Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics

Dive into the wild world of Saturnalia, the ancient Roman festival packed with cross-dressing, sweets, and anarchy. Experience its influence on modern pantomime through lively performances and historical connections. Discover the rich history, from agricultural roots to joyful rebellion, and reflect on how ancient traditions resonate today. Highlights include tales of youthful heroes who faced adversity, showcasing the courage it takes to challenge norms and inspire change. Get ready to celebrate in style with pointy hats and festive camaraderie!

Dive into the captivating world of Tacitus, the imperial Roman historian with a beautifully unsettling writing style. Discover surprising insights about Roman Britain, its geography, and Tacitus's glaring omissions, like the Druids. Explore the complex dynamics between Tacitus and Pliny, revealing the challenges of bias in historical writing. Laugh as they discuss the idealization of past political eras and the power dynamics at play in Tacitus's rhetoric. Reflect on imperialism’s contrasting narratives, especially during Boudicca's revolt, all while navigating history's murky waters.

Edith Hall, an expert in classics and ancient literature, and Adam Rutherford, a scholar of fables, dive into the enigmatic world of Aesop. They unravel the puzzles surrounding his origins and the dubious authenticity of his fables. The discussion ventures into the absurd moral lessons in Aesop's tales, critiquing how these animal stories influence our views today. They explore whimsical fables' themes of reciprocity and transactional relationships, connecting ancient narratives to modern storytelling's evolution.

Natalie stands up for the goddess Artemis. She's a predator, a hunter, an archer. Goddess of wild creatures, the moon to her brother Apollo's sun, she's not averse to the odd human sacrifice. And if you forget her in your prayers, she's liable to send a really big pig to dig up your orchards.'Rock star mythologist’ and reformed stand-up Natalie Haynes is obsessed with the ancient world. Here she explores key stories from ancient Rome and Greece that still have resonance today. They might be biographical, topographical, mythological or epic, but they are always hilarious, magical and tragic, mystifying and revelatory. And they tell us more about ourselves now than seems possible of stories from a couple of thousand years ago.Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery

Dive into the world of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, who is depicted naked and wet in various artworks. Learn about her birth from sea foam and visit her rock in Cyprus. Explore myths of love, deception, and passion, as well as her intriguing relationship with Ares. Discover how Aphrodite's stress-busting strategy involves a bath in Cyprus.

Professor Edith Hall and poet Alicia Stallings join Natalie to discuss the ancient Greek poet Hesiod, who wrote about gods, farming, and pickling fish. Hesiod's autobiographical references reveal his struggles in life. The podcast explores Hesiod's poetry, grumpiness, and practical advice, as well as his influence on Greek mythology and human themes.

Natalie Haynes and guests discuss Cleopatra's intelligence, charisma, and political acumen. They explore her relationships with powerful men, her luxurious lifestyle, and the challenges she faced as a female ruler. The podcast highlights Cleopatra's mesmerizing personality and her enduring legacy in history and popular culture.

Livia was the first Empress of Rome, a faithful wife, excellent friend and trusted advisor. So why is she still best known as a serial killer?Natalie is joined by guests Dr Emma Southon and Professor Llewelyn Morgan to discuss the life of Livia. Her marriage to the Emperor Augustus (Octavian) was a love-match. They were both married to other people when they first met, but that didn't last long, despite the added complication of her pregnancy and existing child. Before he became Emperor, Octavian was a powerful war lord who got what he wanted. He wanted Livia. He adopted her two sons and numerous other children but had none of his own. The family was unlucky in losing many members to untimely death, and Livia seems often to have got the blame, however unreasonably. But Augustus appears to have respected and loved his wife and not to have listened to the rumours. Their marriage lasted over fifty years, but still she was accused of poisoning him (in a mysterious fig-painting incident) when he died at the ripe old age of seventy six.Rock star mythologist’ and reformed stand-up Natalie Haynes is obsessed with the ancient world. Here she explores key stories from ancient Rome and Greece that still have resonance today. They might be biographical, topographical, mythological or epic, but they are always hilarious, magical and tragic, mystifying and revelatory. And they tell us more about ourselves now than seems possible of stories from a couple of thousand years ago.Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery

Athene is charismatic and bloodthirsty, goddess of wisdom, war and...handicrafts. Owl-eyed Athene is not interested in love, although she is very fond of the hero Odysseus and gives him a leg-up whenever she can. War is Athene's thing, the bloodier the better. She's perfectly happy to humiliate and degrade her enemies, including the feisty and talented weaver Arachne, who challenges Athene to a weaving competition. Athene loves a scrap so it's game on: looms at dawn. She weaves a depiction of her own glorious success over Poseidon in the battle for Attica. Arachne creates a tapestry which shows scenes of gods tricking, seducing, assaulting and kidnapping mortal women. Her message is that the 'protection' of the gods is not worth the cost. Athene is speechless and it's clear who has won the challenge. But Arachne has to pay a price for victory. Rock star mythologist’ and reformed stand-up Natalie Haynes is obsessed with the ancient world. Here she explores key stories from ancient Rome and Greece that still have resonance today. They might be biographical, topographical, mythological or epic, but they are always hilarious, magical and tragic, mystifying and revelatory. And they tell us more about ourselves now than seems possible of stories from a couple of thousand years ago.Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery

Natalie tells the powerful and painful story of Demeter's fight to get justice for her daughter Persephone. Hades conspires with his siblings Zeus and Gaia to abduct Persephone and force her to live with him in the underworld as his wife. Many versions of this story are sanitized for children but the original is not. It is clear that Persephone is tricked and trafficked, that she hates and fears Hades and never becomes accustomed to life among the dead. And that her mother Demeter is furious and grief-stricken. The light is gone from Demeter's life and consequently from the world: crops fail and the people starve. It's only now that Zeus takes note of her pleas to get Persephone back. He doesn't really care about the people but he misses their gifts and praise.In a tour de force solo performance recorded at the Hay festival, Natalie reclaims the goddess' story for our times. A story of a mother's love and fury that speaks painfully to us across millennia.Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery