comfort-in-the-gods

[comfort-in-the-gods]

Apollo & Dionysus [Part 1]

MAN. not sure if i know what i'm doing, they're very complicated and this won't be my only essay about them. But I've been delaying this essay for way too long, to a point in which I was close to crying about it.

Hope you enjoy, in any case, how i give you all the connections, both good and bad, of my favourite god figures from the Greek Folklore.

1. Karneia [Καρνεῖα].

One of Dionysus' main characteristics is how he's depicted with horns. It's part of his identity as a god, it's horns what (according to the Orphic hymns) made him look like Persephone's son. you can't take away his horns and pretend he's still Dionysus. Euripides knew that well.

Apollo, on the other hand, not many are aware that he sometimes was represented with horns, as well ! This festival, held mainly in Sparta, was to honor Apollo (and a couple of other gods but, he was the star of the show).

The reasons for why this festival was held vary; like Pausanias saying it was to calm him down so he wouldn't send a plague.

But, you see, the main reason this festival is mentioned here: the Spartans would stop any military activity to honor a horned Apollo, he resembled Dionysus during that time. And not only that, but he also was related with vines during it, and that's Dionysus sacred plant. Just like the laurel (or bay, i think it's called in English) is the sacred tree of Apollo.

Seeing Apollo with that plant, and harvesting grapes while having horns, has a strong conection to what Dionysus is.

2. Delphi's Oracle.

It's still Apollo's Oracle, wether Dionysus kept it while he was gone at Hyperborea or not. He killed Python, Gaia's big-ass snake, in order to get it.

But.

While Apollo had to leave during the winter time to go to Hyperborea, it was Dionysus OF ALL GODS the one who kept Delphi, and thus, his festivals were celebrated there.

On one side of the main temple, you could see Apollo with his twin sister, Artemis, and his mother, Leto.

And on the other side, it was Dionysus.

Dionysus wasn't related to prophecies, at all. Maenads did shenanigans during the time Apollo wasn't there.

But it's, you know... Interesting, that Apollo's most important oracle was kept by Dionysus during the time that he wasn't there.

With this, you should think "then, they're in good terms, right?" Yeah, well, they're supposed to be, there's nothing stating that they have a bad relationship, it's the other way around, actually !

But the next point... Is gonna leave us all confused.

3. Orpheus.

Or, as i like to call it:

And my favourite part of this essay, gotta say !

Orpheus brought many cults to the Greeks, according to Pausanias. Like the Eleusinian Demeter one, for example. And not to forget, Orphism gets his name from him, as well as the Orphic Hymns, obviously.

But, apparently, besides doing all that, at the end of his life, he claimed to not care about any gods, not even Dionysus, the main figure of Orphism, that weren't Apollo.

And his death was explained in a lost play of Aeschylus, one that two different writers describe; Eratosthenes and Pausanias, so pick your favourite:

P: 1. the maeneads saw Orpheus refusing to worship Dionysus, and killed him.

E: 2. Or, the interesting one: Dionysus saw that Orpheus devoted himself to Apollo and Apollo only, and got... Jealous. Jealous of his devotion to Apollo.

He was the one who started Orphism, the one who wrote many hymns for him. Seeing him being devoted to someone else than him apparently wasn't a good move. In this version he sent the maeneads to kill him, they didn't go for their own will, which makes it more peculiar.

I'm not writting down Ovid's version because it doesn't fucking count.

Plato also says some odd thingy, that "the gods imposed on Orpheus the punishment of dying at the hands of women for not having had the courage to die for love like Alcestis, daughter of Pelias, who had died in the place of her husband Admetus." ... Which, yeah, sure, I guess, whatever you say, buddy. We have to keep in mind Plato's texts are more related to philosophy than anything.

People always say it's Apollo the one who was envious of Dionysus' talents and parties, (for... some reason i guess) specially knowing how he had two of his muses related to him (tragedy and comedy) due to Dionysus being, after all, the god of theatre.

But, surprise ! It was the other way around. Dionysus was jealous of Orpheus' devotion to Apollo. "If you won't devote yourself to me, you won't devote yourself to anyone".

And, well, either because the sources didn't survive or because he wasn't considered his son in these versions, Apollo didn't do anything. In fact, we never see him doing anything towards Dionysus.

So, what now, Nysus? What was their relationship exactly, after all of this?

It's... Complicated !! Okay !!! This needs more research from my part, plus we all should keep in mind that, while all the authors mentioned here were Greek, they were different guys. You always need to keep in mind the place, person, era... All of that, before starting to judge how a dynamic between two gods work.

( If you enjoy my badly-written posts, please consider buying me a kofi ! You're not forced to, though, but please, reblog this post at least if you are gonna leave a like ! 💕 That's what will motivate me to keep working on my essays )

[comfort-in-the-gods]

According to Sappho, „Before they were mothers Leto and Niobe had been the most devoted of friends” and I think this has to be one of the most intriguing concepts ever. What happened between them? Why did things go so wrong? How might they have gotten from closest of friends to Niobe disparaging Leto and her twins and Leto asking for the murder of Niobe's children?

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Some Greek goddesses doodles. Aphrodite, Artemis, the night and the dawn, and Hera 😊

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Apollo and Muses in their dressing room

Red-figured Attic hydria

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"Thrice-born"

"Golden-horned Savior,

Uncoil the snake that binds my hands,

And the hands that bind my neck,

Grant me the freedom of the Thrice-born."

-

***DO NOT REPOST MY ART OR I'LL CONSUME YOUR SOUL; I MEAN IT, PAL***

This is a devotional piece for Dionysos. It took me a VERY long time to finally finish it. I put a lot of symbolism and thought into it. Please, interpret it however you wish!

Is the skull laughing or screaming? Are the bones choking or wrapping? Is the wine drowning or saving?

Have fun with it! That's the beauty of this piece in particular. I know there's a lot going on in it, but hey, I tried my best ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ Thank you for checking it out! 💜💚

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1. It's never too soon, as long as your heart is full of love for the gods you're good to go. You don't need anything fancy. No gods are "off limits" to beginners. You don't need a god's permission to worship them, though it's a common practice to introduce yourself during the first prayer.

2. If you're referring to "Artemis and Aphrodite can't have alters next to each other because they have beef in the mythology" that's a modern invention. Historically all gods were worshipped together or in close capacity and their mythological relationships weren't taken into account. You aren't forced to worship Hestia's siblings, if you want to respect them you can give them a quick thanks or recount their family in a prayer for example: "I call to Hestia (epithet here if you want) sister of Zeus..." And then you'd go on to list the siblings, but only if you want to. I'll add here that traditionally a portion of each offering goes to Zeus (because he's the King of gods) and Hestia (as keeper of the Hearth) so if you want to mention them specifically even when not offering to them specifically, you absolutely can!

3. This changes from person to person. I think it's best to go with your intuition. Ask yourself, does swearing around or to the gods feel wrong? If yes you can take that into your practice!

Happy practicing! <3

Hey guys, so i’m new new to hellenism (like, 2 days in) and I have some questions (sorry if they’re super basic and common knowledge). I’d really appreciate if someone answered some or even one of them. (I think it’s important to note that I have been raised an atheist my whole life

How soon is too soon to start making alters and worshiping certain gods?

I know that the gods are interconnected, and people say you need to understand the relationships the gods have with each other. That being said, if I want to worship Hestia, how do I show respect for her siblings? Do I need to make alters for them? Do I need to pray?

What are people’s philosophy around swearing?

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Honestly, the fact that so many of us want to build temples for our beloved gods just fills my heart with so much joy. 😭💕

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This is a message for disabled, chronically ill, neurodivergent folk in their pagan practice!

