#abduction of europa reference

[gold4miracle]

The Abduction of Luigi

[the-mandawhor1an]

Solo works masterlist

» Click here to be added to the tag list «

As I now have a few drabbles that have nothing to do with my series, I'm opening up a second master list for all of these.

There will be more very soon!

NSFW will be tagged

Din Djarin:

Just a scratch – young!Din x Reader – fluff, minor injury

Inspired by immarocketman's artwork – Din x Reader – domestic fluff, nothing else

Have a taste – Mand'alor!Din x Wife!Reader – explicit smut, refer to the tags

Returning to you – Din x 2 f!OCs – explicit smut, harem, MFF throuple

Joel Miller:

Domestic God – pre/no-outbreak!Joel x Reader – pure fluff, no warnings

My favorite pillow – Jackson!Joel x Reader – a dash of angst and fluff

Frankie "Catfish" Morales:

Europa – Frankie x Reader – Re-tell of the abduction of Europa – dubcon elements, non-explicit smut

Marcus Acacius:

Searching for the stars – Marcus x Reader – Ongoing miniseries – Time travel AU

Graphics by @saradika-graphics

[stellarcharmconstellationbattle]

‘Stellae’ Charm’ card descriptions 21 to 41 [Constellation Clash]

Orion: This card depicts the mighty hunter Orion, known for his strength and bravery. He is often shown holding a club and a shield, ready to defend himself against any threat. In the sky, Orion is represented by a group of stars forming a distinctive figure with a belt and a sword hanging from it.

Taurus: In this card, we see the constellation of Taurus, represented by a bull. This constellation is associated with the ancient Greek myth of the god Zeus, who transformed himself into a bull to carry Europa across the sea. Taurus is also known for its bright star, Aldebaran, which marks the eye of the bull.

Gemini: The constellation of Gemini is represented by two figures, the twins Castor and Pollux. In Greek mythology, they were the sons of Zeus and were known for their bravery and loyalty. The two bright stars that make up the heads of the twins, Castor and Pollux, are easily visible in the night sky.

Cancer: This card depicts the crab-shaped constellation of Cancer, which is associated with the Greek myth of the crab that was sent by the goddess Hera to distract the hero Hercules during his battle with the Hydra. The constellation is also known for its bright star cluster, the Beehive Cluster, which can be seen with the naked eye.

Leo: In this card, we see the majestic lion represented by the constellation of Leo. This constellation is associated with the Nemean lion, a ferocious creature that was eventually killed by the hero Hercules as one of his twelve labors. The brightest star in Leo, Regulus, is often referred to as the "heart of the lion."

Virgo: The constellation of Virgo is represented by a figure of a maiden holding a bundle of wheat, symbolizing fertility and harvest. In Greek mythology, Virgo is associated with the goddess Demeter, who was the goddess of agriculture. The brightest star in Virgo, Spica, is also known as the "ear of corn."

Libra: This card depicts the scales of justice, representing the constellation of Libra. In ancient times, the stars of Libra were seen as the claws of the scorpion in the neighboring constellation of Scorpius. Libra is associated with the goddess Themis, who was known for her wisdom and fairness.

Scorpio: In this card, we see the constellation of Scorpio, represented by a scorpion. In Greek mythology, Scorpio is associated with the giant scorpion that was sent by the goddess Hera to kill the hunter Orion. The bright red star, Antares, is the heart of the scorpion and can be seen in the night sky.

Sagittarius: The constellation of Sagittarius is represented by a centaur, a creature with the body of a horse and the upper body of a human. In Greek mythology, Sagittarius is associated with the centaur Chiron, known for his wisdom and healing abilities. The bright star, Nunki, marks the bow of the centaur.

Capricorn: This card shows the sea-goat constellation of Capricorn, which is associated with the Greek god Pan. In mythology, Pan was known for his wild and mischievous nature, and the constellation is said to depict him fleeing from the monster Typhon. The bright star, Deneb Algedi, marks the eye of the goat.

Aquarius: In this card, we see the constellation of Aquarius, represented by a figure pouring water from a vessel. In Greek mythology, Aquarius is associated with the god Ganymede, who was abducted by Zeus and made the cupbearer of the gods. The bright star, Sadalsuud, marks the shoulder of the water bearer.

Pisces: The constellation of Pisces is represented by two fish swimming in opposite directions, connected by a cord. In Greek mythology, Pisces is associated with the goddess Aphrodite and her son Eros, who transformed into fish to escape the monster Typhon. The bright star, Alrescha, marks the knot where the fish are tied together.

Aries: This card depicts the constellation of Aries, represented by a ram. In Greek mythology, Aries is associated with the Golden Fleece that was sought after by Jason and the Argonauts. The bright star, Hamal, marks the head of the ram.

Cetus: The constellation of Cetus is represented by a sea monster, often depicted as a whale or a sea serpent. In Greek mythology, Cetus is associated with the sea monster sent by Poseidon to wreak havoc on the city of Aethiopia. The bright star, Menkar, marks the mouth of the monster.

Perseus: This card depicts the constellation of Perseus, represented by a hero holding the head of the Gorgon Medusa. In Greek mythology, Perseus is known for his bravery and his slaying of the monstrous Medusa. The bright star, Algol, marks the eye of Medusa.

Andromeda: In this card, we see the constellation of Andromeda, represented by a princess chained to a rock. In Greek mythology, Andromeda was saved from a sea monster by the hero Perseus. The bright star, Alpheratz, marks the head of Andromeda.

Pegasus: The constellation of Pegasus is represented by a winged horse, known for its speed and grace. In Greek mythology, Pegasus was born from the blood of the slain Gorgon Medusa. The bright star, Markab, marks the shoulder of Pegasus.

Cassiopeia: This card depicts the constellation of Cassiopeia, represented by a queen sitting on a throne. In Greek mythology, Cassiopeia was known for her arrogance and was punished by the gods by being forced to sit on a throne in the sky. The bright star, Schedar, marks the queen's throne.

Ursa Major: In this card, we see the constellation of Ursa Major, represented by the Great Bear. In Greek mythology, Ursa Major is associated with the story of Callisto, a nymph who was transformed into a bear by the goddess Hera. The bright stars, Dubhe and Merak, mark the front and back of the bear.

Ursa Minor: The constellation of Ursa Minor is represented by the Little Bear, also known as the Little Dipper. In Greek mythology, Ursa Minor is associated with the story of Arcas, the son of Callisto who was also transformed into a bear. The bright star, Polaris, marks the end of the handle of the Little Dipper.

Ursa Major - The Great Bear: This card depicts the constellation of Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear. It is one of the most recognizable constellations in the night sky, and it is said to represent a mother bear and her cubs. The card shows the bear with its distinctive shape of seven bright stars, also known as the Big Dipper, against a dark blue background. It symbolizes strength, protection, and maternal instincts.

[blueiscoool]

Stunning Ancient Mosaics Adorn New Museum in Sparta, Greece

Two rare Roman floor mosaics discovered in Greece will feature in a new museum in Sparta which officially opens on November 21st.

The Abduction of Europa and Orpheus with the Animals mosaics were accidentally discovered in the late 19th century on private property.

The two mosaics discovered in 1872 and 1877 are from the end of the 3rd century AD and the start of the 4th century AD.

Mosaics in Greece fell to obscurity

Until now, the mosaics had no permanent home. One was left in a private garden while the other was placed in a wine storage space. The property was bought by the state, and a shelter was erected over them after which the mosaics fell to obscurity.

Researchers believe the two mosaics were part of the decoration of a bath complex.  Possibly, the bath infrastructure and mosaics were part of a rich Roman house or two neighboring ones.

Both are distinguished for their composition, rich colors, and craftsmanship.

The 2.05 x 1.98 meter mosaic with the representation of the Abduction of Europa is the central theme of a larger mosaic floor. The woman is depicted sitting on the back of a bull, the form taken by Zeus, in motion towards the right while two winged cupids frame the figure.

With the introduction of the euro as the common European currency on January 1, 2002, Greece chose the representation of the Abduction of Europa in the Sparta mosaic as the motif for the two-euro coin, designed by Giorgos Stamatopoulos.

Orpheus is a Thracian bard, legendary musician, and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, traveled with Jason and the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece. He even descended into the Underworld of Hades to get his lost wife, Eurydice, back.

Mosaics discovered in Greece tell the story of Europa and Zeus

In Greek mythology, Europa was a Phoenician princess of Argive Greek origin and the mother of King Minos of Crete. The continent of Europe is named after her.

Zeus, the king of the Olympian Gods, transformed into a beautiful white bull to abduct her. The story of Europa is one of the most famous tales of love and lust between the gods.

Zeus was not only known for being the most prominent deity in the ancient Greek pantheon. He also had a reputation for endless love affairs.

Europa was picking flowers with her helpers when she suddenly saw the bull approaching from afar. The princess was astonished by the beauty of the animal. As they neared each other, he quickly leaned down at Europa’s feet in an act of utter submission to her. Encouraged by her helpers, she climbed on the animal’s back.

Zeus got up and slowly started walking around. Soon, however, he accelerated his pace and eventually broke into a gallop, with Europa clinging on for her life. The king of the gods and the frightened princess reached the seaside and dived into the sea.

Zeus had carried Europa from Phoenicia to Crete. Once they got to the island, Zeus reclaimed his human form and finally materialized his lust by mating with her under an evergreen tree.

