EP 51: The Dark Goddess Persephone

One goddess alone ruled in the ancient underworld. She was Persephone, although the Greeks dared call her only The Goddess.

She had been dragged unwillingly into that gloom by Hades, but she quickly adapted to her circumstances. Mysteriously, she, among all the gods, became the treasury of dark knowledge, the sole portal into universal truths. Today’s Wiccans, neopagans and witches look to her as a touchstone into all mysteries.

If you love this podcast, you'll also enjoy Garner's audible novel about the gods, Homo Divinitas, now available on Amazon.com and Audible.com. Find out more at patrickgarnerbooks.com.

Transcript

EPISODE 51:  PERSEPHONE & ANCIENT MAGIC

IMAGINE RECEIVING AN INVITATION TO TRAVEL TO THE ANCIENT GREEK UNDERWORLD ... YES, I'M REFERRING TO THE LAND OF THE DEAD.

WHY WOULD YOU DO SO? HOW COULD YOU ACCEPT? THE GREEKS WERE SO TERRIFIED OF THE PLACE THAT THEY HARDLY DARED TO SAY ITS NAME.

BUT YOU'RE DIFFERENT. YOU'RE MODERN. YOU KNOW BETTER. HALF THAT STUFF IS MYTHOLOGY, RIGHT? 

BESIDES, HOW BAD CAN IT BE? AFTER ALL, YOU'VE BEEN INVITED TO MEET WITH A GODDESS WHO LIVES DOWN THERE.

AT FIRST, ON READING THE INVITATION, YOU'RE SKEPTICAL. BUT YOU REMEMBER QUITE CLEARLY THAT THE GREEKS BELIEVED A GODDESS RESIDED THERE & THAT SHE RULED OVER THE DEAD.

THEY RARELY SAID HER NAME. THEY SIMPLY CALLED HER THE GODDESS. EVERYONE KNEW WHO SHE WAS.

IF YOU WERE GREEK YOU KNEW THAT SHE WAS THE WIFE OF THE MIGHTY HADES. IT WAS SAID THAT SHE SAW INTO THE PAST & LOOKED INTO THE FUTURE.

SHE WAS A CHILDHOOD FRIEND OF HEKATE, THE GODDESS OF PLACES SO DARK THAT THEY INCLUDED CAVES, CROSSROADS … & THE UNDERWORLD.

YES, HEKATE WAS AN IMMORTAL WHO WAS ALSO A WITCH. LIKE MODERN WITCHES SHE PRACTICED MAGIC WITH HERBS, SPELLS & DANCED IN CIRCLES UNDER THE MOON.

BUT SHE WASN'T THE GODDESS WHO LIVED IN THE UNDERWORLD. THE ONE WHO DID WAS FAR MORE POWERFUL ... &.FAMOUS. 

FOR INSTANCE, THIS GODDESS GREETED HERACLES WHEN HE DESCENDED INTO THE DARKNESS TO FIGHT CERBERUS, THE THREE-HEADED DOG.

SHE WELCOMED ALL THE DEAD, ONE-BY-ONE, AS THEY CROSSED THE RIVER STYX IN THE COMPANY OF CHARON, THE BOATMAN, 

HER MOTHER WAS DEMETER. YOU REMEMBER DEMETER — WE DEDICATED THE ENTIRETY OF EPISODE 23 TO HER.

SHE WAS AN OLYMPIC GODDESS. SHE WAS ALSO ZEUS & HADES' SISTER, AS WELL AS ZEUS' WIFE … 

WELL & GOOD, YOU THINK. EVEN SO, THE INVITATION YOU'VE RECEIVED TO GO THE UNDERWORLD IS ... UNEXPECTED

BUT YOU DON'T HESITATE TO ACCEPT. AFTER ALL, HERE'S A CHANCE TO MEET THE MOST MYSTERIOUS OF THE ANCIENT DIVINITIES.

ALTHOUGH THE GREEKS HESITATED TO SAY HER NAME, I WILL ... BY NOW YOU MUST HAVE GUESSED. 

