Ep 1: The Gods NEVER Left!

In Garner's Greek Mythology, we discover that the Greek gods never left! They’re here, now and operating in our modern world. It’s a wildly entertaining exploration that makes today’s world come alive.

Narrated by mythologist and best-selling author, Patrick Garner,  Garner's Greek Mythology is unlike any other Greek history series as the podcasts view these divine beings as if they were anything but mythical ...

If you love this podcast, you'll also enjoy new stories about the gods in Garner's novel Homo Divinitas, now available as an audio book on Amazon.com and Audible.com.

(Musical score includes selections from Fesliyan Studios and Saraz Handpans.)

Transcript

PODCAST #1

INTRODUCTORY SHOW

THIS IS PATRICK GARNER. I'M A MYTHOLOGIST & THE AUTHOR OF 3 NOVELS. THEY  CONSTITUTE A TRILOGY & HAVE ONE THEME: THAT IS, THAT THE ANCIENT GREEK GODS ARE HERE, NOW, & THAT THEY WERE NEVER MYTHS.

WHAT? YOU SAY! THE GREEK GODS WERE NEVER MYTHS? WHY, THAT'S ABSURD. EVERYONE KNOWS THAT THEY WERE NO MORE REAL THAN FAIRY TALES. 

RIGHT? NO, YOU'RE WRONG. THEY WERE NEVER FAIRY TALES.

AND I'VE JUST GIVEN YOU AN INSIGHT INTO WHAT MAKES THIS SERIES UNIQUE. LIKE MY BOOKS, "GARNER'S GREEK MYTHOLOGY" PODCAST LOOKS AT THE ANCIENT GODS ASSUMING THEY ARE ALIVE AMONG US.

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I KNOW, YOU'RE ROLLING YOUR EYES. ALIVE AMONG US? DOESN'T THAT FLY IN THE FACE OF EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN TAUGHT?

OF COURSE IT DOES. BUT FOR JUST A MOMENT, I WANT YOU TO SUSPEND YOUR DISBELIEF.

ASSUME WITH ME THAT THEY WERE NEVER MYTHS. IMAGINE THEM WANDERING AMONG US. IMAGINE THE BEAUTIFUL APHRODITE --SHE'S THE GODDESS WE COMMONLY KNOW AS VENUS --PASSING YOU AS SHE LEAVES A RESTAURANT.

YOU’RE FLOORED. YOU'VE SEEN HER FACE. SUDDENLY YOU’RE SURE, YOU'RE SWEPT WITH CERTAINTY & A FRIEND WHO IS WITH YOU TURNS & SAYS, 'OH MY GOD, THAT WAS VENUS, WASN'T IT?'

SLYLY, YOU CORRECT HER, SAYING, 'NO, BABY, THAT WAS APHRODITE--'

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OR IMAGINE BUMPING SHOULDERS WITH ... SAY ... THE SEA-GOD, POSEIDON. POSEIDON? WHO TODAY COULD IMAGINE HIM ALIVE? A SEA-GOD?

YET, AS YOU SIP A COLD DRINK AT A RESTAURANT OVERLOOKING A HAWAIIAN BEACH, YOU SEE A TALL, MUSCULAR MAN DISMOUNT HIS LONG BOARD. 

HE'S JUST FINISHED RIDING A 40-FOOT WAVE & HOLDS A BRONZE TRIDENT IN HIS HAND. BEHIND HIM 3 DOLPHINS LEAP INTO THE AIR, DOING SOMERSAULTS ...

A WAITRESS CASUALLY MENTIONS, 'OH, THAT'S POSEIDON, YOU KNOW--THAT GREEK DIVINITY. HE LOOKS PRETTY GOOD FOR AN OLD GOD. OUR BEACH IS ONE OF HIS FAVORITES.'

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IF YOU CAN SEE THESE DIVINITIES AS CLEARLY AS I DO, THEN YOU TOO CAN KNOW THESE GODS AS SOMETHING OTHER THAN MYTHOLOGICAL.

I KNOW: YOU HEAR MY INVITATION & IT’S DIFFICULT NOT TO BE SKEPTICAL. BUT TRY THIS: FOR A MOMENT, ENVISION THE GODS AS WILY SURVIVORS. 