Europa’s earliest literary reference is in the Iliad, which is most likely from the 8th century BC. Another early reference to her is in a fragment of the Hesiodic Catalogue of Women, discovered at Oxyrhynchus. The earliest vase-painting securely identifiable as Europa dates back to the mid-seventh century BC.

By Tasos Kokkinidis.

[arttheory2024]

W&A: 2.1 Titian's "Rape of Europa"

In “Ways of Seeing”, Berger (1972) describes the concept of looking/seeing as a conscious choice or willing act. This is performed through examining objects or art within the scope of their relation to outside interferences (either literal such as the wall surrounding a work, or metaphorical such as considering the culture through which a work was created). This concept lends to schools of thought or frameworks through which audiences of art “look”, like the contextual approaches described in our textbook (Adams, 2018). In discussing Titian’s “Rape of Europa”, author A.W. Eaton (2003) considers a feminist approach to the work. 

Eaton (2003) evaluates the painting as having a diminished aesthetic quality due to its inherent ethical issues regarding the eroticization of rape. This is accomplished through Titian’s enticement of viewers to become complicit in the strengthening of social allowances of rape through Eurpoa’s body positioning and sensuality (Eaton 2003). Titian’s triangular composition continually reasserts viewers’ eyes toward Europa’s exposed body. Feminist thought would have viewers pushing back against the notion that audiences should sexually enjoy the sight of Europa’s abduction and subsequent rape, therefore employing the idea of looking as a choice. By depicting Europa in such a sensual manner, Eaton (2003) points out that Titian plays upon the fact that women, with limited agency, were not allowed to express sexual desire and must express hesitancy to protect their image. This coincides with Berger’s (1972) discussion of a woman's presence and her inherent voyeurism of herself where she is perpetually self conscious of her own external image. 

Historically, this painting has had a variety of reactions from men and women. Naturally, in Titian’s time, this work was commonplace and well regarded; with the emergence of a feminist lens, and a more welcoming artworld for women, opinions can shift to accommodate gendered perspectives on the work. Personally, I think the act of looking can be gendered, and when dealing with such sensitive and polarizing topics such as rape, often has to be. Additionally, I would say that my own assessment of Titian’s painting aligns similarly with Eaton’s (2003). There is an inherent disillusionment occurring when I consider the sheer emphasis Titian places on the eroticism of such an act that is more, to me, about violence than sex. I think there should also be consideration to the identities of the figures in the work; I think it is imperative to consider here that Europa is a mere mortal being swept away by a god. This element heightens the inequality and sense of helplessness from Europa. I feel that the mortal vs immortal element of the work illuminates another layer of commentary on the effectiveness of the piece. My background as a former believer in the concept of God (although different from god depicted here) may inform my understanding of the struggles of a weaker being in the face of an all powerful deity. 

Titian, “Rape of Europa”, 1559-62

References

Adams, L. S. (2018). The Methodologies of Art (2nd ed.). Taylor & Francis. https://tiffin-bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9780429974076

Berger, J. (1972). Ways of Seeing. https://www.ways-of-seeing.com/ 

Eaton, A. W. (2003). Where Ethics and Aesthetics Meet: Titian’s Rape of Europa. Hypatia, 18(4), 159–188. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1527-2001.2003.tb01417.x

[arthistoriansdiary]

The Rape of Europa

Titian, The Rape of Europa (1560–1562). Oil on canvas. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.

Titian's The Rape of Europa, painted circa 1562, is a masterful representation of a classical mythological story, imbued with the Venetian painter's signature use of colour and emotion. This analysis explores the various dimensions of this celebrated Renaissance artwork.

Mythological Context: The painting depicts the abduction of Europa, a Phoenician princess, by Zeus, the king of the gods in Greek mythology. In this tale, Zeus transforms himself into a white bull to seduce and abduct Europa. Titian captures the moment of abduction, portraying a blend of fear, surprise, and eventual resignation in Europa's expression as she is carried away across the sea.

Artistic Technique: Titian is renowned for his virtuosic use of colour, and The Rape of Europa is a prime example. The painting is characterized by vibrant hues and dynamic brushstrokes, creating a sense of movement and drama. The contrast between the serene blues of the sea and sky and the intense reds and whites of Europa and the bull heightens the emotional impact of the scene.

Symbolism and Interpretation: Europa's abduction can be seen as symbolic of the clash between civilization (Europa) and unbridled natural force (Zeus as a bull). Furthermore, the painting reflects the Renaissance fascination with classical mythology as a means to explore human emotions and experiences.

Composition and Perspective: Titian's composition in The Rape of Europa is dynamic and fluid. Europa is diagonally positioned, which, coupled with the rearing bull, gives the scene a sense of imminent action and instability. The inclusion of the onlookers, horrified at the scene unfolding, adds a layer of narrative depth and perspective to the painting.

Contemplating the Title: The Rape of Europa The term 'rape' in the title of Titian's painting, derived from the Latin 'raptus,' primarily signifies 'abduction' or 'carrying away.' In the context of Renaissance art and classical mythology, it often refers to the abduction of a person, typically involving divine or heroic figures. The scene depicted by Titian focuses on the dramatic and transformative aspects of the myth, capturing Europa's fear and astonishment at her realization and journey to a different destiny.

Reflecting on Historical Perspectives: Understanding The Rape of Europa necessitates a consideration of the historical and cultural context in which Titian worked. The depiction of such stories was often imbued with layers of meaning, exploring themes of power, transformation, and the divine.

Your Interpretation: In viewing The Rape of Europa, how do you perceive Titian's interplay of emotion and mythology? Does the painting evoke certain feelings or thoughts about the way classical stories are portrayed in Renaissance art?

[aboutanancientenquiry]

Charles C. Chiasson on Herodotus and the Greek Poetic Tradition

"Herodotus’ Prologue and the Greek Poetic Tradition

From his opening declaration of intent to preserve the kleos of great and wondrous human deeds, Herodotus demonstrates that his prose account of the Persian Wars (and much else) is written in the wake of and in response to the Greek poetic tradition. In my talk I will consider the implications not only of the Homeric references that bracket Herodotus’ prologue (from opening sentence through 1.5.4, as defined by Wecowski 2004), but also of the poetic rhetorical device used to structure the prologue as a whole, the priamel.

The long shadow cast by Homer is widely recognized in Herodotus’ opening chapters, which begin and end with allusions to the Iliad and Odyssey. Herodotus’ climactic mention in his opening sentence of the reason why the Greeks and non-Greeks fought one another evokes the proem of the Iliad (Nagy 1987), and invites a provocative comparison between the Persian and Trojan Wars: in the modern, revolutionary medium of prose (Goldhill 2002), Herodotus seeks to equate the military achievements of modern Greeks with those of primeval heroes long preserved in the poetic tradition. Moreover, in claiming as the starting-point of his own researches the Lydian king Croesus, whom he knows (οἶδα, 5.3) to have first wronged the Greeks, Herodotus appropriates the authority of the Homeric Muses, whose eye-witness knowledge of long-ago events contrasts with human ignorance (Iliad 2.485-86). Finally, Herodotus’ claim to traverse human cities (ἄστεα ἀνθρώπων, 5.3) large and small alike alludes to the proem of the Odyssey, and Odysseus’ having seen the ἄστεα of many men; Herodotus thus projects for himself a persona that not only suggests travels to the numerous, far-flung destinations canvassed in the Histories, but also a penchant for story-telling that need not be (always) constrained by the truth (Marincola 2007).

In addition to these Homeric references, with their implications for the author’s subject matter, intent, and persona, Herodotus articulates his search for the cause of the war and the proper starting-point of his narrative as an elaborate prose priamel (Race 1982). The priamel is a distinctive rhetorical structure, with numerous precedents and parallels in Greek poetry, that leads from an introductory “foil” (comprising two or more subjects or perspectives) by way of contrast and analogy to the “climax,” a particular point of interest or importance. Thus while Persian logioi and Phoenician authorities trace the enmity between East and West to a series of ancient abductions (Io, Europa, Medea, and Helen) culminating in the Trojan War, Herodotus, by contrast and for his part (ἐγὼ δέ, 5.3), identifies Croesus as having initiated the series of international injustices that result in the Persian Wars. Herodotus’ adaptation of this distinctive introductory stratagem serves several purposes: it introduces Croesus with extraordinary emphasis; it highlights the intrusive first-person narrator that sets Herodotean narrative technique apart from Homeric narrative technique; and, more broadly, it marks Herodotus’ crucial departure from the popular perception of contemporary events as rooted in and inherently inferior to the glorious deeds of primeval heroes—deeds so far removed in time that they lie beyond the reach of Herodotean historie. Race (1982) describes the movement from “foil” to “climax” in the Pindaric priamel as often underscoring the significance of the hic et nunc; in Herodotus’ deployment of the device at the beginning of the Histories this movement underscores a new approach to the study of the past, with important consequences for the development of Greek historiography.

Herodotus’ prologue thus serves as a fitting introduction to a groundbreaking prose work that engages in an ongoing conversation with the Greek poetic tradition, to which it is both indebted and opposed.

Works Cited Goldhill, S. (2002) The Invention of Prose (Oxford). Marincola, J. (2007) “Odysseus and the Historians,” Syllecta Classica (18) 1-79. Nagy, G. (1987) “Herodotus the logios,” Arethusa (20) 175-84. Race, W. (1982) The Classical Priamel from Homer to Boethius (Leiden). Wecowski, M. (2004) “The Hedgehog and the Fox: Form and Meaning in the Prologue of Herodotus,” JHS (124) 143-64."