SHE WAS THE IMMORTAL QUEEN OF THE UNDERWORLD — THE LOVELY PERSEPHONE. 

Ω

THIS IS EPISODE 51 OF GARNER'S GREEK MYTHOLOGY. WE HAVE LISTENERS FROM 170 COUNTRIES ... SO WELCOME TO EVERYONE, WHEREVER YOU ARE.

I'M YOUR HOST, MYTHOLOGIST PATRICK GARNER. 

REMEMBER TO VISIT AMAZON TO CHECK OUT MY BOOKS ABOUT THE GODS IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD. 

YOU CAN ALSO READ ABOUT THEM & THIS PODCAST AT PATRICKGARNERBOOKS.COM. AND YES — I'M ASKING YOU TO BUY A COPY. HELP ME TO SUPPORT THIS PODCAST.

COMMERCIAL SPONSORS WANT TO BE PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE. BUT I DON'T WANT THEM. YOU'RE NOT LISTENING TO BE PITCHED VITAMINS OR MATTRESSES.

INSTEAD, I KNOW THAT YOU’LL BE FASCINATED BY BOOKS ABOUT MYTHOLOGY. MY NOVELS ARE ALL ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE GREEK GODS ... 

SO COME ON: VISIT MY WEBSITE AT PATRICKGARNERBOOKS.COM, THEN LINK OVER TO AMAZON TO MAKE A PURCHASE.

DOING SO WILL HELP KEEP THIS PODCAST AD-FREE ...

Ω

PERSEPHONE. THERE'S FAR MORE TO THE STORY OF PERSEPHONE THAN SIMPLY THE LEGEND OF A BEAUTIFUL GODDESS WHO LIVED WITH HADES.

DO YOU REMEMBER HOW SHE ENDED UP IN THE UNDERWORLD? IT WAS AN INFAMOUS TALE. SHE WAS SNATCHED BY HADES ONE AFTERNOON WHILE PICKING FLOWERS .

HE SWEPT INTO THE MEADOW ON HIS BLACK CHARIOT & CARRIED HER AWAY. SHE FOUGHT AGAINST HIM BUT TO NO AVAIL.

SHE WAS A YOUNG GIRL ... FIGHTING AGAINST THE MIGHTY HADES WAS FUTILE. HER MOTHER, DEMETER, NOT KNOWING WHAT HAD HAPPENED, WAS IN GRIEF. 

DEMETER'S DESPAIR WAS SO GREAT THAT SHE THREATENED TO DESTROY ALL THE CROPS ON EARTH.

THE GODS BEGGED HER TO RELENT ... ONE BY ONE THEY VISITED HER. BUT SHE SPURNED THEIR PLEAS. 

ZEUS FEARED THAT HUMANKIND MIGHT DIE IF THEIR CROPS WERE DESTROYED. AND IF THAT OCCURRED, THERE'D BE NO ONE TO OFFER SACRIFICE TO THE GODS.

BUT THEN A BREAKTHROUGH OCCURRED. HEKATE — THE GODDESS OF SORCERY WHO HAD THE POWER TO MOVE BETWEEN EARTH & THE UNDERWORLD — REACHED OUT TO DEMETER. 

SHE THOUGHT SHE KNEW THE KIDNAPPER. HUSHING THE HELLHOUNDS THAT SNAPPED AT HER HEELS, HECATE SPOKE TO DEMETER, SAYING, 

"A NYMPH WHO GUARDS A SACRED POOL SAW THE LORD OF THE UNDERWORLD SUDDENLY DESCEND INTO THE WATERS WITH HIS CHARIOT ...

"THE NYMPH SAW A YOUNG WOMAN IN THE CHARIOT. THE GIRL WAS STRUGGLING, BEATING HER FISTS AGAINST HADES' CHEST, SCREAMING & CRYING "NO!" 

"THEN THE CHARIOT SANK BELOW THE WATERS & INTO HADES' REALM."

