#Clio and Hyacinthus

[bigtimedaddy111]

Let’s take a minute to think about how sweet a reunion between Hyacinth and Clio would be.

Girl lost her only son, then one day had him back in her arms for all of eternity:

[kashtanblu25]

Mother Clio and her awesome son(⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)

Whatever is happening in my live I drawn Hyacinthus, yes...

[fanficwritingcentral]

Finally wrote this out!!!!

There once was a prince of Sparta (AO3 link)

Summary: Hyacinthus knew it'd be awhile before he'd get to be reunited with his love Apollo, but he thought awhile would be a few weeks, when the war was over, not after Apollo went on a year long trial to regain his godly hood that he had to watch through a small tv screen.

~~~

"Where is he?" Hyacinthus asked as he looked over the sea at the edge of the Island of Delos, sitting beneath the trees and surrounded with his own flowers, still weary of the Sun. Because the sun means him and he cannot know.

Notes: Ok, so this is an idea that mainly came from my James Bond/Pjo crossover where I brought Hyacinthus back through Gaia who wanted some way to distract Apollo but Hyacinthus' mother, Clio the muse of history, got to him first and hid him from Apollo so he wouldn't get distracted from the war. Hyacinthus ended up in Sparta and went with the Argo crew to Delos where he asked Artemis for refuge on the island until it would be safe to reunite with Apollo.

Basically the exact same but with no James Bond.

Hope you enjoy!!!! It's taken me over a year to write this and decided what was necessary to summarise from four books. I hope you liked what I decided was important enough to write out.

Enjoy 😘✌️

"Where is he?" Hyacinthus asked as he looked over the sea at the edge of the Island of Delos, sitting beneath the trees and surrounded with his own flowers, still weary of the Sun. Because the sun means him and he cannot know.

"I don't know." A voice answered behind him, "father sent him away after our battle against the Giants," she paused and Hyacinthus heard her soft footsteps on the grass coming towards him. "It's been over two weeks, and I have not heard anything from him, nor felt a single impression of him." She swallowed, "especially in the Sun."

Hyacinthus turned to Artemis, "he hasn't been driving the chariot?" That fact derailed his mind from the thoughts of the war being over for two weeks and him not knowing and just why Zeus would send Apollo away after their battle.

Artemis shook her head, "it's only the other Sun gods doing their duties. Sol, Freyr, Amaterasu and the others."

"But no Apollo."

Artemis nodded, "but no Apollo."

Hyacinthus looked back over the sea, watching as the sunlight glistened over the water, his heart heavy. By the Fates it wasn't fair. Haven't they been through enough?

"I will find him." Artemis vowed, "I will not rest until I know my twin is safe."

With that statement, Hyacinthus felt her presence disappear. Hanging his head, he sighed and stood up and walked out of the cover of the leaves, his flowers growing and dying after each footstep and stood in the light of the sun. Finally feeling the warmth he hasn't felt on his human skin in millennia.

"Where are you?" He whispered, absorbing the sun's warmth he denied himself after being brought back months ago. A warmth he once took such comfort in now only brought pain.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Three months pass and Hyacinthus is in his small hut, given to him by Artemis when she granted him refuge on Delos after he came to the island on the Argo II with those seven demigods that swore on the Styx not to reveal his return to Apollo, doing his best to keep his mind off said missing lover (not that it ever worked).

Artemis walked in and the hope he'd feel in the early months didn't even rise. All hope he once had, had been lost each time Artemis came back with no news to tell.

"Nothing?" He asked, pausing in his movements of putting towels away, prepared for the instant agreement.

But, this time, she did something different. This time, Artemis hesitated.

Hyacinthus put down the towels he was holding and came over to her, "Artemis please, what is it, what have you found?"

She pursued her lips and looked away from him.

"Artemis, please."

"I believe our father is still punishing him." She finally revealed quietly.

"Artemis, what do you mean 'still'? Why would Apollo be punished in the first place?" Hyacinthus asked slowly.

"It's why our father sent him away after the Giants battle, to be punished for allowing the prophecy of the seven be revealed this early, among other things." She said, her moon-like eyes shining with pain, "I didn't say it before because there is nothing my twin hates more than others knowing of the pain he goes through, especially those he loves."

Hyacinthus pulled out a chair and sat down, holding his head in his hands. He heard the tentative footsteps of the goddess coming closer to him and felt the warmth of the hand she placed on his shoulder.

"I'm scared Hyacinthus," she whispered, "I'm scared for my twin, for what punishment our father is dealing to him that's taking this long."

"How sure are you that your father still has him?" He asked.

A beat passes, then, "very sure," she said.

Hyacinthus closed his eyes and wished for the mind numbing existence of the plant he once was.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"We don't know yet. There's only something we can tell that's been hidden," she said the word with disgust, "from us. Apollo needs to be as focused as he can, if he were to find that you've come back now, that your return had been hidden from him, in the midst of him discovering he's completely mortal and what he has to do." Her voice broke, "he's barely hanging on as it is Hyacinthus, if you went to him now, I don't know what would happen."

Hyacinthus hated it, a lot, but he understood Artemis. He knew he'd understand her more later when he had some time to think about it but now, there was one thing that stood out to him.

"You've seen him?" He asked, tonelessly.

"I have," she admitted, "his services have been claimed by a demigod named Meg McCaffrey and Percy Jackson is currently taking them to Camp Half-blood."

"Is Apollo alright?"

"Better than he was."

"Artemis, what do you mean?"

Her moon yellow eyes burnt into him, "I promise you," she said, anger filled her voice, "you don't want to know."

"Artemis," he started.

"I promise you." She said fiercely.

He closed his eyes, "alright," he said and opened them again, "if I cannot go to him, is there a way for me to be able to see him?"

Artemis nodded, "I can give you one of Hephaestus' small tv screens, he has already created a channel to watch Apollo's journey," that fact made Hyacinthus ball his fists, Apollo's punishment turned into some kind of entertainment, "but remember, you won't hear or see everything that happens, only what Hephaestus' cameras consider note worth," she said with the same anger Hyacinthus felt in his chest.

"Thank you," he said to her and picked up his shears, "would you be able to place it in the hut?"

"I can if you'd like," she said, "but the TV can follow you wherever you'd want it."

"Oh."

