Guided Sleep Meditation & Sleep Hypnosis from Sleep Cove - Greek Myths - The Horse and The Olive

Episode Date: August 21, 2025

In tonight’s episode, you’ll hear the story of how the people of ancient Greece found their very first king and built the beginnings of a town — a town that would one day grow into their great capital. Two mighty Greek gods, Athena and Neptune, compete for the honour of having this new city named after them. Each offers a gift to win the people’s favour — gifts that perfectly reflect their personalities and powers. The people must choose… and their decision will shape the city’s future for all time. I really enjoyed reading this story — it’s full of myth, magic, and the spark of history — and I hope you enjoy hearing it tonight as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you. Please remember to subscribe to the show. Please leave a 5-star review & SUBSCRIBE on Apple and Spotify. Sleep Cove Premium Become a Premium Member for Bonus Episodes & Ad-Free listening: Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.sleepcove.com/support⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and become a Premium Member. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get Instant Access⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and sign up in two taps. The Sleep Cove Premium Feed includes: - Access to over 400 Ad-free Episodes - Regular Exclusive Bonus Episodes - A Back Catalogue of Dozens of Exclusive Episodes - Full Audiobooks like Alice in Wonderland - Your name read out on the Show - Our Love! Get your 7-day free trial:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://sleepcove.com/support⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For Apple users, click the TRY FREE button for a 2-week free trial and become a Premium Member Today. Support our Sponsors: Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Zoe.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and find out what ZOE Membership could do for you. And because you listen to Sleep Cove, you can use the exclusive code SLEEPCOVE10 to to get 10% off membership. Our Sister Shows: - Calm Cove - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://link.chtbl.com/bgSKfkbt⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- Relaxing Music & Ambient Sounds - Mysteries at Midnight - Mystery Bedtime Stories - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://link.chtbl.com/skj6YFah⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Let's Begin - Daytime Meditations with wake sections at the end - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://link.chtbl.com/Z--DgSH4 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - YouTube Bedtime Story Channel -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://rb.gy/t7wyjk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - YouTube Sleep Hypnosis & Meditation Channel - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClE6WJgPYRBtwVQ1qDBrbqw⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect: - Join the Newsletter for a Bonus Meditation -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.sleepcove.com/bonus⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Facebook:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://rb.gy/azpdrd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/sleep_cove/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - TikTok:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@sleepcovechris⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Recommended Products: Comfortable Sleep Headphones -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.sleepcove.com/headphones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Best Mattress from Puffy: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sleepcove.com/puffy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ _______________ All Content by Sleep Cove is for educational or entertainment purposes and does not provide or replace professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your medical professional before making any changes to your treatment and if in any doubt, contact your doctor. Please listen in a place where you can safely go to sleep. Sleep Cove is not responsible or liable for any loss, damage or injury arising from the use of this content. _________________ Sleep Cove content includes guided sleep meditations, sleep hypnosis (hypnotherapy), sleep stories (visualizations) and Bedtime Stories for adults and grown-ups, all designed to help you get a great night's sleep Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back by popular demand, the Sleep Cove Premium Sale has started. For the next two months, you can get Sleep Cove Premium for free. That's right, completely free. There you'll get access to all my exclusive episodes, as well as every episode, add free. You'll also have access to my own. other podcasts and their exclusive and ad-free content too. Sleepcove can't carry on without your support. So if you want to become a VIP member and get access to our premium feed,

please go to sleepcove.com slash support. That's sleepcove.com slash support. If you can't support the show right now, please subscribe with a bell to get alerts on all new free content Thank you Have you ever gazed in wonder at the Great Pyramid Have you marvelled at the golden face of Tudankhamun

Or admired the delicate features of Queen Nefertiti If you have, you'll probably like the History of Egypt podcast Every week we explore tales of this ancient culture The history of Egypt is available wherever you get your podcasting fix. Come, let me introduce you to the world of ancient Egypt. And welcome to Sleep Cove, with me, Christopher Fitton, the place to get a great night's sleep. In the story tonight, two mighty Greek gods, Athena and Neptune, compete for the honour of having this new city, named after them.

