Witches
The Ancients
History Hit
4.7 • 4.5K Ratings
🗓️ 29 October 2023
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
From seductive sorceresses to withered necromancers, witches play a varied - and vital - role in ancient history. Recorded in classical epics by the likes of Homer, and immortalised in tragedies by Euripides, the names Circe and Medea resonate across society and culture even today. But how did witchcraft and magic aid them in ancient societies, and what does it tell us about how women of power were viewed in the ancient world?
In this episode Tristan welcomes Dr Mai Musié and Dr Regine May to the podcast to delve into the mystical world of Ancient Witches. Looking at how Circe and Medea's powers reflected their position in society, sinister necromancy, and the role that Greek tragedies played in immortalising the idea of the Witch - why were these women so powerful, and why were they so feared?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's The Entrance on History Hit. |
| 0:13.7 | I'm Tristan Hughes your host, and in today's episode where we got a special Halloween |
| 0:18.5 | episode for you today, we're having a look at some of the most well-known witches from |
| 0:23.2 | Greco-Roman literature. |
| 0:25.4 | We'll be going from beautiful seductresses of Greek mythology like Cersei and Medea to |
| 0:30.5 | the likes of the necromancer Erich Thou and her role in Julius Caesar's war against |
| 0:35.6 | Pompey. |
| 0:37.1 | Now to give an overview of these figures, well I was delighted to interview not one but |
| 0:41.2 | two guests for the episode today. |
| 0:43.9 | They are Dr. Mae Musier, an ancient historian and public engagement specialist who has done |
| 0:48.6 | so much to connect the ancient world with modern communities through projects like classics |
| 0:53.0 | and communities, and Dr. Regina Mae, associate professor at the University of Leeds. |
| 0:59.0 | So relax and enjoy the next 50 minutes as we discuss all things witches in the Greco-Roman |
| 1:04.6 | world. |
| 1:12.5 | Mae, Regina, it is wonderful to have you both on the podcast today. |
| 1:16.6 | Thank you for having us. |
| 1:18.0 | You are more than welcome. |
| 1:19.9 | This is a special ancient Halloween episode. |
| 1:22.0 | The first time we've kind of done a special Halloween episode on the ancients in the years |
| 1:25.9 | of this podcast, witches and ghosts in the Greco-Roman world, we've got a lot to cover. |
| 1:31.6 | We've kind of divided this up. |
| 1:32.6 | Mae, you're going to do ancient Greece, Regina, you're going to do ancient Rome. |
... |
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