On the cycle of day and night

 The beautiful thing about our religion is that not only do we have a clear way to honor the Theoi, and incentive to do so, we also get to live in a world governed completely by the Theoi. Hellenismos is special in that regards because it also largely matches up with science. To me--and many others with me--that is something very comforting. Now, as you are probably all aware, I live in a world full of Gods and Nymphs; for example, I take great strength in greeting Eos each morning as she paves the way for Helios, but there are many Gods who are, or who control, the cycle of day and night, and I would like to write out this cycle, if I may.

For all things geneological, I will always turn to Hesiod first. In his 'Theogony', he speaks of the birth of the Dawn, Sun and Moon:

"And Theia was subject in love to Hyperion and bare great Helios, and clear Selene, and Eos." [177]

Diodorus Siculus, in his 'Library of History' shares this world vieuw and moves a (pseudo-scientific) step beyond it:

"Of Hyperion we are told that he was the first to understand, by diligent attention and observation, the movement of both the sun and the moon and the other stars, and the seasons as well, in that they are caused by these bodies, and to make these facts known to others; and that for this reason he was called the father of these bodies, since he had begotten, so to speak, the speculation about them and their nature." [5.67.1]

Hyperion (Ὑπερίων), meaning 'The High-One', was a Titanes God born from Gaea and Ouranos. Theia and Euryphaessa (as mentioned in, for example, the Homeric Hymns) are generally regarded as the same Deathless woman: 'Theia' is the Hellenic word for 'Goddess', so it was likely 'Theia Euryphaessa' translated to 'Goddess Euryphaessa'. This means that the family tree is as follows:

     Khaos ------------ Gaea

         |         |

   Ouranos --- |

                       Hyperion --- Euryphaessa

                   |

                  Eos - Helios - Selene

The three of them--put into motion by Hyperion--form the basic cycle of these planets associated with specific times of day. Yet, the ancient Hellenes saw Night and Day as quite seperate from the heavenly bodies that are associated with them today. I have spoken before of the Protogenoi, and how They--contrary to the Olympians--are actually of the world; They, together, form the tapistry of earth and life. They literally make up our universe. As such, the further towards the Big Bang you go, the more abstract the Theoi become; They take on large, mostly unformed, chunks of the material that makes up our world and the further away you go from Khaos, the more specialized the Gods become--as well as numerous.

As such, starting this explination with Hyperion is actually incorrect--I should have started with Khaos itself, but if not there, than at least with Nyx, who is the deep Night, and Her daughter Hêmera (Ἡμερα), who is the Protogenos of the Day and the sister-wife of Aither (Light). In Hellenic mythology, Nyx draws a veil of darkness between the shining atmosphere of the aither and the lower air of earth (aer) at set times in the day, bringing night to man. In the morning, Hêmera removes this veil, and exposed the Earth once more to Light. As Hesiod writes in the Theogony:

"[At the ends of the earth, where lie the roots of earth, sea, Tartaros :] There stands the awful home of murky Nyx wrapped in dark clouds. In front of it [Atlas] the son of Iapetos stands immovably upholding the wide heaven upon his head and unwearying hands, where Nyx and Hemera draw near and greet one another as they pass the great threshold of bronze: and while the one is about to go down into the house, the other comes out at the door. And the house never holds them both within; but always one is without the house passing over the earth, while the other stays at home and waits until the time for her journeying come; and the one holds all-seeing light (phaos) for them on earth." [744]

Once we reach AD times, Hêmera is often identified with Eos, but in centuries prior, she was very much Her own Goddess, and Hêmera was as well. Hómēros, for example, in the 'Odysseia' writes: 

"The ship [of Odysseus] in due course left the waters of the river Okeanos and reached the waves of the spacious sea and the island of Aiaia; it is there [Okeanos] that Eos the early-comer (Erigeneia) has her dwelling place and her dancing grounds, and the sun himself has his risings. We came came in; we beached our vessel upon the sands and disembarked upon the sea-shore; there we fell fast asleep, awaiting ethereal Dawn." [12.1]

So, to recapitulate: Nyx and Hêmera continually work to both create and dissolve darkness on Earth; Selene moves with Nyx, and Helios with Hêmera, as heralded by Eos. In this recap, it is quite obvious we are yet missing a speciffic time of the day: dusk, or the evening. This was in the domain of the Nymphs, in this case the Hesperides (Ἑσπεριδες), who--depending of source--are either the daughters of Nyx or Atlas. Diodorus Siculus, in the 1st Century BC., wrote in his 'Library of History': 

"Now Hesperos (Evening) begat a daughter named Hesperis (Evening), who he gave in marriage to his brother [Atlas] and after whom the land was given the name Hesperitis; and Atlas begat by her seven daughters, who were named after their father Atlantides, and after their mother Hesperides." [4. 26. 2]

Yet, older sources agree that the Hesperides were born from Nyx; Hesiod, for example:

"And Nyx (Night) bare hateful Moros (Doom) and black Ker (Violent Death) and Thanatos (Death), and she bare Hypnos (Sleep) and the tribe of Oneiroi (Dreams). And again the goddess murky Nyx, though she lay with none, bare Momos (Blame) and painful Oizys (Misery), and the Hesperides who guard the rich, golden apples and the trees bearing fruit beyond glorious Okeanos."

Of course, there are more Gods--motly Titans--who are in some way connected to the cycle of night and day, but these are the most important ones and it's quite a hand full already. So perhaps next time when you awake, you will think of Hêmera, and rosy Eos, and when the sun is high in the sky, you will think of Him as well, and when you look upon the Moon before going to bed, you will give honors to Selene and Nyx, who holds Her and Gaea in Her embrace. Our Gods are everywhere; you only have to be aware of Them to notice.

• Thursday, September 23, 2021
  Diodorus Siculus Eos genealogy Hēlios Hêmera Hesiod Hómēros Hyperion Mythology 101 Nyx Odysseia Selene Theogony

Question Collections post 19

I get a lot of questions from readers, and most of the time, the answers are fairly short. When I feel the question or the reply would be valuable to others as well, I make a post with a collection of them and post them in one go. Today is one of those posts, even when the answers weren't short. Because they could sort of be grouped together as 'Hellenic Gods 101'.

"Can you tell me where can I find a list of old Greek Gods and/or a brief detail regarding them. Kind of a family tree. I found a number of them of internet but not sure which one is correct."

The funny part about genealogies of the Gods is that they are all equally 'correct', as long as they stem from ancient sources. Genealogies of the Gods were all written down by humans about the Gods, and there are a variety of them. Which one is entirely true is unknown, and perhaps none of them are--or all of them. The most famous account of how the Gods came to be comes from Hesiod. His 'Theogogy' is a complete recounting of the story, starting with Khaos:

"Verily at the first Chaos came to be, but next wide-bosomed Earth, the ever-sure foundations of all  the deathless ones who hold the peaks of snowy Olympus, and dim Tartarus in the depth of the wide-pathed Earth, and Eros, fairest among the deathless gods, who unnerves the limbs and overcomes the mind and wise counsels of all gods and all men within them. From Chaos came forth Erebus and black Night; but of Night were born Aether and Day, whom she conceived and bare from union in love with Erebus. And Earth first bare starry Heaven, equal to herself, to cover her on every side, and to be an ever-sure abiding-place for the blessed gods. And she brought forth long Hills, graceful haunts of the goddess-Nymphs who dwell amongst the glens of the hills. She bare also the fruitless deep with his raging swell, Pontus, without sweet union of love. But afterwards she lay with Heaven and bare deep-swirling Oceanus, Coeus and Crius and Hyperion and Iapetus, Theia and Rhea, Themis and Mnemosyne and gold-crowned Phoebe and lovely Tethys. After them was born Cronos the wily, youngest and most terrible of her children, and he hated his lusty sire." [ll. 116-138]

He goes on to list a great many deities, cutting out a rough shape of the cosmos while doing so. There are many variations of this family tree, and in the ancient writings, there are also creation stories that range beyond this basic framework. In the Orphic Theogonies, for example, the universe does not start with Khaos, but with Thesis and Hydros, reaching back to Hómēros:

"Originally there was Hydros (Water), he [Orpheus] says, and Mud, from which Ge (the Earth) solidified: he posits these two as first principles, water and earth . . . The one before the two [Thesis], however, he leaves unexpressed, his very silence being an intimation of its ineffable nature. The third principle after the two was engendered by these--Ge (Earth) and Hydros (Water), that is--and was a Serpent (Drakon) with extra heads growing upon it of a bull and a lion, and a god’s countenance in the middle; it had wings upon its shoulders, and its name was Khronos (Unaging Time) and also Herakles. United with it was Ananke (Inevitability, Compulsion) , being of the same nature, or Adrastea, incorporeal, her arms extended throughout the universe and touching its extremities. I think this stands for the third principle, occuping the place of essence, only he [Orpheus] made it bisexual [as Phanes] to symbolize the universal generative cause." [Theogonies Fragment 54] 

 

So I can't point you to one account. At best, I can tell you that many of the ancient writers had their own thoughts on the subject, undoubtedly inspired by the community they lived in, the region they lived in, and the circles they moved in.

 

 

"Is it true that Greek and Roman gods are/were the same, and that only their names are different?"

 

I am distinctly not of this opinion, no. Personally, I think that the Hellenic and Roman deities share the same (Hellenic) base, but that the Roman deities differ from the Hellenic ones. Some not so much, other a great deal. In general, I regard the Roman Gods as epithets of the Hellenic ones, with a few notable exceptions--especially where there is no viable counterpart in Hellenic mythology. Why? Well, for one  the Theoi came first. The Roman empire came up about a thousand years after the rise of the Theoi.  Hellenic mythology featured the Hellenes, their stories and their cities, while Roman mythology focussed on the Roman people, their stories and their cities. The Hellenes had the Iliad as a major introductory and poetic text to introduce the Theoi, and the Romans had their own text: the Aeneid, a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans.

