Ancient History Fangirl

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! ⁠ This year, we decided that the holiday season wouldn’t be complete without a mythological foray into one of the most famous characters of the season: The Krampus. And some of you might be saying: wait a minute, Krampus isn’t ancient; he’s modern. Also, everyone knows about Krampus, the festive demon of Christmas. Why are you covering this well-trodden topic? Wait until you hear the wild things we uncovered about him and his history, and then make your judgements about how old and well-trodden this topic is. Sponsors and Advertising This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore the mysterious origins of Yule, a holiday steeped in ancient traditions. Discover its dark ties to midwinter festivals, the Wild Hunt myth, and Viking rituals of sacrifice. Dive into the connections between Yule and Christmas, including Odin's transformation into Santa Claus. Learn about quirky customs like the Yule log, evergreens, and mischievous Icelandic Yule Lads. Uncover the folklore of Grýla and her child-eating legend. This festive exploration reveals how ancient practices still influence modern celebrations!

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! ⁠ Ah, Christmas—it's a time of cheer, of gift-giving and generosity; and a time to eat yer babies. This year, we’re focusing on two different cannibalistic monsters from Christmas folklore: Père Fouettard and Hans Trapp. Because it turns out that child cannibalism really is the reason for the season—and perhaps Santa Claus is the biggest cannibal of all. What is Santa hiding under those jolly cheeks and that big white beard? Strap in, pour yourself your favorite holiday beverage, and get ready for a wild ride into the dark side of Christmas. Sponsors & Advertising This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

⁠⁠⁠Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! For thousands of years, horses have been essential to human civilization from warfare to trade and empire-building. All over the world, people have captured horses, tamed horses, mythologized horses, and trained them to be ideal companions in the project of human advancement. How has the relationship between human and horse changed over time? When did people start treating their horses as individuals and companions, rather than just livestock? How far back does the human-horse partnership go, and are there any truly wild horses left in the world today? Today we’re joined by David Chaffetz, author of Raiders, Rulers, and Traders: The Horse and the Rise of Empires, to answer some of these questions. Sponsors and Advertising This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

⁠⁠Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! In our last episode, we detailed the rise of the Beast of the Gevaudan, some of its most gruesome attacks, and the doomed efforts of professional hunters to take it down. In this one, we’ll discuss how the Beast finally died—and the theories that arose after its death about what exactly just happened in the Gevaudan.  The thing is, even with a body—and a detailed autopsy—we’re still not sure what the Beast of the Gevaudan was. Theories and legends abound, from practical to mythological. In this episode, we unpack it all and try to come to a conclusion. Sponsors and Advertising This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

⁠Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! From 1764 to 1767, an area of southeastern France called the Gevaudan was stalked and terrorized by a mysterious beast. Some said it was a wolf. Others that it was “like a wolf, but not a wolf”—far stronger, faster, more brutal and more intelligent than other wolves. Still others provided much more strange and otherworldly descriptions that did not resemble a wolf at all. This was the Beast of the Gevaudan. It didn’t hunt like a wolf. It didn’t eat like a wolf. And the rugged, poverty-stricken environment that became its hunting ground was a bigger part of the story than most accounts admit. To this day, the Beast of the Gevaudan is a seminal cryptid mystery—and its legend forms the foundation for much of werewolf lore as we know it today.  Join us as we unpack the eerie unsolved mystery of the Beast of the Gevaudan. Sponsors and Advertising This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! ⁠ We’ve covered werewolves in the ancient world before—and their connection to the Berserker myth. But wait til you hear what happened to werewolf mythology when the Catholics got their hands on it. This episode is a wild ride, taking you from the ancient Greek and Roman werewolves to a Medieval monster tied to the mysteries of serial killing, mental illness, domestic abuse, and the paranoia of the Witch Trials. It turns out Catholic werewolves stalked a very dark, very violent landscape—and we are just itching to explore it. Join us. Sponsors and Advertising This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! ⁠ The werewolf myth as we know it today generally involves getting bitten by a werewolf, transforming during the full moon, and being very susceptible to silver bullets. But werewolves in ancient Greece and Rome were a little different. Join us for a spooky-season deep dive into ancient werewolf mythology from thousands of years ago. We'll take a look at the pre-Christian origins of the werewolf myth and its connections to death, starvation, cannibalism, and transformation. Sponsors and Advertising This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

⁠Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Today on the podcast, we’re thrilled to welcome bestselling author Ayana Gray. Ayana is the author of the blockbuster YA novel Beasts of Prey, and is now joining us to discuss her adult fiction debut:  I Medusa, an exploration of one of mythology’s most misunderstood “monsters.” Join us as we discuss all things Medusa—from the true nature of her snakelike hair to her identity as a sister and daughter, mortal and Gorgon—and why her story continues to resonate with us today. Sponsors and Advertising This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! ⁠⁠ This is an episode about a plague that killed up to 100 million people by the time it was done—as many as 60% of its victims. It’s the first documented occurrence of a pandemic that we have, and it’s the first documented outbreak of the deadlyYersinia pestis. No, we're not talking about the Black Death of Medieval Europe. We're talking about the Plague of Justinian. The Plague of Justinian was just one part of the fallout of the global volcanic eruption of 536 AD. Three eyewitness accounts have survived--and, in the grand tradition of this podcast, we decided to read them to you whilst Yule-level drunk. Buckle up. It is a wild, plague-tastic ride. Sponsors and Advertising This podcast is a member of Airwave Media podcast network. Want to advertise on our show? Please direct advertising inquiries to advertising@airwavemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices