Wine-Dark Sea features immersive original and adapted stories from ancient history and mythology, based in authentic sources from Greece, Rome, and beyond. Thanks for joining the adventure and sailing the Wine-Dark Sea! If you enjoy these stories, please follow and leave ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️! It will help the podcast grow!
Location:
United States
Genres:
Education PodcastsDescription:
Wine-Dark Sea features immersive original and adapted stories from ancient history and mythology, based in authentic sources from Greece, Rome, and beyond. Thanks for joining the adventure and sailing the Wine-Dark Sea! If you enjoy these stories, please follow and leave ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️! It will help the podcast grow!
Language:
English
Website:
https://anchor.fm/wine-dark-sea
Episodes
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 TomyrisOriginal story contributed by Alba Wolf---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---CREDITS:Music from www.storyblocks.com (Vlada Balas, Humans Win, Volodymyr Piddubnyk) and DanoSongsThumbnail 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)
Duration:00:33:16
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---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---CREDITS: Music by Scott BuckleyThumbnail 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)
Duration:00:17:10
Archimedes' life and achievements gained mythic stature in ancient times, and his reputation for genius endures today. Past the equations and feats of engineering was a man committed to finding answers--whether in contemplating the physics of water, or resisting the power of Rome.A story from ancient history, based on Vitruvius (De Architectura, Book 9), Polybius (Histories, Book 8), and Plutarch (Life of Marcellus), featuring: Archimedes, Hiero II, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, HieronymusOriginal story contributed by Alba Wolf---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---CREDITS: Music by Scott BuckleyThumbnail Images: Fresco from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence showing Archimedes' "heat-ray" weapon atop the walls of Syracuse (Giulio Parigi, 1600) Monument to Archimedes in Syracuse (Luciano Campisi, 1885; photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto)WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)
Duration:00:17:58
Hippolytus is the young prince of Athens, son of the king and famed hero Theseus, and stepson of Phaedra, the queen. When Aphrodite, goddess of love, makes the innocent Phaedra a weapon of her divine wrath against Hippolytus, a tragic tale of lust, deceit, and death ensues as the royal family of Athens is torn apart.A story from Greek mythology, based on the tragedy Hippolytus by Euripides (staged in 428 BC), featuring: Hippolytus, Phaedra, Theseus, Aphrodite, Artemis, Phaedra's NurseOriginal story contributed by Konstantinos Christidis---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---CREDITS: Music from www.storyblocks.comThumbnail Images: Phaedra and Hippolytus (Pierre-Narcisse Guérin, c. 1802) Phaedra (Alexandre Cabanel, c. 1885)WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)
Duration:00:16:04
The Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage saw one of the most daring strategies of ancient times: the Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca leading an army fully equipped with horses, elephants, and pack animals across the dangerous peaks of the Alps, to attack the Roman Republic from its northern Italian borders. Hannibal remembers this legendary mountain march, and describes it in his own words.A story from Carthaginian and Roman history (218 BC), based on Livy's Histories (Book 21) featuring: Hannibal BarcaOriginal story contributed by Wesley Coulson---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---CREDITS: Music from Storyblocks and Scott BuckleyEpisode Thumbnail Image: Hannibal's army crosses the Alps (20th century)WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)
Duration:00:15:59
Despite its fame in ancient myth and history, the city of Troy was long lost to the ages, as the real site immortalized in Homer's Iliad faded from the landscape of western Anatolia. But in a series of astonishing excavations in the late 19th century, the mythical world of Greek epic came back to life at the hands of Heinrich Schliemann, a businessman-turned-archaeologist with a lifelong passion for the tales of the Trojan War.More information on the sites excavated by Schliemann can be found here-- Troy: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/849/ Mycenae and Tiryns: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/941Original story contributed by marceloburlon---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---CREDITS: Music from StoryblocksThumbnail Images: historical photos of the Lion Gate in Mycenae, Schliemann, and "Priam's Treasure"WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)
