A Temple Wild: Greek Mythology and the Mediterranean Landscape

Were there really nine muses in ancient Greece? Where were they worshiped? And what do their stories tell us about artistic inspiration and the Greek landscape? In this episode, meet the ancient Greek Muses and learn more about their special relationship with music, winged messengers, springs, and the Greek gods of prophecy and sleep.

What are the trees and herbs sacred to the Moon in ancient Greece? The answer might surprise you! In today’s episode, we meet the three moon goddesses of the ancient Greek world — Selene, Artemis, and Hekate — and discuss the plants, stones, and other entities to invite into a Moon Garden in honor of ancient Greek lunar power. DETAILED SHOW NOTES https://atemplewild.com/atemplewild/greek-moon-goddesses NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Subscribe to the newsletter: https://atemplewild.com/subscribe SUPPORT THE SHOW Leave a Tip: https://atemplewild.com/tip-jar or Become a Monthly Patron: https://atemplewild.com/patron

Today, on the Winter Solstice, I introduce you to the Greek gods of the Sun — the Titans who gave birth to the radiance of the celestial bodies and the prophetic wisdom that the Greeks believed came from their light. We also learn about the Sun’s connection to the Underworld, grief, and mourning, and meet the plants sacred to the Sun god Helios. DETAILED SHOW NOTES https://atemplewild.com/atemplewild/greek-sun-mythology NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Subscribe to the newsletter: https://atemplewild.com/subscribe SUPPORT THE SHOW Leave a Tip: https://atemplewild.com/tip-jar or Become a Monthly Patron: https://atemplewild.com/patron

In today’s special episode, we meet Greek multi-disciplinary artist, designer, and ritualist Linda Pappa. Linda is based on the ancient island of Crete, where she has a home and studio in the mountains. She shares with us her artistic process: how she co-creates with the land, crafting ceramic vessels from wild clay she harvests herself and painting with pigments she makes from local plants and soil. Our conversation wanders into some really interesting places, including her reflections on village life, as well as the dark sides of living in modern Greek culture. In her own words, Linda is pulled by a desire to explore the primordial energy residing in all living things. She crafts ceramic vessels from the wild clay she collects in the wilderness, paints images and talismans of visions received in meditation, crafts medicine in communion with plant allies, and enjoys writing about these processes, sharing what comes through in this sacred path of remembering. Learn more and connect with her at www.lindapappa.com and on Instagram @linda___pappa. DETAILED SHOW NOTES https://atemplewild.com/atemplewild/meet-linda-pappa SUPPORT THE SHOW Leave a Tip: https://atemplewild.com/tipjar Become a Patron: https://atemplewild.com/patron NEVER MISS AN EPISODE https://atemplewild.com/subscribe

In this episode, we’ll be meeting the Greek gods of Night, Sleep, and Dreams — Nyx, Hypnos, the Oneiroi, Mnemosyne, and more. We’ll explore dream rituals in ancient Greece, in particular dream incubation as a means for healing and divination as occurred at the temple of Asclepius in Epidaurus and at the Oracle of Trophonios. We’ll learn about how the Greeks understood their dreams and how they are connected to the Underworld. And we’ll meet one of my favorite flowers of the Greek landscape, the often controversial — and even illegal in some countries — Poppy. DETAILED SHOW NOTES https://atemplewild.com/atemplewild/ancient-greek-dream-incubation NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Subscribe to the newsletter: https://atemplewild.com/subscribe SUPPORT THE SHOW Leave a Tip: https://atemplewild.com/tip-jar or Become a Monthly Patron: https://atemplewild.com/patron