With a wave of her hand, a screen appeared with wings flapping on the sides that held it in the air. Artemis also held a black rectangle with colourful dots in her hand.

"Do you know what this is?" She asked and held the black rectangle up.

"No, I only just understand the TV, Artemis."

"It's called a remote," she told him, "it's what you use to control the tv." She then explained the different functions of its many buttons. After the lengthy explanation, she looked up at him, “do you understand?” She asked.

Hyacinthus nodded, "I've got it."

"Good," Artemis said, "I'll write it down for you. I'll also set it up to show Apollo, but if you find you've accidentally changed the channel just press the seven here," she pointed to the button with a seven on it, "three times and it will take you back. I'll write that down too."

"Thank you, Artemis," he said quietly.

"Just know that what you see may upset you and I expect that you'll beg me to take you to him. But I can't, not yet at least."

Hyacinthus' eyebrows shoot up, "yet?" He asked, hopefully.

"Yet," she agreed, "I'll take you when I find the timing best."

"Thank you," he said again with tears in his eyes.

Artemis gave him a slight smile, "I'll set the TV up for you now."

Hyacinthus returned her smile and went to quickly put his shears away. He's got his lover to watch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hyacinthus, when he first saw Apollo's mortal form, couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Oh 'pollo," he said, his smile audible in his voice as he looked at the young spotty face of his godly lover, "this is truly your worst nightmare, isn't it?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Artemis," Hyacinthus called out in worry, knowing she'll be able to hear, "the children are going missing."

He felt a presence in his mind, "I know," she said, her tone regretful, "we cannot interfere."

"But it's their children!"

"I know, Hyacinthus. I know." And her presence left his mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh, Apollo, my love, you unfairly beautiful fool," Hyacinthus said as he watched Apollo swear on the river Styx to never play music or do archery again while he's mortal, "what have you done."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"But his children, Artemis!" Hyacinthus said to her as she stood at the end of his table, his arms gesturing out, "his children are now in the forest, possibly going insane from the regrown Forest of Dodona and you expect me to just watch!"

"I do," Artemis said, her tone resolute, "there is nothing we can do but watch."

"Send me now," he demanded, "I need to help him save them."

"No." She said, "I will not."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So the thing that's been hidden from the gods was that the worst three Roman Emperors never died and formed the company Triumvirate Holdings." Hyacinthus said, as he threw bird feed out for the swans.

"That's right," Artemis said as she sat on the fence of the pen.

"Explain the Emperors to me, please," he asked, "they were way after my time."

"Of course. Now, the three are Nero, Commodus and Caligula. Out of the three Nero was the worst…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A presence filled his mind as he layed in bed, trying to get what rest he could. It's not a presence he's felt before.

"You want to help him, kid?" The voice asked, tone cool and relaxed.

"Who are you?" He asked in return, ready to pray to Artemis and his mother for help.

"None of that now," the voice said and for a second he saw an image of a dark skinned woman wearing a necklace with an odd large circle pendant with weird shaped slices, "just chill, yeah?"

"Just, chill?" He repeated in confusion.

The voice sighed, "look, do you want to help my grandson or not?"

"Who is your grandson?"

The voice sighed again, "my grandson, Apollo."

"Apollo's your grandson? But that would make you-"

"Yes, yes, his grandmother Rhea, now I will ask you once more. Do you want to help him?"

"Yes, I do, but how can I trust who you are?"

"I swear on the river Styx I am Rhea and I'll do you no harm," Hyacinthus heard thunder rumble outside, "is that good enough for you?"

"It is, yes," his voice meek now he knows the mother of the gods is speaking to him, "what do I need to do."

"Nothing more than sleep, kid. I'll take care of the rest."

Hyacinthus fell asleep the instant he closed his eyes. When he woke, he half remembered an odd dream with Apollo's mortal form, talking of caves and springs of all things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"By the Gods," Hyacinthus muttered as he saw the missing demigods bound to wooden crosses in white cloth, ready to be burnt.

"Artemis, I want this fake god dead," he said, the same rage Apollo surely felt in his shaking form as he took in the sight.

"As do I," Artemis answered in his mind, her fury unhidden.

Hyacinthus' rage turned to pain and sadness as he watched Meg leave with her cruel step-father (who doesn't even deserve the title of father) and then as the Dryads of the forest took in the fire and sacrificed themselves to save Apollo and the demigods.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hyacinthus laughed himself to the ground amidst his flowers that began to grow over him at the sight of the giant statue of his lover's body (of course he knew it was Apollo's body) now relieved of its Nero shaped head just because Apollo gave it a chill.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So now he's to go off with Leo and Calypso," said Hyacinthus with closed eyes as he layed in the sun, his flowers surrounding him and swaying in the breeze.

"His task is not over yet," Artemis reminded him as she sat beside him. "He still has four oracles to gain back."

"I know, but I am proud of what he's done."

"As am I."

"And his strength," said Hyacinthus, "you saw that, right?"

"I did," Artemis agreed, "I don't think my father was as absolute in taking away Apollo's powers as he liked to believe."

Hyacinthus hummed in agreement and let himself fall into a light doze.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Six weeks," Hyacinthus kicked a chair, "six weeks I had to wait to see him again and only got a few minutes of a fight before it went fuzzy just as they got saved."

"Artemis," he said, noticing her grin, "why are you smiling? Artemis?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"He's going to save griffins?" Hyacinthus said to Apollo Jr who honked in reply.

"Right you are," he nodded, "I don't understand either."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So this is Commodus," Hyacinthus said with a stirring pit in his gut he was trying to ignore. He knew how Apollo was and knew this relationship happened long after his death. But, still.

"Don't worry, my sweet boy," his mother told him, knowing him completely and kissed the side of his head, "you're still my favourite of Apollo's lovers." She then grinned, "even more than me."

"Mother!"

His mother just laughed brightly in return.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I think he's changing Artemis," Hyacinthus said and felt a sense of foreign agreement in his mind.