Differences in the two societies also reflected on the Gods and Their importance. For one, the Hellenes valued  physical prowess, but it were poets and scholars who were held in the highest regards. For Rome, it were the warriors who received the most attention. This reflected in the Gods of both people as well: the Roman Gods resemble the Hellenic Gods, but they are stricter, harder and possess more bloodlust. At the same time, they were also pruder when it came to excesses of any kind. Ares, temperamental God of War, has his Roman counterpart in Mars, yet, Mars is a much stabler God, who is also in charge of agriculture and fertility. Bacchus, the Roman equivalent of Dionysos, lost all ecstatic rites that made the worship of Dionysos so famous.

Another major example of the differences between the two religions was that the Romans had no set shape for their Gods: they looked different to every individual. They were not revered for Their beauty, like their Hellenic counterparts. The Hellenes knew exactly how their Gods looked. They were often described as having muscular bodies (for the men), beautiful eyes and hair (both men and women), and delicate ankles (women). They were role-models to strive towards. Not so for the Romans.

The Roman culture also had a thing for the afterlife. Where the Hellenes focussed on this life and saw death as an inevitable conclusion of it, the Romans struggled to do good deeds and live good lives to be rewarded in the afterlife. They felt that, if they had been good enough, brave enough, warrior-like enough, they would take their place with the Gods after death. The Hellenes worried more about the judgement of the Theoi while they were still alive and knew they would go to the Underworld afterwards. Of course, things changed in that regard already: the mysteries brought the idea of awareness after reincarnation, and parts of the Underworld fell into disuse.

It seems to me, that the Romans tried becoming Gods their whole lives, while the Hellenes accepted their lot as mortals, and respected the Theoi as all-powerful and all-ruling. A frame of mind like that shows in Gods that get neatly packaged, made non-threatening and can be rivalled by mortals. Yet, because of the warrior mentality of the Romans, the Gods that became more predictable and less formed, also became harder. They still punished socially unacceptable behaviour, however, and myths from the Hellenic period got retold from the viewpoint of a warrior's society.

• Tuesday, May 18, 2021
  ancient Hellenic culture genealogy Hellenismos 101 personal Question Collections Post requested post Roman

On the cycle of day and night

The beautiful thing about our religion is that not only do we have a clear way to honor the Theoi, and incentive to do so, we also get to live in a world governed completely by the Theoi. Hellenismos is special in that regards because it also largely matches up with science. To me--and many others with me--that is something very comforting. Now, as you are probably all aware, I live in a world full of Gods and Nymphs; for example, I take great strength in greeting Eos each morning as she paves the way for Helios, but there are many Gods who are, or who control, the cycle of day and night, and I would like to write out this cycle, if I may.

For all things geneological, I will always turn to Hesiod first. In his 'Theogony', he speaks of the birth of the Dawn, Sun and Moon:

"And Theia was subject in love to Hyperion and bare great Helios, and clear Selene, and Eos." [177]

Diodorus Siculus, in his 'Library of History' shares this world vieuw and moves a (pseudo-scientific) step beyond it:

"Of Hyperion we are told that he was the first to understand, by diligent attention and observation, the movement of both the sun and the moon and the other stars, and the seasons as well, in that they are caused by these bodies, and to make these facts known to others; and that for this reason he was called the father of these bodies, since he had begotten, so to speak, the speculation about them and their nature." [5.67.1]

Hyperion (Ὑπερίων), meaning 'The High-One', was a Titanes God born from Gaea and Ouranos. Theia and Euryphaessa (as mentioned in, for example, the Homeric Hymns) are generally regarded as the same Deathless woman: 'Theia' is the Hellenic word for 'Goddess', so it was likely 'Theia Euryphaessa' translated to 'Goddess Euryphaessa'. This means that the family tree is as follows:

     Khaos ------------ Gaea

         |         |

   Ouranos --- |

                       Hyperion --- Euryphaessa

                   |

                  Eos - Helios - Selene

The three of them--put into motion by Hyperion--form the basic cycle of these planets associated with specific times of day. Yet, the ancient Hellenes saw Night and Day as quite seperate from the heavenly bodies that are associated with them today. I have spoken before of the Protogenoi, and how They--contrary to the Olympians--are actually of the world; They, together, form the tapistry of earth and life. They literally make up our universe. As such, the further towards the Big Bang you go, the more abstract the Theoi become; They take on large, mostly unformed, chunks of the material that makes up our world and the further away you go from Khaos, the more specialized the Gods become--as well as numerous.

As such, starting this explination with Hyperion is actually incorrect--I should have started with Khaos itself, but if not there, than at least with Nyx, who is the deep Night, and Her daughter Hêmera (Ἡμερα), who is the Protogenos of the Day and the sister-wife of Aither (Light). In Hellenic mythology, Nyx draws a veil of darkness between the shining atmosphere of the aither and the lower air of earth (aer) at set times in the day, bringing night to man. In the morning, Hêmera removes this veil, and exposed the Earth once more to Light. As Hesiod writes in the Theogony:

"[At the ends of the earth, where lie the roots of earth, sea, Tartaros :] There stands the awful home of murky Nyx wrapped in dark clouds. In front of it [Atlas] the son of Iapetos stands immovably upholding the wide heaven upon his head and unwearying hands, where Nyx and Hemera draw near and greet one another as they pass the great threshold of bronze: and while the one is about to go down into the house, the other comes out at the door. And the house never holds them both within; but always one is without the house passing over the earth, while the other stays at home and waits until the time for her journeying come; and the one holds all-seeing light (phaos) for them on earth." [744]

Once we reach AD times, Hêmera is often identified with Eos, but in centuries prior, she was very much Her own Goddess, and Hêmera was as well. Hómēros, for example, in the 'Odysseia' writes: 

"The ship [of Odysseus] in due course left the waters of the river Okeanos and reached the waves of the spacious sea and the island of Aiaia; it is there [Okeanos] that Eos the early-comer (Erigeneia) has her dwelling place and her dancing grounds, and the sun himself has his risings. We came came in; we beached our vessel upon the sands and disembarked upon the sea-shore; there we fell fast asleep, awaiting ethereal Dawn." [12.1]

So, to recapitulate: Nyx and Hêmera continually work to both create and dissolve darkness on Earth; Selene moves with Nyx, and Helios with Hêmera, as heralded by Eos. In this recap, it is quite obvious we are yet missing a speciffic time of the day: dusk, or the evening. This was in the domain of the Nymphs, in this case the Hesperides (Ἑσπεριδες), who--depending of source--are either the daughters of Nyx or Atlas. Diodorus Siculus, in the 1st Century BC., wrote in his 'Library of History': 

"Now Hesperos (Evening) begat a daughter named Hesperis (Evening), who he gave in marriage to his brother [Atlas] and after whom the land was given the name Hesperitis; and Atlas begat by her seven daughters, who were named after their father Atlantides, and after their mother Hesperides." [4. 26. 2]

Yet, older sources agree that the Hesperides were born from Nyx; Hesiod, for example:

"And Nyx (Night) bare hateful Moros (Doom) and black Ker (Violent Death) and Thanatos (Death), and she bare Hypnos (Sleep) and the tribe of Oneiroi (Dreams). And again the goddess murky Nyx, though she lay with none, bare Momos (Blame) and painful Oizys (Misery), and the Hesperides who guard the rich, golden apples and the trees bearing fruit beyond glorious Okeanos."

Of course, there are more Gods--motly Titans--who are in some way connected to the cycle of night and day, but these are the most important ones and it's quite a hand full already. So perhaps next time when you awake, you will think of Hêmera, and rosy Eos, and when the sun is high in the sky, you will think of Him as well, and when you look upon the Moon before going to bed, you will give honors to Selene and Nyx, who holds Her and Gaea in Her embrace. Our Gods are everywhere; you only have to be aware of Them to notice.

• Wednesday, July 15, 2020
  Diodorus Siculus Eos genealogy Hēlios Hêmera Hesiod Hómēros Hyperion Mythology 101 Nyx Odysseia Selene Theogony

Introducing Dikē, Theia of justice

Administering justice is often placed in the sphere of influence of either Athena of Nemesis, and both Goddesses do, indeed, have connections to it. There is one Theia, however, who is the personification of the phenomenon of justice. Dikē (Δικη) is the Goddess of justice placed upon mortals, fair judgements and the rights established by custom and law. According to Hesiod, She was born from a joining of Zeus and Themis, the Titan Goddess of divine law, custom and prophecy. She has five sisters, Eunomia (Ευνομια, Goddess of good order and lawful conduct) and Eirênê (Ειρηνη, Goddess of peace and spring), with whom Dikē forms the Horai (Ὡραι), the Goddesses of the seasons and the natural portions of time; and the Moirai, the Goddesses of fate. Their names are Kloto (Κλωθώ, spinner), Atropos (Ἄτροπος, unturnable), and Lakhesis (Λάχεσις, Alotter).

