Curious About Greek Mythology

PODCAST 184: CURIOUS ABOUT GREEK MYTHOLOGY

RELEASE DATE: SUNDAY, APRIL 10TH, 2022

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  THIS IS EPISODE 184 OF CURIOUS KID PODCAST, SO IT’S HARD TO DO SOMETHING WE HAVEN’T ALREADY DONE, BUT WE’RE ABOUT TO DO JUST THAT.

O:  QUINTUPLE MAILBAG!

D:  NOT ONE, NOT TWO, NOT THREE, NOT EVEN FOUR, WE’VE GOT FIVE PIECES OF MAIL THIS WEEK.  QUINTUPLE MAILBAG!

“HI JACOB AND OLIVIA,

OUR NAMES ARE RUSSELL (7 YEARS OLD) AND OLIVIA (9 YEARS OLD) FROM SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.  CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE TOPIC OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY?  WE LOVE YOUR PODCAST AND WE LOVE TO LISTEN TO IT IN OUR PARENTS CAR DURING THE CAR RIDES!  HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON,

OLIVIA AND RUSSELL”

“HELLO OLIVIA & JACOB!  THANKS FOR BEING CURIOUS ABOUT THINGS I NEVER THOUGHT WERE INTERESTING, YOU MADE THEM SOUND SO INTERESTING!  I LOVE LISTENING TO YOUR PODCAST AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEW RELEASE EVERY WEEK.  I LISTEN TO YOUR PODCASTS EVERY MORNING WHEN I WAKE UP, EVERY NIGHT BEFORE I SLEEP, AND ON EVERY CAR RIDE, I’M HOOKED!  TO ME, THE MOST INTERESTING THING I’VE FOUND OUT FROM YOUR PODCAST WAS THAT THE CHICKEN IS ACTUALLY THE CLOSEST LIVING RELATIVE OF THE DINOSAUR!  I WAS REALLY SURPRISED!  CAN YOU GET CURIOUS ABOUT PEGASUS AND OTHER MYTHICAL CREATURES OR GREEK MYTHOLOGIES IN ONE OF YOUR FUTURE EPISODES?  THANK YOU, AND STAY SAFE,

FROM JOEN, AGE 8, OF SINGAPORE”

“HELLO!  MY NAME IS SAMUEL AND I’M CURIOUS ABOUT ANCIENT GREEK GODS, I AM ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT MATH.  I LOVE YOUR PODCAST AND THANK YOU FOR MAKING THE PODCAST!

SAMUEL FROM TAIWAN”

“HELLOOOOOOO, MY NAME IS XAVIER.  I AM 10 YEARS OLD AND I LIVE IN VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA.  ME AND MY BROTHER ISAAC ARE HUGE FANS OF YOUR PODCAST AND OUR FAVORITE EPISODE WAS CURIOUS ABOUT BIGFOOT.  FOR A WHILE, MY MUM TRIED TO FIND AN EDUCATIONAL PODCAST THAT WOULD KEEP US ENTERTAINED.  WHEN SHE FOUND YOU, WE HAVE NEVER LEFT YOU SINCE.  I WOULD LOVE IT IF YOU GOT CURIOUS ABOUT THE LOCH NESS MONSTER, LIGHTNING, AND GREEK GODS.  THANK YOU SO MUCH AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

XAVIER FROM AUSTRALIA”

***INSERT AUDIO FROM JUDAH AND NOAH OF LANGLEY, BC, CANADA***

O:  OH MY GOODNESS.  THANKS SO MUCH TO OLIVIA, RUSSELL, JOERN, SAMUEL, XAVIER, JUDAH, AND NOAH FOR REACHING OUT AND TELLING US WHAT YOU’RE CURIOUS ABOUT.  WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT GREEK MYTHOLOGY FOR YOU THIS WEEK.

D:  THOSE MESSAGES WERE SENT TO US BY E-MAIL, FACEBOOK, PATREON, AND VOICEMAIL.  WE LOVE HEARING FROM OUR LISTENERS, AND THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS TO GET IN TOUCH WITH US.  YOU CAN FIND ALL OF THE WAYS TO REACH OUT TO US IN THE EPISODE NOTES FOR EACH EPISODE.  WHEN I READ, AND LISTENED TO THE MESSAGES YOU JUST HEARD, IT REALLY HIT ME IN THE HEART.  WE TRULY HAVE THE BEST PODCAST LISTENERS IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.  THERE IS A TON TO LEARN ABOUT GREEK MYTHOLOGY, SO LET’S GET THINGS STARTED WITH THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY, WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE GODDESS OF VICTORY?

