8. The Pythia

Kalliope's Sanctum

In this episode, I read the short story "The Pythia," from Our Lady of the Dark Country, my 2018 collection. This tale explores the underpinnings of the myth of Apollo and his takeover of the oracle at Delphi. In the oldest stories, Delphi belongs not to Apollo but to oracular and dreaming women who spoke to the Python in the Earth— the child of Ge. Gaia. Earth. Before Apollo, Delphi belonged to Ge, the goddess of Earth, who is, of course far far older than any Olympian gods. This story is told from the point of view of one of the Pythias, Daphne. It is her account of the day Apollo came, of what led up to it, and what still remains. You can read all of Our Lady of the Dark Country here- https://www.ptreyesbooks.com/book/9780999696606 PODCAST ART: Catherine Sieck PODCAST MUSIC: Giannis Linardakis (Cretan lute, traditional) PODCAST SOUND EDITING: Simon Linsteadt ABOUT THE PODCAST: Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a biweekly story podcast hosted by writer Sylvia V. Linsteadt. This podcast is dedicated to Kalliope, primordial and first Muse of epic poetry and ecstatic song in ancient Greece. This podcast is a place of sanctuary for her oldest stories. It is a return to the wild garden, to the spring, to the ground of being & the source of inspiration in the Earth. Here, we honor Kalliope as Muse of Earth. Here, you will find some of the stories beneath the stories of Old Europe: short fictional/poetic pieces written and read by Sylvia that explore elements of indigenous Old European mythology, with a focus on pre-Hellenic (pre-Patriarchal) Greece. Come sit with us in the honeyed light, among the ripe pomegranates, in Kalliope's sanctuary, where the stories that arise directly from the ground of being and lifeforce can still be safely told and celebrated. Come lean against the sun-warmed stones, with the fragrance of propolis & myrrh in the air, and the trees heavy with autumn quince. This is the garden before the fall, a sanctuary for all hearts in this time. Join us, and be revived. ABOUT SYLVIA V. LINSTEADT: Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, scholar of ancient history, myth and ecology, and artist. She divides her time between California & Crete, where she is currently working on a novel set in Minoan times. Her published fiction includes the middle grade children’s duology The Stargold Chronicles— The Wild Folk (Usborne, June 2018) and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, May 2019)— Our Lady of the Dark Country, a collection of short stories (January 2018) and Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017); her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay (Heyday 2014), and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017). Website: www.sylvialinsteadt.com/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/sylviavlinsteadt/ Newsletter: tinyletter.com/sylvialinsteadt