YOU PROBABLY REMEMBER A SMATTERING OF MYTHOLOGY. THE USUAL SCHOOL LESSONS GO LIKE THIS: THE GREEK GODS REIGNED SUPREME UNTIL THE COMING OF CHRISTIANITY. THEN THEY WERE TURNED OUT TO PASTURE. THAT PROBABLY SOUNDS FAMILIAR.

THIS ALL HAPPENED A COUPLE THOUSAND YEARS AGO. IMAGINE THAT, RATHER THAN BEING CHARACTERS IN QUAINT FAIRY TALES, THE GODS WERE REAL BEINGS. 

IF THIS IS TRUE, AT SOME POINT THINGS TURNED SOUR FOR THEM & THEY SCRAMBLED TO ... SURVIVE. BUT THEY DID. I ASSURE YOU THEY DID.

IMAGINE THAT THEY WERE THE REAL THING -- & THAT THEY REORIENTED THEMSELVES ... THEY CHANGED THEIR MISSION. AND THEY ... CARRIED ON ...

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MAY I ASSUME YOU'RE ON BOARD? YOU'RE SAYING, 'OKAY, I'LL PRETEND. I'LL HUMOR YOU. I'LL IMAGINE THESE GODS ARE REAL.' 

IF SO, LET ME SET A COURSE CORRECTION. YOU'RE PROBABLY IMAGINING THESE GREEK GODS IN TOGAS OR FLOWING GOWNS — YOU KNOW, THE STANDARD HOLLYWOOD GET-UP —IF SO, YOU’RE WRONG.

NO, THEY DON’T LOOK LIKE CHARACTERS OUT OF “CLASH OF THE TITANS,“ HOWEVER COOL THAT MIGHT BE. THEY'D STAND OUT LIKE SORE THUMBS.

INSTEAD, THE GODS TODAY LOOK JUST LIKE YOU & ME EXCEPT THEY'RE ... PERFECT VERSIONS OF US. OF COURSE THEY ARE. THEY'RE GODS.

THEY'RE NEVER SICK. THEY HAVE POWERS WHICH THEY USE ... JUDICIOUSLY ... BUT THE BIG THING IS ... THAT ... THEY ... NEVER ... AGE ...

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OKAY, LET'S CIRCLE BACK TO ... HMM, HOW THESE ANCIENT GODS COULD HAVE LIVED SO LONG. WELL, FIRST, THEY'RE GODS. LIVING ENDLESSLY IS WHAT GOES WITH THE TERRITORY.

GODS TEND TO LIVE ON & ON UNLESS CAUGHT IN SOME CATASTROPHIC EVENT THAT SNIPS THE THREAD OF THEIR LIFE. 

SO WHAT WOULD CONSTITUTE SUCH A DIRE EVENT? 

ONE EXAMPLE WOULD BE IF ONE OF THE GODS CROSSED ZEUS, THE GREATEST OF THE OLYMPIC GODS. 

YOU’VE HEARD HIS NAME. EVEN TODAY EVERYONE KNOWS IT.

LET'S REVIEW HIS BIOGRAPHY. THE MIGHTY ZEUS, THE GOD OF THUNDER. HE LORDED IT OVER ALL. HE TERRIFIED THE WORLD. 

THE OTHER GODS RESENTED HIM, BUT TREMBLED IN HIS PRESENCE. WHY? HE WAS INFAMOUS FOR THROWING LIGHTNING BOLTS AT THE SLIGHTEST PROVOCATION.

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BUT, AS MUCH AS I'VE TRIED TO CONVINCE YOU THAT THESE GODS WALK AMONG US, I HAVE TO CONFESS THAT ZEUS, OF THE MANY DIVINITIES, ALAS, IS NO MORE … 

YOU SEE, HE EVENTUALLY CROSSED SOMEONE EVEN GREATER THAN HIMSELF. IT'S FUNNY HOW EVEN THE MIGHTIEST SEEM TO EVENTUALLY MEET UP WITH SOMEONE OR SOME THING MIGHTIER ...

WHAT HAPPENED? WE'LL DEVOTE A FUTURE EPISODE TO ZEUS' EXPLOITS & UNFORTUNATE DEMISE ...

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NOW, BEFORE WE GO FARTHER WITH THIS GREEK GOD THEME, WE SHOULD SET THE STAGE.  SO FAR WE'VE WALKED OUT OF A RESTAURANT & ENCOUNTERED APHRODITE. THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED IN YOUR CITY OR MINE.

WE'VE BEEN SIPPING A COLD ONE BESIDE A BEACH IN HAWAII & WATCHED POSEIDON EMERGE FROM THE WAVES.

