Zeus, Hera and the Hekatonkheires

I'm a big fan of the myths that break the rule. I love Atalanta, I have a crush on Baucis and Philemon and I greatly enjoy reading the myth of Hera's revenge on Zeus, and the Hekatonkheire Briareos, who came to Zeus's rescue. The myth is one of the firsts I heard, but I've learned it's a very obscure myths to some. So, today, I want to share this myth with you, because it may show a completely other side of the Theoi we know and love, and the Hekatonkheires (Ἑκατόγχειρες), whom no one seems to know and love.

"First there was only Chaos. Then, Chaos gave birth to Gaea, Tartarus, Eros, Erebus and Nyx. Gaea gave birth to Ouranos, and gave birth to twelve Titans, three Cyclopses and three Hekatonkheires--the hundred-handed Ones--all fathered by her son. The Olympians, eventually, challenged the Titans and won. All Olympians went through an unsettled period, where Their domains were divided and They indulged themselves on mortals and immortals alike. Especially Zeus.

Zeus had taken Hera as his wife in the beginning of His reign, after a spree of lovers and offspring. Hera had refused His advances, but he had turned himself into a cuckoo, presenting Himself to Hera as hurt and drenched. Hera took pity on the bird and took it as a pet, pressing it to Her breast. Zeus turned back to His own form instantly and took Hera by force, shaming Hera into marrying Him.

Hera accepted Her fate, but was not light on the many lovers her husband had. Especially the children Zeus fathered, raised Her anger; they became daily reminders of Zeus' disloyalty to Her, and turned Her into a laughing stock to Her brothers and sisters. She had accepted all she could, and devises a plan for revenge.

The first thing She does, is enlist the help of nearly all other major Theoi. She convinces Them that They are no less than Her husband, and that His many children may one day pose a threat to them all. Many of the Theoi do not need much convincing. Zeus has become arrogant after His victory over the Titans. His bouts of unjust anger have upset the Theoi, and to many of Them, Zeus would make no better leader than They would. The Theoi, convinced, agree to assist Hera. All but Hestia.

One night thereafter, Hera slips a sleeping agent into Her husband's drink. When Zeus falls into a deep sleep, Hera and the other enlisted Theoi take Him and lay Him on His bed where They bind Him tightly with ropes. It's a coup; while Zeus reigned over Them, together They have the strength to end that reign and turn the card in Their favor.

When Zeus awakes, he soon realizes what had happened and becomes furious with His wife, as well as the brothers and sisters He has freed from the belly of Their father. Yet, try as He might, His bonds will not break, as they were fashioned with Immortal hands.

Zeus, deathly afraid for his reign and very existence, calls out for help. While the other Theoi argue amongst Themselves about who should lead in Zeus' stead, Zeus lays in his silent bedrooms and waits, plotting revenge to keep the worry from his mind. In the dead of night, it is the Hekatonkheire Briareos who comes to Zeus's aid. It was, after all, Zeus who freed him and his two brothers from Tartaros, where his father Ouranos had put them.

The Hekatonkheires were born monstrous; a hundred hands sprouted from their shoulders and each had fifty heads. They were giants, all possessing incredible strength. Their father feared them, and they were locked away. During the Titan War, it were the Hekatonkheires and their other monstrous siblings who had eventually turned the tides in the favor of Zeus's army, and Zeus had rewarded them well. As such, they remained loyal.

The primordial Goddess Thesis saw what had happened to Zeus and descended to Tartaros for aid. With his brothers guarding the gates to Tartaros, it was Briareos who came to Zeus' aid in the moment of His greatest fear. Diligently, his hundred hands undid the knots to Zeus' bindings while Zeus Himself held still, and waited. When His bonds fell away, He thanked Briareos humbly, and took His revenge.

Hera, He chained to the sky with golden chains, anvils tied to Her ankles until Zeus took mercy on Her and vowed to release Her if She promised to remain loyal to Him. Poseidon and Apollon were robbed of their Divine status for a year and forced to hard labor; They were sentenced to build the walls around the greatest of cities: Troy. How the others were punished is unclear, but the experience was a turning point for the Gods of Olympus. Zeus realized His behavior had gotten Him into this mess in the first place, and He strove to do better. He became a strong and consistent leader. He minimized His infidelity. He became the beacon of glorious power the other Theoi gladly bowed down to. The coup was forgiven, and Zeus and Hera's marriage improved. The nation settled, ruled justly by Zeus."

It is this myth, which made me want to devote myself wholly to the Hellenic pantheon. The hyper-inflated humanity displayed by the Theoi sets the basics for the Hellenic ethics. The struggle to be better, do better, to forgive and put trust in great leaders, to know your place and rise to glory within it; these are all lessons to be learned from this myth. These are also the basics of Hellenic ethics.

This is one of the very few myths in which Zeus is vulnerable, and we see that it was a very shocking experience to Him, probably more so than this retelling lets on. Zeus was on a power high, and this coup shattered His entire world view. It humbled Him. There is a card in the Olympus Tarot I use, which illustrates this myth. It's meaning when drawn is 'gratitude'.

The BBC series 'Clash of the Gods' has actually included a more aggressive version of this myth in their program. I've included it below.

What do you think of this myth? Did you know it? Does it change your views on Zeus? On the other Theoi? The Hekatonkheires? What would have happened to the pantheon without this coup? Let me know in the comments, if you will.

• Monday, October 15, 2012
  Apollon Atalanta Briareos Gaea genealogy Hekatonkheires Hera Hestia Mythology 101 Ouranos Poseidon Thesis Troy Zeus

What's in a name?

I've been thinking a lot about the Hellenic label. We use a great many names to describe it, and I assume that we're all assuming we mean the same thing when call ourselves thus. Hellenic Polytheistic Reconstructionism, Hellenic Reconstructionism, Hellenismos, Hellenism, the Hellenic tradition, the Hellenic religion, Hellenic polytheism, Traditional Hellenismos, Reformed Hellenismos, Greek polytheism, Greek Reconstructionism, etc. It's a big lump of labels and, supposedly, they all mean the same thing. Today, I want to explain what these terms mean to me. The whole point of this exercise is to show that your definitions probably differ. That's a good thing, it creates clarity.

Greek vs. Hellenic: In the beginning of this blog, I used 'Greek' quite a bit. That's what I thought was the proper term for the country, even in olden days. It's not. There is a big pride issue surrounding the word 'Hellas', or 'Hellenic Republic'. It's the preferred term by the Greeks, and the  official name of the country. That is why I use it. 'Greek', to me, also sounds like a description of modern day Greece/Hellas. 'Greek Recon' would then be Orthodox Christianity, as that is the major religion in Greece today. The same goes for 'The Hellenic Religion'. Obviously, that is not my religion.

Polytheism: polytheism is literally 'the belief of multiple deities also usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals'. 'Hellenic polytheism' would then be a decent description, but it leaves a lot of room for interpretation. If I'm a Neo-Wiccan, worshipping solely deities of the Hellenic pantheon, would get me this label. Another point of criticism: if 'Reconstructionism' is already part of the label, 'Polytheistic' is a pleonasm; the ancient Hellenic religion was polytheistic, so any reconstructionistic practice from that time period is polytheistic by default.

Reconstructionism: 'Hellenic Reconstructionism' works, just like 'Hellenic Polytheistic Reconstructionism', although see above about the polytheism. This is a perfectly fine description of what I practice; Hellenic Reconstructionism. The only problem I have with it, is that it allows the user to pick and choose. 'Hellenic Reconstructionism' leaves a lot of room for interpretation and doesn't signify a united religion.

That leaves Hellenismos. As regular readers may be able to tell, I prefer this term. Although I criticizes the lack of standardization within the religion, 'Hellenismos', as a term, signifies that those who practice it, work towards the same goal, with the same means, and the same general set of rituals. Two branches of Hellenismos are emerging: Traditional Hellenismos and Reformed Hellenismos. Traditional Hellenismos refers to those who strictly adhere to the ancient ways. This means animal sacrifice when appropriate, out-door sacrifices, and communal worship. Those who can't--or will not--practice Hellenismos this way, but who reconstruct everything else, practice Reformed Hellenismos.