Ω

DEMETER WAS SILENT, TEARS STREAMING DOWN HER FACE. FINALLY SHE SAID, "SO SHE WAS TAKEN BY MY BROTHER."

HEKATE SAID, "THERE'S MORE THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ... LORD ZEUS WAS OVERHEARD PROMISING HADES THAT PERSEPHONE WOULD SOON BE HIS."

HEKATE WENT ON, "THE TWO OF THEM WERE SAID TO BE LAUGHING & SCHEMING. HADES SAID HE'D HAD HIS EYE ON THE GIRL FOR MONTHS."

DEMETER SHOOK HER HEAD, SAYING, "HE HAS NO RIGHT. SHE MUST BE RETURNED."

HEKATE NODDED. "HERMES & I CAN TRAVEL THERE. I'LL RECRUIT HIM TO HELP. 

"BUT I'LL NEED ZEUS' BLESSINGS," HEKATE CONTINUED, "OR ALL OF THIS WILL BACKFIRE. HOW WILL WE GET HIM TO RETRACT HIS PROMISES TO HADES?"

DEMETER WHISPERED, "OH, HE'LL COOPERATE. HE NEEDS MORTALS TO MAKE SACRIFICES. IF I WIPE OUT THE CROPS, THERE'LL BE NO ONE LEFT TO BOW & SCRAPE TO ANY OF US ..." 

Ω

IN THE MEANTIME, HADES HAD CROWNED PERSEPHONE QUEEN OF THE UNDERWORLD. BUT PERSEPHONE WAS FAR FROM HAPPY. SHE LONGED FOR SUNSHINE & FOR HER MOTHER.

THEN IN A WONDROUS FLASH, HERMES & HEKATE APPEARED BEFORE HER AS SHE SAT WITH HER LORD IN THEIR DARK PALACE. 

IT HAD TAKEN LITTLE TO PERSUADE ZEUS THAT SHE SHOULD BE RETURNED. HE TOLD THE TWO TO FETCH THE GIRL — & THE SOONER THE BETTER.

THEY DESCENDED IN HERMES' GOLDEN CHARIOT, & SPED INTO THE GLOOM WHERE THEY CONFRONTED HADES.

THE LORD, UPON HEARING THE COMMAND TO RETURN HIS WIFE, WAS FURIOUS ... NOT ONE TO EASILY GIVE UP, HE HID HIS REACTION. 

WISHING HIS NEW QUEEN THE BEST, HE TOOK HER HAND & SAID, "HERE, SOME FOOD IF YOU GET HUNGRY ON YOUR TRIP." HE SLIPPED A FEW POMEGRANATE SEEDS INTO HER PALM.

AND AT THAT, HEKATE TOOK PERSEPHONE BY THE ELBOW & GUIDED HER ONTO THE CHARIOT. HERMES CRACKED HIS WHIP & THE THREE BEGAN THEIR ASCENT.

NOT KNOWING THAT HADES HAD SET A TRAP, PERSEPHONE CASUALLY CHEWED ON THE SEEDS, THINKING THAT PERHAPS, ALL IN ALL, HER GLOWERING HUSBAND WAS NOT SO BAD.

Ω

WHEN THEY BROKE INTO THE SUN, THEY SAW DEMETER, WHO AWAITED HEKATE'S RETURN.

SHE LET OUT A CRY OF DELIGHT UPON SEEING THE CHARIOT. INSIDE WAS HER DAUGHTER.  DEMETER DANCED IN A CIRCLE, WAVING HER ARMS.

SUDDENLY, TREES LEAFED OUT & NEARBY FIELDS BECAME FLUSH WITH TALL BARLEY & WHEAT. APPLE TREES MIRACULOUSLY HUNG HEAVY WITH FRUIT.

TURNING TO PERSEPHONE DEMETER ASKED, "ARE YOU HUNGRY AFTER THE TRIP?"

HER DAUGHTER SHOOK HER HEAD, SAYING, "NO, MOTHER. LORD HADES GAVE ME FOOD. SEE —?" SHE OPENED HER HAND TO SHOW DEMETER THE REMAINING SEEDS.

