To receive the illustrated guide to each episode and an invitation to the live Q&A on Thursday 4th June at 7pm, become a monthly supporter!

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Sisyphus - condemned to an eternity of torment. Forever rolling that giant boulder up the steepest mountain side, only to watch it roll back down as soon as it is almost at the top - his "sisyphean task", seen for millennia by so many artists and philosophers as the perfect allegory for the human condition. Most know the sentence. But how many know the crime? Why is Sisyphus being punished forever? The short answer is: for being human. The long answer is revealing, funny, profound, and very very surprising. 

The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other.

Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new!

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Written and presented by Alex Andreou

Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Amanda Potter, and Dr Ruth Smith

Music by Marianna Sangita

Artwork by Simona Kanellou

Additional research by Kos Mantzakos

A Cooler Heads podcast

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To receive the illustrated guide to each main episode and an invitation to the live Q&As (on Thursday 7th May at 7pm), become a monthly supporter!

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Welcome to a new outpost of the Podyssey Empire - PODYSSEY STORYTIME. Basically, while researching the main episodes, I stumble on many other myths - MANY other myths - that are really touching or funny or outright bizarre. They don’t necessarily warrant hours of deep analysis, but they are absolutely worth sharing. And since I cannot retain an infinite amount of information but I love giving you more content, I will put these out, as I find them, in this short, story-only format. 

Now, on to this weekend’s myth, the story of Arachne, the talented Lydian weaver, who challenged the Goddess Athena to a contest, sort of by accident, and wound up with quite the itsy-bitsy problem.

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(COVER ART: Nikolaos Gyzis/Νικόλαος Γκύζης, "Η Αράχνη/Arachne", 1884 - Εθνική Πινακοθήκη/National Gallery, Αθήνα/Athens)

(MUSIC: Roussel: "Le Festin de l'Araignee", Jean Martinon, 1953; Canteloube: "Lo Fiolairé" (The Spinner), Madeleine Grey, 1930; Debussy: "The Maid with The Flaxen Hair", Laurindo Almeida, 1964; Verdi: Requiem "Des Irae", Tullio Serafin, 1939; "That Old Black Magic", Beryl Davis with the Stephane Grappelli Quartet, 1943.)

Written and presented by Alex Andreou

Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Amanda Potter, and Dr Ruth Smith

Music by Marianna Sangita

Artwork by Simona Kanellou

Additional research by Kos Mantzakos

A Cooler Heads podcast

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To receive the illustrated guide to each episode and an invitation to the live Q&A on Thursday 16th April at 8pm, become a monthly supporter!

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From a Phoenician Princess kidnapped from the beach, to Nazi experiments trying to revive the Zeus-Bull; from victim to mother of the Minoan civilisation; from the Catholic Church, to the euro currency...

The myth of the abduction of Europa is, in many ways, the most consequential one for modernity. It is the source of our sense of Westerness. The link to a past that acts as a decryption key, that turns a series of points into an arc. It is the origin story of our view of the world in which we live.

...

The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other.

Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new!

ADDITIONAL MUSIC

Meyerbeer: L'Africaine - "Selika's Death", Denise Monteil, 1965

"Cows Don't Fly", Pearl Trio, 1947

"Don't Fence Me In", Lee Monti's Tutones, 1951

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Written and presented by Alex Andreou

Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Amanda Potter, and Dr Ruth Smith

Music by Marianna Sangita

Artwork by Simona Kanellou

Additional research by Kos Mantzakos

A Cooler Heads podcast

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To receive the illustrated guide to each episode and an invitation to the live Q&A on Thursday 16th April at 8pm, become a monthly supporter!

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From a Phoenician Princess kidnapped from the beach, to Nazi experiments trying to revive the Zeus-Bull; from victim to mother of the Minoan civilisation; from the Catholic Church, to the euro currency...

The myth of the abduction of Europa is, in many ways, the most consequential one for modernity. It is the source of our sense of Westerness. The link to a past that acts as a decryption key, that turns a series of points into an arc. It is the origin story of our view of the world in which we live.

...

The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other.

Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new!

*** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ***

Written and presented by Alex Andreou

Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Amanda Potter, and Dr Ruth Smith

Music by Marianna Sangita

Artwork by Simona Kanellou

Additional research by Kos Mantzakos

A Cooler Heads podcast

*** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ***

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To receive the illustrated guide to each episode and an invitation to the live Q&A on Thursday 16th April at 8pm, become a monthly supporter!

*** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ***

From a Phoenician Princess kidnapped from the beach, to Nazi experiments trying to revive the Zeus-Bull; from victim to mother of the Minoan civilisation; from the Catholic Church, to the euro currency...

The myth of the abduction of Europa is, in many ways, the most consequential one for modernity. It is the source of our sense of Westerness. The link to a past that acts as a decryption key, that turns a series of points into an arc. It is the origin story of our view of the world in which we live.

...

The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other.

Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new!

*** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ***

Written and presented by Alex Andreou

Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Amanda Potter, and Dr Ruth Smith

Music by Marianna Sangita

Artwork by Simona Kanellou

Additional research by Kos Mantzakos

A Cooler Heads podcast

*** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ***

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

*** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ***

Make sure you are on ko-fi as a monthly subscriber, with the right email, so you get an invite to these LIVE sessions every other Thursday, as well as an illustrated guide to each episode.

...

The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other.

Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new!

MUSIC

Red River Dave, "I wish I had my first wife back", 1944

Richard Wagner, Lohengrin: "Mein lieber Schwan", Lauritz Melchior, 1938

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Written and presented by Alex Andreou

Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Amanda Potter, and Dr Ruth Smith

Music by Marianna Sangita

Artwork by Simona Kanellou

Additional research by Kos Mantzakos

Illustrated Guide design by Daniel Block

A Cooler Heads podcast

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To receive the illustrated guide to each episode and an invitation to the live Q&A on Thursday 5th March at 8pm, become a monthly supporter!

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Pandora’s tale demands deconstruction, because it makes no sense, even on its own terms. When a story lacks internal logic, one must look for the external factors pressing on it, twisting it out of shape.

...

The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other.

Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new!

*** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ***

Written and presented by Alex Andreou

Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Amanda Potter, and Dr Ruth Smith

Music by Marianna Sangita

Artwork by Simona Kanellou

Additional research by Kos Mantzakos

A Cooler Heads podcast

*** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ***

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What is there to be said about Prometheus that has not been said already, by voices much more illustrious than mine - from Plato to Goethe and Aeschylus to Mary Shelley?

Quite a lot it turns out. This is the beauty of myths - they wrap around each present differently, always revealing different things.

Make sure you are on ko-fi as a monthly subscriber, with the right email, so you get an invite to these LIVE sessions every other Thursday, as well as an illustrated guide to each episode.

...

The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other.

Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new!

*** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ***

Written and presented by Alex Andreou

Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Amanda Potter, and Dr Ruth Smith

Music by Marianna Sangita

Artwork by Simona Kanellou

Additional research by Kos Mantzakos

A Cooler Heads podcast

*** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ***

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*** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠ ***

What is there to be said about Prometheus that has not been said already, by voices much more illustrious than mine - from Plato to Goethe and Aeschylus to Mary Shelley?

Quite a lot it turns out. This is the beauty of myths - they wrap around each present differently, always revealing different things.

Make sure you are on ko-fi as a monthly subscriber, with the right email, so you get an interview to next week's LIVE episode on Prometheus. Thursday the 12th, at 8pm.

...

The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other.

Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new!

*** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ***

Written and presented by Alex Andreou

Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Amanda Potter, and Dr Ruth Smith

Music by Marianna Sangita

Artwork by Simona Kanellou

Additional research by Kos Mantzakos

A Cooler Heads podcast

*** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ***

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Did the Ancient Greeks keep pets? What did they think of them and how did they treat them?

This was the question asked by a subscriber, during a live zoom session. And although the topic did not fit well within the format of the show, it was nonetheless so tantalising a question, that I thought it merited a little bonus episode of its own. 

...

The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other.

Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new!

*** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠ ***

Written and presented by Alex Andreou

Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, and Dr Ruth Smith

Music by Marianna Sangita

Artwork by Simona Kanellou

A Cooler Heads podcast

*** SUPPORT PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ***

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