I'll, eventually, become more of a Traditionalist. I don't have the means to be one now, so 'Reformed' will have to do. It's not a label I adopt by choice, but out of necessity. You all read my blog, so I'm sure you're aware I don't oppose animal sacrifice. I do, however, think that it's unethical and wasteful to sacrifice an animal when you practice alone, simply because the meat should be distributed and feasted with. This way, the Theoi and the animal who was sacrificed, will both be honored properly. This is why I don't see an animal sacrifice in my future any time soon: I sorely lack a community to perform one with.

So yes, this is why I prefer the 'Hellenismos' label. I don't use 'Reformed' unless I have to, because I would prefer to be a Traditionalist. The only problem I have with that, is that Traditionalists tend to be very elitist and bigoted in their ways. Not always, mind you, but I steer clear of the official Hellenic forums none the less. It's just not worth the heartache.

Are these interpretations of the labels something you agree with, or would you change some of them? If you practice--or if you imagine yourself practicing--which label would you prefer?

• Sunday, October 14, 2012
  community Hellenismos 101 labels

Mix-tape to Poseidon

Today, I'm posting a mix-tape for Poseidon. This idea is not mine; it's a combination of a wonderful idea by Sannion and Hellenion's monthly libation schedule. Hellenion is a Hellenistic organization from America and I've been using their wonderful calender and the great store of information they have gathered to start my own practice. Every month, Hellenion members pour a libation to a different Greek God or Goddess. This month, it's Poseidon's. To make the day more special, I have created a mix-tape of songs which either describe or would speak to Him.

Poseidon is the God of the Mediterranean seas, who can strike down his trident and create fresh water springs, or disastrous earthquakes. He is also the Lord of horses, presumably because of the foamy waves rising up like a herd of horses before crashing on the shore. He has made his home underwater, with his wife Amphitrite and other water creatures, many of which immortal. He's a powerful God, one of three brothers who rule the sky, the sea and the underworld.

My relationship with Poseidon is neutral, at best. I worship Him as a powerful God, but I'm not exactly a water rat, and I don't like swimming in the sea. I did enjoy the seas of Greece when I was there, but that was mostly because they were marginally cooler than the surrounding area. These mix-tapes force me to delve into the God or Goddess at hand, and hopefully get me little closer to Them. I feel like I have succeeded at this with Poseidon, but we're still at a bit of odd footing.

Live - Run to the Water

The first song I thought of when I started brainstorming for this mix-tape was Live's run to the water. They have a lot of water-y songs. 'Dolphin's Cry', for one, and 'Overcome', the chilling 9/11 tribute. Run to the water is one of my favorites by them, and just for the clip alone, would serve its purpose well in a mix-tape to Poseidon. The lyrics, however, are quite fitting as well.

"Yeah, I can see it now lord / Out beyond all the breakin' of waves / And the tribulation / It's a place and the home of ascended souls / Who swam out there in love"

Another line which speaks to Poseidon is this one:

"In a moment we lost our minds here / And lay our spirit down / Today we lived a thousand years / All we have is now"

Poseidon is not merely the Lord of the Seas, he was also a shaker of the earth... and the mind. Certain conditions, which were accounted to madness back in the day, were attributed to Poseidon. Epilepsy is one of them, for instance. And anyone who has ever dived down into the sea and stayed down as long as they could, know that time loses all meaning beneath the waves. It's an entirely different world, one where the rules of land life fade--including time.

Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians - Air of December

Poseidon has had many lovers beyond his wife Amphitrite. Most of them were mortal. Amymone, for example, as well as Cleito, Kaineus, and Tyro. All of these couplings were extraordinary in some way; Cleito, for example, was the mother of the founders of Atlantis, Kaineus was transformed--by request--into a man after her raped her, so she would never be raped again. It was a request Poseidon granted. We all know what happened to Médousa.

