Greeced Lightning supports a permanent end to the violence and genocide in Gaza. We encourage you to take action however you are able. It’s the Season 2 finale and we’re going out with a comedic bang! Join Sara and Sam for Oscar Wilde’s riff on Plautus, including mistaken identities, ass tattoos, our preferred Colin Firths, and a reflection on the …

Greeced Lightning supports a permanent end to the violence and genocide in Gaza. We encourage you to take action however you are able. Sam and Sara take one last trip to Roman Britain to learn about Boudica, Queen of the Iceni. Learn just how little we know about this badass and brutal leader while also discussing temples to modern politicians, adv…

Greeced Lightning supports a permanent end to the violence and genocide in Gaza. We encourage you to take action however you are able. Sara and Sam explore the sitcoms of the ancient world: the Roman comedies by Plautus. Join us to learn about vibe translations, Buster Keaton’s criminally brief storyline, camel-related compliments, the hosts’ break…

Greeced Lightning supports a permanent end to the violence and genocide in Gaza. We encourage you to take action however you are able. We just can’t quit you, Legio IX! Remnants of Rome’s 9th Legion crop up yet again as Sara and Sam explore the decline of the Western Roman Empire. Discussion includes the Germanic invasions, the last Western emperor…

Greeced Lightning supports a permanent end to the violence and genocide in Gaza. We encourage you to take action however you are able. In our most chaotic episode yet, Sara and Sam dish up a big bowl of the myth soup that is Percy Jackson. Ingredients include: venereal disease, a new Law & Order franchise, pasta water on tap, and Sam and Sara’s top…

Greeced Lightning supports a permanent end to the violence and genocide in Gaza. We encourage you to take action however you are able. Sara and Sam return to Roman Britain to discuss the conquering governor Agricola and the ultimate fate of the mysterious 9th Legion. Join us for conversation about military inscriptions, outdated female archetypes, …

Join Sara and Sam for a short episode to discuss two constructed women: Pygmalion’s statue and Pandora! Highlights include a nod to Jewish folklore, what you can do with hope, nasty bar bathrooms, and John Hughes’s worst flick. The Legend Of The Golem Of Prague Hesiod, Works and Days - Pandora's story features from roughly line 50-113. Ovid's Metam…

Greeced Lightning supports a permanent end to the violence and genocide in Gaza. We encourage you to take action however you are able. Sara and Sam tackle the Roman conquest of Britain! Join us for travel tidbits, border walls, special trips to Sam’s Video Game Corner, and how far your hosts would go to prevent starvation on the moors. Battle of th…

Greeced Lightning supports a permanent end to the violence and genocide in Gaza. We encourage you to take action however you are able. This episode, we dive back into the wonderful world of Homer’s Odyssey — but this time, in Italian! Join Sara and Sam to learn about the supporting characters of the Odyssey, along with ancient fanfiction, seduction…

Greeced Lightning supports a permanent end to the violence and genocide in Gaza. We encourage you to take action however you are able. Join us for the first recording after the birth of the wee-est member of the Greeced Lightning family! Sara and Sam reminisce about their introduction to Mel Brooks, then discuss the wild and violent life of Emperor…

Greeced Lightning supports a permanent end to the violence and genocide in Gaza. We encourage you to take action however you are able. The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return. Or maybe it’s the myth of Orpheus. You be the judge! This #MythMonday, special guest Jackie Banigan joins us for the rock star of ancient …

Greeced Lightning supports a permanent end to the violence and genocide in Gaza. We encourage you to take action however you are able. CW: suicide. After starting this super-sized episode with some good old-fashioned Plato-bashing, Sara and Sam consider Cleopatra’s connections to the Roman civil wars, drunken Richard Burton, and royal bedroom explo…

Greeced Lightning supports a permanent end to the violence and genocide in Gaza. We encourage you to take action however you are able. Today Sam and Sara dive into the world of the Amazons, including: misogynistic geographers, Artemis/Diana’s rage, poorly designed armor, chaotic special effects, and crimes against the voice of David Thewlis. Ovid's…

I’m Spartacus! You’re Spartacus! Today we’re taking a deep dive on Roman slavery and Spartacus’s revolt. Join us for the brutality of the rich, paganism-Judaism crossovers, ancient grooming practices, and a little objectification of classic film stars. Wikimedia Commons - Kylix attributed to Apollodorus showing two women removing pubic hair, from e…

This #MythMonday, Sara and Sam discuss Theseus, also known as Heracles 2.0 and Ancient Greece’s chief asshole. Sara mangles Greek geography and bemoans the genre of myth soup movies. Sam finds a new model of fatherhood. The hosts drool over Henry Cavill. Mask of Agamemnon Medea's drakon-pulled chariot - Red-figure krater from late 5th/early 4th c. …

CW: kidnapping, rape, Stockholm syndrome. If that didn’t scare you off, join Sam and Sara for the legend of the Sabine women. Discussion includes: white people dancing, mystery pregnancies, the powerful effect of baby animals on your hosts, and a proposed alternate ending. Hephzibah: Wikipedia - Did you already know who Hephzibah was? You're way ah…

Greeced Lightning is back! We’re kicking off Season 2 with a foreign film and a very special guest. Josh Lindal of Screens of the Stone Age podcast joins us for the story of Romulus and Remus and the movie Il Primo Re: twin drama, swamp settlements, ancient hominids, and how often we think about the Roman Empire. Find Screens of the Stone Age at: h…

Sara and Sam had the pleasure of joining the fine folks at Screens of the Stone Age for a guest episode, so please enjoy this feed drop of their show! Today we’re reviewing Attila (2001), a two-part TV miniseries about the infamous king of the Huns, who was a different person from Genghis Khan. We know so little about this period that we needed to …

In the Season 1 finale, Sara has a little gift for Luke and Sam before diving into the life and times of the Macedonian king and general Alexander the Great. The hosts revel in Irish accents galore. Sam investigates the four versions of the movie Alexander, including nudity, so that you don’t have to. P.S. At 24 minutes, Sara says Pelopponesian War…

Join Sara, Luke, and Sam for the Aristophanic comedy, Lysistrata! The hosts take a (non-binding) vow of chastity, debate the merits of a big brass bed, and question John Cusack’s presence in a Spike Lee film. Why Are Ancient Greek Phalluses Funny? - If you're curious what Greek comedic actors' false phalluses might have looked like, this article in…

Sara, Luke and Sam take a wild and dirty ride through the underbelly of Rome with Petronius’s Satyricon. Join us for Neronian conspiracies, Priapic purification rituals, Roman Donald Trump, and the literary connections to Harold & Kumar. Bonus: discussion of ancient dildos. CW: suicide, sexual assault and explicit sexual content The long and satisf…

Get in loser, we’re going to steal the Golden Fleece! Sara, Luke, and Sam dig into the myth behind 1963’s Jason and the Argonauts. Join us for Hecate worship, talking boats, stop-motion magic, and the invention of disc golf. Phineus & Harpies - A 5th c. BCE red figure painting of the Harpies stealing Phineus's food. Theocritus, Idyll 2 - Early 20th…

Sara, Luke, and Sam take an uncomfortable dive into the religious violence of late Roman Alexandria with the film Agora. Sam puts on his historian hat to teach Luke and Sara about Serapis; all three hosts condemn the openness of men’s restrooms. Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, ed. Helen Strudwick - Sam teaches Sara and Luke about Serapis based on wh…

It’s an ancient disaster! Sara, Luke, and Sam learn about the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, the destruction of Pompeii, Pliny the Younger’s #BigNarcEnergy, and Kit Harrington the Horse Whisperer. The hosts also have a great idea for future Greeced Lightning merch. Mount Vesuvius Didn't Kill Everyone in Pompeii. Where Did the Survivors Go? - Live Scienc…