Dikē was born to Zeus and Themis in a coupling before He took Hera as his wife and queen. Hellenic didactic poet Aratos (Ἄρατος) regarded Her as Astraia (Αστραια), who is either a sepatarte Theia to Dikē, or as an epithet of Her who took to the earth, where the Golden Age ruled. This age, long before the age of heroes, was a just age, and there were no wars. there was no famine. No man coveted possessions of another. Much of this was attributed to Dikē, who kept the inhabitants of this age ethically strong and morally fair. When those of the Golden Age passed, they were morally pure, and became daímōns, guarding over those of later ages. Dikē remained on earth for the Silver Age, but those of the silver age were more corruptible. She wished for the race of the Golden Age, and more and more, the silver race became diseased with lawlessness and strife. Dike gathered the beings of the silver race and told them the following:

"Behold what manner of race the fathers of the Golden Age left behind them! Far meaner than themselves! But ye will breed a viler progeny! Verily wars and cruel bloodshed shall be unto men and grievous woe shall be laid upon them." (96)

With that, she left earth for the stars, where she watches over the earth as the constellation Virgo. Aratos goes on to say that Dikē hated the bronze age men, 'who were the first to forge the sword of the highwayman, and the first to eat of the flesh of the ploughing-ox'. Other writers like playwright Aeschylus in his 'Papyri Oxyrhynchus', Hellenic rhetorician Demosthenes in 'Against Aristogeiton', within the Orphic Hymns, and by Hesiod himself in Works and Days place Dikē next to the throne of mighty Zeus, Her father, where she can tell Zeus of those whom break her teachings.

Returning to Dikē's genealogy: her family tree would look as follows:

It should be noted that Aratos' Astraia was born not to Zeus and Themis, but to Astraios (Ἀστραῖος) and Eos (Ἠώς). Eos's family line is quite clear, as She is said to have Hyperion and Euryphaessa as Her parents. Astraisos' family line is less clear, with options ranging from Krios and Eurybia to Tartaros and Gaea. As such, it is far more logical to place Her into the sky after Her departure from earth than at Zeus's feet.

Aeschylus wrote of the fucntion and tasks of Dikē the best, I feel, although the final lines are mostly lost to us:

"Dike: And he [Zeus] has his seat upon his father's very throne, having overcome Kronos by means of Justice (Dike); for Zeus can now boast, since his father began the quarrel, that he paid him back with Justice on his side. That is why Zeus has done me great honour, because after being attacked he paid him back, not unjustly. I sit in glory by the throne of Zeus, and he of his own will sends me to those he favours; I mean Zeus, who has sent me to this land with kind intent. And you shall see for yourselves whether my words are empty.
Chorus: How then shall we rightly address you?
Dike: By the name of Dike, her who is greatly revered in heaven.
Chorus: And of what privilege are you the mistress?
Dike: As for the just, I reward their life of justice.
Chorus: (...) this ordinance among mortals.
Dike: But in the reckless I implant a chastened mind.
Chorus: By Persuasion's [Peitho] spells, or in virtue of your might?
Dike: I write their offences on the tablet of Zeus.
Chorus: And at what season do you unroll the list of crimes?
Dike: When the proper time brings the fulfilment of what is theirs by right.
Chorus: Eagerly, I think, should the host welcome you.
Dike: Much would they gain, should they receive me kindly." (part of frag. 282)

Dikē is regarded as a great Goddess whom no one mortal man or woman would defy openly. We all claim our actions are justified (even when they are not so in the eyes of others), and in an argument, even opposites call upon Her, because they are sure She will favor them. Both the oppressors in a war, as the oppressed will say Dikē is on their side, and even thieves and murderers are sure that what they did was just. We had to do it, in order to feed our families, protect our spouse, etc. All are right to call upon Dikē--whose Roman equivalent Iustice became Lady Justice--but it is up to Zeus to pass the final judgement. At that time, He will send Nemesis to strike down the unjust party.

While Lady Justice is often depicted with scales, a sword, and a blindfold, Dikē was depicted solely with scales. The sword is attributed to the Roman Iustice, who combined attributes of both Dikē, and Her mother Themis. As such, Iustice administered justice to all, not just mortals. The sword may have been inherited from Nemesis. The blindfold came much later, in the fifteenth century, to indicate that justice is or should be placed upon one objectively, without fear or favour, regardless of identity, money, power, or weakness; blind justice and impartiality. In ancient times, Dikē was sometimes depicted with a cornucopia, to indicate that those who follow Her teachings are rewarded richly, something echoed in Hesiod's writing:

"There is a noise when Dike is being dragged in the way where those who devour bribes and give sentence with crooked judgements, take her. And she, wrapped in mist, follows to the city and haunts of the people, weeping, and bringing mischief to men, even to such as have driven her forth in that they did not deal straightly with her. But they who give straight judgements to strangers and to the men of the land, and go not aside from what is just, their city flourishes, and the people prosper in it: Eirene, the nurse of children, is abroad in their land, and all-seeing Zeus never decrees cruel war against them. Neither famine nor disaster ever haunt men who do true justice; but light-heartedly they tend the fields which are all their care. The earth bears them victual in plenty, and on the mountains the oak bears acorns upon the top and bees in the midst. Their woolly sheep are laden with fleeces; their women bear children like their parents. They flourish continually with good things, and do not travel on ships, for the grain-giving earth bears them fruit." (220 - 237)

All mortals do well to honor Dikē. She can be petitioned for guidance in times when moral and ethical questions weigh heavily upon you. Dikē can not be bribed, however, and unlike us mortals, She knows exactly when an action is just. Petition Her for counsel, but never expect Her to lie to Zeus about your actions. If you must request something as extreme as that, you can be sure Nemesis will not be on your side.

• Saturday, April 18, 2020
  Dikē genealogy Introduction series Myth of the Five Ages Mythology 101 Nemesis

The Beginner's guide to Hellenismos: Generations of Gods

Today's topic for the 'Beginner's guide to Hellenismos' is geneology, and specifically the generations of Gods and how we relate to them in our modern worship. The ancient Hellenic philosophers and mythographers were in agreement that the Gods created the universe--or are the universe itself. There are many variations of the divine family tree, and in the ancient writings, there are also creation stories that range beyond this basic framework. When Hesiod wrote his Theogony, he was adament about the sequence the Gods appeared from Khaos. Within the nothingness, Khaos appeared, then Gaia as the earth Herself, the Tartaros and Eros. The Gods and Godesses who rule over the cycle of night and day followed after and then, slowly, the earth itself took shape. The pre-Olypic and Olympic deities came into being. the universe as we know it was born.

Roughly divided, all our Gods and heroes (who were often raised up to become Gods in their own right) fit into five generational categories. These are the:

• Protogenoi
• Uranides
• Titanes
• Olympic Gods
• Heroes/deified mortals

The Protogenoi are the Gods from which the universe is made. They are Gods like Khaos, Gaia, Ouranos, and Nyx. In general, these Theoi are more abstract and less defined than, say, the Olympians. They are cruder, more powerful Gods who, together, form the tapistry of earth and life. We simply could not live without Them as They are the air we breath, the earth we walk on, the water we drink and the death that eventually lays us to rest. and yet, neither we, nor the ancient Hellenes revered them often. They are distant and hav very little to do with the individual's lifecycle.

The Uranides formed the world created by the Protogenoi into the world we know now. They are the children of the Protogenoi and They are in charge of  more specific domains. They give us the constellations, intellect, light, memory, navigation, and many other things without which we simply would not be able to live the life we live. Like the Protogenoi, these Gods make up the tapestry of the universe and did not recieve much direct worship in state festivals.

The Titanes are Gods with whom we are more familiar. They are Helios, Hekate, Lêtô, Selênê and many others. This is the first generation of Gods we are more familiar with by name than function--and also the first generation whose names don't always directly relate to the domains they are familiar with, although we know them through mythology. Lêtô, for example, is identified as the Goddess of motherhood and protectress of the young while we mostly know her as mother of Apollon and Artemis. These Gods often times--but not always--recieved individual worship and were sometimes included in state festivals. They feature in mythology and possess well-rounded personalities that we know (unlike, say, the Protogenoi).

We all know the Olympic Gods. They are the Gods we worship most. They are also the sole 'generation' of Gods who span two generations: they are the children of the Uranides (like the Titanes), and the children of the Olympians. Zeus and His brothers and sisters for example, were born from Rhea and Kronos (both Uranides), but Their children (Hēphaistos, Artemis, Apollon, etc.) are also counted amongst the Olympians. In general, if a Gods is said to reside on Mount Olympos, They are known as an Olympic God. Alternatively--or perhaps erroneously--the Olpmpic Gods are interpreted to be solely the Dodekatheon, the Twelve Olympians who ruled over humanity and the Gods from the top of the mountain. The most canonical version of the Dodekatheon is: Aphrodite, Apollon, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Hēphaistos, Hera, Hermes, Hestia, Poseidon, and Zeus. Theoi who were held in high regard in a certain city-state would have held the thrones, according to the people who lived in that city-state, and many different Gods have been counted amongst the Dodekatheon over the centuries. Needless to say, most (state) worship in ancient times focussed on the Olympians.

The heroes of Hellenismos recieve(d) quite a bit of worship. Many heroes were local ones, but we have all heard of Hēraklēs, of Perseus and Theseus, of Atalanta and Odysseus. These heroes represent the most powerful, most virtuoes of all humans and teach us the qualities the Theoi enjoy seeing in us. Many of these heroes were fathered (and sometimes mothered) by the divine and they are thus part of the divine line. In fact, the heroes can be counted amongst the Olympians.

While the main body of our worship focusses on the Olympians, the Olympians did not come to power in a vacuum. The Old Gods presided over the building blocks of the previous generation, like the Olypmians preside over the building blocks of all three. Looking over the list, it's easy to trace the domains of the Olympians back to their predecessors--or even the God or Goddess They hold sway over directly. While the Olympian generation of Gods rule our daily lives, They operate in the framework of the Titans, the Uranides and the Protogenoi. These intricate lines built a web that is of vital importance to see in order to understand not only Hellenic mythology but also the Gods themselves.