A coupling with the powerful Poseidon means a life forever changed. I can imagine some of his lovers to look back favorably upon their time with Him, and long for his return. Edie captures this longing perfectly in her song.

"You stood by the lake/ I wanted to take you for granted / The grass was thin and high / The water mirrored tiny sparkles to the sky / I remember you put a chill across my face / like the air of december / I swear I remember it that way"

 
The Organ - Brother

I imagine the confusion after having grown up in your father's belly and then being spit out into the world to be a daunting affair indeed. Imagine this song, as the situation comes to Poseidon, and decisions must be made now the world is about to go to hell, fast, as a war with the Titans seems unavoidable. Also, Poseidon never seems to me the most... joyous of the brothers.

"Here we go again / Oh midnight knocks! / Oh explosions! / Maybe it's all made up in our heads / This happens to me when I'm bored / Or depressed"


Dar Williams - The Light and the Sea

I've used a song from the album 'In the Time of the Gods' before, for Hermes' mix tape, before. This one was written with Poseidon in mind and it's too beautiful to leave out of this list.

Florence & The Machine - Shake it Out

Something about this song just reminds me of Poseidon's dark but comforting prescence. It could be the mention of shaking--as Poseidon is also know as the Earth Shaker--or horses--as He is also the Tamer of Horses--that reminds me of it. Also, the line 'it's always darkest before the dawn' reminds me of watching the sun rising while looking out over the sea. The quiet, the true shaking of emotions as you realize a new day is forthcoming. Whatever the case, this mix-tape needed to end with this song. I could listen to this song forever.

• Saturday, October 13, 2012
  Amphitrite Amymone Cleito Kaineus Médousa mix-tape series Poseidon Tyro

PBP: Urns, amphorae, and vases

It's time for another Pagan Blog Project post, and we're starting the 'U's. Great, except for the fact that there is no letter 'U' in the Greek alphabet. So, I have done some creative scrabbling and this is the result, a non-exhaustive listing of the various pottery shapes as used in ancient Greece. None of them is actually called an urn, but who cares, right?

Because of its durability, pottery fragments are one of the few things that have survived from all ages of ancient Hellas. They are a staple of archeological finds and provide us with some of the most wholesome information on ancient Hellenic life. Yet, today, the focus will not be on the images on these vases, but on the shapes and types of vases, because all had a specific purpose, and many of them tied into religious ceremonies, important life events and Hellenic ethics.

Amphoreus (ἀμφορεύς): basic amphorae were the bread and butter of the pottery world. They were used throughout the whole of the Hellenic reign for transporting and storing grapes, olive oil, wine, oil, olives, grain, fish, and other commodities during transport, at stores and at home. The basic amphoreus shape is called a 'belly amphoreus', because of the oval body with a continuous profile from the lip to the foot and two handles.

The neck amphoreus is a variation of the belly amphoreus which has an oval body, a offset neck with a thick mouth, two vertical handles and a heavy stand. The main difference between the 'belly' amphoreus and the 'neck' amphoreus, is that on the neck amphoreus, the handles are attached to the neck, which is separated from the belly by an angular carination.

There are many types of amphorae, including a two pointed versions, which need a stand to remain upright; a 'belly' amphoreus type and the 'neck' transport amphoreus, which doesn't have a foot, but a little ball on the underside. It was easy to stack them for long sea or cart voyages. Alternatively, they could be buried in the ground.

Another special shape is the Panathenaic amphoreus. This amphoreus is a 'neck' amphoreus, used solely as a price for winning the Panathenaic games. It contained olive oil from Athena's sacred grove at Akademia. The inscription read: 'τον αθενεθεν αθλον' (one of the prizes from Athens). The Panathenaia ta Megala, which was held every four years, added games to the yearly Panathenaia ta Mika, so the panathenaic amphorae were only given out once every four years.

Pelike (πελίκη): the pelike is a special type of belly amphoreus, with the belly placed lower, so that the widest point of the vessel is near its bottom.

