Greetings fans of Greek and Roman mythology! After having recently written about the Olympians Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, Artemis, Hestia, and Apollo, with a serpentine digression upon Medusa, I promised that I would discuss Hades in this post. However, since this is supposed to be a gloomy, saturnine, and rather cloudy week, I thought that I would brighten and certainly spice things up a bit with the luminous goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite. Aphrodite was not one of the original six Olympians, but rather predated them; most sources consider her to be the great aunt of Zeus (although some consider her to be the child of Zeus and Thalassa, the sea). Aphrodite was born, fully grown (just like Athena), from the foam of the sea (her name comes from the Greek word aphros: "sea foam"). Her father was Ouranos, the original god of the sky; she had no mother, unless one considers it to be the sea from which she arose. A very famous picture by Botticelli entitled the "Birth of Venus" pictures Venus (the Roman name of Aphrodite) riding upon the shell of a scallop.
Aphrodite was said to possess a magical girdle (the cestus) that made her irresistible to all men; they could not help but fall in love with her. She married the ugliest of the gods, Hephaestus; a strange pairing, one might think, but Aphrodite was extremely vain (she was always looking in a hand mirror, which was one of her symbols, and today is a symbol for women: ♀) and Hephaestus did make the very best of jewelry, being blacksmith of the gods. His sparkling and scintillating gold and diamond necklaces only enhanced her already incredible beauty, and fed her vanity. Other primary symbols of Aphrodite included the rose and the dove. The most beautiful celestial object in the sky is the planet Venus, which shines the most brightly, like a clear diamond of brilliant hue.
Although Aphrodite was the wife of Hephaestus, she really just married him for his money; she was actually passionately in love with Ares, the god of war (one might think that a marriage between the two of them would certainly test the adage that "all is fair in love and war!"). Perhaps they were attracted as opposites attract: love and war don't really mix, but they do tend to make things exciting. Perhaps they were both attracted because of their favorite color, red; Mars, the red planet, is the Roman name for Ares; red roses, again, were the symbol of Aphrodite. I like to think of them as just swept away by irrational forces; true love rarely makes any sense whatsoever. After all, Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus, and yet here we all are despite it all, and on a completely different planet to boot (the Roman name for which, by the way, is Terra).
Aphrodite's primary son was the god Eros, the god of love (Roman name Cupid). Eros had a powerful set of arrows that would make people fall in love at will. He would shoot them through their eye with his light of love arrows, and they would fall madly and passionately in love with the next person or creature that came across their vision --highly problematic in some cases! The father of Eros is contested: it was either Zeus, Ares, or Hermes. Other more well known children included Aeneas, the hero of Vergil's Aeneid, whose descendant, Romulus, eventually founded Rome; and the three Graces: Aglaia (Beauty), Euphrosyne (Joy), and Thalia (Good Cheer).
Just as love does today, Aphrodite played a large part in many tales, full versions of which will be the subject of future posts. Nevertheless, here are short takes from a few:
**The Judgment of Paris: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite quarreled over an irresistible golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides that was cleverly marked (by Eris, the goddess of Discord) as "For the Fairest." Aphrodite offered Paris, in return for the apple, the most beautiful woman in the world to have as his wife. Hera said that Paris could be lord of all Asia and the richest man alive, whereas Athena offered him the power to not only win all battles, but also be both the handsomest and wisest man. Paris was young and romantic, and so chose Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world, who was unfortunately already married to Menelaus, the King of Sparta. Thus began the Trojan War.
**Aphrodite at one point left Mt. Olympus to be with Adonis, an extremely handsome youth. Ares became so inflamed with jealousy that he turned himself into a wild boar and killed the handsome youth, just so Aphrodite would return to Mt. Olympus. Another one of those very salutary aspects of that overwhelming force called love.
**In the story of Cupid and Psyche, Venus is seen as a rather vindictive goddess since people were paying more attention to Psyche than to her (heaven forfend!). This jealousy manifests itself in quite a few nasty ways ... but more of this in a future post. As with Artemis, if one messed with Aphrodite, there was sure to be trouble. Big trouble. One is also reminded of Athena being challenged by Arachne to a weaving contest ... no one wins versus the gods ... even if one wins.
**In the story of Atalanta, both Atalanta and Hippomenes (or Melanion) forget to thank Aphrodite for providing the golden apples which allowed the two to marry (Atalanta lost a footrace because she was tempted and slowed down by those apples). Aphrodite turns to one of her best friends, Cybele (a kind of female Dionysus), who changes them into lions, forcing them to draw her chariot for the rest of their lives.
**Finally, in a more favorable story, Aphrodite transformed the statue Galatea, which Pygmalion had made (he could find no suitable women to marry, so he made one instead), into a living, breathing woman, and presumably they lived happily ever after. However, the story ends at the point of their marriage. Shakespeare's point entirely. But that doesn't make it real, of course ... it's literature.
Please stay tuned for my next post, where I shall this time finish with the last of the 6 major Olympian gods, Hades. I will probably speak a bit about the Underworld in a subsequent post. It will be, after all, summer vacation at that point, full of sun and fun ... far away from the depths of Tartarus.