He watched Apollo try and push life into Meg. He already felt a rollercoaster of emotions after watching Apollo lose his mind drinking water from those springs (why do those springs feel so familiar, like something from once upon a dream?).

But watching Apollo try his hardest to bring this young girl back to life made his heart feel a little lighter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hyacinthus, close your eyes!" Artemis shouted at him in panic and he had no choice but to comply.

The instant he did, bright light filled the room. It was so bright that it even brought pain to his closed eyes (surprising since it came from such a small screen).

"You can open them now," Artemis said, with wonder in her tone.

"What was that?" Hyacinthus asked and opened his watery eyes.

"My brother just released his divine form."

Hyacinthus blinked. "What?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Artemis, let me go," he said to the goddess, "I can help them."

"No," she replied, "not yet."

"Camp Jupiter is going to be attacked! I can do something, I know how to fight, I was a prince of Sparta!"

"And you've spent over three-thousand years as a flower, Hyacinthus," she said gently, "how much of that do you even remember?"

Hyacinthus slammed his hands on the table, stood up and left.

"Hyacinthus!" Artemis called out to him.

"I'm going to the swans!" He shouted in reply as he walked away without turning back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You were always a good swordsman," his mother said as she walked to him in his self made training area.

"I was," Hyacinthus said as he huffed with his sword movements, "but it's been over three thousand years since then." He then dropped his sword with a hiss as he felt a sharp pull of a muscle in his arm, "I need to practice again."

His mother hummed, "is this because of Apollo?"

Hyacinthus dropped to the ground beside his sword for a rest. "Some parts, yes, but also for me. Artemis was right, there isn't much I remember since being a flower."

His mother sat beside him and gently brushed a hand over his flowers that had grown around him, "I could never find myself to be upset about your fate. You were taken from me so cruelly, yet there was still a part of you I could keep. I was thankful for it. And now you've been brought back to me completely, and it doesn't even matter that it was because of Gaea. I could hold you in my arms again."

Hyacinthus tilted his head and regarded her, "forgive me, mother," he said, "but what is your point with this?"

His mother cupped his face, "I did not miss you because you were a prince or a talented swordsman, I missed you because you are my beautiful son. Your past is past so don't try to force yourself to be who you once were. Who you are now is what's important."

"But how can I help him if I can't even hold a sword properly, if I can't even hit a target with an arrow? What use am I then?"

"Hyacinthus, my sweet, my little prince," his mother pulled him into her arms and held him tight, "if you were to appear to Apollo now, just as you are, the last thought on his mind would be on how useful you are to him. But train, if you must, for your own peace of mind. And remember, please, don't despair if you find you're not as you once were. You are who you are now, and that is enough."

Tears fell down Hyacinthus' face as he listened to his mother and felt the comfort of her arms.

"Now tell me," she said and kissed his head, "what is dear Apollo up to now?"

Hyacinthus pulled himself out of his mother's arms and wiped his eyes, "he's with Piper and Jason," he cleared his throat, "and something about needing to steal Caligula's shoes?" He said with a confused tilt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hyacinthus looked at the screen from where he sat, then to the swans and then back to the screen.

"Do you think you could do that?" He asked the swans as he watched Caligula's horse capture his lover and the three demigods.

Delilah came over and honked in his face before pecking the ground covered in little yellow flowers and his own for food next to Apollo Jr the third.

Hyacinthus sighed as he got up and went to get more feed for them, "yeah, didn't think so."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hyacinthus looked at the screen.

"He's dead," he said and stared at the image of Jason, the youngest of the King of the Gods' children, speared to the ground.

Jason, who showed him kindness on the ship, before he was dropped off at Delos. Who would always try to help him out with something that confused him about the new world.

His last words to Apollo, begging him to remember what it's like to be human.

"He's dead," Hyacinthus repeated and looked at the heartbroken expression on his lover's face.

"He's dead.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Is there anything you can tell me?" Hyacinthus asked the flowers hoarsely, voice still rough with his tears from Jason's death, "Apollo going into the Labyrinth makes the screen say 'technical difficulties'?"

Little whispers were his reply, "great, old, hot" and "dark" were the only decipherable words amongst them.

Hyacinthus swallowed, "I see, thank you my friends," he closed his eyes and listened to the flowers happy little chatters at being thanked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Let Thalia know they're sending him to Camp Jupiter for his burial." He said at night and looked at the moon

"She knows." The Goddess replied in his mind and he watched as she drove her chariot over the starry night sky.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hyacinthus thanked both Artemis/Diana (can never be too careful with them heading into Camp Jupiter) and his mother for the young demigod Lavinia who saved Apollo and Meg (and the coffin he could barely think of who it contained) with her friends from the Eurynomos.

“You're welcome my sweet,” his mother said absentmindedly as her eyes seemed to be trained on the young girl. “She looks familiar to me.” she stated.

Hyacinthus stared hard at his mother. “She better not be my sister.”

“No, no” his mother said, waving a hand, “there's just someth-,” and then grinned triumphantly. “She is your cousin. A daughter of my sister, the muse of dancing, Terpsichore.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tears fell down Hyacinthus’ face as he watched Jason's funeral. The love he could feel from all those in Camp Jupiter practically radiated from the screen.

He watched as the Wolf Goddess Lupa called Apollo to speak with him, as she told how Apollo would be able to finally call for help but only if he managed to defeat Tarquin.

How her piercing wolf eyes stared right into his through the screen just before she disappeared.

“You better call for your sister, Apollo,” he said to himself in his hut, “she will answer you, I know it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hyacinthus was grateful he was sitting down as he didn't know how much more his heart could take. Apollo apparently was infected with poison that was slowly killing him and turning him into one of Tarquin’s undead slaves. And when did Apollo get infect- No, Hyacinthus' thoughts stopped as his mind went back to when Apollo and Meg were heading to camp Jupiter, how one of the eurynomos lightly, ever so lightly, scratched Apollo.

