Monday, October 30, 2017

Hypnos and Somnus

      Hey, it's been a while since I last posted something here. I know that you've all been dying to see what I've cooked up today, but I'd like to make a little game with you guys. Tomorrow, on the day of Halloween (or Hallow's Eve if you prefer-) I'm going to give the spotlight to a certain God. I want you guys to figure out which one it's going to be, while not using any search engines. Anyway, we've gotten off track. Today, we talk about Hypos/Somnus.

      Hypnos/Somnus is not an Olympian, but he does have his fair share of glory in myths. He is the child of Nyx/Nox, the goddess of night who was a primordial (For those of you who don't know, Primordial gods are a heck of a lot stronger than regular gods as they have such broad domains). You know she was a deadly lady because Zeus, the creepy dude who regularly tried to get it on with all of the female gods, was terrified of her and wouldn't dare enter her realm. At any rate, he had various siblings, but the most prominent and thematic ones will be mentioned here. The Oneiroi Triplets, Gods of Dreams, where his brothers and Thanatos/Mors, the god of death, was his half brother. Hypnos/Somnus played an extremely important role in the Trojan war that allow Poseidon/Neptune to gain an advantage. He was asked by Hera/Juno to help put Zeus/Jupiter to sleep so that she could gain an advantage in the war. Hypnos/Somnus was smart and knew that since he had already tricked Zeus/Jupiter once and only managed to escape him by hiding with his mother, that he probably shouldn't do that again unless he got something in return. And what would you know, he did get something. He was promised Pasithea, one of the Graces if he went along with the plan. Hypnos/Somnus, wanting to marry Pasithea anyway, decided to help out Hera/Juno so he could get with Pasithea. Surprisingly, Hera/Juno held true and did let Hypnos/Somnus marry Pasithea.

      Now, I know many of you expect that Hypnos/Somnus is the God of sleep and dreams, right? Well, you'd be paratially wrong. Hypnos/Somnus can only bring sleep while the previously mentioned Oneiroi created the dreams. I'll get more into them later on, don't worry. Hypnos/Somnus is only the god of sleep, but I somehow find it very fitting that Thanatos/Mors is his half brother. After all, Thanatos/Mors does give people an eternal slumber that they cannot wake from.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Dionysus and Bacchus

   What's up my readers? It's time for the god of madness. Oh, and wine. Can't forget the wine. Yes, we're talking about Dionysus/Bacchus, which most of you probably know from Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief. Most of the time, he's depicted as some guy who's super drunk and merry, but perhaps you'd like to see the original.


   So, as with most gods, Zeus/Jupiter is the dad and his poor mother was a human. If you've read enough of my works, you should start seeing a pattern here. Anyway, Semele was a hero in Greek myths and got pregnant because of Zeus/Jupiter. She's got a feeling that Zeus/Jupiter is the father, but Hera/Juno is tired of all of these affairs Zeus/Jupiter keeps having and decides that she should plot Semele's death instead of taking it out on Zeus/Jupiter. It ends up with Zeus/Jupiter showing Semele his true form, which since she's human she dies from, and sews the fetal Dionysus/Bacchus into his thigh. Alright then. Later on when Dionysus/Bacchus was born, he went down to the underworld, probably giving Hades a punch in the gut, and saved his mother. She ended up becoming a god to help preside over her son's madness.


   Now, unlike most of the Greek and Roman gods, Dionysus and Bacchus have the exact same domains and are basically the same person except for their name. Both gods preside over wine, grape harvesting, madness, ecstasy, and the theatre. The last one sticks out the most, since it's mostly Apollo who is thought to own that domain. That and the fact that 'Theatre' doesn't really fit in with the rest of his stuff. Maybe they liked getting drunk before preforming in plays? Either way, he shows up in a myth i previously mentioned, Orpheus. Well, it's more like his cult makes an appearance. I won't spoil anything about what happens in the myth, sans for the ending. Orpheus ends up getting ripped apart and cannibalized by Dionysus'/Bacchus' cult in a drunken frenzy. Weird stuff man. Really weird stuff.

Hermes and Mercury

    Nice to see you guys again! Today we're talking about Hermes/Mercury, the messenger of the gods and one of the olympian twelve. Similarly to Hades, you most likely remember Hermes from Disney's Hercules or another series. Mercury, on the other hand, has both a metal and planet named after him.

    Anyway, it's time to get into Hermes'/Mercury's past. If you've ever seen my Athena/Minerva or my Aphrodite/Venus posts, you'll know that the gods' births are really freakin' weird. Like really, really weird. Hermes/Mercury is no different. His mother is Maia, a nymph and one of the daughters of a titan of water. She didn't think too keenly of the gods, which considering how they act I can't blame her on that one, and hid away in a cave so they couldn't find her. Zeus/Jupiter, being the creepy old man he is, basically made Maia carry Hermes/Mercury. Once he was born, Maia just managed to swaddle him before he went to sleep. Though, since Hermes/Mercury is a god, he grew up rapidly and went to Thessaly. He proceeded to steal around half of Apollo's cows, invent the lyre, and who knows what else. Long story short, he got caught and wanted to keep the cows, so he ended up trading the lyre for the cattle.


