Alex Andreou's Podyssey
Alex Andreou revisits the classic Greek myths, and uncovers universal themes they share with us across the millennia
Episodes
King Midas - All that glitters
The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other.
Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new!
…
When was it - and why? - that the cautionary tale of King Midas, a myth about the absurdity of excess, the consequences of greed and spectacularly bad judgment, magically transformed into an aspirational example of success? When did we elevate him from lowly figure of fun to a gold penthouse and the Oval Office?
Written and presented by Alex Andreou
Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Linda Marric, and Dr Ruth Smith
Exec. Producers Naomi Smith & Kenny Campbell
Music by Marianna Sangita
Artwork by Simona Kanellou
For Cooler Heads, in collaboration with Sandstone Global
NOTES
MUSIC
MOZART - A Musical Joke - Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet - PRIVATE COLLECTION
GRIEG - Peer Gynt Suite No.1 “In the Hall of the Mountain King” - Eugene Ormandy - PRIVATE COLLECTION
BERLIN - After you get what you want you don’t want it - Marilyn Monroe - YOUTUBE
ROSSINI - Il Barbiere di Siviglia “Largo al factotum” - Rolando Panerai - YOUTUBE
BORODIN/WRIGHT - Kismet “Baubles, Bangles, and Beeds” - Ann Blyth - PRIVATE COLLECTION
BERLIN - Call Me Madam “The Money Song” - Dinah Shore - YOUTUBE
MENOTTI - Amahl And The Night Visitors “All that gold” - Rosemary Kuhlmann - PRIVATE COLLECTION
STRAUSS - Die Liebe der Danae - 1952 Broadcast - PRIVATE COLLECTION
PUCCINI - Manon Lescaut “In quelle trine” - Renata Tebaldi - PRIVATE COLLECTION
BERNSTEIN - Candide “Glitter and be gay” - Roberta Peters - YOUTUBE
BACH - "Geschwinde, Geschwinde, Ihr Wirbelnden Winde", BWV 201 - PRIVATE COLLECTION
GOUNOD - Faust “Le veau d’or” - Nicolai Ghiaurov - Public Television - YOUTUBE
All that glitters is not gold - Mildred Bailey - YOUTUBE
FILM
Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol (2010) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1672218/
Wall Street (1987) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094291/
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0993846/
Goodfellas (1990) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099685/
Scarface (1983) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086250/
Big (1988) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094737/
Trading Places (1983) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086465/
Limitless (2011) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1219289/
Avengers: Infinity War (2018) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154756/
Goldfinger (1964) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058150/
ARTWORK
Silenus riding a donkey
The Judgment of Midas by Nicolas Mignard, 1667.
King Midas Judging the Musical Contest between Apollo and Pan, by Filippo Lauri, c1650-1694
LIFE magazine Goldfinger cover.
Images of Ancient Gordion
Midas Gate in Anatolia
Map of Ancient Anatolia
Electrum coins
Gold Croeseid
Andy Warhol - Dollar Signs
“Siren” by Marc Quinn (2008)
“America” by Maurizio Cattelan (2016)
“Madonna and child” by Sandro Boticelli (1480-81)
“Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” by Gustav Klimt (1907)
Ceiling Paintings by Gustav Klimt (1894)
Gold Death Mask (Tomb V, Mycenae)
Meowdas (fortnite)
READING
Proust “Mensonges” dedication
“King Midas” by Howard Moss
“Mrs. Midas” by Carol Ann Duffy
Essay on Gold and Melancholy
John Lyly’s "King Midas"
“The Reading Mother” by Strickland Gillilan
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31/03/25•1h 29m
Orpheus - Epic Hero or Drama Queen?
The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other.
Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new!
…
Orpheus and his lyre. Orpheus and Euridice. Orpheus and the Argonauts. Orpheus in the Underworld. Orpheus and his lament. Orpheus and his pain. Orpheus, Orpheus, Orpheus. The quintessential suffering artist. The shining example of love’s triumph over even death.
Or maybe just a performative, entitled, 'singer-songwriter' nepo-baby .