“By the gods,” He whispered in horror.

Hyacinthus then had to wait another day for the tv to show Apollo again, only to come to a war on Camp Jupiter, Apollo looking even worse, Diana not answering Apollo's call (why oh why had she not answered) and now watching Frank light himself and the Emperor Caligula on fire with the stick that holds Frank's life.

Apollo Jr. Jr. Jr. honked in protest as Hyacinthus squeezed him tighter while the other swans honked without a care around him and his flowers curled themselves around his arms and legs in his agitation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Diana!" He screamed out, hands now fisted into his hair after releasing Apollo Jr. Jr. Jr. from his hold as he watched Apollo fall to the ground on the screen, finally succumbing to the fatal injury from the Eurynomos.

"I'm there." He heard her say in his mind, her voice having a more formal tone in this aspect than as Artemis.

Hyacinthus sobbed into his hands as he saw Diana appear at Apollo's side and began to heal him.

"He'll be fine." She said to him in his mind, "I swear it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hyacinthus watched with relief and longing as a healthy Apollo and Meg were getting ready to head back towards New York (and hopefully Camp Half Blood) on screen. Not so much however to also ignore his feeling of delight at seeing the alive figure of Frank.

"They've done so well," he said to himself, eyes trained on his lover's face (young and different as it was, it was still unmistakably him). Apollo had recovered four oracles as a mortal, a feat worthy of the epics his lover so favoured.

"They have," Artemis agreed as she appeared without warning and caused Hyacinthus to jump with a shout.

"Art-" he started after his heart calmed down then actually looked at her, "Diana," he corrected himself and bit his lip, "how… how is he?"

"He's well," she said and the formality in her tone was even more apparent when she spoke out loud rather than in the mind, "just as I promised you he would be."

He nodded and looked back at the screen that had gone dark now that nothing it didn't believe was of any interest was happening.

"How long until you deem I can go to him?"

"How does now sound to you?"

His head shot towards her and he took her smirking face with full gleaming silver eyes and grinned.

"Now sounds wonderful." He said and went to grab the pack he's had ready since he knew of Apollo's fate and his weapons that were hidden as rings.

"I'll take you to Camp Half Blood," Diana said as Hyacinthus double checked to make sure he had everything, "and the swans will go with you.”

[gotstabbedbyapen]

Do I like this character because they are themselves or do I like them because they're related to Hyacinthus?

No, really. I've been asking myself this question these days because all of my "favorite Greek mythology characters" list consisted of people related to Hyacinthus in way or another. Clio the Muse his mother, Amyclas and Diomede his mortal parents, his many siblings, Helen and Menelaus because Helen is a descendant of Hyacinthus. Apollo and Polyboea are better because I can imagine them separately from Hyacinthus.

I'm kinda feeling guilty because these characters deserved love as their own people, not because they're related to my Favorite GuyTM :'<

[gingermintpepper]

hi I love your tags so so much! they were so sweet and so interesting and creative and the whole Aphrodite type of beauty thing sounds really interesting do you have any articles and recommendations to read further into it??

-hogoflight

Hello my fine feathered (I am assuming possession of feathers if you are, indeed, capable of flight) @hogoflight! I'm always always happy to hear that people appreciate my frenzied rambling in the tags :D! I have a lot of articles and recommendations :D!! Ancient Greek notions of beauty and representations of it in their art and sculptures is a pretty well studied topic! There isn't any way for us now to know definitively what the beauty standard was (it varied widely from region to region and culture to culture after all) but here are a couple of my favourite reads about Aphrodite and what her representations tell us about idealised beauty!

Probably the most empirically extensive one I can list is Krönström's thesis which compares statues of Aphrodite and literary text referring to both the goddess and mortal women to determine physical ideals for women in five specific eras of Grecian antiquity. Including measurements of the statues there are many descriptions of Aphrodite as 'curvy' with a 'voluptuous figure' and with 'ample buttocks and bosom'.

"When the beauty traits are described in the texts, they are never extreme or anything that could not be found in normal people just that they are more beautiful in every aspect. Furthermore, the sculptures’ physical forms look healthy, they are tall and have distinct curves. Great examples of this are the Knida sculpture and de Milo (the Melian) sculpture."

Of course, these images are still idealised, and there was still a concept such as 'too fat' or 'too skinny' found in written records (and this thesis even includes analysis of pornographic writings and descriptions of the fashion and stylings of pubic hair of women from different regions!!) but from an interpretational standpoint? There is absolutely no reason why these can't refer to a fuller figure. Height was also a very important factor after all and over the course of many eras, it seems like being well proportioned in addition to the length and appearance of one's hair were the most important factors (and, like Apollo, greater beauty was given to those with curlier hair)

Mireille M. Lee's 'Other Ways of Seeing' essay which talks about the forgotten female viewers of Knidian Aphrodite which is also extremely illuminating on how Aphroditic sexuality and sensuality was perceived totally differently from the well documented male voyeuristic gaze (which was overly preoccupied with the statue's nakedness and therefore over-sensationalised the statue's physical appearance) vs women's perspective on the statue which is more centered on the beauty of simplicity in Aphrodite's garment and decoration and in her power and ability to captivate both in her finery and without it. I think it's especially useful in exploring the importance of finery, jewellry and adornment in representations of Aphroditic beauty.

"Some of the small-scale copies are heavily jeweled, especially those from the eastern Mediterranean, for example the Hellenistic gilded terracotta statuette in the Çanakkale Museum (Fig. 5) in which the goddess wears, in addition to the armband on her (right) arm, the following: a necklace with multiple pendants; cross-bands extending over both shoulders and hips, with a cascading pendant in the center; a coiled snake armband on the left arm and another snake on her left thigh, and a twisted anklet on her right leg. (The left leg has been restored, and might also have featured an anklet.)"

