0:40

Hello, this is let's talk about

0:43

Mitz baby and I am

0:45

obviously live here with part

0:47

three of Euripides's Ion, a

0:50

play I have become obsessed with

0:52

in a truly overwhelming way.

0:55

How did no one ever tell me that it

0:57

was like this feminist,

0:59

like this anti

1:01

patriarchy? How

1:03

did it take me seven years of the podcast

1:06

to finally read it? Truly? This is

1:08

the joy of the ancient world and a playwright

1:10

like Euripides. Every time you think you've

1:12

seen it all, there is something else just ready

1:15

to blow it all out of the water. And

1:18

well, like, we're only a third of the way through

1:21

the play, so let's get

1:23

right back in where we last left

1:26

our characters. Creusa, a princess

1:28

of Athens, was visiting the Delphic Oracle

1:31

with her husband Suitus. They

1:33

are childless and seeking answers.

1:36

Though what Suitus doesn't know is

1:38

that Creusa did bear a child.

1:40

Before they ever met. She

1:43

was raped by the god Apollo. And

1:45

this is your warning that this topic will remain

1:47

a major part of the play, though in

1:50

a truly revolutionary way.

1:53

And she tried to expose the child that

1:55

was born of the assault in the same place

1:57

where it happened when she went back,

1:59

though, after she found the baby

2:02

gone without a trace. This

2:04

is because Apollo had the baby carried

2:07

off to Delphi, where he was raised as

2:09

a temple attendant, and is just

2:11

interacted with Creusa. They

2:14

spoke of their shared story, or

2:16

rather Creusa says it happened to a friend

2:18

of hers, and that she's seeking news of

2:20

the baby, whether it still lives,

2:23

seeking this news from the god. She

2:26

won't be getting a prophecy from Apollo, though,

2:28

and she has kept it all from her husband. Meanwhile,

2:31

Suitis went to seek the

2:33

oracle's prophecy about his own

2:35

childlessness and walked

2:37

out of that temple with the newfound idea

2:39

that not only was this temple attendant

2:42

Ion his son, but

2:45

also that he possessed the

2:47

boy because of it. Euripides

2:50

in this play is examining women's

2:52

traumas and how they are

2:54

seen in this world, and how

2:56

mothers and fathers handle

2:59

having children again in this world,

3:02

Creusa wants to love a child, and

3:04

suit This wants to possess

3:06

the things that come with having air

3:09

Ion is in between acting as

3:11

a kind of genderless mediator.

3:14

He wasn't socialized with other children

3:17

and so lacked these like defined

3:19

gender roles. I don't mean to suggest

3:21

that he doesn't have a gender, but his lack of

3:23

the societal roles for either

3:26

a boy or a girl in ancient Athens or ancient

3:28

Greece is I think, meant

3:30

to serve as this kind of blank slate on

3:33

which Euripides can present mostly

3:36

women's characters as they

3:38

compare two men's and

3:41

I am fucking here for it. This

3:57

is episode two sixty

3:59

two for Love or Possession,

4:02

Defining Ancient parenthood Euripides

4:05

is Ion Part three.

4:20

Ion has just been told that

4:22

this strange man standing before

4:25

him is in fact his father.

4:28

He isn't excited. Whether it's because

4:30

of Casuthus's behavior that he

4:32

refused to answer any pertinent questions

4:35

or even really examined how or why he's

4:37

being told that this boy is his son,

4:40

or because he seems only interested in

4:42

the act of possessing a child rather

4:44

than like parenting a child. You know, it isn't

4:46

clear, but Ion is clearly wary

4:49

of Suthus and mostly

4:51

uninterested in this information. Ion

4:54

has grown up amongst the temple and its caretakers.

