On the gatekeepers of Olympos

 I have a fascination with Gods we don't know much about, with Gods whose mythology is limited to  a single snippet that sparks the imagination enough to form a complete image of the deity in question, regardless. Two of those deities for me are Aniketos (Ανικητος) and Alexiares (Αλεξιαρης).

Aniketo and Alexiares are the sons of Hebe and Hēraklēs. Together, They guard the Gates of Olympos and presided over the defense of fortified towns and citadels. Their names mean respectively 'the unconquerable one' and 'he who wards off war'.  Little else is known about them. In fact, pseudo-Apollodorus, in his 'Bibliotheca' is the only one who makes sure mention of Them as far as I am aware:

"[Herakles] achieved immortality, and when Hera's enmity changed to friendship, he married her daughter Hebe, who bore him sons Alexiares and Aniketos. [2. 158]

Modern scholars mention Aniketos and Alexiares were probably the same as two boy-God sons of Herakles worshipped in Thebes (and Rhodes). I question this. I believe there might be confusion between Alexiares and Aniketos, and the Alkaidai--the sons/children of Alkaios/Alkeides. Herakles, from 'Hera' and kleos, 'glory', was born as Alkaios (Ἀλκαῖος) or Alkeidēs (Ἀλκείδης).

Due to Hera's jealousy this young Herakles was stricken mad and killed the five sons he had by his wife Megara. When he was released from his madness by a hellebore potion--provided by Antikyreus--and realized what he had done, he cried out in anguish, and went on a long journey to cleanse himself of the miasma caused by these killings. This resulted in his Twelve Labours. It also resulted in his name change. These sons were entombed and later worshipped with sacrifices as heroes at Thebes, under the name Alkaidai. 

There is a very strenuous link that encourages the idea that at least Aniketos had a child--and grandchild. Clement of Alexandria, in his 'Recognitions' writes in a list of Zeus' adulteries:

"Hippodamia, the daughter of Anicetus (Aniketos)." [Chapter XXI]

No other mention is made of this Hippodameia, or her parentage, or whether or not she bore Zeus any offspring but, if her father Aniketos is the same as the son of Herakles and Hebe, it means that Zeus consorted with his own great-granddaughter, whose grandparents Hebe and Herakles were also his children. This makes the whole family tree very complicated, indeed, but not very surprising.

Aniketo and Alexiares are perfect examples of the tapestry that makes up the Hellenic pantheon. The major displays woven into it are undoubtedly of Zeus and Hera, of Their brothers and sisters, of their parents and well-known children like Apollon and Artemis. Aniketo and Alexiares are the embodiment of my firm belief that it's impossible to practice Hellenism and only worship one or a handful of Gods. One must invest in at least the pursuit of knowledge about every single God or Goddess in our pantheon to fully grasp the parts you thought you already understood. The fringes of the tapestry are just as colorful as the main display--and without these minor mythologies, the tapestry would not only be plain, it would be threadbare.

• Monday, December 7, 2020
  Alexiares Aniketos Hellenismos 101 Mythology 101 olympus personal

Introducing some of Hellenic mythology's lesser known Gods

Everyone knows and loves the Twelve Olympians. Heck, everyone knows and loves all Olympians. there are many Theoi, however, that often get overlooked. Today I wanted to introduce a few of the lesser known Theoi to you, if you haven't heard of Them already. I am a firm believer that all the Theoi deserve praise and knowledge of them is the first step towards that goal.


Nereus
Nereus (Νηρευς) is the old man of the sea, and the God of the sea's rich bounty of fish. He dwells in the depths of the Aegean with his wife Doris and his fifty Nereid daughters. Like many of the other sea-Gods Nereus is a master shapeshifter, and speaks with prophetic voice. He is considered a very wise and very old God and the ancient Hellenes depicted him as an old man with a wooden staff accompanied by a host of his Nereid daughters. Sometimes he was depicted with a coiling fish tail in place of legs.

Khionê
Khionê (χιών) is one of the nymphs, a daughter of Boreas, God of the north-wind, and Oreithyia, the lady of mountain gales. Khione is the Goddess of snow. Her name bears a direct link with the ancient Hellenic word for snow: khiôn.

The Astra Planeti
The Astra Planeti (Αστηρ Πλανητων) are the Gods of the five wandering stars or planets. They are named Phainon (the planet of Kronos), Phaethon (the planet of Zeus), Pyroeis (the planet of Ares), Eosphoros (the planet of Aphrodite), and Stilbon (the planet of Hermes). In Hellenic vase painting they were depicted as youths diving into the river Okeanos with the rising of Helios.