Charles C. Chiasson Herodotus’ Prologue and the Greek Poetic Tradition (abstract), CAMWS meeting, 2010.

Source:

Charles C. Chiasson is American Classicist, Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington.

[tipsycad147]

Zeus – The King of Gods and Mortals

Zeus, the king of the gods and mortals, is the most powerful god in Greek mythology. As the god of thunder and sky, he resides on the peak of Mount Olympus from where he sent storms, winds, and rain to Earth. With his wisdom, experience, and strength, Zeus surpasses all gods; with a single thunderbolt, he could throw each of them into the dark Tartarus. Therefore, they didn’t dare to defy him.

His name stems from Indo-European words dey meaning to shine or light, and dyews, which can be translated as the bright sky. In Roman mythology, his equivalent was Jupiter. Here’s a look at one of the most prominent figures of Greek mythology, Zeus.

The History of Zeus

Zeus was the youngest son of the king of the Titans, Cronus, and his wife, Rhea. It had been prophesied that one of Cronus’ sons would take his throne, and in an attempt to thwart that, Cronus swallowed all the children that Rhea gave birth to.

Cronus Swallows His Children

Before the youngest child’s birth, Rhea turned to Uranus and Gaia for advice on how to save him.

Zeus is Hidden from Cronus

According to their instructions, she went to Crete, and as soon as she gave birth to Zeus, she hid him in a cave. The next day, Rhea wrapped a large stone in swaddling clothes, and then handed it to Cronus, who, convinced that he was receiving his son, immediately swallowed it.

In Crete, Zeus was raised by the nymphs Adrasteia and Ida. They kept the baby in a golden cradle and fed him honey and milk from Amalthea, the divine goat. They would hang the cradle on a tree so that Cronus couldn’t find his son on land, sky, or sea. The five-armed Cretan warriors, called Curetes, guarded the cradle and masked the child’s cries with the sound of their weapons.

Later, when he became the lord of the world, Zeus repaid his foster parents: he turned Adrasteia, Ida, and Amalthea into stars. He gave the bees the color of gold and resistance to the harsh mountain climate.

Zeus Overthrows Cronus

When Zeus grew and became stronger, he decided to save his brothers and sisters. Metis, an Oceanid and one of three thousand daughters of Oceanus and Tethys, gave Cronus a potion forcing him to vomit the stone first, and then his children – Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Poseidon, and Hades.

Together with his brothers and sisters, Zeus attacked Cronus and the Titans, and the battle, known as the Titanomachy, lasted for ten days. After they defeated Cronus, Zeus divided the rule of the world with his brothers, Hades and Poseidon. Zeus became the ruler of the sky and heavens, Poseidon ruled over the seas, and Hades became the god of the underworld. The Titans were cast into Tartarus, an underworld region, while Atlas, a Titan who had fought against Zeus, was punished by being forced to hold up the sky.

Zeus is Challenged

Zeus’ early rule was challenged by his grandmother, Gaia, who felt that he had treated her children, the Titans, with injustice. Together with the Gigantes, Gaia challenged the Olympians, but they were able to put down the Gigantomachy and continued their rule.

Another myth describes how the gods Hera, Poseidon and Apollo, who were quickly joined by all the other Olympians except Hestia. With the help of Hypnos, god of sleep, the Olympian gods stole Zeus’ thunderbolt and tied him up. Zeus was helped by Thetis and once free, severely punished Hera, Poseidon and Apollo as well as the other gods. They never challenged him again.

Zeus as a Ruler

Zeus’ home was located on the highest Greek mountain, Olympus. From its summit, Zeus could see everything. He observed and governed everything and everybody, punishing the evil and rewarding the good. He delivered justice and was considered the protector of homes, cities, properties, and guests.

Zeus is described by Hesiod as a god who laughed out loud and who was carefree. But at the same time, he was capricious and could be destructive, especially if crossed.

Zeus and the Conflict with Humans

From Mount Olympus, Zeus was disgusted at the sight of decadence and the human sacrifice taking place on earth. He flooded the earth to purify it off humans, with only Deucalion and Pyrrha surviving the flood. This myth has parallels to the story of Noah and the Ark from the Christian Bible.

The Wives and Children of Zeus

Zeus had seven immortal wives – including Metis, Themis, Eurynome, Demeter, Leto, Mnemosyne and Hera. Of these, Hera is his main wife, although Metis is his first.

Zeus and Metis: There was a prophecy stating that Metis would bear strong and powerful children who would overthrow their father. When Metis was pregnant with Zeus children, Zeus feared the fulfilment of the prophecy and so he tricked Metis and mad her turn herself into a fly. He then swallowed her, much like his father had swallowed Zeus’ siblings. Metis had already conceived a child and began creating a robe and helmet for her daughter. This caused Zeus pain and, in the end, Zeus’ asked Hephaestus to either cleave his head or to strike it with a hammer to release the pain. Athena then leaped out of Zeus’ head, fully grown and dressed in armor. Regardless of the prophecy, Athena was Zeus’ favorite child.

Zeus and Hera: Zeus married his sister Hera, but he wasn’t an exemplary husband. Due to his numerous affairs, with both immortal and mortal women, he often clashed with Hera. She was constantly jealous and hated his illegitimate children, like Heracles and Dionysus, often making life miserable for them.

Zeus’ Children: Zeus had several children. With his wife Hera he had three children, Ares, Hebe, and Eileithyia; with the Titaness Leto, he had twins Artemis and Apollo; with the goddess Demeter he had his daughter Persephone, and so on and so forth. Zeus also sired one child without a woman – the goddess Athena, who is said to have leapt out of his head.

Zeus’ Disguises and Seduction

The manner in which he wooed these women is sometimes reprehensible. He would frequently resort to rape, deceit and disguises in order to sleep with them. Several stories exist of his tricks used to deceive a love interest.

Zeus pretended to be an injured bird and flew into Hera’s room, before he coupled with her, preying on her compassion and love for animals.

He seduced the mortal princess Danae in the form of a golden shower, which led to her giving birth to Perseus.

Zeus appeared in the form of a goose to Nemesis and seduced her in this manner.

He transformed himself into his daughter Artemis, goddess of the hunt, to lure Callisto into a sense of security before he raped her.

He abducted Ganymede, a handsome mortal, disguised as an eagle and takes him to Olympus where he remains as cup-bearer to the gods.

To seduce Europa, Zeus took the form of a bull. To prove she wasn’t afraid of him, Europa sat on his back, and he took her to Crete. There, Zeus exposed his true self, and they made love.

The Symbolism and Portrayal of Zeus

As the king and the ruler of all the Greek gods and men, Zeus was often portrayed in art with specific symbols and aspects describing his purpose and personality.

Powerful patriarch – Some early paintings of Zeus depict him throwing flashes of lightning, establishing him as superior deity and warrior. In this context, he’s seen as a symbol of power, authority, and dominance.

King of gods and mortals – In the classical period, Zeus is often depicted sitting on the throne and holding the scepter, with the winged goddess Nike by his side, symbolizing his duty as patriarch and king of all gods.

Justice and authority – Unlike other Greek deities, he was often portrayed as a mature and dignified man with a beard and great stamina, denoting his status as an experienced ruler greater than others. He usually holds a staff in one hand and a stylized thunderbolt in the other, both seen as symbols ofpower, control, and justice.

Wisdom – At times, he’s depicted wearing a crown made of oak leaves. The oak was considered to be his holy tree representing wisdom, morale, resistance, and strength.

Symbols of Zeus

Besides the oak tree, Zeus was often associated with various symbols that were considered sacred to him. These included:

The Thunderbolt – The thunderbolt was Zeus’ great weapon, fashioned for him by the Cyclopes. This represented his power and authority over mortals and gods.

The Eagle – Zeus held the eagle as a particularly sacred bird and was often depicted riding it or having it next to him. With its excellent vision, the eagle represented Zeus’ ability to see everything. They are solar animals commonly related to sunlight. Therefore, they are the symbols of courage and royalty, as well as pride, victory, and longevity.

The wolf – This powerful animal is both feared and respected. As the king of heavens and the master of weather, Zeus was often associated with a wolf, representing a battle, awareness, bravery, and protection. Besides many titles, the king of all gods was also referred to as oath-keeper, savior, protector, guest-patron, punisher, and peacemaker.

The bull – Another sacred animal to Zeus was the bull. In this context, the bull is the symbol of virility, confidence, stamina, and fertility.

Lessons from Zeus’ Stories

Aside from being powerful and strong, the omnipotent ruler, Zeus, was far from perfect. However, there are some lessons we can learn from Zeus’ stories:

The inevitability of fate – This is a recurring topic in Greek legends and myths. We could interpret Zeus as being both the victim and the emissary of fate. The ruler of all gods was destined to take his father’s throne. His father, Cronus, himself became the ruler of the world by dethroning his own father. The legend goes on to say that Zeus is prophesied to be taken down by his own child, who is yet to be born.

Infidelity – Although today, we wouldn’t consider Zeus’ behavior and his unpredictably lascivious character to be exemplary, we could still draw some conclusions from his actions and infidelity. For ancient Greeks, his actions were right and justified. If the all-mighty god, such as Zeus, couldn’t control his urges and resist women’s beauty, then common mortal men had no reason to. Some would argue that mythology, especially when it comes to Greek gods, was made up not to teach us a moral lesson, but to justify people’s actions.

Love – In a more positive light, we could interpret Zeus’ saving his brothers and sisters from their father as an act of love and kindness. It shows that sometimes it’s necessary to treat someone unfairly and unjustly for your loved ones’ safety.

Zeus Facts

1- Who were Zeus’ parents?

Zeus’ parents were Rhea and Cronus.

2- Where did Zeus live?

Zeus lived on Mount Olympus with the other Olympian gods.

3- Who were Zeus’ siblings?

Zeus had six siblings – Hestia, Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Chiron.

4- How many consorts did Zeus have?

Zeus had several wives and numerous affairs; however, Hera remains his leading wife.

5- How many children did Zeus have?

Zeus had numerous children, including Artemis, Ares, Athena, Hebe, Hephaestus, Persephone, Perseus, the Graces, the Muses, the Moirai, Helen, Heracles, Ares and so on.

6- Who is Zeus’ Roman equivalent?

Zeus Roman equivalent is Jupiter.

7- What was Zeus the god over?

Zeus was the king of the gods, god of the sky, lightning, thunder, justice, order and law.

8- What are Zeus’ symbols?

Zeus symbols include the thunderbolt, oak, bull, eagle and swan.

To Wrap It Up

As the god of the sky and the ruler of the world, Zeus has a central role in Greek mythology representing the father, ruler, and protector of all mortals and gods. However, his conflicting personality might be confusing – his anger and fury are covered by the certain heroic endeavors, such as saving his siblings from their father’s wrath.

https://symbolsage.com/zeus-greek-king-of-gods/

[dutch-and-flemish-painters]

Gillis Coignet - The rape of Europe -

In Greek mythology, Europa (Ancient Greek: Εὐρώπη, Eurṓpē, Attic Greek) was the mother of King Minos of Crete, a Phoenician princess of Argive origin, after whom the continent Europe is named. The story of her abduction by Zeus in the form of a bull was a Cretan story; as classicist Károly Kerényi points out, "most of the love-stories concerning Zeus originated from more ancient tales describing his marriages with goddesses. This can especially be said of the story of Europa."

Europa's earliest literary reference is in the Iliad, which is commonly dated to the 8th century BC. Another early reference to her is in a fragment of the Hesiodic Catalogue of Women, discovered at Oxyrhynchus. The earliest vase-painting securely identifiable as Europa dates from mid-7th century BC.

The Dictionary of Classical Mythology explains that Zeus was enamoured of Europa and decided to seduce or rape her, the two being near-equivalent in Greek myth. He transformed himself into a tame white bull and mixed in with her father's herds. While Europa and her helpers were gathering flowers, she saw the bull, caressed his flanks, and eventually got onto his back. Zeus took that opportunity and ran to the sea and swam, with her on his back, to the island of Crete. He then revealed his true identity, and Europa became the first queen of Crete. Zeus gave her a necklace made by Hephaestus and three additional gifts: Talos, Laelaps and a javelin that never missed. Zeus later re-created the shape of the white bull in the stars, which is now known as the constellation Taurus. Some readers interpret as manifestations of this same bull the Cretan beast that was encountered by Heracles, the Marathonian Bull slain by Theseus (and that fathered the Minotaur). Roman mythology adopted the tale of the Raptus, also known as "The Abduction of Europa" and "The Seduction of Europa", substituting the god Jupiter for Zeus.

The myth of Europa and Zeus may have its origin in a sacred union between the Phoenician deities `Aštar and `Aštart (Astarte), in bovine form. Having given birth to three sons by Zeus, Europa married a king Asterios, this being also the name of the Minotaur and an epithet of Zeus, likely derived from the name `Aštar.

According to Herodotus' rationalizing approach, Europa was kidnapped by Greeks (probably Cretans) who were seeking to avenge the kidnapping of Io, a princess from Argos. His variant story may have been an attempt to rationalize the earlier myth; or the present myth may be a garbled version of facts—the abduction of a Phoenician aristocrat—later enunciated without gloss by Herodotus.

Gillis Coignet, Congnet or Quiniet (c. 1542 – 1599) was a Flemish Renaissance painter, who was strongly influenced by the Italian style. He painted historical and mythological subjects of an easel size, but was more successful in landscapes, in candlelight subjects, and moonlight. He was a Lutheran, which probably influenced his moves from Antwerp to Amsterdam and then Hamburg. He spent most of the 1560s in Italy.

[adikospodcast]

EP. 2: THE ABDUCTION OF EUROPA [TRANSCRIPT]

hello everyone and welcome back to adikos, a true crime podcast, or welcome in case you're new! my name is arete, i'm your host, and first of all i'd like to thank you all so much for all the support you've been giving me on my first episode: i'm obviously still really new to podcasting, it's something i only do in my spare time, but i'm really, really glad you guys enjoyed it, and i'm definitely gonna keep going with your support!

so, today i wanted to talk to you about a case that is really old and really well known, but that surprisingly few people actually know the ending to: i'm talking about the story of the abduction of europa here, and i feel like most people are tangentially aware of that, since she is the woman who gave the name to europe, but not many people actually know the full story beyond like, the moment she got kidnapped, and they don't know that this case actually has a happy ending, which is lovely to hear about for a change, with all the terrible and grim stories that are so common in true crime!

now, before we go on talking about this case, i wanted to give you a bit of background on europa's actual family history, because there are a lot of players at hand here, and i just wanted to make sure that basically you know who they are, even though i'm going to keep reminding you just in case throughout the video. so we have her father, agenor, who was born in memphis, in egypt, to poseidon, the god obviously, and to libya, but he left egypt to be ruled by his brother and he settled down in what would become phoenicia, and he founded the city of tyre. in tyre he met a naiad whose name is telephassa, though some people report it as argiope, but i'm gonna refer to her as telephassa since it's the most commonly used name, and the two married and together they had four children, who were: phoenix, who would become the heir to the throne, cadmus, cilix, and europa, who was the only girl in the family, basically. now, in this case we have another element, another participant, whose relation to the family is really unclear, and i wanted to try and clear up, basically, his presence in the whole story: he is thasus, and he's said to have basically a different connection to the family in pretty much every source i looked at; he has been said to be the son of agenor, the son of cilix, or even the uncle of europa and her brothers! so the one thing that we actually know about him for sure is that he is somehow, someway related to europa, which will be relevant later on when we get into the actual events of this case, but i just wanted to give you this basic, real brief overview of the family tree, so you can have that in mind basically throughout this story.

so, europa grew up in tyre, surrounded by her family and by plenty of friends: by all accounts, she was an extremely beautiful young woman, and she was really kind and sweet, she really got along with everyone she met. she and her brothers were really close growing up, and all three of them were really protective of their little sister, but she also had lots of female friends, aside, of course, from her handmaidens. so, according to one source i read, the night before everything went down, europa had a dream that really deeply shook her to her bones: she dreamt that she was being contented between two lands, which were personified as women, and one was dressed as basically was the custom in europa's culture, she was clinging to her, saying she belonged to her, but the other woman was dressed in foreign clothes that europa had never seen before, and she was violently tugging on her, and she ripped her away from the other woman, saying it was the will of the "bearer of the aegis" for europa to belong to her. the aegis is, as you may know, the legendary shield of zeus, it's basically his symbol, and in my opinion this may have been a prophetic dream of sorts that the fates may have sent to her, seeing what was going to come in her future.

europa woke up terrified and shaking, she was understandably really afraid of this dream; she called for handmaidens and told them everything about the dream she'd had, and they suggested going down to the beach together, to* help her clear her mind out, basically. now at this time it was nearly dawn, the palace was still asleep, besides the girls, and europa and her handmaidens just snuck out in silence, headed down to the beach without being escorted by anyone, but without even telling anyone, which is obviously a really unsafe thing to do – please always tell someone where you're going, in case something happens – but europa didn't want to have to wake anyone up, understandably, and besides, they thought, they were not completely alone: they were quite a large group of girls, so in their minds it would be a bit hard for anyone who wanted to harm them or sneak up on them to actually do something, because they were so many.

now, basically, the beach that the girls had gone down to was somewhat close to the palace, and it was at the base of a hill; and at the top of the hill was the enclosure of agenor's cow herd, which really just gives you an idea of just how old this case really is, this was still a time where having a big herd of animals was what made your wealth, what made your affluence. so, because this was right at sunrise, the cows were beginning to stir, obviously the herd was beginning to wake up, and suddenly they started acting up, for no apparent reason: they began pushing against the enclosure they were in, they even broke down the fence that was holding them in, and they set themselves free basically, and then the entire herd began running down the hill and running towards the beach that the girls were on, which is obviously really frightening, i don't know what i would have done if i was one of those girls.

now, at this point the girls were just lying in the sand, playing on the seashore, enjoying themselves, looking at the sunrise in peace, but when they noticed the herd of cows that was barreling towards them, obviously they got really scared, and they tried to move out the way so they wouldn't be trampled; however, once the herd actually got to the shore, it began to calm down, and the girls were able to get close again, and some of them even began to play with the cows, petting them. and when they were interviewed, europa's handmaidens reported that europa herself got really close to this one specific big white bull she said she'd never seen before among her father's animals, and she began petting him, and weaving him a flower crown, and the bull just sat there patiently and tolerated all that she did to him, just everything that she could do, he just to let her do whatever she wanted with him. now, the situation that the girls were in was obviously a bit unusual: obviously it's not every day, and it was not every day at the time, that you would go to the beach and be surrounded by cows, but they weren't really worried, you know, they had no reason to be; as long as they didn't anger any of the cows, any of the bulls, they thought they could enjoy themselves for a bit, then head back to the palace and tell agenor that the herd had escaped; however, they could never have imagined what was about to happen, obviously.