    So, based on his origin story, what do you think is Hermes'/Mercury's domain? Surprisingly, it's travelers, the delivery of messages (AKA messengers), thieves, trickery, and trade. Additionally Hermes is the Greek god of crossing boundaries and sports. Mercury, on the other hand, is the Roman god of luck and boundaries. Makes you wonder why the Romans changed what Hermes had power over when he became Mercury, eh?

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Aphrodite and Venus

     Now that we've talked about Athena/Minerva, why don't we move onto someone I would consider to be a near opposite of her; Aphrodite/Venus. The renowned and widely known goddess of beauty and love with a really violent creation. Like, jeez her creation was more violent than you would expect. You'd think that her birth would be more like Semiramis, but no. It features castrastion, hooray. Now you're probably a mix of confused, horrified, or maybe grossed out, but you know what? I'll explain it, so you don't go through the day wondering how Aphrodites/Venus' birth has to do with the removal of genitalia.

    It all started when Uranus, Chronos/Saturn's dad and Zeus/Jupiter's grandfather, decided that he two youngest children should never be looked upon and locked them up in Tartarus (Which is basically purgatory). Gaia, being rightfully angry about that but being way too violent, asked Chronos/Saturn to chop off his genitals with a sickle. Why? No idea, Greek mythology is pretty freakin' weird. Anyway, Chronos/Saturn did the deed and the cut-off bits fell into the sea. It turned into sea foam and from the foam rose Aphrodite/Venus. So really, one could say that Aphrodite/Venus is the oldest of the gods and none of the other Olympians had been born yet.

   Now, for such a weird backstory, what would you expect her domain to be? If you guessed physical pleasure, love, and beauty you'd be partially right. The Romans decided that Venus deserved more, so they also gave more domains to the Roman goddess. Venus is also the goddess of sexuality, spiritual love, victory, and prosperity. Aphrodite has less domains than Venus, but part of me thinks that some of that is to blame on Emperor Nero absolutely adoring Venus.

Athena and Minerva

    Nice to see you again! We've gone over Zeus/Jupiter and Hades/Pluto, so you know what that means. Yes, it's time for Athena/Minerva! Wait, you were expecting Poseidon/Neptune? Sorry, but he's a topic for another day. I have held off on telling the myth of Athenas/Minervas birth for far too long. I promise that he'll be coming soon, so don't fret over that.

     Anyway, let's talk, well read, about Athena and Minerva. Personally, I prefer Minerva over Athena for various reasons which I will explain later. For now, let's go over the Birth of Minerva/Athena. If you've read my Zeus/Jupiter post, you probably remember me mentioning this and giving a summarization of what happened. So, Zeus/Jupiter was told a prophecy that the second child he had with Metis would be more powerful and would overthrow him like how Zeus/Jupiter overthrew his father. Because Zeus/Jupiter doesn't really listen prophesies until the consequences face him, he goes and has sex with Metis. Of course, she gets pregnant because she had sex with a god, and Zeus gets super paranoid. Like, really freaking paranoid. So paranoid that he straight-up eats Metis to make sure she couldn't give birth. But since Metis was a Titan, she survived and gave birth to Athena/Minerva inside of Zeus/Jupiter and made armor for her daughter. Somehow this only gave Zeus a headache, so he lets Hephaestus/Vulcan bash open his head. Some accounts say that he used his hammer, while others state that he used a stone from a river. Either work, so just go with what you like. Anyway, Athena/Minerva proceeded to come it of Zeus/Jupiters head, fully grown and fully armored.

   So Athena/Minerva obviously had a rather unique birth, but thankfully she took more after her mother. Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom first and foremost, but she is also the goddess of medicine, commerce, and crafts. Minerva is the Roman goddess and reins over all of the domains previously mentioned, with the addition of being the goddess of war. Only Athena has the shield Aegis, but I'd bet that the Romans gave Minerva a cool shield too. They also probably gave her a sword.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Hades and Pluto

    Hello you lovely readers! Today we're talking about on of my favorite gods, Hades/Pluto! Most people know about him from the Disney movie Hercules, but some of you may not even know who this guy is. So, let's start off with a general overview of the God.

    Hades/Pluto is one out of three 'King' Gods with his brothers, Zeus/Jupiter and Poseidon/Neptune. He's the ruler of the underworld, aka where you go when you die, and rules over the dead. Note that I said 'Rules'. He is not death, nor does he judge the dead or provide transport to the dead. Those fall under other God's territories. At any rate, he is married to Persephone/Proserpina, goddess of nature (Later on, after marrying Hades/Pluto she also becomes the Goddess of curses). Oh and how could I forget his guard, the three-headed monster dog Cerberus? Hades/Pluto just seems like a really cool dude now.

