MC MytholOG - Midas, Medea, Jonah*, ATOWT, Last Gasp, Homeric, Icarus, Murph*, Herc, Orpheus, Dayz*

Everyone has heard about the fall of Icarus, right? The poster boy for adolescent heedlessness? But what do we really know about the young man beyond his fall?

This episode of Icarus, son of Daedalus explores the backstory by covering the difficult youth of Icarus on the island Crete, where his father Daedalus is a virtual prisoner of the powerful King Minos, and his close and fraught relationships, respectively, with his mother, Naukrate, the former concubine of King Minos, and of course his father Daedalus, the creator of the labyrinth and inventor extraordinaire. Not to mention the unstable (at this time) Queen Pasiphae and her obsession and quote unquote relations with Poseidon's bull from the sea. 

What led to Icarus's foolishness? Was it all his doing? Was it inevitable that he tune out his father? Should Daedalus shoulder some of the blame? His mother Naukrate? King Minos and his court? Nature versus nurture? Tune in to learn more about this complex character beyond the archetype for teen rebellion.   

Subsequent episodes will of course speak to the father and son's imprisonment in the tower on Crete, the invention and assembly of the famous wings for escape and of course, the infamous fall, but also the continuation of Daedalus’s flight from Minos to Sicily after the loss of his dear son, Icarus.

This is just the previously released four episodes of MC's Homeric Cycle combined into one episode for your listening convenience. 

In these podcasts, you’ll hear the Homeric cycle in a generally linear, episodic, but decidedly non-academic and at times rather breezy version of Homer’s epic saga, as if MC were a Greek rhapsode narrating it to you around a campfire outside the classroom, sort of authentic to the oral tradition, decidely low tech. Again, the Homeric Cycle is the Iliad and the Odyssey and all the sidebars, digressions and ancillary stories that orbit the two epics. But in my cycle, I have not yet gotten to the Odyssey, primarily because that story has been told and taught ad nauseam, whereas the Iliad,  in my humble opinio, deserves a little more treatmentn. 

Episode 1 includes a brief introduction to the Cycle in toto, then lays out the prequel to the Iliad: the Golden Apple of Discord, the Judgment of Paris and its fallout, Helen of Sparta and the tricky enlistment of Achilles and Odysseus into the Greek war effort.

Episode 2 moves forward through the challenges the Greeks, Agamemnon primarily, face launching the thousand ships to wage war on Troy and retrieve Helen, then, having reached Troy, the discord among the Greeks that leads to the rage of Achilles, the showdown between the offending Paris and the offended Menelaus, and an aristeia of Diomedes involving the gods, as well as an interesting sidebar that forms part of the Homeric tradition.

Much of Episode 3 hews to the story line of the Iliad, meaning the focus is on the latter stages of the rage of Achilles and its tragic consequences but ultimately also its glorious aftermath. Patrokles and Hector are key elements but an outraged river also makes an appearance? The destructive nature of excess and the paramount importance of honor are the beating hearts of this episode. 

This last episode in the series highlights events beyond the scope of the Iliad but which are definitely within the Cycle. First and foremost, Achilles’s death. The Iliad itself ends with the death of Hector, not Achilles, yet as foretold, Achilles's end must follow hard on the heels, as it were, of Hector’s. This episode also answers questions you may have about various other participants: Menelaus, Agamemnon, Philoctetes, Diomedes, Helen, Paris, Laocoon, Priam, Hecuba, Cassandra, Aeneas, Criseis & Briseis. What happens to Ajax is particularly heartbreaking, IMHO. You may wonder if there is more in store for members of the cursed house of Atreus? Fo sho! The house is fodder for much of Greek tragedy. And of course, the elephant in the room, as it were, the Trojan Horse and the fall of Troy after ten years of war. 

It is strange and twisty, the Homeric Cycle. Hope you enjoy and thanks for listening. 

MC. 

This episode highlights events outside of the scope of the Iliad but which are definitely within the Homeric cycle. First and foremost, Achilles’s death must follow hard on the heels, as it were, of Hector’s. But then also questions you may have about the various other participants: Menelaus, Agamemnon, Philoctetes, Diomedes, Helen, Paris, Priam, Hecuba, Cassandra, Criseis & Briseis. Not to mention Odysseus. What happens to Ajax is particularly heartbreaking IMHO.

You must also wonder Is there more in store for the cursed house of Atreus? Yes, definitely!

And of course, the elephant in the room, as it were, the Trojan Horse and the fall of Troy after ten years of war. Much of this last episode is strange and tragic but fitting somehow.

Enjoy episode 4 and thank you for listening. 

Much of this episode hews to the story line of the Iliad, meaning the focus is on the latter stages of the rage of Achilles and its tragic consequences but ultimately also its glorious aftermath. Patrokles and Hector are key elements but an outraged river also makes an appearance? The destructive nature of excess and the paramount importance of honor pulse throughout this episode. Harrowing or satisfying? You be the judge. Enjoy nonetheless. 

As promised previously in Episode 1, hear the Homeric cycle in a generally linear, episodic but decidedly non-academic and at times rather breezy and sometimes risqué version of Homer’s epic story.

As advertised, Episode 1 told of the Golden Apple of Discord, the Judgment of Paris, Helen of Sparta and the enlistment of Achilles and Odysseus into the Greek war effort.

As anticipated, Episode 2 moves forward through the challenges the Greeks face launching the thousand ships to wage war on Troy and retrieve Helen, the discord among the Greeks that leads to the rage of Achilles, the showdown between the offending Paris and the offended Menelaus, and an aristeia of Diomedes involving the gods, as well as an interesting sidebar that forms part of the Homeric tradition.

