Mythology

Set far into our future, the apocalyptic event fated by the gods has arrived: Ragnarök. A soldier named Vithar is thrown into world-ending chaos, but finds temporary relief — and a new mission — after he’s plucked out of battle by Freya herself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With his reputation in tatters, Shango must find a way to earn back his people’s respect — and their fear. When a mystical competitor arises, the Thunder Hurler is forced to make a fateful decision about his future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A ruthless warrior and fearsome orisha, Shango gives up his greatest secret in return for a fiery power. But in his quest to become the world’s most powerful warlord, he turns allies into deadly enemies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In another adventure from the classic Chinese myth, the Tang Monk and his disciples encounter a river spirit that eats children... and is an even greater warrior than The Monkey King. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hades' story continues as we turn our attention from the Lord of Shades to the underworld he ruled — starting at its very bottom: the dreaded prison pits of Tartarus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hades is one of the most famous gods in the Greek Pantheon, and possibly its most misunderstood. Today, we descend into the underworld, piecing together disparate stories and long-forgotten myths in an attempt to understand this grim ruler of the dead. Along the way, we'll meet many of his subjects: the ghosts, deities, and demons that call the underworld home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a strange meeting with a witch, the mysterious Grímr is both transformed and transported. As he searches for himself in the Underworld, he learns not everything is as it appears… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anubis is a common feature of Ancient Egyptian art, but rarely appears in their mythology. Today, we tell his story through one of the most fascinating elements of Egyptian culture: mummification. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ogun retreats into the forest, wishing to separate himself from the humans. But he won’t be able to hide away for long. When war comes to his kingdom, Ogun will have to take a stand — and when he does, it will teach his people an invaluable lesson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Seven orishas descend into the world, to offer protection and guidance to the humans. But one among them has an exceptional task — if only he’ll embrace his true power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ninigi arrives on Earth prepared to rule, only to find that the realm already has a king. After making a dangerous wager, Ninigi has only seven days to claim the throne… and woo a bride who has a terrible secret. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From an ancient Shinto text: The goddess Amaterasu tasks her eager grandson Ninigi with ruling the earthly realm… But first, Ninigi will have to find the right guide for the dangerous journey to the world below. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A meeting with the giantesses leaves Frigg with a powerful gift and a plan. She returns to Asgard to seek revenge for her son’s death — but finds her home, and its residents, changed. Soon, she is changed, too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When an all-powerful goddess realizes her life in Asgard has become unsatisfying, she embarks on a quest across the World Tree to find herself… and maybe secure a kingdom of her very own. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Midway through his sacred journey, the monk Tripitaka experiences a strange and unsettling visitation. The next stop on their journey may be the last. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Obatala defends the world against death and destruction from his vengeful sister, Olokun, orisha of the sea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This Yoruba tale from West Africa tells of Obatala, a restless Orisha whose boundless creativity led him to create the world as we know it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After escaping Hades twice, the clever Sisyphus had drawn the ire of the gods. When they found him, they made sure he would face one of the most horrific punishments in history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In an effort to become the cleverest man in all of Greece, Sisyphus drew the ire of the gods for a long list of crimes — seducing his niece, killing guests in his home, and betraying the king of gods, Zeus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Asgard in peril, Thor must reconcile with his estranged son in order to keep the universe itself from collapsing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To save an innocent boy from death, Thor must partner with the chaotic, mischievous Loki. But the foe they face is perhaps too powerful — even for gods. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The iconic God of Thunder is enlisted for an epic mission. But it will take a wise empress and a cunning giantess to achieve the impossible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the final installment of our Astrology takeover, we look at Pisces, Aries, and Taurus — the twin fish, the ram, and the bull of the zodiac. For more celestial stories, keep listening across Parcast Network for episodes on the rest of the Zodiac signs, constellations and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our astrology takeover continues, with Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Aquarius — the archer, the sea goat, and the water-bearer. For more celestial stories, keep listening across Parcast Network for episodes on the Zodiac signs, constellations and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our astrology takeover continues with the stories behind Virgo, Libra and Scorpio — the maiden, the scales of justice, and the vicious scorpion. For more celestial stories, keep listening across Parcast Network for episodes on the rest of the Zodiac signs, constellations and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The stars can tell us our fates, but they also have stories of their own. Today, hear the tales behind Gemini, Cancer and Leo — the cosmic twins of Rome, a monstrous crab, and the ferocious Nemean Lion. And for more celestial stories, keep listening across Parcast Network for episodes on the rest of the Zodiac signs, constellations and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Seven Macaw has been slain, but the Hero Twins are not out of the woods yet. His vengeful children are a force to be reckoned with. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This Mayan story tells of two minor deities who fall into an adventure almost by accident. In our first legend, they must stop the malevolent Seven Macaw from taking over the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After being exiled from Jason’s home in Iolcos, Medea and Jason find refuge in a new kingdom — but not in each other. Met with a king’s proposition, Jason’s ambitions betray his family, and Medea takes her revenge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Medea was a foreign princess and a powerful sorceress, best known as the wife of the hero Jason who helped him secure the Golden Fleece. But few know the story of what happened after their triumphant return — and how one of the greatest love stories of Greek myth unravelled into one of its darkest tragedies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Xuanzang achieves justice for his parents, but his trials are far from over. A quest for a murderer, shocking violence, and a hidden goddess all arrive to show Xuanzang that he can be more than a monk. He can become a legend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In China during the Tang dynasty, a humble monk named Xuanzang had a great destiny. His life and travels would be mythologized in the hugely popular novel Xiyouji, known in English as Journey to the West. In today’s story, Xuanzang learns where he came from, and risks death to reunite with his mother. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beginning his life in exile, this Egyptian deity soon learns that he has a destiny to fulfill... and rises to challenge his uncle for rule over the ancient Egyptian pantheon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ancient struggle for planet Earth reaches its climax as Amaterasu sends her warriors to depose Okuninushi and restore order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When an infestation of chaos appears on Earth, the sun goddess Amaterasu marshals the forces of Heaven to seize control of the Central Realm. But its current ruler, the wily folk-hero Okuninushi, has different plans… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After Loki is kidnapped by the giant Thiassi, he deploys a cunning scheme, and a curious thing starts to happen. The gods of Asgard begin to age — a tell-tale sign that the goddess Iduna, with her youth-replenishing apples, is gone. Getting her back will require an unlikely collaboration, and a clash amongst ancient enemies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can the cunning, mischief-making Loki redeem his troublesome ways? The god-king Odin hopes so. But when a giant outwits the Trickster of all tricksters, Loki’s path to redemption is derailed — and he’s pressed to make a betrayal that may doom them all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the boy magician Se-Osiris battles an evil sorcerer, his father, the archaeologist-prince Setna, races against time to unlock a secret from the past. To save his son’s life, Setna will have to do something he swore he would never do again: steal from the dead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From The Tales of Prince Setna: A mysterious stranger issues a challenge in Pharaoh’s court, and a young boy arrives to meet it. Se-Osiris is barely more than a child, but he is already the most powerful magician in Egypt — and he has a five-hundred-year-old score to settle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After slaying the Minotaur, losing his father, and cutting ties with Hercules, a traumatized Theseus goes down a dark path. Now it’s up to Hercules to rescue the young king from his own mistakes… even if it means fighting him to the death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Icons of Greek mythology, Hercules and Theseus are also cousins with a close bond. But when Theseus finds himself trapped in the Underworld, he goes on a journey into his memory that makes him realize: Hercules may in fact be his greatest enemy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Onamuji survived his brothers' traps, but now he is trapped in the world beneath the world: the Land of Roots. To survive in this decaying realm of the dead, he will need his wits, his strength... and a little bit of help. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This Shinto adventure is the origin story of Ōkuninushi, a trickster hero and eventual ruler of Izumo. But first, this prince must survive the terrors of his fourscore older brothers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Odin the Wanderer continues his journey across Midgard. His giant and human companions surprise him with their complexity, and their heist meets with a few surprises. Finally, Odin must make the ultimate sacrifice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Odin was many things to the Norse: the All-Father, king of the gods, creator of the known universe. But how did he go from god-king of the Aesir to the one-eyed wanderer? This is the story of how Odin gained true wisdom… and the cost he paid to get it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a horrible crime leaves his family broken, Ra must undertake a treacherous journey to the one place in the universe he doesn't know or control: the underworld. What awaits him there is a battle of truly epic proportions, with all of reality hanging in the balance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Ancient Egyptian god of the sun is the creator of all life, driven to bring order out of chaos by Ma’at — the idea of balance between all things. But the more Ra creates, the more disorderly and chaotic the world becomes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After claiming his freedom from the sea-god Poseidon, Pelops set out to rescue a princess kept hostage by her father, King Oenomaus. But the king would not give up his daughter so easily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The mythical founder of the Olympic Games was the son of a scornful king and a grandson of Zeus. He endured a gruesome betrayal that left him navigating a world of lusty, vengeful gods. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The clock’s winding down on the final moments of the year and people around the world are putting their charms and traditions to work, shoring up good fortune for the future. But it’s not always our own personal luck that’s on the line… In this story, a night of superstitions weaves together the fates of merrymakers eager for fresh starts. This episode is presented by Superstitions, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Follow Superstitions free on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices