Blessed Aphrodite, thank you

Aphrodite was a Goddess of immense authority and universal significance for the ancient Hellenic people. She was one of the most widely worshipped deities in antiquity and was venerated in many different cults all around the Mediterranean.

Aphrodite enjoyed a broad geographic sphere of influence across the ancient civilized world, from the island of Cyprus in the east to the island of Sicily in the west; and she was especially honored in the harbors of great cities, such as Athens, Corinth, Naukratis, and Syracuse.

Aphrodite was evident in the daily lives of the ancient Hellenes. She was a major influence on how they negotiated their erotic and nuptial relationships, how they enhanced their physical appearance, and on how they traveled the sea.

The ancient Hellenes knew Her by many names, traits, and narratives. Aphrodite’s influence extends over the intermingled realms of sky, land, and sea. She is a Goddess of love who is not afraid to enter the battlefield and a Goddess of adornment who is the first to appear totally nude. She is also a Goddess born of the sea who emerges into the open sky.

I recently realized that I don't pay enough attention to Her. Perhaps it is because I am in a loving, nurturing relationship and have been so for over a decade; I really don't have a reason. Yesterday's post, though, brought with it a longing to sacrifice to Aphrodite and I did so today. It was a rite of gratitude for what She has provided me with in my life. Today I wanted to give a little homage to Her by sharing some beautiful ancient texts to praise Her.

Blessed are you, Aphrodite! And thank you for all!

 

Apuleius, The Golden Ass 10. 30
"After them a third girl entered, her beauty visibly unsurpassed. Her charming, ambrosia-like complexion intimated that she represented the earlier Aphrodite when that goddess was still a maiden. She vaunted her unblemished beauty by appearing naked and unclothed except for a thin silken garment veiling her entrancing lower parts. An inquisitive gust of air would at one moment with quite lubricous affection blow this garment aside, so that when wafted away it revealed her virgin bloom; at another moment it would wantonly breathe directly upon it, clinging tightly and vividly outlining the pleasurable prospect of her lower limbs.

The goddess's appearance offered contrasting colours to the eye, for her body was dazzling white, intimating her descent from heaven and her robe was dark blue, denoting her emergence from the sea.

[...] The flutes with their many stops were now rendering in sweet harmony melodies in the Lydian mode. As they affectingly softened the hearts of onlookers, Aphrodite still more affectingly began to gently stir herself; with gradual, lingering steps, restrained swaying of the hips, and slow inclination of the head she began to advance, her refined movements matching the soft wounds of the flutes. Occasionally her eyes alone would dance, as at one moment she gently lowered her lids, and at another imperiously signalled with threatening glances."

Sappho, Hymn to Aphrodite
"Iridescent-throned Aphrodite, deathless Child of Zeus, wile-weaver, I now implore you, Don't--I beg you, Lady--with pains and torments Crush down my spirit,

But before if ever you've heard my pleadings Then return, as once when you left your father's Golden house; you yoked to your shining car your Wing-whirring sparrows;

Skimming down the paths of the sky's bright ether On they brought you over the earth's black bosom, Swiftly--then you stood with a sudden brilliance, Goddess, before me;

Deathless face alight with your smile, you asked me What I suffered, who was my cause of anguish, What would ease the pain of my frantic mind, and Why had I called you

To my side: "And whom should Persuasion summon Here, to soothe the sting of your passion this time? Who is now abusing you, Sappho? Who is Treating you cruelly?

Now she runs away, but she'll soon pursue you; Gifts she now rejects--soon enough she'll give them; Now she doesn't love you, but soon her heart will Burn, though unwilling."

Come to me once more, and abate my torment; Take the bitter care from my mind, and give me All I long for; Lady, in all my battles Fight as my comrade."

Euripides, Hippolytus
"O Love, Love, that from the eyes diffusest soft desire, bringing
on the souls of those, whom thou dost camp against, sweet grace, O
never in evil mood appear to me, nor out of time and tune approach!
Nor fire nor meteor hurls a mightier bolt than Aphrodite's shaft shot
by the hands of Love, the child of Zeus."

• Friday, November 25, 2016
  ancient Hellenic culture Aphrodite Apuleius Euripides personal Sappho

On the validity of sources

Rob Buckley, who is a wonderful human being and whose comments I always adore reading on my posts (even if he disagrees or sets me straight on something) has left me another comment, this time on the valentine's day post about Eros. I wanted to reply to that, as well as get some more attention for it because what he has to say is well worth the read. Let me post the part of his comment I would like to address today:

"It's good that you provide sources for all the quotes, too, since rather than provide a blanket 'this is what myth said' statement about Eros, it allows your readers to determine for themselves which quotes are the most trustworthy! I know in Hellenism that people place varying degrees of reliability on myth, some disregarding almost altogether as just stories, others (like me) regarding them as important illuminations of the gods, albeit one's that need considerable scrutiny.