THOSE ENCOUNTERS WERE HERE, IN OUR TIME. BUT TO UNDERSTAND THESE GODS FAR BETTER, WE NEED TO STEP INTO OUR TIME MACHINE ...

LET'S TRAVEL BACK TO ANCIENT GREECE.

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AH, WE'RE HERE ... [ANCIENT CITY SOUNDS] ... JUST ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF ATHENS. BEHIND US ARE FIELDS DOTTED WITH OLIVE TREES. AND BEFORE US ARE THE WALLS OF GREECE'S LARGEST CITY. THERE'S AN OPEN GATE ... LET'S GO THROUGH IT. 

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IT'S HARD FOR US TO IMAGINE TODAY WHAT THE GREEKS OF HOMER, SOCRATES, PLATO & ARISTOTLE BELIEVED. 

BUT NOW WE'VE ZIPPED BACK 2,500 YEARS. BY OUR CALENDAR IT'S ABOUT 500 BC. 

AS WE ENTER THE CITY, WE ENCOUNTER SOME OF THE MOST INTELLIGENT, YET SUPERSTITIOUS HUMANS WHO EVER LIVED.

IT’S WEIRD, REALLY. IN ATHENS, IN THE MOST SOPHISTICATED CITY IN GREECE, ALMOST EVERYONE BELIEVED  ... WHAT?

THAT TREES WERE POSSESSED BY SPIRITS, THAT RIVERS HAD RIVER-GODS, THAT NAIADS — YOUNG WOMEN SOMEWHAT EQUIVALENT TO OUR MERMAIDS — WATCHED OVER WATERWAYS …

AND IT GOT CRAZIER: THE SUN'S ASCENT & DESCENT, ITS ARC THROUGH THE SKY, WERE DUE, THEY BELIEVED, TO A SUN-GOD NAMED HELIOS, WHOSE STALLIONS PULLED HIS CHARIOT WITH ITS GLOWING FIREBALL DAY AFTER DAY ACROSS THE HEAVENS  …

AND OF COURSE YOU REMEMBER THAT SURFER DUDE, POSEIDON, LAST SEEN IN HAWAII. FOR THESE ATHENIANS WHO NOW WALK BY US AS WE STROLL ABOUT IN ATHENS, HE'S THE CREATOR OF EVERY MIGHTY STORM.

WHY? NO ONE'S SURE. BUT THE STORMS ARE ALWAYS HIS FAULT. 

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BY THE WAY, THERE’S A GLORIOUS STATUE OF POSEIDON IN THE ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM IN ATHENS. IT’S BRONZE & STANDS TALL. IF YOU EVER HAVE A CHANCE ...

NOW, LET’S TRY TO GET INTO THE MINDS OF THESE GREEKS. WHAT DO THEY BELIEVE? TO US, THEIR RELIGION IS FULL OF CONTRADICTIONS.

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BY THE WAY, THE GREEKS HAD NO WORD FOR RELIGION … 

THEIR CLOSEST TERM WAS EUSEBEIA, WHICH ROUGHLY TRANSLATES AS PITY.

WHAT? YOU SAY ... AN ENTIRE CULTURE WITHOUT THE WORD RELIGION? IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE. 

BUT LOOK AT IT LIKE THIS: THEY DIDN’T NEED A TERM BECAUSE, FOR THE GREEKS, RELIGION WAS AS NATURAL AS BREATHING OR BLINKING. OR LAUGHING. 

EVERYONE BELIEVED THE SAME THING. THE GODS WERE EVERYWHERE, & RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING. WHY HAVE A WORD FOR WHAT WAS SO … INNATE?

BUT I'M EASILY SIDE-TRACKED. A MOMENT AGO WE WERE LISTING FAMOUS GODS. LET;S GET BACK TO IT.

YOU’VE PROBABLY HEARD OF ARTEMIS. 

I FIND IT FASCINATING THAT THE NEW NASA MOON PROJECT IS NAMED FOR HER. NASA SAYS ARTEMIS WILL CARRY THE FIRST WOMAN ASTRONAUT TO THE MOON.

BUT BEFORE NASA GOT ITS HANDS ON HER, SHE WAS A VIRGIN GODDESS WHO PROTECTED 

YOUNG GIRLS & WILD ANIMALS. AND HERE’S THE CRAZY PART: 

WHILE PROTECTING WILD ANIMALS, SHE SIMULTANEOUSLY HUNTED THEM. WITH A BOW. LIKE, EVERYDAY.