Take, for example, light. Light allows us to see, the sun that provides it gives us heat and makes it possible to grow crops. Without light, there would be no life, so let's trace the concept of light through these generations:

• Protogenoi: In Ancient Hellenic literature, Ouranos is the son and husband of Gaia. In some versions of geneology, Aether, God of Light is his father. He Himself is God of the sky.
• Uranides: Hyperion is the God of light, father of Helios, son of Ouranos. Theia, Helios' mother, incidentally, is the Goddess of sight. It is interesting to note that the ancient Hellenes believed that light came from the eyes, so that the eyes allowed us to see what's in front of us. Sight.
• Titanes: Helios is generally considered the God of the sun--either as the sun itself or as the driver of the chariot that guides the sun across the sky dome every day. Hyperion is His father.
• Olympians: by Hellenistic times Apollon had become closely connected with the sun in cult. and in his epithet 'Phoibos' He became the shining one, the God to thank for the light.
• Heroes: there are many heroes who were involved with the sun in some way to remind us of this fact. Take Phaëton, son of Helios, who attempted to drive his father's chariot but lost control and set the earth on fire.

Save for Apollon (but He is included because He was/is so often conflated with Helios), all of these Gods are related. Their domains are related. Their tasks become more focussed, specialized, specific, but all their domains are on the same tree--the same subject: light and all it does. It's also interesting to note that in some versions of genealogy, the Horae (seasons) are said to be the children of Helios.

We see this tracing of domains through the generations a lot in Hellenic mythology, if not in family line then in a system where abstract concepts are passed down to younger Gods in a more specialized version. For example, Uranides Iapetos (God of the mortal life-span) and His son Menoitios (God of violent anger and rash action), Titanes Pallas (God of warcraft and the Hellenic campaign season of late spring and early summer), and Olympians Ares and Athena were all involved with warfare, although the act became more and more defined through the generations.

When we pray for something in a specific domain, we often focus on the Olympians who rule over it. Logical, as They seem to have taken over these tasks from the older generations. Yet, there is value in looking beyond the Olympians on ocassion, if only to understand better how these domains influence our lives. This is why it is worth the effort investing time in genealogy.

• Wednesday, June 24, 2015
  beginners guide genealogy Mythology 101 Olympic Gods Protogenoi Titanes

Question Collections post 19

I get a lot of questions from readers, and most of the time, the answers are fairly short. When I feel the question or the reply would be valuable to others as well, I make a post with a collection of them and post them in one go. Today is one of those posts, even when the answers weren't short. Because they could sort of be grouped together as 'Hellenic Gods 101'.

"Can you tell me where can I find a list of old Greek Gods and/or a brief detail regarding them. Kind of a family tree. I found a number of them of internet but not sure which one is correct."

The funny part about genealogies of the Gods is that they are all equally 'correct', as long as they stem from ancient sources. Genealogies of the Gods were all written down by humans about the Gods, and there are a variety of them. Which one is entirely true is unknown, and perhaps none of them are--or all of them. The most famous account of how the Gods came to be comes from Hesiod. His 'Theogogy' is a complete recounting of the story, starting with Khaos:

"Verily at the first Chaos came to be, but next wide-bosomed Earth, the ever-sure foundations of all  the deathless ones who hold the peaks of snowy Olympus, and dim Tartarus in the depth of the wide-pathed Earth, and Eros, fairest among the deathless gods, who unnerves the limbs and overcomes the mind and wise counsels of all gods and all men within them. From Chaos came forth Erebus and black Night; but of Night were born Aether and Day, whom she conceived and bare from union in love with Erebus. And Earth first bare starry Heaven, equal to herself, to cover her on every side, and to be an ever-sure abiding-place for the blessed gods. And she brought forth long Hills, graceful haunts of the goddess-Nymphs who dwell amongst the glens of the hills. She bare also the fruitless deep with his raging swell, Pontus, without sweet union of love. But afterwards she lay with Heaven and bare deep-swirling Oceanus, Coeus and Crius and Hyperion and Iapetus, Theia and Rhea, Themis and Mnemosyne and gold-crowned Phoebe and lovely Tethys. After them was born Cronos the wily, youngest and most terrible of her children, and he hated his lusty sire." [ll. 116-138]

He goes on to list a great many deities, cutting out a rough shape of the cosmos while doing so. There are many variations of this family tree, and in the ancient writings, there are also creation stories that range beyond this basic framework. In the Orphic Theogonies, for example, the universe does not start with Khaos, but with Thesis and Hydros, reaching back to Hómēros:

"Originally there was Hydros (Water), he [Orpheus] says, and Mud, from which Ge (the Earth) solidified: he posits these two as first principles, water and earth . . . The one before the two [Thesis], however, he leaves unexpressed, his very silence being an intimation of its ineffable nature. The third principle after the two was engendered by these--Ge (Earth) and Hydros (Water), that is--and was a Serpent (Drakon) with extra heads growing upon it of a bull and a lion, and a god’s countenance in the middle; it had wings upon its shoulders, and its name was Khronos (Unaging Time) and also Herakles. United with it was Ananke (Inevitability, Compulsion) , being of the same nature, or Adrastea, incorporeal, her arms extended throughout the universe and touching its extremities. I think this stands for the third principle, occuping the place of essence, only he [Orpheus] made it bisexual [as Phanes] to symbolize the universal generative cause." [Theogonies Fragment 54] 

 

So I can't point you to one account. At best, I can tell you that many of the ancient writers had their own thoughts on the subject, undoubtedly inspired by the community they lived in, the region they lived in, and the circles they moved in.

 

 

"Is it true that Greek and Roman gods are/were the same, and that only their names are different?"

 

I am distinctly not of this opinion, no. Personally, I think that the Hellenic and Roman deities share the same (Hellenic) base, but that the Roman deities differ from the Hellenic ones. Some not so much, other a great deal. In general, I regard the Roman Gods as epithets of the Hellenic ones, with a few notable exceptions--especially where there is no viable counterpart in Hellenic mythology. Why? Well, for one  the Theoi came first. The Roman empire came up about a thousand years after the rise of the Theoi.  Hellenic mythology featured the Hellenes, their stories and their cities, while Roman mythology focussed on the Roman people, their stories and their cities. The Hellenes had the Iliad as a major introductory and poetic text to introduce the Theoi, and the Romans had their own text: the Aeneid, a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans.

Differences in the two societies also reflected on the Gods and Their importance. For one, the Hellenes valued  physical prowess, but it were poets and scholars who were held in the highest regards. For Rome, it were the warriors who received the most attention. This reflected in the Gods of both people as well: the Roman Gods resemble the Hellenic Gods, but they are stricter, harder and possess more bloodlust. At the same time, they were also pruder when it came to excesses of any kind. Ares, temperamental God of War, has his Roman counterpart in Mars, yet, Mars is a much stabler God, who is also in charge of agriculture and fertility. Bacchus, the Roman equivalent of Dionysos, lost all ecstatic rites that made the worship of Dionysos so famous.

Another major example of the differences between the two religions was that the Romans had no set shape for their Gods: they looked different to every individual. They were not revered for Their beauty, like their Hellenic counterparts. The Hellenes knew exactly how their Gods looked. They were often described as having muscular bodies (for the men), beautiful eyes and hair (both men and women), and delicate ankles (women). They were role-models to strive towards. Not so for the Romans.

The Roman culture also had a thing for the afterlife. Where the Hellenes focussed on this life and saw death as an inevitable conclusion of it, the Romans struggled to do good deeds and live good lives to be rewarded in the afterlife. They felt that, if they had been good enough, brave enough, warrior-like enough, they would take their place with the Gods after death. The Hellenes worried more about the judgement of the Theoi while they were still alive and knew they would go to the Underworld afterwards. Of course, things changed in that regard already: the mysteries brought the idea of awareness after reincarnation, and parts of the Underworld fell into disuse.

It seems to me, that the Romans tried becoming Gods their whole lives, while the Hellenes accepted their lot as mortals, and respected the Theoi as all-powerful and all-ruling. A frame of mind like that shows in Gods that get neatly packaged, made non-threatening and can be rivalled by mortals. Yet, because of the warrior mentality of the Romans, the Gods that became more predictable and less formed, also became harder. They still punished socially unacceptable behaviour, however, and myths from the Hellenic period got retold from the viewpoint of a warrior's society.

• Saturday, May 30, 2015
  ancient Hellenic culture genealogy Hellenismos 101 personal Question Collections Post requested post Roman

Introducing: Eos and Astraios

I was asked to recount the story of Eos and Astraios so it's brought to the attention of a wider audience. Of course, I can do that. No problem. Let's tart with a few basics, though: Eos and Astraios. Eos (Ηως) is the Titanes Goddess of the Dawn, and along with her brother Helios and her sister Selene, She is mainly responsible for the cycles of day and night. For all things geneological, I will always turn to Hesiod first. In his 'Theogony', he speaks of the birth of the Dawn, Sun and Moon:

"And Theia was subject in love to Hyperion and bare great Helios, and clear Selene, and Eos." [177]

 

Hyperion (Ὑπερίων), meaning 'The High-One', was a Titanes God born from Gaea and Ouranos. Theia and Euryphaessa (as mentioned in, for example, the Homeric Hymns) are generally regarded as the same Deathless woman: 'Theia' is the Hellenic word for 'Goddess', so it was likely 'Theia Euryphaessa' translated to 'Goddess Euryphaessa'. This means that the family tree is as follows:

     Khaos ------------ Gaea

         |         |

Ouranos --- |

                       Hyperion --- Euryphaessa

                   |

                  Eos - Helios - Selene

Astraios (Αστραιος) is the Titanes God of the stars and planets, and the art of astrology. He was the son of son of Krios and Eurybia, making His family tree as follows:

                                                 Khaos ---------- Gaea

    |         |       |

   Ouranos --- | --- Pontus
                     |             | 

                       Krios --- Eurybia

                   |

                  Astraios

Together, Eos and Astraios are the parents of the seasonal Winds and the Stars. Hesiod, in his 'Theogony' reveals this birth. There is one cardinal direction missing: East, represented by Euros (Ευρος). This is because the ancient Hellenes at the time of Hesiod were aware of only three seasons: Spring, Summer and Winter, and only these had deities presiding over them--in this case Zephyros, Notos and Boreas, respectively.

