3 of the Fall of Troy, translated by AS Way. After the death of Penthesilea, Memnon, and the Greek Antilochus, Apollo takes his anger out on Achilles.  Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! This is not a standard narrative story episode, it's a reading of an ancient source, audiobook style. For regular episodes look for any that don't have "Liv Reads..." in the title! For a list of Roman/Latin names and who they were in the Greek, visit: myt...

Mar 22, 20241 hr 3 minSeason 7Ep. 592

BONUS: Selections from Conversations w/ Dr Melissa Funke and Dr Rebecca Futo Kennedy

To accompany the most recent episode on Hetairai and sex work in ancient Greece, these are selections from my 2023 episodes with Dr Melissa Funke, on Phryne, and Dr Rebecca Futo Kennedy, on foreign women in Athens. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Attributions and licensing...

Mar 21, 20241 hr 9 minSeason 7Ep. 591

Beloved of Aphrodite, the Lives & Legacies of Ancient Greek Sex Workers

A little look into the lives of ancient Greek sex workers, particularly two Hetairai, Phryne and Rhodopis, whose accomplishments achieved them 2300+ years long legacies. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Sources: Phryne: A Life in Fragments by Melissa Funke; Love in Ancient ...

Mar 19, 202436 minSeason 7Ep. 590

Conversations: Better Off With Bears, Artemis & Goddess Worship w/ Dr Carla Ionescu

Liv speaks with "The Artemis Expert" Dr Carla Ionescu, about Artemis, bears, goddess worship, and so much more (because Liv has ADHD, you know the drill). Find Carla on Instagram , Twitter , and at the Artemis Centre . Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Attributions and licen...

Mar 15, 20241 hr 33 minSeason 7Ep. 589

What Makes a Monster? What if Ovid's Medusa Was Thinly Veiled Misogyny

Ovid's version of Medusa is by far the most common, but what if it's also the most misogynist? Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Sources: Ovid's Metamorphsoes, translations by Stephanie McCarter and Allen Mandelbaum; WorldHistory.org; a simple Google search for 'Medusa'. Att...

Mar 12, 202454 minSeason 7Ep. 588

Conversations: On Circe's Island Anything is Possible, Queer Theory w/ Julia Perroni

Liv speaks with returning guest Julia Perroni about a queer theory reading of Circe in Homer's Odyssey and the ways she works outside the many binaries. Find more from Julia here! Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Attributions and licensing information for music used in the ...

Mar 08, 20241 hr 35 minSeason 7Ep. 587

Parthenogenesis, Prehistoric Goddesses, and the Threat of an Independent Woman

Goddesses doing it for themselve: parthenogenic births, goddess figurines of the Bronze Age, and theories of goddess history in Hesiod's Theogony. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Sources: Charlotte, the Parthenogenic Stingray ; Theoi.com; Hesiod's Theogony translated by HG...

Mar 05, 202441 minSeason 7Ep. 586

Conversations: The Feminism of Female Rage, Demeter's Winter Harvest w/ Ioanna Papadopoulou

Liv speaks with author Ioanna Papadapoulou about Greece in myth retellings, the goddess Demeter and her rage, and Ioanna's novel, Winter Harvest. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsba...

Mar 01, 20241 hr 15 minSeason 7Ep. 585

Liv Reads Quintus Smyrnaeus: The Fall of Troy (Book 2)

Liv reads Quintus Smyrnaeus' The Fall of Troy, translated by AS Way. In the only surviving source retelling the end of the Trojan War, Troy reels after the Amazon Penthesilea's death. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! This is not a standard narrative story episode, it's a reading of an ancient source, audiobook style. For regular episodes look for any that don't have "Liv Reads..." in the title! For a list of Roman/Latin names and who they were in the Greek...

Feb 27, 202455 minSeason 7Ep. 584

A Full Cast Reading of Emperor Julian’s Symposium of the Caesars

THE SYMPOSIUM OF THE CAESARS. Written by the Roman emperor Julian. Translated from the ancient Greek and directed by Jeremy Swist. Recorded by Jeremy Swist and fellow cast members. Recordings engineered by Christopher Swist at Evenfall Studio in Spofford, New Hampshire, USA. Produced in loving memory of Lawrence P. Swist. Find further details on the production here. DRAMATIS PERSONAE in order of appearance: Jeremy Swist as EMPEROR JULIAN Liv Albert as the EMPEROR’S COMPANION Christopher Pol...