In today’s special episode, we meet The Greek Herbalist, Maria Christodoulou. We discuss her experiences as a first generation Greek-American, what it was like encountering the Greek landscape for the first time, how she went from a classics major to studying herbalism to now living in Greece and, among many things, leading the way in herbal immersion tours all over the country. In her own words, Maria is a clinical herbalist exploring the wisdom and whimsy of ancient Greek herbal medicine. In a previous lifetime she lived on a farm in ancient Greece and found the cure for plagues. Maria teaches and writes about medicinal plants featured in fantastical myths, ancient medical texts, and surviving artwork. She offers educational herbal tours throughout Greece and is the author of "The Greek Herbalist's Guide to the National Garden" and "The Greek Herbalist's Guide to the Mountain." For more adventures through antiquity, visit www.thegreekherbalist.com. DETAILED SHOW NOTES https://atemplewild.com/atemplewild/greek-herbal-tours-with-the-greek-herbalist SUPPORT THE SHOW https://atemplewild.com/patron NEVER MISS AN EPISODE https://atemplewild.com/subscribe

For those living abroad or without any living relatives in Greece, it can be difficult to find ways to connect with your Greek roots. So in this episode, I share some unique ideas to connect with your Greek ancestry that do not involve genealogy. Instead, I’m going to suggest some other practices for coming home to Greece, even if you are unable to visit in person. If you’re not of Greek heritage, but you feel a deep affinity to Greek culture or mythology, these techniques can also deepen your connection with the mythic Greek landscape. DETAILED SHOW NOTES https://atemplewild.com/atemplewild/connect-to-greek-ancestry SUPPORT THE SHOW https://atemplewild.com/patron NEVER MISS AN EPISODE https://atemplewild.com/subscribe

Journey down, into the depths of the earth, to meet the plants of the Greek Underworld — the trees, flowers, herbs, and shrubs that ancient Greek mythology associates with the Realm of the Dead. Along the way, meet the Underworld rivers and entrances to Hades; learn about the sacred kykeon of the Eleusinian Mysteries; discover a shocking truth about Persephone's connection with the seasons; and meet the botanical allies for navigating through death, grief, and the Unseen Realm. DETAILED SHOW NOTES https://atemplewild.com/atemplewild/plants-of-the-underworld SUPPORT THE SHOW Become a Patron: https://atemplewild.com/patron NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Subscribe to the newsletter: https://atemplewild.com/subscribe

Today, we encounter Dionysos through the lens of his most sacred plants, the Vines — specifically the Ivy, Grape, and Rough Bindweed. We also talk about wine, entheogens, and consciousness-altering brews of the ancient Greek world; the Maenads who danced into ecstatic union; as well as the places, mountains, and herbs sacred to the god of divine madness. DETAILED SHOW NOTES https://atemplewild.com/atemplewild/dionysos-and-the-vines SUPPORT THE SHOW Become a Patron: https://atemplewild.com/patron NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Subscribe to the newsletter: https://atemplewild.com/subscribe

Welcome to season two of a Temple Wild, where we rediscover the myths of the ancient Greeks through the plants and landscapes that shaped them. Listen to some exciting announcements about what to expect from the new season. DETAILED SHOW NOTES https://atemplewild.com/atemplewild/season-two SUPPORT THE SHOW Become a Patron: https://atemplewild.com/patron NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Subscribe to the newsletter: https://atemplewild.com/subscribe

In this podcast episode, we discuss the Nymphs, the nature spirits that dwell in and protect the waters, plants, and mountains of Greece. And while it may seem that the nymphs take a backseat to the Olympian gods by playing minor roles in the famous stories, I believe they are in fact the most important beings of ancient Greek myth and plant lore, especially for those of us seeking a deeper connection with the Mediterranean landscape. DETAILED SHOW NOTES https://atemplewild.com/atemplewild/nymphs SUPPORT THE SHOW Become a Patron: https://atemplewild.com/patron NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Subscribe to the newsletter: https://atemplewild.com/subscribe

For the ancient Greeks, the Olive was a sacred symbol of divine blessing and wisdom associated particularly with the goddess Athena, as well as with Zeus and the patron of human culture, Aristaeus. In this podcast episode, we discuss the ancient uses of the Olive, as well as discuss the Olive as a teacher of perspective and a reminder of the ancestral gifts of awe, gratitude and humility. DETAILED SHOW NOTES https://atemplewild.com/atemplewild/athena-and-the-olive-tree SUPPORT THE SHOW Become a Patron: https://atemplewild.com/patron NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Subscribe to the newsletter: https://atemplewild.com/subscribe

Like many Greeks, I come from a family steeped in olive oil. My grandmother’s family tended olives in a small village near Kalamata, the city in the southern Peloponnese famous for its olive of the same name. And as next month's Materia Mythica entry will be the olive tree, I wanted to share with you a little about my own experience of the Greek landscape - a piece of my personal mythology. DETAILED SHOW NOTES https://atemplewild.com/atemplewild/nostimon-imar SUPPORT THE SHOW Become a Patron: https://atemplewild.com/patron NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Subscribe to the newsletter: https://atemplewild.com/subscribe

Persephone is a youthful spring goddess wandering in fields of Narcissus and Asphodel when Hades, the god of the Underworld, comes to take her as his bride. And while her disappearance inspires her mother, the goddess of grains, to instigate a world-wide famine, it is Persephone who is changed forever by consuming the Pomegranate seed, later becoming an equal to Hades and ruling beside him as a Queen in her own right. DETAILED SHOW NOTES https://atemplewild.com/atemplewild/persephone-and-hades SUPPORT THE SHOW Become a Patron: https://atemplewild.com/patron NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Subscribe to the newsletter: https://atemplewild.com/subscribe

In this episode, we turn our attention to the Melissae, the oracular Bee Nymphs of ancient Greece. The Melissae are considered divine messengers, conduits for prophecy, speakers of divine truths, and a source for inspired thought and song. Today, I share with you some of the ancient Greek folklore associated with the Bee, as well as some of my favorite ceremonies and techniques for connecting with Bee. DETAILED SHOW NOTES https://atemplewild.com/atemplewild/melissae-oracular-bee-nymphs SUPPORT THE SHOW Become a Patron: https://atemplewild.com/patron NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Subscribe to the newsletter: https://atemplewild.com/subscribe

In this episode we discuss the myth of Daphne and Apollo. Daphne, whose name actually means Bay Laurel in Greek (Δάφνη), was a nymph of ancient Greece who, while running from Apollo’s advances, was transformed into a sacred tree of prophecy and ritual cleansing. But it is her connection to Mount Parnassos and the oracular Bee nymphs which is to me the most interesting, as it links her quite intimately, as we will see, with the Pythia — that ancient Oracle of Delphi. DETAILED SHOW NOTES https://atemplewild.com/atemplewild/daphne-and-apollo SUPPORT THE SHOW Become a Monthly Patron: https://atemplewild.com/patron NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Subscribe to the newsletter: https://atemplewild.com/subscribe

In this episode, we discuss the myth of Narcissus, that beautiful youth who fell in love with his own reflection, and the nymph Echo, whose obsession with Narcissus led to her own dissolution. I adore this myth, not because Narcissus suffers for his ego or pride, but because I believe there is a deeper message in this story - a message about numbness, obsession, and human desire - a message I think that most people miss. DETAILED SHOW NOTES https://atemplewild.com/atemplewild/narcissus-and-echo SUPPORT THE SHOW Leave a Tip or Become a Monthly Patron: https://atemplewild.com/patron JOIN AN HERBAL MYTHOLOGY TOUR IN GREECE https://atemplewild.com/tours NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Subscribe to the newsletter: https://atemplewild.com/subscribe

Welcome to A Temple Wild, where we rediscover the myths of the ancient Greeks through the plants and landscapes that shaped them. SUPPORT THE SHOW Leave a Tip or Become a Monthly Patron: https://atemplewild.com/patron DETAILED SHOW NOTES https://atemplewild.com/atemplewild/intro NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Subscribe to the newsletter: https://atemplewild.com/subscribe