Lambda: the LGBT in Antiquity Podcast

Dominica Raven

Your home for all things LGBT in Ancient Greece and Rome.  Historical Figures, Mythical Representations, Poetry, Legal Cases, Mysticism, Heroic Exploits, and all Queer things from Antiquity! New Episodes every Monday Morning Follow us on Blue Sky https://bsky.app/profile/lambdalgbtpodcast.bsky.social 

  1. 2d ago

    Hestia the Asexual

    Hestia is the Goddess of the Hearth.  She was the first born child of Kronos and Rheia, and the first to be eaten by the Crooked Kronos. Once Zeus claimed the celestial throne for himself, she and the other Kronian Gods were regurgitated and took up their new roles on Olympus.  Rather than be married to anyone, Hestia strongly declared her refusal to marry, and Zeus granted her the 'opposite of marriage'.  So Hestia became the Goddess of the Hearth, who tends the hearth on Olympus as well as overseeing the sacred eternal flame in every Greek and Roman town, and the fires of each individual household. So this asexual deity became one of the most present of all of the Olympian Gods. Hestia (called Vesta in Latin) flourished at Rome under the watchful eyes of the Vestal Virgins. Academic studies of this iconic order of priestesses often reflect scholars attempts to understand the early Roman Kingdom. Yet each of these interpretations were inadequate to actually understand the multiple social roles played by the Vestals. Eventually scholars understood that the liminal queerness of the order was the actual source of their power.  Hestia shows that Asexuality is just about as old as erotic love.  Asexuality is as ancient as Erotic love!

    Hestia the Asexual

  2. Aug 3

    Review of Nolan's Odyssey

    This is a special episode reviewing the new movie version of the Odyssey, produced by Christopher Nolan, published by Universal Pictures.

  3. Jul 20

    Dionysos the Demisexual

    This week we are exploring Dionysos as a manifestation of demisexuality.  While scholars have long discussed an asexuality represented in Dionysos, we can be a bit more specific when we detach from asexuality as an academic construct and consider the full asexual spectrum.  Human rituals often represent this, but they are representing the same sexuality of satyrs and nymphs. Dionysos is surrounded by supernatural beings engaging in hypersexuality, while practically never taking part directly. These rituals are often based on mythical narratives.  Pallene was a Thracian princess who engages in a hyper-sexualized wrestling match with Dionysos, yet actual sexual contact is not present in this scene.  Dionysos' first love is their playmate Ampelos, the beautiful satyr. The two frolic in the forest for a time, before Ampelos tragically dies. Then the youth is transformed into the Grapevine. As a result, the Winegod and the Grapevine were together forever after. Dionysos most famous marriage was to Ariadne. After she was abandoned by Theseus, Dionysos rescues and marries her. The two travel around together and have numerous children. When Ariadne also tragically dies, Dionysos brings her along to Olympus and sets her crown in the stars. This dynamic is best understood on the spectrum of asexuality, more akin to demisexuality than an academically constructed asexuality. This understanding not only focuses our interpretation and understandings of these stories, it also allows us to better understand the Dionysiac ritual environment.

    Dionysos the Demisexual

  4. Jul 14

    International Non-Binary People's Day

    Happy International Non-Binary People's Day! Today we have a very special episode interpreting Artemis as a demi-woman non-binary person.  Artemis is the wild deity associated with forests, mountains, and other wild spaces. Yet as a hunter, Artemis is as at home engaging in men's hunts like stags, boars, or lions as they are engaging in women's hunts like doe, fauns, hares, and small cats like lynxes. The very fact that Artemis hunts with a bow at all could be seen as a facet of gender nonconformity.  Artemis is the Moon. In antiquity as today, Pagans viewed the Moon as an androgynous being manifesting the masculine power of the Sun with the feminine power of the Earth in a single being.  The story of Actaeon, the tragic hero who saw Artemis against their will and was turned into stag and ripped apart by his own hunting dogs. Yet it is in the way Artemis is scraping the grime of a hard day's hunt when Actaeon intrudes into this space.  Yet Artemis is also a patron of women in childbirth, nurses, and young children. Artemis is looked to when women and children are in their most vulnerable moments. This key religious function of Artemis is more feminine.  Artemis shows wild unpredictability and ironic cruelty when insulted by mortals. Yet when Artemis does try to take part in a masculine pursuit like conflict, they fail every time.   So Artemis blends masculinity and femininity in a wild non-binary deity.  Thank you for exploring Artemis the Non-Binary with me today! Have a great Non-Binary People's Day everyone!

    International Non-Binary People's Day

  5. Jul 6

    Zeus the Pansexual

    This week we are focusing on the abstraction known as Zeus whose sexual desires could best be described as pansexual. Zeus is the King of the Universe, and with that power comes a great amount of sexual experimentation with body and form. We'll explore the episode of Zeus' courtship of Io a river spring turned into a heifer, the story of Europa a Phoenician Princess, the tragedy of Semele a Theban girl chosen for the highest honour in the cosmos, the courtship of Mnemosyne the abstract concept of Memory, and Ganymede, Zeus' eternal boyfriend.  Taken together these stories show how important Zeus' sexual experimentation was during his life. Far from being random flings, each story reflects a deep loving romance.

    Zeus the Pansexual

  6. Jun 22

    Athena the Nonbinary Part 2

    This week we are going to continue our discussion of Athena as a nonbinary manifestation. Whether pursuing masculine-coded activities like conflict and competition or feminine-coded activities like weaving and homemaking, Athena strove for excellence.  Athena used this trademark blend of masculinity and femininity to aid Orestes after he usurped the King of Mycenae and to aid Jason and Medea on the quest of the Golden Fleece.  Following one’s own desires, duty to protect one’s family, striving for excellence in whatever one does, ignoring gender binaries to seek a fulfilled life, and bring others up while you are doing it.  Athena’s nonbinary attributes allow them to be the kind of non-binary mentor and role-model we all need sometimes.  Happy Pride Everyone!

    Athena the Nonbinary Part 2

  7. Jun 9

    Athena the Nonbinary

    This week we are going to interpret Athena as a nonbinary manifestation. Whether pursuing masculine-coded activities like conflict and competition or feminine-coded activities like weaving and homemaking, Athena strove for excellence.  Athena-Mentor is kind and compassionate, encouraging everyone to strive to be their best, and to pursue the most excellent things they are capable.  Athena’s nonbinary attributes allow them to be the kind of non-binary mentor we all need sometimes.  Happy Pride Everyone!

    Athena the Nonbinary

  8. May 11

    Kybele the Intersex

    This week's episode covers the story of the Agdistis. They were created through an immaculate conception with an intersex condition resulting in the manifestation of male and female sexual characteristics. The other Gods were so terrified by Agdistis, that they violently exposed and publicly castrated them.  This episode explores the Intersex condition in Antiquity. Whether human or divine, intersex conditions reflected a fundamental challenge to the established social order. Everything social role from the business deal called marriage to the citizen roles were challenged by the mere existence of Intersex conditions.  The story of the Agdistis is a divine archetype for how humans publicly exposed and addressed such conditions.

    Kybele the Intersex
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Your home for all things LGBT in Ancient Greece and Rome.  Historical Figures, Mythical Representations, Poetry, Legal Cases, Mysticism, Heroic Exploits, and all Queer things from Antiquity! New Episodes every Monday Morning Follow us on Blue Sky https://bsky.app/profile/lambdalgbtpodcast.bsky.social 

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