HER MOTHER STEPPED BACK IN SHOCK, SAYING, "DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT IF YOU HAVE EATEN IN THE UNDERWORLD, YOU CAN NEVER LEAVE IT COMPLETELY?"

PERSEPHONE WAS FATED TO RETURN FOREVERMORE TO HADES, TO SPEND A PART OF EACH YEAR BELOW THE EARTH.

SHE NARROWED HER EYES AT THE NEWS. HER MOUTH TIGHTENED. SHE WAS A PRACTICAL GIRL: IF SHE WAS DOOMED TO SPEND ETERNITY IN THAT GLOOM, SHE WOULD EMBRACE HER FATE.

Ω

INDEED, IN TIME PERSEPHONE BECAME A CREATURE OF THE UNDERWORLD  ... TO THE COMPLETE SURPRISE OF THE OTHER GODS, SHE SHED HER GIRLHOOD. 

AND WITH HADES' CONCURRENCE SHE GREW IN POWER, EMBRACING HER ROLE AS QUEEN OF THE DEAD.

HEKATE, TO NO ONE'S SURPRISE, BECAME HER FREQUENT GUEST IN THAT GLOOM. THE TWO SPENT HOURS SPEAKING OF LIFE & DEATH & IMMORTALITY.

HERMES, THE MESSENGER OF THE GODS, FREQUENTED THE UNDERWORLD FAR LESS THAN HEKATE. HE WAS A CREATURE OF HELIOS, REVELING IN THE SUN'S RAYS. 

PERSEPHONE'S REALM WAS THE ANTITHESIS OF THE BRIGHT MEDITERRANEAN. THE SIMPLEST OF HER DUTIES WAS COUNTING THE DEAD & EXCHANGING BRIEF WORDS WITH CHARON, THE OLD BOATMAN.

BUT SHE GAINED AN UNEXPECTED ABILITY TO PENETRATE THE DARK MATTER OF THE UNIVERSE. IN TIME, SHE BECAME THE REPOSITORY OF THE DEEPEST WISDOM KNOWN TO THE GODS.

NO OTHER DIVINITY COULD COMPETE WITH HER BRIGHT SAGACITY. 

Ω

ON OCCASION PERSEPHONE WOULD EXTEND INVITATIONS TO PHILOSOPHERS, POETS & MAGICIANS WHO LIVED ABOVE GROUND.

SHE WOULD SUMMON THEM TO COME TO LEARN ABOUT THE MYSTERIES & THE WISDOM OF THE UNIVERSE. 

ONCE THEY WERE BEFORE HER, SHE WOULD SPEAK TO THEM IN THE MUSICAL LANGUAGE OF THE COSMOS.

SHE ALONE COULD INTERPRET THE MYSTERIES ... AND UNLIKE THE SORCERESS HEKATE, SHE WAS WILLING TO SHARE THESE RARE INSIGHTS INTO MAGIC.

NOW, LET'S PAUSE A MOMENT ... I USED THE WORD MAGIC. TODAY IT CONVEYS IMAGES OF WOMEN IN LONG ROBES, OF CRYSTALS & CANDLES BURNING UNDER A FULL MOON.

BUT MAGIC TO THE ANCIENT GREEKS WAS SOMETHING ELSE. WHAT DO I MEAN? 2,500 YEARS AGO IT WAS A TOOL USED BY PHYSICIANS SUCH AS ASKLEPIOS.

MAGIC WAS WHAT HAPPENED WHEN A POET WAS VISITED BY ONE OF THE MUSES. IT WAS WHAT HAPPENED WHEN A MORTAL DREAMED OF FLYING, OF VISITING THE STARS.

NO ONE THOUGHT IT STRANGE. THE GREEKS ACKNOWLEDGED THAT, AT TIMES, THOSE AROUND THEM WERE TAPPED TO LOOK INTO THE RIDDLES OF LIFE.