Hebe
Hebe (Ἡβη) is the Goddess of youth and the cupbearer of the Gods who served ambrosia at the heavenly feasts. She is also the patron Goddess of the young bride and an attendant of Aphrodite. Her father is Zeus and her mother is Hera. Her husband is the hero Hēraklēs.

Aniketos and Alexiares
Aniketos (Ανικητος) and Alexiares (Αλεξιαρης) are the sons of Hebe and Hēraklēs. Together, They guard the Gates of Olympos and presided over the defence of fortified towns and citadels. Their names mean respectively 'the unconquerable one' and 'he who wards off war'.

Phobos and Deimos
Phobos (Φοβος) is the God of fear, dread and terror, and his twin-brother Deimos (Δειμος) the god of panic fear, flight and battlefield rout. They are sons of Ares and Aphrodite and often accompany their father into battle, driving His chariot and spreading fear in Their wake. As sons of Aphrodite the twins also represented the fear of loss. In classical art the two were usually represented as youths. Phobos was sometimes depicted with a lion or lion-like head.

Iapetos
Iapetos (Ιαπετος) is one of the Titan Gods, sons of Ouranos and Gaia. He is one of four brothers who hold heaven and earth apart. Iapetos Himself was no doubt the pillar of the west, a position which was later and more obviously held by His son Atlas. He may have been regarded as the Titan God of the mortal life-span and His sons Prometheus and Epimetheus were represented as the creators of mankind and other mortal creatures.

Harmonia
Harmonia (Ἁρμονια) is the Goddess of harmony and concord. As a daughter of Aphrodite, she presides over marital harmony, soothing strife and discord; as a daughter of Ares, she represented harmonious action in war. Late Hellenic and Roman writers ascribe cosmic harmony to Her. Her counterpart is Eris.

• Monday, May 4, 2020
  Alexiares ancient Hellenic culture Aniketos Aphrodite Ares astronomy Deimos Harmonia Hebe Hēraklēs Iapetos Introduction series Khionê Mythology 101 Nereus Phobos

On the gatekeepers of Olympos

I have a fascination with Gods we don't know much about, with Gods whose mythology is limited to  a single snippet that sparks the imagination enough to form a complete image of the deity in question, regardless. Two of those deities for me are Aniketos (Ανικητος) and Alexiares (Αλεξιαρης).

Aniketo and Alexiares are the sons of Hebe and Hēraklēs. Together, They guard the Gates of Olympos and presided over the defense of fortified towns and citadels. Their names mean respectively 'the unconquerable one' and 'he who wards off war'.  Little else is known about them. In fact, pseudo-Apollodorus, in his 'Bibliotheca' is the only one who makes sure mention of Them as far as I am aware:

"[Herakles] achieved immortality, and when Hera's enmity changed to friendship, he married her daughter Hebe, who bore him sons Alexiares and Aniketos. [2. 158]

Modern scholars mention Aniketos and Alexiares were probably the same as two boy-God sons of Herakles worshipped in Thebes (and Rhodes). I question this. I believe there might be confusion between Alexiares and Aniketos, and the Alkaidai--the sons/children of Alkaios/Alkeides. Herakles, from 'Hera' and kleos, 'glory', was born as Alkaios (Ἀλκαῖος) or Alkeidēs (Ἀλκείδης).

Due to Hera's jealousy this young Herakles was stricken mad and killed the five sons he had by his wife Megara. When he was released from his madness by a hellebore potion--provided by Antikyreus--and realized what he had done, he cried out in anguish, and went on a long journey to cleanse himself of the miasma caused by these killings. This resulted in his Twelve Labours. It also resulted in his name change. These sons were entombed and later worshipped with sacrifices as heroes at Thebes, under the name Alkaidai.

There is a very strenuous link that encourages the idea that at least Aniketos had a child--and grandchild. Clement of Alexandria, in his 'Recognitions' writes in a list of Zeus' adulteries:

"Hippodamia, the daughter of Anicetus (Aniketos)." [Chapter XXI]

No other mention is made of this Hippodameia, or her parentage, or whether or not she bore Zeus any offspring but, if her father Aniketos is the same as the son of Herakles and Hebe, it means that Zeus consorted with his own great-granddaughter, whose grandparents Hebe and Herakles were also his children. This makes the whole family tree very complicated, indeed, but not very surprising.

