Dr. Suzanne Lye, an Associate Professor of Classics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discusses why she studies underworld/afterlife narratives across roughly 1,000 years, arguing they function as “bubbles” of internal commentary that reveal values, relationships, and hidden knowledge. She considers physical sites like necromanteia, the materiality of Greek underworlds, and the need to avoid flattening “Greek beliefs” across time and place. The conversation also touches on curse tablets, amulets, women’s anger and “magic” as unsanctioned religion. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting odyssey! Don't forget to follow us on Bluesky, Facebook & Instagram or visit our website www.theozymandiasproject.com!

Originally recorded June 17, 2026.

Learn more about Dr. Lye: https://classics.unc.edu/people-3/faculty-2-2/suzanne-lye/

Check out her publications on Academia: https://unc.academia.edu/SuzanneLye

Find her book Life/Afterlife: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/life--afterlife-9780197690208?cc=us&lang=en&

Custom music by Brent Arehart of Arehart Sounds and edited by Dan Maday.

Want a transcript of the episode? Email us at theozymandiasprojectpodcast@gmail.com and we can provide one.

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