#thetis worship

[seaofwine]

I am agony; mother of grief and greatness. O my child!

Thetis; Iliad, Book 18

[eelhound]

"[The Iliad] avoids all the obvious highlights of the traditional story, including the Wooden Horse. It does not start at the beginning — with the Judgment of Paris, the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, the abduction of Helen, or the muster of ships at Aulis — or end with the fall of the city. Instead, the action takes place over a few days in the last year of the war — neither the beginning nor the end. A brief and ostensibly trivial episode — a squabble between two Greek commanders — becomes the subject of a monumental twenty-four-book epic.

Moreover, The Iliad eschews the obvious way for Greeks to tell the Trojan War story: as a conflict between 'us' and 'them.' The Trojans are not dishonest foreigners, despite the fact that Paris abducted his host’s wife. Implausibly, they speak the same language and worship the same gods as the Greeks.

The poem is ancient from our perspective. But it came at the end, not the beginning, of a long poetic tradition. Whoever created The Iliad used the myths, tropes, and techniques developed by many generations of oral poets, and reinvented them to create an extraordinarily original and surprising written epic."

- Emily Wilson, from the introduction to her translation of The Iliad, 2023.

[slashersdaddy]

Slashers Hcs

Includes: Bo Sinclair, Vincent Sinclair, Hannibal Lector, Billy Loomis, Stu Macher, Micheal Myers, Jason Vorhees

Bo Sinclair:

Bo is a quiet partner, if he's happy he's even quieter OR more snarky (no inbetween, hes crazy like that) he will forget things like valentines day, because thety arent something he cares about, but sometimes he will surprise you with small things; Your favorite candy, a candle in the scent you like, jewelry, clothes, ect. He wants you to know he loves you but by god will he make it hard. But if you suffer from fear of abandonment he will do small things to prove he wont leave (he thinks they are small) like getting your name tattooed on his bicep, or letting you leave hickeys on him. Vincent Sinclair:

Vincent is a loving and doting partner, He will leave you gifts like a cat, statuettes of you, photographs, drawings, paintings, a cool rock he found he thinks youd like? its on your bedside table in the morning. He loves you and shows it in every way he can think, candlelit dinners? Check. Gifts for EVERY occasion? Check. Physical affection? Check. Love Letters? Check. He wants you to feel like a god/dess, worshipped by a loyal devotee <3

Lester Sinclair: Golden retriever Boyfriend. Kind of? Hes like a wolf that is loyal to you and his brothers. thats it. but of course he claims that hes all yours. If you ask for it its yours. You like the flannel he was wearing? The next day its cleaned and folded up on your dresser (because he knows the smell of roadkill isnt nice for you) Kisses you all the time, anywhere youll let him, holding your hand all the time. He will bring you fucked up lil things he finds on his daily adventures. He will also let you ride shotgun while he takes the scenic route to talk with you and show you all the pretty landscapes! Hannibal lector: He will rest your head in his lap while he works, gently stroking your hair and humming as he holds you. Hes a quiet affectionate Boyfriend. He will make your favorite tea any time you seem stressed and take 5 minutes to drink a cup of tea with you and talk about nothing in particular, and if you need something so soon as you say the word its done. He will cook and clean and be a house husband and working man for you :3 Billy Loomis: Guard dog boyfriend, do not expect to be able to get out of his sight, this man loves you and would kill any guy/girl who tries to make a move on you. during quiet moments with him he will watch horror movies with you, holding you close as you watch. he loves especially if you get scared so he can pull you into his chest and promise to keep you safe.

Stu Macher: Stu is a golden retriever boyfriend. he wants to make you happy, he will get you anything you request, as soon as you ask for it, if you are AFAB he has an app on his phone that tracks your period and will bring you your favorite snacks and mensural products along with pain killers and gifts the day your period is supposed to start. if you stay over at his place its horror and cuddles, holding you to his chest as he strokes your hair while you are watching the show. he adores you and adores your smile, he will watch sappy romance or comedies with you to make you happy :D

Michael Myers: Michael is a guardian, silent and watching you from afar, or close by. he doesn't talk much- or honestly at all, nor does he care to use ASL, he does however use tiny movements to show his care, little flexes of his hands, tilts of his head, and the occasional hand on your shoulder when he wants you to know he loves you, he's like a cat, leaving gifts at your door, or on your bedside table. its always random things, a knife he though you would like, jewelry, weird things that don't make sense Jason Voorhees: Jason is a big ass teddy bear, he will kiss you all over through his mask, cuddle you, bring you gifts, do things for you, carry you on his back when on walks through the woods, he doesn't want you to be in pain!! He will give you rocks, feathers, flowers, anything nature related, he will sometimes give you jewelry from the victims he thinks will look pretty on you (doesn't matter if your masc. or femme, he will still do it) He wants to keep you safe, so don't expect to be somewhere without him unless its at your house/cabin!

[thechthonicherbalist]

Who is...

Lady Athena?

Lady Athena is a #Hellenic goddess worshiped in Ancient Greece and beyond. Like many of the Ancient Greek Gods, Heroes and Lore, the story of her birth is not quite average. Zeus, mighty ruler of Olympus had received a warning, that one of his sons would take his throne & strip him of his power, as he himself had done with his father Cronos. So like his father, Zeus decided that cannibalism will solve his problem and swallowed his first lover, Metis, a beautiful Okeanide (Daughters of Okeanos and Thetys), while she was pregnant. Instead of bearing him the promised son, a wise girl, with the attire of a warrior was born from Zeus' head. Hephaistos, the disabled god of fire, metallurgy, and crafts came to aid Zeus as a midwife, effectively splitting his head open with an axe, to make way for Zeus' most beloved daughter, Athene, who stepped forth, with eyes of steal and fully armoured. If this is a special benefit of having a divine blacksmith midwife or a side effect of cannibal birth through your father's head is unknown.

("The birth of Athena" - Vase painting from 555 - 550 B.C. by the Phrynos Painter - British Museum, London)

Little Athene however was soon sent to be raised and educated in the arts of war, by the God Triton, alongside of his daughter Pallas, who became her companion (read: potentially wlw lover). Training together, the two girls would fight against each other with sword and shield and both were so skilled in their doing, that Zeus started to worry about his daughter, interfering in their play. This startled Pallas so much that she missed to parry a thrust of Athena's sword and got lethally wounded. According to some interpretations Athena was so devastated about the death of her lover, that she took her name as her own, to immortalize her memory and henceforth was known as Pallas Athena, whereas other interpretations identify Athena as aromantic or asexual.

(1. Contemporary bronze figurine of Athena, taking the fierce stance of a warrior with her iconic Medusa shield, her helmet and spear.) (2. Alternative shield of Athene's sporting the owl emblem, a symbol of her wisdom and crest to the city of Athens.)

Pallas is also synonymous with the word "girl" which goes hand in hand with another epithet of Athene's: Parthenos, meaning "maiden". In other words, Athena was known as the "Girl Athena" or "Maiden Athena", implying that she was rather young. Despite her everlasting young age, Athena became known as the wisest and most skilled warrior. Unlike Ares, God of war, her skills lie particularly with wisdom, protection and defense as well as diplomacy and righteousness, with which she aided many Greek heroes like Hercules, Perseus, Achilles and Odysseus according to Hellenic lore. Being an INFP (MBTI type) myself, and therefore a diplomat, I always admired her for these particular traits and often seek her council, aid and guidance, in order to act thoughtful and not get carried away by heated emotions, especially in the face of conflict and problems. (I'm not always successful, but that's why we ask for help. 😂)

("Athena Protects the young Hero" - Berlin)

Furthermore she is the patron goddess of arts and crafts, specifically those that serve the creation of useful objects and tools, but especially of crafts connected to thread and fabric. Notably she is also known as the Patron of Greece's capital city Athens, who sports an owl emblem in it's crest in her honour. The people of Attica chose her as such, after she gifted them with the invention of the olive tree, rooting the discovery of olives and their products in the hands of Greece, according to their lore. Furthermore she is known as patroness of Sparta, founder of Thebes and in association with the city of Corinth. Later Athena was also associated with Hygieia (goddess of health, cleanliness and hygiene) and the Hippocratic oath, a pledge physicians make before various healing gods to practice medicine and healing in a honourful and ethical way. Therefore Athena is also sometimes depicted with a serpent-staff, like Asclepios.

(Athena as restored by Algardi - Museo nazionale romano di palazzo, Altemps)

Some animals & objects associated with Athene are:

The Owl and Serpent - symbols of wisdom

The Horse - symbol of equestrian skills

The olive tree - symbol of victory

Armour, Helmet, Shield and Spear - symbols of divine authority, protection, wisdom and strategy

Sphinx and Griffins - symbols of power, domestication and taming of the wild spirits, abundance

Well received offering for Athene are:

Food like bread, meat, milk, honey, cakes, barley meal, olive oil, fruit, wine and pure water

Olives and Olive Branches

Flowers, especially white roses

Spices, especially cinnamon

Burning or offering incense

Crystals, amongst others Sodalite, Marble, Shungite, Fluorite, Granite, Amethyst, Dumortierite, a number of quartzes, emeralds and opals

Dedicational work and worship can include:

Studying, reading and educating yourself

Promoting peace and seeking diplomatic solutions and conversations to resolve conflict

Arts and crafts, especially weaving, knitting, crocheting

Learn and practice martial arts

Educating or writing informational works

(Athena with Owl and Shield, Replica)

[lady-byleth]

So I've been replaying Hades for the past couple of days and I've started thinking about the concept of half gods because of Achilles and I have realized that while tragic heroes fucked over by fate are great we also need to explore how fucking weird a half god would probably be to have around

Cuz like, gods are probably very very different to us humans and their blood would run fairly strong within their half mortal offspring and there's a lot of room to play around with how that manifests. Plus, we all know that the gods are very volatile and can go through the entire spectrum of emotions within like 10 seconds so that's fun too

Like, imagine you're Peleus, king of Phthia. Your son is two years old now, he looks like he's at least five. Yesterday he debated your advisors on politics and made them run from the room crying. Last week he wrote his second full length comedy. Afterwards he threw a tantrum cuz he couldn't reach the higher shelves in the library that probably traumatized the entire staff before he charmed them into fawning over him again. Thetis says this is normal.

You're Peleus, king of Phthia, and you adore your now ten year old son but you're also very out of your depth. You can't let him play with kids his age cuz human age works differently than his and they're just too young, but you also can't put him together with people on his intellectual level cuz you don't want to deal with the fallout of when someone inevitably annoys him too much. There's still a few broken chairs from last time lying around. That boy won't sit still for 10 seconds, the mortal world is too boring and slow for him. You're still trying to find the combat instructor he scared away two weeks ago. Thetis says this is also normal.

You're Peleus, king of Phthia, and your old Argonaut buddy Menoetius just showed up with his son, asking for help. Your own son is now twelve years old and definitely almost fully grown. Last week he reorganized the entire library out of boredom and then put it back to how it was again. No one wants to spar with him anymore, he's going to snap soon. But here's Menoetius with his son Patroclus who seems to have a good head on his shoulders, recent accident notwithstanding. You can't just take in someone wanted for murder without good reasons...but Achilles is going to claw his way through the walls at this rate. He refused being a suitor for Helen recently, lectured you on outdated marriage practices for two hours and then went to visit his mother for a month. You can't handle him, no matter how much you love him. But Patroclus gives off the impression that he could. You can work with this.

You're Peleus, king of Phthia, and your son is now sixteen and no longer growing. He's also found someone who can keep up with his energy with fond understanding and a calming hand where necessary. You're pretty proud of yourself for making Patroclus do this cuz it's not just anger, boredom and energy that Achilles has to divine levels. If you didn't know better you'd think Patroclus was the half god the way your son seems to worship the ground he walks on. He is a good influence on your son, one could almost be fooled into thinking he's just a normal human when they're together. You've never seen Achilles smile that much.

Maybe now Phthia will know some peace...

[mystieris]

Urban Gods Worship System

(I'm terrible at posting information about this project xD; )

So in the world of Urban Gods, it's basically the world of the myths, they just have cars and Instagram (btw, I'm open to suggestions on how to make "Instagram" a Greek mythology pun xD), and I wanted to come up with a replacement for animal sacrifices since that's no longer really a thing in our modern day society. While it is common to use altar worship, item and food offerings and prayers of a lot of modern worshippers in our world, since this is a world where gods are also active members of society, there's another, far more popular method - patronizing establishments owned by the gods themselves.

Several major gods own restaurants, hotels, chain stores and other establishments, while more minor gods, as well as nymphs, satyrs, and other benign creatures, will often be employed there. The following is a master list of establishments I have plotted out so far, and who owns and works for them...

Hades - Inferis - A subterranian casino resort in Athens; Charon, the Furies and the Keres will cycle working the different security posts, Thanatos works as waitstaff in the bar/restaurant areas, Hypnos works the front desk on the hotel side, Hecate appears to work some sort of upper management position, and Minthe works as the casino host at the beginning of the story, eventually being replaced by Persephone. Hermes frequently works as a bartender, and all other positions are often filled by unnamed nymphs, gorgons, and other Underworld creatures.

Zeus - Vronti - A luxury hotel chain, with the flagship location in Athens, overlooking the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Thetis works as the concierge, Hermes will work odd jobs throughout the whole building, Hephaestus leads the maintenance crew, and Hera appears to have some sort of job there, but it's somewhat unclear exactly what as through most of the story she and Zeus are hovering between their good terms and their bad terms xD

Poseidon - Atlantis - A small chain of beach tiki bars with "hidden" drug den areas. I haven't quite worked out where the flagship location is, but most of the time the location seen is the one in Athens. And yes... Athena hates that he has a location in Athens, which Poseidon denies being because of his grudge. Claims, "Well, my brothers have their flagship locations here, mortals would ask questions if I didn't, too...!" Pretty much all positions are filled by different sea nymphs and creatures and aren't individually identified yet.

Demeter and Dionysus - A farm/vineyard in Sicily with a shop attached. Basically it's an enormous farm property that different parts are run by Demeter or Dionysus, Persephone basically runs the shop, Plutus offers financial consulting, Triptolemus cares for the animals on site, and various nymphs and satyrs assist in other areas. Additionally, Dionysus also works as the drink master for all three of the kings' establishments.

Athena - A university in Athens. Not much else is developed about it so far as the only scene written involving it is a brief shot of a classroom and just exposits how the gods are "technically not related" according to my world, but Athena is the dean as well as teaching classes.

Hephaestus - Has no direct stores or anything, but is basically the diving force behind mortals developing computers and robotics.

Ares - Basically runs the this world's equivalent to the UFC, which, because it's run by Ares is a mite more violent than in our world. He also has a gym he operates in Sparta that Phobos and Deimos can often be seen working as personal trainers ar.

Aphrodite - A chain of adult toy stores that are franchised to Eros and the rest of her and Ares' kids, while she'll also offer love advice for a fee at the flagship location in Sparta (somewhere within walking distance to Ares' gym).

Apollo - Works as a pop idol, beyond that I don't really have much developed.

Artemis - Like Apollo, not very developed yet, but the idea that she runs a popular hunting blog.

Hestia - Owns a spa resort known for its luxurious food and services.

More will be edited in as I develop more/remember things as I was sick from stress at the original time of posting this. Follow me for more updates on this project and incorrect quotes! :)

[patrochillesvibes]

Patrochilles Fic Recs

It has been said that Thetis once disguised her son Achilles as a girl and hid him on the island of Skyros. While pretending to be a handmaiden he went by the name Pyrrha.

Achilles adventures on Skyros provides endless fic material. Common tags include genderqueer, genderfluid, trans, and crossdressing.

Give your girl Pyrrha some love and check out these patrochilles fics:

nor no man either by silklace | M | 3.6k | light feminization

Achilles and Patroclus spend an indulgent night on Skyros after an evening of being man and wife 🔥

That time Thetis abducted Achilles by chthonicbutterfly | M | 15.7k |  genderqueer

Thetis brings Achilles to Skyros, and Achilles struggles to adapt.

Princess Deidamia’s Cucumber Garden by chthonicbutterfly | E | 8.7k | genderqueer, masturbation, size kink

Achilles is stuck on Skyros and missing Patroclus terribly 😈

Honey Almond Milk Flat White by gaypropagandist | M | 5.8k | transAchilles

Coffee shop AU. Patroclus meets the local barista Pyrrha.

Dressed and Undressed by Luddleston | E | 3.5k | genderqueer, crossdressing

Patroclus gets a visit from Pyrrha  while in Elysium.

i want to see you in a dress by GwenChan | E | 3.5k | crossdressing, body worship, genderplay

While at Troy, Patroclus shares a secret fantasy. Achilles, of course, indulges him  😉

Exactly Like This by orphan_account | M | 2.5k | genderqueer, crossdressing

Achilles can be himself around Patroclus.

ZukosAss

This author has a lot of genderfluid Achilles content with a variety of kinks.

Fics are listed in no particular order. Your favorite Skyros fic not listed here? Post it in the comments. Fic recs highly appreciated ❤️  

Want more? Check out some Spicy patrochilles fic recs.

[dionysianfreak]

Hello I'm not a follower of Dionysos but I am fairly recent to worshipping Hera! During my research I found that Nonnus writes in the Dionysiaca that Pasithea is the daughter of Hera and Dionysos. So I just wanted to ask how you view the overall relationship between Hera and Dionysos (and possibly them having a daughter? or if she was more of a foster mother figure to Pasithea like she was with Thetis). I hope you're having a nice day! :)

hello nonny 🩷 i hope your day is going well too.

honestly, i can't say I've put much thought into this before. I don't focus much on mythology within my theology. a while ago i had a brief relationship with Pasithea alongside my Hera and Dionysos worship. i personally found that my relationships with Them both didn't overlap much. my worship of Pasithea was more intertwined with Dionysos than Hera due to Their shared domain of intoxication.

my personal view of parental relationships within Theology is more symbolic than literal. I also believe that the relationship between two Deities is based entirely on your situation. I don't believe that two Deities inherently like or dislike each other, it's all reliant on the situation. I've had conflict between Aphrodite and Dionysos, two Deities known to get along well. so, i don't think i can speak on the overall relationship between Dionysos and Hera because They won't have the same relationship in every situation. it is based on the relationship you have with both of Them and Their priorities for you.

another thing to note is that Nonnus is a very late author. he wrote Dionysiaca somewhere around the 5th century AD in Egypt. the Hellenistic period ended around 31 BC. He was writing from an admiration standpoint rather than a cultus standpoint, even though he used Hellenistic texts as references. if you wish to take a more mythical literalist approach to Helpol, i personally wouldn't recommend Nonnus outside of picking up information that may have existed earlier but was lost to time (like information on Pasithea's). this is just my own opinion however and you're more than welcome to adopt Nonnus's point of view into your own :3

so tldr; Pasithea is a wonderful Goddess in Her own right and the relationship between Her parents didn't come into play much when i worshipped Her. I can't say there was much of a relationship between Dio and Hera for me personally, but this may be different for you and i have no way of predicting how that will look. if you're curious, you can always ask via divination :) no such thing as a silly question to the Gods, especially if it helps you in understanding Them

[babyrdie]

Tell me something I probably don't know

I'm going to be honest and tell you that I'm not an expert in Greek mythology, let alone in obscure myths. So I'm just going to point out what I see that people don't usually mention, and assume they don't mention it because they haven't seen it.

There is a version of the myth in which Aphrodite was offended by Tyndareus and because of this ruined the marriages of his daughters (i.e. Clytemnestra and Helen).

Scholiast on Euripides, Orestes 249: Steischorus says that while sacrificing to the gods Tyndareus forgot Aphrodite and that the goddess was angry and made his daughters twice and thrice wed and deserters of their husbands . . . And Hesiod also says: "(ll. 1-7) "And laughter-loving Aphrodite felt jealous when she looked on them and cast them into evil report. Then Timandra deserted Echemus and went and came to Phyleus, dear to the deathless gods; and even so Clytaemnestra deserted god-like Agamemnon and lay with Aegisthus and chose a worse mate; and even so Helen dishonoured the couch of golden-haired Menelaus."

There is also a version in which Helena isn't Leda's daughter, but Nemesis'.