"And Eos bare to Astraeus [Astraios] the strong-hearted winds, brightening Zephyrus, and Boreas,

headlong in his course, and Notus, -- a goddess mating in love with a god. And after these Erigenia bare the star Heosphorus (Dawn-bringer), and the gleaming Astra (Stars) with which Heaven (Ouranos) is crowned." [ll. 378-382]

 

As with many of the Titans, their love story is simply assumed as truth; connections made to form the universe. They made up important parts of it, however, and had strong children, who--in turn--fathered and birthed strong children as well.

• Tuesday, June 17, 2014
  Astraios Eos genealogy Hesiod Introduction series Mythology 101 Theogony

The creation of the universe and mankind

I've gotten another reader question, this time concerning the nature of the Gods and how They came to be. The question, in full, was: "Do you believe the gods created us? How do you believe they came to be?"

I have explained before how I differentiate between mythology and philosophy, where I feel myth was inspired by the Theoi Themselves, while philosophy was created by humans who saw society and drew conclusions from it. These conclusions often included a religious aspect because society was religious (even though the ancient Hellenes didn't have a word for 'religion'), but at its core, they deal not with religious matters. They deal with the influence of religion on humanity and society. As such, philosophy--of which I am a great fan, by the way--will never be the foundation of my faith, because religion and philosophy have a different goal; one to guide mankind in the way of the Theoi, the other to understand mankind. There is nothing religious about the latter.

The ancient Hellenic philosophers and mythographers were pretty much in agreement, however, that the Gods, indeed, created us. How, exactly, that happened varies greatly. Let's do a bit of cosmology first, however. The most famous account of how everything came to be comes from Hesiod. His 'Theogogy' is a complete recounting of the story, starting with Khaos:

"Verily at the first Chaos came to be, but next wide-bosomed Earth, the ever-sure foundations of all  the deathless ones who hold the peaks of snowy Olympus, and dim Tartarus in the depth of the wide-pathed Earth, and Eros, fairest among the deathless gods, who unnerves the limbs and overcomes the mind and wise counsels of all gods and all men within them. From Chaos came forth Erebus and black Night; but of Night were born Aether and Day, whom she conceived and bare from union in love with Erebus. And Earth first bare starry Heaven, equal to herself, to cover her on every side, and to be an ever-sure abiding-place for the blessed gods. And she brought forth long Hills, graceful haunts of the goddess-Nymphs who dwell amongst the glens of the hills. She bare also the fruitless deep with his raging swell, Pontus, without sweet union of love. But afterwards she lay with Heaven and bare deep-swirling Oceanus, Coeus and Crius and Hyperion and Iapetus, Theia and Rhea, Themis and Mnemosyne and gold-crowned Phoebe and lovely Tethys. After them was born Cronos the wily, youngest and most terrible of her children, and he hated his lusty sire." [ll. 116-138]

He goes on to list a great many deities, cutting out a rough shape of the cosmos while doing so. There are many variations of this family tree, and in the ancient writings, there are also creation stories that range beyond this basic framework. In the Orphic Theogonies, for example, the universe does not start with Khaos, but with Thesis and Hydros, reaching back to Hómēros:

"Originally there was Hydros (Water), he [Orpheus] says, and Mud, from which Ge (the Earth) solidified: he posits these two as first principles, water and earth . . . The one before the two [Thesis], however, he leaves unexpressed, his very silence being an intimation of its ineffable nature. The third principle after the two was engendered by these--Ge (Earth) and Hydros (Water), that is--and was a Serpent (Drakon) with extra heads growing upon it of a bull and a lion, and a god’s countenance in the middle; it had wings upon its shoulders, and its name was Khronos (Unaging Time) and also Herakles. United with it was Ananke (Inevitability, Compulsion) , being of the same nature, or Adrastea, incorporeal, her arms extended throughout the universe and touching its extremities. I think this stands for the third principle, occuping the place of essence, only he [Orpheus] made it bisexual [as Phanes] to symbolize the universal generative cause." [Theogonies Fragment 54]

Or, also from the Theogonies:

"The gods, as they [the Greeks] say, did not exist from the beginning, but each of them was born just as we are born. And this is agreed by them all, Homer saying `Okeanos the genesis of the gods, and mother Tethys [Thesis],’ and Orpheus--who was the original inventor of the gods’ names and recounted their births and said what they have all done, and who enjoys some credit among them as a true theologian, and is generally followed by Homer, above all about the gods--also making their first genesis from water : `Okeanos, who is the genesis of the all.’ For Hydros (Water) was according to him the origin of everything, and from Hydros (the Water) Mud [primordial Gaia] formed, and from the pair of them a living creature was generated with an extra head growing upon it of a lion, and another of a bull, and in the middle of them a god’s countenance; its name was Herakles and Khronos (Time). This Herakles generated a huge egg [which formed the earth, sea and sky]." [Fragment 57]

Obviously, there are many others as well, and which version of mythology you accept as truth is mostly up to you. There are so many versions of the birth of the universe floating around, as well as stories of who sired whom, choosing one really is a gamble.

As for our creation, the most well known is most likely the one where we were created by Prometheus from the mud. It's the start of the story of Pandôra. From Plato's Protagoras we know of this account of how we came to be:

"Once upon a time there were gods only, and no mortal creatures. But when the time came that these also should be created, the gods fashioned them out of earth and fire and various mixtures of both elements in the interior of the earth; and when they were about to bring them into the light of day, they ordered Prometheus and Epimetheus to equip them, and to distribute to them severally their proper qualities. Epimetheus said to Prometheus: "Let me distribute, and do you inspect." This was agreed, and Epimetheus made the distribution. There were some to whom he gave strength without swiftness, while he equipped the weaker with swiftness; some he armed, and others he left unarmed; and devised for the latter some other means of preservation, making some large, and having their size as a protection, and others small, whose nature was to fly in the air or burrow in the ground; this was to be their way of escape. Thus did he compensate them with the view of preventing any race from becoming extinct. And when he had provided against their destruction by one another, he contrived also a means of protecting them against the seasons of heaven; clothing them with close hair and thick skins sufficient to defend them against the winter cold and able to resist the summer heat, so that they might have a natural bed of their own when they wanted to rest; also he furnished them with hoofs and hair and hard and callous skins under their feet. Then he gave them varieties of food-herb of the soil to some, to others fruits of trees, and to others roots, and to some again he gave other animals as food. And some he made to have few young ones, while those who were their prey were very prolific; and in this manner the race was preserved.

 

Thus did Epimetheus, who, not being very wise, forgot that he had distributed among the brute animals all the qualities which he had to give-and when he came to man, who was still unprovided, he was terribly perplexed. Now while he was in this perplexity, Prometheus came to inspect the distribution, and he found that the other animals were suitably furnished, but that man alone was naked and shoeless, and had neither bed nor arms of defence. The appointed hour was approaching when man in his turn was to go forth into the light of day; and Prometheus, not knowing how he could devise his salvation, stole the mechanical arts of Hephaestus and Athene, and fire with them (they could neither have been acquired nor used without fire), and gave them to man. Thus man had the wisdom necessary to the support of life, but political wisdom he had not; for that was in the keeping of Zeus, and the power of Prometheus did not extend to entering into the citadel of heaven, where Zeus dwelt, who moreover had terrible sentinels; but he did enter by stealth into the common workshop of Athene and Hephaestus, in which they used to practise their favourite arts, and carried off Hephaestus' art of working by fire, and also the art of Athene, and gave them to man. And in this way man was supplied with the means of life. But Prometheus is said to have been afterwards prosecuted for theft, owing to the blunder of Epimetheus." [320c - 322a]

In much the same manner, women came to be. According to Hesiod:

"Forthwith he made an evil thing for men as the price of fire; for the very famous Limping God formed of earth the likeness of a shy maiden as the son of Cronos willed. And the goddess bright-eyed Athene girded and clothed her with silvery raiment, and down from her head she spread with her hands a broidered veil, a wonder to see; and she, Pallas Athene, put about her head lovely garlands, flowers of new-grown herbs. Also she put upon her head a crown of gold which the very famous Limping God made himself and worked with his own hands as a favour to Zeus his father. On it was much curious work, wonderful to see; for of the many creatures which the land and sea rear up, he put most upon it, wonderful things, like living beings with voices: and great beauty shone out from it.

 

But when he had made the beautiful evil to be the price for the blessing, he brought her out, delighting in the finery which the bright-eyed daughter of a mighty father had given her, to the place where the other gods and men were. And wonder took hold of the deathless gods and mortal men when they saw that which was sheer guile, not to be withstood by men. For from her is the race of women and female kind: of her is the deadly race and tribe of women who live amongst mortal men to their great trouble, no helpmeets in hateful poverty, but only in wealth." [561 - 612]

Years later, when Zeus would flood the earth, Pyrrha and her husband Deukalion would survive and re-create the human race by throwing pebbles behind themselves as they walked; Deukalion would create the men and Pyrrha the women.

