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Realizing I’ve been spelling Aglaea wrong this whole time, and being corrected three times in total now, thinking I fixed it, only to see that I. CANT. READ. has been an embarrassing thing to wake up to—

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When I was younger and getting into Greek mythology I learned of Medusa of course and the first time I saw her it was like this:

I didn’t see a modern Medusa (lady with snake hair and maybe a few scales on her face if lucky) until maybe 7 years ago.

But when thinking of Medusa I always saw her like this because I thought she was the most beautiful and pretty woman like this.

Younger me loved her

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One of these days I’m going to draw the images I see in clouds.

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They share a spot

She plays with his fingers

He holds her hand

She holds his face

They share a kiss

All In One Sitting

The only thing I drew this whole darn car ride

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Drawing in the car

Shaky hands

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I likely won’t ever draw him but learning of Aphroditus’s existence was fun. Not that I really did any research other than see a few statues.

I think it’s funny he’s kinda just Aphrodite’s doppelgänger.

I just know if I were to depict him, it’s be the same as Aphrodite (obviously) but his wings would be pigeon wings instead of dove wings.

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i have a hard question least tragic but still tragic figure from greek mythology??

That is a hard question and a question I don’t think I’m knowledgeable enough to answer lol.

I feel like other blogs like @katerinaaqu would be better at answering this than me because I don’t know nearly enough figures in mythology to give an adequate answer.

But in a vague answer I feel like it’d be a god or monster in some sense. Idk lol I’m especially weak in knowledge about mortals.

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The day I use patterns in art is the day go crazy with my character designs.

Oh how my Greek God designs will suffer… and by suffer I mean me. Like it’ll take an eternity for me to do anything.

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“Such is the charm of love, a kind of lightning of the eyes, that Pelops has; by this he himself is warmed and I am inflamed; he scans with responsive vision as closely as the craftsman’s straight-driven plumbline clings to its level” Sophocles, Oenomaus fragments

I’ve been thinking about this dialogue and Hippodamia a lot, she’s pretty underrated and went through a lot, her relationship with Pelops started so good only for it to fall apart in a horrific tragedy. This line in particular makes me think of Euripides Andromeda, which is theorized to be one of the earliest plays directly depicting a couple falling in love on stage, which makes me wonder if it influenced Sophocles Oenomaus in any way, since we clearly see Hippodamia falling for Pelops here.

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i really dont get how alot of the hepheastus/aphrodite stuff became what it is. like, I dunno people think dowrys are a only if someone is forced into marriage thing??? or even a arranged marriage thing. the whole "got aphrodite for freeing Hera" is so weird too like its a vase, where aphrodite is in the corner. that's it. the text to support it is usually

"There are paintings here [in the temple of Dionysos at Athens] - Dionysos bringing Hephaistos up to heaven. One of the Greek legends is that Hephaistos, when he was born, was thrown down by Hera. In revenge he sent as a gift a golden chair with invisible fetters. When Hera sat down she was held fast, and Hephaistos refused to listen to any other of the gods [including Ares] save Dionysos - in him he reposed the fullest trust - and after making him drunk Dionysos brought him to heaven."-descriptions from greece. Aphrodite isn't even mentioned 😭

The source is literally "it came to me in a dream."

It’s just one of those things that someone wouldn’t think gets popular and then does. Happens all the time and the tings that follow.

I mean, people didn’t really start caring about Hades and Persephone (in my experience) whole thing of how they got together until it just became the big thing.

Same with Medusa, because when I was younger no one talked about Ovid’s version or started portraying her in the way they do now.

Just something that grapples people and becomes big

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behold this sad io

That’s the saddest cow I’ve ever seen

Also are the white marks intentional? I can’t tell what they’re supposed to be but they feel like chains to me

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I just read up on Ekhidna and then Typhoeus (Typhaon) and it was really fun. I didn't learn a lot about Ekhidna, other than all the children she has and her fate. She feels more like a tag along to her husband, in the sense that she goes down with him (quite literally in the mountain they're stuffed in) and the fact she doesn't have a lot of myths, not as deep as Typhoeus.

I do like these Parents of Monsters and I love the myth of all the gods fleeing to Egypt (I need to actually read it because I know nothing about it until now that Typhoeus is the reason it happened)

Idk why but I just like that Hera just brings Ekhidna a husband- I just imagine her initiating the wedding on the spot so her son is no longer her responsibility or something lol

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Thinking about Hippodamia and learned her name is the same as the genus for ladybugs-

The ladybug symbolism in my head is going crazy..

