A revised version of an earlier episode, now with historical commentary following the story!

The Greek myth of the Great Flood begins, as Zeus informs the other Olympian gods of his encounter on earth with the evil king Lycaon. What were Lycaon's crimes, how was he punished, and what does this portend for the fate of humanity as Zeus and the gods sit in council?

A story from Greek mythology, adapted from Ovid's Metamorphoses (Book 1), featuring: Zeus, Lycaon, the Olympian gods

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CREDITS

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Thumbnail Image: Engraved gem with scene of Zeus and Lycaon (19th century; Beazley Archive, Oxford University)

A revised version of an earlier episode, now with historical commentary following the story!

The Roman emperor Nero's murder of his own mother, the empress Agrippina the Younger, is among his most shocking crimes. A lurid tale of power, conspiracy, and violence emerges as the unstable Nero plots the death of an empress.

A story from Roman history (Early Imperial Period, Julio-Claudian dynasty, 59 AD), based on Tacitus' Annals, featuring: Agrippina the Younger (Julia Agrippina), Nero, Seneca, Burrus, Anicetus

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CREDITS

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Thumbnail Images: Relief of Nero and Agrippina from the Sebasteion in Aphrodisias, Turkey: c. 54-59 CE, Aphrodisias Museum
View from the Amalfi Coast, Italy

A revised version of an earlier episode, now with historical commentary following the story!

The Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus creates a new law code and way of life in ancient Sparta—revered thereafter as the Laws of Lycurgus—that pave the way for Sparta's rise as one of the greatest city-states in Greece.

A story from Greek history (Early Sparta, Archaic Period, c. 800 BC), based on Plutarch's Life of Lycurgus

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CREDITS

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Thumbnail Images: Statue of Lycurgus: c. 1880, Palace of Justice, Brussels View of the Eurotas valley, near Sparta in Greece

A revised version of an earlier episode, now with historical commentary following the story!

Actaeon, a young hunter, unexpectedly meets the goddess Artemis in the forests of Boeotia near the ancient city of Thebes. What will happen to Actaeon when Artemis unleashes her power, and the hunter becomes the prey?

A story from Greek mythology, based on Ovid's Metamorphoses (Book 3), featuring: Actaeon, Artemis

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CREDITS

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Thumbnail Images:

Roman statue of Diana/Artemis (1st/2nd century CE copy of a Greek original) Actaeon (#1) by Paul Manship (1925, Smithsonian American Art Museum) Samaria Gorge, Crete

A revised version of an earlier episode, now with historical commentary following the story!

Phaethon, a young demigod and son of Helios, the Greek god of the Sun, meets his divine father at the ends of the earth. Recklessly eager to prove himself, he takes a terrifying ride across the heavens in his father's chariot. As the earth faces total destruction by an out-of-control sun, Phaethon's fate offers a timeless lesson in knowing your limits.

A story from Greek mythology, based on Ovid's Metamorphoses (Books 1-2), featuring: Phaethon, the Sun, Clymene, Epaphus, Gaia, Zeus

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Music by Kevin MacLeod

Thumbnail Image: The Fall of Phaethon (Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1608)

A revised version of an earlier episode, now with historical commentary following the story!

The hero Odysseus meets Circe, a powerful sorceress, on her mysterious island in this story from Homer’s epic Odyssey. Will Odysseus outwit Circe, rescue his crewmates from the sorceress, and survive to complete his journey home to Ithaca?

A story from Greek mythology, based on Homer's Odyssey (Book 10), featuring: Odysseus, Circe, Hermes, Eurylochus

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CREDITS

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Thumbnail Images: Minoan fresco from Knossos, Crete ("Ladies in Blue"): c. 1500 BCE, Heraklion Archaeological Museum

Many legends were spun around the life of the Persian king Cyrus the Great, including how he met his end. The Greek historian Herodotus reports a tale that he deemed "most trustworthy," of the great king's last war in the distant steppes of central Asia--how he clashed with a fearsome tribe of mounted warriors called the Massagetae, led by a queen who defied the power of the new Persian Empire.

A story adapted from the Greek historian Herodotus (Histories Book 1, 201-214), featuring: Cyrus the Great; Tomyris, Queen of the Massagetae; Croesus of Lydia; Spargaspises, son of Tomyris

Original story contributed by Alba Wolf

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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 from www.storyblocks.com (Vlada Balas, Humans Win, Volodymyr Piddubnyk) and DanoSongs

Thumbnail Images:

Cyrus the Great (Mohawk Games: https://mohawkgames.com/oldworld/) Tomyris (Veysel Kara: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/EVa5gK)

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

When the god Apollo wins the mortal king Admetus permission to evade death through the sacrifice of another, Admetus' beloved wife Alcestis willingly dies in his place. Death is cheated, and Admetus is devastated. But as Alcestis' funeral begins, fate takes a surprising turn when a famed hero arrives in town...

A story from Greek mythology, based on the tragedy Alcestis by Euripides (staged in 438 BC), featuring: Admetus, Alcestis, Heracles, Apollo, Thanatos (Death)

Original story contributed 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

Thumbnail Image: Hercules and Alcestis (Eugène Delacroix, 1962)

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