KILLING THEM WITH HER ARROWS WAS ONE OF HER GREAT PLEASURES. SORT OF LIKE A LIFE PURSUIT.

IT ISN’T LOGICAL. BUT THEN THE GODS ARE RARELY LOGICAL

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AND ARE THERE MORE EXAMPLES? REALLY, THEY'RE ENDLESS. HERE’S ANOTHER ONE: 

THROUGHOUT GREECE THERE WERE NYMPHS, YOUNG GIRLS RELATED TO THE NAIADS. I MENTIONED NAIADS EARLIER. THE NYMPHS WERE LOVELY, & MIGHT BE FOUND IN EVERY FOREST & SPRING. 

SOME WERE INFAMOUS FOR LURING YOUNG MEN INTO ... HOW SHALL I PUT THIS? ... INTO DUBIOUS RENDEZVOUSES …

BUT YOU GET IT. LET'S MOVE ON … HERE’S ANOTHER EXAMPLE: 

THE GODDESS ATHENA WAS ONE OF ZEUS' MANY DAUGHTERS. SHE WAS UNIQUE IN THAT AT HER BIRTH SHE SPRUNG FULLY GROWN & FULLY-ARMORED FROM ZEUS' HEAD, BRIGHT SWORD IN HAND, BYPASSING ALL THE TRAUMAS OF CHILDHOOD …

I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I’D HAVE JUMPED AT THE CHANCE TO HAVE SKIPPED AGES 12 TO 17 …

BY THE WAY, THE CITY OF ATHENS TOOK ATHENA’S NAME & SHE, IN TURN, PROTECTED IT ... 

WELL, AT LEAST SOMETIMES SHE DID. IN REALITY, ATHENS SUCCUMBED TO SIEGES & PLAGUE & INVASIONS. 

YET, EVEN AFTER THESE ... DISASTERS ... ATHENIANS BELIEVED IN ATHENA ...

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WHAT ELSE? IN THOSE DAYS GREEKS THOUGHT THE SPAN OF EACH HUMAN'S LIFE WAS PRE-DETERMINED BY THE FATES. 

OH, WHAT CAN I SAY? THE FATES WERE THREE HEARTLESS VIRGINS, ALL WITH STRANGE NAMES. LACHESIS, KLOTHO & ASA ...  

IT WAS BELIEVED THAT AT BIRTH, LACHESIS DECIDED A PERSON'S LIFE-SPAN, WHILE KLOTHO MEASURED A THREAD REPRESENTING THE LENGTH OF THAT LIFE ... 

AND THEN, AFTER THE YEARS HAD SPUN BY, ASA CUT IT WITH HER SCISSORS ...

SURE, IT WAS HEARTLESS ... BUT IT WAS FATE, YOU SEE …

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ANOTHER CHARACTER WAS ARES. IN HOLLYWOOD MOVIES HE SEEMS TO ALWAYS PLAY THE EVIL MADMAN, THE CRAZED WARRIOR … 

I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT OF ARES AS THE ORIGINAL JAMES BOND BAD GUY. YOU KNOW, MR. BIG, OR DR. NO, OR GOLDFINGER ... ANY OF THOSE GUYS, EXCEPT ON STEROIDS.

WARS WERE WHIPPED UP BY ARES. HE WAS THE ANGRY GOD OF WAR, HOVERING OVER EVERY BATTLEFIELD WITH HIS BURNING EYES ... 

HOMER WROTE THAT ARES HAD A TERRIBLE SHRIEK THAT, WHEN HEARD DURING BATTLE …

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... COULD CAUSE THE BRAVEST OF MEN TO FALL ON THEIR KNEES ...

ARES WAS, AT LEAST BRIEFLY, APHRODITE'S LOVER, WHICH WOULD HAVE MADE A STRANGE TWOSOME. 

JUST IMAGINE: BEAUTY & BLOOD LUST, SORT OF LIKE BEAUTY & THE BEAST, ONLY FAR WORSE —

AND APHRODITE, WHOM THE ROMANS RENAMED VENUS, WAS THE GODDESS OF LOVE. AS SUCH, NO WOMAN COULD COMPETE WITH HER BEAUTY & SENSUALITY ... 

SOON WE'LL DEVOTE AN ENTIRE EPISODE IN HER HONOR ... 