Duration:00:17:56
Sailing beyond the Mediterranean Sea, a man named Lucian and his comrades are suddenly transported to the moon, where they find themselves in the middle of a great war between the Sun and the Moon. Recorded with eyewitness accuracy in his novel “A True Story,” Lucian recalls the fantastical sights of this epic star war—and leaves to the world one of the earliest works of science fiction.A story from Greek literature (2nd century AD), based on Lucian of Samosata's "A True Story," featuring: Lucian; Endymion, King of the Moon; Phaethon, King of the SunOriginal story contributed by Demetrios Paraschos---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---CREDITS: Music from StoryblocksWDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)
Duration:00:17:52
Isolated and betrayed in the heart of the Persian Empire, the mercenary army of ten thousand Greeks is faced with a grim future. But against the odds, they undertake a grueling journey north to reach the Black Sea, their avenue to return to Greece at last--yet their march will be anything but easy.A story from Greek history (401 BC), based on Xenophon's Anabasis (Books 3-4), featuring: Xenophon, Cheirisophos, Soteridas, Tissaphernes---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---CREDITS: Music from StoryblocksEpisode Thumbnail Image: the army arrives at the sea (B. G. Baker, 1901)WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)
Duration:00:15:15
A mercenary army of ten thousand Greek troops, contracted by an ambitious prince of the Persian Empire, presses deep into the heartland of Mesopotamia in pursuit of riches and glory. But a series of startling events lands them in a battle they weren't expecting to fight.A story from Greek history (401 BC), based on Xenophon's Anabasis (Books 1-2), featuring: Xenophon, Clearchus, Proxenos, Cyrus the Younger, Artaxerxes II, Tissaphernes, Ariaeus, the philosopher Socrates---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---CREDITS: Music from StoryblocksEpisode Thumbnail Image: depiction of the Battle of Cunaxa (19th century)WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)
Duration:00:18:00
In the ancient land of Phrygia, an encounter with the god Dionysus grants King Midas an extraordinary power: to turn anything he touches into gold. But it isn't long before this gift becomes a curse, and Midas learns a costly lesson.A story from Greek mythology, based on Ovid's Metamorphoses (Book 11), featuring: Midas, Dionysus, Silenus---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---CREDITS: Music by Kevin MacLeodEpisode Thumbnail Image: Bronze statue of Dionysus (2nd century AD)WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)
Duration:00:09:38
In one of the greatest natural disasters of the ancient world, the Bay of Naples in Italy was devastated by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, destroying the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae, and others. In a set of letters to his friend, the historian Tacitus, the Roman writer and politician Pliny the Younger recalls his memories of the eruption in living detail, as an eyewitness and victim of the catastrophe.A story from Roman history, based on the Letters of Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (Pliny the Younger), letters 6.16 and 6.20, featuring: Pliny the Younger, Pliny the Elder, Plinia Marcella, Cornelius Tacitus---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---CREDITS: Music from www.storyblocks.comEpisode Thumbnail Image: View of Vesuvius Erupting (Pierre-Jacques Volaire, 18th century)WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)
Duration:00:21:26
Legends tell of the hero Hercules' journey through Italy, where he faced off against a fire-breathing monster named Cacus. A generation later, the Trojan hero Aeneas finds himself in the little town that Hercules saved from the monster's fury, and hears the tale from his host, King Evander. Little does Aeneas know that this humble town will one day become the grand city of Rome, the capital of Aeneas' descendants -- and the tale of Hercules' victory will give rise to his worship in Rome for more than a thousand years.A story from Roman mythology, based on Vergil's Aeneid, Book 8 (19 BC), featuring: Aeneas, King Evander, Hercules, Cacus---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---CREDITS: Music by Tunc Alicioglu, Psystein, Volodymyr Piddubnyk (www.storyblocks.com), and Kevin MacLeon (www.incompetech.com)Episode Thumbnail Image: Faience plate depicting Hercules and Cacus (Francesco Xanto da Rovigo, 1533)WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)