Personally, I worry about the use of later, particularly AD sources but even tragedian and post-tragedian sources for myths. There's a worry tendency (one the later Greeks themselves were prone to) to synthesise everything together to create one story, regardless of when the original stories were written, who wrote them and so on. Indeed, people now seem to think that if a story is

1) Old

2) Written about the gods

That makes it a myth and necessarily a descriptor of the gods!

So with Nonnus, who lived in Egypt in either the 4th or 5th century AD, was a Christian (although he may have only converted to Christianity while he was writing The Dionysiaca) is very unreliable as a source. Indeed, HJ Rose says the Dionysiaca is "interesting as the longest and most elaborate example we have of Greek myths in their final stage of degeneracy," but cautions that "anyone who uses Nonnos as a handbook to any sort of normal and genuinely classical mythology will be grievously misled".

Equally, Apuleius was a Roman writer and although there is definitely a story involving Psyche and Eros attested to from as early as the 4th century BC in Greek art, the version in the Golden Ass is the first literary version we have and obviously involves Cupid and Psyche, not Eros and Psyche, and probably isn't in any sense the same as the the story of Eros and Psyche. Pausanias, of course, was a Greek travel writer of the 2nd century AD and while he's very useful in some senses, particularly in terms of what he records on his travels of ritual and worship, he also tends to get things wrong a lot about myths.

Personally, I usually prefer to look to Gantz's Early Greek Myths first, since that tells us who said what and when, rather than trying to synthesise everything into an equally valid whole. [...]"

I always, always, always try to source my quotes. There are very few things I find more frustrating than finding a quote, running it through Google to find the source because it isn't provided and coming up with repeats of the unsourced quote. It happens sometimes, especially when the words are common. Besides the frustration, though, sourcing allows my readers to destinguish if the quote is of value to them. I try to include at least the century in which the author was alive, but I sometims forget to do that. A quick Wiki search, though, and you should be able to establish it easily.

I have spoken before about selecting practices based on the time period you choose to reconstruct. The reign of the Hellenes lasted for roughly 650 years. During that time, several major changes took place within the culture and religion of these people. Trying to reconstruct all these practices is not only impractical but also impossible. As a Hellenic Recon, it therefor becomes important to find out which classical, Hellenic, period speaks to us. this will also have areflection on which sources we view as reliable for the mythology we choose to accept as true, and if we even consider mythology as true at all. Depending on the time period we reconstruct, we either find more value in mythology or philosophy, we accept the plays as (true) stories of our Gods, we accept Roman sources, or Egyptian-Hellenic ones, and so on. This is a personal choice and because i can't make it for you, I try to provide a little bit of everything.

When I write mythology posts, I often try to build a story. I leave out terribly conflicting views and pick the most commonly used version where possible. Hellenic myth is a fractured mess, to be honest, and every single myth has alternate versions. When I'm doing an actual portrait of a God, Goddess, or myth, I include all those alternates, but for a valentine's day post meant as a kind of summary, I don't. Often the variations lie in parenthood and the little details, but sometimes there are entire alternate endings where people do or do not die, do or do not find love, or do or do not kill someone. I always try to add a 'most often [this version of the myth] was retold'-disclaimer, indicating there were most certainly others.

Establishing reliability in myth is hard. Personally, I take no issue with authors like Nonnus, who were alive when Hellenic mythology was on its last legs. He is not the most Traditional of sources (and yes, I should have definitely added a little disclaimer with the name), but he builds upon older sources; Apollonius Rhodius (3rd B.C.), in his Argonautica [3.28], for example, makes mention of them. Gantz's Early Greek Myths is a fantastic reference work and serious student of Hellenic myth should engage with. It's impossible to read it for entertainment, I feel (but others will disagree, I'm sure), but you will never be lost in Hellenic mythology again.

The rest of Rob's post is about Eros himself, and can be read here. I very much recommend you do so, as it's valuable.

There will alwas be problematic Hellenic, Roman, and Egyptian sources. We're lucky to have enough written sources that have survived to label anything as 'problematic', so I try to concious of the problem parts, but don't avoid them. Even if one of these ancient writers stretched the common tale, his or her version was still enjoyed by some, if not many, and it reflected thoughts of the time--even if it did not match the overall mythology to a tee. It's good to remain sceptical of the acient writers, and to always question a source, but if a problematic source makes you feel closer to the Theoi, then who am I to judge? Thank you, Rob, for another interesting comment!

• Tuesday, February 18, 2014
  ancient Hellenic culture Apuleius bloggers I admire Hellenic Reconstruction Hellenismos 101 Mythology 101 Nonnus Pausanias requested post Roman

PBP: Cupid's earlier incarnation: Eros

On this Valentine's day, it only seems fair that I give due to Eros (Ερως), God of love and sexual desire, eternal companion of Aphrodite and either Her son or self-born into the cosmos before anyone else, as love is the binding and creative force that makes up the universe. Pausanias, for example, in his 'Description of Greece' writes:

"Most men consider Love [Eros] to be the youngest of the gods and the son of Aphrodite. But Olen the Lycian, who composed the oldest Greek hymns, says in a hymn to Eileithyia that she was the mother of Love. Later than Olen, both Pamphos and Orpheus wrote hexameter verse, and composed poems on Love, in order that they might be among those sung by the Lycomidae to accompany the ritual. I read them after conversation with a Torchbearer. Of these things I will make no further mention. Hesiod, or he who wrote the Theogony fathered on Hesiod, writes, I know, that Chaos was born first, and after Chaos, Earth, Tartarus and Love." [9.27.2] 

Oppianos of Apamea was a third century AD author whose surviving work focusses solely on hunting. The Halieutica is made up of four parts of which the fourth seems incomplete. In this fourth part, however, we find a beautiful description of love as it affects Gods, mankind, and animals alike:

"O cruel Love [Eros], crafty of counsel, of all gods fairest to behold with the eyes, of all most grievous when thou dost vex the heart with unforeseen assault, entering the soul like a storm-wind and breathing the bitter menace of fire, with hurricane of anguish and untempered pain. The shedding of tears is for thee a sweet delight and to hear the deep-wrung groan; to inflame a burning redness in the heart and to blight and wither the bloom upon the cheek, to make the eyes hollow and to wrest all the mind to madness. Many thou dost even roll to doom, even those whom thou meetest in wild and wintry sort, fraught with frenzy; for in such festivals is thy delight. 

Whether then thou art the eldest-born among blessed gods and from unsmiling Chaos didst arise with fierce and flaming torch and didst first establish the ordinances of wedded love and order the rites of the marriage-bed; or whether Aphrodite of many counsels, queen of Paphos, bare thee a winged god on soaring pinions, be thou gracious and to us come gentle and with fair weather and in tempered measure; for none refuses the work of Love. 

Everywhere thou bearest sway and everywhere thou art desired at once and greatly feared; and happy is he who cherishes and guards in his breast a temperate Love. Nor doth the race of Heaven suffice thee nor the breed of men; thou rejectest not the wild beasts nor all the brood of the barren air; under the coverts of the nether deep dost thou descend and even among the finny tribes thou dost array thy darkling shafts; that naught may be left ignorant of thy compelling power, not even the fish that swims beneath the waters."

While Cupid is better know nowadays, Eros has much of the same attributes--including His quiver of arrow. Nonnus of Panopolis was a Greek epic poet, wrote in his Dionysiaca about this quiver of arrows, of which twelve were dedicated and meant for Zeus:

"Now Eros the wise, the self-taught, the manager of the ages, knocked at the gloomy gates of primeval Chaos. He took out the divine quiver, in which were kept apart twelve firefed arrows for Zeus, when his desire turned towards one or another of mortal women for a bride. Right on the back of his quiver of lovebolts he had engraved with letters of gold a sentence in verse for each:

"The first takes Cronion to the bend of heifer-fronted Io.”

"The second shall Europa woo for the bold bull abducting.”

"The third to Pluto’s bridal brings the lord of high Olympos.”

"The fourth shall call to Danaë a golden bed-companion.”

"The fifth shall offer Semele a burning fiery wedding.”

"The sixth shall bring the King of heaven an eagle to Aigina.”

"The seventh joins Antiope to a pretended Satyr.”

"The eighth, a swan endowed with mind shall bring to naked Leda.”

"The ninth a noble stallion gives unto Perrhaibid Dia.”

"The tenth three fullmoon nights of bliss gives to Alcmena’s bedmate.”

"The eleventh goes to carry out Laodameia’s bridal.”

"The twelfth draws to Olympias her thrice-encircling husband.”" [110]

Eros has let loose many an arrow on the Gods of Olympos; whenever a God falls for a mortal--or even another God--Eros is involved. He, however, had his own love story as well, described beautifully and lavishly by Apuleius, in 'The Golden Ass', which I will not post here for length. I can summarize the tale, however. 

Psyche (Psykhê, Ψυχη) was once a mortal princess who was so beautiful, men stated worshipping her instead of Aphrodite. Aphrodite commanded Eros make Psyche fall in love with the most hideous of men, but Eros couldn't; He fell in love with her Himself, and carried her away to His secret palace. He commanded Psyche to never look at His face, and hid His true identity, but of course, Psyche eventually was tricked into looking at the God. Quickly, He abandoned her. In her despair, she searched throughout the world for her lost love, and eventually came into the service of Aphrodite. The goddess commanded her perform a series of difficult labours which culminated in a journey to the Underworld. In the end Psykhe was reunited with Eros and the couple wed in a ceremony attended by the Gods.

I hope you have a beautiful Valentine's day with a loved one, friends, or family, and that Eros may bless you richly in life. Like the God of love itself, I wish you love as well, and hope his arrows touch your life, and guide your heart.

Image source: theoi.com

• Friday, February 14, 2014
  Aphrodite Apuleius Eros Mythology 101 Nonnus Oppianos