I believe in the theory of the Big Bang, where the universe was in an extremely hot and dense state and began expanding rapidly. After the initial expansion, the universe cooled sufficiently to allow energy to be converted into various subatomic particles, including protons, neutrons, and electrons. [...] Giant clouds of these primordial elements later coalesced through gravity to form stars and galaxies, and the heavier elements were synthesized either within stars or during supernovae (courtesy of Wikipedia, because of ease). I see no issue in overlaying this theory with Heiod's cosmology, however. The Big Bang theory does sound like first there was Khaos, and from that, matter came into being to eventually form the Earth as it is now. So as far as the creation of the universe and the Gods goes, I will go with Hesiod and his explanation, although a variation of his work is also fine by me.

As for how we came to be, I believe in evolution. I don't think we were put on the Earth ready-made by the Gods. That said, the proposal that one type of animal could descend from an animal of another type goes back to some of the first pre-Socratic Hellenic philosophers, such as Anaximander and Empedocles, so it's not an odd frame of mind to have for a Hellenist; even the ancient Hellenes flirted with the idea that at least animal species evolved from one another. I love the myth of Prometheus, but no, that is not how I think we came to be, although I won't rule out that the Gods had a hand in our formation through evolution.

• Monday, April 7, 2014
  Anaximander Empedocles genealogy Hellenismos 101 Hesiod Hómēros Mythology 101 Orpheus Pandôra personal Plato Prometheus requested post

On the cycle of day and night

The beautiful thing about our religion is that not only do we have a clear way to honor the Theoi, and incentive to do so, we also get to live in a world governed completely by the Theoi. Hellenismos is special in that regards because it also largely matches up with science. To me--and many others with me--that is something very comforting. Now, as you are probably all aware, I live in a world full of Gods and Nymphs; for example, I take great strength in greeting Eos each morning as she paves the way for Helios, but there are many Gods who are, or who control, the cycle of day and night, and I would like to write out this cycle, if I may.

For all things geneological, I will always turn to Hesiod first. In his 'Theogony', he speaks of the birth of the Dawn, Sun and Moon:

"And Theia was subject in love to Hyperion and bare great Helios, and clear Selene, and Eos." [177]

Diodorus Siculus, in his 'Library of History' shares this world vieuw and moves a (pseudo-scientific) step beyond it:

"Of Hyperion we are told that he was the first to understand, by diligent attention and observation, the movement of both the sun and the moon and the other stars, and the seasons as well, in that they are caused by these bodies, and to make these facts known to others; and that for this reason he was called the father of these bodies, since he had begotten, so to speak, the speculation about them and their nature." [5.67.1]

Hyperion (Ὑπερίων), meaning 'The High-One', was a Titanes God born from Gaea and Ouranos. Theia and Euryphaessa (as mentioned in, for example, the Homeric Hymns) are generally regarded as the same Deathless woman: 'Theia' is the Hellenic word for 'Goddess', so it was likely 'Theia Euryphaessa' translated to 'Goddess Euryphaessa'. This means that the family tree is as follows:

     Khaos ------------ Gaea

         |         |

   Ouranos --- |

                       Hyperion --- Euryphaessa

                   |

                  Eos - Helios - Selene

The three of them--put into motion by Hyperion--form the basic cycle of these planets associated with specific times of day. Yet, the ancient Hellenes saw Night and Day as quite seperate from the heavenly bodies that are associated with them today. I have spoken before of the Protogenoi, and how They--contrary to the Olympians--are actually of the world; They, together, form the tapistry of earth and life. They literally make up our universe. As such, the further towards the Big Bang you go, the more abstract the Theoi become; They take on large, mostly unformed, chunks of the material that makes up our world and the further away you go from Khaos, the more specialized the Gods become--as well as numerous.

As such, starting this explination with Hyperion is actually incorrect--I should have started with Khaos itself, but if not there, than at least with Nyx, who is the deep Night, and Her daughter Hêmera (Ἡμερα), who is the Protogenos of the Day and the sister-wife of Aither (Light). In Hellenic mythology, Nyx draws a veil of darkness between the shining atmosphere of the aither and the lower air of earth (aer) at set times in the day, bringing night to man. In the morning, Hêmera removes this veil, and exposed the Earth once more to Light. As Hesiod writes in the Theogony:

"[At the ends of the earth, where lie the roots of earth, sea, Tartaros :] There stands the awful home of murky Nyx wrapped in dark clouds. In front of it [Atlas] the son of Iapetos stands immovably upholding the wide heaven upon his head and unwearying hands, where Nyx and Hemera draw near and greet one another as they pass the great threshold of bronze: and while the one is about to go down into the house, the other comes out at the door. And the house never holds them both within; but always one is without the house passing over the earth, while the other stays at home and waits until the time for her journeying come; and the one holds all-seeing light (phaos) for them on earth." [744]

Once we reach AD times, Hêmera is often identified with Eos, but in centuries prior, she was very much Her own Goddess, and Hêmera was as well. Hómēros, for example, in the 'Odysseia' writes: 

"The ship [of Odysseus] in due course left the waters of the river Okeanos and reached the waves of the spacious sea and the island of Aiaia; it is there [Okeanos] that Eos the early-comer (Erigeneia) has her dwelling place and her dancing grounds, and the sun himself has his risings. We came came in; we beached our vessel upon the sands and disembarked upon the sea-shore; there we fell fast asleep, awaiting ethereal Dawn." [12.1]

So, to recapitulate: Nyx and Hêmera continually work to both create and dissolve darkness on Earth; Selene moves with Nyx, and Helios with Hêmera, as heralded by Eos. In this recap, it is quite obvious we are yet missing a speciffic time of the day: dusk, or the evening. This was in the domain of the Nymphs, in this case the Hesperides (Ἑσπεριδες), who--depending of source--are either the daughters of Nyx or Atlas. Diodorus Siculus, in the 1st Century BC., wrote in his 'Library of History': 

"Now Hesperos (Evening) begat a daughter named Hesperis (Evening), who he gave in marriage to his brother [Atlas] and after whom the land was given the name Hesperitis; and Atlas begat by her seven daughters, who were named after their father Atlantides, and after their mother Hesperides." [4. 26. 2]

Yet, older sources agree that the Hesperides were born from Nyx; Hesiod, for example:

"And Nyx (Night) bare hateful Moros (Doom) and black Ker (Violent Death) and Thanatos (Death), and she bare Hypnos (Sleep) and the tribe of Oneiroi (Dreams). And again the goddess murky Nyx, though she lay with none, bare Momos (Blame) and painful Oizys (Misery), and the Hesperides who guard the rich, golden apples and the trees bearing fruit beyond glorious Okeanos."

Of course, there are more Gods--motly Titans--who are in some way connected to the cycle of night and day, but these are the most important ones and it's quite a hand full already. So perhaps next time when you awake, you will think of Hêmera, and rosy Eos, and when the sun is high in the sky, you will think of Him as well, and when you look upon the Moon before going to bed, you will give honors to Selene and Nyx, who holds Her and Gaea in Her embrace. Our Gods are everywhere; you only have to be aware of Them to notice.

• Tuesday, November 26, 2013
  Diodorus Siculus Eos genealogy Hēlios Hêmera Hesiod Hómēros Hyperion Mythology 101 Nyx Odysseia Selene Theogony

On the Old Gods of Hellenismos

When Hesiod wrote his Theogony, he was adament about the sequence the Gods appeared from Khaos. He knew the generations of Gods that came before the Olympians, and respected Them for being in that line.

"Verily at the first Chaos came to be, but next wide-bosomed Earth, the ever-sure foundations of all the deathless ones who hold the peaks of snowy Olympus, and dim Tartarus in the depth of the wide-pathed Earth, and Eros (Love), fairest among the deathless gods, who unnerves the limbs and overcomes the mind and wise counsels of all gods and all men within them. From Chaos came forth Erebus and black Night; but of Night were born Aether and Day, whom she conceived and bare from union in love with Erebus. And Earth first bare starry Heaven, equal to herself, to cover her on every side, and to be an ever-sure abiding-place for the blessed gods. And she brought forth long Hills, graceful haunts of the goddess-Nymphs who dwell amongst the glens of the hills. She bare also the fruitless deep with his raging swell, Pontus, without sweet union of love. But afterwards she lay with Heaven and bare deep-swirling Oceanus, Coeus and Crius and Hyperion and Iapetus, Theia and Rhea, Themis and Mnemosyne and gold-crowned Phoebe and lovely Tethys. After them was born Cronos the wily, youngest and most terrible of her children, and he hated his lusty sire.

[...] But Rhea was subject in love to Cronos and bare splendid children, Hestia, Demeter, and gold-shod Hera and strong Hades, pitiless in heart, who dwells under the earth, and the loud-crashing Earth-Shaker, and wise Zeus, father of gods and men, by whose thunder the wide earth is shaken. These great Cronos swallowed as each came forth from the womb to his mother's knees with this intent, that no other of the proud sons of Heaven should hold the kingly office amongst the deathless gods. For he learned from Earth and starry Heaven that he was destined to be overcome by his own son, strong though he was, through the contriving of great Zeus."

There are about fourty names inbetween those two parts, but for this post, I wanted to focus on these: the ancient Gods that make up our universe--the pre-Olympians. Yesterday, Facebook brought me a wonderful discussion about Them, and I discovered that not everyone realizes the importance the pre-Olympian Gods have on our world. Contrary to the Olympians, the pre-Olympians are actually of the world; They, together, form the tapistry of earth and life. They literally make up our universe.

The Protogenoi (Πρωτογενοι) are the First Born Deities of the Hellenic Kosmos. They are the building blocks of the universe, primordial Deities. The Protogenoi we know of are: Aether (Αἰθήρ, 'Light'), Ananke (Ἀνάγκη, 'Fate' or 'Compulsion'), Khronos (Χρόνος, 'Time'), Erebos (Ἔρεβος, 'Darkness'), Eros (Ἔρως, 'Desire' or 'Love'), Gaea (Γαῖα, 'Earth'), Hemera (Ἡμέρα, 'Day'), Hydros (Ὑδρος, 'Primordial Waters'), Khaos (χάος, 'Chaos' or 'Air'), Nêsoi (Νησοι, 'Islands'), Nyx (Νύξ, 'Night'), Ôkeanos (Ωκεανος, 'Water'), Ourea (Oὔρεα, 'Mountains'), Phanes (Φάνης 'Procreation'), Pontos (Πόντος, 'Sea'), Phusis (φύσις, 'Nature'), Tartaros (Τάρταρος), Thalassa (Θάλασσα, 'Sea'), Thesis (Θεσις, 'Creation'), Uranos (Οὐρανός, 'Sky').

Then came the Titanes Gods (Τιτανες Θεοι): the twelve Uranides; Kronus (Κρονος, who rules of time and the ages), Okeanos (Ωκεανος, God of the great earth-encircling river Okeanos, the font of all the earth's fresh-water), Iapetos (Ιαπετος, God of the mortal life-span), Hyperion (Ὑπεριων, God of Light), Krios (Κριως, God of the constellations), Koios (Κοιος, God of the inquisitive mind), Rhea (Ρεα, Goddess of female fertility and the wild mountains), Tethys (Τηθυς, Goddess of nursing and of the underground sources of fresh-water), Theia (Θεια, Goddess of sight and precious gemstones), Phoebe (Φοιβη, Goddess of intellect), Themis (Θεμις, Goddess of natural order, divine law and tradition) and Mnemosyne (Μνημοσυνη, Goddess of memory, words and language), and the four Iapetionides; Atlas (Ατλας, God of astronomy and navigation), Prometheus (Προμηθευς, God of forethought and crafty counsel), Epimetheus (Επιμηθευς, God of afterthought) and Menoitios (Μενοιτιος, God of violent anger and rash action).

Another generation down are other Titanes: Ankhialê (Αγχιαλη, Goddess of the warming heat of fire), Asteria (Αστερια,Ggoddess of the oracles and prophecies of night), Astraios (Αστραιος, God of the stars and planets, and the art of astrology), Aura (Αυρα, Goddess of the breeze and the fresh, cool air of early morning), Klymenê (Κλυμηνη, goddess of renown, fame and infamy), Diônê (Διωνη, Goddess of the oracle of Dodona), Êôs (Ηως, Goddess of dawn), Eurybia (Ευρυβια, Goddess of the mastery of the seas), Eurynomê (Ευρυνομη, Goddess of water-meadows and pasturelands), Helios (Ἡλιος, God of the sun, oaths and sight), Hekatê (Ἑκατη, goddess of (the protection against) magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts and necromancy), Lêlantos (Ληλαντος, God of air and stalking prey), Lêtô (Λητω, Goddess of motherhood and protectress of the young), Melisseus (Μελισσευς, God of honey), Mêtis (Μητις, Goddess of good counsel, advise, planning, cunning, craftiness and wisdom), the (Elder) Mousai (Μουσαι, Goddesses of music), Pallas (Παλλας, God of warcraft and the Greek campaign season of late spring and early summer), Persaios (Περσαιος, God of destruction), Phorkys (Φορκυς, God who presides over the hidden dangers of the deep sea), Selênê (Σεληνη, Goddess of the moon), and Styx (Στυξ, Goddess of the Underworld River Styx and of hatred).

Many of these presided over the building blocks of the previous generation, like the Olypmians preside over the building blocks of all three. Looking over the list, it's easy to trace the domains of the Olympians back to their predecessors--or even the God or Goddess They hold sway over directly.

The Olympians did not come to power in a vacuum, and I think to banish all who came before from your worldview and religious life is a disservice not to just the Protogenoi and Titanes, but the Olympians as well. The Old Gods are just as Deathless, just as present, as the Olympians. They are more passive, surely, than the Olympians, but no less worthy of honor for making this world such a beautiful place to live in. They don't have festivals, and They recieve less honor than the Olympians, but when I look at Helios, I thank Him for His warmth and for the growth of the crops, when I look at the starry dome of the night's sky, I remember that without Ouranos, we would have no atmosphere (modern scientific interpretation alert) to breath. While the Olympian generation of Gods rules my daily life, They operate in the framework of the Titans and the Protogenoi. Do I honor all of them regularly? No, defintely not, but some of them? Yes. Most certainly.

• Wednesday, October 16, 2013
  ancient Hellenic culture daily practice genealogy Hekate Hēlios Hellenismos 101 Mythology 101 Protogenoi Selene Titanes

Carolyn Dewald, 'Ancient Greeks Up Close & Personal: Politics, Sex and Gender, and Religion'

I am sorry to say (for many reasons) that I have a family emergency, and need to keep this post short today. A close family friend has fallen critically ill, and a visit with at this time takes priority over anything else. As usualy when I end up unable to post my own words, I let someone else talk for me. Today, I would like to share the words of professor of Classical and Historical Studies and Director of Classical Studies Program, at Bard College, Carolyn Dewald.

For those unfamiliar with Dewald, she is a wonderful author and translator, and a very impressive scholar. If I ever manage to memorize even a quarter of the knowledge she seems to possess, I will be a very happy woman.

Carolyn Dewald gave the Literature Humanities Course-wide Lecture on Friday November 20, 2009 in the Lerner Hall. Though geared at Lit Hum students and their faculty, the lecture was open to all. Subjects of her lecture are 'the three things your mother told you never to discuss in public'; politics, sex and gender, and religion. It is not an easy talk; it is not geared towards beginners, and it assumes you have read Herodotos' Histories and have a working knowledge of ancient Hellas.

Dewald jumps seemingly from one topic to the other, but after a while you get used to it and understand that she is not jumping randomly, but building up the setting to her story: the thought pattern of the average Hellenic citizen. It is this attempt at conveying her understanding of the ancient Hellenic frame of mind that makes this speech so valuable.

The first part of the talk (01:00 - 25:00) is on politics: it discusses a variety of wars and battles, some of the ancient plays, helps you form a basic understanding of the importance of the army to the ancient Hellenes, and a bit of its influence on the general Hellenic society (in as far as you can generalize all the Hellenic peoples).

The second part of the talk (25:00 - 43:00) focuses on sex and gender. The first part (gender) is about the roles of women in ancient Hellas, as looked upon through the lens of Herodotos and the plays. I dislike Dewald's tole of pity for ancient Hellenic women--fearing that a modern mindset is at play here--but the information is very interesting and, at times, unique. The second part (sex) is mostly about men and Satyrs in a state of 'avid anticipation'. This part discusses sex within the marriage, sex outside the marriage, the non-romantic bond between husband and wife, and pederasty.

The third part is about religion (43:00 - 55:00), which covers the Theoi, ancient Hellenic views of the Theoi, sacrifice, and the need for religions the ancient Hellenes would have felt. She covers temples, religious rites, and a bit about hero worship.

I greatly encourage everyone reading this to sit through the hour-long talk. Watch it, and add the images to the words. Not only will this help in forming your understanding, but it also draws you in more. If you enjoyed the talk as much as I did, it will leave you hungry for more. The good thing is, there is more: in all the surviving writings, in the pottery, in the modern practice of the religion.

PS: Also listen to the questions! They are very interesting.

• Monday, September 9, 2013
  ancient Hellenic culture genealogy herodotos videos warfare

Introducing: the daughters of Asklēpiós

Yesterday's post about female physicians in ancient Hellas, sparked the desire to discuss the Goddesses presiding over the healing process today. Asklēpiós may be one of the major Theoi associated with healing, but His daughters do much of the heavy lifting. Hygeia (Ὑγεια) is the Goddess of health, cleanliness, and sanitation, Iasô (Ιασω) the Goddess of recuperation from illness, Akeso (Ἀκεσώ) the Goddess of the healing process, Aiglê (Αιγλη) the Goddess of beauty, splendor, glory, magnificence, and adornment, and Panakeia (Πανακεια) the Goddess of universal remedy.

Chaos ----------------------- Gaea

                             |                      |       

      Ouranos --- | ----------------- | 

                      |                      |

                     Kronos --- Rhea  Koios --- Phoibê

                      |                      |

Phlegyantis     Zeus -------- Leto

|                     |

      Korônis ------- Apollon
      |
                        Asklēpiós --- Êpionê
                             |
                            Hygeia, Iasô, Akeso, Aiglê, Panakeia

Asklēpiós was born to a human mother and a divine father: Apollon, a great healer Himself. Apollon, however, kills his mother when she commits adultery, and Asklēpiós is brought up by Kheiron, the Kentauros. His mother was Korônis, and she is associated with the mythology surrounding the constellation Corvus: the raven. Apollodorus wrote about this event, and the events that followed:

"Besides them Leucippus begat Arsinoe: with her Apollo had intercourse, and she bore Aesculapius. But some affirm that Aesculapius was not a son of Arsinoe, daughter of Leucippus, but that he was a son of Coronis, daughter of Phlegyas in Thessaly. And they say that Apollo loved her and at once consorted with her, but that she, against her father's judgment, preferred and cohabited with Ischys, brother of Caeneus. Apollo cursed the raven that brought the tidings and made him black instead of white, as he had been before; but he killed Coronis. As she was burning, he snatched the babe from the pyre and brought it to Chiron, the centaur, by whom he was brought up and taught the arts of healing and hunting." [3:10:3]

After His training is complete, Asklēpiós receives the blood of Médousa from Athena. Drawn from two different blood vessels in Médousa's neck, some of it can kill, and some of it can heal even the dead. Asklēpiós uses the blood to resurrect the dead, but this is against the wishes of Zeus, who kills Him. He is either placed amongst the stars as the constellation Ophiuchus, the Serpent Holder, or revived by Zeus as a God to satisfy a furious Apollon. No matter his disputed revival, Asklēpiós does get a chance to father children. With his wife Êpionê (Ηπιονη), He begets seven children, two boys and five girls. The men are mortal, the women immortal. Machaon (Μαχάων) and Podaleirios (Ποδαλείριος), His male children fought in the Trojan war on the side of the Hellens. Podaleirios survived the war. Hygeia, Iaso, Akeso, Aiglê, and Panakeia assist Asklēpiós in guarding over mankind.

Hygeia is the Theia of health, cleanliness, and sanitation, and a companion of the goddess Aphrodite. She is perhaps the best known of Asklēpiós' daughters, and has been so since ancient times. She is mentioned alongside her father, grandfather, and sister Panakeia in the original Hippocratic oath. the ancient Hellenes regarded Her as one of the most revered of all Theoi, because without her blessings (good health), nothing could be accomplished in life, and life itself would cease. In fact, She has her own Orphic hymn [67], and in it, She is solely responsible for averting all disease. She is depicted with a snake, usually curled around Her arm.

Iasô is the Theia of cures, remedies and modes of healing. In the temple of Amphiaraus at Oropus a part of the altar was dedicated to Her, along with many of Her sisters and other Theoi petitioned for healing. Recovery is Her domain, and as such, She is one of Asklēpiós' most valued attendants. She is depicted with a mirror.

Akeso is the Theia who oversees the healing of wounds and the curing of illness. She does not bring the cure itself, but oversees the process of healing. Not much is known about Her, but She is a faithful attendant of Her father.

Aiglê is the Theia of the beauty, splendor, glory, magnificence, and adornment that comes with good health. She represents radiance, and Her blessings are very much sought after, because they allow a person to live up to their full potential.

Panakeia is the Theia of cures and panaceas--healing aids in the form of medicines, salves and other curatives. After Hygeia, She is perhaps the best known of Her sisters. Her gifts of medicine are of great value, and she is mentioned in the original Hippocratic oath along with Apollon, Asklēpiós, and Hygeia.

There are other children of Asklēpiós, most notably the dwarf God Telesphoros (Τελεσφόρος) who is the recovery from illness. His daughters, however, are best known and provide mankind with health, beauty, and a full and long life.

• Sunday, July 7, 2013
  Aiglê Akeso ancient Hellenic culture Apollon Asklēpiós genealogy Hygeia Iasô Introduction series Kheiron Médousa Mythology 101 Orphic Hymns Panakeia Zeus

Introducing Dikē, Theia of justice

Administering justice is often placed in the sphere of influence of either Athena of Nemesis, and both Goddesses do, indeed, have connections to it. There is one Theia, however, who is the personification of the phenomenon of justice. Dikē (Δικη) is the Goddess of justice placed upon mortals, fair judgements and the rights established by custom and law. According to Hesiod, She was born from a joining of Zeus and Themis, the Titan Goddess of divine law, custom and prophecy. She has five sisters, Eunomia (Ευνομια, Goddess of good order and lawful conduct) and Eirênê (Ειρηνη, Goddess of peace and spring), with whom Dikē forms the Horai (Ὡραι), the Goddesses of the seasons and the natural portions of time; and the Moirai, the Goddesses of fate. Their names are Kloto (Κλωθώ, spinner), Atropos (Ἄτροπος, unturnable), and Lakhesis (Λάχεσις, Alotter).

The Horai, Eirênê, Eunomia, and Dikē

Dikē was born to Zeus and Themis in a coupling before He took Hera as his wife and queen. Hellenic didactic poet Aratos (Ἄρατος) regarded Her as Astraia (Αστραια), who is either a sepatarte Theia to Dikē, or as an epithet of Her who took to the earth, where the Golden Age ruled. This age, long before the age of heroes, was a just age, and there were no wars. there was no famine. No man coveted possessions of another. Much of this was attributed to Dikē, who kept the inhabitants of this age ethically strong and morally fair. When those of the Golden Age passed, they were morally pure, and became daímōns, guarding over those of later ages. Dikē remained on earth for the Silver Age, but those of the silver age were more corruptible. She wished for the race of the Golden Age, and more and more, the silver race became diseased with lawlessness and strife. Dike gathered the beings of the silver race and told them the following:

"Behold what manner of race the fathers of the Golden Age left behind them! Far meaner than themselves! But ye will breed a viler progeny! Verily wars and cruel bloodshed shall be unto men and grievous woe shall be laid upon them." (96)

With that, she left earth for the stars, where she watches over the earth as the constellation Virgo. Aratos goes on to say that Dikē hated the bronze age men, 'who were the first to forge the sword of the highwayman, and the first to eat of the flesh of the ploughing-ox'. Other writers like playwright Aeschylus in his 'Papyri Oxyrhynchus', Hellenic rhetorician Demosthenes in 'Against Aristogeiton', within the Orphic Hymns, and by Hesiod himself in Works and Days place Dikē next to the throne of mighty Zeus, Her father, where she can tell Zeus of those whom break her teachings.

Returning to Dikē's genealogy: her family tree would look as follows:

  Chaos ------------ Gaea

             |                |

      Ouranos   ---   |

              Themis -- Kronos --- Rhea 

                 |              |

                      |            Zeus

                  |     ---     |

                  | 

                    Dikē

It should be noted that Aratos' Astraia was born not to Zeus and Themis, but to Astraios (Ἀστραῖος) and Eos (Ἠώς). Eos's family line is quite clear, as She is said to have Hyperion and Euryphaessa as Her parents. Astraisos' family line is less clear, with options ranging from Krios and Eurybia to Tartaros and Gaea. As such, it is far more logical to place Her into the sky after Her departure from earth than at Zeus's feet.

Aeschylus wrote of the fucntion and tasks of Dikē the best, I feel, although the final lines are mostly lost to us:

"Dike: And he [Zeus] has his seat upon his father's very throne, having overcome Kronos by means of Justice (Dike); for Zeus can now boast, since his father began the quarrel, that he paid him back with Justice on his side. That is why Zeus has done me great honour, because after being attacked he paid him back, not unjustly. I sit in glory by the throne of Zeus, and he of his own will sends me to those he favours; I mean Zeus, who has sent me to this land with kind intent. And you shall see for yourselves whether my words are empty.
Chorus: How then shall we rightly address you?
Dike: By the name of Dike, her who is greatly revered in heaven.
Chorus: And of what privilege are you the mistress?
Dike: As for the just, I reward their life of justice.
Chorus: (...) this ordinance among mortals.
Dike: But in the reckless I implant a chastened mind.
Chorus: By Persuasion's [Peitho] spells, or in virtue of your might?
Dike: I write their offences on the tablet of Zeus.
Chorus: And at what season do you unroll the list of crimes?
Dike: When the proper time brings the fulfilment of what is theirs by right.
Chorus: Eagerly, I think, should the host welcome you.
Dike: Much would they gain, should they receive me kindly." (part of frag. 282)

Dikē is regarded as a great Goddess whom no one mortal man or woman would defy openly. We all claim our actions are justified (even when they are not so in the eyes of others), and in an argument, even opposites call upon Her, because they are sure She will favor them. Both the oppressors in a war, as the oppressed will say Dikē is on their side, and even thieves and murderers are sure that what they did was just. We had to do it, in order to feed our families, protect our spouse, etc. All are right to call upon Dikē--whose Roman equivalent Iustice became Lady Justice--but it is up to Zeus to pass the final judgement. At that time, He will send Nemesis to strike down the unjust party.

While Lady Justice is often depicted with scales, a sword, and a blindfold, Dikē was depicted solely with scales. The sword is attributed to the Roman Iustice, who combined attributes of both Dikē, and Her mother Themis. As such, Iustice administered justice to all, not just mortals. The sword may have been inherited from Nemesis. The blindfold came much later, in the fifteenth century, to indicate that justice is or should be placed upon one objectively, without fear or favour, regardless of identity, money, power, or weakness; blind justice and impartiality. In ancient times, Dikē was sometimes depicted with a cornucopia, to indicate that those who follow Her teachings are rewarded richly, something echoed in Hesiod's writing:

"There is a noise when Dike is being dragged in the way where those who devour bribes and give sentence with crooked judgements, take her. And she, wrapped in mist, follows to the city and haunts of the people, weeping, and bringing mischief to men, even to such as have driven her forth in that they did not deal straightly with her. But they who give straight judgements to strangers and to the men of the land, and go not aside from what is just, their city flourishes, and the people prosper in it: Eirene, the nurse of children, is abroad in their land, and all-seeing Zeus never decrees cruel war against them. Neither famine nor disaster ever haunt men who do true justice; but light-heartedly they tend the fields which are all their care. The earth bears them victual in plenty, and on the mountains the oak bears acorns upon the top and bees in the midst. Their woolly sheep are laden with fleeces; their women bear children like their parents. They flourish continually with good things, and do not travel on ships, for the grain-giving earth bears them fruit." (220 - 237)

All mortals do well to honor Dikē, she can be petitioned for guidance in times when moral and ethical questions weigh heavily upon you. Dikē can not be bribed, however, and unlike us mortals, She knows exactly when an action is just. Petition Her for counsel, but never expect Her to lie to Zeus about your actions. If you must request something as extreme as that, you can be sure Nemesis will not be on your side.

Image property: clipart.com.

• Wednesday, April 3, 2013
  Dikē genealogy Introduction series Myth of the Five Ages Mythology 101 Nemesis