Wine-Dark Sea

The Trojan War is nearing its end, as new champions arrive at Troy to help fight the besieging Greeks: the Amazon queen Penthesilea and her twelve elite guardians. Driven by her quest for glory and a deep sorrow from her past, Penthesilea enters battle to save Troy, and takes on the deadliest of the Greek champions, the godlike warrior Achilles.  

A story from Greek mythology, based on Quintus of Smyrna's Posthomerica, Book 1 (3rd century AD), featuring: Penthesilea, Priam, Achilles, Ajax, Diomedes, Thersites

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FREE COMMENTARY PODCASTS now available for every story on the channel! Learn more about the ancient historical and cultural context behind each Wine-Dark Sea tale. Find the full archive of videos and MP3s at: ⁠https://ko-fi.com/winedarksea/shop⁠

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CREDITS: Music by Giuseppe Rizzo, Suite Tracks Music, and William Van De Crommert (www.storyblocks.com)

Episode Thumbnail Image: Scene of Amazons fighting Greeks, with Achilles and Penthesilea in the center, from a marble sarcophagus (Roman Empire, 3rd century AD)

WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)

Julius Caesar's early life was fraught with danger, as he found himself on the wrong side of violent civil strife in Rome. After spending years in a self-imposed exile to escape his enemies, he returns to Rome to launch a career in politics. But soon he strikes out again on the high seas, in search of the skills he needs to become the top man in Rome...but new dangers await in the Aegean Sea, and a fateful encounter with pirates will test the young Caesar's mettle. 

A story from ancient Rome, based on various ancient traditions (Plutarch, Life of Julius Caesar 1.8-2.7; Suetonius, Life of Julius  Caesar 2.1-2; Velleius Paterculus, Roman History 41-42), featuring: Gaius Julius Caesar, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Gaius Marius, Lucius Cornelius Cinna, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Apollonius Molo

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FREE COMMENTARY PODCASTS now available for every story on the channel! Learn more about the ancient historical and cultural context behind each Wine-Dark Sea tale. Find the full archive of videos and MP3s at: ⁠https://ko-fi.com/winedarksea/shop⁠

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CREDITS: Music by Volodymyr Piddubnyk and Adrian Berenguer (www.storyblocks.com)

Episode Thumbnail Image: "Julius Caesar captured by Cilician pirates, drawing" (20th century)

WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)

The Peloponnesian War rages between Athens and Sparta, enveloping the ancient Greek world. The city of Mytilene on the island of Lesbos, once allied with Athens as part of the Delian League, stages a rebellion against Athens' increasing tyranny. When the revolt fails, the citizens of Athens must decide the fate of the Mytileneans, and a fiery debate ensues: are the people of Mytilene to be executed and enslaved, or should the Athenians show restraint? The very identity of Athens and the justice of its new empire are at stake.

A story from the ancient Greek world, based on Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War (3.1-50), featuring: Cleon, Diodotus, Pericles, Salaethus

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FREE COMMENTARY PODCASTS now available for every story on the channel! Learn more about the ancient historical and cultural context behind each Wine-Dark Sea tale. Find the full archive of videos and MP3s at: ⁠https://ko-fi.com/winedarksea/shop⁠

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CREDITS: Music by Kevin MacLeod

Episode Thumbnail Image: "The Debate on Mytilene, 427 BC," William Spencer Bagdatopoulos (1915)

WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)

Alexander the Great takes a detour from his war against the Persian Empire, trekking into Egypt and becoming its new pharaoh. In search of an ancient temple of the supreme god Zeus-Ammon in the desert oasis of Siwa, Alexander receives a transformative prophecy from the god's oracle: the truth of his divine lineage from Zeus-Ammon himself.  

A story from the ancient Mediterranean world (332 BC), based on Quintus Curtius Rufus' Histories of Alexander the Great (4.7) and Plutarch's Life of Alexander (27)

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FREE COMMENTARY PODCASTS now available for every story on the channel! Learn more about the ancient historical and cultural context behind each Wine-Dark Sea tale. Find the full archive of videos and MP3s at: ⁠https://ko-fi.com/winedarksea/shop⁠

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CREDITS: Music by Kevin MacLeod

Episode Thumbnail Images: Coin of Alexander with the ram horns of Zeus-Ammon, minted 3rd century BC / Egyptian hieroglyphs from the Temple of Hathor at Dendera

WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)

Mithridates of Pontus seeks to expand his rule over Asia Minor, and rid his lands of the influence of the ascending Roman empire. In his vengeful quest for power, he orchestrates one of the bloodiest acts of terror in ancient history: the coordinated mass murder of all Romans or Italians who live within his reach. 

 A story from Roman history, based on Appian's Mithridatic Wars (10-23) and Augustine's City of God (3.23), featuring: Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus; Nicomedes IV Philopator, King of Bithynia; Lucius Cornelius Sulla 

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FREE COMMENTARY PODCASTS now available for every story on the channel! Learn more about the ancient historical and cultural context behind each Wine-Dark Sea tale. Find the full archive of videos and MP3s at: ⁠https://ko-fi.com/winedarksea/shop⁠

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CREDITS: Music by Kevin MacLeod 

Episode Thumbnail Images: Bust of Mithridates VI Eupator, 1st century AD / Ancient street in the ruins of Ephesus

WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)

Medea is a beautiful and cunning princess, versed in the arts of magic. When Jason arrives from Greece with the Argonauts in the quest for the Golden Fleece, the two fall deeply in love, and begin a new life together in the Greek city of Corinth. But fate has other plans: when Jason betrays Medea and threatens to leave their two children, her sorrow wreaks vengeance upon them all.  