*Interesting Fact: The Greek name "Aphrodite" may be the origin of the month "April" (or it could come from a Latin word meaning "second"). April used to be the second month of the year, but it is also a month of the season spring, when love plays such a large part in baby animals being born. Do bees fall in love with flowers?*
*Interesting Fact: Strangely enough, the siblings of Aphrodite included, of all creatures, the Erinyes (Furies): Tisiphone, Alecto, and Megara! This might explain some of the more vengeful actions of Aphrodite ... *
*Interesting Fact: See a picture of Aphrodite's Rock in Cyprus where Aphrodite first stepped on land.*
**Mythology Book Corner** A very promising new compendium of all things Greekly mythological (I know that's a weird phrase but it sounds right) is Oh My Gods!: A Look-it-Up Guide to the Gods of Mythology. This would probably be more digestible for the youngish/teen reader than Pierre Grimal or Robert Graves. Certainly give it a looksee if you love Greek myths!
Interested in improving your vocabulary? Find out how the Greek and Latin languages gave rise to most of the English language at www.wordempire.com.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Hestia--Goddess of the Hearth
Greetings fans of Greek and Roman mythology! After having recently written about the Olympians Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, Artemis, and Apollo, with a serpentine digression upon Medusa, I will now return to another of the six primary Olympians, Hestia. Hestia was the goddess of the hearth, or fireplace. Her Roman name was Vesta. She was also a child of Cronus and Rhea. Of all the six major Olympians, Hestia has the fewest stories written about her since she never went anywhere or did much of anything. After all, the hearth, or fireside, is immovable, and hence Hestia did not stray far from being a homebody. She never married, never had any children, and was sometimes pictured as a kindly old aunt.
Despite Hestia's vanilla, rather dull character, nevertheless she was extremely important to the security of the people of Greece and Rome. To show their gratitude for protecting them, they granted her the first fruits of every sacrifice in order to keep the "home fires burning." Considering the fact that fire can be so beneficial and yet so destructive, it is no wonder that perhaps this was the goddess who seemed closest to the Greeks and to the Romans, as there was an altar (i.e. the hearth) to Hestia in every Greek and Roman household. The hearth fire of a Roman or Greek household was never allowed to go out, and if it did, a ritual had to be completed to relight it. No flipping a switch to start a fire in the ancient world!
Hestia was both the oldest and youngest of the Olympian gods. She was the first born, and hence swallowed first by Cronus (who swallowed all of his children, except for Zeus). However, she was also the youngest because she was the last one to re-emerge from Cronus's stomach once he was tricked by Zeus into throwing up all the gods once again.
In the great Forum in the City of Rome, the round temple of Vesta housed an eternal flame. The Romans believed that if the Vestal Virgins, or 6 priestesses who tended that flame, were ever to let the fire go out, then Rome would fall. Apparently the priestesses did a pretty good job, as the power of Rome lasted from 753 BCE to 410 CE. Each Vestal virgin could never marry (just as their patron goddess Vesta never married). Each priestess was trained for 10 years to tend the flame, then tended that eternal flame for another 10 years, and then taught new trainees for another 10 years before their service to Rome ended. This 30-year commitment was held in very high regard by all Romans.
**Mythology Book Corner** Another excellent mythology resource is the comprehensive tome by Pierre Grimal, which is simply laden with Greek mythological facts. It is in the form of a dictionary, with highly readable entries which tell just about everything there is to know about Greek Myths. This book, The Dictionary of Classical Mythology, has a handy index as well. If you memorize this book, you'll know just about all there is to know about Greek myth.
*Interesting fact: the Latin word for hearth is focus. As the hearth was the center of classical homes, so too do we mentally center when we "focus."*
Next week I will discuss the last of the six Olympians: Hades, the god of the Underworld.
Despite Hestia's vanilla, rather dull character, nevertheless she was extremely important to the security of the people of Greece and Rome. To show their gratitude for protecting them, they granted her the first fruits of every sacrifice in order to keep the "home fires burning." Considering the fact that fire can be so beneficial and yet so destructive, it is no wonder that perhaps this was the goddess who seemed closest to the Greeks and to the Romans, as there was an altar (i.e. the hearth) to Hestia in every Greek and Roman household. The hearth fire of a Roman or Greek household was never allowed to go out, and if it did, a ritual had to be completed to relight it. No flipping a switch to start a fire in the ancient world!
Hestia was both the oldest and youngest of the Olympian gods. She was the first born, and hence swallowed first by Cronus (who swallowed all of his children, except for Zeus). However, she was also the youngest because she was the last one to re-emerge from Cronus's stomach once he was tricked by Zeus into throwing up all the gods once again.
In the great Forum in the City of Rome, the round temple of Vesta housed an eternal flame. The Romans believed that if the Vestal Virgins, or 6 priestesses who tended that flame, were ever to let the fire go out, then Rome would fall. Apparently the priestesses did a pretty good job, as the power of Rome lasted from 753 BCE to 410 CE. Each Vestal virgin could never marry (just as their patron goddess Vesta never married). Each priestess was trained for 10 years to tend the flame, then tended that eternal flame for another 10 years, and then taught new trainees for another 10 years before their service to Rome ended. This 30-year commitment was held in very high regard by all Romans.
**Mythology Book Corner** Another excellent mythology resource is the comprehensive tome by Pierre Grimal, which is simply laden with Greek mythological facts. It is in the form of a dictionary, with highly readable entries which tell just about everything there is to know about Greek Myths. This book, The Dictionary of Classical Mythology, has a handy index as well. If you memorize this book, you'll know just about all there is to know about Greek myth.
