S2E5 - Ancient Greece's Most Wanted

stories featured in Greaking Out are original adaptations of classic Greek myths.

This week's story features violations of hospitality, someone who tries to cheat death, and people who are just plain mean.

Some people get eaten, and we all learn some lessons.

So listen up.

Seriously, though, this one has a lot of cannibalism.

Younger listeners may want to skip it.

Greaking out the greatest stories in history were told in Greek mythology.

Greaking out gods and heroes' amazing feats.

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out.

Ancient Greece's Most Wanted

Greek mythology is filled with impressive characters.

Heroes and warriors, gods and nymphs, and kings and witches and mythical creatures.

Yep, when it comes to ancient Greece, there is no shortage of superstars.

But today, we're going to talk about a different kind of character.

They might not be the friendliest guys around, but they still play an important role in Greek mythology.

We'll save the good guys for another time because right now, it's all about the villains.

First up, Tantalus.

Tantalus was the son of Zeus, and even though he was not a full god himself, he still got to enjoy some of the perks of having a royal and impressive father.

Tantalus was frequently invited to dine and and spend time with the gods.

He loved eating with them and hearing their stories, and he made a very positive impression.

Many of the gods thought he was quite amusing.

But even though most people would be thrilled to be in his position, Tantalus couldn't help but feel a little resentful.

Maybe it was because he knew he would never be quite as powerful as everyone else around the dinner table, or maybe because he constantly felt intimidated by their greatness, or maybe it was because he feared he'd never measure up to his father's incredibly high standards.

But whatever the reason, Tantalus started to commit small, petty crimes against the gods.

He was acting out.

He stole nectar from the gods' table and used it to impress his friends back home.

The term nectar refers to the drink of the gods, while the word ambrosia refers to the food.

He shared information that was considered top secret and he didn't respect the gods' privacy.

He was just all around disrespectful to his hosts, despite the fact that just being there was a huge honor.

Now, the gods knew all this was happening, of course.

They're gods.

They know everything.

But Tantalus was charming and a favorite among them, and they figured he'd learn from his mistakes without severe punishment.

After all, he hadn't done anything too serious, and like I said, they were gods.

They had bigger fish to fry.

Now, I don't want to imply that the gods were wrong.

A key theme of this episode is that one should never challenge the gods.

But in this case, the gods definitely underestimated the situation.

Tantalus' resentment and jealousy were changing him on the inside into a completely different person.

And that person was about to commit an even bigger crime, one that would get him punished for all eternity.

It all started when Tantalus invited his father Zeus and some of the other gods over to his house for dinner.

You are all such gracious hosts to me, he said.

Please give me the honor of returning the favor.

So Zeus, Hermes, and Demeter all accepted the invitation.

I can't wait to meet my grandson, Zeus boomed.

I'm sure he is a strapping young fellow.

After all, it runs in the family.

Now, you might find it weird that Zeus didn't know what his own grandson looked like, him being a god and all, but Zeus had a lot of children and a lot of grandchildren.

There was probably a good percentage that he'd never met at all.

Tantalus smiled at his father and went home to get everything ready for the gods' arrival.

Now, remember, Tantalus, or really the person that Tantalus had become, wanted to humiliate the gods.

He wanted to prove that being a god wasn't anything special, and he had a plan.

Tantalus' son, Pelops, was beside himself with excitement.

I can't can't wait to meet Zeus, Pelops exclaimed.

What can I do to help?

Oh, don't you worry, Tantalus replied.

You will play a vital role in tonight's festivities.

When the gods arrived a few hours later, Tantalus led them to the table and offered them fresh wine.

Where is my grandson?

Zeus asked again.

I wish to see him now.

He will be down in a moment, Tantalus replied.

He's just finishing up a special surprise for you.

And then Tantalus brought out the main course, a thick stew perfect for the gods.

Hermes and Zeus eyed the meal suspiciously, but Demeter was starving and took a huge bite.

Zeus was immediately furious with Tantalus.

Did you think I wouldn't notice that this stew is made from human flesh?

Do you think I am foolish enough to eat my own grandchild?

Yes, Tantalus killed Pelops and fed his own son to Zeus.

Cannibalism is the practice of eating the flesh of one's own species.

It is common in the animal kingdom and has been observed in more than 1,500 species.

Anyway, all of the gods were outraged at Tantalus' sick and twisted behavior.

He was immediately executed by Zeus.

But even that wasn't considered enough punishment.

Zeus brought Tantalus to Tartarus, a deep abyss located below the underworld and put his soul in the middle of a lake with the branches of a fruit tree hanging slightly above him.

Whenever Tantalus got hungry, he would reach up for some fruit and the wind would blow it out of his reach.

And every time he was thirsty, he'd bend down to drink from the water and it would drain away just before he could touch it.

Tantalus's punishment was to spend eternity craving something that was just outside his reach without ever being allowed to get it.

This is actually where the term tantalizing comes from.

And Pelops?

Well, his grandfather Zeus ordered one of the fates to bring him back to life and he went on to live as a successful king.

He might have even been able to forget about the incident entirely if it wasn't for the ivory arm that replaced the shoulder Demeter had eaten when she took a bite of stew.

It will take humans a long time to learn how to make prosthetics for themselves.

History gives credit to Dr.

Ambrose Parre for the development of prosthetic limbs.

This occurred at the beginning of the 16th century.

Well, that was tantalous a story, but now we move on to King Lacayan.

King Lecaion was the ruler of Arcadia and very proud of his kingdom and everything he'd built there.

He had worked hard his entire life to build an amazing kingdom and had mostly succeeded.

But his success made Lacaeon bitter.

He heard stories of the gods and their fabulous palaces and their easy lives and he resented them because they had more than him.

It was even rumored that Lacaion was disrespectful and scornful of the gods.

Why do people care so much about the gods?

Lacaion would wonder.

What do they have that I don't?

There are many answers to this question, but the most obvious and and apparent response is immortality, along with supernatural powers and talents.

Yeah, there's a big difference between gods and men, even powerful men like King Lecaon.

Well, naturally, this kind of talk didn't sit well with Zeus, but since he didn't have any actual proof of the insult, Lacaion knew enough to keep his anti-god talk private.

Zeus decided to disguise himself as a human man and head on down to Arcadia to check out the situation for himself.

Turns out Zeus wasn't the best at concealing his godliness because it didn't take long before the people of Arcadia began to catch on to this new stranger's obvious divinity.

Gods have turned into humans many times throughout history.

They are excellent shapeshifters.

Zeus has been known to turn into everything from a bull to an eagle to a beautiful swan.

But King Lecaion was skeptical.

I don't know if he wanted to prove the visitor wasn't a god or he wanted to prove the gods didn't know everything, but regardless, Lacaion planned to humiliate this visitor in the worst possible way.

The ancient Greek word phylozenia is the concept of hospitality.

It means to treat people you don't know with generosity.

This is because you never know when a guest or traveler is a god in disguise.

Lacaon and his sons planned a huge banquet filled with delicious food and wine.

They invited the man and made him the special guest of honor.

There were dancers and speeches and extravagant appetizers.

And then they brought out the main course.

A roast beef type of dish on a big gold platter.

It sat on top of a pile of steaming mashed potatoes, was covered in brown gravy, and just happened to be made of human flesh.

I'm beginning to sense a theme.

Now, it's unclear as to whether or not Lacaon knew the person he killed and attempted to feed to Zeus or whether he was just an unlucky stranger, but ultimately it didn't matter.

As we know from Tantalus' story, Zeus is not a fan of being served human flesh for dinner.

Once again, he was outraged.

Why did everyone keep on trying to feed him human flesh?

What was it about him that made people feel like this was a good idea?

How dare you disrespect me?

Zeus screamed.

You will pay for your evil trickery.

And King Lecaon did pay.

He paid dearly.

Zeus went up to Mount Olypus, gathered up his famous lightning bolts, and cast them down upon Arcadia, destroying Lacaion's palace and everyone inside it.

His sons were killed immediately, as well as everyone else he knew and loved.

Arcadia was in flames.

Everything Lycaon had worked for was now destroyed.

Lycaon looked around at the ruins and trembled with fear.

He begged Zeus for forgiveness and mercy.

I will not kill you, Zeus conceded.

Oh, thank you, mighty Zeus, Lecaon exclaimed, with tears of gratitude streaming down his face.

You are merciful.

Not so fast, Zeus began.

You have behaved like a monster today, but you look like a king.

So from now on, your outside appearance will match the evil hidden inside.

And Lecaon's body began to shake.

His nose nose changed into a snout.

His arms grew fur and transformed into legs.

His skin began to grow fur all over.