[Taken from Pseudo-Apollodorus' Library] But some say that Helen was a daughter of Nemesis and Zeus; for that she, flying from the arms of Zeus, changed herself into a goose, but Zeus in his turn took the likeness of a swan and so enjoyed her; and as the fruit of their loves she laid an egg, and a certain shepherd found it in the groves and brought and gave it to Leda; and she put it in a chest and kept it; and when Helen was hatched in due time, Leda brought her up as her own daughter.

And there are two different sources that present a version of the myth in which Thetis killed her sons before Achilles while trying to make them immortal, and Achilles only didn't die because he was the baby Peleus arrived at in time to stop Thetis. In one version, the babies drowned and in another, they burned.

Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. iv. 816: The author of the Aegimius says in the second book that Thetis used to throw the children she had by Peleus into a cauldron of water, because she wished to learn where they were mortal . . . And that after many had perished Peleus was annoyed, and prevented her from throwing Achilles into the cauldron.

[Taken from Photius' Bibliotheca] Thetis burned in a secret place the children she had by Peleus; six were born; when she had Achilles, Peleus noticed and tore him from the flames with only a burnt ankle-bone and confided him to Chiron.

In one version of the myth, after being transformed into a dog, Hecuba became one of Hecate's dogs.

[Taken from Lycophron's Alexandra] O mother [Hecuba], O unhappy mother! thy fame, too, shall not be unknown, but the maiden daughter of Perseus [Hecate], Triform Brimo, shall make thee her attendant, terrifying with thy baying in the night all mortals who worship not with torches the images of the Zerynthian queen of Strymon, appeasing the goddess of Pherae with sacrifice.

There is a version in which Penelope (yes, the one from the Odyssey) is Pan's mother.

[Taken from Pseudo-Apollodorus' Library] [E.7.38] But some say that Penelope was seduced by Antinous and sent away by Ulysses to her father Icarius, and that when she came to Mantinea in Arcadia she bore Pan to Hermes.

Although the Byzantine Tzetzes argues that it's another Penelope.

And Duris in his work about Agathokles says that Penelope was gluttonous and had intercourse with all the suitors and gave birth to the goat-legged Pan, whom they consider a god (FHG II 479 42). He speaks nonsense about Pan; for Pan is the son of Hermes and another Penelope. And another Pan is the son of Zeus and Hybris.

Furthermore, Patroclus isn't mentioned in the Pelion in any Greek source I have read so far (but he's mentioned in Roman sources). And Ajax only appears briefly mentioned in one Greek source, which is Heroica by Philostratus, known for purposely showing different versions of the more traditional myth. Also, people cry at the idea of ​​Patroclus and Achilles being cousins ​​(why I don't know, cousins ​​being romantically related in Ancient Greece isn't shocking), but there is even a version in which Achilles is his uncle (because one of the possible mothers of Patroclus is Polymele, daughter of Peleus).

[as-spring-came-in-october]

The Boy Who Flew Too High

“It's not about greed”, I plead,

“It is about venturing into the unknown”

I burnt right into the sun

Lest be buried here with her.

No, the wrath of the sun was too feeble to kill me,

It was her rage, I let myself be ignited in,

Hell claims me "an angel befallen"

Possessed by my ambition.

But here I drowned in her ocean eyes,

I finally get to breathe free

“Oh Thetis, thy womb so warm”,

I lay on the seabed, worshipping thy form.

A rebel, a narcissist,

My blood boils, melting my veins

And you all just blamed in on the waxen wings.

I could feel my skin flare,

I shined brighter than stars ever could,

Only fools rush in they say

But have wise men ever seen my Sun?

My sins match her amber eyes,

Lying in her grave, I can finally cry,

Oh, Helios, I am too close to thy light!

She loved me, and I could never say goodbye.

And here I fall, defeated in love,

It was never my ambition,

It was always my fault

And I surrender,

A fallen angel's curse, I am hers, I remember,

I flew, not to reach the sky,

I flew to escape my truthful lies.

I flew to escape what was never meant to be mine.

~By @its-ener

[asukawamikuru]

Random Day in Atlantis #1

Thetys : So...what is this thing you humans call 'religion' ?

Sorrento : It's a belief. Usually based on how we explain things that are unexplainable, like, the creation of the universe.

Io : Yeah, like, I'm a Catholic. Same as Caza.

Baian : Mine's similar to Io, just in another branch. Christianity, used to be in the Church Choir.

Isaak : Same.

Krishna : Hinduism.

Thetys : Ooohh...what about you Kanon?

Kanon : I'm an Atheist.

Isaak : But I thought you were Greek...

Kanon : And? You think I would worship a god this 'mere mortal' can outwit?

*Kanon suddenly being washed over a wave*

Julian : We need to talk.

[greatest-greek-games]

Achilles: Known as the greatest Achaean soldier in the Trojan War, Achilles is the son of Lady Thetis, the eldest Nereid and queen of marine life. He carries with him unimaginable rage and grief, and strikes down the sons of Troy with no remorse. Potentially capable of destroying Troy by himself if left to his own devices, every submission I got for him mentioned him being gay despite his demonstrable bisexuality.

Socrates: The legendary philosopher and one of the founders of Western philosophical canon. Accused of impeity, corrupting the youth, and worshipping false gods instead of the state institution. He offered his own punishment: free room and board by the state, and a fine of one mina -- all he had. What a cool dude. I don't forgive him for my college courses though.