once europa was done leaving her little flower crown for her bull, she showed it proudly to all her handmaidens, she was really happy about it, and she climbed on the bull so she could reach him better and put it on his head. now, according to what the girls said when they were interrogated, in that moment, when europa climbed on him, the bull got on his legs, with no sort of warning whatsoever, he took off running straight into the sea as if he was taken by madness, and europa was obviously powerless to do anything but try to hold on and not fall off into the sea. she called for help, she screamed as if she was being murdered, but obviously the other girls couldn't do anything: they risked getting seriously injured if they got too close to the animal, and they thought they were too far away from the palace to get help there and come back in time before anything had happened.

now, what happened next was even crazier than that, and that is that once the bull actually hit the sea in his run, he wasn't stopped by the water, he kept galloping straight ahead as if he could just easily travel across the water, and europa obviously held on even tighter, she was terrified that she might fall into the open sea, she didn't know how to swim all the way back to the coast! and at that point, the handmaidens lost all sight of both her and the bull, and they realized that something supernatural or divine was probably afoot, so they rushed back to the palace, they called on to agenor, told him what had happened; now, many of the people who originally were reporting on the investigation when it was still ongoing were quite suspicious of the fact that the girls hadn't gone to call for help while europa was being taken away, but only after she had been lost, only after her traces had been lost, and some even insinuated that they may have had something to do with the disappearance!

now, obviously i can understand that you want to follow every possible trail you have and consider every single suspect during the search and the investigation for a missing person, especially when it comes to the last people that saw her, but i don't think that this suspicion really holds, or even held at the time, any water whatsoever: the girls, the handmaidens, were europa's closest friends, and there was no enmity between them that could motivate them to do something terrible to her and invent a lie to cover their tracks, and this is not even to mention the fact that they were a bunch of young girls on a beach, they had no tools or anything to even harm her or hide her body, even if they had wanted to hurt her. and to me this is, at least, the case of someone witnessing something terrible and being traumatized, shell shocked, and unable to do anything until it's over, and if i try to put myself in their shoes, though hopefully i'm never going to be in the same situation, i can completely sympathize with their behavior.

thankfully for the girls, agenor and his family had always known them and their families, and they were ready to believe their terrified account of what had happened, especially when they saw that the herd had been let loose and the fence was torn down in a way that couldn't have been done by them, even if they had tried. everyone in the palace was extremely scared and really upset at europa's disappearance, she was a lovely girl and all those who knew her really could never have hoped for something like that to happen, and everybody both in and outside the royal family offered to help look for her.

agenor, since he was the king of tyre, he was aging, he was getting really old, he made the incredibly hard decision to not go search himself for his daughter, but remain alone to rule the city on his own, as he was afraid he would be more of a hassle than a benefit to the search efforts; but he sent his sons, who were europa's older brothers, to lead the search parties that would look for her, and he made them swear on the gods and on their life that they would never come back home unless they had found her. telephassa, europa's mother. was absolutely distraught at the loss of her daughter, of course, but she vowed that she would find her no matter what, and she left tyre to look after her herself, alongside thasus and a small search party of their own.

all the brothers said their goodbyes to their native land and vowed to find their sister no matter what, and they left with all the volunteers who wanted to help look for the princess; they took different ships and sailed in various directions, so they could try and cover as much ground as possible, and whenever they encountered land, whether it be an island or a coast, they would explore it and usually interrogate the locals, if it was an inhabited place, on whether or not they had seen any girl in the likeness of europa, wearing the usual tyrian attire, possibly with a bull or with another animal, or even with a god; but no matter who they asked, all they received was no after no, and europa just seemed to have completely vanished into non-existence. now, these search efforts went on for years, and they explored practically every island and every coast in the eastern mediterranean, which is obviously a massive area to cover. i cannot begin to imagine what europa's relatives were going through, knowing their sister, their daughter was gone, and desperately looking for any sort of closure about what had happened to her. and the brothers were obviously interviewed many times on this case, later in their lives, and cadmus said that they knew their sister was still there, just barely out of their reach, as if the gods were taunting them or something, and that their failure to find her had deeply traumatized them for the rest of their lives, which to me is terrible to even think about.

eventually, even though they were being eaten up by guilt, by sorrow, the brothers had to settle down somewhere, after years and years of fruitless searching. cadmus ended up settling in boeotia, he founded the city of thebes and married the goddess armonia; cilix found himself in the south of anatolia and he conquered the area, the area we know as cilicia, and he gave origin to the population of the region, which we know as cilician because of him; thasus and telephassa had taken to exploring the northernmost parts of the coast, and they ended up in thracia, which is really far away, and they settled down in the very small island of thasus and they founded a colony there, and this was the farthest away from their homeland of tyre of any of them; as for phoenix, what ended up happening to him is one of the saddest parts of this whole case, in my opinion.

so, you remember how i said that agenor had forbidden his sons from ever coming back to tyre unless they had found their sister? well, the brothers took that really seriously, and for good reason: agenor was one to stick to his promises, no matter how outlandish they were, and none of them wanted to risk what may have happened if they had dared to come back. only phoenix, who was the heir to the throne, dared to come back years after the events, to reclaim his rightful place in the city; and as soon as he and his ships even set foot on the land of tyre, agenor spared his son no mercy whatsoever. at first, he thought that maybe he had actually found europa and brought her back, but once he saw that his sister was not with him he threatened to kill him, kill his own son, if he did not leave immediately, and that he would not be so kind the next time he saw him. and obviously phoenix ran away with his ships, with his people, but he didn't go really that far from home: he settled down in the northern part of the coast, and when his father died and the throne became empty he wasted no time going to tyre, snatching it up and conquering it, and basically conquering all the neighboring territories, and creating the area which we now call phoenicia in his honour.

now, you might be thinking that this story is sad enough on its own, it's one of the sadly many cases of a girl getting kidnapped, disappearing, and her family never knowing what happened to her despite their best efforts, and even falling apart because of her disappearance; but in this case, we actually do know what happened with europa after she was kidnapped away by the divine bull, and i think that once you hear what happened you'll find it a bit ironic, to say the least. so, once the bull took off into the sea with europa on his back, he actually landed in crete, and he brought the girl to the highest point in the island, in the middle of the woods on top of a mountain, so that nobody would notice what was happening and where, which actually means that she was probably not so far away from her brothers when they were first looking for her, since crete must have been one of their first stops, i assume, being so close to the coast.

obviously europa was really terrified, and she had no idea where she was, what was going on, but she had also caught on to the fact that this bull was probably a god, or at least some sort of supernatural creature, and she just froze and let him take her where he wanted, obviously she didn't want to anger him. when they reached the mountaintop, the bull tossed europa to the ground and he revealed himself in his human form; he introduced himself as zeus, the king of the gods, and told her that he had been beguiled by her virginal beauty as soon as he had set his godly eyes on her, and that he had brought her to crete to seduce her and then give her a husband which was fit to marry zeus's lover.

europa was understandably quite shocked: it's one thing to joke around with her friends about seducing zeus, and it was definitely another thing to be actually abducted by him, with the very real possibility of being violated by him. she balked at first, refused to do anything with him, and when zeus saw that forcing himself on her would be of no avail, he went for a different route to get to her heart instead: he gifted her a lavish golden necklace, sculpted by hephaestus himself, and promised her more gifts to come if she were to accept him. and seeing how far he was willing to go to seduce her, to have sex with her, europa thought she had no choice but to accept his advances; she gave up, she let him take her, do whatever he wanted with her, and when she was, later in her life, interviewed about her relationship with zeus and the children she bore by him, she stated that when he would come to seduce her she would just lay down, dissociate herself from what was going on, think of anything else that could get her through the encounters.

every time that zeus came down from the skies to visit her, he would bring a new present, and each one was more miraculous, more enchanted than the last: the first was talos, an animated bronze giant which moved of its own will, and whose entire original purpose was to actually protect europa from being kidnapped or harmed, which i think is quite funny; the second gift was laelaps, a hunting dog which always managed to catch its prey, and the third was a magic golden javelin which never failed to miss its target. and all of those objects have actually gone down in history, and you may have heard of them before, because europa actually kept them, even after the end of her relationship with zeus, as she passed them down to her sons, after all they were still magic items gifted to her by a god and they may turn out to be useful one day.

speaking of europa's sons, her relationship with zeus actually gave her three children, minos, rhadamantos and sarpedon. obviously she couldn't be left to raise them all alone in the woods, but she also couldn't publicly reveal that she had slept with zeus and had his children, which would risk unleashing the wrath of hera on herself, and also the judgment and disbelief of everyone around her; and of course zeus himself knew this, he had done this countless times before, and even to europa's own ancestor io, who you may know as the woman who was turned into a cow to protect her from hera. so, zeus introduced europa to asterion, the king of crete, and through his intermediation the two of them got married, and asterion even adopted arapa's three sons, since he had no male heirs of his own. and all of them, minos, rhadamantos and sarpedon, would go on to become really important figures, especially minos, who would actually ascend to the throne of crete, and europa was able to live a long, happy marriage with asterion and with zeus's blessing, though she never was able to see her brothers, or parents, or friends, or even just her country again, and they in turn never really know what came of her.