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Reading Recap

Before doing anything else, I wanna write what I've read about today for my own sake and memory- maybe ramble a bit

maybe hopefully I'll draw something tomorrow (wait it's already morning-) so I can swing back into doing art on the fly so it's more theraputic

Rhea & Cybele. Mainly Cybele, but I read on just the gist of her life and how she started being conflated with Rhea and Demeter. I found the way she spread throughout Europe and Asia minor to be interesting. With Rhea I didn't learn much else new other than rereading about her love life which I found funny with the affair Kronos had (I still can't get over him just running out as a stallion-)

I tried reading up on Kronos a bit, but I just wasn't really interested today. I did only read on his affair with Philyra and it being the only other woman he's been with (that I saw). I did a bit of Selene but not for more than two seconds before moving on.

I then revisited my roots of interest in Hypnos because of it sparking back up when seeing posts of him and his wife Pasithea--which got side tracked by looking at Nyx's other children like Neikea, Sophrosyne, Epiphron, Geras, the Keres---no deep dives on them, except for Philotes, personification of friendship and affection. Not much to say with her not being in anything- which I find strange considering her personification.

Anyway, back to Hypnos, I read just about everything. I like the connection he has with the Erotes and with Hera, at least in the version where she asks of him herself to put Zeus to sleep. The way she speaks and acts to him just made me smile. (and then the version where she sends Iris to disguise as Nyx, and Hera says to take the "ugly form of Hypnos' mother" which I found to be WILD---and hilarious). My favorite parts were just when Nyx embraced her son because that's her son! That's him! The fact they work together too also has my heart. I find it saddening that neither of the twins have seen the sun before.. Oh my love for Hypnos. Is immense. I like that it constantly uses Hypnos' wings as like a reference to the weight of eyes being closed. I think that's so fun. (Also how they're were I'd put Aphrodite's- woops- maybe that's where I got the idea lol). Or the myth of how he blessed a man (can't remember his or the goddess's name) with immortality but he's eternally asleep. Idk I found it strangely cute.

I got side tracked again with Dionysus being in some of myths Hypnos is in (which led to Priapus but I didn't read that-). I wanted to save my deep dive of Dionysus to when I make a design for him, so I just went to the myth it was referencing Hypnos in.. and learned of Aura and Nikaia. Then I did some reading on Pasithea, and found some nice dialogue between her and Aphrodite.

I then went back to Nyx to do some browsing before remembering I needed to refresh on my knowledge of At�� (which isn't a lot). Honestly I think the notes I made of her three years ago have more on it than theoi lmao. I just love that she constantly walks the earth (apparently the air according to Achilles) and causing ruin, with her sisters, the Litae, shuffling after her spreading prayers. The symbolic meaning of it would be so amazing to make WHY DONT PEOPLE USE ATË MORE?? SHE'D BE A GREAT VILLIAN! Or anti-villain (hero?) if you go based on the version where she acts like Nemesis, by punishing hubris. There are no accounts of her doing anything other than with the birth of Heracles, which leads to her banishment from Olympus and the stars. Moreso just reference to her by mortals in stories of her influence, so you can really swing the pendulum either way.

I reread on one of my favorite niche people in Greek myth as of early this year, that being Hippodameia, the wife of Pelops. The myth just grappled me in back in January and I've had a love for it since. And though I she doesn't do much, pondering Hippodameia's mind state has been fun within my brain for the past few months. Pelops I did look into even earlier back (honestly was a reference when it came to ideas for Hephaestus' second design lol). He has.. an interesting childhood lol

Finally, the last thing I would've read up on would've been Ekhidna, Mother of Monsters. But I'm tired. It's early morning, and I've been reading all day. Maybe tomorrow because I remember reading up on her only a little and I want to learn more about her.

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aphrodite and eros

I'm confident this is all justified.

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Despite my deep interest in Aphrodite and all, I cannot for the life of me stand her son. I cannot stand Eros. And I say this with no reason as to why, your guess is as good as mine because I don't know why I dislike him, especially because I know nothing of him.

In fact, I didn't start learning of him until getting back into mythology and never by purpose (started with the Psyche and Eros [Cupid??] myth that I still have not read, only summaries). It's not even that I despise him so much to call it a personality trait, but if I was I wouldn't be insulted, because I truly do not hate him. I just cannot stand him and his face.

Every time I just see him or picture his face, I can only think of how punchable it is.

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BRO I CANT. I CANT. I CANNOT.

I CANNOOOOOT.

don't talk to me.