Duration:00:16:43
Living in Judea after the death of Jesus of Nazareth, the Roman centurion Cornelius receives a vision that leads him to seek the guidance of Simon Peter, once the close companion of Jesus. At the same time, Peter receives a vision of his own, that invites him to spread his teachings outside the Jewish community. The fateful encounter between Cornelius and Peter paves the way for the rise of Christianity across the Roman Empire.A story from Roman Judea, based on The Acts of the Apostles, Ch. 10 (late 1st century AD), featuring Cornelius, a Roman centurion, and Peter, Apostle of Christ---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---CREDITS: Music by Humans Win (www.storyblocks.com)Episode Thumbnail Image: James Tissot, "The Confession of the Centurion" and "The First Denial of Peter" (1886-1894)WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)
Duration:00:10:54
Agamemnon is the mightiest ruler in Greece, and father of the young princess Iphigenia. When an accident invites the wrath of the goddess Artemis, a dreadful sacrifice is demanded from Agamemnon: the slaughter of his own beloved daughter. A tragedy of anger, deception, and despair envelops the Greek camp at Aulis, with the Trojan War and the life of the princess hanging in the balance.A story from Greek mythology, based on Euripides' tragic play Iphigenia in Aulis (first performed in 405 BC, Athens), featuring: Iphigenia, Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, Achilles, Menelaus, Calchas, OrestesOriginal story by Konstantinos Christidis---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---CREDITS: Music by Jon Presstone and Humans Win (www.storyblocks.com)Episode Thumbnail Image: Wall painting from Pompeii depicting the sacrifice of Iphigenia (1st century AD)WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)
Duration:00:20:20
Philemon and his wife Baucis, an elderly couple, live happily in a humble cottage in the land of Phrygia. But a nighttime visit by two weary travelers will change their lives forever...when their guests turn out to be gods in disguise.A story from Greek mythology, based on Ovid's Metamorphoses (8.612-723), featuring: Philemon, Baucis, Zeus, Hermes---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---CREDITS: Music by Scott BuckleyEpisode Thumbnail Image: Philemon and Baucis (Elias van Nijmegen, c. 1700; Rijksmuseum)WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)
Duration:00:10:06
Polycrates (r. 540s - 522 BC) rules the Greek island of Samos, feared for his might as much as he is admired for his many achievements. Polycrates' name is synonymous with success...but too much worldly fortune risks the envy of the gods. The ancient legend of Polycrates' ring weaves a tale of the mysterious ways of fate, and the tragic fall of a man at the height of mortal glory.A story from ancient Greece, based on Herodotus' Histories (3.39-43, 122-26), featuring: Polycrates, tyrant of Samos; Amasis/Ahmose II, pharaoh of Egypt; Oroetes, Persian satrap of Lydia---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---CREDITS: Music by Humans Win (www.storyblocks.com)Episode Thumbnail Images: Funerary stele for a Greek soldier, c. 330 BC (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek; Wikimedia Commons) / Gold finger ring (British Museum; Openverse) / Background: view from Samos (Openverse)WDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)
Duration:00:17:47
Terrifying creatures stalked the dead of night in ancient Rome, as a man named Niceros has learned all too well. A guest at a lavish dinner party thrown by the fabulously wealthy Gaius Trimalchio, Niceros reveals a hair-raising encounter from his past: the time he met a dreaded werewolf!A story from ancient Roman literature, based on Petronius' novel Satyricon (mid-1st century AD; 61-62)---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---CREDITS: Music by Kevin MacLeodEpisode Thumbnail Images: Bronze head of a wolf (Roman, 1st century AD) / Background from Openverse and StoryblocksWDS Logo Image: Kylix with Apollo playing the lyre and pouring a libation (c. 470 BC, Delphi Archeological Museum)
Duration:00:10:18
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---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---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)
Duration:00:21:34
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---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---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)
Duration:00:15:06
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---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---CREDITS: Music by Kevin MacLeodEpisode 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)
Duration:00:17:49
