Myths and movies with a doctor of classics; only the Greek episodes are indexed

Greeced Lightning

29 episodes indexed · 32 hours · Sara Hales-Brittain, Luke Patrick, and Sam Siegel

Periods · The Bronze Age, Archaic Greece, The Persian Wars, Classical Greece, Philip and Alexander, The Hellenistic world, Greece under Rome

Themes · Religion War Empire and colonies

A podcast about myths, movies and one doctor of classics teaching history and mythology to two friends; only the Greek episodes are here, 29 of 56, 7 eras, 32 hours.

Where to start. The earliest indexed episode is '300 - The Battle of Thermopylae and the Persian Wars' (2023); 29 episodes of this show are in the section.

I feel like…

ThinkingAny

ideas, belief and how a polis was ordered

FeelingAny

stories, performance, art and ordinary lives

DoingAny

war and expansion

PeriodAny

when it happens

LengthAny

how much time you have

Minoans and Mycenaeans c. 3000 - 1100 BC · 5

1h 15mTroy: The Trojan War Greeced LightningPodcast

In the series premiere, Sara Hales-Brittain teaches Luke and Sam the legend of the Trojan War, the epic cycle, and Paris's past, weighing the film Troy against the Iliad.

1h 14mO Brother Where Art Thou: The Odyssey Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara, Luke, and Sam trace Homer's Odyssey through the loose adaptation O Brother, Where Art Thou?, covering tricksy heroes, the Underworld, and Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey and Edith Hamilton's Mythology.

1h 13mUlysses: The Odyssey Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara and Sam revisit Homer's Odyssey through the film Ulysses, exploring its supporting characters, Polyphemus wooing Galatea, ancient fanfiction, and more Kirk Douglas on screen.

1h 05mTroy: Fall of a City - The Trojan War Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara and Sam revisit the Trojan War through the 2018 series Troy: Fall of a City, weighing its chariots, birth plans, retelling of Helen, and distracting bowl cuts.

1h 01mEpic: The Musical: The Odyssey, But With Music Greeced LightningPodcast

Sam and Sara examine Epic: The Musical, a Gen Z Odyssey retelling, discussing amoral heroes and the best bit of the Odyssey that this adaptation left out.

The Persian Wars 499 - 449 BC · 3

1h 13m300 - The Battle of Thermopylae and the Persian Wars Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara, Luke, and Sam turn from myth to ancient history with the 2007 film 300, covering the Battle of Thermopylae, the Persian Wars, Spartan life, jock rock, and the Greeks' aversion to pants.

54mAge of Empires 2: The Age of Kings: Definitive Edition: Chronicles: Battle for Greece: Part 1: The Ionian Rebellion Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara and Sam tackle the Chronicles: Battle for Greece campaign in Age of Empires 2, discussing Europeans stealing historical treasures, ancient tyrants and the Ionian revolt.

52mAge of Empires 2: Part 2: The Persian War Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara and Sam continue their Age of Empires 2 campaign into the Persian War, covering ostracism procedures, wily old Themistocles, and Sara's waning tolerance for podcasting while pregnant.

Classical Athens and Sparta 479 - 386 BC · 1

1h 30mAge of Empires 2: Part 3: The Peloponnesian War Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara and Sam close their Age of Empires 2 series with the Peloponnesian War, covering optimistic peace agreements, ancient plague and a look back on the highlights of Season 3.

Philip and Alexander 359 - 323 BC · 1

1h 31mAlexander: Macedon and Alexander the Great Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara, Luke, and Sam explore the life of the Macedonian king and general Alexander the Great, weighing four film versions, Irish accents, and a slip mixing Persian Wars with Peloponnesian.

The Hellenistic Age 323 - 31 BC · 1

50mRomes Total War: The Battle of Raphia Greeced LightningPodcast

Sam and Sara pit two Total War versions of the Battle of Raphia against each other, covering the Hellenistic successor kingdoms, the pronunciation of Seleucid, and African and Asian elephants meeting in one clash.

Rome and the Greek World 200 - 31 BC · 1

1h 06mTotal War: Rome 2 - The Battle of Pydna Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara and Sam discuss the Battle of Pydna in Total War: Rome II, with Plutarch, Livy and Polybius on the Macedonian War, plus layoffs, unions and war elephants.