so, this was the case of the abduction of europa! i think this is a really peculiar story, like you don't hear many of them nowadays, and this is for a few reasons. obviously this case is extremely wrapped up in its supernatural element, of course, it centers the abduction of a girl by a literal god, and i feel like it just goes to show how far back this case dates to, to the point that the gods were still mingling with humans on a daily basis and engaging with them, both in the positive and, obviously, in the negative ways. and i think that cases which directly center the gods are far more tricky to handle than the ones where everybody is human: like, with the case of procne and philomela, which i talked about in the last episode, all the people involved were humans, they all had the same standard of morality, more or less, so we can more easily empathize with them, say what they did was right or wrong; but the morality of the gods is so deeply different from ours that we can think something is wrong by our standards, but we will never know the actual reasoning behind a god's actual action, we will never know what their morality is, what the moral value judgment of that action is for a god, and i think that's what makes cases like this really tricky to handle, and why i think i'm going to focus more on human-dominated cases in the future, if that makes sense.

another reason why this case really fascinates me is how bittersweet it is: obviously we know, from the reporters who tracked europa down years and even decades after the event, that she ended up being fine, living a long, happy life, but her brothers, her father, her mother never got to know that, and it's not like europa could exactly reach out to them or vice versa, and that is what really makes this whole story stand out to me: it's not every day that you get a case where everybody's fine in the end but they don't know that, and they are still haunted by that uncertainty; it's the way we, as bystanders from centuries and millennia later, are able to get a closure that the family involved was unfortunately never able to get.

i hope you guys enjoyed today's episode, leave a like if you did! let me know what you thought of this case in the comments down below, and if you have any suggestions or any cases you'd like to hear me talk about, and subscribe if you'd like to never miss out on another true crime episode of this podcast. always remember that every tragedy is born of man's hubris, and i will see you guys next time!

[reordering-the-planets]

MBTI personality types as ancient Greek gods and godessess

ESFJ Aphrodite (Ἀφροδίτη): Born out of the foam of Uranus’ (God of sky) castrated parts that his son, Titan Cronus, had thrown to the sea. Thus, she emerged from the Ocean in all her beauty and grace and all the water Nymphs and all the Winds came to bow before her. Goddess of love and beauty, of pleasure and of passion as she was, all the men desired her and all the women envied her graces. She married Hephaestus, she desired Ares and she loved Adonis. One could always glimpse her winged son, Eros, god of desire, flying above her as she would’ve often whispered to his ear the next mortal whose his heart was about to be shot by Eros’ arrows.

ENFJ Apollo (Ἀπόλλων): God of light, of sun, of music, of poetry, of truth, of knowledge and protector of the arts. He was everything and he knew it all. People worshiped him all over the known world and build him the most gracious and marvelous temples and oracles, where sunbeams would make the white marbles shine as bright as the sun. In return, Apollo through the voice of gifted diviners would reveal to them what would the future hold. He played his lyre and his daughters, the Muses, would come over from the valleys to accompany his sweet melodies. He loved and protected the young as he, himself, remained a young man forever. He was a healer, but if the mortals were to infuriated him, he would bring the greatest of the plagues on them.

ISFP Artemis (Ἄρτεμις): Twin sister of Apollo as they where both children of Zeus and Leto. Quieter and humbler by nature than her twin brother, she found her call in the deep forests, the mountains and the moon. She befriended all the living things of the wild and devoted herself to their protection. Always bearing a bow in the hand and a handful of arrows on her back, she would hunt in the forests, but she’d never become violent, always honoring her prey. Although she took an oath to remain a virgin, young Orion became her hunting companion and he managed to win her heart. Their love was never meant to blossom, as Artemis shot Orion with an arrow by accident and killed him.

ESTP Ares (Ἄρης): Son of Zeus and Hera as he was, he would grow to become a forceful and a fearful one. Gifted with great physical strength and an everlasting blood lust, he excelled in the battlefields and become a soldier model for the Spartans. He was Aphrodite’s secret lover and together they had many children like Eros, who followed his mother, and Deimos (god of terror) and Phobos (god of fear), who both followed Ares as his warfare companions. The other gods tended to avoid him and on the great Trojan war he was on the losing side, therefore triggering Zeus’ anger towards him. Later, the Romans acknowledged his military intelligence and worshiped him by the name of Mars.

ESTJ Athena (Ἀθηνᾶ): If someone contrived to impersonate the essence of the ancient Greek spirit, it would look like her. It does not surprise that she was goddess of wisdom, handicraft and warfare as well. All three basic elements of the city that she fought with Poseidon for, thus founded and gave it her name, Athens. Athena always wore a helmet, brandished a spear and kept her shield with Medusa’s head on it (that Perseus had gifted to her for helping him in murdering that marine beast) by her side. Legend has it that she was born fully armored from Zeus’ forehead. However, Athena would never initiate an  unreasonable, blood spilling war against her enemies like Ares would do. Wise and strategic as her mind was, Athena favored those with strength and bravery, like Hercules and Perseus, with courage and valiance, like Bellerophon and Jason, as well as those with a sharp mind, like Odysseus, aiding them in multiple ways.

ENTJ Poseidon (Ποσειδῶν): He is known as the sea god, but in fact there was not an element that wouldn’t bow to his will. Poseidon was ruler of the seas, the rivers and all the running waters. He was commander of the earth, the soil, the storms and the mighty earthquakes. He was protector of the noble horses and, as many say, he was the true king of Atlantis. Although he lost supervision of Athens to Athena, the Athenians didn’t forget his volition to become their guardian and they worshiped him almost as much as her. They build him a magnificent temple on the windy top of Cape Sounion, where the waves of the great Aegean sea would crush the rocks beneath it. Poseidon would often help seafarers reach their destination safe and sound. Damn those who would dare sail without a sacrifice to his name for appeasing the tides. A tremendous storm created by a swing of his trident would crash their ship to an unknown land or, even worse, he would drag them all the way down to his wet kingdom. 

ENTP Zeus (Ζεύς): The father of the Gods wasn’t an easy one. As every king that walked the earth, the sea or the skies before and after him, he was whimsical, temperamental and stubborn as a bull. In fact, there were times that he would take the form of a real bull or an eagle, a swan, a bear, a serpent, a flame or even a shower of gold, always to seduce a new love interest of his own. Europa, Cassiopeia, Leda, Alcmene and Ganymede are just a handful of all the women and men he desired and approached while transformed into a creature of beauty, with the sole intention of sleeping with them. It’s no wonder that his wife, Hera, was always mad at him, thus she was the only one that ever managed to scare him a little bit. However, he was Father of everyone and everything. Mortals should not forget that without Zeus, the world would still be at the hands of his tyrannical father, Titan Cronus, whom Zeus with the help of his brothers and sisters managed to overthrow. Thus, he became the true ruler of the skies, bearer of the thunder and enforcer of law and order as well. Among mortals, he was yet another mighty symbol of civilization and justice.

INTJ Hera (Ἥρα): She wasn’t the wife next door. She was the queen of Gods and protector of all the women. Someone could even see her as one of the very first symbols of feminine power in ancient cultures. Her rightful rage towards her unfaithful husband, Zeus, was the fuel of her many vengeful actions against him and his lovers. Although she refused Zeus’ first marriage proposal, after marrying him, she became goddess of marriage and patron of the household and childbirth. Hera could be your worst enemy (even Zeus was sometimes afraid of her), but also your most valuable ally. But, most of all, she was true to herself and to her worshipers. After all, she was the queen-mother of the world.

INTP Hades (ᾍδης) or Plouton (Πλούτων): After the Gods defeated the Titans at the beginning of time, the males ones (Zeus, Poseidon and Hades at that time) gathered together to drew lots of ruler-ship over the world. Although Hades was the eldest between them, Zeus received the sky, Poseidon the earth and the sea, but Hades’ fate was to become king of the underworld. He took Persephone, Demeter’s daughter, for his wife and made her queen at his side. A giant three-headed dog guarded the doors to the underworld, thus making entrance to anyone alive almost impossible. Hades didn’t care for the affairs of the world of the living, or even for the matters of the rest of the gods. Although he wasn’t evil, mortals avoided to refer to him by his name in case they drew his attention. They mostly called him Plouton, which meant “rich”, as all the precious minerals came from the underground, thus the boundary of Hades’ kingdom.

ISFJ Demeter (Δημήτηρ): A rather motherly figure and a well-respected goddess. Demeter loved the earth and everything that came from the soil. She protected farmers and brought to them a good harvest year after year. The humblest seed took root whenever blessed by her. Nothing was more precious to her than her own daughter, Persephone. When Hades abducted Persephone with the intention to marry her, Demeter fell in deep sorrow and not a single thing would grow anymore. Everyone was desperate, and an era of great famine was upon the humans.

INFP Persephone (Περσεφόνη) or Kore (Κόρη): It is said that before her abduction by Hades, Persephone was called Kore, which means maiden or daughter. She was, in fact, the beloved daughter of Demeter, that one day while she was peacefully gathering flowers, Hades came and abducted her, as he was deeply in love with the girl. Demeter was so angry and sad after that incident, that forbade the earth to produce and she begun to wander around looking for Persephone. Zeus heard the cries of the hungry mortals and persuaded Hades to release her. Hades tricked Persephone to eat the seeds of a pomegranate before leaving the underworld, but she ignored that if someone tasted underworld food, they were obliged to come back. Demeter agreed that Persephone would spent half a year on earth and half below it. As a result, the time that Persephone returned to Hades as queen of the underworld, Demeter’s sorrow of her daughter’s absence would make winter on earth. As soon as Persephone come back to earth, she would bring the spring with her. Thus, people worshiped her as a goddess of the springtime and the flowers.