[possiblu]

the tragedy of achilles

Achilles is caught in a vicious trap. He is part god: his godly parentage, Thetis, his immense power and skill, his petty and grudge-holding nature, his beauty, his parentage. and yet he is also a mortal for one reason: his ability to die. Not many people would call death and ‘ability’, and yet it appears the Greeks did. The most glorious thing to a Greek was called kleos, and this meant death. Not just any death, but a fiery, sacrificial, blaze of glory in a battle sort of death. So while being a god in nearly every sense, this ability to die places Achilles firmly within the mortal realm, within you and I exist. Dionysus is a god, yet he has one godly parent (Zeus) and one mortal parent (Semele) - look for examples of gods with mortal fathers but immortal mothers, or something or other, look to Aphrodite's children and so on - in some sense, this is a gift for Achilles, since he can achieve mortal kleos far more easily. but yet.

Imagine being in a primary school class of mythology or ancient Greece. You, of course, know all of the answers to the questions, yet if you answered them with the truth, you would not be marked correctly. If a primary school student explained the story of Aphrodite's birth, this would probably lead to disciplinary action! And this is the situation in which Achilles is in. It is the fact that he exists within the mortal realm at all that kills him. Gods can prefer mortals, take Athena and Odysseus, yet they do not love them in the same way mortals can love one another. One could even argue that gods cannot love one another in the same way that mortals can. Achilles exists within this mortal realm and is driven to death by his (godly) need to avenge the death of Patroclus who, whether interpreted as a brotherly friend or lover, was certainly beloved by Achilles. It is his death that drives Achilles to kill Hector, hence ending the Trojan War, and leading to his prophesied death.

It is easy for a modern audience to say that Achilles should have simply accepted that Agamemnon as his superior at least in the traditional hierarchical sense had taken his concubine, Briseis, and that he should have returned to the battle, even if after a little while, but certainly at least after the war turns. And he does not, and we still discuss if this is an overreaction. Odysseus, Ajax, and Phoenix approach and supplication him, offering him gifts and so on and so forth, which he still refuses. Yet I would argue that for Achilles to return to the battle would have been for him to sacrifice his pride, and hence his kleos. For a mortal, pride does not equate to kleos, but the gods, μεν δε, are characterised by their pride, they live on it, literally, because if it is not sufficiently fed they do not continue. This may seem fantastical but it is also a literal interpretation, look at Helios and Selene, gods of sun and moon later blended into Apollo and Artemis. look at any older god blended into another for simplicity, to reduce the cost of sacrifice and worship and so on. Ao Achilles cannot forgive Agamemnon. It is only when Patroclus goes into battle, wearing Achilles’ clothes I might add, in an attempt to don the physical and literal armour of a god, that Achilles is roused to fight. Patroclus, up until this point, has not been characterised as a great warrior. And yet this armour, this disguise almost, imbued with the divine power of Achilles, leads him into one of, if not the most incredible aristeia in the Iliad or even the Greek canon. Slaughter was a part of Greek life in battle, and yet it was not mindless, we can see this in Homer’s biographies of each felled soldier - and then he killed so and so, wife of so and so with four children, five goats, and a very good credit score. There is a remorse in his death. Only in an aristeia does one kill as a weapon themselves, rather than wielding it. Achilles has the powers of a god which he is not allowed to truly exercise, essentially, and I will elaborate better when I am less sleepy and more sober. The weight and gravity of his tragedy or role as a tragic figure, is deeply underestimated.

[deathlessathanasia]

“Epic makes of Poseidon a great lord of the sea, emerging from his palace under the waves near Aegae to aid the Achaeans in battle, or rousing a storm to drown Odysseus on his raft. But Poseidon himself is a complex Mycenaean deity whose origins lie further inland; he is the Earth-Shaker, an ancestral god with ties to freshwater springs and horses. Even in the Iliad (13.10–30), the dominant image is that of Poseidon as a charioteer, driving his golden-maned horses over the sea. He himself is not a personification of the sea, but its ruler. If Poseidon is a lord of elemental forces, his Nereid consort Amphitrite is more closely identified in the Odyssey with the element itself: she breeds many monsters (Odyssey 5.417–22, 12.90) and the waves are hers (Odyssey 3.85, 12.55). Amphitrite is more than a literary invention; she often appears in cultic contexts with Poseidon, as at Isthmia (Pausanias 2.1.7). An archaic votive dump at Penteskouphia near Corinth yielded clay pinakes depicting Amphitrite with smaller-sized worshipers, or riding in a chariot with Poseidon.

In Greek mythology, the gods who represent the sea share its unbounded nature as the source of creatures formless and strange to human eyes. Monsters and shape-shifters, the latter often possessed of prophetic powers, come from the sea. Nereus and his congeners Proteus and Glaucus are Masters of Animals who control the supply of fish and other marine animals. In Greek fishermen’s folklore, these Old Men of the Sea were elusive shape-changers who could tell one’s fortune if captured. In Greek religious practice, on the other hand, the overriding concern with regard to the sea was safe travel. Many gods could be called upon to protect mariners, especially those resident in harbor towns (often Aphrodite or Poseidon). The Dioscuri, who appeared in ships’ rigging during storms in the form of St Elmo’s fire, were popularly viewed as saviors who warded off disaster at sea (Alcaeus fr. 34 Campbell).