Greek Life, Thought and the Wider World across the centuries · 17

1h 27mImmortals: Theseus Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara and Sam discuss Theseus, styled here as Heracles 2.0, weighing Greek geography, myth soup movies, and the film Immortals starring Henry Cavill.

1h 17mKaos: Prometheus and Zeus Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara and Sam break down the myths behind the Netflix series Kaos, weighing Prometheus against Zeus, trans people in myth, prophecy interpretation, and Hera's creepy tongue room.

1h 15mWonder Woman: Artemis and the Amazons Greeced LightningPodcast

Sam and Sara explore the Amazons behind Wonder Woman, weighing misogynistic geographers, Artemis's rage, Scythian warrior women, and the myth of Actaeon from Ovid's Metamorphoses.

1h 13mJason and the Argonauts: The Argonautica, Jason, and Medea Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara, Luke, and Sam chase the Golden Fleece through 1963's Jason and the Argonauts, tracing Hecate worship, stop-motion magic, the Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius, and Phineus and the Harpies.

1h 13mThe Princess Bride: The Greek Novels Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara, Luke, and Sam pair The Princess Bride with the underappreciated ancient Greek novels, the subject of Sara's blog Medea Palatina, which argues The Princess Bride is actually an ancient Greek novel.

1h 11mAge of Mythology: Atlantis, Myth Soup, and Gaming Greeced LightningPodcast
1h 11mMoulin Rouge: Orpheus Greeced LightningPodcast

With Jackie Banigan

Guest Jackie Banigan joins Sara and Sam to explore the myth of Orpheus as the rock star of ancient Greece, with Eurydice's loss, the Argonauts saved by his song, and the Parisian demimonde of Moulin Rouge.

1h 10mChi-Raq: Lysistrata Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara, Luke, and Sam tackle Aristophanes's comedy Lysistrata through Spike Lee's Chi-Raq, weighing a vow of chastity, a big brass bed, and John Cusack's role in the film.

1h 09mPercy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief - Myth Soup Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara and Sam dish up the myth soup that is Percy Jackson, with Phidias's Athena Parthenos, Chiron's anatomy, Athena and Poseidon competing to be patron of Athens, and Aeschylus's Eumenides.

1h 09mDisney's Hercules: Hercules and His Labors Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara, Luke, and Sam tour Disney's Hercules as Sara teaches everything about this himbo hero, with Sophocles' Women of Trachis on his death and Euripides' Alcestis, where he saves the heroine.

1h 08mWrath of the Titans: Pandora, Hephaestus, and the Titans Greeced LightningPodcast

The hosts end their time with the Titans on 2012's Wrath of the Titans, taking in Pandora, Hephaestus and Rip Torn's Greek God kudos, with Pseudo-Apollodorus's Library and the Gigantomachy frieze of the Pergamon Altar.

1h 08mClash of the Titans (1981): Perseus and Andromeda Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara, Luke, and Sam open the Titans saga with 1981's Clash of the Titans, tracing Perseus and Andromeda through Ovid and Ray Harryhausen, plus ancient art, special effects, and Laurence Olivier.

1h 07mClash of the Titans (2010): Gorgons and Io Greeced LightningPodcast
1h 02mLars and the Real Girl: Pygmalion Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara, Luke and Sam break down the myth of Pygmalion, the original incel, with ancient pickup artists, blurred lines between sculpture and real life, the movie Lars and the Real Girl, and Ovid's Metamorphoses.

59mHadestown: Orpheus and Eurydice Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara and Sam bring hot takes on the Broadway musical Hadestown, recapping the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice before wedding night ceremonies, opera adaptations, unionizing, and the perfect song.

48mWeird Science: Pygmalion and Pandora Greeced LightningPodcast

Sara and Sam discuss two constructed women, Pygmalion's statue and Pandora, tracing Pandora's story in Hesiod's Works and Days and a nod to Jewish folklore's Golem of Prague.

47mKrapopolis: Myth Soup Greeced LightningPodcast

Sam and Sara puzzle over Krapopolis and its fish man, with Orion's unsavory origins in Ovid's Fasti and the story of Ate's banishment in the Iliad.