Each offers a gift to win the people's favour, gifts that perfectly reflect their personalities and powers. The people must choose and their decision will shape the city's future for all time. I really loved reading the story.

It's full of myth, magic and a spark of history and I hope you enjoy hearing it tonight as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you so please get comfortable and let's begin the horse and the olive chapter one finding a king on a steep stony hill in Greece there lived in early times a few very poor people who had not yet learned to build houses. They made their homes in little caves,

which they dug in the earth, or hollowed out among the rocks, and their food was the flesh of wild animals, which they hunted in the woods, with now and then a few berries or nuts. They did not even know how to make bows and arrows, but used slings and clubs and sharp sticks for weapons, and their little clothing which they had was made of skins.

They lived on the top of the hill because they were safe there from the savage beasts of the great forest around them, and safe also from the wild man. who sometimes roamed through the land. The hill was so steep on every side that there was no way of climbing it, save by a single narrow footpath which was also guided by someone at the top. One day when the men were hunting in the woods they found a strange youth whose face was so fair, and who was dressed so beautifully, that they could hardly believe him to be a man like themselves. His body was so slender and live, and he moved so nimbly among the trees, that they fancied him to be a serpent in the guise of a human being. and they stood still in wonder and alarm.

The young man spoke to them, but they could not understand a word that he said. Then he made signs to them that he was hungry, and they gave him something to eat and were no longer afraid. Had they been like the wild men of the woods, they might have killed him at once, But they wanted their woman and children to see the serpent man as they called him and hear him talk. So they took him home with them to the top of the hill. They thought that after they had made a show of him for a few days, they would kill him and offer his body as a sacrifice to the unknown being. whom they dimly fancied to have some sort of control over their lives.

But the young man were so fair and gentle that after they had taken a look at him, they began to think it would be a great pity to harm him. So they gave him food and treated him kindly, and sang songs to them and played with their children. children and made them happier than they had been for many a day. In a short time, he learned to talk in their language, and he told them that his name was sea crops, and that he had been shipwrecked on the sea coast, not far away, and then he told them many strange things about the land from which he had come,

and to which he would never be able to return. The poor people listened and wondered, and it was not long until they began to love him and to look up to him as one wiser than themselves. Then they came to ask him about everything that was to be done, and there was not one of them who refused to do his bidding. So sea-crops, the serpent-man, as they still called him, became the king of the poor people on the hill.

He taught them how to make bows and arrows, how to set nets for birds, and how to take fish with hooks. He led them, against the savage wild men of the woods and helped them kill the fierce beasts that had been so great a terror to them he showed them how to build houses of wood

and to thatch them with the reeds which grew in the marshes he taught them how to live in families instead of herding together like senseless beasts as they had always done before, and he told them about great Jupiter and the mighty folk, who lived amid the clouds on the mountaintop. Chapter 2. Choosing a name By and by, instead of the wretched caves among the rocks, there was a little town on the top of the hill with neat houses

and a market place, and around it was a strong wall with a single narrow gate, just where the footpath began to descend to the plain. But as yet, their place had no name. One morning, where the king and his wise men were sitting together in the marketplace and planning how to make the town become a rich, strong city, two strangers were seen in the street. Nobody could tell how they came there. The guard at the gate had not seen them, and the man had ever dared to climb the narrow footway without his leave. But there the two strangers stood. One was a man,

The other a woman, and they were so tall, and their faces were so grand and naval, that those who saw them stood still and wondered and said not a word. The man had a robe of purple and green wrapped round his body, and he bore in one hand a strong staff with three shy, up spear points at one end. The woman was not beautiful, but she had wonderful grey eyes. And in one hand, she carried a spear, and in the other a shield of curious workmanship. What is the name of this town? asked the man. The people stared at him in wonder, and hardly understood his meaning. Then an old man,

answered and said, It is no name. We who lived on this hill used to be called Kranai, but since King Sir Crops came, we have been so busy that we have no time to think of names.

Where is this king, Sir Crops? asked the woman. He is in the marketplace, with the wise men, was the answer. Leaders to him at once, said the man. Where sea crops saw the first two strangers coming into the marketplace, he stood up and waited for them to speak.