*Interesting fact: the Latin word for hearth is focus. As the hearth was the center of classical homes, so too do we mentally center when we "focus."*
Next week I will discuss the last of the six Olympians: Hades, the god of the Underworld.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Apollo--Renaissance God
Greetings fans of Greek and Roman mythology! After having recently written about the Olympians Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, and Artemis, with a serpentine digression upon Medusa, I will now return to the twin brother of Artemis, the god Apollo. Apollo was probably the god with the most attributes. One might wonder, even with his godlike status, how Apollo could be the god of light, music, archery, civilization, law, medicine, prophecy, truth, poetry, and even the "arts;" how did he even have time to breathe? Even with the blood of the gods, ichor, flowing through his veins, and imbibing nectar, the drink of the gods, and eating ambrosia, the food of the gods, you'd think he wouldn't have enough energy. All the arts??? Might I suggest that today Apollo would be the god of multitasking?
Apollo was the twin son of the god Zeus and the Titan Leto. Apollo's Roman name is very difficult to remember, as it is often confused with his Greek name. Take a moment now to breathe as I present this difficult name to thee. OK. Now. "A" "P" "O" "L" "L" "O".
On to simpler matters.
Apollo probably had the most influential oracle of the ancient world. His shrine at Delphi (at Mount Parnassus in the Phocis valley), of which he was the patron, was visited by people in the ancient world who just had to know what was going to happen (life in the ancient world was highly unpredictable). The seeress (or the Oracle) Pythia would sit upon a tripod over a crack in the earth at Delphi, where she would interpret the messages from Apollo for those wanting to know their future by breathing in the fumes from the depths of the earth. Delphi itself was founded when Apollo slew the monster Python (and hence the name of the seeress). Delphi was considered by the Greeks to be the omphalos of their culture, or the very spiritual center of the Greek world. By the bye, omphaloskepsis is the meditation upon one's navel, the "center" of one's body, or torso.
Of course, some of the prophecies or prognostications by Pythia went rather awry. When Acrisius heard that his grandson would one day kill him, he imprisoned his only daughter Danae in a tower of bronze, the shining light of which unluckily caught the eye of Zeus. Perseus never would have been born had Acrisius not tried to either counteract the prophecy, or had not gone to Delphi in the first place. Years later, Perseus was in a discus-throwing contest, threw the discus so far that it sailed out of the arena, and hit ... guess who on the head, killing him at once. Some believed that the voice of the Oracle (Pythia) brought about mortals creating their own destiny.
Once Apollo had his beautiful cattle stolen by his mischievous half-brother Hermes (after being just born, no less). Apollo complained to Maia, the mother of Hermes, who said that Hermes couldn't have stolen the cattle since he had remained sleeping by her side all night, wound up in swaddling clothes (Hermes was VERY sneaky, being the god of thieves); Hermes began to play his lyre, soothing the arguing gods, and Apollo offered all his cattle for the lyre that Hermes had invented from the intestines of a cow + the shell of a tortoise. So that is how Apollo got his lyre, with which he is often pictured as god of music. Hermes also traded the pan pipes and flute (which he also invented) for Apollo's caduceus. The caduceus was a magical wand with two snakes entwining on a rod with two wings sprouting from the top. It is NOT a medical symbol, which is properly the rod of Asclepius, the god of healing, which only has one snake entwining on a rod.
Although Apollo is often referred to as the god of the sun, he is actually the god of the light of the sun, or the power behind its radiance; in much the same way, his sister, Artemis, is the goddess of the light of the moon, whereas Selene was the goddess of the moon proper. Note that the god of the sun was Helios (whence helium, the product of fusion which fuels the sun). The Greeks envisioned the sun as a flaming chariot driven by two horses, with Helios as its charioteer.
There are many tales about Apollo, but probably the most famous is that of the nymph Daphne. Apollo was madly in love with Daphne, who would have nothing to do with him. One day, frustrated in his love for her, Apollo began to chase her through the woods; Daphne screamed in terror to her father, the river Peneus, who rose up, took human form, and transformed Daphne into a laurel tree. Apollo decided to use the laurel as his sacred tree, and put a wreath of its leaves on his head. Besides the laurel wreath, his other symbols were the bow and arrow, lyre, and raven.
The direct opposite of Apollo was the god Dionysus. Whereas Apollo was interested in law and order, Dionysus was most concerned with lawlessness and disorder (and probably wasn't as stiff and certainly had much more fun). More about Dionysus in the future. Philosophers, such as Nietzsche, love to bandy about the terms Apollonian and Dionysian to describe states of order vs. chaos.
**Mythology Book Corner** Speaking of the Apollo of mythographers, Robert Graves has written what is definitely the most comprehensive guide to Greek mythology today, entitled: The Greek Myths. It is available in both hardcover and paperback. The hardcover edition of The Greek Myths is hard to find these days.
My next post will feature another of the primary 6 Olympians: the goddess Hestia, about whom there are the fewest number of stories (great pitch, huh?).
Interested in improving your vocabulary? Find out how the Greek and Latin languages gave rise to most of the English language at www.wordempire.com.
Apollo was the twin son of the god Zeus and the Titan Leto. Apollo's Roman name is very difficult to remember, as it is often confused with his Greek name. Take a moment now to breathe as I present this difficult name to thee. OK. Now. "A" "P" "O" "L" "L" "O".
On to simpler matters.
Apollo probably had the most influential oracle of the ancient world. His shrine at Delphi (at Mount Parnassus in the Phocis valley), of which he was the patron, was visited by people in the ancient world who just had to know what was going to happen (life in the ancient world was highly unpredictable). The seeress (or the Oracle) Pythia would sit upon a tripod over a crack in the earth at Delphi, where she would interpret the messages from Apollo for those wanting to know their future by breathing in the fumes from the depths of the earth. Delphi itself was founded when Apollo slew the monster Python (and hence the name of the seeress). Delphi was considered by the Greeks to be the omphalos of their culture, or the very spiritual center of the Greek world. By the bye, omphaloskepsis is the meditation upon one's navel, the "center" of one's body, or torso.
Of course, some of the prophecies or prognostications by Pythia went rather awry. When Acrisius heard that his grandson would one day kill him, he imprisoned his only daughter Danae in a tower of bronze, the shining light of which unluckily caught the eye of Zeus. Perseus never would have been born had Acrisius not tried to either counteract the prophecy, or had not gone to Delphi in the first place. Years later, Perseus was in a discus-throwing contest, threw the discus so far that it sailed out of the arena, and hit ... guess who on the head, killing him at once. Some believed that the voice of the Oracle (Pythia) brought about mortals creating their own destiny.
Once Apollo had his beautiful cattle stolen by his mischievous half-brother Hermes (after being just born, no less). Apollo complained to Maia, the mother of Hermes, who said that Hermes couldn't have stolen the cattle since he had remained sleeping by her side all night, wound up in swaddling clothes (Hermes was VERY sneaky, being the god of thieves); Hermes began to play his lyre, soothing the arguing gods, and Apollo offered all his cattle for the lyre that Hermes had invented from the intestines of a cow + the shell of a tortoise. So that is how Apollo got his lyre, with which he is often pictured as god of music. Hermes also traded the pan pipes and flute (which he also invented) for Apollo's caduceus. The caduceus was a magical wand with two snakes entwining on a rod with two wings sprouting from the top. It is NOT a medical symbol, which is properly the rod of Asclepius, the god of healing, which only has one snake entwining on a rod.
Although Apollo is often referred to as the god of the sun, he is actually the god of the light of the sun, or the power behind its radiance; in much the same way, his sister, Artemis, is the goddess of the light of the moon, whereas Selene was the goddess of the moon proper. Note that the god of the sun was Helios (whence helium, the product of fusion which fuels the sun). The Greeks envisioned the sun as a flaming chariot driven by two horses, with Helios as its charioteer.There are many tales about Apollo, but probably the most famous is that of the nymph Daphne. Apollo was madly in love with Daphne, who would have nothing to do with him. One day, frustrated in his love for her, Apollo began to chase her through the woods; Daphne screamed in terror to her father, the river Peneus, who rose up, took human form, and transformed Daphne into a laurel tree. Apollo decided to use the laurel as his sacred tree, and put a wreath of its leaves on his head. Besides the laurel wreath, his other symbols were the bow and arrow, lyre, and raven.
The direct opposite of Apollo was the god Dionysus. Whereas Apollo was interested in law and order, Dionysus was most concerned with lawlessness and disorder (and probably wasn't as stiff and certainly had much more fun). More about Dionysus in the future. Philosophers, such as Nietzsche, love to bandy about the terms Apollonian and Dionysian to describe states of order vs. chaos.
**Mythology Book Corner** Speaking of the Apollo of mythographers, Robert Graves has written what is definitely the most comprehensive guide to Greek mythology today, entitled: The Greek Myths. It is available in both hardcover and paperback. The hardcover edition of The Greek Myths is hard to find these days.
My next post will feature another of the primary 6 Olympians: the goddess Hestia, about whom there are the fewest number of stories (great pitch, huh?).
Interested in improving your vocabulary? Find out how the Greek and Latin languages gave rise to most of the English language at www.wordempire.com.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Artemis--Cold Goddess of the Hunt, Chastity, and the Moon
Greetings fans of Greek and Roman mythology! After having recently written about the Olympians Zeus, Hera, Demeter, and Poseidon, and with a serpentine digression upon Medusa, one of the children of Poseidon, I will now return to the Olympian goddess Artemis, twin of Apollo. Artemis (Roman name Diana) was the child of Zeus and the Titaness Leto (Roman Latona). Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, chastity, and the moon (that is, the light of the moon; Selene was the goddess of the moon itself, just like Apollo was the god of the light of the sun, whereas Helios was the god of the sun chariot). She was probably the most unforgiving goddess or god for that matter; if you got on her bad side, you were doomed, often for the slightest offenses.
Consider the story of Actaeon. Actaeon was an innocent hunter out with his hunting dogs one day. He had no luck all morning long, and it was a hot day. Becoming thirsty, he went off to look for a cool drink, and came upon a pool in which the goddess Artemis happened to be taking a bath along with her handmaidens. Artemis immediately detected the innocent Actaeon, and became so enraged that she turned him into a stag; at that point Actaeon's hunting dogs, no longer recognizing their master, began to bay and chased after the stag, which they soon cornered, caught, and tore to pieces. Good grief.