D:  THAT’S A TOUGH ONE.  CHANCES ARE YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE NAME OF THE GODDESS OF VICTORY, ALTHOUGH YOU PROBABLY DON’T KNOW ANYONE THAT HAS THE NAME.  OKAY OLIVIA.  WHY DON’T YOU TELL US WHAT GREEK MYTHOLOGY IS?

O:  IT’S A COLLECTION OF STORIES THAT STARTED IN ANCIENT GREECE THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, AND THE STORIES ARE STILL BEING TOLD TODAY.  THE STORIES ARE ABOUT GREEK GODS AND THE STORIES WERE CREATED TO HELP EXPLAIN WHY THINGS HAPPEN.

D:  A FEW MONTHS AGO, WE GOT CURIOUS ABOUT SUPERSTITIONS, AND YOU MAY REMEMBER THAT SUPERSTITIONS CAME ABOUT FOR THE SAME REASON… TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THINGS THEY COULDN’T EXPLAIN.  THESE DAYS, WE HAVE THE AID OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO HELP US UNDERSTAND THINGS WE WERE UNABLE TO UNDERSTAND HUNDREDS, OR THOUSANDS, OF YEARS AGO.    

O:  THE WORD MYTHOLOGY COMES FROM THE WORD MYTH, WHICH IS A MADE UP STORY.  THE STORIES OF THE GREEK GODS WERE PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION BEFORE THEY WERE EVER WRITTEN DOWN.  FOR THAT REASON, THERE ARE OFTEN MANY VERSIONS OF SOME OF THE STORIES THAT MAKE UP GREEK MYTHOLOGY.

D:  THERE ARE TWO POEMS THAT WERE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BY A MAN NAMED HOMER ALMOST 3,000 YEARS AGO, AND THOSE POEMS ARE CALLED THE ILIAD AND THE ODYSSEY.  THEY ARE SOME OF THE OLDEST VERSIONS OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY THAT ARE STILL WIDELY READ TODAY.  

O:  THERE ARE MANY GREEK GODS, AND EACH OF THEM HAVE FASCINATING STORIES THAT ARE TOLD ABOUT THEM.  SOME OF THE NAMES MAY BE FAMILIAR TO YOU, EVEN IF YOU DON’T KNOW A LOT ABOUT GREEK MYTHOLOGY.

D:  THERE IS ZEUS - KING OF THE GODS.  HE WAS IN CHARGE OF THE WHOLE UNIVERSE WITH HIS 2 BROTHERS, HADES AND POSEIDON.  HADES WAS IN CHARGE OF THE UNDERWORLD AND POSEIDON CONTROLLED THE OCEANS.  ZEUS RULED THE EARTH AND SKY WITH HIS MIGHTY THUNDERBOLT.  HE CONTROLLED THE WEATHER.  

O:  BACK WHEN THE STORY OF ZEUS WAS FIRST TOLD, PEOPLE DIDN’T UNDERSTAND THE WEATHER LIKE THEY DO TODAY.  THEY FEARED THUNDER AND LIGHTNING.  IT TOTALLY MAKES SENSE THAT THEY WOULD MAKE THE GOD THAT CONTROLLED THE WEATHER THE MOST POWERFUL OF ALL THE GODS.  

D:  THEN THERE IS POSEIDON, WHO AS WE MENTIONED WAS ZEUS’S BROTHER, AND HE RULED THE SEAS.  HE WAS ALSO THE GOD OF EARTHQUAKES AND HORSES.  

O:  HE HAD LONG BLUE HAIR - MY FAVORITE COLOR.  HE CARRIED A TRIDENT, WHICH IS A SPEAR WITH THREE POINTS.  HE WAS ABLE TO CREATE EARTHQUAKES WITH HIS MIGHTY TRIDENT.      

D:  POSEIDON USED A GOLDEN CHARIOT TO TRAVEL, AND THE CHARIOT WAS PULLED BY BEASTS THAT WERE HALF-HORSE AND HALF-SNAKE.  TALK ABOUT AN INTERESTING LOOKING ANIMAL.  

O:  ZEUS HAD MANY CHILDREN, INCLUDING BEAUTIFUL ATHENA.  ACCORDING TO GREEK MYTHOLOGY, ATHENA WAS BORN OUT OF ZEUS’S HEAD.  NOT ONLY THAT, BUT WHEN SHE WAS BORN, SHE WAS FULLY DRESSED IN ARMOR.  

D:  AND, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE AFTER BEING BORN WEARING ARMOR, SHE WAS A GREAT WARRIOR.  ATHENA WAS THE GODDESS OF WISDOM.  SHE CARRIED A SPEAR AND SHIELD AND WOULD OFTEN BE SEEN WITH AN OWL.  OWLS SOON BECAME KNOWN AS A SYMBOL OF WISDOM.    