Written and presented by Alex Andreou
Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Linda Marric, and Dr Ruth Smith
Exec. Producers Naomi Smith & Kenny Campbell
Music by Marianna Sangita
Artwork by Simona Kanellou
For Cooler Heads, in collaboration with Sandstone Global
NOTES
MUSIC
Roy Henderson - Orpheus with his lute - PRIVATE COLLECTION
Reinhold Glière - Harp Concerto In B Flat Major, Op. 4, Larghetto - on YOUTUBE
Salli Terri & Laurindo Almeida - Black is the color - on SPOTIFY
Oluf Dimitri Røe - Sabouna of Mykonos - on SPOTIFY
Elena Polonska - Ciaccona - on YOUTUBE
Monteverdi - L’Orfeo “Tu sei morta” Enrico de Franceschi (Orfeo) - PRIVATE COLLECTION
Glück - Orfeo e Euridice “Ché faró senza Euridice” Nan Merriman (Orfeo) - Telephone Hour TV ARCHIVE
Pedro Infante - Soy Infeliz - on SPOTIFY
Marianna Sangita & Oluf Dimitri Røe - Lafina (The Doe) - on SPOTIFY
Korngold - Die Tote Stadt “Glück das mir verblieb” Ilona Steingruber & Anton Dermota - on YOUTUBE
Billie Holiday - “I’ll be seeing you” - on SPOTIFY
FILM
Coco (2017) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2380307/
Orphée (1950) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041719/
Orfeu Negru (1959) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053146/
Inception (2010) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/
The English Patient (1996) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116209/
Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101452/
Chinatown (1974) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071315/
Apocalypse Now (1979) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078788/
Contact (1997) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118884/
What Dreams May Come (1998) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120889/
Pet Sematary (2019) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0837563/
Weekend at Bernie’s (1989) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098627/
Death becomes her (1992) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104070/
Vertigo (1958) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052357/
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8613070/
Fitzcarraldo (1982) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083946/
ARTWORK
Orpheus embracing his lyre by Unknown
Red figure vase depicting the head of Orpheus by Unknown here and here.
More about red-figure pottery
Examples of Orpheus charming the animals here, here, here, here, here, and here.
An example of Orphic Christ
“Nymphs finding the head of Orpheus” by Waterhouse
“Thracian Girl carrying the Head of Orpheus on his Lyre” by Moreau
“Euridice dying” by Lebœf
“Orpheus leading Euridice from the Underworld” by Cortot
Vergil’s version of the Orpheus myth
More about the Derveni Papyrus
Reiner Maria Rilke’s “Sonnets to Orpheus”
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24/03/25•1h 15m
Narcissus & Echo - The Influencer & The Follower
The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other.
Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new!
…
Most of what you think you know about the story of Narcissus, is wrong. This isn’t a story of conceit or vanity. It isn’t even the story of one person. It is a story of unrequited love and pain, of the corruption of innocence, of losing oneself.
Written and presented by Alex Andreou
Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Linda Marric, and Dr Ruth Smith
Exec. Producers Naomi Smith and Kenny Campbell
Music by Marianna Sangita
Artwork by Simona Kanellou
For Cooler Heads, in collaboration with Sandstone Global
NOTES
MUSIC
Carly Simon - “You’re so vain” - LIVE on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQZmCJUSC6g
Marianna Sangita - “Glaros” - LIVE on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIGrYHF7jLA
The Clerks of Christ Church - “Slow, slow fresh fount” - on SPOTIFY https://open.spotify.com/track/61kkAfQYSZQIhw46FDLe49
Joan Sutherland - Gounod FAUST “Jewel Song” - on SPOTIFY
https://open.spotify.com/track/348lGUh1TA8t0T2Kpe0Qkm
Maria Callas - Meyerbeer DINORAH “Shadow Song” - on SPOTIFY
https://open.spotify.com/track/1QhZtlXHBuFUwn4splxosj
Joni Mitchell - “Both sides now” - on SPOTIFY
https://open.spotify.com/track/1pjATX7sbd6Y4jMVqIvzHk
Clara Rockmore - Saint-Saëns “The Swan” - LIVE on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdFSU8sn3mo
Róisín Murphy - “Narcissus” - OFFICIAL on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88p6AwgZNaw
Ann Blyth & Lorenzo Lamas - Friml ROSE-MARIE “Indian Love Call” - on SPOTIFY https://open.spotify.com/track/3Fd9Ti1AFjvEyK67Sv8U7Y
FILM
The Talented Mr Ripley (1999) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134119/
Snow White (1937) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029583/
All About Eve (1950) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042192/
The Shape of Water (2017) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5580390/
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037988/
Black Swan (2010) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/
Ingrid Goes West (2017) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5962210/
ARTWORK
“Narcissus” by Caravaggio https://www.caravaggio.org/narcissus.jsp
“Metamorphosis of Narcissus” by Salvador Dalí https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/dali-metamorphosis-of-narcissus-t02343
“The Nymph Echo” by Max Ernst https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79316
Narcissus Fresco in Pompeii by Anon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissus_%28mythology%29#/media/File:Narcissus_on_a_Pompeian_fresco.jpg
“Echo and Narcissus” by John William Waterhouse https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/echo-and-narcissus
“Narcissus” by Follower of Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/follower-of-giovanni-antonio-boltraffio-narcissus
"Mr. O'Wilde, You are not the first one that has grasped at a Shadow" by Thomas Nast
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/820022
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15/03/25•59m 20s
Coming soon: Podyssey, Greek myths through a modern lens
Introducing Podyssey with Alex Andreou
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25/02/25•1m 18s