Greek mythology is strange stuff. No less so in the works of Homer, but much of it is inaccessible because it's written in Greek after all! But you may still be curious about the Trojan War, the Iliad, the Odyssey and Homer and all the strange doings and characters therein - Achilles, Cassandra, Penelope, Ajax, Diomedes, Odysseus, Thetis, Eris, Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, just to name a few?

In these podcasts, you’ll hear the Homeric cycle in a generally linear, episodic but decidedly non-academic and at times rather breezy version of Homer’s epic saga, as if MC were a rhapsode narrating it to you around a campfire?

At any rate, Episode 1 tells of the strange goings on before the Trojan War: the Golden Apple of Discord, the Judgment of Paris, Helen of Sparta, and the enlistment of Odysseus and Achilles into the Greek forces to lay seige to Troy and reclaim the honor of the wronged brother and Greek chieftain, Menelaus. Enjoy and embrace the epic strangeness of Homer.

Everyone has heard of the modern Olympics and all the drama therein. Well, before all that, there was Mount Olympus of course, home to the classical Greek gods and goddesses. Everyone's heard of Zeus, the most powerful of the Olympians, and of Athena, the wisest of the gods, and perhaps some others, but you've probably not heard them quite like this. 

At any rate, in this episode of Last Gasp or Gigantomachia, you'll hear first a brief introduction to the play by ye olde MC himself and after that our cast, Dreamus Teamus 2.0, introduce themselves. Following that, lend your ears to the two parts of this Olympian comedy to see how the Olympians respond to an external threat to their status quo.

After a prologue of sorts, Act I opens with Hera and Zeus looking for a special flower which would confer a sort of prophylactic protection to the gods should the Giants, let loose by Gaea in revenge for the death of her son, Antaeus, storm Mount Olympus. With the exception of Ares, all the Olympians sniff said flower but, like many of the defensive measures put forth by the Olympians, this measure falls short, especially in Hera’s case. Our beloved gods do in fact get some unexpected help from unexpected quarters to their great relief.

The second scene deals with the aftermath of the Giant attack on the Olympian stronghold and the gods’ pathetic defense thereof. As in the first play in MC’s Olympian cycle, much dirty laundry gets aired, and nobody in this fractious family comes out smelling like roses. Furthermore, given the near success of the assault on Olympus by the Giants, existential questions surprisingly arise for some of the Olympians.

So, without further ado, strap yourselves in, as it may be a harrowing ride up to Mount Olympus during this Giant attack, yet as always, enjoy and embrace, in this case, not so much the absurd and dysfunctional, but the apocalyptic.

Just a short teaser before the upcoming drop of the full episode of Last Gasp or Gigantomachia. Ye Olde MC sets up various scenes that involve the entire* cast at various moments in the play. 

*subject to last minute changes.

Act II continues the saga with the three rebels' returning from subduing almighty Zeus. As the gods and godesses are in the throes of determining who will rule Olympus in lieu of He Who Must Not Be Named, lo and behold, the god of thunder himself returns, and now that he is unbound, he is raging! Will the rebels get their comeuppance? Will Hades return? Will order ever be restored? Will Hephaestus lose his mind over all the jokes he now gets? Will the gods and goddesses ever stop their infernal correcting? Where in Hades are the censors? Tune in and find out the answers to your burning questions and more, in the conclusion to As The Olympian World Turns: The Rebellion.

You've all heard of the Olympics and all the drama therein. Well, before all that, there was Mount Olympus of course, home to the Greek gods and goddesses. You've probably heard of Zeus, the most powerful of the Olympians, and of Athena, the wisest of the gods, and perhaps some others. But how well do you really know the denizens of Olympus? Did you know the gods outnumber the goddesses? Well, that explains a lot, doesn't it? Did you know that Hades does not have a throne up there? (Death never takes holiday, does it? And so the Rich One must never leave his precious Underworld?) Did you know that one of the Olympians has a mortal for a mother?! Yes, a mortal! Scandalous I know, but mythologically true! It's beginning to sound like a soap opera, right? Ah-ha, the title! 

Well, at any rate, in this episode you'll hear first a brief introduction to the play, which itself is an in medias res introduction to the gods and goddesses of Olympus. After that, our Dreamus Teamus of a cast introduces themselves, but you may be hard pressed to recognize the actors, so immersed are they in their roles. Following that, lend your ears to the two parts of this two act comedy, As the Olympian World Turns - MC's particular (read: idiosyncratic and irreverent) take on the Greek Olympians. 

Act I opens with the gods and goddesses or, more accurately, Hera, Poseidon and Apollo, spearheading an open revolt against their leader, Zeus. Wary of Zeus's power, the remaining Olympians, however, are slow to warm to this insurrection idea. In the course of the arguments for removing the tyrannical Zeus, much dirty laundry gets aired, and nobody in this fractious family comes out smelling like roses. But after some heated discussion, they do finally come to a consensus of sorts!  

Act II continues the saga with the three rebels' return from subduing almighty Zeus. As the gods and goddesses are in the throes of determining who will rule Olympus in lieu of He Who Must Not Be Named, lo and behold, the god of thunder himself returns, and now that he is unbound, he is raging! Will the rebels get their comeuppance? Will Hades return? Will order ever be restored? Will Hephaestus lose his mind over all the jokes he now gets? Will the gods and goddesses ever stop their infernal correcting? Tune in and find out the answers to your burning questions and more, in the conclusion to As The Olympian World Turns: The Rebellion.  

Please note: unlike previous MC productions, the voices of the characters in this play are provided by the much ballyhooed Dreamus Teamus of former colleagues and students who generously provided us their formidable talents. So, without further ado, strap yourselves in, as it may be a bumpy ride up on Mount Olympus, yet as always, enjoy and embrace - in this case not so much the surreal, as the dysfunction.