Volute krater ( krater = κρατήρ): As I have mentioned before, in the post about taboos, drinking pure wine was considered a barbaric act by the ancient Hellens. As a result, they usually drank wine mixed with water. All 'kraters' are mixing bowls. The name comes from the word 'kerannmi': 'to mix'. The krater is named after the shape of the handles, which--for the volute--are in the form of a spiral with flanged sides rising from loops on the shoulder to above to the rim.

Drinking was usually done by men at a symposion (συμπόσιον). At the beginning of each symposion, someone was put in charge of mixing the wine and keeping an eye on the servants who served it to the participants. Keeping track of the level of inebriation, and adjusting the wine mixture accordingly was a fine art, and a good symposiarch (συμποσίαρχος) was invaluable and highly respected.

Calyx krater: A calyx krater differs from the basic krater shape, but not in its purpose. It has a deep body, with the lower part convex, and the upper part slightly concave. It rests on a heavy stand and has handles which are set at the top of the lower part, which curve upward. It's the only basic krater shape where the handles don't reach, or top, the rim.

Column krater: the column krater has a round body, a offset neck with a thick lip and a heavy stand. Each handle consists of a pair of cylindrical stems ending in a horizontal block joined to the rim. In short, the handles look like the tops of the columns holding up ancient Hellenic temples.

Bell krater: bell kraters, obviously, have a bell shaped body. They have loop handles placed high on the body, which curve slightly upward. The krater rests on a heavy stand. 

Loutrophoros (λουτροφόρος): a type of belly amphoreus which is characterized by an elongated neck with two handles. It was used to hold water during marriage and funeral rituals, and was placed in the tombs of the unmarried.

Stamnos: a stamnos is a bit of a mix between an amphoreus and a krater. It is much squatter than an amphoreus and has two stubby handles relatively high on its sides. It was used to store liquids, which were usually already mixed. From what I can tell, the stamnos wasn't a shape that was used much.

Psykter (ψυκτήρ): a psykter has a bulbous body set on a high, narrow foot. It was filled with (mixed) wine and placed inside a krater, in which is was created to fit. The krater was filled with cold water. In essence, a psykter served as a cooler, and was aptly named after the word 'psyko': 'cool'.

Hydria: hydriai were water carriers; their name is taken from the word 'hydor': 'water'. A regular hydria has an oval body, offset neck with round mouth, a vertical handle at the back, used for carrying, and two horizontal handles at the sides, used for lifting. Interestingly enough, they often depicted scenes out of Greek mythology that reflected moral and social obligations. 

A variation of the hydria is called the kalpis. It has a round body, three handles, like the hydria, and a continuous curve from the lip to the foot. The name 'kalpis' was used interchangeably with 'hydria' and modern scholars applied them with either shapes. The difference lies in the 'neck' and 'belly' issue, like with the amphoreus. The Hydria has the 'neck' and the kalpis the 'belly'.

Lebes gamikos: in form, it has a large bowl-like body and a stand that can be long or short. It has an M-shaped handle on either side, and a lid with a knob. It was used in marriage processions and rituals, most likely to sprinkle water on the bride before the wedding. I suspect this was also the type of vessel used as a khernibeionas.

Lebes: A lebes is a large bowl, without a foot, and without handles. It needed a tripod to stand on. The name can be translated as 'cauldron'. It was used mostly as a mixing bowl in food preparation. Herodotos describes a lebes made of bronze which was given out as a prize for athletic accomplishments during competitions.

Lekythos (λήκυθος): lekythoi were used for storing oil. It has a narrow body and one handle attached to the neck of the vessel. They were used for anointing dead bodies of unmarried men and many lekythoi are found in tombs.

Squat lekythos: squat lekythoi served the same purpose as the regular lekythos, but were of a different size. It has round, squat, body and offset neck with a heavy mouth and a handle. In later times, these squat lekythoi were preferred over the larger, regular, lekythoi, because they were easier to handle.

A variation of the squat lekythos is the acorn lekythos. It has a tall, slightly squat, body with a relief dot ornament on the lower part, which makes the jug look like an acorn. It has a tall neck with heavy mouth, a vertical handle and a heavy stand.

