A Temple Wild Podcast
Containing the Wild Flame: Ancient Greek Fire Myths
After the devastating Greek wildfires of 2021 — in which over 100,000 hectares of Pine forest burned in two weeks alone — I became curious about the ancient Greeks’ relationship to wildfire — and fire, in general. What sorts of stories do they have to share with us about the power of flame? What Greek gods and myths have arisen from the ashes of their interaction with the element of Fire? And, of course, which plants, trees, and aspects of the Greek landscape are intimately linked to those burning stories?
Athena and the Gift of the Olive
For the ancient Greeks, the Olive was a sacred symbol of divine blessing and wisdom associated particularly with the goddess Athena, as well as with Zeus and the patron of human culture, Aristaeus. In this podcast episode, we discuss the ancient uses of the Olive, as well as discuss the Olive as a teacher of perspective and a reminder of the ancestral gifts of awe, gratitude and humility.