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THERE WERE OTHER GODS ... DIONYSUS ... HE WAS THE GOD OF THEATRE, WINE & DANCE. HE LOVED TO PARTY, & WENT FROM TOWN TO TOWN HOLDING MOONLIT DANCES FOR THE LOCAL GIRLS.  

THE ROMANS CALLED HIM BACCHUS. THINK OF GRAPES & BOTTOMLESS WINE GLASSES. HE WAS INTO DRUNKEN DANCES & ECSTASY …

THE LOCAL VILLAGE GIRLS BEGAN TO FOLLOW HIM FROM DANCE TO DANCE. WHO WOULDN'T HAVE? THESE GIRLS WERE LIKE OUR GROUPIES, ALWAYS SCREAMING HIS NAME ...

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AND IN SOME WAYS, DIONYSUS WAS A VERY MODERN CHARACTER. HE WAS A CROSS-DRESSER & THOROUGHLY STRANGE ENOUGH THAT HE WAS NEVER COMPLETELY ACCEPTED BY THE OTHER GODS.

BY THE WAY, DIONYSUS IS A KEY PLAYER IN MY LAST BOOK, "HOMO DIVINITAS," THERE HE USES HIS SEDUCTIVE POWERS TO BEWITCH CONTEMPORARY GIRLS. 

BUT I CAN'T REVEAL THE PLOT. YOU'LL HAVE TO READ THE STORY ...  

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I'VE BEEN ASKED HOW I INVENTED SOME OF THE CRAZINESS IN THE NOVELS. HONESTLY, THEY WERE WRITTEN IN A WHIRLWIND OF ... I DON'T KNOW ... THE BEST WORD IS REALLY INSPIRATION. OR MAYBE ... IT WAS SOMETHING ELSE ...

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SEE, ALTHOUGH I'VE WRITTEN SEVERAL BOOKS BEFORE THIS SERIES, THEY WERE ALWAYS CAREFULLY OUTLINED. I'D KNOW BEFOREHAND THE TOPICS I'D COVER, THE SEQUENCE OF CHAPTERS ...

I'D HAVE CONDUCTED EXTENSIVE RESEARCH ... I'D KNOW MY SUBJECT THOROUGHLY BEFORE I WROTE THE FIRST WORD.

BUT THESE LAST THREE BOOKS ABOUT THESE SO-CALLED MYTHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS ... I KNOW IT SOUNDS FANTASTIC, BUT THE BOOKS SEEMINGLY WROTE THEMSELVES. 

WITHOUT EXCEPTION, I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT HOW THEY'D START OR WHERE EACH BOOK WOULD END … THE CHARACTERS SIMPLY APPEARED AS IF ALIVE. 

THEY FELL IN LOVE & SCHEMED AGAINST EACH OTHER & DID BRAVE THINGS — & WITHOUT EXCEPTION, I WAS CLUELESS ABOUT WHAT THEY'D DO NEXT.

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OKAY, THAT'S WEIRD. BUT IT'S TRUE.  ["WEIRD" SOUND]  I COULDN'T GUESS WHAT THEY WERE PLOTTING. AS I WROTE, THE BOOKS BECAME POPULATED WITH THESE CRAZY CHARACTERS ...

EVEN AS I WAS WRITING, I KNEW THAT THE BOOKS WERE WRITING THEMSELVES ... WHAT'S ANOTHER WAY OF PUTTING IT? THEY WERE SEEMINGLY DICTATED TO ME ...

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BUT IT'S TIME WE JUMPED BACK TO ANCIENT ATHENS, GREECE’S MOST FAMOUS CITY …

... HERE WE GO. WE'VE PASSED THROUGH ITS GATE. WE'RE BACK WANDERING ITS NARROW STREETS ...

JUST IMAGINE: HOMES ARE JAMMED TOGETHER. WOMEN ARE RARELY SEEN AS THEY'RE CONFINED TO WOMEN'S QUARTERS, ALWAYS WELL OFF THE STREET.

IT'S GENUINELY A MAN'S WORLD.

THE DOORWAYS TO EACH HOME ARE DECORATED WITH SACRED HERMS, STONE PILLARS WITH A CARVED HEAD OF HERMES. THESE STRANGE MARKERS BESIDE EVERY DOOR ARE INTENDED TO WARD OFF WANDERING, EVIL SPIRITS ...

