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Le Génie du Mal, 1843, by Guillaume Geefs

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The Birth of Venus by Hans Zatzka

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Venus

John William Godward (English, 1861–1922)

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The Toilet Of Venus pendant by Alexander Tenzo

Carved morganite intaglio, pink diamonds and white diamonds set in palladium and white gold.

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Statue of the goddess Sekhmet

New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1391-1353 BC. Reign of Amenhotep III. From Temple of Mut, Karnak. Now in the Egyptian Museum of Turin. Cat. 253

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hecate

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Temple of Astarte-Aphrodite, Baal-Poseidon, and Eshmun-Asklepios on the Sacred Island of Delos, Home of Apollo ☀️ Photo is my own :)

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Afrodite Callipigia

Napoli - Museo Archeologico Nazionale

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“… Al gran Ribelle incontro mosse la bella Maddalena. Il colmo petto le ondeggia sovra il cor, sicuro della vittoria.”

Gino De' Bini (1856–1918) - Lucifero, 1887

illustration for the poem by Mario Rapisardi

source

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A prayer for Aphrodite

May my voice reach the divine,

the graceful Aphrodite,

foam-born goddess,

love itself manifested,

beloved to the brazen Ares, whom swords and spears delight.

I greet you once more, but this time with a peculiar request,

aid me as I call to honorable Ares, he who you hold close to your heart,

aid me as I grow my connection with the shield-bearer,

ever-loving goddess, ensure that it is strong.

I hope my resolve proves to be enough,

I hope my offerings prove to be enough,

and I hope my words prove to be enough in your eyes.

Your faithful idolater thanks you, bearer of beauty, dearest Aphrodite,

for I know I have not worshipped you long,

yet you are kind and understanding despite my faults.

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Ishtar—Tammy Wampler

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I spent most of my life aware solely of the nine Olympian Muses, the daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus: Calliope, Euterpe, Erato, Thalia, Melpomene, Ourania, Terpsichore, Polymnia, Clio. And I love them, don’t get me wrong. It’s pretty much impossible to conceptualize Muses I don’t love.

But the Titanides – Mneme, Melete, and Aiode – are something else entirely. They do each have specific connotations to their names that I carry over into their realms of patronage, but more than that, they form a lovely sequence that speaks to the Greek understanding of what Muses do.

Mneme is Memory; she is Occasion, the reason for writing. Why? Because that’s where a Muse’s influence starts: she has the truth of the lives of the gods, and she shares it with a poet. Mneme is the reason to write (/paint/compose/dance/etc).

Melete is Contemplation; she is Practice, the writing itself. She is the act of taking the knowledge/inspiration and shaping it into a work of art; she has the skills of an artist and brings them to bear on Mneme’s subject matter. Melete is the process of writing (/painting/composing/dancing/etc).

Aiode is the Voice; she is Performance, the finished product displayed for all. She is the result – the artist takes the stage and recites, sings, dances, performs the resultant work of art. Aiode is the Muse I feel the least connection to, out of these three, because I abhor performance, but she reminds she is also publication, the sharing of your work through whatever venue. Aiode is the written product (/painting/song/dance/etc).

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had been looking for hekate through museum archives and found this gorgeous hydria 🏺

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Plate no. 39 of Aby Warburg’s “Bilderatlas Mnemosyne (1925-1929) with reproductions of Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus,” “Primavera” and “Pallas and the Centaur” Photo: Wootton/fluid. The Warburg Institute, London.

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“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” —Meister Eckhart (German mystic, 1260-1328) 

Mermaid Messenger by Dee Sprague ~ mermaidmessenger 

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Rhiannon by Marc Fishman

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Morning Light (Return of Persephone) by Marc Fishman