As Zeus began his ascent back to Mount Olympus, Lycaon tilted his head back, looked at the moon, and began to howl.

And that is the story.

of the very first werewolf.

King Lycaon inspired the term lycanthropy, the mythological ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into an animal-like state, such as a werewolf.

Also, the word lycos means wolf in ancient Greek.

And the lyceum was an area in Athens where wolves were frequently sighted.

In fact, the philosopher Aristotle set up a famous school there, and that's part of the reason why the word for high school in French is lycée.

Well, look at you, Mr.

Smarty Pants.

Well, I do have access to the internet, Oracle.

I'm so proud right now.

And last, but certainly not least, our final villain of the day is Sisyphus.

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Like Lecaon, Sisyphus was also a king.

He was the ruler of Ephira, and he was the region's very first king.

He took his job quite seriously and worked hard to get Ephira up and running and recognized as an important and prosperous place.

King Sisyphus was actually pretty successful, and he helped turn Ephira into a budding metropolis.

However, while he might have been business-savvy, Sisyphus was also very deceitful.

He was really concerned with his reputation and always wanted to appear strong and ruthless so outside forces wouldn't challenge him.

As a result, he carelessly killed many travelers that journeyed through Ephira.

This was a horrific act that violated the divine law of Philozenia.

Hey, Oracle, does Philozenia mean that you can randomly kill innocent travelers journeying through your kingdom?

Definitely not.

I didn't think so.

Sisyphus also had a bad habit of sticking his nose in the gods' business and causing trouble.

One day, Zeus had his eye on a pretty nymph named aegena zeus managed to convince her to leave her home and stay with him on mount olympus he wouldn't even let her say goodbye to her family so aegana's father the river god aesopus was very concerned about his daughter's whereabouts he had no idea where she'd gone turns out sisyphus had seen zeus and agena go off together and decided to capitalize on the situation.

I know where your daughter is, Sisyphus said to Aesipus.

I'd be happy to tell you where she went, as long as you put a beautiful fountain with an eternal spring in the middle of my kingdom.

Aesipus quickly agreed, and when Sisyphus told him that Aegina had left with Zeus, Aesipus went after her in a blind rage.

Now, Aesipus didn't have a chance against a god as powerful as Zeus, but nonetheless, Zeus was still very angry that his time with Aegina had been cut short.

And as we know very well by now, no good can come from angering Zeus.

He is a very powerful guy with friends in high places.

Or in this case, friends in low places.

A cottonmouth or water moccasin is a species of pit viper.

Actually, Oracle, I wasn't talking about snakes.

I was actually talking about Thanatos, the guardian of death.

Thanatos was the god or personified spirit of non-violent death.

He is the god who is there at the moment of crossing from life into death.

And that's exactly what Zeus wanted Thanatos to do to Sisyphus.

Make sure he was dead and in the underworld.

So, per Zeus's request, Thanatos came in the middle of the night and brought Sisyphus to the underworld, where he planned to chain him up and keep him there forever.

But remember, Sisyphus was a crafty fellow.

He's probably the most cunning of all the villains we've met so far.

He wasn't going to go down without a fight.

So when Thanatos brought out a set of heavy, unbreakable chains, Sisyphus saw an opportunity.

Ha!

He exclaimed.

You think you can keep me down here with those rusty chains?

I can get out of those things in no time.

Thanatos looked confused.

The chains were sparkling and stronger than any chain that existed in the mortal world.

No one can break these chains.

It is impossible, Thanatos stated.

You should see the chains we have back in Ephira.

Now, those are heavy duty.

These are so flimsy.

They are not, Thanatos replied angrily.

These are the strongest chains in existence.

I bet they don't even work.

I bet they're just for show.

How are you planning on using them anyway?

By putting them on my wrists?

Sisyphus knew, of course, that the chains would be attached to his ankles.

No, they go on your ankles.

They're not gonna fit my ankles.

Those shackles are too big.

Heck, I bet even your spindly little ankles could slide right out.

That's not true.

They're designed to fit securely on anyone who wears them.

I don't believe you.

I'll show you.

And just like that, Thanatos put the chains on his own feet and locked himself up in the underworld.

Thank you for the wonderful demonstration, Sisyphus laughed.

Looks like those are strong chains after all.

A shackle is a U-shaped piece of metal secured with a bolt across the opening and is usually attached to strong chains.

The term also applies to handcuffs and other restraint devices.

