sworeontheriverstyx

[sworeontheriverstyx]

so if zeus's affairs weren't simply to have divine offspring, how is it that he still has the epithet of the perfect marriage with hera? why would he cheat on her so often if he loved her so much and knew it made her so upset and directly went against her domain as the goddess of marriage?

I love this question, Anon; it has so many layers. 

To begin, what does cheating mean? It means violating the expectations of exclusivity in a romantic or sexual partnership, and the expectations of exclusivity in marriage looked a lot different in ancient Greece than they do now.

The ancient Greeks were monogamous, but only wives were expected to be sexually faithful to ensure their children were legitimate because inheritance was patrilineal. For a husband, marriage was more a relationship between himself and his father-in-law than between himself and his wife, and his sexual/romantic pursuits outside of marriage were largely inconsequential to maintaining that relationship. Wives didn’t necessarily have to enjoy this arrangement; some would certainly retaliate, sometimes with beguilement or magic, but they couldn’t demand their husbands’ sexual fidelity.

Like most ancient Greek social institutions, the gods have their own subverted version of it.

Zeus’s marriage to Hera is entirely a relationship between him and his wife because he has no father-in-law to speak of. Hera and Zeus are siblings, so there is no joining of two households; it is a single household consolidating itself.

The fact that her husband is her brother gives Hera more agency than the mortal ancient Greek wife because she is never unsettled from her family home to her husband’s. She stays in the same household with the same prestige allotted to her at birth by being Kronos’s daughter during his rule, and that prestige is doubled by being Zeus’s wife when he reigns as king. Hera’s elevated status and near-equality with Zeus is one of the reasons why they are surnamed Teleia/Teleios (Hera and Zeus, who are made perfect in marriage to one another).

All in all, I’m not sure I agree that Zeus’s extramarital relationships go against Hera’s domain as the goddess of marriage. That would only be the case if he acted in a way that threatened the stability of the Olympian household, which Hera’s fidelity works to counterbalance. The reality is that, within the paradigm of the ancient Greek family, Zeus loving Hera and having sexual/romantic relationships outside of their marriage aren’t contradictory. It is par for the course, like Hera’s faithfulness to him.

His children by other goddesses and women may immediately have the prestige of being children of Zeus, but not to the extent that they threaten his kingship. Hera can produce children parthenogenetically, allowing them matrilineal prestige (and the likelihood of being adopted by Zeus). But if she were to have children with another god or man, they would be addressed as the children of their fathers, thus making them illegitimate. Likewise, if Hera had children outside of her marriage, her existing children by Zeus could be suspected of being bastards, which would strip them of all legitimacy, thereby crumbling the Olympian house.

[sworeontheriverstyx]

So uh the big three

First post so I’ll show the designs me and @lseasnaill made for Hades, Poseidon and Zeus :)

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Zeus being a good father for ONCE

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Helen (and Aphrodite)

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I LOVE ZEUSHERA!! REBLOG IF YOU'RE A ZEUSHERA TRUTHER!! SPREADING THAT ZEUSHERA AGENDA!! MY POOKIES EVER!!

[sworeontheriverstyx]

I have this silly headcannon that Zeus doesn't like being called grandpa.

You CANNOT call him grandpa without him scolding you about it.

It makes him feel old (He is old but, y'know)

[sworeontheriverstyx]

“oh it’s storming bad! Zeus and Hera must be fighting aga—” WRONG! they are FUCKING, narsty style!

[sworeontheriverstyx]

Zeus and babies.

5 times babies hate him.

And one time no.

[sworeontheriverstyx]

I think hubris as a concept becomes a little clearer if you accept it as a given for the situation and see which narratives for the ancient reader fall into the definition. If the text does not define something as hubristic there's probably a layer of context (usually cultural perspective delivered via figure of a Deity) that you aren't considering. Also a myth is a text where functionality has to be considered.

[sworeontheriverstyx]

I changed my Zeus design awhile ago, but I never got around to drawing it a bit more in-depth lmao!

[sworeontheriverstyx]

Menelen sketchie doodle cause I miss them

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"In all of eternity.. i will crawl my way back to you"

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A moment of peace for this simple little family.

[sworeontheriverstyx]

illiad hera and zeus is lowk my favourite because they're both funny and somewhat reasonable with actual realistic characterizations

like zeus was questioning abt wether or not they should spare Troy's destruction which was met with IMMEDIATE retaliation by hera , who not only speaks for her own opposition , but also all the other gods like the queen she IS

and while zeus DOES get angry , he does not use any force whatsoever to shut her down despite being king and instead actually takes her word as a queen. after nagging slightly about her unnecessary hatred towards troy ( he cant help it ok hashtag old couple ) , immediately openly states his want that their current dispute regarding the war does not put any further strain on their relationship now OR the future , WILLINGLY gives in first and promises her the destruction of troy at the very end of the war.

to which hera ALSO relents , saying that even if she wanted to stop him , she can't so she doesn't. and i quote

“ But on this let us both yield , each one to the other, I to you, you to me: then the rest of the immortal gods will follow our lead. ”

DO U SEE THAT MATURITY , HOW THEY SET ASIDE THEIR TENSION TO BE BETTER BECAUSE THEY BOTH KNOW THE REST OF OLYMPUS WILL FOLLOW THEIR DISPUTE.

do you think they are simply tired of fighting. after centuries of immaturity and pride. do you think at some point they have deemed such things feeble , their souls too old and experienced to engage in such distance from whom they've sworn the rest of their lives to.

do u understand how significant this scene is to me , two of the most prideful , egoistic and ignorant deities on olympus , bound by marriage and shared responsibility , setting aside their pride and ego and listening to each other for once for the sake of olympus fate , the humans lives , and most importantly their relationships wellfare. THEY'RE SOOOOO UAGHRHAHHRHE

anyways if jorge doesnt focus on their relationship at all in the ilium ill swallow a bullet slash nsrs i hope he does whatever he wants

[sworeontheriverstyx]

Someone online: criticizes the unnecessary rape attempt in the Ithaca Saga and correctly brings up how it's only used to prop up Odysseus

Epic fandom: OH MY GOD HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT NO MEDIA LITERACY YOU JUST HATE ANYTHING POPULAR IT WAS FINE ACTUALLY WHY CAN'T YOU LET US HAVE FUN

[sworeontheriverstyx]

Plato is lowkey a Zeus/Hera warrior from assigning a whole etymology of Hera’s name being beloved by Zeus to writing Zeus’ desire for her in the midst of his plans

[sworeontheriverstyx]

Something that I’ve noticed isn’t brought up enough when it comes to Clytemnestra is Aegisthus, especially when it comes to people who argue she had done nothing wrong.

This isn’t even about her having an affair, it’s about who it was with and who she married. Aegisthus is the biggest threat to her children and she still took him as a lover and allowed for him to be around them. This is someone who wants the throne and would want for his son to be the heir to the throne instead of Agamemnon’s children.

When Agamemnon was alive, there was a layer of protection her children had, but she took it away when she murdered him.

You can say whatever you want when it comes to Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, but you can’t deny that when it comes to her children, she is in the wrong.

It’s not a crime to like Clytemnestra, so there’s no need to justify how she treated her children with Agamemnon.