Sara, Luke, and Sam are back in the land of myth with Disney's Hercules! Sara teaches Luke and Sam everything there is to know about this himbo hero. Sam detects more than a hint of stink to Hades' depiction. All three hosts learn of an unexpected connection to Quibi. Sophocles' Women of Trachis - A 1966 translation of Sophocles' tragedy which depi…

Let us entertain you with a deep dive into gladiators and Roman games! Sara, Luke, and Sam talk good and bad emperors, sexy gladiators, combat to the death, and the Teflon quality of the Oscar-winning film Gladiator. Commodus as Hercules - The famous bust of Commodus in the guise of Hercules, with symbolism that portrays Commodus as having conquere…

Sara, Luke, and Sam go on the greatest of adventures with The Princess Bride! Listen along as Sara delves into the fascinating world of the criminally underappreciated Greek novels, and everyone has a whale of a time with this classic film! The Princess Bride Home Movie - The celebrity home-movie remake of The Princess Bride that Luke mentions in t…

Romanes eunt domus! This week, Sara, Luke, and Sam dive into the Roman occupation of Judea with Monty Python’s Life of Brian! Join us for a conversation about Jewish history, renaming BC/AD, the alarming history of toilets, and how poorly John Cleese’s humor has aged. Arch of Titus - Photo of an inner panel from the triumphal arch of Titus, just ou…

Sara, Luke, and Sam take their first dive into ancient history, rather than myth, this week with the 2007 violent, machismo-soaked 300! Learn all about the Persian Wars and Spartan life while enjoying topics of discussion such as: jock rock as a movie, fun ancient instruments, and the Greeks' aversion to pants. Aulos music - The aulos played in thi…

This week, your hosts end their time with the Titans with 2012's Wrath of the Titans. Sara returns to her #BadClassicist ways, Sam earns 5 Greeced Lightning Points, and Rip Torn gets his Greek God kudos. Ps.-Apollodorus, The Library - An easily-navigable English translation of the work Bibliotheca (The Library) by Pseudo-Apollodorus. If you're inte…

We’re back with more myth soup, and the 2010 reboot of Clash of the Titans! Sara, Luke, and Sam discuss Gorgons, Io, Priapus, and whether the world is ready for an Irish Zeus. CW: This episode’s myths involves a lot of rape. Athena with the aegis - Athena Promachos, from Herculaneum, now housed in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. You c…

Episode 4 is the first of three episodes breaking down the “of the Titans” saga. We start with 1981’s Clash of the Titans! Join us for the story of Perseus and Andromeda, according to both Ovid and Ray Harryhausen: golden showers, color and gender in ancient art, special effects so bad they’re good, Laurence Olivier thirst, and more! Ovid's Metamor…

This week, we’re breaking down the myth of Pygmalion: the original incel! After Luke and Sam teach Sara what negging is, discussion includes ancient pickup artists, blurred lines between sculpture and real life, the absolute delight that is Lars and the Real Girl, and what it takes for a doll to be real. "Guy and Doll" - Luke says Lars and the Real…

Welcome back for Episode 2! Dr. Sara, Luke, and Sam dive into Homer’s Odyssey to discuss tricksy heroes, visits to the Underworld, murderous rampages, and how loose of an adaptation we think O Brother Where Art Thou is. Madeline Miller - Join Sam and Sara in their love of Madeline Miller's myth-themed novels! Edith Hamilton - Edith Hamilton's Mytho…

In the series premier of Greeced Lightning, Dr. Sara Hales-Brittain, Luke Patrick, and Sam Siegel begin their deep dive into ancient Greek mythology by breaking down the legend of the Trojan War. Dr. Hales-Brittain teaches Luke and Sam about the epic cycle, Paris' past, and how much the movie Troy failed. Troy: Fall of a City - The miniseries Troy:…