Garner's Greek Mythology

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 y...

2,500 years ago Delos was the most sacred island in Greece. As the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, it was destined to become both the holiest of sanctuaries and a wealthy trading center.  

Its downside was that it was also the region’s largest slave market. Amidst all the temples and sanctimony, traders became immensely rich by selling slaves captured by roving pirates. That wealth became, in the end, the island’s ruin.

If you love...

How many of us know about the Goddess Tyche? Today this powerful divinity is largely forgotten. But 2,500 years ago, she was believed to determine the day-to-day fortunes of every Greek.

If your ship was tossed against rocks as you steered through a storm, it wasn’t your fate as much as your fortune. Tyche was at play. If you stumbled across a hidden treasure, you could thank the goddess. She alone dished out fortune, chance and luc...

In this episode Garner takes the listener on a pleasant hike in the countryside. But the city dweller stumbles upon a strange scene that may involve Athene, Artemis or Aphrodite. 

Upon returning to the city our hiker encounters the same woman in a coffee shop. Yet within minutes she vanishes. Intrigued and stunned by the encounters, our hiker returns to the countryside and once again witnesses a scene that seems to be a re-creation ...

Novel 4 of The Naxos Quartet sums up the most important things in life — love and belonging. In this episode Garner reads a brief selection from the book, focusing on a dramatic moment in the return of Inanna, Gaia, Timessa and Dionysos.

The Naxos Quartet includes The Winnowing, Cycladic Girls, Homo Divinitas and All That Lasts. All the novels are available on Amazon.       

If you love this podcast, you'll also enjoy Garner&apo...

In 1976 an obscure psychologist from Princeton University published a book titled, “The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind.” It was a sensation, not in small part because Jaynes postulated that before modern consciousness occurred, the voices humans heard in their head were considered those of the gods. 

He pinpointed the date of this shift to around 1200 B.C.  After this date, humans became sel...

EP 45:  Interview with Greek AF Radio

In this episode we join hosts Ari and Foti of Greek AF Radio as they interview Patrick Garner on a wide-ranging array of mythology topics.

Garner discusses his creative background, his novels and the inspiration for the podcast itself. Greek AF Radio is the world’s largest platform for all thing Greek. Check them out at www.greekafradio.com ...

If you love this podcast, you'll also enjoy Garn...

When Greece became part of the Roman empire in 146 B.C., the Olympic gods were still dominant. But the gods had begun to drift away even then. This episode tracks their willful retreat from the lives of mankind.

Narrated by mythologist and best-selling author, Patrick Garner, Garner's Greek Mythology is unlike any other Greek history series.  Here these divine beings are viewed as if they were anything but mythical ...

If you lo...

In Episode 43 we analyze the impact of violence on the ancient Greeks. It was everywhere — the product of men constantly warring with each other and the result of gods randomly exerting their power.

Far too often the gods precipitated war solely for their own enjoyment … Men waged war to replenish slaves. The Olympic gods fought with each other. Mortals who thought too highly of themselves were punished.

Narrated by mythologist and b...

Episode 42: The Divine Voice

Welcome to Episode 42 where we hear a divine voice — or rather, we hear about how Socrates was guided throughout his life by a spiritual voice called a daimon. This daimon accompanied him from his cradle to his death.

Socrates was hardly alone in hearing a divine voice. The pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus makes reference to his own daimon. And centuries later, the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius writes ...

Welcome to Episode 41 where we meet the ancient King of Cyprus, Pygmalion. The sculpture he creates of a beautiful woman changes his life — and provides inspiration for artists for another 3,000 years.

King Pygmalion falls madly in love with the statue. Praying to Aphrodite to find him a woman as beautiful, the king is shocked to find that instead, the goddess breathes life into the statue itself. As Pygmalion gently kisses the carv...

Welcome to Episode 40. Now we leave ancient Greece and shift to contemporary America. The old gods have come to the suburbs of Pennsylvania to play — and to save the world.

The three Fates, plus Artemis, Athene, Aphrodite and the ancient goddess Nyx — all appear in order to thwart scientists who are on the verge of discovering immortality.

This startling tale weaves morality, sensuality and seduction with a fast-paced narrative that ...

Welcome to Episode 39. In this episode we enter the city of Thebes with the god Dionysus, who returns to his mother’s home seeking revenge. There he converts the city’s women and girls to Bacchae, or followers of Bacchus, another name for Dionysus.

He is arrested by the young King Pentheus and events goes downhill from there …

Narrated by mythologist and best-selling author, Patrick Garner, Garner's Greek Mythology is unlike any...

Welcome to Episode 38. In this episode we follow six cursed generations known as the House of Atreus. A classic Greek tragedy, the story involves gods and men, wives and daughters, and spans 800 miles of geography from Troy to Athens.

Like so many of these tales, it begins with Zeus, who has a son who has a son. What follows? Murder, deceit, incest, matricide and suicide …

Narrated by mythologist and best-selling author, Patrick Garn...

Welcome to Episode 37. Imagine beasts that are half-horse and half-man. They’re crude. Their weapons are broken branches and rocks. The ancient Greeks called them Centaurs.

But among them was a unique and sophisticated being. A centaur named Kheiron (pronounced Sheer-roan) was so wise and wily that gods and men asked him to teach their children. He raised Asklepios, Peleus, Jason and Achilles. He was friends with the hero Heracles.

A...