Unfair, you say? Well, yes. Artemis can easily be viewed as a goddess who embodies the unfairness of life. She is cold (consider the light of the moon which gives no heat, the idea of chastity, and the idea of killing in cold blood during the hunt). Stone cold. In fact, she symbolizes those times during one's life when nothing seems to go right, when, in fact, a string of horrible occurrences happen for seemingly meaningless reasons. I remember one year in my life when my wife miscarried twins (5 months along), my wife's brother fell off a cliff, my father died, my grandfather died, and I suffered from a career-ending injury to my leg. I hope that Diana does not decide to frown upon me again for quite some long time, or upon you either, for that matter.
Another example of her cold nature is in the story of Niobe. Niobe, a queen of Thebes at the time, had fourteen wonderful children. One day she met Leto, the mother of Artemis and Apollo; they struck up a conversation, in which it was revealed that Leto only had two children. Niobe rather made fun of her (the more children one had in that time and culture the better) for having so few children (making fun of a deity is never a good idea, by the bye), so Leto, in her rage, sent Apollo and Artemis to slaughter those 14 children with their arrows (Apollo was the god of archery, and Artemis also possessed a silver bow, similar to the crescent of the silver moon); only one child remained after the twin god's killing spree, the daughter Chloris.
Like mother, like daughter.
The deer and the cypress tree were sacred to Artemis; since she was the goddess of chastity she never got married, nor did she bear any children. It was thought that she once fell in love with Orion, but please don't tell her that I said that (Orion preferred Eos, the goddess of the dawn, to her). She did kill Orion--you can tell her that, because she still might be proud of that part of the story.
Artemis was also the goddess who sent the Calydonian Boar to ravage the kingdom of King Oeneus. King Oeneus had forgotten to offer the first fruits of the harvest to her. This precipitated the great hunt for the Calydonian Boar, whom Atalanta at last vanquished.
And so, let us leave the cheery goddess Artemis behind for now.
My next post will focus upon her twin brother, the god Apollo.
Interested in improving your vocabulary? Find out how the Greek and Latin languages gave rise to most of the English language at www.wordempire.com.
Consider the story of Actaeon. Actaeon was an innocent hunter out with his hunting dogs one day. He had no luck all morning long, and it was a hot day. Becoming thirsty, he went off to look for a cool drink, and came upon a pool in which the goddess Artemis happened to be taking a bath along with her handmaidens. Artemis immediately detected the innocent Actaeon, and became so enraged that she turned him into a stag; at that point Actaeon's hunting dogs, no longer recognizing their master, began to bay and chased after the stag, which they soon cornered, caught, and tore to pieces. Good grief.
Unfair, you say? Well, yes. Artemis can easily be viewed as a goddess who embodies the unfairness of life. She is cold (consider the light of the moon which gives no heat, the idea of chastity, and the idea of killing in cold blood during the hunt). Stone cold. In fact, she symbolizes those times during one's life when nothing seems to go right, when, in fact, a string of horrible occurrences happen for seemingly meaningless reasons. I remember one year in my life when my wife miscarried twins (5 months along), my wife's brother fell off a cliff, my father died, my grandfather died, and I suffered from a career-ending injury to my leg. I hope that Diana does not decide to frown upon me again for quite some long time, or upon you either, for that matter.
Another example of her cold nature is in the story of Niobe. Niobe, a queen of Thebes at the time, had fourteen wonderful children. One day she met Leto, the mother of Artemis and Apollo; they struck up a conversation, in which it was revealed that Leto only had two children. Niobe rather made fun of her (the more children one had in that time and culture the better) for having so few children (making fun of a deity is never a good idea, by the bye), so Leto, in her rage, sent Apollo and Artemis to slaughter those 14 children with their arrows (Apollo was the god of archery, and Artemis also possessed a silver bow, similar to the crescent of the silver moon); only one child remained after the twin god's killing spree, the daughter Chloris.
Like mother, like daughter.
The deer and the cypress tree were sacred to Artemis; since she was the goddess of chastity she never got married, nor did she bear any children. It was thought that she once fell in love with Orion, but please don't tell her that I said that (Orion preferred Eos, the goddess of the dawn, to her). She did kill Orion--you can tell her that, because she still might be proud of that part of the story.
Artemis was also the goddess who sent the Calydonian Boar to ravage the kingdom of King Oeneus. King Oeneus had forgotten to offer the first fruits of the harvest to her. This precipitated the great hunt for the Calydonian Boar, whom Atalanta at last vanquished.
And so, let us leave the cheery goddess Artemis behind for now.
My next post will focus upon her twin brother, the god Apollo.
**Mythology Book Corner** If you simply cannot get enough of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, why not delve deeper and read Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Ultimate Guide? Of course, there's also the fabulous book on tape, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. If you have a long drive to work everyday like I do, it's the perfect remedy to shrink time.
Interested in improving your vocabulary? Find out how the Greek and Latin languages gave rise to most of the English language at www.wordempire.com.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Poseidon: Sovereign of the Sea
Greetings fans of Greek and Roman mythology! After having recently written about the Olympians Zeus, Hera, and Demeter, with a serpentine digression upon Medusa, I will now return to the Olympian god Poseidon, brother of Zeus, Hades, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia. Poseidon helped the gods win the Titanomachy, or war between the gods and the Titans, with his great trident, or fabulous three-pronged fork, which could whip up huge storms on the sea, earthquakes on land (Poseidon was known as "Earth Shaker"), and make huge rifts in the land into which the sea flowed. After the god's victory, he drew the second best straw and became lord of all the oceans on the planet. In Greek mythology, all rivers had their own god, who could take human form at will, and, of course, father children (for instance, Nike, the goddess of victory, was the child of the Titan Pallas and the river Styx), but Poseidon was the chief god of the big waters.