Homer was also instrumental in shaping the image of the sea nymphs called Nereids, who were closely associated with the story of Achilles. Thetis, the Nereid mother of the hero, seems to have played an important role in early Greek cosmology; the Iliad alludes to her rescue and/or sheltering of Zeus, Dionysus, and Hephaestus in their times of need, while she figures in a fragment of Alcman as ‘‘the origin of all,’’ a primal creative force (Calame 1983 fr. 81). Thetis was destined to bear a son more powerful than his father and thus posed a threat to any god, including Zeus, who pursued her. Like Ge, she was imagined as a powerful primordial figure, who first threatened, then helped to bring about, the cosmic order, allowing herself to be subordinated in the process. Slatkin (1991:79) relates Thetis’ humble status in Homeric epic to the fact that her cult, unlike those of the Olympian gods, remained geographically limited. One of the few cults of Thetis belonged to Cape Sepias in Thessaly, where the Persians, having suffered heavy damage in a storm, sacrificed to her and the Nereids as local deities (Herodotus 7.191). A venerable Spartan cult of Thetis (Pausanias 3.14.4) may have inspired Alcman’s cosmological verses. Altars and thank offerings to the Nereids as a group, on the other hand, are relatively common. Like other marine deities, they could prevent disasters at sea. An early example is Sappho’s prayer to Cypris (Aphrodite) and the Nereids (fr. 5 Campbell) for the safe sea journey of her brother Charaxus. Ino/Leucothea, who was transformed into a Nereid after leaping from a cliff into the sea, saved Odysseus from drowning by giving him her magical veil (Odyssey 5.33–8). With her son Palaemon, also a sea-god and guardian of ships, Ino was honored at Poseidon’s sanctuary of Isthmia and elsewhere. Leucothea and Palaemon possessed a dual identity as drowned mortals (hence the chthonic and funerary elements in their cults) and as reborn gods who offered salvation to sailors in peril and the hope of an afterlife to those who drowned. Far more than the terrestrial nymphs, the Nereids were associated with death and rebirth. In epic, they play an important role as mourners of Patroclus and Achilles (Iliad 18.282–313; Odyssey 24.45–89), while post-Homeric literature and art focused on their ability to confer a blessed afterlife on the deceased, just as Thetis brought Achilles to the White Island in the Euxine where he was immortalized.”

 - Jennifer Larson, A Land Full of Gods: Nature Deities in Greek Religion, in A Companion to Greek Religion

[autumncrowcus]

Dionysos is born into ambiguity and opposition. This god, in so many ways the exception among Greek divinities, concentrates within himself the opposing terms mortal/immortal and female/male, bringing them together in a kind of mediation. The son of a mortal mother, Semele, he has, of all the Olympians, the most intimate experience of mortality, being the only one to suffer death. Dionysos is often characterized by a certain degree of sexual ambiguity. Female figures are prominent in his myths, and his cult is marked by a level of participation by women unknown for any other male divinity.

His marked relation to death begins with his birth, which is in fact synonymous with the death of his mother, Semele. His nurture is then taken over either by Semele's sister Ino, or by a group of "nurses" variously identified by local tradition. His situation is precarious, and in some versions he must be hidden. Throughout his childhood he is dependent on women for protection. Even in maturity, something of the vulnerability of childhood clings to him. Glaukos, in his speech to Diomedes in Iliad 6.130ff. tells of the pursuit of the god and his nurses (tithenas) by Lykourgos. Dionysos is terrified and leaps into the sea, where he is comforted by Thetis.

Dionysos is born mortal, and the process by which he becomes immortal is far from clear. In some versions immortality is a reward for his services in bringing Hephaistos back to Olympos to release Hera from a trick throne of his invention where she has been held prisoner. Elsewhere, it is the second birth from Zeus' thigh that gives him access to immortality, and that will ultimately allow him to confer it on others. In any case it is striking that while the mythic tradition is unanimous that Herakles must suffer an anguished death before achieving immortality, there is no canonical myth of the death of Dionysos. The theme of his death occurs, as Burkert has observed, primarily in ritual contexts. The scholia to Iliad 14.319 preserve a tradition by which the hero Perseus not only engages in battle with Dionysos but actually succeeds in killing the god. Pausanias (2.20.4; 2.22.1) mentions the tombs of the female companions, known as Haliai, who died attempting to defend him, but says nothing to indicate that the god himself was killed.

Although the god is often threatened, nowhere else is he actually murdered, outside of the Orphic tradition. Here we find the story of the infant Dionysos torn to bits by the Titans who have distracted the baby by giving him toys and a mirror. While he is looking at himself in the mirror, they attack him with knives and cook and eat him. As it happens, his heart remains intact, and from it he is reconstructed by the other gods. It is tempting to say that this is not the same Dionysos who was worshiped in civic cults throughout Greece, and yet this version accords with the Delphic tradition of a tomb of Dionysos. As incongruous as this Orphic myth seems, it is consonant with the figure of the Olympian who so completely straddles the line between mortal and immortal.

