In Keeping Up with the Classics, your hosts Maddie and Farabee delve into a variety of our favourite myths and focus on some of the most complex and fascinating female characters these myths have to offer. Spanning from academic topics to modern-day parallels with a thorough, yet humorous, eye, we hope to provide light-hearted entertainment as we explore what is often perceived as a subject far removed from the modern world.
Yes, you saw that right. Having been resurrected from the dead (no thanks to Boris Johnson), we are back with another episode at long last. This time, we broadened our focus from a mythological woman to an entire goddess: Persephone! We turned to the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, evaluated just how 'bad' of a person Hades is in comparison to other male gods (*cough* Zeus), Farabee had a tirade in defence of Demeter being wrongly cast as the archetypal 'over-bearing' mother, and we even talked about the doomed romance of Orpheus and Eurydice. Ranging from the musical 'Hadestown' to discussing the lens which Christianity lends to a modern audience’s perception of Hades (is he the devil incarnate?), this is a chaotic and much-anticipated episode. We hope you enjoy!
TW: kidnapping; mass murder.
17 Dec 2020
Keeping Up with the Classics - Dido
In today’s slightly unusual episode, we take a break from Greek mythology to discuss the myth of Dido from Virgil’s ‘Aeneid’ with our special guest, Louisa. We talk about whether each of us are Team Dido or Team Aeneas and who is to blame for Dido’s demise. We also look to the suicides of Antigone, Ophelia and Juliet, before honing in on the insanity of Bertha Rochester from Charlotte Brontë’s ‘Jane Eyre’ (with some minor references to Frozen). We hope you enjoy!
TW: suicide
11 Nov 2020
Keeping Up with the Classics - Ariadne, Pasiphaë & Phaedra
We're back! Today's episode covers 3 infamous women from Minoan Crete: the iconic Ariadne, Pasiphaë and Phaedra. In less than half an hour we talk about everything from Dionysus's teenage angst, Christopher Nolan's incredible films, and annoying background hymn singing, all whilst using an exciting new podcast set up! We hope you enjoy it!
TW: Maddie calls Theseus a prick because she couldn't help herself. Mind your delicate ears.
30 Aug 2020
Keeping Up with the Classics - Jocasta
Ever wondered what the Oedipus Complex was based on? In this episode, we delve into the complicated, incestual relationship between Jocasta and Oedipus, as well as exploring the different kinds of feminists their daughters — Antigone and Ismene — prove to be. With an eye on modern parallels in the form of Arya and Sansa Stark from Game Of Thrones, to the powerful statement that the suicide of Hamlet’s Ophelia made, we examine the long-lasting cultural impact that one of Sophocles’s most enduring plays has had on the world today.
TW: mentions of suicide and incest.
5 Aug 2020
Keeping Up with the Classics - Agave
In this episode, we dive into Euripides' Bacchae and take a closer look at this twisted story of revenge, insecurity, and hubris through a different lens: considering the themes of gender, justice and sympathy while also questioning who the true victim is at the end of this play. We also make a few parallels between the critically acclaimed (and generally amazing) film 'Midsommar' (2019) and The Bacchae, drawing connections between the Hårga cult and the Bacchants. We hope you enjoy it!
26 Jul 2020
Keeping Up with the Classics - Circe
The original wicked witch of the West or a misunderstood woman? In this episode, we did a deep dive into the various myths regarding Circe and the disparities in their portrayal of her. We also examined the long-lasting influence of her character in the literary world and how later characters such as Morgan le Fay or Titania stemmed from her. Finally, we analysed the drawbacks of the trope of “empowering” female protagonists and the “femme fatale” in Young Adult literature today.
P.S. Maddie apologizes for butchering the pronunciation of most words in this episode.
19 Jul 2020
Keeping Up with the Classics - Clytemnestra
“Blood runs thicker than water” is an adage which is taken perhaps a little too literally in Aeschylus’s trilogy revolving around Clytemnestra and her husband Agamemnon. In this episode, we discuss the consequences of a vicious cycle of murder and vengeance, and how it tears an entire family apart. We also look to Lady Macbeth to answer why a hallmark of strong female characters is a rejection of traditionally feminine traits and the generational parallels which dictate the lives of children.
Recommendations:
‘House of Names’ — Colm Toíbin
Netflix’s 'Dark'.
12 Jul 2020
Keeping Up with the Classics - Medusa
Maybe it's Maybelline, maybe it's the wrath of Athena: in this episode, we look at the tale of Medusa! We decided to take up a particular focus on Ovid’s portrayal of her - villain or victim? - and discuss the myth of Medusa and Perseus in some more depth. We also discuss the ramifications of petty godly power plays and the tactics used to punish women in antiquity for their beauty, along with references to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians franchise and Uma Thurman. We hope you enjoy it!
TW: rape
28 Jun 2020
Keeping Up with the Classics - Medea
In our first episode, we discuss the myth of Medea and her wide-ranging influence on both the classical and modern world: chatting about everything from defying the patriarchy to Killing Eve and the wondrous Jodie Comer, we hope you guys enjoy this episode!
References:
John Kerrigan – ‘Medea Variations: Feminism and Revenge’, Oxford Scholarship Online
Emerald Fennell – ‘Killing Eve, Season 2, Episode 1: "Do You Know How to Dispose of a Body?" ‘
Samantha - 'Justification of Medea', Samantha's World Literature Blog
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