Myths & Monsters - Season 1

Forest and mountain, sea and ice – the wilds of this world are a rich setting for myths and legends. As this episode shows, the stories told about the wilderness – and the monsters feared lurking within it – can tell us a lot about a people.

The city-loving Ancient Greeks saw it as a realm of the divine – and a dangerous place for mortals. The Norse were master sailors, yet imagined the seas filled with terrifying monsters. The Celts of pre-Christian Ireland contrasted the hardship of the everyday with the Otherworld, an enticing paradise lurking half-seen in the wilderness.

War has been a constant in human history. All civilisations have grappled with the questions it raises. It is no surprise then that myths of war are among the most enduring.

In this episode, we show how the Romans explained their violent ways through the bloody tale of their founders Romulus and Remus. We explore the role of the mysterious Valkyries in Norse myth and what that can tell us about the Vikings. We show that war can make myths out of men too, revealing how Vlad the Impaler acquired his gruesome nickname. And we examine the great Ancient Greek epic The Iliad, and ask why its story of the Trojan War still speaks to us so strongly to this day.

Love is a universal and powerful emotion, but it can also be destructive. Lust can destroy; betrayal can wound. Such an often-irrational force asks questions of any society.

In this episode of Myths and Monsters, we tell the medieval romance of Tristan and Isolde, whose love affair threatened the fate of their kingdom. We explore how the abandonment of Dido by the hero Aeneas paved the way for Rome. We see how Norse attitudes to sex and marriage were expressed in the burlesque farce the Lay of Thrym. And we meet Medea, guilty of the darkest crime of love and passion – the murder of her own children.

How does a community form? How does it survive and adapt to change? This episode details the role myths and legends have played in establishing the rules of society and the punishments for those who break them.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin is an old tale of social norms ignored – and punished. The deal agreed with the mysterious Piper is not fulfilled and the town's children pay the price. But what are the origins of the legend? This episode will explore the devastating historical events that lay behind it.

We also investigate the longevity of legendary outlaw Robin Hood, examine how stories of magic and malice led to the horrific witch trials of Bamberg, Germany, and explore how the bizarre Victorian urban legend of Spring-Heeled Jack was a nightmarish response to rapid social change in 19th century Britain.