O:  ATHENA WAS ABLE TO GROW OLIVE TREES BY SIMPLY HITTING THE GROUND WITH HER SPEAR.  THE WOOD FROM THE TREES WOULD HELP BUILD HOUSES AND THE OLIVES PROVIDED NOURISHMENT.  ATHENA WAS VERY POPULAR, AND THE GREEK CITY OF ATHENS WAS NAMED AFTER HER.  

D:  NOT ALL OF ZEUS’S CHILDREN WERE AS IMPRESSIVE AS ATHENA, LIKE HIS SON ARES FOR EXAMPLE.  ARES CARRIED A SPEAR AND SHIELD LIKE ATHENA, AND A SWORD AS WELL.  HE WASN’T A GREAT FIGHTER LIKE ATHENA THOUGH.  

O:  ARES WASN’T USEFUL IN WAR, BUT HE THOUGHT OF HIMSELF AS A GREAT WARRIOR.  HE ACTUALLY TURNED OUT TO BE MORE OF A BULLY AND A COWARD.  HE ALSO WASN’T LOYAL AND OFTEN TOOK BOTH SIDES IN A BATTLE.  HE DIDN’T ENJOY FIGHTING HIMSELF AND PREFERRED TO WATCH OTHERS FIGHT AND GET HURT INSTEAD.  

D:  GREEK MYTHOLOGY TOLD THE STORIES OF GREEK GODS LIKE THE ONES WE’VE MENTIONED ALREADY, BUT ALSO TOLD THE STORIES OF OTHER FASCINATING CHARACTERS.

O:  FOR EXAMPLE, THERE IS THE STORY OF KING MIDAS.  I LOVE THE STORY OF KING MIDAS BECAUSE IT TEACHES AN IMPORTANT LESSON.  MIDAS WAS A KING THAT HAD LOTS OF MONEY AND POSSESSIONS.  HE LIVED IN AN AMAZING CASTLE AND HAD A DAUGHTER TO ENJOY HIS LIFE OF LUXURY WITH.  

D:  BUT MIDAS WASN’T SATISFIED.  HE WANTED MORE.  HE LOVED GOLD, BECAUSE GOLD REPRESENTED WEALTH, SO HE WANTED MORE GOLD.  HE THOUGHT EVERYTHING SHOULD BE GOLD.  AFTER DOING A GOOD DEED AND HELPING SOMEONE WHO NEEDED A PLACE TO STAY AND INVITING HIM INTO THE CASTLE FOR A FEW DAYS, HE WAS GRANTED A WISH.  

O:  HE WISHED FOR EVERYTHING HE TOUCHED TO TURN INTO GOLD.  AFTER BEING WARNED TO THINK TWICE ABOUT HIS WISH, MIDAS WAS CONVINCED THAT HE WANTED EVERYTHING HE TOUCHED TO TURN INTO GOLD.  

D:  IT SOUNDED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT FIRST.  HE STARTED TOUCHING OBJECTS AND THEY ALL TURNED INTO GOLD.  TABLE, BOOM: GOLD.  BATHTUB, BAM: GOLD.  CARPET, SHAZAM: GOLD.  HE WAS DELIGHTED WITH HIS NEW POWER.  AFTER TURNING A BUNCH OF THINGS INTO GOLD, HE SAT DOWN TO EAT.  HIS FOOD TURNED INTO GOLD.  HIS WATER EVEN TURNED INTO GOLD.  HE WAS UNABLE TO EAT AND DRINK. 

O:  THINGS GOT EVEN WORSE FOR HIM WHEN HIS DAUGHTER GAVE HIM A HUG, AND HE TURNED HER INTO A GOLDEN STATUE.

D:  YIKES, THAT’S NOT GOOD.  HE BEGGED FOR THE CURSE TO BE LIFTED AND FOR THINGS TO RETURN TO NORMAL.  THE GODS, FEELING BAD FOR MIDAS, TOLD HIM TO GO TO THE RIVER AND WASH THE GOLD OFF HIS HANDS.  HE DID JUST THAT, AND WHEN WE RETURNED HOME, THE THINGS HE TOUCHED TURNED BACK TO NORMAL.

O:  LEARNING FROM HIS GREED, HE DECIDED TO BE LESS SELFISH AND TO SHARE HIS WEALTH WITH THE PEOPLE IN HIS KINGDOM.  

D:  THE MORAL TO BE LEARNED FROM THE STORY OF KING MIDAS IS TO ALWAYS BE HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU HAVE.  SO MANY OF THE CHARACTERS OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY HAVE NEAT STORIES THAT TEACH MANY IMPORTANT LESSONS.  