Oinochoe (οἰνοχόη): a oinochoe is a jug, used to pour pretty much anything, but was mostly used for wine. There are ten basic types, four which vary in handles (one with a curly pouring handle, attached to the rim, one with a short handle, attached to the rim, one with a low handle, which was called a 'chous'--which was given to the children who joined in 'Anthesteria' festival, which celebrated the harvest of wine--and one with a high handle), two slender ones (one with  a short handle and one with a high handle), two with a protruding sprout (one with an elongated sprout and one with an upwards sprout), one with a squat body, and one a circle ornament on the either side of the mouth. An older form of the oinochoe is the olpe (ὀλπή) and has an S-shaped profile from head to foot.

There are also oinochoe which look more like mugs, either with a handle and sprout, or without either. There is also a version with a slightly higher body than the other two mugs, but without a handle and sprout.

Kantharos (κάνθαρος): a kantharos is a drinking cup with two, high, ears. Like their similarly shaped brothers kylixes (see below), they are heavily decorated, most notably on the inside of the cup. As these drinking cups were usually used at symposion, the scenes portrayed on these cups were usually decorated with scenes of a humorous, light-hearted, or sexual nature that would only become visible when the cup was drained.

Kylix (κύλιξ): a kylix is a drinking cup for wine, and there are a lot of different shapes. The kind I put up yesterday is one of two best known types, a 'type b', meaning that the cup and the foot are continuous, instead of the 'type a' cup, where there is a small divide between the cup and the stem.

There are several other types of kylixes with a foot. The komast cup, for example, is deeper than the standard kylix, and has a shorter stand. The siana cup has a higher lip than the komast cup, but is equally deep. The little master cup has a concave lip, and the gordion cup has a regular lip but is a little deeper than a little master cup, leaving it somewhere between a saina cup and a little master cup. The droop cup is a shallower version of the little master cup but with a thicker lip, the chalkidizing cup doesn't have a stem, and the merrythought cup has handles that are shaped like wishbones.

Stemless kylix: besides all these many forms, there is also a completely stemless kylix, which sits on a short stand. 

Skyphos (σκύφος): a skyphos is another drinking cup. There are two standards, the 'type a', with two horizontal handles, and a 'type b', with one horizontal handle and a vertical handle. Both types are stemless. There is only one 'type b' shape, but many 'type a' shapes. The korinthian skyphos comes from Korinth and has a handle on either side below the lip that doesn't curve upwards. The hermogenian skyphos is deeper and has two horizontal handles that curve upwards slightly. The heron skyphos is equally deep as the hermogenian skyphos, with equally curved handles, but the lip also extends a little outwards. The last type is the cup skyphos, which is a squatter, and shorter variant which is a hybrid between the skyphos and the kylix.

Aryballos (αρύβαλλο): after bathing, it was customary to rub the body with oil, which was then scraped off. In leu of a bath, the oil was still applied and scraped off, taking the sweat with it. For men, the oil that was used for this practice was saved in an aryballos, a small jug with a round body, a disk-shaped mouth and one or two handles.

Alabastron (ἀλάβαστρον): what the aryballos was to men, the alabastron was to women. It was a small jug, with a tall body, a round bottom and a small mouth. Most often, they have no handle, though it may have loops or ears made of string.

Pyxis (πυξίς): a pyxis is a box-shaped piece of pottery with a lid that is used for ointments and cosmetics. Its name was used by Greeks in Roman time for a box-shaped container, though there is no evidence to prove it was used in Classical period. There are various forms, some with tripods or a stand, other with a flat surface to stand on. What unifies them is the lid, which very few Hellenic pottery shapes have, and their purpose.

There are many other types of pottery from ancient Hellas, but this should give you a good idea of the various uses of certain types of items which could be found inside any Hellenic home. This post will mostly be used as a reference guide, and will be updated as new information come up about the use of these various shapes in religious or mundane rituals.

Image taken from: here.