"Jewelry is especially associated with Aphrodite in Greek literature. As seen above, in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, the goddess adorns herself with gold jewelry, dress-pins, and earrings in the shape of flowers (162–3)..."

Finally, and to me, the most important one in the argument for an interpretation of Hyacinthus as fat, beautiful and fundamentally Aphroditic comes from Brilmayer's brilliant brilliant thesis done on Aphrodite's work and influence in Archaic Greek Poetry which does away with all of that masculine preoccupation with physical proportion, measurement and bodily ideals for a focus on a Sapphic Aphroditic ideal centered in clothing, ornamentation and, most importantly cunning as symbols of Aphrodite and ultimately a feminine idealised form of beauty. This paper also discusses Pandora and Helen in these terms and it is just kind of a wonderful read tbh.

"Combining Homeric and Hesiodic elements with her own ideas, she [Sappho] alters the way female beauty is viewed. For example, the Homeric war chariot – a symbol of male, military prowess - comes to symbolise the totality of Aphrodite’s power uniting in itself male and female qualities. Having addressed the concept of beauty directly, Sappho then concludes that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. With the help of Helen of Troy and her beloved Anaktoria, Sappho sets out to reinvent the concept of female beauty as a godlike, subjective quality that may be expressed in many ways, yet remains inspired by Aphrodite."

The conclusion to all of this of course is that Aphroditic ideal beauty is much more fluid compared to its stricter Apolline masculine standard. The nuances and understandings of both are of course, constantly being studied, analysed and scrutinised but really, if Dionysus who was both bearded and clean shorn, effeminate, birthed and rebirthed (and twice gestated!) and strongly associated with vegetation can be popularly portrayed as fat and handsome, why can't Hyacinthus?!

[sarafangirlart]

Apparently Hyacinthus is in some version the sim of the muse Clio, meaning Apollo dates both the mother and son lol

He has a type what can you do lol

[gotstabbedbyapen]

Did you not swear that you would never let your loved ones cry for you?

You liar. You lying bastard.

Look, look at your lover. He is crying for you, amber tears wetting his flushed cheeks and rolling down your bloody face as he holds you in his arms, the damned discus discarded by your side. The god of light is extinguished by his agony like a candle that almost fell into the void. Almost. Because he is still a god, the darkness of the Underworld cannot kill him and allow him to reunite with you, no matter how much he screams and begs.

Look at your sister. You promised to take her swimming in the Eurotas River when the days are hot. Tomorrow is the first day of summer, how could you break your promise? The princess of Sparta collapses when she sees your paled corpse in the field. She screams until her throat is raw and her heart is torn and digs her nails into her arms until blood begins to drip from the scratches, all just to make her realize it isn’t a dream. She has truly lost you.

And look at your dear mother, your long-suffering mother. Was from the moment she gave birth to you, she already doomed you to a premature death? Or was your early and painful end already set in stone from the moment your mother chided the goddess of love? Yet you love your mother so much, that even in death you never once blame her. You only wish to reach out and wipe away her tears as she falls on her knees, about to faint upon receiving the terrible news.

You liar. You lying bastard.

Look how you've made them cried for you. Look at what you've done. You've hurt them.

prompt 2579

Write a story from the point of view of a person who dies in the story. You can choose to do this in retrospect--the person is already dead and is recounting how it happened (like Sunset Boulevard). Or you can write about what happens after the person has died from their perspective ( like The Lovely Bones).

[dirtwormpile]

infodump on apollo

happy sunday! heres an infodump on father phoebus

warning; nerdy

parents: zeus and leto siblings (notable): artemis (twin/older sister), many other half-siblings symbols: the sun, the lyre, the bow, laurel wreath domains: the sun, light, music, art, divine inspiration, truth, oracles, the plague, medicine, etc. children (notable): asclepius, orpheus, hector of troy, troilus of troy, aristaeus

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origin:

apollo's name is likely not greek, the origins are hard to find because the earliest evidence of apollo we have is in the iliad, which is written after the greek dark ages. however, his name might have come from the luwian word Apaliunas, meaning hunter, this ties him to artemis!

this also means he came from another region, like his myth, where he joined olympus from somewhere else

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appearance:

according to orpheus, he has golden hair.

often shown with dark skin, as shown by this image from pompeii, 1st century AD

always shown as a youthful man, either holding a lyre, a bow, or a laurel wreath.

sometimes shown,,, nude. which signified beauty and/or purity.

sometimes shown with a red or blue robe

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mythology (list):

birth, where all the goddesses came when he was born, and praised him. delos was covered with flowers and gold.

slaying of python

fate of niobe, where artemis and apollo killed niobe's children for her act of hubris.

building the walls of troy with poseidon.

trojan war, read the iliad.

(notable) lovers:

something to note before i say more, apollo does not have a 'sad love life', he is unmarried on his own choice. carry on.

the muses, who are calliope (goddess of epic poetry), clio (goddess of history), polyhymnia (hymns), euterpe (goddess of song), terpsichore (goddess of dance), erato (goddess of lyrical poetry), melpomene (goddess of tragic literature), thalia (goddess of comedy), and urania (goddess of astronomy)

cyrene, who he built a city for, and fathered aristaeus, and idmon

aphrodite

hecuba of troy, who he fathered many sons with, such as troilus.

hyacinthus of sparta, you know this myth.

adonis, who was also in a poly relationship with him and aphrodite

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again, happy sunday! have my playlist for him :)

blessed be <3

[bigtimedaddy111]

Mama’s Boy

(Ignore the old design)

Gotta love Clio and her baby

[hjbiscus]

imagine when apollo went to camp jupiter there were kids of Clio and they looked just like hyacinthus

[silmarillaure]

Contradiction:

Hyacinthus was Clio's son

Coronis (mother of Asclepius) was Erato's granddaughter

I am convinced that whenever any of the Muses had a kid, he/she became the common ward of all the nine sisters and Apollo, because why else would every child of a Muse have 5 different parentages??

[fanficwritingcentral]

Flower Prince (AO3 link)

Summary: When Hyacinthus died in Apollo's arms, he never thought he'd ever wake up.

But, looking at his mother all these years later, hopefully she can give him some answers.