Feb 23, 20241 hr 12 minSeason 7Ep. 583

Conversations: A Bunch of Rulers Sit Down for a Chat, Julian’s Symposium w/ Dr Jeremy Swist

Liv speaks with Dr Jeremy Swist about the emperor Julian, his work, and Jeremy's translation and production of the Symposium of the Caesars, coming out on the next episode of the podcast! Find further details on the production here. Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Feb 22, 20241 hr 18 minSeason 7Ep. 582

But He’s Such a Nice Guy! Ovid’s Ars Amatoria in Mythological Practice

Liv continues the horror that is Ovid's Ars Amatoria by looking at his tips and tricks being utilized in Augustan Imperial Roman epic poetry. It's dark. Be warned. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: This work is horrifying and promotes absurd levels of misogyny and assault, obviously Liv is provided commentary and breaking down the horror, but it's still horrifying. Sources: Toxic Masculinity in the Ancient World (16: "Toxic Manhood Acts and the 'Nice...

Feb 20, 202440 minSeason 7Ep. 581

Conversations: When Ovid Invented Pick-up Artistry, the Ars Amatoria w/ Imogen Briscoe

Liv is joined by Imogen Briscoe to talk Ovid's Ars Amatoria, the Art of Love, aka the first pick up artist playbook. Did Ovid create the 2000 years of misogyny we've had since? Nope, but he sure made it worse with this one! Read more from Imogen on Twitter and at the Ekklesia Magazine . Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as...

Feb 16, 20241 hr 41 minSeason 7Ep. 580

He Is Not All That, Pygmalion the Misogynist Mythological Incel

The story of Pygmalion is... so much. Plus, the time a man "fell in love" with a statue. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Sources: Ovid's Metamorphoses, translated by Stephanie McCarter; Clement of Alexandria , translated by GW Butterworth; The Erotes, attributed to Lucian ...

Feb 13, 202434 minSeason 7Ep. 579

Liv Reads Quintus Smyrnaeus: The Fall of Troy (Book 1)

Liv reads Quintus Smytnaeus' the Fall of Troy, translated by AS Way. The epic picks up where the Iliad left off, Hector is dead and the Trojans now have help from the Amazons and their queen, Penthesilea. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! This is not a standard narrative story episode, it's a reading of an ancient source, audiobook style. For regular episodes look for any that don't have "Liv Reads..." in the title! For a list of Roman/Latin names and who t...

Feb 09, 20241 hr 11 minSeason 7Ep. 578

You Can Learn All Greek Myth Has to Offer... & the Father Still Devours His Son

Liv re-listens to the very first episode of the show, plays it back to you and breaks it down to add more detail, context, corrections, and to just... bask in the wonder of seven years ago Liv and her view on the mythology. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Attributions and ...

Feb 06, 20241 hr 11 minSeason 7Ep. 577

Conversations: Novelizing the *Best* Ancient City-State, Riddles of the Sphinx w/ Meagan Cleveland

Liv is joined by debut author Meagan Cleveland to talk THEBES... And her new YA novel, Riddles of the Sphinx, about Oedipus' underrated daughter/sister, Ismene. Follow Meagan on Instagram . Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Attributions and licensing information for music us...

Feb 02, 20241 hr 17 minSeason 7Ep. 576

RE-AIR: Sister, Saviour, Survivor, the Gorgon Medusa

Revisiting one of the most controversial women of myth... Medusa is never just one thing: her history, variations on her story, interpretations... There's a whole wide world of Medusa and this episode attempts to touch upon just a fraction of ancient sources and versions. Monster? Beautiful woman? Survivor? Mother? One of three mortal queens? Medusa is everything. Find the thread of relevant Medusa tweets and responses to them here . Liv has also discussed Medusa on the The Partial Historians po...

Jan 30, 202433 min
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