Poseidon rode about on the ocean's and sea's waves in a great chariot drawn by hippocampi, or half-horse, half-fish. He would wield his great trident above his head, and his son Triton would blow upon a huge conch shell to announce the arrival of his great father so that mere mortals might prepare for his awesome sight upon their shores.
Poseidon, besides being the god of the sea, was also god of horses and earthquakes. His wife was generally considered to be the nymph Amphitrite, with whom he fathered Triton, his primary son. To the Athenians, Poseidon was only considered to be second of the great Olympians to Athena herself, who gave the city of Athens its name. At one time there had been a contest between Poseidon and Athena as to who should be the tutelary, or protective deity, of Athens; Poseidon offered a spring of water, which unfortunately was salty, whereas Athena offered the olive tree. One can easily see why Poseidon lost!
Poseidon was the father of some rather unseemly children. He was the father of Polyphemus, the great Cyclops that so troubled Odysseus and his men until Odysseus tricked him by blinding him (more of that in a future post). He was the father of Pegasus and the giant Chrysaor, who sprung forth from the neck of Medusa after the hero Perseus cut off her head. He was also the father of the only other winged horse in mythology, Arion (Arion's mother was none other than Demeter!). Some sources claim that he was the father of Theseus, but most claim that Aegeus was his father (whose name gave rise to the Aegean Sea). The giants Otus and Ephialtes were also his children.
**Mythology Book Corner** How can one not read the last of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books, appropriately entitled The Last Olympian? Or, for that matter, own all five of them, which are available in a boxed set? Truly they are fantastic reads, probably the best fiction that incorporates Greek mythology within them. I save this dedication to the post on Poseidon, since Percy Jackson was, after all, the son of the god Poseidon. Note that Perseus, however (which sounds like Percy), the great hero that slew Medusa, was the son of Zeus.
Interested in improving your vocabulary? Find out how the Greek and Latin languages gave rise to most of the English language at www.wordempire.com.
My next post will focus upon the goddess Artemis.
Poseidon rode about on the ocean's and sea's waves in a great chariot drawn by hippocampi, or half-horse, half-fish. He would wield his great trident above his head, and his son Triton would blow upon a huge conch shell to announce the arrival of his great father so that mere mortals might prepare for his awesome sight upon their shores.
Poseidon, besides being the god of the sea, was also god of horses and earthquakes. His wife was generally considered to be the nymph Amphitrite, with whom he fathered Triton, his primary son. To the Athenians, Poseidon was only considered to be second of the great Olympians to Athena herself, who gave the city of Athens its name. At one time there had been a contest between Poseidon and Athena as to who should be the tutelary, or protective deity, of Athens; Poseidon offered a spring of water, which unfortunately was salty, whereas Athena offered the olive tree. One can easily see why Poseidon lost!
Poseidon was the father of some rather unseemly children. He was the father of Polyphemus, the great Cyclops that so troubled Odysseus and his men until Odysseus tricked him by blinding him (more of that in a future post). He was the father of Pegasus and the giant Chrysaor, who sprung forth from the neck of Medusa after the hero Perseus cut off her head. He was also the father of the only other winged horse in mythology, Arion (Arion's mother was none other than Demeter!). Some sources claim that he was the father of Theseus, but most claim that Aegeus was his father (whose name gave rise to the Aegean Sea). The giants Otus and Ephialtes were also his children.
**Mythology Book Corner** How can one not read the last of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books, appropriately entitled The Last Olympian? Or, for that matter, own all five of them, which are available in a boxed set? Truly they are fantastic reads, probably the best fiction that incorporates Greek mythology within them. I save this dedication to the post on Poseidon, since Percy Jackson was, after all, the son of the god Poseidon. Note that Perseus, however (which sounds like Percy), the great hero that slew Medusa, was the son of Zeus.
Interested in improving your vocabulary? Find out how the Greek and Latin languages gave rise to most of the English language at www.wordempire.com.
My next post will focus upon the goddess Artemis.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Medusa, the Mortal Gorgon
Greetings fans of Greek and Roman mythology! After having recently written about the Olympians Zeus, Hera, and Demeter, I would now like to take a break from the Olympian gods and move on to Medusa. Medusa, who lived in the Land of the Hyperboreans with her immortal sisters Stheno and Euryale, was the only mortal Gorgon. A Gorgon was variously pictured as either a hideous or beautiful woman who had venemous, writhing serpents for hair, possibly the lower body of a reptile, and claws or hands made of bronze; her gaze would turn people to stone (but only if those undergoing petrifaction had gazed upon her as well).
Even though Stheno and Euryale could not die, Medusa could; in fact, she was eventually decapitated by the hero Perseus, the son of Zeus and Danae. More of Perseus in a later post. She was the mother of both Pegasus, the winged horse (there was a second winged horse in mythology as well, named Arion, whose color was black vs. the white of Pegasus, and who was owned by the hero Adrastus; for a time, Bellerophon controlled Pegasus by means of the golden bridle of Athena), and Chrysaor, the golden giant; but of her children were born from her neck when it was severed by Perseus's extremely sharp sword that he had received as a present from the gods.
