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Let's Talk About Myths, Baby! | Greek Mythology & the Ancient Mediterranean
It’s Almost Like Being Trans Isn’t New… Transgender Transformations in Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Now more than ever we should remember (and have evidence!) that being trans and seeking gender affirmation has always existed... This episode looks at the evidence in Ovid. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content!
CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing.
Sources: Ovid's Metamorphoses, translated by Stephanie McCarter (entries and end notes); "Reframing Iphis and Caeneus: Trans Narratives and Socio-Linguistic Gendering in Ovid’s Metamorphoses" by J. L. Watson.
Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions.
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751. RE-AIR: Conversations: A Long and Storied History of Sparta, Modern Misuse & Misconception w/ Stephen Hodkinson
01:41:10||Season 9, Ep. 751This episode originally aired as part of the Spartan Mirage series, in January 2023. It's time we listen and learn (again). Liv speaks with Stephen Hodkinson, expert in all things Sparta. They discuss Sparta throughout history including its use in politics from the founding of the USA to Nazi Germany to modern day misuses of Spartan culture and history. Read more about Sparta and the Capitol insurrection (and so much more Sparta content!) here. Read the book, Classical Controversies, for free here. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content!CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing.Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions.
750. Conversations: The Only Ones Who Benefit from War Are the Bad Guys w/ Joshua Cannon
01:51:44||Season 9, Ep. 750Liv speaks with classicist, author, and veteran, Joshua Cannon about the Iliad, warfare in the ancient Mediterranean, and how War is Bad, Actually. This episode was recorded in October 2025. Learn more about Joshua and his book Fatal Second Helen here. Submit your question for the next Q&A via email or a voice note. Get ad-free episodes and so, so much more, by subscribing to the Oracle Edition at patreon.com/mythsbabyCW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. I try to provide direct warnings when there is reference to anything with overtly traumatic themes but be aware that Greek mythology regularly features assault, death, and many other potentially triggering events.Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions.
749. Conversations: White Ain't Right, How White Supremacy Uses Classics to Defend Bigotry with Curtis Dozier
01:25:40||Season 9, Ep. 749Liv speaks with classicist Curtis Dozier about the troubling (and tragically unsurprising) connections between the world's worst people (white supremacists) and ancient Greece and Rome. Learn more about the White Pedestal book and the Classical Controversies book mentioned. Submit your question for the next Q&A via email or a voice note. Get ad-free episodes and so, so much more, by subscribing to the Oracle Edition at patreon.com/mythsbabyCW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. I try to provide direct warnings when there is reference to anything with overtly traumatic themes but be aware that Greek mythology regularly features assault, death, and many other potentially triggering events.Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions.
748. Helen, the King Maker; Lucifer the Morningstar; Enyo, the Bloody... A New Years Q&A
56:46||Season 9, Ep. 748Liv answers all your burning questions (and some notably less urgent as well!). Submit your question for the next Q&A via email or a voice note. Get ad-free episodes and so, so much more, by subscribing to the Oracle Edition at patreon.com/mythsbabyCW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. I try to provide direct warnings when there is reference to anything with overtly traumatic themes but be aware that Greek mythology regularly features assault, death, and many other potentially triggering events.Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions.
RE-AIR: Slow But Steady Wins the Race, Ancient Aesop & His Fables
37:05||Season 9This episode originally aired in January 2023. Not at all a children's author... We're talking ancient Aesop and his oh so famous fables.Submit your question for the next Q&A via email or a voice note. Get ad-free episodes and so, so much more, by subscribing to the Oracle Edition at patreon.com/mythsbabyCW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing.Sources: Aesop, the Complete Fables, translated by Olivia and Robert Temple; Aesop's Fables, translated by George Fyler Townsend.Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions.
RE-AIR: Conversations: How Women Became Poets, Gender History in Greek Literature w/ Emily Hauser
01:50:55|This episode originally aired in November 2024. Liv speaks with author Emily Hauser about her book How Women Became Poets. They look at women in Greek myth, literature, etymology, and, very specifically, the long and arduous history of women 'poets' in Greek literature. Plus, a sneak peak at Emily's next work: Mythica/Penelope's Bones. Find more from Emily here. Submit your question for the next Q&A via email or a voice note. Get ad-free episodes and so, so much more, by subscribing to the Oracle Edition at patreon.com/mythsbabyCW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing.Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions.
747. Battle of the Bad B*tches: Helen and Clytemnestra
56:58||Season 9, Ep. 747Liv and Michaela come together for the third (?) annual Battle of the Bas--no wait that's actually the Battle of the Bad B*tches. Helen and Clytemnestra come together and we chat about everything that those two wonderful women were up to in the ancient sources. It's beautiful, it's amazing, and we support all their wonderful ways.Submit your question for the next Q&A via email or a voice note. Get ad-free episodes and so, so much more, by subscribing to the Oracle Edition at patreon.com/mythsbabyCW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. I try to provide direct warnings when there is reference to anything with overtly traumatic themes but be aware that Greek mythology regularly features assault, death, and many other potentially triggering events.Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions.
746. Liv Reads Statius: The Thebaid (Final)
01:19:11||Season 9, Ep. 746Liv reads the final book of Statius' Thebaid, translated by JH Mozley. The brothers of Thebes, Eteocles and Polynices, are dead. Their wives and sisters want to bury them, but (unfortunately!) they need the king of Athens, Theseus, to make it happen. Submit to the Q&A at mythsbaby.com/questions and get ad-free episodes and so, so much more, by subscribing to the Oracle Edition at patreon.com/mythsbabyCW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. I try to provide direct warnings when there is reference to anything with overtly traumatic themes but be aware that Greek mythology regularly features assault, death, and many other potentially triggering events.This is not a standard narrative story episode, it's a reading of an ancient source, audiobook style. For regular episodes look for any that don't have "Liv Reads..." in the title! For a list of Roman/Latin names and who they generally refer to in the Greek, visit: mythsbaby.com/names Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions.
Now for Cleopatra Senior!: Revisiting The Very Real Cleopatra VII with The Partial Historians
01:10:18||Season 9On Friday we looked at Cleopatra Selene (aka Cleopatra Jr, Cleopatra VIII), so it's only fitting to revisit an old (and very fun!) episode with the amazing Partial Historians about Cleopatra Selene's far more famous mother, Cleopatra VII (aka THAT Cleopatra... Find more from the Partial Historians here. Submit your question for the next Q&A via email or a voice note. Get ad-free episodes and so, so much more, by subscribing to the Oracle Edition at patreon.com/mythsbabyCW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. I try to provide direct warnings when there is reference to anything with overtly traumatic themes but be aware that Greek mythology regularly features assault, death, and many other potentially triggering events.Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions.