4. Rhea Silvia - Part 2

Kalliope's Sanctum

This episode is Part 2 of a two part reading of my short story, "Rhea Silvia," from my January 2018 story & poem collection Our Lady of the Dark Country (https://www.ptreyesbooks.com/book/9780999696606). Please listen to Part 1, the previous episode, before Part 2, or it won't make much sense! :) This is a retelling of the tale of Rhea Silvia, the so-called mother of Rome— mother of Romulus and Remus, twin brothers who were later suckled by a wolf, and who founded that great and terrible city, which paved the way for so much of the imperialism that we still live within the story of. In this telling, I try to dig beneath imperial Rome, exploring some of the last traces of the tribal cultures that had occupied the lands of Italy since prehistoric times, and that still persisted even under Roman ideology and rule. Rhea Silvia, in my mind, comes from a line of indigenous Latin people; her name suggests a far old woodland power, Vestal and yet wild. In the introduction I discuss a bit more about this, including pre-Latin, non Indo European languages. Please note that there is sensitive material in Part 2—indirect mention of rape & direct mention of violence— as there was in the original, and in this time in history. Not in any way gratuitous I pray, but necessarily present. I make this note tor listeners for whom this might be triggering. I will say though, that while the story of Rhea Silvia is certainly tragic, I hope my telling is one of deep hope and redemption. Story begins at 3:00 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