Our Underworld mini-series continues! This time, we’ll meet some mythological figures who make that harrowing trip maybe to learn something, maybe to make a point, or, in one case, to make sure the sun still rises. It’s never an easy trip, and they have to face down some serious dangers along the way. We'll follow a Sumerian goddess there and back, chart a recurring trip in Egypt, and see how a famous Greek hero made a really terrible choice.

Visit the World of Mythik website to learn more and to contribute your theories to our board!

All stories told on Myths & Muses are original family-friendly adaptations of ancient myths and legends. Stories from ancient mythology can also sometimes deal with complicated topics for young listeners — to the mortal parents and caretakers reading this, we encourage listening along with your young demigods to help them navigate those topics as they explore these epic tales.

Transcript for Comeback Kids Episode 7

If you'd like to submit something creative you've done inspired by the stories in Myths & Muses, use this form (with a Mortal Guardian's permission!).

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Stuff to Read:

• More on Inanna:
  • From World History Encyclopedia and Britannica
  • Inanna's Descent: A Sumerian Tale of Injustice
  • Seven Top-Ranking Gods of the Sumerian Pantheon
• More on Ra and the Solar Barge:
  • From Mythopedia and World History Encyclopedia
  • Ra as Creator God
  • The Egyptian Afterlife
• More on Pirithous and Theseus:
  • Pirithous at GreekMythology.com
  • Theseus at Mythopedia

Stuff to Watch:

• Learn more about the stories in this episode with our curated YouTube playlist!

Cool Images:

Ninshubur and Inanna (24th-22nd century BCE)

Sculpture that may be Ishtar or Erishkigal (19th-18th century BCE)

from Lewis Spence’s Myths and Legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916)

Ishtar by Yliade (2021)

The sun god Ra in his solar barque, protected by the coils of a serpent (14th-13th century BCE)

The ram-headed form of Ra traveling through the Duat (13th century BCE)

Sun Barge of Ra by MichaelJaecks on Deviant Art (2009)

Stories of coming back from the Underworld are some of the biggest, most dramatic comebacks of all! And there are so many of them that they won't all fit in one episode! In this one, we’re exploring stories of heroes who went to the underworld and back for the sake of love. We already talked about the most famous story of this kind, Orpheus and Eurydice, back in Season 1 -- but he’s definitely not the only one! You'll meet a beautiful, adventurous princess, a loyal wife, and a pair of Japanese primordial deities, all of whom face down death in one way or another.

Visit the World of Mythik website to learn more and to contribute your theories to our board!

All stories told on Myths & Muses are original family-friendly adaptations of ancient myths and legends. Stories from ancient mythology can also sometimes deal with complicated topics for young listeners — to the mortal parents and caretakers reading this, we encourage listening along with your young demigods to help them navigate those topics as they explore these epic tales.

Transcript for Comeback Kids Episode 6

If you'd like to submit something creative you've done inspired by the stories in Myths & Muses, use this form (with a Mortal Guardian's permission!).

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Stuff to Read:

• More on Cupid and Psyche:
  • Psyche, Greek Goddess of the Soul at THEOI
  • Psyche at World History Encyclopedia
  • The Myth of Cupid and Psyche at ThoughtCo
  • Eros and Psyche: The Greek Origin of Fairy-tales That You Never Knew, from The Collector
  • Original story (in translation) by Lucius Apuleius
• Alcestis at World History Encyclopedia
• More on Izanagi and Izanami:
  • At World History Encyclopedia
  • At Mythopedia
  • The Story of Izanagi and Izanami: A Japanese Creation Myth, at Owlcation
• More on Shintoism:
  • About Religions in Japan, from Japan Tours
  • Shinto Beliefs and Holidays, from Diversity Resources
  • Shinto at a Glance, from the BBC
  • Video from Cogito

Stuff to Watch:

• Learn more about the stories in this episode with our curated YouTube playlist!

Cool Images:

Roman Mosaic of Cupid and Psyche from the Poseidon Villa (2nd-3rd century)

Psyche Honoured by the People, Luca Giordano (1695)

Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, Antonia Canova (1794)

Psyche, Yliade (2023)

Admetus Mourning Alcestis, Johann Heinrich Tischbein (1780)

The God Izanagi and the Goddess Izanami, Nishikawa Sukenobu (18th century)

The Gods Izanagi and Izanami on the Floating Bridge of Heaven, Utagawa Hiroshige (1850)

In this episode, we've got stories about heroes who got lost. Really lost. Lost-for-years-or-even-centuries lost. We'll hear about Odysseus's prolonged detour, some Celtic heroes who wandered into the fairy realm, and some creatures of West African forests who you might not mind running into if you get lost in the woods.

Visit the World of Mythik website to learn more and to contribute your theories to our board!

All stories told on Myths & Muses are original family-friendly adaptations of ancient myths and legends. Stories from ancient mythology can also sometimes deal with complicated topics for young listeners — to the mortal parents and caretakers reading this, we encourage listening along with your young demigods to help them navigate those topics as they explore these epic tales.

Transcript for Comeback Kids Episode 5

If you'd like to submit something creative you've done inspired by the stories in Myths & Muses, use this form (with a Mortal Guardian's permission!).

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Stuff to Read:

• More on Odysseus:
  • From Mythopedia
  • From World History Encyclopedia
  • Map of Odysseus's Journey from UPenn
  • In the Riordanverse Wiki
• The Celtic Otherworld:
  • Oisin at Bard Mythologies and Irish Central
  • Niamh at Wilderness Ireland
  • The Voyage of Bran
  • A translation of the original story-and-song
  • The Otherworld at Celtic Life International
• More about the Aziza

Stuff to Watch:

• Learn more about the stories in this episode with our curated YouTube playlist!

Cool Images:

Terracotta plaque showing the return of Odysseus (ca. 460–450 BCE)

Hermes Ordering Calypso to Release Odysseus, Gerard de Lairesse (1670)

Calypso calling heaven and earth to witness her sincere affection to Ulysses, Angelica Kauffman (c. 1775)

Niamh, illustrated by Beatrice Elvery in Heroes of the Dawn (1914)

"Oisin and Niamh of the Golden Hair" by P.J. Lynch (2008)

Stephen Townsend's Aziza (2018)