THOSE WHO WERE CHOSEN BY THE GODDESS TO SEE INTO THESE MYSTERIES WERE CONSIDERED LUCKY, EVEN BLESSED.

BUT AS THE CENTURIES PASSED, THESE MAGICAL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE GODDESS & MORTALS BECAME INCREASINGLY RARE. WHY?

A RUPTURE OCCURRED BECAUSE OF SOCRATES. RATHER THAN ACCEPTING THE GODS AS GODS, THE PHILOSOPHER BEGAN TO QUESTION ALL BELIEFS.

SOCRATES' STUDENTS BECAME CYNICS, SKEPTICS & RATIONALISTS. HIS METHOD OF QUESTIONING GAVE BIRTH TO MEN SUCH AS PLATO & ARISTOTLE.

HIS STUDENTS SCOFFED AT ALL MYSTERIES. THEY DEMANDED THAT KNOWLEDGE BE CEREBRAL, ANALYTICAL & TRANSPARENT.

PERSEPHONE'S DARK KNOWLEDGE & COSMIC MYSTERIES WERE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE COOL RATIONALITY THAT MORTALS DISCOVERED AROUND 450 B.C.

FROM WHAT WE CAN GLEEN TODAY, SOMETIME IN THE FIFTH CENTURY B.C., SHE STOPPED DISPENSING INVITATIONS. 

IN RESPONSE TO PLATO'S ENDLESS SKEPTICISM, THE GODDESS' WILLINGNESS TO SHARE HER INSIGHTS ENDED WITH THE DEATH OF THE PHILOSOPHERS WE NOW CALL PRE-SOCRATIC. 

FOR THE PHILOSOPHERS WHO PRECEDED SOCRATES, SHE WAS REAL. THEY KNEW HER AS THE FIRST OF THE DEITIES, THE KEEPER OF ALL THAT WAS SOLEMN & HOLY.

HUMANS WHO LIVED BEFORE SOCRATES WERE OPEN TO THE MUSIC OF THE MOON, TO COSMIC HARMONIES — & TO THE NURTURING GODDESS OF THE UNDERWORLD.

SHE WAS THE DOOR THROUGH WHICH THEY MIGHT PASS INTO UNDERSTANDING. 

AND WITHOUT HESITATION, she closed that door to THOSE who questioned her existence ...

Ω

THE PRE-SOCRATIC PHILOSOPHERS — THE PHILOSOPHERS THE GODDESS FAVORED — ARE PYTHAGORUS, EMPEDOCLES, PARMENEIDES & ZENO. 

OF THE FOUR — & QUITE IRONICALLY — PARMENEIDES IS CONSIDERED THE FATHER OF LOGIC ... MORE ABOUT THAT SHORTLY.

EMPEDOCLES ESTABLISHED COSMOLOGY, & SPECULATED THAT THE COSMOS WAS COMPOSED OF FOUR ELEMENTS — AIR, WATER, EARTH & FIRE.

WE'VE ALREADY RELEASED AN EPISODE ABOUT PYTHAGORUS. HE TOO INFLUENCED WESTERN RATIONAL THOUGHT, ALTHOUGH HE WAS AS MUCH A SHAMAN AS A MATHEMATICIAN.

AND ZENO WAS THE SUCCESSOR TO PARMENEIDES. HE WAS KNOWN WAS BEING ABLE TO ARGUE BOTH SIDES OF ANY DEBATE. 

ALL FOUR MEN PRACTICED A FORM OF MEDITATION THAT WAS COMMON TO THE TIME. IT WAS CALLED INCUBATION. 

TO MEDITATE THEY WOULD LAY IN CAVES, SOMETIMES FOR DAYS, IN A STATE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN CONSCIOUSNESS & SLEEP.

AND DURING THE PERIODS THEY WERE SUSPENDED IN INCUBATION, THEY FOUND THEMSELVES CAPABLE OF MOVING THROUGH TIME & SPACE, OF PIERCING THE UNDERWORLD.

