Phantasmagoria

Phantasmagoria

Author: Emmanuela Lia October 19, 2025 Duration: 1:43

Hello, and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go! 

In the late 1700s  a mysterious traveling showman Paul De Philipstal appeared in Berlin, he spoke French and in the advertisement for his show , he claimed to conjure ghosts, reunite audiences with dead loved ones and even show monsters on stage. He used magic tricks, shadow play and machinery. When he was kicked out of Berlin as a fraud, he moved to Paris where he spoke German and run the same show.  In 1802, under an anglicised version of his name Paul Philidor and speaking English with a French accent, he has a show at the Lyceum theatre in London. He then starts touring the country and ends up in Leeds until his death. Nobody knows when he was born or where but he kept claiming several relations with different European royal families. A few years before Philidor started, French dramatist Louis-Sebastien Mercier had coined the term Philidor used to name his show. From the Ancient Greek infinitive φαινεσθαι (fenesthe) meaning ‘to appear´  we get Φάντασμα (fantasma) meaning ‘an apparition´, ´a ghost´. Αγορά (agora) meant ‘assembly´. An assembly of ghosts is a ΦΑΝΤΑΣΜΑΓΟΡΙΑ/PHANTASMAGORIA


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Each week, Emmanuela Lia offers a quiet, thoughtful moment with Your Greek Word On A Sunday. This award-nominated podcast explores the fascinating journey of language, focusing on a single Greek word that has found a home in everyday English. It’s a bite-sized piece of history and connection, released every Sunday. You’ll hear more than just a definition; each episode traces the word’s path from ancient roots to modern usage, revealing how ideas and culture travel and transform across centuries and continents. Emmanuela unpacks the stories embedded within these travelling words, showing how they silently shape our thinking and link us to a distant past. Listening to this podcast feels like uncovering a hidden layer of meaning in the language we use without a second thought. It’s for anyone curious about where words come from, how history echoes in our speech, and the subtle threads that connect different worlds. The gentle, weekly rhythm and focused format make it a perfect companion for a reflective morning or a calm evening, turning a simple etymological exploration into a consistent ritual of discovery.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 335

Your Greek Word On A Sunday
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