offeringsofroses - Tumblr blog

[offeringsofroses]

in middle school during my Intense Greek Mythology Phase, Artemis was, as you can likely guess, my best girl. Iphigenia was my OTHER best girl. Yes at the same time.

The story of Iphigenia always gets to me when it's not presented as a story of Artemis being capricious and having arbitrary rules about where you can and can't hunt, but instead, making a point about war.

Artemis was, among other things--patron of hunting, wild places, the moon, singlehood--the protector of young girls. That's a really important aspect she was worshipped as: she protected girls and young women. But she was the one who demanded Agamemnon sacrifice his daughter in order for his fleet to be able to sail on for Troy.

There's no contradiction, though, when it's framed as, Artemis making Agamemnon face what he’s doing to the women and children of Troy. His children are not in danger. His son will not be thrown off the ramparts, his daughters will not be taken captive as sex slaves and dragged off to foreign lands, his wife will not have to watch her husband and brothers and children killed. Yet this is what he’s sailing off to Troy to inevitably do. That’s what happens in war. He’s going to go kill other people’s daughters; can he stand to do that to his own? As long as the answer is no—he can kill other people’s children, but not his own—he can’t sail off to war.

Which casts Artemis is a fascinating light, compared to the other gods of the Trojan War. The Trojan War is really a squabble of pride and insults within the Olympian family; Eris decided to cause problems on purpose, leaving Aphrodite smug and Hera and Athena snubbed, and all of this was kinda Zeus’s fault in the first place for not being able to keep it in his pants. And out of this fight mortal men were their game pieces and mortal cities their prizes in restoring their pride. And if hundreds of people die and hundred more lives are ruined, well, that’s what happens when gods fight. Mortals pay the price for gods’ whims and the gods move on in time and the mortals don’t and that’s how it is.

And women especially—Zeus wanted Leda, so he took her. Paris wanted Helen, so he took her. There’s a reason “the Trojan women” even since ancient times were the emblems of victims of a war they never wanted, never asked for, and never had a say in choosing, but was brought down on their heads anyway.

Artemis, in the way of gods, is still acting through human proxies. But it seems notable to me to cast her as the one god to look at the destruction the war is about to wreak on people, and challenge Agamemnon: are you ready to kill innocents? Kill children? Destroy families, leave grieving wives and mothers? Are you? Prove it.

It reminds me of that idea about nuclear codes, the concept of implanting the key in the heart of one of the Oval Office staffers who holds the briefcase, so the president would have to stab a man with a knife to get the key to launch the nukes. “That’s horrible!,” it’s said the response was. “If he had to do that, he might never press the button!” And it’s interesting to see Artemis offering Agamemnon the same choice. You want to burn Troy? Kill your own daughter first. Show me you understand what it means that you’re about to do.

[offeringsofroses]

Continuing to be warm and soft and open to the possibilities of life even when it seems hopeless and you’re heartbroken and soul sick does actually work btw. Like there will be love around you again and real recognizes real

[offeringsofroses]

Respect Disabled Gods

I’ve studied a lot, and throughout the myths, there is mention of Lord Hermes about as frequently as Lord Hephaestus. They both appear in almost every myth at least in a small way, which make sense given both of their roles.

However, I see far less people including Lord Hephaestus in their worship.

I rarely see people worship Him at all, and conversely, I see more people honoring far more minor Deities than I see honoring Lord Hephaestus. That’s not my main issue here though.

What I do see most frequently is disrespect towards Lord Hephaestus, often depicting Him as inadequate for Aphrodite (which is ahistorical to the myths), or forgetful (again, unfounded in the myths), or just outright calling Him slurs.

If your ableism is so strong that you would refer to an immortal God by slurs, I strongly encourage you to check yourself, and do some unlearning to address it.

I’ve never once seen people refer to Lady Aphrodite by any of the horrendous, misogynistic language used to describe a woman who has lots of sex, even with Her being the Goddess of sex (and I would also encourage them not to do so, of course) or call any of the virgin Goddesses “prudes” or anything like that. People have so much respect for the other Deities within the pantheon, until it comes to Lord Hephaestus.

I’m not saying you have to worship Lord Hephaestus. I’m just asking for people to consider why they aren’t, at minimum, giving Him the same respect that they do other Deities, especially an Olympian God.

[offeringsofroses]

Rocío Romero García

[offeringsofroses]

[offeringsofroses]

Oh my God! 😭 You dropped this queen 👑

[offeringsofroses]

[offeringsofroses]

just found out that users of r/stupiddovenests heavily praise doves when they do the bare minimum

[offeringsofroses]

Sony Domm

[offeringsofroses]

Simone de Beauvoir, from Diary of a Philosophy Student: Volume 2, 1928-9; Sunday, October 7

Text ID: …has anyone ever loved you as I love you?

[offeringsofroses]

Simone de Beauvoir, from Diary of a Philosophy Student: Volume 2, 1928-9; Sunday, October 7

Text ID: …has anyone ever loved you as I love you?

[offeringsofroses]

Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss 

[offeringsofroses]

[offeringsofroses]

a homage to Sappho - Norman Lindsay c.1928

[offeringsofroses]

[offeringsofroses]

whenever i get sad that i don’t have friends to worship and do rituals with, I remember that birds sing love songs into the sky everyday, and the grass dances in the wind when it blows. And the clouds blush at the sunset, and the wind whistles tunes, and the bees hum, and the deer trot. And then I remember that the river runs, and the flowers open themselves to the sun, and the bugs sleep on warm leaves. and as I walk and pray, perhaps the rabbits nibbling on shrubs are praying too, perhaps that’s why the spider spun her web so beautifully. and then I remember that I’m not worshipping alone. I never was.

[offeringsofroses]

Currently obsessed with this gay pigeon couple up for adoption and I think tumblr will be obsessed with them too.