AND WHO DO WE ENCOUNTER ON THE STREETS? NOT EVIL SPIRITS, BUT INSTEAD CRAFTSMEN & MERCHANTS, FREE MEN -- ALTHOUGH SOME ARE SLAVES RUNNING ERRANDS …

YES, THE ATHENIANS LIKE ALL GREEKS OWNED SLAVES. IN FACT, THEY OUTNUMBERED THE ACTUAL CITIZENS OF GREECE.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT UNTIL THE LAST 100 TO 150 YEARS, SLAVES WERE FOUND IN EVERY COUNTRY. 

ENGLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, ITALY, EGYPT, CHINA, AMERICA & MOST OF THE AFRICAN COUNTRIES. SURE, WE FIND THE CONCEPT SHOCKING TODAY.

YET NOT TOO MANY YEARS AGO, IT WAS JUST THE WAY IT WAS. THE GREEKS WERE NO EXCEPTION. 

EVEN THE GREAT PHILOSOPHER PLATO THOUGHT SLAVERY A NATURAL CONDITION. YOU WERE FREE OR YOU WERE A SLAVE. WHAT OF IT?

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I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT THE GREEKS HAD NO WORD FOR RELIGION. IRONICALLY, THEY WERE SO RELIGIOUS THAT THEY DIDN’T NEED SUCH A WORD.

FOR INSTANCE, INSIDE EVERY ATHENIAN’S HOME WAS AN ALTAR WITH FIGURINES OF THE GODS THEY FAVORED. BESIDE A STATUE OF ARTEMIS MIGHT BE FOUND ONE OF ATHENA. 

BUT THESE EXAMPLES — THIS RELIGIOSITY — WERE NOT JUST FOUND IN HOMES.

THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF PUBLIC ALTARS AT TEMPLES SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE CITY. 

AT THESE COMMUNAL PLACES OF WORSHIP, CITIZENS WOULD SACRIFICE BIRDS, SHEEP & EVEN, ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS, BULLS. 

MORE FREQUENTLY, THEY WOULD MAKE OFFERINGS OF BREAD & FRUIT, COINS & OTHER VALUABLES …

SACRIFICES OF COURSE WERE MEANT TO INFLUENCE & PERSUADE THE GODS ...

YOU SEE, THROUGHOUT THE MEDITERRANEAN, SACRIFICES WERE THE ANCIENT EQUIVALENT OF PRAYERS.

AND HOW DID SACRIFICE INFLUENCE THE GODS?  IT WAS COMMONLY BELIEVED THAT THE GODS THRIVED ON THE SMOKE FROM THE ALTARS. IT WAS LIKE A STIMULANT ...

IN OTHER WORDS, THE GODS FLOURISHED ON THE SACRIFICIAL VAPORS. IF THEIR SUPPLICANTS NEGLECTED TO THANK THE GODS, THEY COULD BE PUNISHED IN COUNTLESS WAYS ... NO ONE TOOK THAT RISK ...

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AND SO THE PEOPLE WHO HAD NO WORD FOR RELIGION WERE PERHAPS THE MOST RELIGIOUS PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIVED. CURIOUS, HUH?

I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT THEY WERE ALSO WILDLY SUPERSTITIOUS. LET ME EXPLAIN.

MOST GREEKS IMAGINED SPIRITS IN EVERY DARK ALLEY, MAGICAL BEINGS IN EVERY WATERWAY, GODDESSES IN EVERY SACRED GROVE ... 

STONES WERE IMBUED WITH INTELLIGENCE, & THE STARS IN THE SKY? THEY WERE HEROIC BEINGS FROM THE PAST WHOM THE DIVINITIES HAD CAST INTO THE NIGHT TO FOREVER HONOR THE BRAVE & THE BEAUTIFUL ... 

AND EARTHQUAKES? THEY WERE INDICATIONS OF SOME GOD'S FURY, NOT THE MOVEMENT OF TECTONIC PLATES ...

IT’S PROBABLY BECOMING OBVIOUS TO YOU THAT, FOR THE GREEKS, THE WORLD WAS ASWIRL WITH GODS & DEMI-GODS, UNSEEN SPIRITS & STRANGE BEINGS ... 

SPECTERS, LIKE HIDDEN BIRDS, WATCHED & JUDGED EACH PERSON'S ACTIONS … AND UNSURPRISINGLY IN THIS ODDLY MYSTICAL WORLD, THE OLYMPIC GODS PROSPERED.