~~~~~~~

It wasn't meant to end like this.

His head pounded with sharp pain and blood blurred his vision. Divine golden eyes tinted red dripped tears over his face and he raised a weak shaking hand to wipe them away.

Notes: So I've been kinda thinking about what it would be like for Hyacinthus to wake up after Gaia brought him back and how that would look and came up with this. Hopefully you guys like it, it's pretty much a prequel to There Once was Prince of Sparta that I wrote a month ago but I just finished it now

Hope you enjoy 😘✌️

It wasn't meant to end like this.

His head pounded with sharp pain and blood blurred his vision. Divine golden eyes tinted red dripped tears over his face and he raised a weak shaking hand to wipe them away.

"It wasn't your fault," he forced out, words had suddenly become harder to say, "I do not blame you, 'pollo."

The God above him sobbed, "oh Hyacinthus, my Hyacinthus, I cannot heal you, I cannot help you." The God bowed his head to rest his forehead against his.

Hyacinthus closed his eyes, sight had become to painful. "I forgive you," he whispered.

Apollo screamed and a bright light burned through his eyelids. Suddenly, the pain began to disappear as did the feeling in his arms and legs. The loss of feeling traveled up his limbs and over his body and with it came an odd mash of thoughts: the sun is harsh, when will it rain, I need water, let me spread let me sprout let me grow and grow and grow.

Just before he lost his head, he gave one last prayer to Apollo, please, 'pollo, do not let the west wind carry me.

And then he was lost.

.

... He grew.

.

And the world turned and turned.

.

.

... He spread, far and wide.

.

.

.

"Little prince." An earthly voice called out.

... He grew.

.

.

"Little prince." An earthly voice called again, louder.

Hmm? he stirred but quickly became lost again.

.

He drank.

.

"Time to return, Little Prince."

.

.

.

... Hyacinthus opened his eyes to the bright blue sky and the burning sun right above him. He quickly closed his eyes and inhaled sharply. The scent of nature quickly filled his nose, the trees, grass and flowers so strong that he began to cough harshly. He turned to his side, trying to raise himself with weak shaking arms while his chest racked itself with coughing.

He then took notice of the sound, the leaves and branches swaying gently with the breeze, the incects buzzing in the air and a stream burbling near by.

