Zeus Ruins Everything - feat. Rick Riordan
Greeking Out from National Geographic Kids - National Geographic Kids | Realm
In this episode of National Geographic Kids' 'Greeking Out,' host Kenny Curtis explores Greek mythology through the lens of Jupiter's moons,
Key takeaways
- Zeus's frequent romantic pursuits of mortals often led to dramatic consequences, such as kidnapping and transformation.
- Many of Jupiter's moons are named after figures from Greek mythology, reflecting the gods' influence on astronomical naming conventions.
Main topics
- Greek mythology
- Jupiter and its moons
Notable quotes
'Just because Zeus is the king of the gods doesn't make him smart or good or right.'
'Stealing people is not okay, even if you offer two beautiful horses in return.'
Conclusion
This episode creatively connects Greek myths with modern astronomy, using
Transcript preview
Speaker 4 (0:00) Hey, Greeking Out fans, it's me, Kenny, interrupting before we get into the Greeking Out with a very special message for all of you. I just wanted to say thank you. A huge thank you to everybody because your love for these ancient myths is what makes this show possible and it's what helps us keep growing. And because of that support, we are officially bringing the show back to the podcast universe. We'll be dropping a new episode right here. every two weeks starting August 18th. Now, if you're like me, and you don't want to wait 14 days between legendary adventures, you don't have to. Just head over to Pinna, where subscribers can binge the full Greeking Out catalog and get early access to new seasons right now. You'll get instant ad-free access to every episode, plus a whole world of screen-free entertainment for the family. They have great podcasts for you to discover like... One of my favorites, Grim Grimmer Grimmest. It's a show packed with surprising twists on classic fairy tales. You'll love that one. And if you're ready to be part of the action yourself, you can try their interactive audio games like Escape the Haunted House, where you use your voice to solve mysteries and decide what happens next. It's like stepping right into the story yourself. And... Because you're part of the Greeking Out family and we love you, you can use the code GreekingOut30, that's GreekingOut30, at pinna.fm, P-I-N-N-A dot f-m, to get 30 % off your Pinna subscription. Whether you stick with us here every two weeks or jump over to Pinna to binge the full stash today, we're just glad you're along for the ride. Happy listening! Speaker 6 (1:38) The stories featured in Greeking Out are original adaptations of classic Greek myths. This week's story features moons, beautiful people, extremely questionable courting practices, and inappropriate reactions to having a crush, including kidnapping, transforming your crush into a herd animal, transforming yourself into a herd animal, memorializing them through astronomy, and, uh, Rick Riordan? Speaker 4 (2:17) Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. Rick Riordan? Speaker 1 (2:19) Best selling author. Speaker 4 (2:23) Rick Reier? What's going on here, Oracle? Speaker 1 (2:29) Where does Speaker 4 (2:32) an Oracle go on vacation? Speaker 1 (2:37) That means Speaker 4 (2:43) goodbye in Greek. Okay, well, have a good time, Oracle. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but... Hi, Rick Riordan. Wow. Yes, Speaker 3 (2:54) hello, I'm Rick Riordan, the author of the Percy Jackson series, and I'll be your oracle for the day. Speaker 4 (2:59) This is an honor and also kind of weird, honestly. Word on Speaker 3 (3:05) the Wi-Fi is that you're doing an episode all around Zeus, the king of the Greek gods. That's an enormous responsibility. Speaker 4 (3:12) Yeah, all around, Zeus is exactly right, Oracle. I mean, Rick, Rick, Rick, Rickacle, Rickle, Rick, or Rick, Rickacle. Today, we've got tales about the moons that orbit or rotate around the planet Jupiter. Ah, Speaker 3 (3:26) yes, Rick Riordan here again. I've been reading a lot about Hecate recently, who is associated with our moon. So this seems appropriate. Speaker 4 (3:34) Wait, we've been talking about Selene as the moon goddess. And what about Artemis? I mean, you know. All Speaker 3 (3:40) three goddesses blended into one in stories that came later. And both Hecate and Artemis are associated with the moon and various myths and legends. But Selene was the titan who was responsible for riding across the sky at night. So we can give this one to her. Speaker 4 (3:56) Ah, okay, right, it's complicated. Anyway, we're talking about the moons of Jupiter, which is named after a Roman god. Now, there typically isn't a god for moons of other planets, but we have named them after different people in mythology. Speaker 3 (4:10) Jupiter is the Roman god of the sky and thunder. He's usually compared to the Greek god Zeus. They did that a lot, actually. Hera, for instance, was considered to be similar to the goddess Juno. Jupiter's wife, the goddess of love, marriage, and childbirth. Speaker 4 (4:26) Exactly. And naming the planets after the gods is a tradition that actually starts with the Babylonians, who influenced the Egyptians and the Greeks straight on through to the Romans and us. For example, the Babylonians named the planet that we call Venus after their goddess, Ishtar, who was equated with the Greek goddess Aphrodite and the Roman goddess Venus, which is what we call the planet today. Speaker 3 (4:49) Oh, the Oracle left some notes for me. Let's see. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. Earth could fit inside it 1,300 times, and it is larger than all the other planets combined. Speaker 4 (5:02) That's huge. Wow, this is kind of making me dizzy, Rickicle. I mean, to be honest, space kind of freaks me out in general. I mean, it's so big and empty and the vastness of space. There are no snakes in space. Really? There are no snakes in space. Et tu, Rick Riordan? Wow. It says Speaker 3 (5:22) here in my contract I have to mention snakes at least twice. Of course it does. Anyway, Speaker 4 (5:27) let's move on to our first myth, Ganymede. Now, Ganymede was a man who was just tending to the royal sheep in his homeland of Troy. Ganymede was actually a prince of Troy, but at the time, the world had a lot of princes, and he had some brothers who were first in line for the throne, so he really wasn't all that important. His job was sheep. And that might have been the end of it. But Ganymede had a problem. He was hot. A looker, a snack, a hunk. He was good-looking, too. Good looking, in fact. In Greek mythology, this is usually bad news. You are right, Rick Riordan. This can be a real issue for mortals. Oftentimes, the gods are jealous of good looking humans or the gods wind up falling in love with them and it ruins their lives. This Speaker 3 (6:17) happened to Andromeda of Ethiopia, Cassandra of Troy, Helen of Sparta, many others. The gods wouldn't leave them alone because they were all beautiful. Speaker 4 (6:28) And Ganymede was the most beautiful mortal on Earth in his day. So when Zeus spied Ganymede, he fell in love and wanted him up on Mount Olympus, too. Have Speaker 2 (6:38) you all seen this guy? He said, he's incredibly good looking. I mean, you know. Speaker 3 (6:44) This is not a new look for Zeus. Speaker 4 (6:47) No,