Medusa was once a very beautiful woman with long, flowing tresses that shone like gold in the sun. One day, however, she made the mistake of kissing Poseidon in the temple of Athena; Athena didn't like that sort of thing going on in her temple, so in her rage she transformed Medusa into a Gorgon, the worst sort of punishment for a woman with such beautiful hair: not only would her hair now be unruly and not able to be combed, but she would always have a bad hair day!
The name "Medusa" means "ruling female wisdom." A "Medusa" was once worshiped by the Amazons as a serpent goddess, some time before the legend of the Greek Medusa began. Her sisters' names meant the following: Stheno (forceful) and Euryale (far-roaming). Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa were all the daughters of the marine deities Phorcys and Ceto.
**Mythology Book Corner**: My recommendation this post is Book IV in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series, entitled The Battle of the Labyrinth. The Minotaur, another horrible monster like Medusa, was half-man, half-bull; he, of course, lived within the confines of the labyrinth in Greek mythology, which was designed by Daedalus. Watch out for a future post just on the Minotaur!!
Please stay tuned for my next blog post which will discuss the god Poseidon.
Even though Stheno and Euryale could not die, Medusa could; in fact, she was eventually decapitated by the hero Perseus, the son of Zeus and Danae. More of Perseus in a later post. She was the mother of both Pegasus, the winged horse (there was a second winged horse in mythology as well, named Arion, whose color was black vs. the white of Pegasus, and who was owned by the hero Adrastus; for a time, Bellerophon controlled Pegasus by means of the golden bridle of Athena), and Chrysaor, the golden giant; but of her children were born from her neck when it was severed by Perseus's extremely sharp sword that he had received as a present from the gods.
Medusa was once a very beautiful woman with long, flowing tresses that shone like gold in the sun. One day, however, she made the mistake of kissing Poseidon in the temple of Athena; Athena didn't like that sort of thing going on in her temple, so in her rage she transformed Medusa into a Gorgon, the worst sort of punishment for a woman with such beautiful hair: not only would her hair now be unruly and not able to be combed, but she would always have a bad hair day!
The name "Medusa" means "ruling female wisdom." A "Medusa" was once worshiped by the Amazons as a serpent goddess, some time before the legend of the Greek Medusa began. Her sisters' names meant the following: Stheno (forceful) and Euryale (far-roaming). Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa were all the daughters of the marine deities Phorcys and Ceto.
**Mythology Book Corner**: My recommendation this post is Book IV in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series, entitled The Battle of the Labyrinth. The Minotaur, another horrible monster like Medusa, was half-man, half-bull; he, of course, lived within the confines of the labyrinth in Greek mythology, which was designed by Daedalus. Watch out for a future post just on the Minotaur!!
Please stay tuned for my next blog post which will discuss the god Poseidon.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Demeter, Goddess of the Earth
Greetings fans of Greek and Roman mythology! After having recently written about the twins Zeus and Hera, I would now like to continue with their sister Demeter (Roman Ceres, root of our word "cereal"). Demeter, coming from the Greek word meter: "mother," was the goddess of the Earth. Her forerunner was Gaia, the original Mother Earth (it was Gaia and Ouranos, the Sky God, who gave birth to twelve Titans, including Cronus and Rhea, the mother of Demeter, not to mention the three Cyclopes: Brontes, Steropes, and Arges; and the three Hecatoncheires, or 100-handed ones: Cottus, Briareus, and Gyges).
Most of the stories centering around Demeter included her mystery cult (the Eleusinian Mysteries) and her daughter Persephone (Roman: Proserpina), the Goddess of Spring. Demeter loved Persephone very much, but one day she went missing. Demeter, unaware that her brother Hades (you'll recall that the original six Olympians, all children of Cronus and Rhea, were Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Hades, Poseidon, and Hestia) had kidnapped Persephone and taken her down to the Underworld to be his wife, became very sad because she missed her daughter so much. Due to her absence, Demeter forgot about her duties towards the Earth, the life on which began to slowly die. People had never experienced death and cold prior to this capture of Persephone, and were bewildered about what to do.
Zeus, when he saw people beginning to starve because they had no food (no one had learned the art of storing up food or really even harvesting it because it was always the growing season), was very upset because he knew that soon all the humans would die, and that no one would be left to worship him! Secondary in Zeus's mind was the fact that Persephone was his daughter as well. So he got together with Demeter, and they engaged Hecate, the original ruler of the Underworld (she had 3 bodies and 3 heads: a lion, dog, and mare; she was between 90 to 105 feet tall, and was the original master of Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guarded the Underworld) to help find the lost Persephone. Hecate forced Helios, the god of the sun (Apollo was the god of the light of the sun, but Helios was the god who drove the chariot of the sun) to tell her what had happened to Persephone (Helios, of course, would see everything that happens on Earth below).