If we turn now to Dionysos' relations to women, we find that his participation in ambiguity is nowhere more apparent than here. From the moment of his strange double birth, he is marked by gender confusion. As Segal has commented, the double birth is one of the ways in which he combines both sexes. According to Apollodorus (3.4.3) he is raised as a girl by Athamas and Ino. We have alluded to the theme of gender ambiguity in Euripides' Bacchae. Pentheus taunts the stranger, whom he does not recognize as a god, for his feminine appearance (453ff.). Later, as Dionysos carries out his revenge on Pentheus, the first step in the beguiling of his victim is to persuade him to assume the effeminacy of dress he had earlier despised in the god. As Dodds has pointed out in his edition of the play, neither element is a Euripidean invention. Fragments of the earlier Edonai of Aeschylus contain similar jeers at the god's appearance. "Where does this sissy come from?" is the question addressed to the captive Dionysos. The scene of cross-dressing has precedents in Dionysiac ritual, while in comedy (for example in the Frogs of Aristophanes) Dionysos is dressed in female garments and mocked for his effeminacy. In Heschyius' lexicon the dialect form dionus is defined as a "weakling and sissy" (ho gunaikias kai parathelus).

On the other hand, the women who serve Dionysos take on certain male roles, if not male characteristics, as nurses turn into warriors, and maenads into hunters. They defend the god when he is attacked by Perseus or Lykourgos. As Euripides portrays Agave in her madness, she believes herself to be a great lion-killer and asks her father to congratulate her on her masculine achievement. A Macedonian name for the maenads was Mimallones, "because they imitate men" (para to mimeisthai tous andras).

-Gender and Immortality: Heroines in Ancient Greek Myth and Cult by Deborah J. Lyons

[theleingod]

Random-ass musing on Greek mythology that’s way longer than it needs to be because I’m a windbag who takes forever to get to the point:

So Zeus ate his first sister-wife, Metis, who was pregnant with Athena at the time, and that’s why Athena was born from Zeus’s head, right? The specifics of why he did that is that Metis was prophesied to give birth to powerful children; some sources specify children more powerful than their father, and others even more specifically say a daughter wiser than her mother and then a son more powerful than his father. Not wanting to be usurped by a son more powerful than himself, Zeus ate Metis whole while she was pregnant with their first child, not willing to risk that the son would come first.

This is a recurring theme in Greek mythology, of Zeus going out of his way to avert the rise of a son of his who would be powerful enough to do to Zeus what Zeus did to Cronus and what Cronus did to Uranus, sometimes by doing exactly what Cronus did to his own children (i.e. eating them). A similar prophecy is actually what led to Achilles being born according to the Bibliotheca, for example: The nymph Thetis was courted by both Zeus and Poseidon, but when it was prophesied that she would birth a son stronger than his father, she was married off to the mortal hero-king Peleus instead, and the two had Achilles.

Now, what am I getting at here? Hold on, let me digress even further. So, the name “Metis” means “wisdom/skill/craft,” and generally came to mean the combination of wisdom and cunning you see in guys like Odysseus. You can see why she’s the mother of Athena, right? Well, it’s also a recurring theme of Greek mythology that prophecies always come true somehow no matter what you do. And while there is no actual myth of Metis’s son, there is a mention of such a son out there.

Plato, in his Symposium, records a series of dialogues/speeches in praise of Eros given by Socrates and some other notable figures (or just puts his words in their mouths for legitimacy, depending on how generous you feel towards Plato). One of them involves an account of Poros, a name that means “resource” or “plenty” but generally can be understood as “creative ingenuity,” getting drunk on Aphrodite’s birthday and being seduced by Penia (”poverty”), which resulted in Eros, who was forever in need because of his mother and forever in pursuit because of his father. Poros, according to this account, is the son of Metis. Now, a father isn’t mentioned, and this was way past the point when anyone - least of all Plato - was really seriously interested in trying to square the circles of ancient Greek myths, which had started to seem ridiculous even by his day, and this is really all just philosophical parables.

But, isn’t it just so perfect for the more powerful son of Zeus who ends up overthrowing him to be - effectively - the personification of humanity’s creative ingenuity and resourcefulness? Think about it this way: What is Zeus, what are any gods really, but an entity born out of humanity’s ignorance of the world around them and attempting to make sense of it anyway? The Ancient Greeks simply didn’t have the accumulated body of knowledge to even begin to understand what the hell lightning is or why it strikes where it does, so they portrayed it as an all-powerful callous dickbag who’s easily offended and has to be appeased via worship. The unknowable was given the label of divinity until it was no longer unknowable, as generations of creative and resourceful minds brought us ever closer to being able to comprehend and study them.

So yeah. Poros, creative ingenuity, is the son of Zeus, the unknown and unknowable divine, and Metis, wisdom and cunning. Poros is greater and more powerful than Zeus, and overthrows him by rendering his “divine mysteries” a natural phenomena that can not only be studied but harnessed and controlled. We know what lightning is now, we know where it strikes and why, and we can even use it to make our lives easier; Zeus no longer has the power to lash out at us without warning.

I dunno, I just think that’s really neat, especially because there’s no way anyone in the ancient world was thinking about it that way.