His arms collapsed underneath him, and he began to groan in pain as all his senses were assaulted with the world around him. He curled up and covered his ears with his hands and keened.

And keened.

Hands then began touching him and a voice was saying words he couldn't understand. He cried, it hurt, he tried pushing them away, couldn't they understand it hurt?

It hurt so much.

He felt drops of water falling above him, landing on his cheak and trailing across his nose.

A snap.

His surroundings instantly changed, the noise and smells stopped and he laid on something soft.

His cried and cried.

And hand gently laid on his head and lightly touched his hair making him whine and shake his head. The hand quickly retreated and a voice spoke quietly but he could not comprehend them.

A finger then touched his forehead and he fell into darkness.

...

...

Hyacinthus woke up.

He opened his eyes and looked around the small room he was in, the walls and ceiling were made of wood. Light streamed in from the windows, it seemed to be the only thing coming from them. How odd. And they seemed to shine, like they had a clear cover. Glass?

The scent in the room felt light, as did the noise. It was... bearable.

Two chairs and a small table were by the end of the room close by the door and there was a little bowl filled with flowers that he knew intimately in the centre of the table.

He then focused on himself and the mattress and pillow he laid on. He felt around himself, the mattress was covered in some kind of cloth and he could not even say what the mattress was made of, though it did feel better than anything he had lain on before. The pillow felt familiar, like the feathered filled ones he was used to as a prince, though it too was covered in cloth similar to the mattress.

He himself was bare, no clothes nor blanket covered him.

This did not bother him as it may have in the past.

A rattling sound came from the door and his eyes shot towards it. The door opened and in came someone he would know anywhere.

Someone he'd known his entire life and loved completely even with her distance. His mother.

"Mama." He called out with a soft weak voice and slightly lifted a hand in her direction.

His mother's eyes snapped to him and dropped what she was holding. Without a care to the items, she quickly went over to him and he watched as tears soon began to fall down her face.

"My baby," she cried, "my sweet prince," she carefully placed her arms around him and hugged him. The touch felt uncomfortable, but for his mother he could endure it. He had no strength to hug her back, he could only lean his head against hers.

They hugged for as long as Hyacinthus could bare it, and then he could not more. He leaned back and felt his mother's arms withdraw. He looked into her purple eyes, an even more intense colour than his own, and wondered at the gift he been given, just how had it happened?

"Mama?" He said quietly, he still had no energy to raise it any more than slightly above a whisper, "how am I here? How was I brought back?"

His mother gave a tight smile and lightly brushed a small lock of his hair out of his face, "the Earth Mother brought you back, love."

"The Earth Mother?" He said slowly, "why would she bring me back? I may not have been very aware of things as a flower but I do know that it has been a very long time since I was alive, what would be the point?"

"There is a war," his mother answered and brought his blanket up to cover him a bit more-

"A war?" He interrupted.

"Yes," she nodded and brushed her hands across the blanket, making it neat like she had the few times she visited as a child, "a war, the Earth Mother is waking up and wants to take back control. She's already brought back warriors of old to make it harder for the young demigods to fight against her, so I can only assume she done the same for you."

Hyacinthus' mind raced, a war and the Earth Mother herself bringing old warriors back from the dead, but still, what would be the point of him? He's never had issues with other demigods, he would never want any harm to come to them, their lives were already hard enough. The only issue he might have is with the-

"Gods," he said simply, as a statement, "I was brought back for the Gods, yes?"

His mother's eyes welled up in tears and she nodded, "Yes, love, you were brought back for the Gods. She's doing whatever she can to ensure she would win, and what better way to ensure that than taking out one of the most powerful? An Olympian."

"She would use me against Apollo."

"She would," his mother nodded again, "and it would work so easily, Apollo, if he knew, would be distracted completely, his mind would be on nothing else other than you. Us Gods are obsessive afterall, as you know."

Hyacinthus' mind went back to that fateful day, how the wind changed so quickly, a powerful blow from the west in one second and a painful crack in his head the next. Yes. He understands their obsessiveness intimately.

"I would never want to hurt him for it," he said, "I hate how I was caught between them but not him. Never him."

His mother sat on the side of his bed, "I know, love. But we are very lucky that the Earth Mother miscalculated on one thing."

His scrunched his forehead in thought, "what one thing?"

Smiling brightly, his mother replied, "Me. She never counted on me to notice first."

Hyacinthus gave a small relived smile in response, "and how lucky we are for that, mama."

[gotstabbedbyapen]

I'm curious, who are your favourite gods/goddesses?

Number one favorite will always be Hyacinthus ❤️

(he's more like a god-hero/pre-Hellenic god)

Number two is a tie between Polyboea and Apollo!

And number three is a tie between Demeter, Persephone, Artemis, and Clio!

[gingermintpepper]

This morning at like 4 am I said I'd post about Hyapollo when I woke up and I'm awake now so:

Here is a list of very specific headcanons about how Hyacinthus and Apollo's first meeting goes (this is, in fact, specific to the retelling that is living rent-free in my mind)

Apollo goes to Amyclae because he's looking for Clio. She's been missing for quite some time and the other Muses have done a wonderful job covering for her (read: hiding the reason she's MIA so Apollo doesn't get into a tiff with Aphrodite when he's already very stressed) but Apollo's gotten suspicious and none of his girls will give him a straight answer so fine, he'll find her himself.