A story from ancient Greek literature, based on Euripides' Medea (431 BC), Pindar's Fourth Pythian Ode (466 BC), and Apollonius of Rhodes' Argonautica (c. 270 BC), featuring: Medea, princess of Colchis; Jason, the Greek hero from Iolcus; the two children of Jason and Medea; Medea's nurse; Glauce, princess of Corinth; Creon, king of Corinth; Aeetes, king of Colchis; Aegeus, king of Athens.

Original Story by Konstantinos Christidis

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FREE COMMENTARY PODCASTS now available for every story on the channel! Learn more about the ancient historical and cultural context behind each Wine-Dark Sea tale. Find the full archive of videos and MP3s at: ⁠https://ko-fi.com/winedarksea/shop⁠

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CREDITS: Music by Scott Buckley and Kevin MacLeod 

Episode Thumbnail Image: Relief from the Roman "Medea Sarcophagus," 2nd century AD

WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)

The Battle of Frogs and Mice (Batrachomyomachia) is an ancient Greek epic poem written as a parody of Homer's Iliad. Featuring pint-sized warriors who talk and fight with the seriousness of Achilles or Hector, the poem spins a tale of tragedy, revenge, and war at the marshy edges of a lake -- while Zeus and the Greek gods look on with a mixture of shock and amusement. 

A story from ancient Greek literature (8th century BC - 2nd century AD; date disputed), based on the translation by H.G. Evelyn-White (1914), featuring: Physignathus (Puff-Jaw), King of the Frogs; Psycharpax (Crumb-Snatcher), Prince of the Mice; Troxartes (Bread-Nibbler), father of Crumb-Snatcher; Zeus; Athena; Hera 

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FREE COMMENTARY PODCASTS now available for every story on the channel! Learn more about the ancient historical and cultural context behind each Wine-Dark Sea tale. Find the full archive of videos and MP3s at: ⁠https://ko-fi.com/winedarksea/shop⁠

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CREDITS: Music by Scott Buckley and Kevin MacLeod 

Episode Thumbnail Image: "Batrachomyomachia/The Battle of the Frogs and the Mice" by Bjørn Okholm Skaarup (2016; http://www.bos-art.com/works/batrachomyomachia) 

WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)

The Peloponnesian War has begun, and Athens recovers from Sparta's first attacks. As the city mourns its dead after the first year of fighting, the famed political leader Pericles is called upon to give a eulogy over the departed. Praising the valor of their fallen soldiers and inspiring the Athenians to fight on for their land, Pericles captures an enduring vision of the glory of Athens.    

A story from ancient Greek history (431 BC), based on Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War (Book 2.34-46), featuring: Pericles, leading citizen of Athens

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FREE COMMENTARY PODCASTS now available for every story on the channel! Learn more about the ancient historical and cultural context behind each Wine-Dark Sea tale. Find the full archive of videos and MP3s at: ⁠https://ko-fi.com/winedarksea/shop⁠

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CREDITS: Music by Kevin MacLeod 

Episode Thumbnail Images: Bust of Pericles (Roman copy of a Greek original from late 5th century BC) / Amphora with scene of dueling (Attica, late 6th century BC)

WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)

A dispute between the young city of Rome and its neighbor, the ancient capital called Alba Longa, escalates into war. Rome's ambitious king, Tullus Hostilius, seeks a glorious victory in battle; a fateful duel to the death ensues, fought between the Horatii, a set of three brothers from Rome, and the Curiatii, three brothers from Alba. The freedom of Rome and Alba Longa hang on the outcome of the duel of champions.  

A story from Roman history (7th century BC), based on Livy's History of Rome (Book 1.22-25), featuring: Tullus Hostilius, the Horatii brothers (feat. Publius Horatius), the Curiatii brothers, Mettius Fufetius, Gaius Cluilius, Marcus Valerius the Roman Fetial, Spurius Fusius the Alban Pater Patratus  

Original story by Wesley Coulson  

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FREE COMMENTARY PODCASTS now available for every story on the channel! Learn more about the ancient historical and cultural context behind each Wine-Dark Sea tale. Find the full archive of videos and MP3s at: ⁠https://ko-fi.com/winedarksea/shop⁠

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CREDITS: Music by Kevin MacLeod and Scott Buckley  

Episode Thumbnail Image: The Oath of the Horatii (Jacques-Louis David, 1784)  

WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)

The Greek city of Thebes was among the oldest and most storied of them all, and the heroic tales of its founder, Cadmus, remained alive in the ancient imagination. Traversing East and West, conquering fearsome beasts, and building a new homeland, Cadmus the hero was admired for his great deeds -- and haunted by a fate he could not escape.  

A story from Greek mythology, based on Ovid's Metamorphoses (Books 3 and 4), featuring: Cadmus, Europa, Agenor, Phoenix, the Sown Men, Harmonia,  the Oracle of Delphi, Zeus, Ares, Athena   

Original story by Dakota Caldwell 

Hear about the fate of Cadmus' grandson Actaeon in the story, "Artemis and Actaeon: A Goddess' Revenge"! 

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FREE COMMENTARY PODCASTS now available for every story on the channel! Learn more about the ancient historical and cultural context behind each Wine-Dark Sea tale. Find the full archive of videos and MP3s at: ⁠https://ko-fi.com/winedarksea/shop⁠

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CREDITS: Music by Kevin MacLeod 

Episode Thumbnail Image: Etruscan cinerary urn depicting Cadmus fighting the dragon (2nd century BC, from Volterra) 

WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)