Mythology Explained

Welcome to Mythology Explained. Today, we’re going to be discussing the Greek God Priapus. Before we dive into this I feel as though the elephant in the room needs to be addressed - or rather the anaconda in the room. Yes, that second one seems most appropriate. You would think that, applying your contemporary prism to the issue, that Priapus, being the well-endowed god that he was, probably did pretty well with the ladies. But you see, his massive organ wasn’t a genetic gift. Rather, it was but one symptom of a very permanent and very encompassing curse. Yes, his appearance was overflowing with more virility than a stampede of marauding centaurs. But when it came to it, he became, shall we say, deflated. He was cursed with Impotence. 

His exaggerated physical form wasn’t a blessing — it was part of a cruel curse. Though he appeared to embody vitality, the irony was that he could never actually fulfill it.

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Hey everyone, welcome back to Mythology Explained. In the last video of this style, we explored some absolute titans of terror in Greek myth: Typhon, the hundred-handed Hecatoncheires, the war-born Giants, the petrifying Medusa, and the mighty Cyclopes whose craftsmanship armed the gods themselves. Those creatures shaped the very balance of power between gods and Titans, between order and the primordial chaos of the earth.

But the truth is.. Greek mythology didn’t stop inventing nightmares after the first cosmic wars were won. Beyond those famous five, there are other monsters — some born of divine spite, some older than the Olympians themselves — whose power forced gods to strategize, heroes to innovate, and, in some cases, Olympus to tread very carefully. 

Today, we’re diving into five more of the most formidable monsters in all of Greek mythology — beings so dangerous that they changed the course of wars, made even the gods hesitate, and left scars on the mythic world long after their deaths.

Let’s get into it.

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Out of the void came the first truly tangible being: Gaia- the Earth itself, alive and fertile, the ground beneath every myth. To the ancient Greeks, Gaia was not merely soil and stone; she was the very foundation of reality, the ever-enduring mother of gods and monsters alike. She nourished, protected, and gave life — but she also schemed, rebelled, and unleashed creatures that nearly ended Olympus before it began.

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Before there were gods, before there were Titans, before even the earth or sky — there was only silence. An endless, gaping expanse. 

The Greeks called it Chaos: not disorder, but the raw void out of which reality itself would be born.

Chaos wasn’t a god in the way we imagine Zeus or Poseidon, but rather the very first principle of existence — the source from which everything else emerged: earth, sky, gods, monsters, even fate itself. Yet Chaos was not always imagined the same way. Some traditions describe it as the offspring of Chronos, Time itself — not to be confused with Cronus, the Titan king. Others saw Chaos as a shapeless mass of matter and energy, waiting to be molded into the universe. And in yet another version, Chaos was thought of as the lower layer of air surrounding the earth, lying beneath the bright upper sky called Aether.

Today, we’re going to be addressing all of these different accounts, and more, as we unpack Chaos: the FIRST Primordial Deity.

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When it comes to the Bible, the roles of its central figures seem obvious. God is the creator, the sustainer, the giver of life, and Satan… He’s the deceiver, the destroyer, & the murderer of mankind. 

Given that Satan is called a ‘murderer from the beginning’ in John 8:44, you’d probably assume that he’s the one responsible for claiming more lives.

But what if I told you that the text itself paints a very different picture? Because when we look past assumptions and actually count the deaths, the numbers tell a shocking story.

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For millennia, mankind has worshipped gods — beings of power, wisdom, and immortality. We’ve prayed to them, feared them, and shaped our civilizations around their stories.

But in every culture, there comes a moment when man looks up at the heavens and dares to ask: Why not me? 

So today, we’re diving into the myths and legends of different religions and cultures to confront one of humanity’s oldest—and most dangerous—questions: What happens when man tries to become god?

Let’s dive in to it.

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Most people today believe that ‘Lucifer’ and ‘Satan’ are one and the same- with both names representing the complete and total archetype of evil. In fact, this misconception runs so deep that the names are regularly used interchangeably in books, movies, and even sermons. But what if I told you that this is actually…Wrong information? Because in truth, the Bible itself never explicitly identifies Lucifer with Satan. That connection only came later, through centuries of interpretation, translation, and literature.

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Where do we go when we die?

It’s one of humanity’s oldest questions.

Across nearly every culture, every religion, and every age of human history, people have looked to the sky and wondered: What lies beyond this life? And almost universally, civilizations have imagined an idyllic realm of peace and perfection—an eternal paradise. This vision echoes through many of the world’s predominant religions, where Heaven is described as the ultimate reward, the place where suffering ends and harmony begins.

But not every depiction of Heaven is the paradise you might expect. In fact, in some traditions, Heaven isn’t endless peace at all—it’s strange, unsettling, and even exhausting. 

Today we’re going to be diving into the world’s visions of the afterlife- taking a closer look at how different cultures, religions and mythologies perceive life after death.

Let’s dive in to it.

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Hey everyone, welcome to Mythology Explained. Today’s video is the start of a new series where I’ll be reading classic retellings of Greek myths by respected authors from over a century ago. These stories come straight from the public domain, and the goal here is to give you something you can listen to while winding down, studying, or just getting lost in the world of ancient Greece.

The following is an excerpt from Myths and Legends Of Ancient Greece and Rome by E.M. Berens, published in 1880. If you’d like to read the full text, please check out the link in the pinned comment.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22381/22381-h/22381-h.htm

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Long before the Olympians ruled from their thrones on Mount Olympus, the cosmos was shaped by older forces — vast, silent, and unknowable.

These were the Primordial Deities or Protogenoi: the first powers of existence, embodying fundamental aspects of reality itself.

And out of the first void came something deeper than shadow. A presence, not just of absence, but of power. She wasn’t the goddess of one place or domain. She didn’t rule the sea or the sky. She simply was — there before the stars, before time, before anything had a name.

Even Zeus, king of the gods, knew better than to cross her.

Because this wasn’t just nightfall.

It was Night itself.

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