Aniketo and Alexiares are perfect examples of the tapestry that makes up the Hellenic pantheon. The major displays woven into it are undoubtedly of Zeus and Hera, of Their brothers and sisters, of their parents and well-known children like Apollon and Artemis. Aniketo and Alexiares are the embodiment of my firm belief that it's impossible to practice Hellenism and only worship one or a handful of Gods. One must invest in at least the pursuit of knowledge about every single God or Goddess in our pantheon to fully grasp the parts you thought you already understood. The fringes of the tapestry are just as colorful as the main display--and without these minor mythologies, the tapestry would not only be plain, it would be threadbare.

• Friday, April 7, 2017
  Alexiares Aniketos Hellenismos 101 Mythology 101 olympus personal

Introducing some of Hellenic mythology's lesser known Gods

Everyone knows and loves the Twelve Olympians. Heck, everyone knows and loves all Olympians. there are many Theoi, however, that often get overlooked. Today I wanted to introduce a few of the lesser known Theoi to you, if you haven't heard of Them already. I am a firm believer that all the Theoi deserve praise and knowledge of them is the first step towards that goal.


Nereus
Nereus (Νηρευς) is the old man of the sea, and the God of the sea's rich bounty of fish. He dwells in the depths of the Aegean with his wife Doris and his fifty Nereid daughters. Like many of the other sea-Gods Nereus is a master shapeshifter, and speaks with prophetic voice. He is considered a very wise and very old God and the ancient Hellenes depicted him as an old man with a wooden staff accompanied by a host of his Nereid daughters. Sometimes he was depicted with a coiling fish tail in place of legs.

Khionê
Khionê (χιών) is one of the nymphs, a daughter of Boreas, God of the north-wind, and Oreithyia, the lady of mountain gales. Khione is the Goddess of snow. Her name bears a direct link with the ancient Hellenic word for snow: khiôn.

The Astra Planeti
The Astra Planeti (Αστηρ Πλανητων) are the Gods of the five wandering stars or planets. They are named Phainon (the planet of Kronos), Phaethon (the planet of Zeus), Pyroeis (the planet of Ares), Eosphoros (the planet of Aphrodite), and Stilbon (the planet of Hermes). In Hellenic vase painting they were depicted as youths diving into the river Okeanos with the rising of Helios.

Hebe
Hebe (Ἡβη) is the Goddess of youth and the cupbearer of the Gods who served ambrosia at the heavenly feasts. She is also the patron Goddess of the young bride and an attendant of Aphrodite. Her father is Zeus and her mother is Hera. Her husband is the hero Hēraklēs.

Aniketos and Alexiares
Aniketos (Ανικητος) and Alexiares (Αλεξιαρης) are the sons of Hebe and Hēraklēs. Together, They guard the Gates of Olympos and presided over the defence of fortified towns and citadels. Their names mean respectively 'the unconquerable one' and 'he who wards off war'.

Phobos and Deimos
Phobos (Φοβος) is the God of fear, dread and terror, and his twin-brother Deimos (Δειμος) the god of panic fear, flight and battlefield rout. They are sons of Ares and Aphrodite and often accompany their father into battle, driving His chariot and spreading fear in Their wake. As sons of Aphrodite the twins also represented the fear of loss. In classical art the two were usually represented as youths. Phobos was sometimes depicted with a lion or lion-like head.

Iapetos
Iapetos (Ιαπετος) is one of the Titan Gods, sons of Ouranos and Gaia. He is one of four brothers who hold heaven and earth apart. Iapetos Himself was no doubt the pillar of the west, a position which was later and more obviously held by His son Atlas. He may have been regarded as the Titan God of the mortal life-span and His sons Prometheus and Epimetheus were represented as the creators of mankind and other mortal creatures.

Harmonia
Harmonia (Ἁρμονια) is the Goddess of harmony and concord. As a daughter of Aphrodite, she presides over marital harmony, soothing strife and discord; as a daughter of Ares, she represented harmonious action in war. Late Hellenic and Roman writers ascribe cosmic harmony to Her. Her counterpart is Eris.

• Thursday, September 24, 2015
  Alexiares ancient Hellenic culture Aniketos Aphrodite Ares astronomy Deimos Harmonia Hebe Hēraklēs Iapetos Introduction series Khionê Mythology 101 Nereus Phobos