ENFP Dionysus (Διόνυσος, Diónysos) or Bacchus (Βάκχος): This one knew how to enjoy life to the fullest. As the god of wine, theater and ecstatic dance, Dionysus was an emblem of freedom and basically... fun. With vines in his hair, a thyrsus in his hands (a wand of ivy vines and leaves) and a smile on his face, Dionysus would stroll the valleys with his many followers, dancing ecstatically, driving them to divine mania. Mortals would call him “the god who comes”. His companion included goat-legged satyrs and maenads. The last ones were women who, after coming to ecstatic frenzy through dancing and drinking, would please Dionysus through blood-offerings, which in some cases meant that maeneds would kill men with bare hands. Dionysus is said to be a god who dies and rises back from the dead. His many, divine powers still remain a mystery to many of us, mortals.

ISTP Hephaestus (Ἥφαιστος): His form and character does not remind of a god. He was a shy one and would rather spend his time crafting weapons on his hot anvil. However, Hephaestus was the god of fire and served as a blacksmith of gods and heroes. His many creations include Hermes' winged helmet and sandals, Aphrodite's girdle, Achilles' armor, Heracles' bronze clappers, Helios' (god of the Sun) chariot, Eros' bow and arrows and all the thrones of the Gods in Olympus. The legend has it that he was Hera’s son, one that she made by herself out of jealously of Zeus giving birth to Athena out of his head. However, Hera ejected him from mount Olympus, because he was lame on one leg. Hephaestus took revenge against Hera by crafting her a magical golden throne, which, when she sat on, it didn’t allow her to stand up, thus making both her legs useless.

ESFP Hermes (Ἑρμῆς): Also known as the “divine trickster”, the messenger of the gods and the guide to the underworld. Hermes was a pleasant god who protected travelers, merchants, shepherds, athletes and thieves, as he was all of those things himself. His appearance is quite known. A young man with the top of his head full of playful curls, wearing winged sandals, winged petasus (traveller’s hat) and holding the kerykeion (a short staff entwined by two serpents and surmounted by wings). Always being on the move, Hermes loved playing tricks on other gods and mortals.

ISTJ  Hestia (Ἑστία): Hestia was one of the six children of Kronos and Rhea (among Zeus, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Demeter) and therefore one of the oldest Gods. She was goddess of the home and domesticity as her name suggests (Ἑστία means “hearth”) as well as protector of households. Mortals used to gift her the first offering of every sacrifice in the household. During the founding of a colony, flame from Hestia's public hearth in colonizers’ mother city would be carried to the newly founded one. Hestia rejected both the marriage proposals of Poseidon and Apollo, and took an oath of virginity (like Artemis). She cared little for the conflicts of gods and mortals and tended to her domestic matters. Hestia was the simplest and humblest between gods and even offered her place in Olympus to Dionysus, making him the 12th Olympian god in her place, thus showing her divine magnanimity.

INFJ Asclepius (Ἀσκληπιός): He was originally the son of Apollo and a mortal woman. His father offered him, when still an infant, to centaur Chiron to mentor him. Chiron taught him the art of medicine, but an ancient legend says that a snake returned a favor of Asclepius back to him by licking his ears clean and passing him secret knowledge of healing. In order to honor the snake, Asclepius made a rod wreathed with a snake his divine symbol. This very rod is still nowadays associated with healing and medicine. Asclepius mastery of healing reached the level of bringing people back from the dead. This act infuriated Hades and forced Zeus to kill Asclepius and turn him into a constellation known as Ophiuchus ("the Serpent Holder"), which many claim it to be the 13th sign of the zodiac circle.

[connoisseur-art]

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, Leonardo

~Isabella d'Este~ Cartone per il Ritratto di Isabella d'Este

1500

Black and red chalk, yellow pastel chalk on paper

The Louvre Museum.

Isabella d'Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539)

Marquise of Mantua.

She was born to the Duke of Ferrara and his wife Eleanor of Naples in 1474, the oldest and favorite of their children. Her mother ensured that she received an excellent education, even by male standards of the day, which emphasized the classics, including Greek and Latin. However, she seems to have struggled more in learning to read Latin, and in adult life received additional lessons to help her reading skills. She was particularly fond of music, singing and dancing, and learned to play several instruments including the lute and harpsichord. Her taste in music was predominantly secular.

Isabella started to collect objets d’art soon after she moved to her palace in Mantua. With regard to paintings, she was foremost a collector who relied on the advice of others in the court, rather than a connoisseur in her own right. Surprisingly, her purchases had to be made from her own wealth, which was quite limited, and in times of hardship she resorted to pawning jewelry to raise funds. Her patronage concentrated mainly on music and sculpture. She was unusual for promoting women as singers, and placing them in choirs. Her literary sponsorship was limited: she seems to have enjoyed swashbuckling stories of the adventures of knights, such as those in Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, and was a faithful supporter of his work.

Her sponsorship and taste in paintings is largely reflected in the works which she commissioned for her private study, her famous studiolo, which thankfully have been well preserved as they passed to the French Kings, and most are now in the Louvre as a result. Combined with records in her copious correspondence and a crucial inventory, it has been possible to reconstruct this studiolo in detail. Her period of collecting covered the appointments of two court painters in Mantua: Andrea Mantegna until his death in 1506, thereafter Lorenzo Costa.

Andrea Mantegna (1431–1506)

Parnassus (Mars and Venus) (1496-97),

oil on canvas, 159 x 192 cm,

The Louvre Museum, Paris.

This painting refers to the classical myth of the affair between Mars and Venus, the latter being married to Vulcan, who caught them in bed together and cast a fine net around them for the other gods to come and mock their adultery. The lovers are shown standing together on a flat-topped rock arch, as the Muses dance below. To the left of Mars’ feet is Venus’ child Cupid who is aiming his blowpipe at Vulcan’s genitals, as he works at his forge in the cave at the left. At the right is Mercury, messenger of the gods, with his caduceus and Pegasus the winged horse. At the far left is Apollo making music for the Muses on his lyre.

 It’s an unusual theme for a woman of the time to have chosen, although it has largely been interpreted with reference to a contemporary poem which seems less concerned with the underlying story of adultery exposed.

Andrea Mantegna (1431~1506),

Triumph of the Virtues (Pallas Expelling the Vices from the Garden of Virtue) 1499~1502,

tempera and oil on canvas,

The Louvre Museum, Paris.

Pietro Perugino (1448–1523),

Combat of Love and Chastity (1503),

tempera on canvas,

The Louvre Museum, Paris.

 Its theme is literary, as laid down in the contract by Isabella’s court poet, and shows a fight between the personifications of Love and Chastity, which may have worked well in words but doesn’t translate into visual art at all well.

 It features a gamut of mythological figures in no particular order, including Apollo and Daphne, Jupiter and Europa, Polyphemus and Galatea, and Pluto and Proserpina – all couples in which the man abducted and/or raped the woman. In front are Pallas Athene about to kill Eros with a lance, and a more evenly matched fight between Diana with her bow and Venus, who is singeing the huntress with a burning brand. Isabella laid out strict instructions, for example requiring that Venus, who is traditionally shown naked, was clothed. Even the owl perched in the branches of the sacred olive tree at the left was prescribed in the commission. When Perugino didn’t follow these, she protested, and on completion she wrote that it should have been better finished to set alongside her Mantegna, and was clearly unimpressed. For this the artist was paid just 100 ducats.

Lorenzo Costa (1460–1535),

The Garden of the Peaceful Arts (The Crowning of a Female Poet) (1504-06), oil on canvas

The Louvre Museum, Paris.

Mantegna had originally been commissioned to paint this, but died before he could make much progress on it. Costa started from scratch, and under Isabella’s direction according to her poet’s literary theme produced this strange painting which is often known as an allegory of Isabella’s coronation, or construed as an account of Sappho’s career.

Lorenzo Costa (1460–1535) and Andrea Mantegna (1431–1506),

The Reign of Comus (1506-11),

tempera on canvas,

The Louvre Museum, Paris.

Another commission which Mantegna had started to work on just before he died was completed by Costa in 1511, The Reign of Comus, which again uses tempera for a complex composition. Comus, ruler of a land of bacchanalia, sits talking to a near-naked Venus in the left foreground. Just to the right of the centre foreground, Nicaea is lying unconscious through alcohol, against Dionysus (Bacchus), who got her into a stupor so that he could rape her.

 Under the arch is the unmistakable two-faced Janus with Hermes, apparently repelling potential newcomers to the bacchanal. In the centre is a small group of musicians, and various naked figures are cavorting in the waters behind.

References

~Alison Cole (2016) Italian Renaissance Court ~ Art, Pleasure and Power, Laurence King.

~Christine Shaw (2019) ~Isabella d’Este, A Renaissance Princess, Routledge.

[tombraiderfan900]

TRAOD: Louvre galleries V

These pictures are updated ones, that I first found in 2017. The page Louvre Galleries at my Tomb Raider art Encyclopendia is still under construction but will updated when each part of the level is revealed.  Because the level is so huge, I divided the level in parts.

Large room with the Mona Lisa - side 1

10.46 - Venus and Cupid with a Satyr

Painting made by Antionio Allegri da Corregio (1489-1534). It is called "Venus and Cupid with a Satyr" made in 1528. It is now in the Louvre.

It depicts Venus sleeping with her son Eros. Behind them, a satyr is caught while discovering the goddess. The picture is often also seen as portraying Jupiter and Antiope as, according to mythology and Ovid, Jupiter had turned himself into a satyr to rape the nymph (from wikipedia).