Sisyphus made his way back to Ephira, where he continued his cunning and deceitful ways until he was a very old man.

When he was about to die, Sisyphus asked his wife a strange request.

When I die, I want you to throw my body in the agora.

Do not, under any circumstances, give give me a proper burial

an agora is a central public space like a town square it is used for many things including a market a place for political speeches and discussions and a place for voluntary military to gather right so basically everyone was there all the time they didn't have the internet or anything Sisyphus's wife was perplexed by this strange command, but it was his last request and she felt obligated to honor it.

So when Sisyphus died a few days later, she did what he asked and threw his body into the open space of the Agora.

Meanwhile, the spirit of Sisyphus was making his way down the river Styx, floating in the underworld and looking anxiously for Queen Persephone.

When he found her, he shouted a greeting.

Good evening, Queen Persephone.

I am glad to be here in your charming kingdom.

I am glad to be returning here like an old friend.

Ah, yes, the cunning Sisyphus, she said.

We knew you would end up here eventually.

Many gods will rejoice the news of your death.

I'm sure they will, Sisyphus replied.

And they'll be especially happy to see how my dear wife treated my body after I left.

What do you mean?

Persephone asked.

I thought my queen loved me, but apparently she did not.

She was so giddy about my death that she threw my body into the agora for everyone to see i was not given a proper burial even in death she disrespected me

that's terrible persephone exclaimed how could she do such a thing i do not know i am deeply hurt of course but the thing that bothers me most is that i know her act will serve as inspiration and permission for other people to do the same thing If such treatment is allowed, bodies in the agora will be a common sight.

The gods will not allow it, Persephone said.

I'm afraid they will have no choice, at least at first.

Without anyone there to punish her, the queen will get away with her actions, and others are sure to model her gruesome behavior

unless

unless

no, it's impossible.

Mind your tongue, Sisypus.

I am a god.

Nothing is impossible with me.

I apologize, Your Majesty.

It's just that I was about to say that if I could only go back to my wife and make her pay for what she has done to me, that would be enough to show others that this type of behavior is unacceptable.

If everyone knows they will get haunted if they don't bury the dead properly, this would never ever happen again.

But I know it's impossible for me to return to the mortal world.

Persephone thought about this.

You may go, she replied.

Teach your wife a lesson.

Once you're done, you can come back.

The gods can wait a little longer.

And that is how Sisyphus cheated death for the second time.

Because of course he didn't go back.

He was able to get right back in his body and continue his life.

Sometimes people do come back to life after death, but it is very rare.

For example, Lazarus syndrome is the spontaneous return of a normal beating heart after failed attempts at resuscitation.

Its occurrence has been noted in medical literature at least 38 times since 1982.

Now at this point Zeus was fed up.

Sisyphus was still somehow alive.

He had humiliated the gods at every turn and he had even managed to escape death twice.

So Zeus sent Hermes who was a trickster himself

and a psychopomp.

Yes, Hermes was a psychopomp.

So he was the perfect person to bring Sisyphus back to the underworld so there were no mistakes this time.

But even Sisyphus' death was not enough for Zeus.

No, Sisyphus had been arrogant.

He had been disrespectful to the gods.

He needed to be punished and punished severely.

So Zeus created a gigantic hill in the underworld.

He ordered Sisyphus to roll a large, heavy boulder all the way up to the top.

Every morning, Sisyphus woke up up and started rolling the ball up the hill and just as the day was ending and he was reaching the top, the boulder rolled back down to the bottom.

And then Sisyphus would have to start again the next day and again the next day and again and again for all of eternity.

Albert Camus, a famous philosopher, used the story of Sisyphus' punishment as a metaphor for a man's constant struggle against the absurdity of life.

Well, I don't know about all of that, but if we've learned anything today, it's that it's certainly absurd to challenge the gods.

Also, don't eat people.

Yeah, right, and that too.

That's it for this season of Greaking Out.

Thanks so much for listening.

Be sure to subscribe so you won't miss our next season coming out October 2020.

Until then, stay safe, wash your hands, and don't eat people.

National Geographic Kids Greaking Out is written by Kenny Curtis and Jillian Hughes and hosted by Kenny Curtis with Tori Kerr as the Oracle of Wi-Fi.

Audio production and sound design by Scotty Beam.

Diane Klein is our expert researcher, and Perry Gripp composed our themes.

Emily Everhart is our production manager.