#wordpress myth

[meerawrites]

Hadestown: we’re gonna sing it again 

“Don’t ask where, brother, don’t ask when…” Hermes sings in our ‘prologue’ of sorts, Road to Hell.

[thedansemacabres]

The Almost Lost Relationship of Adonis and Dionysus

[ID: An image of the seats at the Theater of Dionysus in Athens. The sun shines on the pale steps, illuminating them slightly. Beyond the stairs, there is nothing else in the theatre and it acts as an empty scene.]

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ADONIS IS KNOWN FOR BEING CAUGHT BETWEEN PERSEPHONE AND APHRODITE, and this eventually being the cause of his death—Artemis, Ares, Apollon, or perhaps all send a boar to gore Adonis and end the affair between him and Aphrodite. However, of course, there is always more to this story: that being the continuation, the romance of Adonis and Dionysus. This will serve as a small introduction to a relatively unknown aspect of Adonis’ mythology, especially in the perspective of Adonis representing infertile life compared to Dionysus’ fertility. 

PANYASSIS, AND THEN PLATO

Apollodorus contains one of the earliest tellings of Adonis’ death from the 5th century poet Panyassis, who states that Adonis died twice—once when Persephone obtained him, and another when he was gored by a boar. However, continuing Panyassis’ fragment, Plato Comicus states that Adonis’ death was caused by Aphrodite and Dionysus, not Aphrodite and Persephone: 

O Kinyras, king of the hairy-assed Cypriots, Your child is by nature most beautiful and most marvelous Of all humans, but two divinities will destroy him, She being rowed by secret oars, and he rowing them. (fr. 3)

By desiring and loving Adonis, Aphrodite and Dionysus later cause his demise. This is one of the earliest mentions of Adonis and Dionysus, whilst grim, does lead us slightly into the romance of Adonis and Dionysus. Another myth—or perhaps a continuation of this one—presents another tale, as recorded by Plutarch. 

PLUTARCH’S FRAGMENT 

Plutarch presents a differing story: that Dionysus fought with Aphrodite for Adonis and won. In discussing the ethics of food, particularly eating swine, he invokes this in a lost text written by Phanocles: 

Εἰδὼς θεῖον Ἄδωνιν ὀρειφοίτης Διόνυσος ἥρπασεν, ἠγαθέην Κύπρον ἐποιχόμενος. Knowingly, mountain-roaming Dionysus carried away the divine Adonis, after approaching the Holy Cyprian with hostile purpose. Plutarch, Quaestiones Convivales

One of the many reasons he cites for pigs being less than ideal animals for consumption is that they gored Adonis—which, in hypothesis, could be a reason that some Aphrodisian cults avoided consuming pork, but this is merely my own thinking. 

This fragment gives little context to the motives of Dionysus in this myth, the reaction of Aphrodite or Adonis. Despite this, the wording is of intrigue to me of several parts:

What does knowingly mean? The translation phrases it as Dionysus knowing, but knowing what? Or does this refer to Adonis knowing that he would be carried off—as in the original ancient Greek, it is placed as “knowing, divine Adonis.” 

Adonis here is called a god, theos, which may refer to his apotheosis, which was of contention in ancient Greece.

“Hostile purpose”, ἐποιχόμενος, also refers to the passing of wine. So, instead of violence, he may have given Aphrodite wine in “exchange” for Adonis. 

There is also something to be said of the similarity between Adonis being carried off with Dionysus carrying Ariadne away from Noxus. There were also contentions about the divinity of Ariadne, with some myths declaring her dying and another conflating her with Aphrodite—similarly to Adonis, who Plutarch mentioned previously could be identified with Dionysus.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE 

As remarked in the Adonia in Context, Adonis’ divinity was a contested question—with some remarking him as nothing sacred, while others entreating him as a deity. I personally have come to understand him as divine, returning from the underworld, especially as he journeyed there with Persephone. That within itself—returning to and from the underworld—is no task for mortals, even if it was divinely sanctioned by Zeus. If he did die when he was first received by Persephone, does this imply a cycle of resurrection that eventually led to a state in between, or an odd sense of immortality? 

There is also the notable comparison of Adonis and Dionysus mirroring Ariadne and Dionysus, in which they are taken by Dionysus and become his lovers. In my own practice, this does come into Adonis being in our modern terms in a polycule with the god. Fascinatingly, Ariadne’s own divinity was of debate, perhaps remarking her as a parallel to Adonis himself. There is certainly something to be said of Adonis being a sterile god with the fertility god Dionysus, continuing the paradox of Dionysus. Adonis represents the ancient Greek man that was infertile and as such did not mature into a proper member of the polis, and Dionysus is the great disrupter of the polis. 

As a personal practice though, there is always the option for others to honour them as I do—as divine lovers—and in my personal practice, Dionysus is the one who eventually “wins” Adonis. And as someone extremely unconventional and a “failed” man in the eyes of my biological family, Adonis is the perfect comfort as the failed adult who succeeds into immortality. 

References

Edmund P. Cueva, (1996). Plutarch’s Ariadne in Chariton’s Chaereas and Callirhoe. American Journal of Philology,

Jameson, M. H. (2019). 2. The asexuality of Dionysus. In Cornell University Press eBooks (pp. 44–64). https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501733680-007

Plutarch,  Quaestiones Convivales, stephpage 612c. (n.d.). http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg112.perseus-grc1:612c

Reitzammer, L. (2016). The Athenian Adonia in context: The Adonis Festival as cultural practice. https://muse.jhu.edu/book/45855

Seaford, R. (2006). Dionysos. Routledge.

[lilithsaintcrow]

RELEASE DAY: A Flame in the North

It’s here. I have alternately longed for and dreaded this day! For lo, today is the day the Viking Werewolves are set free. Well, Book 1 of the trilogy, at least. That’s right, my beloveds. The very first salvo of The Black Land’s Bane is now released into the wild! An elemental witch and her shieldmaid leave home… The Black Land is spent myth. Centuries have passed since the Great Enemy was…

[2024-grimoire-challenge]

July Week 3: The Magic of Metals

This week we’re going to focus on a topic that’s near and dear to my heart, as a metalworker. The magical, spiritual, historical and scientific uses and properties of metal! A while back I did a long series on this on my Wordpress, which unfortunately has been deleted or I would happily link those pages here. Luckily, I still have very rough drafts of those posts so I can at least outline them here for you to look the info up as I did! So let’s dive in!

Monday

Research/ New Page - Copper, Tin, Iron. This prompt will be the same for all of the days this week, the only thing changing being the metals we look at on each day! Here is a list of the things to look at for each of these metals. Boiling point, melting point, freezing point, historical uses and significance, chemical symbol, chemical composition, spiritual uses and significance, religious uses and significance, myths and legends regarding each metal, what mundane and scientific uses it has. Learn as much about it as possible!

Research/ New Page - Herbal Research - Pick another herb off of your list and look at it from all perspectives, magical, spiritual, mundane, culinary and so on! Learn as much as possible about it!

Tuesday

Research/ New Page - Aluminum, Silver, Nickel - Here is a list of the things to look at for each of these metals. Boiling point, melting point, freezing point, historical uses and significance, chemical symbol, chemical composition, spiritual uses and significance, religious uses and significance, myths and legends regarding each metal, what mundane and scientific uses it has. Learn as much about it as possible!

Practical - Do a spell that involves some sort of metal! Anything from a magnet, to a paperclip, to coins or keys! Record it in your lab notebook to look back at it and change it as necessary!

Wednesday

Research/ New Page - Cobalt, Mercury, Gold - Here is a list of the things to look at for each of these metals. Boiling point, melting point, freezing point, historical uses and significance, chemical symbol, chemical composition, spiritual uses and significance, religious uses and significance, myths and legends regarding each metal, what mundane and scientific uses it has. Learn as much about it as possible!

Research/ New Page - Gemstone research/ other - pick a gemstone, rune, tarot card, type of magic or anything and take the time to look into everything you can about it!

Thursday

Research/ New Page - Tungsten, Lead, Platinum. - Here is a list of the things to look at for each of these metals. Boiling point, melting point, freezing point, historical uses and significance, chemical symbol, chemical composition, spiritual uses and significance, religious uses and significance, myths and legends regarding each metal, what mundane and scientific uses it has. Learn as much about it as possible!

Meditation/ Journal - Pick one of the metals you've studied, whichever you feel most connected to. Meditate on it, with it if you have it, and journal. (You can do this with each of the metals at a later time, and add your own intuitive feelings toward the metals to your grimoire pages!)

Friday

Rest/ Catch up - use today to rest or catch up on anything else from this week or any other week!

It's been another long week, and there's much to research! Never stop learning and growing witches!

-Mod Hazel

[bitchesgetriches]

Bob Iger Would NEVER Bring a Water Dish for Skippy: The Classist Myth of Unskilled Labor

I told my co-blogger that my next article would be titled “Bob Iger Would NEVER Bring a Water Dish for Skippy.” She packed her belongings into a handkerchief tied to a stick. I think that means she’s excited! Okay, okay, a little context… There’s a new video setting YouTube ablaze. It presents a clear and fascinating rebuttal to the classist myth of “the low-skill worker.” The storyteller is…

[nfinitefreetime]

In which the day got away from me

Let’s see: I spent a couple of hours hunting down bosses in Black Myth Wukong’s final level, which inexplicably transitions into an open world map but doesn’t actually provide you with a map, meaning such concerns as “north” and “south” become way more complicated than they ought to be. We went out to dinner at a local Italian place, the one with the really good bread, although I’m starting to…

[blumoonfiction-blog]

Fairy Tale 101: Myths & Legends (The Fox Wife)

“Sometimes, a fox isn’t just a fox. Sometimes, it’s a mystery, a lesson, or even a lover in disguise.” The story of the Fox Wife is one of the most enduring and captivating tales in East Asian folklore. Originating in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean traditions, the legend of the Fox Wife reflects the intersection of the mystical and the human, blending themes of love, deceit, transformation, and…

[bugtistic]

Guess who’s making a Wordpress website to talk about bugs on and document stuff… I am! It’s a little bare bones but I have made a myths and misconceptions page im quite happy with. Feel free to take a look!

[mediamatinees]

Love Knows All Bound(arie)s: a Lore Olympus Volume Two Discussion

Come dive into the world of gods and scandal. My review of "Lore Olympus Volume Two" is finally here!

Content Warning: Lore Olympus regularly explores themes of physical and mental abuse, sexual trauma, and toxic relationships. Reader discretion is advised. Spoilers for Lore Olympus Volume Two ahead! The gorgeous and colorful world of Lore Olympus, created by Rachel Smythe, is a playground of subverted myths and excellent dialogue. A twist on the original Taking of Persephone myth, this story…

[dhruvkumaar]

I've decided

My first year at the university recently ended, and man, it was horrific. Like, really. A lot of stuff happened that I’d wanna forget and move on from.

Anyway, this blog isn’t supposed to be me bitching about my university life, lol. What I wanted to say is, I’ve been at home for the past one month, and now that I’m over a really hard part of my life, I was pumped to do something. And, I looked over at this blog.

It’s a mess. I post, like, twice a month, and I have a really lot followers count. I see other authors around me with such a strong branding done that I feel a little jealous. So, I’ve decided. This gotta change.

For the past one month, I’ve been brainstorming about what kinda brand I wanna build for my name—Dhruv Kumaar. And it’s tough, because there’s a lot of things that authors do that I cannot. For example, I tried opening a authortube channel, but I guess showing my face on camera just isn't for me. I’m too shy, and my parents keep disturbing my personal space anyways.

So, a YT channel is outta the window. I wanna do something that I can, y’know, and that’s where I turned to this blog and thought that this is what I wanna do, but better. Far better than I currently run this.

More brainstorming later, I think I do know what I should do with this blog now. Currently, it’s a heavily writer-focused blog, where we discuss tips and rants about the art and craft of the written world. That type of content isn’t going anywhere, but to increase the output and gain some more followers, I’m gonna turn to some reader-centric content too.

Why this shift, you may ask? It’s because I need to target some readers. I need to build an e-mail list where I also have readers who are interested in my life and my works. I’m currently working on a novel and playing with several other ideas in my head for now, and I have big things planned for these projects.

My current WIP is a dark fantasy, shonen-like novel series named Myth. I wanna yap about this too, y’know. And I wanna yap about the other two slice-of-life novels that I’m actively outlining these days. And I wanna yap about the books that I’m reading—The Book Thief, After Dark, Stephen King’s On Writing, Wait for Me Yesterday in Spring, and a lot more that have been on my TBR list for years, at this point. I wanna talk about my favorite films and anime. Yet, I wanna keep ranting about writing and the techniques and processes that I follow to work on my projects.

So, I’ve shifted from Wordpress to Substack. So, welcome aboard, my Wordpress subscribers! How’s this new look?

So, you might ask how this blog is gonna look like, then. And, to be fair, I don't know. I have a lot of content ideas in my head right now, and I think I’ll be posting here at least once a week now. But, I don't know how I’m gonna do it. I used to simply write and then hit the submit button, but I think I also need to edit and schedule posts now, and I don't understand how I’m gonna take out time for all that. I’m kinda bad at organizing tasks, y’know.

Anyways, all I wanted to say is: expect some new changes soon. I still have a month of vacations left, and I wanna get this new thing running before I go back to that awful place I have to call my university.

I’m really excited for this. I think this is the biggest thing I’ve ever set out to do. I love to write, to yap, and to yap about writing. I want you guys to read the dark fantasy that I’m working on—it’s my magnum opus, I’m convinced. I’m gonna talk in a later blog why I think that’s the case, lol, but for now, I feel I’ve got a lot of stuff figured out. And I’m confident I’ll figure out the rest. But I don’t wanna do it without you all. I wanna give you all the safe space that I personally never had when I began writing.

So, subscribe to my Substack. Please, guys, I wanna stay connected to you all. I want you all to witness this journey and be a part of it. Also, I’ll help you to take the steps that I personally took, so it’s a win-win!

This is where we part for today. I hope to see you all on the other side! Sayonara!

[presstheishu]

We Fought for Everything: Why the Myth of Black Laziness Is a Lie Built on White Guilt

From bootstraps to barricades, Black people have never been lazy—we’ve been relentless. What we’re tired of is White interference. We Are Tired. But Never Lazy. Let’s get something straight. If you ever hear the phrase “Black people are lazy,” know that you’re listening to one of the biggest lies ever told, crafted in the depths of denial and projected through the loudspeaker of white guilt.…

[thomasedmund]

Writing Roundup

Today we’re about writing rules (and busting them), a little on politics, and a wee creative writing exercise WINNER OF 2025 O. Henry Prize for Short Fiction BUSTS SOME WRITING MYTHS I really like this one (phew that last one though, its a no from me dawg) Can you really be “politics free” (no) being free of politics is much like “not rocking the boat” sure, having a mind towards making…

[fullthrottlenomad]

A Ride Into The Past

There’s something uniquely exhilarating about combining the raw freedom of a motorcycle ride with the mystery of one of the world’s most ancient monuments. My recent trip to Stonehenge wasn’t just about ticking a World Heritage Site off the list, it was a pilgrimage of sorts, across open roads and through England’s rolling countryside, toward a destination shrouded in myth, history, and awe. I…

[thelovebudllc]

How to Make Exercise Easier: 5 Fitness Myths Debunked

We’ve all heard them—those persistent exercise myths that linger like that last rep in a tough set. You know the ones: “No pain, no gain!” or “Lifting weights will make you bulky!” These ridiculous fitness myths (and many others) have been passed around like fitness folklore for years, making it harder for people to embrace exercise in a way that actually feels good and works within the context…