The man spoke first. I am Netune, said he, and I rule the sea. And I am Athena, said the woman, and I give wisdom to men. I hear you are planning to make your town become a great city, said Neptune. And I have come to help you. Give my name to the place

and let me be your protector and patron and the wealth of the whole world shall be yours. Ships from every land, shall bring you merchandise and gold and silver, and you shall be the masters of the sea. My uncle makes you fair promises, said Athena, but listen to me, give my name to your city,

and let me be your patron, and I will give you that which gold cannot buy. I will teach you, how to do a thousand things, of which you now know nothing. I will make your city my favourite home, and I will give you wisdom that shall sway the hearts and minds of all men until the end of time. The king bowed and turned to the people who had crowded into the marketplace. Which are these mighty ones?

Shall we elect to be the protector and patron of our city? He asked. Neptune offers us wealth. Athena promises us wisdom. Which shall we choose? Neptune and wealth cried many. Athena and wisdom cried as many others. At last, when it was plain that the people could not agree, an old man whose advice

was always heeded, stood up and said, These mighty ones have only given us promises, and they have promised things of which we are ignorant. For who among us knows what wealth is or what wisdom is, Now, if they would only give us some real gift, right now and right here, which we can see and handle, we should know better how to choose. That is true, that is true, cried the people. Very well then, said the strangers, we will each give you a gift, right now and right here, and then, you may choose between us.

Neptune gave the first gift. He stood on the highest point of the hill, where the rock was bare, and bade the people see his power. He raised his three-pointed spear high in the air, and then brought it down with great force. The lightning flashed, the earth shook, and the rock was split halfway down to the bottom of the hill.

Then out of the yawning crevice, there sprang a wonderful creature, white as milk, with long slender legs, an arching neck, and a mane and a tail of silk. The people had never seen anything like it before, and they thought it a new kind of bear

or wolf or wild ball that had come out of the rock to devour them. Some of them ran and hid in their houses, while others climbed upon the wall, and still others grasped their weapons in an arm. But when they saw the creature stand quietly by the side of Neptune, they lost their fear and came closer to sea and had noticed. admire its beauty. This is my gift, said Neptune.

This animal will carry your burdens for you. He will draw your chariots. He will pull your wagons and your plows. He will let you sit on his back and will run with you faster than the wind.

What is his name? asked the king. His name is horse, answered Neptune. Then Athena came forward. She stood a moment on a green grassy plot, where the children of the town liked to play in the evening. Then she drove the point of her spear deep down in the soil. At once the air was filled with music, and out of the earth there sprang a tree with slender branches and dark green leaves and white flowers and violet green fruit. This is my gift, said Athena.

This tree will give you food when you are hungry. It will shelter you from the sun when you are faint. It will beautify your city and the oil from its fruit will be. be sought by all the world. What is it called? asked the king. It is called olive, answered Athena. Then the king and his wise men began to talk about the two gifts. I do not see that horse will be of much use to us, said the old man who had spoken before. For as to the chariots and the wagons and plows, we have none of them, and indeed do not know what they are, and who among us will ever want to sit on this creature's back, and be born faster than the wind?

But on earth will be a thing of beauty, and a joy for us and our children forever. Which shall we choose? asked the king, turning to the people. people. Athena has given us the best gift, they all cried, and we choose Athena and wisdom. Be it so, said the king, and the name of our city shall be Athens. From that day the town grew and spread, and soon there was not room on the hilltop for all the people. then houses were built in the plain around the foot of the hill and a great road was built to the sea three miles away and in all of the world

there was no city more fair than Athens in the old marketplace on the top of the hill the people built a temple to Athena the ruins of which may still be seen The olive tree grew and nourished And when you visit Athens People will show you the very spot where it stood Many other trees sprang from it

And in time Became a blessing both to Greece And to all the other countries Around the Great Sea As for the horse He wandered away across the sea the plains, towards the north, and found a home at last in distant Thessaly beyond the river Panius.

And I have heard it said that all the horses in the world have descended from that one which Neptune brought out of the rock. But of the truth of this story, there may be some doubts.