Chthonia

We think of mother goddesses as being gentle and loving, but ancient mother goddess worship had a dark side. This first episode looks at ancient mother goddesses of the Near East.

We look at Babylonian, Akkadian and Sumerian goddesses of love, war, and the underworld, with a particular look at the ancient story of the Descent of Inanna.

Explores the folklore behind the alleged first wife of Adam, who is associated with seduction, temptation, and producing demons with unsuspecting men on one hand, and is a symbol of feminine autonomy on the other.

This episode explores the origins of the term “nightmare” and its connection to the feminine “demonic”, and the phenomenon of sleep paralysis (also called Night Hag Syndrome) from a mythological and psychoanalytical point of view.

The Erinyes are often viewed as ladies of punishment, or manifestations of guilt, with their snaky hair and monstrous appearance. But the Erinyes were not originally monsters, and have a beneficent side as well.

Medusa is well-known in literature, art, and film as the snaky-haired woman who turns anyone who looks at her to stone. But Medusa, like similar monstrous ancient female beings, represents two different things to the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Persephone is Queen of the Greek Underworld, and the story of her abduction by Hades and the search for her by her mother Demeter is an important story in Greek mythology–and a myth often pointed to for its portrayal of rape in myth. But there’s more …

Greek mythology has a curious number of stories about young girls who kill themselves or are taken away due to sexual transgressions before marriage. We look at these stories, and their possible importance.

Hecate is the quintessential chthonic deity, as queen of ghosts and witches. But Hecate’s origins and associations are complex; part 1 of a 2-part podcast deals with what we know about her origins as a beneficent goddess associated with protection and …

This week’s episode continues our discussion from last week on the goddess of witchcraft, ghosts, crossroads, and magic. In this episode we look at the chthonic Hecate, as well as the “Hekate Soteria” of the Middle Platonists, looking at the circumstan …

I talk with Dr. Joanna Madloch about the Slavic witch Baba Yaga. Joanna grew up in Poland with traditional Slavic folklore, and we discuss the common motifs and meanings of the old witch who lives in the forest, in a house that moves, and is only found …