Slips into mortal guise as a huntsman named Agreus (He's very stressed okay, don't critique his naming sense) and makes an exchange with Hermes for some information so he at least has a lead on where to start looking.

Hears from Hermes that she may or may not be in Lapith which is great, actually, Apollo hasn't checked in on how those particular descendants have been doing in quite some time so really, it's all working out.

Decides to make something of a trip out of it - he hasn't assumed mortal guise in a long time and it'll be longer still before he gets to wear it again. Goes to Amyclae so he can take the ship from there to Lapith, gets stopped by some men returning from a hunt of their own.

"Foreigner, what business do you have in our fair city?" "Merely passing through, to Lapith." "To Lapith? Where is your pass?" "My what?"

Gets arrested :(

His case gets processed fairly quickly actually - he only spends a few hours in merchant jail before he's taken to plea his case with one of the princes of Amyclae

The prince is actually one of the hunters that had him arrested. Lovely. His hair keeps catching Apollo's eyes though, thick and bright red. Almost familiarly so...

"Pardon me - " "No" "- but I can't help but notice your hair milord. Is the current queen Thracian?" "You claim to want passage to Lapith but know nothing of its affairs? The current queen is the lady of Lapith, Diomede."

Apollo hasn't been keeping much of an eye on Lapith, but as far as he knows, there hasn't been a prominent Diomede since the days of Lapithes. And she was his daughter.

It kind of clicks then - Aphrodite punishing Clio with the same fate she scolded her for, to fall in love with a mortal and experience the pain she felt for Adonis. Diomede is the kind of clever, obscure name Clio would pick, which makes this very grumpy prince in front of him both her son and a part of that punishment. Wonderful.

(The prince's name is apparently Hyacinthus. Apollo manages to convince him to let him free since he's clearly not been to Lapith in quite some time and has not kept up to date with its legislation. He pays his fine and is out of the holding cells by nightfall.)

[moonyasnow]

SSR Tomoe Sakurada - Birthday Girl Vignette

"Happy Birthday"

(PART 1) PART 2 (PART 3)

Um, is it true that you're not part of any club...?

It is. I don't have the time for it, sadly. I help out the Newspaper Club often, mostly due to being a safe choice of interviewer. Even if I did join, I imagine all the other members would be inconvenienced at how often Crowley would call me away on other errands.

Then, if you did have the time, if you could join any club, what kind would it be? Even one NRC doesn't have, I mean.

I'd love to join an archery club. I used to do archery as a hobby at home, specifically the traditional Japanese artform of Kyuudo. I was part of the school's Kyudo club for my entire time there.

I miss it.

I've become so out-of-practice since coming here that I wonder if I would even be able to draw the bow I used to practice with.

Oh, um...maybe you could ask Rook to let you borrow a bow? I don't think he'd mind.

I'm sure I could. But I'm afraid Japanese bows are too different to easily compare. For one, they're a lot heavier.

I see...

I know I'm changing topic, but if it's okay to ask— does your brooch have any specific meaning...?

It does! This, an open scroll, is one of the symbols of the muse Clio, the patron muse of History! Fittingly enough, etymologically, her name is supposed to mean something like 'to celebrate' or 'to recount'! Though originally, Clio was the muse of song, dance and music; it was only in the classical period where she was named the muse of history.

Another one of her symbols is the clepsydra, the water clock, an early predecessor to the sand hourglass!

Interestingly enough, in some legends it is said that Aphrodite herself, after Clio gave her a stern lecture about her love for the mortal Adonis, made Clio fall for a king— most typically king Pierus or Pieros of Macedonia, but the specific person isn't consistent— and thus later birthed Hyacinthus, who would go on to be one of Apollo's lovers.

And Hyacinthus—

Ah!

[*blush*] Pardon me... I susppose the readers wouldn't know who the muses are. Or who Aphrodite is...or Macedonia...or Apollo.

Ahem...

I also decided on a scroll because it was a good way to represent history.

Tag list: @another-random-paradise @thehollowwriter @faefum @cactus13-rolloflammesimp @beneathsakurashade

@nyx-of-night @theolivetree123 @babyghoul138 @skibidibabygirl @screamintoad

@gingacat @buttholesparkles @scint1llat3 @jadelover69 @angelwishess

@crimsonrose34 @nerenda @chillygourami

Please let me know if you ever wanna be added or removed! ^^

[diana-thyme]

Greek Travel Altars: A Masterlist

Complete

Aphrodite

Apollon

Dionysus

Nyx

Hekate

Hermes

Ares

Hades

Thanatos

Zeus

Asteria

Hera

Athena

Artemis

Hestia

Peitho

Psyche

Persephone

Aristaeus

Mnemosyne

Eros

Medusa

Hephaestus

Hypnos

Melinoe

Gaia

Helios

Asklepios

Hygieia

Morpheus

Pan

Hyacinthus

Ariadne

Macaria

Iris

Eos

Ganymede

Prometheus

Triptolemus

Queued

In Progress

Poseidon

Selene

Planning

Calliope

Clio

Erato

Euterpe

Melpomene

Polyhymnia

Terpsichore

Thalia

Urania

Melete

Aoede

Rhea

Amphridite

Heracles

Ampelus

Narcissus

Adonis

Menthe

Crocus

Kyane

Zagreus

Phobos

Deimos

Khaos

Silenus

Priapus

Kratos

Kirke

Telegonos

Portunus

Mefitas

Phanes

Enyo

Enyalios