Seshat's Library

Lore Olympus is a colorful, funny, heart-wrenching, modern-day reimagining of the Abduction of Persephone myth. Deconstructing the original themes and motivations, this webcomic takes on a much-needed female perspective to tell the coming-of-age story of Persephone and her exploration of love, friendship, betrayal, and destiny. Plus, all of your favorite members of the Greek pantheon are there in their beautiful, chaotic glory. Gods! They’re just like us.

Be aware that Lore Olympus also deals with a lot of heavy content, such as emotional and verbal abuse and sexual assault. The creator helpfully puts trigger warnings at the top of the episodes that deal directly with these topics, but please take care of yourself while reading.

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings is a fantastic anthology of short stories, retelling the mythology of East and South Asia. The table of contents helpfully tell the reader which country/civilization/society’s mythology is being retold in which story, so that you can look up the original myths and legends if you so choose after (or before!) reading these beautiful retellings.

The editors are part of the incredible We Need Diverse Books team, and have chosen the fifteen participating authors with the same care they approach their advocacy with. Many of these authors have also written their own mythology-inspired fantasy novels as well!

When people think of ancient civilizations, they usually think of those civilizations at their peak, along with what cultural significances they created or passed on to our modern societies. But we don’t really pay much attention to why those ancient civilizations are considered, well, ancient.

Hosted by an author with a PhD in the cultural and literary significance of ruins (!!), the Fall of Civilizations podcast takes the initiative for us. Each episode takes an in-depth look at the decline and collapse of ancient societies throughout history, asking why they fell and what it looked like when they did.

The podcast has already covered the Han Dynasty, the Aztec Empire, the Songhai Empire, the Sumerian civilization, and more! The podcast’s website also includes recommended reading for each episode, so you can continue to dive into the ancient world even after the episode has finished.

Click on the picture above to start listening!

The Wrath & the Dawn is a beloved retelling of the classic One Thousand and One Arabian Nights tale from early Persian folklore.

Sixteen-year-old Shahrzad lives in a land ruled by a monster--a young man who demands a new bride every night and then kills them before the morning. But after her best friend is taken, Shahrzad’s loyalty overrules her fear and she volunteers for the next night, determined to stay alive and stop this monster’s reign at any cost. But as she weaves enchanting stories each night, she begins to uncover the true secrets of the young caliph, secrets that her heart can’t help but trust...

There’s also a sequel! It's called The Rose & the Dagger, and follows Shahrzad as she must break a curse and choose between two loyalties on either side of an unwinnable war.

So you want to start learning an ancient language, but Duolingo isn’t exactly prioritizing a lesson plan for Middle Egyptian hieroglyphs...

That’s where Lexicity comes in.

Lexicity is a free database that collects all kinds of online resources for learning ancient languages, from dictionaries and grammar guides to sets of pre-made digital flashcards and literature examples for you to try your hand at translating. There aren’t any strict lesson plans, so you can learn at your own pace and level of interest!

And we aren’t just talking about Latin and Ancient Greek. Lexicity certainly offers ancient languages you’d expect, like Greek, Sanskrit, and Egyptian, but its 30 entries also include unexpected contenders like Church Slavonic, Elamite, Mayan, and Old Frisian.

In Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky, award-winning author David Bowles brings the mythology of the Aztec Empire to vibrant life. He uses the ancient stories to trace the history of the world, from its creation by the primordial god Ometeotl, up through the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, who destroy almost all evidence of the very myths you are reading.

Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby! is the sarcastic, hilarious, feminist mythology podcast the world needs right now.

In bite-sized episodes, host Liv dismantles Greek and Roman mythology piece by piece, exploring the ancient storytellers, the deeper themes of the stories and the consequences of pretending Zeus wasn’t a “pile of trash” for thousands of years. Heavily researched and funnier than it has any right to be, this podcast also comes with recommended readings and lists of source material so you can continue to research the myths past the introduction that Liv provides.

Click the picture above to start listening!

Seidman takes place in Viking Age Iceland, where young men are expected to be strong, useful, and the very definition of “manly.” But our chronically ill protagonist, Kol, is seen as worthless and suffers at the hands of his family members who resent his uselessness. And although he is saved by becoming apprentice to the local seid-woman, his salvation is brief, as his blossoming attraction to the sorceress’s grandson is branded as yet another thing that makes him unmanly in the eyes of his society. Personal challenges clash with historical ones as Kol travels across the ancient Norse lands, evading the fatal rules of a new religion and fighting against the binds of his rigid society.

Digital Hammurabi is the creative project of two Assyriologists who want to make the rich history of ancient Mesopotamia accessible to all. This YouTube channel covers an amazing array of subjects about the Ancient Near East (modern Iraq and the surrounding area), including art history, ritual and religion, Mesopotamian literature and society, and ancient language learning. These are broken down into neat playlists for easy access!

Their language playlists are particularly awesome, with sets of videos on how to read Sumerian, Biblical Hebrew and Ancient Egyptian. These grammar videos are usually around 15 minutes along each, include lists of sources in the video description, and allow you to pause and learn at your own pace. Happy learning!

Francesca Lia Block is maybe best known for writing the definitive YA book of the 90s, Weetzie Bat, but her post-apocalyptic take on the Odyssey is a worthy addition to her long award-winning career.

With a gender-bent main character and full cast of LGBTQIA+ characters, Love in the Time of Global Warming focuses on a world after a devastating earthquake. With her city and life in ruins, Pen joins forces with a ragtag crew of survivors in order to find her family and her way back home. Pen must battle modern dystopia versions of the Odyssey’s monsters and trials and defeat her own demons as she and her companions face down a brand new world.

The Ancient History Encyclopedia is an extensive online database containing thousands and thousands of curated, professionally-reviewed entries about the ancient world. 

In addition to these in-depth, easy-to-read articles about everything from minor gods of the Egyptian pantheon to early currency in ancient Korea, this website also offers primary sources for extra information, travel and museum tips, and original source translations. And if you find this source to be almost perfect, you can even submit entries of your own to be reviewed and possibly included in the encyclopedia!

*As always, it is important to look for multiple sources when learning new facts! Even though the ancient world is still unknown to us in many ways (and even the people who lived then disagreed!), real facts can usually be confirmed by consulting a primary source. There’s nothing worse than realizing what you learned was wrong, and this is the best way to prevent that.*

Sphinx’s Princess sets out to prove that the legendary Nefertiti was more than just a pretty face. Set in the lush world of ancient Egypt, this book of historical fiction follows the young Nefertiti as she in turn follows her inquisitive mind to test the boundaries of society. But when the combination of her skills and her beauty catch the eye of her aunt, the manipulative Queen Tiye, Nefertiti is turned into a political pawn. Trapped in a new life of courtly intrigue and mounting danger, Nefertiti knows the only way to return to her family is to play along--but she can’t help standing up for her belief in a new, better future.