4:57

He hasn't had a childhood or parents that he

4:59

knew of or really anything, except

5:02

this devotion to Apollo that came

5:04

with his life. He works for the God,

5:06

he worships the God, and loves the God

5:08

like a father. Of course, what he doesn't

5:10

know is that Apollo is indeed his

5:13

biological father. But

5:15

Ion has been told by Creusa of this crime

5:18

by Apollo, this violation of a woman's

5:20

body, and how it resulted in a

5:22

child. He's horrified

5:25

at the accusation. And remember, he

5:27

deliberately called out not only Apollo

5:29

for this violence, but the gods more

5:31

broadly. Ion called out the predatory

5:34

nature of the gods, how they set rules

5:36

for humanity but violate those

5:38

same rules themselves. Euripides

5:41

through Ion seems to be taking a

5:43

close look at the actions of the gods

5:45

and forming a judgment. Ion

5:48

is questioning his love for the God, is

5:50

questioning the behavior of the gods broadly

5:53

and specifically, how they've

5:55

forced themselves on so many women,

5:57

have fathered so many half mortal

6:00

children, and what that says about

6:02

not only the gods but the women they

6:04

victimize. This

6:06

play is truly really looking at the

6:08

culture of divine rape

6:11

in ancient Greek mythos. And finally,

6:13

finally calling it for what it

6:16

is, trauma. These

6:18

women are finally allowed to experience

6:21

it as trauma and have those

6:23

around them acknowledge it. Ion

6:26

follows up this revelation that apparently

6:29

Suthus is his father by instead

6:32

thinking of his mother, He wonders where

6:34

she is, who she is, since Suthus

6:36

seems unconcerned with recalling whoever

6:39

he might have impregnated. It's

6:41

notable too that it isn't Suthus who

6:44

responds to Ion's prayer to

6:46

his mother, but the chorus of women.

6:49

The women are you remember attendance

6:51

to Creusa. They are enslaved,

6:53

but here they are presented as caring

6:55

for her. They are happy enough that Suthus

6:58

has been told he has a son, but they

7:00

wish it was their mistress, Creusa,

7:02

who was able to have a child. They,

7:05

like Creusa, are interested in the

7:07

love parents have for their children,

7:10

of the way that love impacts

7:12

their life. Casuthus,

7:15

though, remains pretty fucking clueless. He

7:17

is obsessed with the idea that Ion should

7:19

be as excited as he is. He tells

7:21

Ion quote that God has done us a

7:23

service and joined you to me,

7:26

and you in turn have found

7:28

what is dearest to you that you

7:30

did not know before. As

7:33

almost an afterthought, he adds that, oh,

7:36

actually, he also wants to know

7:38

who Ion's mother is like he hopes

7:40

the boy finds her quote, and I

7:42

will know what sort of woman gave you

7:44

birth. Because again,

7:47

Ksuthus seems pretty disinterested in

7:49

his role in the whole thing. He

7:51

doesn't note that such a woman must have been

7:54

impregnated by him in order for Apollo's

7:56

prophecy to make sense as he's heard

7:58

it, only what kind of woman

8:00

has provided him with what he wanted

8:03

an heir, a son to possess.

8:06

He tells Ion plainly, quote Lee,

8:08

if the god's foundations and your homelessness

8:11

come to Athens, sharing your

8:13

father's way of thinking, then

8:17

he seems to, arguably for the first time,

8:20

actually interpret Ion's body language.

8:23

He asks if Ion is silent, and

8:25

why does he look so worried? I'll

8:27

explain, Ion says. He

8:30

agrees, he's happy to have found his father.

8:32

He does think he's lucky, but he's

8:34

worried about going to Athens. He knows

8:36

enough about the city to know that he as

8:38

the son of a foreign father. Because

8:41

remember, Exuit, this is not Athenian, will

8:43

mean that he won't have it easy. There

8:46

he goes into detail, but the basics

8:48

is just this acknowledgment that in Athens,

8:51

citizenship is limited to being born

8:53

Athenian, and being born Athenian

8:56

is pretty limited to your father being

8:58

Athenian, because Athenians

9:01

are born of the soil of Athens, and that

9:03

life as a foreign person in the city isn't

9:06

easy. It's fraught for many reasons,

9:08

and with a foreign father, an unknown

9:10

mother, and born outside of marriage,

9:12

Ion would have to work very hard to

9:14

be accepted, and even then would probably

9:17

be hated by one group or another.