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IT'S THOSE GODS WE'LL FOCUS ON DURING THE COMING EPISODES. 

WE'LL MEET WHAT I CALL THE "A" GODS. WHO ARE THEY? ATHENA, ARTEMIS, APOLLO, APHRODITE & ARES.

WE'LL ALSO EXCAVATE FROM THE SANDS OF MYTHOLOGY THE EQUALLY NOTABLE "H" GODS--HESTIA, HERMES, HECATE, HELIOS, HADES, HERA & HEPHAISTOS.

WE'LL SHINE LIGHT ON GAIA, THE GREATEST OF ALL GODDESSES ... AND WE'LL DISCUSS ZEUS, DIONYSUS & THE FATES ...

ALL OF THEM, IN THEIR IMMORTALITY & INGENUITY, INFLUENCED THE GREEKS. WHAT'S COOL THOUGH IS THAT EVEN TODAY, IN THE 21st CENTURY, WE KNOW MANY OF THEIR NAMES.

ZEUS, THE FATES, ARES, ATHENA, APOLLO ...

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I LEAVE YOU WITH A FINAL COMMENT. MY LAST BOOK IN THE MYTHOLOGY TRILOGY IS TITLED, "HOMO DIVINITAS."

HOMO DIVINITAS IS A PHRASE I INVENTED. DON’T SHAKE YOUR HEAD: IT PLAYS OFF HOMO SAPIENS, WHICH, OF COURSE, IS WHAT WE ARE. 

HOMO SAPIENS IS THE SCIENTIFIC TERM FOR MODERN HUMANS, RIGHT?

WHEN I PUT THE WORDS HOMO & DIVINITAS TOGETHER, LIKE IN BIOLOGY I'M REFERRING TO HOMO AS THE GENUS & DIVINITAS AS THE SPECIES ...

AS ONE OF THE CHARACTERS IN THAT BOOK SAYS, 'WE DON'T KNOW WHICH CAME FIRST  — HOMO SAPIENS OR HOMO DIVINITAS, BUT THE SAPIENS PROBABLY FOLLOWED DIVINITAS.'

WHY? THE ANSWER IS FAIRLY SIMPLE. HUMANS APPEAR TO BE A CORRUPTED VERSION OF THE GENUS BECAUSE THEIR LIVES, UNLIKE THE GODS, ARE SO ... ABBREVIATED ...

THINK ABOUT IT: HUMANS LIVE LESS THAN A CENTURY. AND THE GODS LIVE ON ... 

I SUSPECT ITS A GENETIC THING. THERE'S LIKE A DEATH SWITCH IN THE HUMAN GENOME THAT ISN'T FOUND IN THE GODS .. [TRANSITIONAL SOUND] ... DID I SAY GODS? YES, AND THIS PODCAST IS ABOUT ONE THING: THE GODS. AND IMAGINING THEM AMONG US.

JOIN ME AS WE WALK WITH THEM ON A UNIQUE JOURNEY ...

WHAT HAS BEEN LOST IN THE MODERN INTERPRETATION OF SO-CALLED MYTHOLOGY WILL COME TO LIFE AGAIN. I GUARANTEE IT. 

AND I GUARANTEE YOU'LL BE AMAZED ...

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WE'LL FOCUS IN EPISODE 2 ON WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GODS & WHY THEY SEEMINGLY DISAPPEARED BY THE 5th CENTURY OF OUR CURRENT ERA.

WHY DID THE GREEK GODS RETREAT FROM A WORLD THAT SEEMED SO DEPENDENT ON THEIR BLESSINGS? 

DID THE GREEKS SUDDENLY SHAKE OFF THEIR OLD SUPERSTITIONS? IT SEEMS UNLIKELY.

OR DID ANOTHER FORCE MORE POWERFUL THAN THE OLD RELIGION SWEEP THE WORLD?

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I INVITE YOU TO JOIN US FOR THE NEXT EPISODE OF GARNER'S GREEK MYTHOLOGY ...

... THIS IS PATRICK GARNER, AND THANKS FOR LISTENING ... 

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NEW EPISODES WILL APPEAR EVERY COUPLE WEEKS ... THAT IS, IF THE GODS ARE WILLING! 

BACKGROUND MUSIC & SOUND EFFECTS ARE THANKS TO MANY CONTRIBUTORS, INCLUDING AARON XIMM & SARAZ HANDPANS IN LOVELY ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA ...