Ancient History Fangirl

Latest Episodes:

Gender Rebels of Ancient Greece and Rome: Transgender People Feb 10, 2022

Show notes

Join us for a deep dive into queer history in ancient Greece and Rome. This week, we focus on transgender men and women.

It's a common belief that being trans is somehow a "modern" invention and there were no trans people in the ancient world. But nothing could be further from the truth.

From the trans women who led the worship of an influential state cult to the trans guys who lived right under the noses of Greek and Roman society, transgender people were gender rebels in an extremely patriarchal culture. Join us as we explore their lives and experience.

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Gender Rebels of Ancient Greece and Rome: Queer Women Feb 03, 2022

Show notes

This mini-series-within-a-series will be a deep dive into queer history in ancient Greece and Rome--starting with queer women.

Because how could we do a season about sex and sex magic without talking about the magical provenance of those who fell outside the accepted binary?

Women who loved other women were gender rebels in the ancient world. They challenged the gender binary in some of the most basic and fundamental ways—ways that the ancient Greeks and Romans found profoundly destabilizing.

Join us as we find out why.

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Life of Sappho (With Leesa Charlotte from Sweetbitter) Jan 27, 2022

Show notes

She's the Tenth Muse, Western literature's first lyric poet, and a woman who openly, unabashedly loved women and wrote about it--in an extremely patriarchal society where queer women's experiences were almost universally erased.

But what has come down to us about the life and times of Sappho?

Like her poetry, our picture of Sappho's life is very fragmentary. This week, we team up with Leesa Charlotte from Sweetbitter to try piecing the puzzle together.

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Ariadne, Dionysus, and the Theseus of it All (With Jennifer Saint) Jan 06, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, we talk to Jennifer Saint, bestselling author of Ariadne, to discuss myth, storytelling, the lives of women in Minoan Crete--and the process of recreating mysterious, ancient religious rites based on the clues left in mythology.

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Janus: God of the New Year Dec 30, 2021

Show notes

Janus is the two-faced god of the Roman pantheon. He was the god of beginnings and endings, of dual natures, of passageways and passage through time. He’s the god of thresholds and doorways and gates, and the god of change, both concrete and abstract. He’s constantly in motion; he’s the god who’s always just passing through.

Janus may not be very well-known. But in his time, he was considered one of the most important gods—perhaps more important than Jupiter himself. Today, we’re going to tell you all about him.

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Krampus: The Goat Knows What You Did Dec 23, 2021

Show notes

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.

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Bathroom Business (With Kate the Exploress) Dec 02, 2021

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How did sex workers in ancient Greece and Rome manage their periods? What were the most popular fashions for pubic hair? What underwear was everyone wearing? And how did sex workers handle contraception and unwanted pregnancies?

In this episode, we team up with Kate the Exploress to delve into the most intimate aspects of daily life for sex workers in ancient Greece and Rome, including the most powerful sex magic of all: the blood magic of periods.

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Transgender Aphrodite Nov 25, 2021

Show notes

Despite inspiring desire of all kinds in people of all genders, Aphrodite herself is often depicted as a cisgender woman. But not always.

Ancient writers tell us of mystery cults that worshipped Aphrodite as a transgender woman--or perhaps as nonbinary or intersex. And when you delve into her most ancient roots, there’s an even older tradition of worship led by transgender priestesses.

Join us as we uncover the historical and mythological evidence for a transgender Aphrodite.

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Mythology of Aphrodite Nov 18, 2021

Show notes

Goddess of sex workers, Our Lady of the Castration Foam, the walking embodiment of orgasm herself—Aphrodite was one of the most powerful goddesses in the Olympian pantheon. And as a free, unattached woman with lots of sexual agency, she directly threatened the patriarchy.

In this episode, we’ll examine the stories told about Aphrodite--and what they reveal about how the Ancient Greeks felt about women, love, lust, and relationships.

Join us for a mythology-packed episode that will demystify the goddess of love.

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The Cult of Aphrodite Nov 11, 2021

Show notes

If you know anything about Aphrodite, then you know she is the ancient Greek goddess primarily associated with love, beauty, sex, reproduction, and passion. She was also the patron goddess of sex workers in the ancient Classical world.

Join us as we explore how Aphrodite was worshipped in ancient Greece, the goddess's history and ancient roots, and how the Romans transformed her into Venus.

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