9:19

He explains all this very clearly.

9:22

He's just not optimistic about being

9:24

an Athens and the same

9:26

goes for joining the home of Casuthus's wife.

9:29

He continues, he will be coming

9:31

into her home a woman who can't have

9:33

her own children as a child of

9:35

her husband and someone else. She will

9:37

resent him. Quote. She will have

9:40

good reason to hate me when I stand

9:42

at your side while she still has

9:44

no child of her own, and will look

9:46

with bitterness on all you love

9:49

that he goes on will result in either

9:52

you turning on me and siding with your wife,

9:54

or siding with me and turning your house into chaos

9:57

quote. Think of the blood baths

9:59

and deaths by lethal poison that

10:02

women have devised for their men.

10:06

Bloodbaths. Do you get it because

10:08

of the time Clydemnestra killed Agamemnon

10:11

in the bath. That's a good one,

10:13

Euripides. He

10:15

isn't judging for Yousa, though he follows this by

10:17

saying that he pities her. She is

10:20

getting older and she doesn't have children.

10:22

She has such important lineage,

10:24

coming from the line of Athenian founding

10:27

kings quote. She does

10:29

not deserve the curse of barrenness.

10:33

Ion explains that he would be much happier

10:35

to be a nobody rather than

10:37

somebody who consorts with criminals

10:39

and lives in fear of conspiracy against

10:42

him. He knows that if he were to be brought

10:44

to Athens and presented as an heir to

10:46

the throne, he wouldn't be treated as such.

10:48

That he would be seen as a foreign tyrant wrestling

10:51

control of the from Athenians, and he'd

10:53

be hated for it, Constantly fearing

10:56

for his life. Ion

10:58

is smart and sensible and has a very reason

11:00

to grasp on how Athenians see

11:02

things and what kind of life he

11:04

would have there. But then

11:07

he says something that the angry leftist

11:09

in me loves to hear. Quote.

11:13

You could say that gold is more than a

11:15

match for this, and being rich is

11:17

its own reward. I do not want

11:19

to hear abuse for hoarding wealth,

11:22

and I don't want the stress. He

11:25

doesn't want that life. He doesn't want

11:27

to hoard wealth. He doesn't want

11:29

to be rich but feared or hated.

11:32

He much rather live a modest life without

11:34

the anxiety that would come with this life

11:36

that Casuitus would give him.

11:39

His life as it's been up to now hasn't

11:41

been bad. He lives a life of

11:43

leisure, without fear of violence or

11:46

really anyone causing him any trouble

11:48

at all. He serves people seeking

11:50

access to the God. They are happy and

11:52

easy. Finally, he

11:54

makes his point clear to suit this he

11:57

would rather stay there in Delphi, would

11:59

rather continue on with the life that he has

12:01

been leading up to now. It's served him

12:04

well quote for the

12:06

pleasure is the same to be happy with a

12:08

lot as to find delight in

12:10

small things. When

12:14

Ion is finished, the chorus chimes

12:16

in to essentially agree with him.

12:18

Quote that's well said. If only

12:20

the ones I care for turn up among your

12:22

successful friends. Southus,

12:26

on the other hand, is going to continue on as

12:28

he has been his responses quote,

12:30

stop this talk, learn to accept

12:33

good fortune.

12:48

God's this play remains relatable,

12:50

doesn't it. Suthus isn't interested in

12:52

the clear, concise, and incredibly

12:54

evidence based arguments that Ion has given

12:57

him. Ion took the time to explain

12:59

his point well, to be detailed in his reasoning,

13:01

and to clearly explain his point and

13:03

why he wishes to remain where he is. He

13:06

was very clear why he isn't interested in

13:08

having his life change, and

13:10

Kuthus just bulldozes right

13:13

over him. He tells Ion what he

13:15

should think, how he should

13:17

feel, how he should be grateful for

13:19

what he's being given because Xuthus

13:22

is giving it to him. Once

13:24

more, Cazuthus is attempting to force

13:26

something on Ion, to force

13:29

him to be the son that Xuthus wants,

13:31

one that will carry on in his footsteps,

13:34

one who will be his literal and figurative

13:36

air. He can't fathom that

13:38

Ion doesn't want what he wants,

13:41

power and wealth and control. He can't

13:43

fathom that Ion isn't interested

13:45

in the benefits of being a man

13:48

under the Athenian patriarchy. You

13:51

cannot convince me that Xuthus isn't to

13:53

stand in for the patriarchy of ancient Athens,

13:56

a patriarchy that laid the groundwork for the same

13:58

one we live in now, nor

14:00

that this patriarchy isn't tightly bound

14:02

up with capitalism, an obsession with

14:04

wealth in appearances over a comfortable,

14:07

simple life among people you love.

14:11

Suthus tells Ion that

14:13

he wants to have a big party, a

14:16

feast in honor of Ion, where they will

14:18

make prayers and sacrifices that were neglected

14:20

at his birth, and that it should

14:22

take place in Delphi, in the same place

14:24

where Suthus found him. Then

14:28

he says they'll return to Athens.

14:30

He says Ion will return there quote

14:34

as a sightseer, not as

14:36

my son. This

14:38

is a twist. Xuthus concedes that it

14:40

would hurt Creusa to bring Ion back

14:43

as his son, and he doesn't want to hurt her, so they'll

14:45

keep it a secret, and in time he will

14:47

convince Creusa to allow Ion to

14:50

be the heir to rule over Athens.

14:53

And here, at like line six sixty

14:56

of this play, Xuthus announces the name

14:58

that he will give the boy like up till now, Ion didn't

15:00

have a name. Hermes called him Ion in the prologue,

15:03

but he said the name was still to come.

15:05

So here it is. Casutha says he'll

15:07

call him Ion because it was

15:10

Ion he saw as he was leaving the

15:12

temple. There are ancient Greek etymological

15:14

reasons for this and why it works, but I'm

15:17

not going to explain them. And once

15:19

more, he makes clear that he isn't giving

15:21

Ion a choice in this. He finishes

15:24

response his response to Ion's request

15:26

for his life not to change by telling

15:28

him to go get all his friends

15:30

and they'll have a feast for him to say goodbye. And

15:33

then for good measure, he tells the chorus of women to keep

15:35

it secret or he will kill them. Appointed

15:38

contrast to the same plea that Creusa

15:41

made of Ion, keep it secret that

15:43

she was there in Delphy seeking news of this lost baby,

15:46

but Creusa asked nightlyate

15:48

nicely. She appealed to Ion's kindness

15:50

to keep her secret. Suit this can't

15:52

imagine such a thing. He's only

15:55

got threats of violence on his side, to

15:58

which Ion only responds with one thing, his

16:00

life isn't worth living unless he

16:02

finds his mother, and he prays now

16:06

that she is from Athens quote,

16:08

oh, I'll have freedom of speech on mother's

16:11

side, because

16:13

again you cannot convince me that South. This isn't

16:15

a stand in for the patriarchal structure of Euripides'

16:18

world and ours for that matter, or that Creusa

16:21

now through her son Ion, isn't

16:23

a stand in for an alternative world

16:25

where affection and family is more important

16:27

than wealth and power, where

16:30

people people are

16:33

more important than wealth and power. Western

16:36

patriarch responds violence. If the world

16:39

is structured based on who has

16:41

the most control over others, and how that

16:43

control is gained and held by violence,

16:46

then the world is structured around violence,

16:49

particularly against those less

16:51

powerful. The

17:22

chorus sings of Creusa's grief

17:24

quote, I see tears and

17:26

grieving in a deluge of lamentation.

17:29

When my queen learns that her husband

17:32

is blessed with the son, but she is left

17:34

barren and without children. They

17:38

sing to Apollo they ask him where

17:40

this came from? Quote what

17:42

song did you unravel? They

17:45

ask where Ion came from? Who is

17:47

his mother? They question the oracle,

17:50

saying they can't be flattered into thinking

17:52

that the oracle is not capable of

17:54

deceit. They're afraid

17:56

of what will happen. They're confused by the god's

17:59

actions and what will happen to their home

18:01

as a result. They sing of

18:03

Suthus, how he came into their home

18:05

as a stranger, a foreigner,

18:08

falling into wealth when he married Creusa,

18:11

and now bringing a stranger

18:13

into their home, one who will only bring

18:15

her grief. They basically

18:17

curse Casuitus, hoping that his prayers

18:20

to the gods won't reach him. They

18:22

see what is to come, that Xuthus

18:24

and Ion would be doing terrible

18:27

things, that they're already close. They

18:30

sing to Diagonysus and his main ads

18:32

to the mountain Parnassus, where they are

18:35

now, but which they say will

18:37

have his back in roaming at

18:39

night. They ask that Ion not

18:41

reach Athens, that he die before he

18:43

can reach the city. They've had enough

18:46

foreigners there. This enophobia

18:49

is real. Let's not ignore that it's

18:52

very Athenian. Finally,

18:55

Creusa returns to the stage, and she's not

18:57

alone. With her is an

18:59

old man who used to care for her father.

19:01

Athens is former King Erechtheus.

19:04

He's there as her friend, a kind

19:06

of father figure himself, someone who's no

19:08

her all her life. She wants him there

19:10

to celebrate if the oracle has good news

19:13

about her future, in the hopes that she'll

19:15

still have a child. We're

19:17

to assume that he's an enslaved man, though

19:19

he again does have very clear and strong

19:21

allegiance to Creusa. He sees

19:24

her as a daughter. We

19:26

can't ask Gurippides for everything. He

19:30

tells her that her desire

19:32

to keep up the old traditions would make her

19:34

people proud, and once again

19:36

we get reminded that she is Athenian

19:39

people. He calls quote ancient

19:42

earth born folk. This

19:44

is, of course, in direct contrast to the

19:46

chorus's song where they sang of foreign

19:49

infiltration into Athens. Creusa

19:53

is very caring with this old

19:56

man. She advises him to be careful as

19:58

he walks, that he should lean on his staff,

20:00

you know, keep steady when the ground is uneven,

20:03

take care with his steps. She

20:06

is once more acting as the character who

20:08

see to love, to mother,

20:10

to care for others, who looks for affection

20:13

from those around her, affection that goes both

20:15

ways. It all turns Kreusa

20:17

appears in opposition to suit

20:20

this. Where he is brash and forceful,

20:22

she is calm and caring. She

20:26

addresses the chorus quote women

20:28

faithful servants of my loom, and shuttle

20:31

with what fortune regarding children? The

20:33

reason we came here? Has my husband

20:36

left the area?

20:38

Then she asks if they have any news,

20:40

any information to share with her. But

20:43

we can't gloss over how she meets them, because

20:45

once again we are being reminded that these are

20:47

women, and we're being reminded of that they

20:50

are women in the most realistic of ways.

20:53

These are not women just for the sake of

20:55

the story. These are not women

20:58

just fake mythological women.

21:00

They are women because Euripides is examining

21:02

what it means to be a woman in Athens.

21:04

He's intentionally bringing up the very

21:06

explicit role women played, the

21:08

things they spent their time doing, what concerned

21:11

them. As always, he's giving

21:13

us something close to women's

21:15

lived experiences, and

21:19

just like Creusa, the chorus is serving as

21:21

a force for care and kindness.

21:24

When Creusa asks if they have any news

21:26

for her, the chorus leader just exclaims,

21:28

quote, oh God, well,

21:31

that doesn't sound good. Creusa replies,

21:33

and the chorus again exclaims this time

21:36

of their misery. Creusa

21:38

asks what's wrong, but they lament

21:41

because they want to tell her what they've learned,

21:43

but death is on the line. Suit this threatened

21:46

their lives if they were to tell her. So

21:49

they go back and forth, kind of speaking amongst

21:51

one another, but really to Creusa, questioning

21:54

what they should do. It isn't long

21:56

before they determine that their allegiance, though, is

21:59

to Creusa, that even if death comes

22:01

in response, they have to tell her

22:04

what they know. The

22:19

chorus tells Creusa, quote,

22:21

there is no chance for you to hold children

22:24

in your arms, or ever clasp them to

22:26

your breast, And

22:29

just as the chorus imagined she would, Creusa

22:32

grieves. The old man is

22:34

there to comfort her. He is warm and

22:37

kind. It's he who questions whether

22:39

the same prophecy was given to Suthus,

22:41

or whether she's alone in her fate. At

22:44

this, the chorus explains what they know. They

22:46

tell Creusa and the old Man of

22:49

Ion that Suthus was told

22:51

he already has a son, and that the boy

22:53

is nearly a man. It's

22:55

fortunate that Creusa has the old man there,

22:58

not only to help her through what she's learned,

23:00

but because it's him who asks the questions.

23:02

As she handles the shock the

23:05

grief, they

23:08

explain what happened, how Caxuthus

23:10

came out of the palace and the first person he

23:12

saw was his son. They

23:14

explained that it was the temple attendant that Creusa

23:17

met earlier, that it was Ion who was

23:19

said to be Xuthus's son, And

23:22

still as Creusa laments what she's learned,

23:24

the old man keeps getting more information

23:26

out of the chorus. The boy is

23:28

named Ion. They say they don't

23:30

know who his mother is, that this

23:32

is all they know, and that now he

23:35

is gone, that Xuthus has left without

23:37

Creusa's knowledge and gone to celebrate

23:39

his new son, to plan a feast

23:42

and make offerings to the gods in honor

23:44

of the boy's birth. At

23:48

this the old man provides guidance

23:50

to Creusa, or rather he

23:52

just shit talks her husband. He speaks

23:54

of what he thinks must have happened, that Suthus

23:56

intentionally fathered a child with someone

23:58

and had him brought up here in Delphi

24:01

when he learned that Creusa couldn't have children.

24:03

He thinks this must have been Xuthus's plan,

24:06

and that you know, he realized the boy must now

24:08

be grown, so he convinced Creusa to

24:10

go there so they could seek the oracle's prophecy.

24:14

He says that Xuthus intends to seize power

24:16

through Ion, that he will give rule of

24:18

Athens to him, that this was always

24:20

the plan, and I

24:22

mean, he's only partly wrong.

24:25

Suthus is just as this man suspects,

24:28

more concerned with power and control than

24:30

anything else, and absolutely intends

24:33

to give Athens to Ion. He

24:36

continues to speculate he believes

24:38

that Suthus must have fathered this child

24:41

with an enslaved woman, and so he

24:44

kind of compares it, saying, you know, if

24:46

Suthus had done something similar but with a noble

24:49

woman, you know that would have been bad enough. Because

24:52

again, well as much as this is an indictment

24:54

of the patriarchy, it is still an Athenian

24:56

play about how foreigners suck an Athenian's

24:59

rock. It's still about xenophobia

25:01

because the word basically means fear

25:03

of strangers in ancient Greek, and it's tragically

25:06

always existed. And it

25:08

is not what irrelevant that it's this old man,

25:10

this father figure of Creusa's who tells

25:12

her that her only option is well.

25:15

He says, quote, you must do the

25:17

womanly thing, either take up the

25:19

sword, or with some guile or

25:21

using poisons, you must kill your husband

25:24

and the boy before death comes

25:26

to you from them. I

25:29

can't believe it's a coincidence that Creusa is

25:31

not the one who decides that murder is the only option

25:34

she has. That instead, it's a man who

25:36

tells her this. I

25:39

get accused of a lot of miss andry, but

25:41

honestly, I don't think I've ever been closer

25:44

to it than I am now as I watch the world

25:46

burn at the hands of men. It's

25:48

possible I'm reading deeper into this than

25:50

I should, but honestly, I don't think so. It's all

25:53

here on the page. I'm just putting the pieces together.

25:55

It's the man who suggests murder. He even

25:57

offers to help. He says that he's willing to go to the

25:59

feast and kill I on himself. He's willing

26:02

to die for it too if he has to. To him,

26:04

it's a matter of right and wrong. End

26:06

Well, I may not agree that murder is the answer,

26:08

because Jesus fuck. If we've learned anything, it's the

26:10

murdering children does not the answer to any fucking thing.

26:13

He does finish with another line that reminds me why I'm

26:16

so obsessed with Euripides quote.

26:19

Only one thing brings shame to

26:21

slaves, the name and

26:24

everything else. A slave is no worse than

26:26

a free man, provided he is a decent

26:28

man. So

26:31

if my argument that this play is anti patriarchy,

26:33

it wasn't strong enough. Like he's adding in

26:35

an acknowledgment that enslaved people are just

26:38

as good and moral as anyone else. It's almost like all

26:40

human beings are just that human,

26:43

and they all deserve the same rights to life

26:46

and safety, whether or not they're from a

26:48

part of quote unquote Western civilization.

26:54

Creusa is heartbroken. She's

26:56

heartbroken and confused and conflicted.

26:58

How is she meant to go on with this information?

27:02

But more than anything, how is she meant to keep a secret

27:04

about her own story, her own trauma,

27:07

her own life, lost child? This

27:10

has pushed her over the edge. What is the point

27:13

of hiding it now? Quote?

27:15

What is there left to stop

27:17

me? What prize for virtue am

27:19

I competing for? Hasn't my husband

27:22

turned out to be a traitor? She's

27:25

hidden so long hidden her trauma from

27:27

everyone around her for fear that it would change

27:30

her life, that it would ruin her and shame

27:32

her. But what is the point. Now?

27:35

Once again we are not only looking

27:37

at an assault by a god against a mortal woman,

27:40

but a god against an Athenian princess,

27:42

which gives her more credibility than the Athenians

27:44

and the audience would know what to do with.

27:46

And here she is talking about the trauma

27:48

that Apollo inflicted on her, how

27:51

his assault broke her, and

27:53

how she hid it with tears.

27:57

She's finished hiding now quote

28:00

I will no longer hide the union. By

28:03

unburdening my chest, my heart will

28:05

feel lighter. Hah

28:23

nudes, thank you all so much for listening.

28:25

I really can't get over this play. I can't get

28:28

over just how much Euripities gave a shit.

28:30

He wrote a play not only looking at the traumas

28:32

women experienced in his world and the way

28:34

the culture's mythos so often glamorized

28:37

sexual assault because half divine

28:39

children resulted in it, but he also

28:41

managed to write a commentary on the terrors of patriarchy,

28:44

and even Dawes in a bit of commentary on the morality

28:46

of enslavement, just to touch. I

28:49

just want to give him a hug. I want to ask him questions. I

28:51

just I feel so much seeing

28:54

evidence that a man in the ancient world

28:56

cared, gave a fuck about bad

28:59

things happening around him, because,

29:02

as I write this, on May twenty seventh,

29:05

the day after I and so many

29:07

other people on the end saw a video of a man

29:09

holding up a child that had been decapitated

29:12

by a bomb that was fired and

29:14

paid for by quote unquote Western civilization.

29:16

I just, I just need

29:18

to know that people cared then

29:21

and now about horrific

29:23

injustices that seem so

29:27

egregious, so horrifying,

29:29

and so obviously morally wrong,

29:31

and yet which continue

29:34

to be accepted in the world in which we

29:36

live. They said it was a mistake

29:39

this morning that they fire bombed refugee

29:41

tents, not only in a un run area,

29:43

but that one was four

29:45

days earlier explicitly designated

29:47

as the safe place for innocent families to

29:49

go. They told them it

29:51

was the safe place to go four days before

29:54

dropping a two thousand pound bomb.

30:01

They said it was a mistake, but you

30:03

don't mistakenly firebomb refugee camps.

30:05

You don't mistakenly big had children with

30:07

the force of your You do it on purpose, because

30:10

that's the only way it happens. Bombs are only ever

30:12

dropped on purpose, and then they lie afterwards

30:14

because the world saw it. And

30:17

even if it was a fucking accident, then

30:20

you shouldn't be in control of fucking bombs.

30:24

And before they said it was a mistake, they said it was

30:26

a success. And then they realized how many millions

30:28

of people saw the headless body of a baby being

30:30

held up by a grieving father, and suddenly they

30:32

had to say it was a mistake.

30:37

Western civilization is a joke. We only kill,

30:39

we only maim, and we only do it to people

30:41

who don't fit into what the West has determined

30:43

is right and good based on our own

30:46

fucking nonsense. The

30:48

same West that kills tens of thousands of children

30:50

purely because they dare to exist on land of their

30:52

ancestors. And we get to decide what is

30:55

right and good and what countries are not adhering

30:57

to that fucking monsters.

31:01

Anyway, I really would love not to bring

31:03

every episode down with moments

31:05

like this, But you know, unlike the leaders of my country

31:07

and so many other like I have a heart and a conscious

31:10

and a soul, and I just can't not use

31:12

this platform. I can't just record

31:15

happy, funny things about the ancient world when

31:18

this place that tot has such

31:21

strong fucking ties to the ancient world is

31:23

getting I don't

31:25

know. I mean, I had to write this after I saw a dead baby,

31:27

So I just I cannot use this platform.

31:29

Don't e Tagaza call everyone burn the West to the

31:32

ground. It's irredeemable. It can't be fixed.

31:34

Let's finish the episode of the five star review. I guess because

31:36

I don't know. That's what I usually do, and like I,

31:39

like everyone in the West, I'm expected to continue on

31:41

embracing capitalist imperialism even as

31:44

so many babies die by its hand. I don't

31:46

know how how many children my tax dollars

31:48

killed this year. Anyway.

31:52

This review is from

31:54

a review.

31:56

This review is from a user called etane three

31:58

in the States. I hear

32:01

you the greatest and most real series of

32:03

Greek myths and drama, discussion

32:05

and storytelling Live is wonderful, intellectually

32:07

adroit, and blazingly original. Do

32:09

yourself a favor and listen. You will not regret

32:12

it. Thank you live for all you do, feel

32:15

and speak. That's why I read it, thank

32:17

you live for all you do, feel and speak

32:19

Solidarity. It says, let's

32:22

talk about this baby. Has written and produced by me Lave Albert.

32:25

MICHAELA. Smith is assistant producer.

32:27

Laura Smith is a production assistant and audio

32:29

engineer. Select music in this episode was

32:31

by Luke Chaos. The podcast is part of the iHeart

32:33

Podcast Network. Listen on Spotify or wherever

32:35

you get your podcasts. Help me continue bringing

32:37

you the world of Greek mythology in the Ancient Mediterranean by

32:40

becoming a patron where you'll get bonus episode. Then

32:42

more, actually, why did I read that? Don't

32:44

do that? Give your money to Gaza. I'm

32:47

live and I love this shit.