• Friday, October 12, 2012
  ancient Hellenic culture khernibeionas Pagan Blog Project Panathenaia pottery symposion

Too awesome not to share

This morning, I got to pick up the complete series of twelve volumes of George Grote's classic standard work 'History of Greece'. It's the 1858-1862 edition. The original came out from 1846-1856. It's one of those series of books I doubted I would ever own, but I do now and I'm beyond excited. Archeology has come a long way since Grote, that's for sure. For one, in the time of Grote, the remains of Troy had not been identified yet, so Grote highly doubted the Trojan war had been real. Because of this, Grote is definitely not the only author to read on the history of Greece, but he's an excellent writer in general, and what he writes, you'll remember. If you even manage to get your hands on a copy of his books, either the pre-1900 editions or the new volumes (which come in various price ranges, formats and quality), and you an interest in the history of Greece: read it. It'll be worth it.

The other item on that picture is a kylix, an ancient Hellenic drinking cup. This is a replica of course, made in Krete, and gifted to me by the same friend who tipped me about the Grote books. If you've never heard of a kylix, tomorrow's post will surely be of interest to you, because for the Pagan Blog Project, I'm writing about  ancient Hellenic pottery shapes. The image is a simplified version of this image: Kadmos (Κάδμος), defeating the guardian of the spring. 

As the myth goes, as written down by Ovid in his Metamorphoses:

"Kadmos was the brother of Europe, who got taken by Zeus. During his quest to recover her, he was ordered, by the oracle in Delphi, to follow a cow with a half moon on her flank and to built a town on the spot where the cow laid down. The animal led him to Boeotia, where he founded the city of Thebes.

Kadmos wanted to sacrifice the cow to the goddess Athena and send some of his companions to the nearby Spring of Ismenos to fetch water. However, they were slain by the gold-crested dragon of Ares, who guarded the spring. Kadmos, in turn, confronted and destroyed the hydra and followed the instructions of Athena to sow the dragon’s teeth in the ground. Fierce armed men sprang up called Sparti, but they started fighting amongst themselves until only five remained. They assisted Kadmos to built the Cadmeia or acropolis of Thebes."

As you can see, this week was a great week for my Hellenic collection, and because I'm so excited about it, you guys get an extra post today. 

• Thursday, October 11, 2012
  George Grote Kadmos Metamorphoses Mythology 101 Ovid this is not a real post

Constellation Ara: the altar

Welcome to part three of the constellation series. I think I forgot to mention that I'm basing this series off of the works of ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy. He set out forty-eight constellations, based in Greek myth, of which some are still recognized to this day, and others got broken up or otherwise rearranged or added in the years that followed. The next is Ara: the altar. It's still a recognized constellation.

The constellation represents a very important item in Hellenic mythology: the altar used by the Olympic Gods to swear a vow of allegiance before they went to war against the Titans. The nearby Milky Way represents the smoke rising from the offerings on the altar. I have described the Titanomachy (Τιτανομαχία) or War of the Titans, which would last ten years and end with the victory of the Olympians and the incarceration of Kronos--and all who supported him--in Tartaros, before. The moment all of it began, was forever immortalized in the constellation Ara.

In another Greek myth, Ara represents the altar of King Lycaon of Arcadia, on which he sacrificed Arcas, son of Zeus and his own daughter Callisto. He then serves his grand child to Zeus as a meal, to test Him, and is turned into a wolf for his hubris. Zeus' anger then causes the death of fifty of Lycaon's sons, as they are struck down by lightning bolts. The tale isn't pretty and I prefer the first explanation.

Ancient Hellenic navigators believed that, if the Ara constellation was the only one visible in a cloudy sky, this was a sign of storm at sea.

Ara was visible in the skies of the ancient Hellens, but due to the precession of the equinoxes the constellation was progressively displaced towards the south, becoming an austral and invisible circumpolar constellation for the zone of the Mediterranean cultures. The altar is visible at latitudes between +25° and −90°. It is best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of July.

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  Arcas astronomy Callisto Constellation series Kronos Lycaon Mythology 101 Ptolemy Tartaros Titanomachy Zeus

Introducing Amphitrite, Queen of the sea

The Hellenic pantheon literally has hundreds of Gods, Goddesses, Titans, nature spirits, heroes, kings and queens. Although Hellenismos focusses mostly on the Big Twelve, Hades, Hestia and Hekate, Hellenic mythology is a true treasure trove of immortals. Most of these 'lesser' immortals get very little attention, and I'd like to change this. So, ever now and again, I'm going to introduce one of the lesser known immortals and  try and find a place for them in modern Hellenistic worship, based off of their ancient Hellenic worship. Today, I'm introducing to you Amphitrite (Ἀμφιτρίτη), wife of Poseidon.

Amphitrite's parentage is debated. She is described as being a daughter of Oceanos and Tethys, and thus one of the Oceanids, in Apollodorus' Bibliotheca, but Hesiod lists her as a Nereid, the daughter of Nereus and Doris. In the Theogony, Hesiod writes:

"And of Nereus and rich-haired Doris, daughter of Ocean the perfect river, were born children, passing lovely amongst goddesses, Ploto, Eucrante, Sao, and Amphitrite."

From this, we can deduce that Amphitrite's genealogy looks something like this, according to Hesiod:

Or like this, from the Bibliotheca:

Amphitrite is a sea Goddess, as is clear by Her parentage (no matter the author) and Her marriage to Poseidon, Lord of the Mediterranean seas. Amphitrite's offspring are many, seeing and both seals and dolphins were born from Her. She also had a merman son, Triton (Τρίτων), and a sea nymph daughter, Rhode (Ῥόδη), with Poseidon. According to the Bibliotheca, the two had another daughter, Benthesikyme, who went on to rear Her half brother Eumolpus, son of Chione and Poseidon.

Amphitrite didn't have a cult dedicated to Her worship back in ancient Hellas, but She was of great importance in the archaic age. She is mentioned in the Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollon as one of Leto's midwives and before Poseidon's rule of the sea became supreme, Amphitrite ruled it, along with Her Nereids. This remained true at least until the Illiad. Even after that, when Amphitrite was mentioned in texts which proclaimed Her dominance of the sea, Poseidon was rarely mentioned. If anything, He was mentioned as her husband, and not the other way around. There is evidence of Her worship at the temple of Poseidon at Korinthos, at the altar of Apollon at Amyklai in Lakonia and at Olympia.

Another indication that this was one special Lady is the tale of how the two ended up together. Poseidon saw her dancing with Her Nereids at Naxos (Νάξος), one of the larger islands of Greece. He fell for Her instantly and tried to take Her. She rebuffed His advances and fled to Atlas, the farthest end of the sea. Poseidon, sick with love, sent His dolphin after Her to persuade Her to talk to Him, at least. He eventually found Her and spoke on behalf of His master. His words were so sweet and rang so true, that Amphitrite decided to give Poseidon a chance. It was because of the dolphin, Poseidon eventually got to marry Amphitrite, and He was so grateful, He placed the dolphin in the sky as the constellation Delphinus.

Due to her marriage with Poseidon, She is often depicted with a crown on Her head. Most often, She is beside Him, on a throne or in His chariot, like above. She is depicted as a young woman, often with a hand raised like a pincer. Often times, Her hair is covered with a net, and small crab claws adorn Her brow like little horns. 

Amphitrite is the female personification of the sea; she is not merely of the sea, she is it. She is the Queen of the sea and its supreme ruler, although She shares this glory with Poseidon, Oceanos, and other immortals of the sea. When calling to Her, you may use one of Her official titles: the loud-moaning mother of fish, seals and dolphins. For modern Hellenists, it may be wise to praise and offer to Her as well as Her husband when traveling over water, or when celebrating His festivals. This is specially true when worshipping Poseidon in one of His sea-related epithets. Like Poseidon, She may be appeased with fumigations of myrrh incense and the outpour of (sea) water.

• Wednesday, October 10, 2012
  Amphitrite Doris Gaea genealogy Hellenismos 101 Hesiod Introduction series Mythology 101 Nereus Nymphs Oceanos Ouranos Poseidon