Helios told Hecate who told Demeter and Zeus that Hades had kidnapped Persephone in his black chariot drawn by black dragons when she was innocently out picking poppies. Enraged by this untoward cheeky and brazen behavior on the part of Hades (who could blame Uncle Hades for such asocial behavior? You hang around in the dark for centuries with only dead mute people, the manes, walking around and see how sparkling your personality becomes!!) Zeus sped down to the Underworld to demand Persephone back as people continued to die on Earth ... those prayers weren't wafting up very quickly and in such large numbers any more! Hades, of course, liked being not so lonely, and Persephone certainly was beautiful, although she did tend to cry quite a bit and screech about missing her mother, which was getting on his nerves a little bit. Zeus demanded her back; Hades countered that since Persephone had eaten food in the Underworld, namely a pomegranate, she would have to remain there for eternity. Zeus and Hades argued contentiously, until finally a compromise was reached: since Persephone had eaten 6 seeds of the pomegranate, she would remain for 6 months each year in the Underworld, but after those 6 months she would spend the other 6 on Earth.
The Greeks explained the cycles of the seasons (Horae: originally Thallo, Auxo and Carpo, then Dike, Eunomia, Eirene; daughers of Zeus and Themis, one of the original twelve Titans) in the following way: Persephone, the Goddess of Spring, would cause spring to happen when she returned from the Underworld since her mother Persephone would no longer be so upset and therefore neglectful of her duties towards bringing life to the Earth. Demeter would rejoice in the presence of her daughter all spring and summer; but, when the dreadful contract was due for the eating of the Underworld fruit, Persephone would have to descend once again to the grim realm of her husband Hades, throwing Demeter into mourning, a state which would make her forget all about bringing life to the planet, hence precipitating the slow death of plant life, which we know as autumn; winter would be the worst of it, as Demeter would simply be in a horrible depression as she felt that her beloved daughter would never return.
Mythology Book Corner: This book corner suggests great mythology reads. I've already recommended (highly) both The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan; this wonderful series continues with book 3, The Titan's Curse.
My next post will discuss a supremely horrific monster from the Land of the Hyperboreans: Medusa and her lovely Gorgonic sisters.
Most of the stories centering around Demeter included her mystery cult (the Eleusinian Mysteries) and her daughter Persephone (Roman: Proserpina), the Goddess of Spring. Demeter loved Persephone very much, but one day she went missing. Demeter, unaware that her brother Hades (you'll recall that the original six Olympians, all children of Cronus and Rhea, were Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Hades, Poseidon, and Hestia) had kidnapped Persephone and taken her down to the Underworld to be his wife, became very sad because she missed her daughter so much. Due to her absence, Demeter forgot about her duties towards the Earth, the life on which began to slowly die. People had never experienced death and cold prior to this capture of Persephone, and were bewildered about what to do.
Zeus, when he saw people beginning to starve because they had no food (no one had learned the art of storing up food or really even harvesting it because it was always the growing season), was very upset because he knew that soon all the humans would die, and that no one would be left to worship him! Secondary in Zeus's mind was the fact that Persephone was his daughter as well. So he got together with Demeter, and they engaged Hecate, the original ruler of the Underworld (she had 3 bodies and 3 heads: a lion, dog, and mare; she was between 90 to 105 feet tall, and was the original master of Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guarded the Underworld) to help find the lost Persephone. Hecate forced Helios, the god of the sun (Apollo was the god of the light of the sun, but Helios was the god who drove the chariot of the sun) to tell her what had happened to Persephone (Helios, of course, would see everything that happens on Earth below).
Helios told Hecate who told Demeter and Zeus that Hades had kidnapped Persephone in his black chariot drawn by black dragons when she was innocently out picking poppies. Enraged by this untoward cheeky and brazen behavior on the part of Hades (who could blame Uncle Hades for such asocial behavior? You hang around in the dark for centuries with only dead mute people, the manes, walking around and see how sparkling your personality becomes!!) Zeus sped down to the Underworld to demand Persephone back as people continued to die on Earth ... those prayers weren't wafting up very quickly and in such large numbers any more! Hades, of course, liked being not so lonely, and Persephone certainly was beautiful, although she did tend to cry quite a bit and screech about missing her mother, which was getting on his nerves a little bit. Zeus demanded her back; Hades countered that since Persephone had eaten food in the Underworld, namely a pomegranate, she would have to remain there for eternity. Zeus and Hades argued contentiously, until finally a compromise was reached: since Persephone had eaten 6 seeds of the pomegranate, she would remain for 6 months each year in the Underworld, but after those 6 months she would spend the other 6 on Earth.
The Greeks explained the cycles of the seasons (Horae: originally Thallo, Auxo and Carpo, then Dike, Eunomia, Eirene; daughers of Zeus and Themis, one of the original twelve Titans) in the following way: Persephone, the Goddess of Spring, would cause spring to happen when she returned from the Underworld since her mother Persephone would no longer be so upset and therefore neglectful of her duties towards bringing life to the Earth. Demeter would rejoice in the presence of her daughter all spring and summer; but, when the dreadful contract was due for the eating of the Underworld fruit, Persephone would have to descend once again to the grim realm of her husband Hades, throwing Demeter into mourning, a state which would make her forget all about bringing life to the planet, hence precipitating the slow death of plant life, which we know as autumn; winter would be the worst of it, as Demeter would simply be in a horrible depression as she felt that her beloved daughter would never return.
Mythology Book Corner: This book corner suggests great mythology reads. I've already recommended (highly) both The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan; this wonderful series continues with book 3, The Titan's Curse.
My next post will discuss a supremely horrific monster from the Land of the Hyperboreans: Medusa and her lovely Gorgonic sisters.
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