AND WHY WOULD THEY WANT ACCESS TO THE UNDERWORLD? FOR ONE REASON ONLY: THEY BELIEVED THAT TO BECOME IMMORTAL, ONE HAD TO BE WILLING TO FACE DEATH WHILE STILL ALIVE.

IN OTHER WORDS, ONE HAD TO BE WILLING TO DIE WHILE ALIVE IN ORDER TO LIVE MOST FULLY. THERE WAS ONLY ONE GUIDE TO LEAD A HUMAN THROUGH THAT PARADOX.

WITHOUT HER HELP ANY MORTAL VENTURING THERE WOULD BE LOST. TO  GO WITHOUT HER GUIDANCE WOULD BE FOOLHARDY & A GUARANTEE THAT YOU WOULD NEVER RETURN.

THAT GUIDE OF COURSE WAS PERSEPHONE. 

Ω

IMAGINE BEING WILLING TO DIE BEFORE DYING. WE CAN HARDLY CONCEIVE OF THE POSSIBILITY. YET THESE EARLY THINKERS KNEW BETTER.

THEY ALSO UNDERSTOOD THAT DYING WAS SYMBOLIC, A MERE METAPHOR FOR TRAVELING TO THE UNDERWORLD. 

BY USING INCUBATION A FEW INDIVIDUALS COULD DECOUPLE FROM THEIR BODY & VENTURE INTO PERSEPHONE'S DARK WORLD.

THERE, KNEELING BEFORE THE GODDESS, THEY WOULD RECEIVE INSIGHTS & UNDERSTANDING. OF COURSE NONE OF THIS WAS RATIONAL. 

IT REQUIRED TRUST, A CERTAIN CONVICTION. TODAY WE MIGHT SAY IT REQUIRED FAITH. REGARDLESS, MAGIC AS THE GODDESS REVEALED IT WITHERED BEFORE  COLD RATIONALISTS LIKE SOCRATES, PLATO & ARISTOTLE.

Ω

PLATO KNEW ABOUT PARMENEIDES & HIS MAGIC. HE HAD VISITED PARMENEIDES' HOMETOWN & EVEN MET THE MAN IN ATHENS.

BUT SOMEONE LIKE PARMENEIDES WAS A THREAT TO PLATO & TO THE TYPE OF REASONING THAT SOCRATES HAD INVENTED.

SO, AS PLATO WROTE A DIALOGUE CALLED PARMENEIDES WHICH REINVENTED THE PHILOSOPHER.

PLATO TURNED HIM FROM A SORCERER INTO RATIONALIST LIKE HIMSELF. IT MADE HIM OUT TO BE THE FIRST GREEK LOGICIAN.

IN PLATO'S TALE, PARMENEIDES WAS, LIKE SOCRATES AND ARISTOTLE, A PURVEYOR OF THE NEW LOGIC, OF MODERN REASONING.

AND AS PLATO & HIS STUDENTS BEGAN TO EXERT INFLUENCE ACROSS GREECE — & AS INTELLECTUALS BEGAN TO MOCK THE GODS — PERSEPHONE SEVERED HER RELATIONSHIP WITH MEN.

HER INVITATIONS TO ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE ENDED.  NO MORE COULD HUMANS LAY IN MEDITATION, IN INCUBATION ... & FIND THEMSELVES TRANSPORTED TO THE UNDERWORLD.

HUMANS HAD BEGUN TO LOOK AT THEMSELVES AS GODS. AND PERSEPHONE KNEW BETTER.

Ω

TODAY SHE IS STILL WORSHIPPED, THOUGH THOSE WHO KNOW OF HER ARE CALLED WICCAN, OR MORE SIMPLY, WITCHES.

THESE SO-CALLED NEO-PAGANS COMMONLY CALL UPON THE GODDESS FOR INSPIRATION & HEALING. THEY DON'T RELY ON INCUBATION. THEY USE RITUALS.

THESE PRESENT-DAY FOLLOWERS OF PERSEPHONE — THESE HEIRS TO HEKATE — INTUITIVELY RECOGNIZE THE GODDESS AS A DIVINITY WHO STILL REVEALS HER MYSTERIES.