10.47 - Dream of Salomon 

Painting made by Luca Giordamo (1634-1705). It is called: "Dream of Salomon" made in 1594/1695. It is now in the Museo del Prado.

The story comes from the the books of kings in the Bible (1 Books of Kings 3:5-15). In it God appears in a dream before Solomon and promises Solomon anything he wants. Solomon only asks for wisdom, nothing more..

10.48 - The rape of Europa

Painting made by Titian (1488/1490-1576). It is called: "The Rape of Europa", made in 1560-1562. It is now at Isabella Steward Gardner Museum in Boston.

The title of the painting refers to the mythological story of the abduction of Europa by Zeus (Jupiter to the Romans),[1] Titian is unequivocal about the fact that this is a scene of rape (abduction): Europa is sprawled helplessly on her back, her clothes in disarray.[2] In the myth, the god assumed the form of a bull and enticed Europa to climb onto his back. Once there, the bull rode into the sea and carried her to Crete, where he revealed his real identity. Europa became the first Queen of Crete, and had three children with Zeus. The painting depicts Europa on the back of the bull, just off the shore of her homeland.

10.49 - Jupiter and Anthiope

Another painting by Titian. It is called: "Jupiter and Anthiope (Pardo Venus)" and made in 1540-1542.

They are based on the story of the seduction of Antiope by the god Zeus in Greek mythology, later imported into Roman mythology and told of the god Jupiter. According to this myth, Antiope, the beautiful daughter of King Nycteus of Thebes, was surprised and seduced by Zeus in the form of a satyr. She became pregnant and bore the twins Amphion and Zethus, who later killed Nycteus' brother Lycus in revenge for his treatment of Antiope and took over the city of Thebes.

10.50 - Mona Peta

It is well known under the AOD fans. It depict the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci made in 1503/1506-1517. The face was edited with that from Peter Connelly, one of the developers of the game. I count this as an easter egg.

It is considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, and has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world...The painting is likely of the Italian noblewoman Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, and is in oil on a white Lombardy poplar panel...

10.51 - The last Supper

Painting by Leonardo da Vinci. It is called: "The last supper" made in 1494. It original isn't a painting but a wall painting, it is at the convent of Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan.

The Last Supper portrays the reaction given by each apostle when Jesus said one of them would betray him. All twelve apostles have different reactions to the news, with various degrees of anger and shock.

10.52 - The school of Athens

Painting made by Raphael or Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (1483-1520). It is called: "The School of Athens" made in 1509. Like the Last Supper it is a wall painting. in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City.

The School of Athens is one of a group of four main frescoes on the walls of the Stanza (those on either side centrally interrupted by windows) that depict distinct branches of knowledge...The subject of the "School" is actually "Philosophy," or at least ancient Greek philosophy, and its overhead tondo-label, "Causarum Cognitio", tells us what kind, as it appears to echo Aristotle's emphasis on wisdom as knowing why, hence knowing the causes, in Metaphysics Book I and Physics Book II. Indeed, Plato and Aristotle appear to be the central figures in the scene.

10.53 -  The immaculate conception

Painting made by Giovanni Battista Tieplo (1696-1770). It is called: "The Immaclate Conception" and made in 1767/1768.

It represents the Immaculate Conception, a tradition of the Catholic Church stating that the Virgin Mary was conceived without original sin

[stargazersastronomy]

Taurus Constellation

Taurus constellation lies in the northern sky. Its name means “bull” in Latin. The constellation is symbolized by the bull’s head, .

Taurus is one of the 12 constellations of the zodiac, first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. The constellation’s history, however, dates back to the Bronze Age.

Taurus is a large constellation and one of the oldest ones known. In Greek mythology, the constellation is associated with Zeus, who transformed himself into a bull in order to get close to Europa and abduct her.

Taurus is known for its bright stars Aldebaran, El Nath, and Alcyone, as well as for the variable star T Tauri. The constellation is probably best known for the Pleiades (Messier 45), also known as the Seven Sisters, and the Hyades, which are the two nearest open star clusters to Earth.

Taurus also has a number of famous deep sky objects, among them the supernova remnant Messier 1 (the Crab Nebula), Hind’s Variable Nebula (NGC 1555), the colliding galaxies NGC 1410 and NGC 1409, the Crystal Ball Nebula (NGC 1514), and the Merope Nebula (NGC 1435).

MYTH

Taurus constellation has been known since at least the Early Bronze Age, when it marked the Sun’s location during the spring equinox. It has been associated with the bull in many cultures and mythologies: Greek and Egyptian among other, and even going back to Ancient Babylon.

Depictions of Taurus and the Pleiades star cluster have even been found in a cave painting at Lascaux, dating back to 15,000 BC. Both the constellation and the Pleiades have been known in many indigenous cultures and referred to as the bull and the seven sisters, which indicates a common origin for the names.

In Greek mythology, Taurus is usually associated with Zeus, who adopted the shape of a bull in order to seduce and abduct Europa, the beautiful daughter of the Phoenician King Agenor.

Zeus mingled with the king’s herd and, being the most handsome bull there, he got Europa’s attention. The princess admired the bull and, when she sat on his back, he rose and headed for the sea. Zeus carried Europa all the way to the island of Crete, where he revealed his true identity and lavished the princess with presents.

The two had three sons together, including Minos, who grew up to be the famous king of Crete, who built the palace at Knossos where bull games were held and who also sacrificed seven young boys and girls to the Minotaur each year. Zeus later commemorated the bull by placing it among the stars.

Constellations Orion and Taurus, image: Dumbbell at wikipedia.org

An alternative interpretation associates Taurus with the nymph Io, whose line Europa was descended from, who was also seduced by Zeus and then transformed into a heifer when the two were nearly caught by Hera.

Babylonian astronomers called the constellation MUL.APIN, or “The Heavenly Bull.” In the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest literary works from Mesopotamia, Gilgamesh faces the Bull of Heaven sent by the goddess Ishtar to kill the hero after he had rejected her advances.

Gilgamesh is sometimes associated with the nearby Orion, another ancient constellation, and the two constellations are depicted as Gilgamesh and the bull in combat. (Source: Constellation Guide, temp.)

[boldpreciousmetals]

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In Greek mythology, Europa Ancient Greek was a Phoenician princess of Argive Greek origin and the mother of King Minos of Crete. The continent of Europe is named after him. The story of her abduction by Zeus in the form of a bull was a Cretan story; as the classicist Karoly Kerenyi points out, "Most of the love stories about Zeus originated from older accounts that described his marriages to goddesses. This can be said especially of the history of Europe."

The oldest literary reference in Europe is found in the Iliad, which is commonly dated to the 8th century BC. Another of the first references to her is found in a fragment of the Hesiodic Catalog of Women, discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The oldest vase painting safely identified in Europe dates from the mid-7th century BC.

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[disbander-of-armies]

Do you think it’s hypocritical when people defend Hades and Persephone by saying ‘rape’ meant kidnapping but then say the ‘rape’ of Europa/Ganymede was an example of Zeus’ sexual violence?

Hi anon,

 well, technically they would be right if they referredto the Rape of Persephone as kidnapping since the word “rape” comes from Latin“rapere” which means “to seize, carry off” and this is what the Rape ofPersephone means. It would be better to speak of the Abduction of Persephone.But it’s true, a lot of people on tumblr tend to romanticize the relationshipbetween Hades and Persephone while at the same time painting Zeus (and othergods) in the darkest colors.

So, short answer: Yes, I do think they are hypocritical.

I can, although, understand where they are comingfrom. There are no stories about Hades being in an extramarital relationship,unlike with Zeus. It’s easy to imagine him and Persephone as a loving and happycouple. So, I get why Hades’ and Persephone’s story is so appealing and why peopleoften don’t like Zeus.

And this, in and by itself, is not a bad thing. I dothink that Zeus’ affairs in mythology should be examined critically. Even ifthere is no rape involved, there is still this huge power imbalance between himand his mortal lovers.

BUT, as you mentioned, people are being hypocriticalby finding all kinds of excuses for why Hades is all sunshine and rainbows (like,sharing posts according to which there is an original myth where Hades doesn’tkidnap Persephone, which is just false) and at the same time portraying Zeus asthe most horrible rapist. Furthermore, they spread false information (as theone I just mentioned) and very often, they attack everyone who doesn’t sharetheir opinion. And a lot of the times, the victims are Hellenic polytheists because they don’t seem to get that mythology =/= religion.

To sum it up, even though I understand where they arecoming from, this in NO WAY excuses this kind of behavior!

 On a personal note, I also find it sad that these peopleseem to think that this is the only way to read Greek mythology. As Imentioned, I do think it important to approach it from a feminist perspective. Butthis is just one perspective and you can approach it in all kinds of differentways.

Like, when I first learned about Greek mythology, myfavorite gods where Zeus and Hera, exactly BECAUSE they were so flawed in themyths. Having been raised as a Christian, the idea of a god having flaws wascompletely new to me. I loved the idea they would have such human troubles asan unhappy marriage. To me, it made them very approachable and that’s why Ifell in love with Greek mythology in the first place. At the same time, Hades was thegod I was least interested in, simply because there were almost no storiesabout him.

This was my own personal approach, and this might notwork for many people, which is totally okay. But it is just as valid as otherones. And this is exactly the beauty of the Greek myths, I think. They are not “static”,you can interpret them in many different and new ways. This shows that they arestill alive. Let’s keep it that way.

 PS: If you want to find blogs of people who do a wonderfuljob at representing Hades and Persephone and who do their research and respectthe source material, check out @coloricioso and @a-gnosis!