In a Time of Ancient Gods: The Xena Podcast
EPISODE LIST
SEASON 2
S2E22 Ulysses Another guy asks Xena to wear his dead wife’s dress and Gabby’s misery is our misery! MEANWHILE Justine & Hayley research Sirens, Athena, Penelope, and the man with a plan himself, Ulysses!
S2E21 Blind Faith Gabby has a weekend at Bernie’s and WHERE in Ancient Greece is the eyewash station?? MEANWHILE Justine & Hayley research the Enchiridion + what it might have been like in Xena's day to live with without eyesight!
S2 XENACON MINI EPISODE We documented our trip to Xenacon 2024 in LA! Posted exclusively to our Patreon page, but free for anyone to listen :) Spoiler alert: WE MEET LUCY & RENEE & TED!!!
S2E20 The Execution Xena meets Gabby's other hero crush! Bloodthirsty villagers in the bleachers! Will we ever meet the "one-eyed guy"?! MEANWHILE Justine & Hayley research Meleager in mythology and the history of hourglasses!
S2E19 For Him The Bell Tolls Love Gods are in the air and Joxer causes a civil war! MEANWHILE Justine & Hayley discuss love spells in the ancient world & touch on Simone de Beauvoir’s social theories!
S2E18 A Day In The Life FINALLY, we get a full day with Xena & Gabby. Xena goes fishing! Gabby talks with villagers! We all play 20 questions! MEANWHILE, Justine & Hayley research the history of kites and Zagreus!!
S2E19 A Necessary Evil Xena & Gabby battle Amazons with immortal powers! Rats for lunch!! Femme vengeance!!! MEANWHILE Hayley & Justine research village & rodent life in the ancient world!
S2E16 The Quest Amazon politics! Bruce Campbell! We cannot believe Xena is still dead!!!! MEANWHILE Hayley & Justine research Amazon wannabe queen Velasca & ancient cases of spirit possession!
S2E15 Destiny Heartbreak! Crucifixion! Julias Caesar! And the woman who started it all! MEANWHILE Justine & Hayley research Caesar and a lil bit about ancient Gaul!
S2E14 Here She Comes… Miss Amphipolis! We're back from our mini break! and WHAT AN EPISODE TO COME BACK TO!!! Gabby WOWS as the Contessa & Xena catches a snake! MEANWHILE Hayley & Justine research drag performance in ancient Greek theater & the history of Miss America pageants.
S2E13 The Xena Scrolls TIME TRAVEL! Women in STEM!! Indiana Jones?!! MEANWHILE Hayley & Justine research Macedonia in the 1940s, Nazis & archaeology, and ladies' roles in early archaeology!
S2E12 A Solstice Carol Xena saves a Scrooge and Gabby saves US from a trip to the glue factory! MEANWHILE Hayley & Justine research Solstice & Equinox celebrations from around the world, ancient Greek orphan life, and a brief history of Dickens' A Christmas Carol!
S2E11 Ten Little Warlords XenaisstillCallistoisstillXena! Can Ares help them swap their bodies back!? Will Gabby ever get her fishcakes?! MEANWHILE Justine & Hayley research ancient greek ships & murder mystery games!
S2E10 Intimate Stranger NOT A WORD SINCE PERD! Let's swap bodies and takedown Ares' latest plot to conquer the world! MEANWHILE Hayley's back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
H&J research the perennial questions: Can we really switch bodies?! and what IS Ares' type.... romantically???
S2E9 Sidequest Episode 3: The Planet Formerly Known as Xena Let's talk about the PLANET FORMERLY KNOWN AS XENA!!!!! That’s right! The dwarf planet Eris, the goddess of discord, identified in the early 2000s, was originally named Xena! Her moon was called Gabrielle! Freak out! In our final sidequest episode before our mini winter break and Hayley's return, we have a VERY SPECIAL GUEST! Astrologer Mary Swanson leads us through a discussion of the connections between the discovery of Eris, and the dwarf planet’s myths and psychological associations with personal and societal liberation! We end the interview with astrological birth chart readings for Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor! With a focus on what Eris is up to in their charts!
S2E8 Sidequest Episode 2: The Warrior Princess Hayley's still away, but Justine is here with some ancient warrior princess research! In this episode, we're researching Camilla of the Volsci, warrior princess of Virgil's Aeneid. In a time of ancient gods, warlords, and kings, A land in turmoil cried out for a hero...She was CAMILLA! A mighty princess Devoted to Diana, Goddess of the hunt And a hero to her people and country!
S2E7 Sidequest Episode 1: The Yellow Wallpaper - Hayley's away, so it's up to Justine to entertain you! Putting a pin in the episode recaps until Hayley's back and in the meantime, we'll visit some of our favorite themes! In this episode, we're kicking off Spooky Season with a tale Justine always think of when she hears Callisto's screams; One of Hayley & Justine’s favorite madwoman in the attic short stories:The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Campy Horror! Feminist Themes! Psychological Thrills! Late 19th-century Gothic Aesthetics!
S2E6 WARRIOR…PRINCESS….TRAMP - Xena, Xena, Xena! Triplet strangers?! Joxer finds love and Gabby gets gaslit! MEANWHILE Justine & Hayley research the history of “tramps” and the Aegis!
S2E5 Return of Callisto - Old Flames! Funeral Pyres! Vengeance! Quicksand! The patron saint of rage is BACK back and every drop of innocent bloodshed from here on out is on Xena’s hands! MEANWHILE Hayley & Justine research ancient Greek wedding rituals and quicksand!
S2E4 Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Xena fights an army of mysterious undead ladies, and Gabby joins a cult! MEANWHILE Justine & Hayley research Orpheus & Bacchae!PLUS a special disembodied guest star from Justine & Hayley’s past PLUS PLUS a secret surprise musical at the end of the episode from friends of the pod: The Dead Sailor Girls!
S2E3 The Giant Killer - "Do you remember the tallest man you've ever seen?"- Jonathan Frakes MEANWHILE: Justine & Hayley research David & Goliath and myths about Giants from around the world!
S2E2 Remember Nothing - ALTERNATE TIMELINE ALERT !!! Xena embraces villager life and Gabby raids Xena’s mom’s closet! MEANWHILE Hayley continues her research into slavery in ancient Greece, Justine researches the 3 Fates and we get a quick lil intro to 20th Century Neopaganism!
S2E1 Orphan of War - New Season! New Characters! New Heartbreak! SAME WARRIOR PRINCESS!! Xena comes face to face with a decision she regrets! Gabby rides a centaur without asking first! MEANWHILE Hayley & Justine research the North Wind Boreas, Father of Centaurs Ixion, and Athenian Statesman Solon!
SEASON 1
S1E24 IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE? - IN OUR SEASON ONE FINALE Xena invents medicine, Gabby does NOT join a cult (!!!), PLUS Amazons, Centaur Babies, and Civil War!MEANWHILE Hayley & Justine research Hippocrates, Galen, Asclepius, and birth practices of the ancient world!
S1E23 Death Mask - Xena confronts the man in the iron mask, and Gabby listens with her body! MEANWHILE Hayley & Justine research the history of passenger pigeons and a few notable masks through the ages!
S1E22 Callisto - Burn it all down, Callisto's in town! and Gabby breaks Joxer's nose for the first time! MEANWHILE Hayley & Justine research The Oracle of Delphi, Callisto in mythology, and chat a little about Hong Kong action films!
S1E21 The Greater Good - Gabby dons the armor and responsibilities of her presumed dead lover and NOBODY TOUCH XENA'S HORSE !!!! MEANWHILE Hayley researches healing wells & sacred waters, and Justine researches the armor switching lovers from an ancient time: Achilles & Patroclus!
S1E20 Ties That Bind - Bad Dads Galore! Xena confronts a salt and pepper childhood trauma, and Gabby explores Shame Resilience Theory (SRT) with a new friend! MEANWHILE Justine and Hayley research the House of Atreus, and Slavery in Ancient Greece!
S1E19 Altared States - Xena interferes in a cult sacrifice! Gabby joins a "rock" band!! Karl Urban!!! MEANWHILE Hayley researches the goddess Hestia, and the biblical story of Abraham & Isaac. Justine researches the henbane plant, and human sacrificial practice in antiquity!
S1E17 The Royal Couple of Thieves - Bruce Campbell! PLUS pressure point fights, rock sugar switch-a-roos, and Gabby joins a cult! MEANWHILE Justine researches Autolycus, King of Thieves, and Hayley researches the Ark of the Covenant.
S1E16 Mortal Beloved - In this Episode Xena fights for love through heaven and hell and Gabrielle gets invited to a festival! MEANWHILE Hayley researches the ferryman of the underworld, Charon! and Justine researches Tartarus & the Elysian Fields!
S1E15 WARRIOR…PRINCESS? - In this episode we're TWINNING with Xena and her twin stranger! and Gabby writes a poem! MEANWHILE Hayley uncovers the differences between the Roman Goddess Diana and the Greek Artemis, and Justine loses herself to twin stranger youtube videos!
S1E14 A Fistful of Dinars - In this episode we travel with Xena, Gabby, and two 90's hair innovators to find the treasures of ancient Sumer and the strawberry jello mold of eternal life! MEANWHILE Hayley researches ancient Sumer, and Justine researches Ambrosia!
S1E13 Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards - NEW YEAR NEW GABBY APPRECIATION! In this episode Xena has an off screen solo adventure, while Gabrielle impresses us all with her bard and leadership skills! MEANWHILE Hayley & Justine research Orion, Homer, Euripides, and The Platonic Academy!
S1 Holiday Episode! - "Io Saturnalia!" This episode Justine & Hayley research holiday festivals of the ancient world AND realize a little something about Gabrielle!
Happy Holidays Everyone! See you in 2020!
S1E12 Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts - Xena ends the Trojan War in a day, and Gabby meets an old flame! MEANWHILE Justine & Hayley research Helen of Troy, Paris, Menelaus, Deiphobos, Polyxena, Penthesilea, and gives a VERY short breakdown of the Trojan War
S1E11 The Black Wolf - Xena pairs up with a disintegrating corpse for some underwater acting, while Gabby wears a hat! MEANWHILE Hayley researches ancient Greek prison systems, the Roman goddess Flora, and the Persian King Xerxes, while Justine researches the Greek hero Diomedes, Salmoneus, and the Feast of Zeus!
S1E10 hooves & harlots - Xena leads by example in an intersectional feminist lesson on dismantling patriarchal plots to disempower oppressed social groups, and Gabby gets a fighting stick! JK, Gabby goes through some huge identity transformations in this ep. MEANWHILE Justine researches Centaurs & Phantes, and Hayley tells us all about amazons and one of our favorite Goddesses, and friend of the pod, Artemis!
S1E9 Death In Chains - Xena finds a rat tube in a house of tricks, and Gabby's crush of the week is adorable! MEANWHILE Justine researches the myths around Sisyphus, Toxeus and a little bit of the Calydonian Boar Hunt AND Hayley researches the Gods of Death and we learn THE TRUTH ABOUT TALUS.
S1E8 prometheus-Xena and an ex-lover defeat an army of mutant bird babies, while Gabrielle tells the most romantic story! MEANWHILE Hayley researches the Goddess Hera AND what Prometheus was really all about, and Justine researches the Labors of Hercules and Ancient Greek Oracles!
S1E7 The Titans- Xena battles primordial giants using her wits, while Gabby joins a cult! MEANWHILE Hayley researches the history and lineage of the ancient Titans, while Justine investigates Xena's ululation battle cry, PLUS we translate a few of our favorite songs from the show and discuss the importance of female friendship visibility!
S1E6 THE RECKONING-Xena is set up by a mysterious stranger, and Gabrielle puts her faith in a small town's judicial system! MEANWHILE Justine & Hayley fangirl over the God of War!
S1E5 THE PATH NOT TAKEN-Xena breaks our hearts with a funeral dirge, & Gabrielle gets thrown in the stocks for helping a lovestruck prince! MEANWHILE Justine researches the original star-crossed lovers, Pyramus & Thisbe! AND we learn the truth about Mizentius: the Etruscan King“Contemptor Divum” (DESPISER OF THE GODS)! AND Hayley tells us about the beautiful Nereid Panope! AAAND about ancient Greek Funerary practices!
S1E4 CRADLE OF HOPE-Gabby kidnaps a baby & opens Pandora's box, while Xena brings families together through dance! MEANWHILE Justine gets into the history of Gryphons, Cherubs, and Ancient Greek currency, while Hayley unlocks the truth of Pandora's box!
S1E3 DREAM WORKER-Xena destroys her fears on the astral plane with the help of a blind Seer, and Gabby joins a cult! MEANWHILE Justine unveils the history of Lucid Dreaming, Hayley uncovers the myths surrounding Morpheus, the Dream God, and we all have a lovely discussion surrounding the Eleusinian Mysteries---the Ancient Greek rites performed during annual festivals outside of Athens in honor of the goddesses Demeter & Persephone.
S1E2 CHARIOTS OF WAR- Xena is coerced into a domestic cult, while Gabrielle searches for a "soft soul". MEANWHILE Justine and Hayley discuss the myth of Baucis & Philemon, the ancient Greek custom of Xenia, and Ares' son Cycnus.
S1E1 SINS OF THE PAST - In Sins of the Past we meet Xena, a former warlord on a path to redemption, and her plucky sidekick Gabrielle. Hayley and Justine discuss why Xena is their favorite super hero, the myth of Oedipus, and we get to know a Cyclops!