    Unfortunately, poor Hades/Pluto often gets the short end of the stick in myths and is often portrayed as an antagonist ir secondary charcter. One myth that gives him a very important, and not evil role, is the myth of Orpheus. Sure, it's definately a tragedy, but it gives Hades/Pluto a good role.

    You may have noticed that I put the Greek gods and Roman gods as interchangeable with each other. There's a reason for that. You see, since Roman Myths are heavily influenced by Greek myths, most Roman myths tend to be the same except for the names. That is why I make the names interchangable

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Zeus and Jupiter - The Affairs!

Heya!  Since you've found this blog, I'm just going to assume you like Mythology. It'd be kind of.. weird if you didn't and you still found this. Either way, Welcome to Greek and Roman Myths - The Contrasts and Similairities! While there is a whole lot to cover, and I do mean a lot, we should probably get the easy things out of the way.

So then, let's start off this blog with one of the greatest known Greek gods and his Roman Counterpart; Zeus and Jupiter. The 'King' or 'Ruler' of the Twelve Olympians (Fourteen if we're counting Persephone and Hades-) who is most well known for being able to create thunderbolts and storms. But honestly that's pretty much all that you hear about him, and in my opinion it's probably a good idea to not let kids know what Zeus/Jupiter did. To put it simply, he had a lot of affairs. A lot, and most weren't consensual on the woman's part. This also meant that. Zeus/Jupiter had a whole lot of children. Most of the Twelve Olympians were his kids, and all of them have some form of blood relation to him.

Now then, it's time to put Zeus' sins into light. Or rather, let's see how many kids, lovers, and affairs he had. Zeus wasn't always married to Hera, believe it or not. In fact, his first wife was Metis who was a Titan of Wisdom, Crafts, and skill. He'd been told that the second child Metis bared for him would be more powerful than him, so he turned her into a fly and swallowed her. I'll try to talk more about her in Athena/Minerva's post. Then he got with Themis and she gave birth to the Hours and the Fates. After a while he hooked up with Mnemosyne and she bore the Muses. Then a few months before he married Hera, he spent a night with Leto and had Apollo and Artemis. Even after he married Hera, he still consorted with other gods and mortals. Since he had so many affairs, I'll have to just list and give a summary of the people he got with and their kids.

Io - Acolyte of Hera and Mother of Epaphus and Keroessa. Was turned into a bull and forced to wander the world until Zeus turned her back into a human so she could give birth to his children. The ancestor of Hercules.

Semele - Mortal and Mother of Dionysus. She actually had known that she was having Zeus' child, but Hera instilled doubt in her. Semele proceeded to ask Zeus to show her his true form, and after some very weak protests and warnings he did. Since Mortals can't look at humans, she ended up dying and Zeus being, well Zeus, he proceeded to sew Dionysus' fetal body into his bicep. Weird stuff, man.

Europa - Queen of Crete and Mother of the King of Minos. As per usual, Zeus fell in love with her beauty and decided that he was gonna get with her. He turned into a bull, most accounts say that the bull was tan and white, and mixed in with her father's flock of cows. Europa got on the bulls back and he took her across the ocean before revealing his true form and made her the queen of Crete.

Ganymede - A hero from Troy that Zeus made the cup-bearer of the gods. Ganymede was considered the most beautiful of humanity and was kidnapped by Zeus in the form of an Eagle. He was eventually turned into the constellation Aquarius by Hera.

Callisto - A nymph who was part of Artemis' hunters. Since she was with Artemis, she was not allowed to have sex with men. Still, Jupiter/Zeus wanted a roll in the hay and transformed into Artemis, seduced Callisto, and got her pregnant. She was expelled from Artemis' group and was cursed by Hera, turning her into a bear. Just as she was about to be killed by her son, she became Ursa Major.

Dione - A titan of beauty who was the Mother of Aphrodite. There aren't that many records on her, so we can't really say what happened between her and Zeus.

Nemesis - The Greek goddess of retribution and vengeance. She didn't really want to copulate with Zeus, so she turned into a swan to avoid him. Zeus, being the creepy man he is, proceeded to also turn into a swan and mated with her. She laid an egg and eventually it hatched into Helen of Troy.

Thaleia - Sometimes depicted as a water nymph and child of Zeus. She actually did love Zeus, but she rightfully feared Hera's wrath and odd curses so she asked if she could hide underground. She gave birth to the twin gods of Geysers and Hot Springs.

Alkmene- Wife of Amphitryon who was a general of Thebes and son of the king of Thebes. She is the mother of Hercules, who is considered the greatest Greek hero. We don't really know if Zeus forced himself or if it was constentul.

Danae - Mother of Perseus, who slew Medusa. Her father was told a prophesy that his grandchild could kill him, so he locked up his only child in a tower. Zeus was watching her the entire time, so he transformed into some golden rain and got her pregnant. Her father didn't want to kill either of them directly, so he locked Dane and Perseus into a chest and threw them into the sea. They survived.

And this is only the tip of the iceberg. In roman Myths Jupiter also did these acts, but I simply just put Zeus instead of Zeus/Jupiter. Either way, these are some really unfaithful dudes.