I’m sure many of you have seen other practitioners say they devote many “small” things to the gods. I’ve seen people make lists that often look like this:

“Brush my teeth in honor of Hygeia, put on makeup for Aphrodite, do household chores for Hestia, read books for Athena”

Etcetera etcetera. For me, as a chronically ill, neurodivergent person this sounds like a nightmare. I will NEVER remember all this. I will not have the mental capacity for this, especially not on a regular basis. Unless the activity is bound to a specific deity regardless of intention, for me it’s just not a reliable method and if it isn’t for you either, don’t feel bad.

I often see this branded as “neurodivergent friendly” and I’m sure it is for some, but it’s not a one size fits all for sure. No hate, I just want to put this out there in case anyone else also feels stuck.

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A young Artemis getting her golden bow from Hephaestus.

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I've struggled with it in the past but I've come to terms with it. What helped me was thinking of the afterlife differently. I'm sure I'll never commit Tartarus level crimes so the worst that could happen is Asphodel. That scared me at first but then I imagined a peaceful meadow with a few unassuming flowers, swaying in the wind and I felt at peace. Also the possibility of drinking from Lethe helped me, it's easier to deal with when you know you can let go of your lived life once it's over.

In the end I think it all boils down to trusting the gods. Yes it's terrifying but there's also a warmness to it ^^

How do y'all reconcile a fear of death or dying within your practice? This question is for anybody; I'm genuinely curious (and also partially looking for advice because I'm struggling with this myself ^^;).

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Hera seducing Zeus

Based on the scene in the Iliad book 14. I followed how it was described + what Hera was wearing but also took some creative liberties.

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The warping of the story of Perseus and Medusa makes me angry. People act like the versions where Medusa used to be human are the only versions. People act like Athena did that to save her in those versions. People demonize Perseus.

He was a 15 year old kid trying to save his mother, was assisted in killing Medusa by Athena (in some versions), and used her head to kill the man attempting to force his mother into marriage.

He’s no monster. He’s a child doing anything he can to survive and keep his mom safe.

Medusa may have been a human in some versions but Perseus did not know that. The only way he would have known is if Athena told him. She didn’t.

Perseus is a victim too, in the older versions where Medusa is a born gorgon he and his mother are THE victims.

I read a post where someone was saying he hunted her for sport, killed her and used her as a weapon just because he could. How has the story become so warped that we all forgot that he was a child fighting for his mother.

Perseus was not the villain of the story.

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capricorn

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Uncle Rick why do you fo this to me😭 THIS is medusa, never a human, never a priestess to athena. People already get this story wrong and so much misinformation is spread about her story. She was born a monster same as the rest of her family. She was as much a monster as the minotaur. Ovid was way later and a Roman who wanted to make the Greek goods look bad. I get the meaning for victims of sa but we need to stop pretending it's the Greek story. This pagan is tired 😫

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Could you do Hestia epithets if you haven’t yet

sure thing! luckily, i'd already done a personal epithet hunt for her and had all these in my notes already hehe

χλοόμορφος (Khloomorphos) — verdant πολύμορφος (Polymorphos) — multi-formed πολύολβος (Polyolvos) — rich in blessings Χρυσόθρονος (Khrysothronos) — golden-throned ποθεινοτάτη (Potheinotati) — beloved βασίλεια (Basileia) — queen Παρθένος (Parthenos) — maiden βουλαία (Boulaia) — of the council Πρυτάνειος (Prytaneios) — of the prytaneis

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Mothers.

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less positive post, but as a cult survivor, I need some of y'all in pagan spaces to start being a lot more careful with the things you believe and do.

you need to check to see if what people say is actually backed up by sources. you need to do your own research. you need to learn to recognize 'new age' ideas and practices and avoid them. you need to be aware of when you're being drawn into a very insular or high control group.

you are not exempt from cults. you're not exempt from being drawn into cult like beliefs and practices. I've spent a lot of time learning to recognize cults and deconstruct and even if you've never been in one, you need to learn too.

lots of love <3