SHE DOES SO DIFFERENTLY TODAY THAN SHE DID THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO. YET SHE IS BELIEVED TO STILL UNVEIL THE WHOLENESS OF LIFE TO THOSE WHO CALL HER NAME.

INTERESTINGLY, MANY OF THE CORE RITUALS PRACTICED BY TODAY'S WITCHES INCLUDE A CEREMONIAL DEATH WHICH IS FOLLOWED BY A RITUAL REBIRTH.

LIKE THE PRE-SOCRATICS, THEY BELIEVE THAT ONE HAS TO DIE WHILE ALIVE IN ORDER TO BE REBORN WITH A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING ... 

AND THAT INVITATION YOU RECEIVED TO VISIT THE GODDESS? CHECK THE RETURN ADDRESS. 

IT'S LIKELY TO HAVE COME FROM A LOCAL PRIESTESS, A WITCH WHO STILL, TODAY, DRAWS DOWN THE ANCIENT WISDOM OF PERSEPHONE ...

Ω

REMEMBER TO EXPLORE MY NOVELS. ALL ARE FILLED WITH GODS & GODDESSES WHO ARE SEDUCTIVE, SEDITIOUS & HIGHLY DANGEROUS.

THEY MANEUVER & SCHEME. THEY'RE TRICKSTERS & TRAITORS. NONE OF THEM TRUST EACH OTHER. THEY APPEAR & DISAPPEAR AT WILL.

THEY SEEK LOVE & ANSWERS TO THE GREAT QUESTIONS WE ALL SEEK ... IN SO MANY WAYS, THEY'RE NO DIFFERENT THAN YOU & I.

WHAT DOES DIFFERENTIATE THEM IS THAT THEY OUTLIVE US. LIKE THEIR BEAUTY, THEIR MEMORIES NEVER FADE. YET, LIKE US, THEY SEEK LOVE. THEY NEED TO BELONG. 

UNTIL NOW, THEIR STORIES HAVE GONE UNTOLD. SCHOLARS INSIST THESE GLORIOUS BEINGS ARE ALL IMAGINARY — & NOTHING MORE THAN METAPHORS.

DON'T ... BELIEVE ... IT ...  

Ω

JOIN ME ... FOR THE NEXT EPISODE OF GARNER'S GREEK MYTHOLOGY. 

AND VISIT Patrick-Garner-Books-dot-com. THE WEBSITE IS ALL ABOUT THIS PODCAST ... & ABOUT MY NOVELS.

THE BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE ON AMAZON. THEIR THEME IS THAT THE GREEK GODS NEVER LEFT. THEY PLAY AMONG US. AS I SAY & WILL ALWAYS SAY, THEY'RE HERE, NOW.

BY THE WAY, THESE EPISODES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE. FIND THEM AT GARNER'S GREEK MYTHOLOGY.

Ω 

BY THE WAY, IF YOU HAVE YOUNG BROTHERS OR SISTERS, GRANDCHILDREN OR FRIENDS WITH KIDS, THERE'S A CHILDREN'S BOOK YOU HAVE TO GET.

IT'S CALLED READ-ALOUD STORIES FOR YOUNG LISTENERS. THE BOOK FEATURES ANIMALS THAT TALK TO THE CHILDREN IN THE STORIES.

JUST WHEN THE KIDS NEED ADVICE, THE ANIMALS STEP UP. FOR INSTANCE, THERE'S A TALKING DOG WHO HELPS ELIZABETH LEARN GOOD EATING. 

A CROW SAVES SARAH'S DAY, A ROOSTER HELPS JACK FIND HIS VOICE, & A HORSE HELPS YOUNG MADDY AT THE PERFECT MOMENT.

LIKE MY BOOKS, READ-ALOUD STORIES FOR YOUNG LISTENERS IS ON AMAZON. GET YOUR COPIES WHILE YOU CAN! 

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