The classics unfortunately still have a reputation of being dry and elitist, but there are people who have a wonderful ability to make them approachable, accessible, relevant and above all incredibly interesting - such as the wonderful Mary Beard for example. For me your channel is absolutely one of those too. You really conjured up the atmosphere that the name Thessaly resonated with for the people in the Greco-Roman world, and helped us experience a bit of that too. Many thanks to you.
Yes, Mary Beard has been such a valuable ambassador of the classics, and I'm thrilled to be mentioned alongside her. There are a few others out there as well (Bettany Hughes, Darius Arya, and many wonderful CZcamsrs), and hopefully numbers continue to rise. Cheers!
Holy crap, the play you mentioned, "The Clouds." That whole thing about the man calling down the moon like the women. That's literally the plot of another From Software game, Bloodborne. Holy moly, thank you for all of the real life lore! Wow, I swear that you must be reading from Miyazaki san's notes. =)
Many thanks for this wonderful video. I only would like to add, that from the inner Greek perspective Thessaly (Thessalía as we say) is a part of Northern Greece.
I spent 5 days in thessaly. Kalambaka. And listening to this two to three times over was so awesome whilst in the mountains. It’s definitely is a magical place and getting caught in the dark in a forrest with huge old trees that were hard to describe but was/were terrifying. Lol. Definitely a land where witches could roam
Yes! The backlash against esoteric practices is just about as old as esotericism itself! Lots of ancient testimonies about "silly superstitions" and "old wives' tales."
The info about death cults helps explain for me the episodes of bizarre funeral events and living dead in Golden Ass. I am back from holidays and have two Kate videos to catch up on. What a treat! Can't wait for tan episode on The Civil War.
When I lay dead in Thessaly, The land was rife with sorcery: Fair witches howled to Hecate, Pouring the blood of rams by night With many a necromantic rite To draw me back for their delight. My delight is your upcoming video on Erichtho of Lucan and Medea of Seneca. Warm Regards.
thank you, i love these fascinating insights into the ancient mind, and it is funny how everybody writes others' history, but it all makes for a great story! i never really thought about a highly Herbal Culture like that in Europe, they must have been like miracle healers, and certainly connected with powers of some sort. -i have a couple questions: is the famous witches' alphabet "Theban" based on ancient writing from the Thessaly region? and did the two Thebes cities have anything to do with each other, were Egypt & Thessaly somehow connected? -thank you for introducing me to Aglaonike, i've never heard of her. there is so much in this vid i could go on, but this is already a long msg. -thank you again, and i really like the channel name!
Thanks as always for the great questions! I did some digging, and this is what I found: The Theban alphabet comes out of the high medieval occult circles that Cornelius Agrippa was working in. It's attributed to someone named "Honorius of Thebes," who may or may not have been a real person (kind of like Hermes Trismegistus - part fact, part legend). But of the writings we have that are claimed to be written by Honorius, the script isn't used. I don't know what connection (if any) the script had to antiquity, but I think it's possible that its creator/s drew from ancient magical traditions, especially since Thebes is so close to Thessaly. As for Thebes in Boeotia being related to Thebes in Egypt, I think the Egyptian city was given that name by ancient Greeks when they started to have contact with the area. Kind of like how we say "Germany" but the Germans say "Deutschland." I don't know of any connection beyond that, but my knowledge of ancient Egypt is pitiful. Hope this helps! Cheers.
Lol, not to sound like a broken record but this kind of sounds like the Carian royal family of Elden ring.They are know for their lineage of sorceresses and one of then, Sellen, is known as the graven witch. Also Sellen's mother, possibly the most powerful sorceress in the game Renalla, is known as queen of the full moon.
My paternal aunt was rumored to be the kind of witch you didn’t want to cross…and she’s from that region of Greece. Really, a very malicious woman. We were very careful to not leave any personal belongings or stray hairs at her house and we never, EVER accepted any drink she offered.
Wow, thanks for sharing. I have no doubt that many families have stories similar to yours. You've reminded me of Appalachian culture - so many great-grandmothers with an air of mystery around them.
@@hearthofhaemonia I’m that aunt now but not malicious and my nephews shake me down for cookies and my special good luck charms before their lacrosse games 😂
Your video was very informative and amusing. I am searching for reliable documentation on the social culture of Thessaly in 2000 BC. Could you advice me if you have any knowledge of the sources?
That's quite a bit earlier than my area of expertise. You might have some luck with archaeological studies of the early bronze age. If anyone else has recommendations, please drop them here!
The classics unfortunately still have a reputation of being dry and elitist, but there are people who have a wonderful ability to make them approachable, accessible, relevant and above all incredibly interesting - such as the wonderful Mary Beard for example. For me your channel is absolutely one of those too. You really conjured up the atmosphere that the name Thessaly resonated with for the people in the Greco-Roman world, and helped us experience a bit of that too. Many thanks to you.
Yes, Mary Beard has been such a valuable ambassador of the classics, and I'm thrilled to be mentioned alongside her. There are a few others out there as well (Bettany Hughes, Darius Arya, and many wonderful CZcamsrs), and hopefully numbers continue to rise. Cheers!
Holy crap, the play you mentioned, "The Clouds." That whole thing about the man calling down the moon like the women. That's literally the plot of another From Software game, Bloodborne. Holy moly, thank you for all of the real life lore! Wow, I swear that you must be reading from Miyazaki san's notes. =)
You like bloodborne, don't you squidward?
Many thanks for this wonderful video. I only would like to add, that from the inner Greek perspective Thessaly (Thessalía as we say) is a part of Northern Greece.
I spent 5 days in thessaly. Kalambaka. And listening to this two to three times over was so awesome whilst in the mountains. It’s definitely is a magical place and getting caught in the dark in a forrest with huge old trees that were hard to describe but
was/were terrifying. Lol. Definitely a land where witches could roam
Awesome! It's on my bucket list for sure.
Thumbs up.. what I was surprised to learn was how sceptical ancient romans like Pliny and Plutarch were that magic actually worked.
Yes! The backlash against esoteric practices is just about as old as esotericism itself! Lots of ancient testimonies about "silly superstitions" and "old wives' tales."
The info about death cults helps explain for me the episodes of bizarre funeral events and living dead in Golden Ass. I am back from holidays and have two Kate videos to catch up on. What a treat! Can't wait for tan episode on The Civil War.
I hope you enjoyed your travels! It's good to see you back again.
Fantastic video, I love the amount of research you put into this
When I lay dead in Thessaly, The land was rife with sorcery: Fair witches howled to Hecate, Pouring the blood of rams by night With many a necromantic rite To draw me back for their delight.
My delight is your upcoming video on Erichtho of Lucan and Medea of Seneca. Warm Regards.
Love this 🙏
@@hearthofhaemonia It is Clark Ashton Smith if you want to know. True heir of Shelley and Keats, even if forgotten today. Regards.
thank you, i love these fascinating insights into the ancient mind, and it is funny how everybody writes others' history, but it all makes for a great story! i never really thought about a highly Herbal Culture like that in Europe, they must have been like miracle healers, and certainly connected with powers of some sort. -i have a couple questions: is the famous witches' alphabet "Theban" based on ancient writing from the Thessaly region? and did the two Thebes cities have anything to do with each other, were Egypt & Thessaly somehow connected? -thank you for introducing me to Aglaonike, i've never heard of her. there is so much in this vid i could go on, but this is already a long msg. -thank you again, and i really like the channel name!
Thanks as always for the great questions! I did some digging, and this is what I found:
The Theban alphabet comes out of the high medieval occult circles that Cornelius Agrippa was working in. It's attributed to someone named "Honorius of Thebes," who may or may not have been a real person (kind of like Hermes Trismegistus - part fact, part legend). But of the writings we have that are claimed to be written by Honorius, the script isn't used. I don't know what connection (if any) the script had to antiquity, but I think it's possible that its creator/s drew from ancient magical traditions, especially since Thebes is so close to Thessaly.
As for Thebes in Boeotia being related to Thebes in Egypt, I think the Egyptian city was given that name by ancient Greeks when they started to have contact with the area. Kind of like how we say "Germany" but the Germans say "Deutschland." I don't know of any connection beyond that, but my knowledge of ancient Egypt is pitiful.
Hope this helps! Cheers.
Thank you ...
Lol, not to sound like a broken record but this kind of sounds like the Carian royal family of Elden ring.They are know for their lineage of sorceresses and one of then, Sellen, is known as the graven witch. Also Sellen's mother, possibly the most powerful sorceress in the game Renalla, is known as queen of the full moon.
My paternal aunt was rumored to be the kind of witch you didn’t want to cross…and she’s from that region of Greece. Really, a very malicious woman. We were very careful to not leave any personal belongings or stray hairs at her house and we never, EVER accepted any drink she offered.
Wow, thanks for sharing. I have no doubt that many families have stories similar to yours. You've reminded me of Appalachian culture - so many great-grandmothers with an air of mystery around them.
@@hearthofhaemonia I’m that aunt now but not malicious and my nephews shake me down for cookies and my special good luck charms before their lacrosse games 😂
Life goals!!
Your video was very informative and amusing. I am searching for reliable documentation on the social culture of Thessaly in 2000 BC. Could you advice me if you have any knowledge of the sources?
That's quite a bit earlier than my area of expertise. You might have some luck with archaeological studies of the early bronze age. If anyone else has recommendations, please drop them here!
..😊