O:  OUR LISTENERS ASKED ABOUT OTHER CHARACTERS FROM GREEK MYTHOLOGY, PEGASUS AND PHOENIX.

D:  PEGASUS WAS A BEAUTIFUL WHITE HORSE WITH WINGS.  HE WAS A MYSTERIOUS CREATURE THAT WAS CAPABLE OF DOING ANYTHING, INCLUDING FLYING.  GODDESS ATHENA HELPED CATCH PEGASUS FOR BELLEROPHON, WHO WAS INTERESTED IN RIDING THE MAJESTIC HORSE.  WITH THE HELP OF PEGASUS, BELLEROPHON WAS ABLE TO WIN MANY BATTLES, INCLUDING AGAINST A SCARY BEAST NAMED CHIMERA WHICH WAS PART LION AND PART SERPENT.  ON ONE OCCASION, BELLEROPHON WANTED TO RIDE PEGASUS TO THE TOP OF MOUNT OLYMPUS, WHERE THE GODS LIVED.  PEGASUS REFUSED AND THREW BELLEROPHON TO THE GROUND.  PEGASUS THEN BECAME A FAVORITE OF ZEUS AND WAS ALLOWED TO LIVE ON MOUNT OLYMPUS.  

O:  AND PHOENIX WAS A BIRD THAT WAS BORN FROM FIRE.  PEOPLE BELIEVED THAT ONLY ONE PHOENIX LIVED AT A TIME.  AFTER ABOUT 500 YEARS, THE PHOENIX WAS BELIEVED TO BUILD A NEST OF WOOD AND SPICES, SET THE NEST ON FIRE, THEN BE ENGULFED BY THE FLAMES.  IT WAS BELIEVED THAT A NEW PHOENIX WOULD BE BORN FROM THE ASHES.  

D:  GREEK MYTHOLOGY IS AWESOME.  THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT STORIES AND CHARACTERS IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY THAT WE’VE ONLY SCRATCHED THE SURFACE WITH WHAT WE’VE COVERED.  THERE IS ONE MORE CHARACTER TO LEARN ABOUT THIS WEEK, WHICH IS THE ANSWER TO OUR QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE GODDESS OF VICTORY?

O:  THE GODDESS OF VICTORY IS NAMED NIKE, LIKE THE SPORTS EQUIPMENT COMPANY OF THE SAME NAME.

D:  NIKE IS KNOWN PRIMARILY FOR THEIR SNEAKERS.  NIKE IS A PRETTY INTERESTING NAME FOR THE COMPANY CONSIDERING THAT THE GREEK GODDESS OF VICTORY, NIKE, IS OFTEN DEPICTED AS BEING BAREFOOT.  NOT ONLY THAT, BUT SHE HAS WINGS AND FLYS, SO SHE PROBABLY WOULDN’T HAVE MUCH USE FOR SNEAKERS ANYWAY.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  184 - GREEK MYTHOLOGY.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB TO OLIVIA, RUSSELL, JOEN, SAMUEL, XAVIER, JUDAH, AND NOAH (EXHALE) FOR THE DIVINE TOPIC SUGGESTION.  BEFORE WE SAY GOODBYE FOR GOOD THIS WEEK, WE HAVE A FEW PEOPLE TO THANK.

O:  WE WANT TO THANK OUR NEWEST PATREON SUPPORTERS, JUNNE B. AND KITTY CAT.

D:  A BIG, BIG THANKS TO OUR NEWEST PATREON SUPPORTERS.  FOR THEIR SUPPORT, THEY GET LOTS OF BEHIND THE SCENES ACCESS TO THE PODCAST.  TO FIND OUT MORE, CLICK ON OUR PATREON LINK IN THE EPISODE NOTES.  

O:  WE ALSO WANT TO THANK USERNAME BRYAN HUNTER FOR THE 5 STAR REVIEW.

D:  IT SAYS “OUR FAMILY LOVES LISTENING TO THE PODCAST WHEN WE ARE DRIVING IN THE CAR!  MAX IS OUR ALMOST 8 YEAR OLD SON AND HE LOVES ALL OF THE EPISODES BUT HE ESPECIALLY LOVES THE ANIMAL EPISODES.  KEEP IT UP, GUYS!  THANKS SO MUCH!”

O:  YOU’RE VERY WELCOME, MAX AND BRYAN.  THANKS FOR LISTENING.

D:  AND MAX, IF YOU LOVE LEARNING ABOUT ANIMALS, YOU’RE DEFINITELY GOING TO WANT TO COME BACK NEXT WEEK, WHEN WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT SNAILS FOR LISTENERS IN OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA AND IN CHINA.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.