#bellona deity

[thedansemacabres]

I do think Roman polytheism would be much more popular if it moved away from the empire and such. While there is valuable things about religion in that era, there’s so much more fun and relatability in rural Roman religion—Ceres of the lares, Anna Perenna’s seasonal rites, the role of Mars and Bellona—I’ll be sure to make posts upon this sometime, as I’ve come to grow into Roman religion the more I interact with Bellona and the rural practices.

[happyk44]

Ya know what I find really weird in PJO but I can't find an alternate explanation for/scene for and so it must stay in my brain as a "I can't find the solution for this and it's making be rage" thought?

The whole "Greek and Roman Deities Fighting Each Other" for the same brain/body. Like, I somewhat get it from the author's standpoint but as someone who knows both of their myths, I'm like??? They literally both have their own gods without "counterparts" like Bellona, which Rick acknowledges within the series and each deity literally has different values within somewhat same domains. Like, Juno? Entirely different epithets from Hera, although they share the same "place" within their pantheons. And, yes, there are some overlaps which come from the fact that Rome came after Greece and has a lot of influence from the Greeks, just like our books and literature has a lot of overlap with ancient cultures and, very specifically, America with European roots. That's just how humans work! Look at literally any fictional book with its own "world" and see all the things it took inspiration from! Even Tolkien! Especially Tolkien! And now look at the things we took from Tolkien.

It's just. I don't know what to do about this and I'm mad about it. Do I like, make the whole scene change when the gods change. Do I replace their entire beings with the other culture's. Do I make them coexist and just pop up everywhere? Answers, brain, answers.

[Coming from an author who's especially enraged bc he's trying to write a Mortal!Big Three AU after the series with a lot of roman influence but a majority of the series is based on Greek Influence--even Camp Jupiter, who has child soldiers??? Dude, they should be adults-. "Oh what about Jason and Reyna?" Make a funny little plot thing where literal adults are tasked by one of their Patron Goddess to take care of a Small Child which they literally did not ask for and raise him/it to be a functioning soldier. Make it so when we're introduced to The Camp via Percy, the soldiers groan because they're literally being run over by children, wtf man. Anyway, if someone writes this into something or finds a fic with an idea similar to this, send it to me <3--and so now he has to do a lot of research based in roman culture with very little Referenced Points.

{The author's starting to but it's gonna take a while and they wanna write this fic now-}]

<3

Fair warning it's like 4:30ish in the morning as I write this and I haven't slept yet so this might be all over the place but, yeah, Risk doesn't do enough to differentiate between the two sides within canon. So I think a lot of people come out of the series assuming that there's little to no difference between Greek and Roman gods and culture, aside from the change of their names. And since there's no perceived difference, they don't really do their own research.

Plus adding in details that aren't accurate to ancient culture/ideology (re: Neptune being hated because Romans weren't seafaring. Like. They were. They had a navy. And they didn't hate Nepetune) and then not elaborating any further on those details (we never see Neptune so we don't get to be exposed to how terrifying or different from Poseidon he is, we have no active child of Neptune to give us a reason why the modern day campers would be fearful other than a story about an earthquake, which I still find ridiculous because really? None of your siblings have ever made a devastating fuckup?)

It definitely could've been more well thought out. I mean I wrote a book featuring different gods, and a key player is Kali. In some text, Kali is an aspect of the goddess Durga. Durga has other aspects as well, such as Parvati. It's sort of similar to how the gods are presented in PJO/HoO. However, I wanted to clarify that Kali is a separate entity, so over the course of the last few centuries and as a result of colonization, she and the other aspects separated out from the principal goddess to be their own. She was the last to sever out. While she is worshipped as an aspect of Durga, she's still a goddess in her own right! But the aspect wording caught my attention and I wanted it to be obvious

With PJO/HoO canon, it could be the opposite. They started as separate entities but public perception caused them to merge. We know through TKC that public perception affects the gods - gods that have been forgotten become senile. Why can't public perception affect them in other ways? In my book, less known mythologies and gods become weaker and weaker, especially as colonization has erased knowledge and artifacts, which is why I had them centralize their power into a collective that equalizes belief among the whole of them (with a little boost for the well-known and worshipped), because hey, if it can happen to them, it can happen to you.

Anyway, a fun way to go about this is maybe making a joke that Hermes and Anubis can't interact because otherwise they start to combine and separating them takes time and energy and other people's help because of Hermanubis. The Greek and Roman gods want to be separate but because public perception tends to conflate them way more than they're already conflated, they're stuck battling it out. Greek gods tend to win more because, again, public perception tends to prioritize Greek mythology (at least I think so anyway) which is one of the reason legacies are so commonplace in Camp Jupiter in a way they aren't at CHB.

By this you can have "designer" legacies - kids with more than one godly ancestor (like Frank) in order to continue on the powers or strengths of multiple gods rather than just the one. With the way New Rome is structured, I can't imagine why demigods wouldn't hook up with one another. With CHB, you can leave so relationships between demigods may fizzle out after the summer or when demigods choose to stop coming back to camp for whatever reason. They also don't have to send their kids to camp, and can train their kids on their own, so less interaction with legacies is had with CHB, and thus godly influence slowly dies out as the legacies don't hook up with one another or other demigods. There's also the ever present risk of monsters, so Greek legacies may survive less.

With CJ, everyone tends to migrate into New Rome when their service is done. Between school, work, and homing options, there's less reason to leave, less likelihood of relationships fizzling out, higher likelihood of multiple godly ancestors among legacies.

One of the things that I've complained about with the Greek vs Roman battling it out thing before and what I wanna reiterate again is that Frank should not have been the one to deal with both aspects of his dad arguing in his head. It should've been Jason!! The one who actually was unsure of his standing as a Roman or Greek demigod.

But there's no differentiation. Even the arguing in Frank's head is just "kill everyone!" and "war is great!" There's no line between Mars as war god and Ares as a war god, despite the reality that there was - Mars being more disciplined and Ares being more bloodlust.

And attempts at describing a difference are either unclear or delivered through secondhand information, like when Thalia claims that Jupiter seemed different to her when he came in that aspect of himself but in text, the actual exposure we get of him feels no different to what we've experienced of Zeus in PJO. Neptune vs Poseidon.

Why does Athena have kids but Minerva doesn't when both are virgin goddesses born from their father's head? Why does Minerva's status as a virgin goddess bear more significance than Athena's to the point she doesn't simply replicate the actions of her other self to have her own kids?

The only line of clarity I can really see is Pluto vs Hades, and even then, the characterization between the two of them is essentially the same, the only weight is in the importance of their godly priorities shown both through their kids (Hazel vs Nico) and described in text (wealth vs dead). But we get little to no other exposure or line of thought from other characters with the same godly parent, just different aspects. How does Frank differ from Clarisse, or Jason from Thalia? How does the chosen aspect of their godly parent affect their personality, their powers, the way they interact with the world or how others see them?

I do like that idea of random adults at camp being given a kid by various gods who are just "take care of this thing for me, thanks" and bouncing off. That's funny. But also lol, Jason being CJ's only child soldier. He's Jupiter's child, and a champion of Juno so he's special and must be treated as such, even if that's by being attacked by wolves nonstop as a toddler and then raised in barracks from ages 3 to 15. And when people go "what about Reyna" or "what about Frank", like, idk how commonplace it is in most places but I know the US has those like junior army clubs or whatever it's called, so why couldn't they just be part of CJ's equivalent to that and then run off to do their own thing with the others because they're teens with ADHD and impulsivity is a thing, especially when you care about your friends.

But, like, also the soldier aspect isn't really key. "What about Reyna?" She was gonna end up at Camp Jupiter either way. "What about Frank?" He needed to be trained because it'd been 16 years and the fact that he hadn't experienced any monsters up to 'til then can be written away as his mom and grandmother defeated them before he could be hurt, and then his mom died and his grandmother realized she won't always be here to defend him so fuck it, let's tell him the truth about his father and send him off to learn how to defend himself.

And again! It's as you said - epithets differ even between similar gods. Their priorities differ - both in ancient culture and with the god themselves. Principal gods differ. Mars was held to higher esteem than Ares - Frank's status as his son should've been exemplified. Mars was second to Jupiter in importance - Jason could've subconsciously adopted Frank as his second in command, which would've been neat because we know Frank struggles with anxiety and confidence and we know he wasn't all that thrilled with being Mars's son at the start, and him getting a bump up in status/importance could've been an interesting arc to navigate, as well as further cement the key moment in HoH when he takes over for Jason as praetor and leads the ghostly army.

[talonabraxas]

Hekate, Keeper of Keys Talon Abraxas

Hekate: Triple-Bodied Greek Goddess of Witchcraft and Keeper of Keys

Hecate the goddess of Greek mythology has been primarily remembered for her associations with magic and witchcraft. Throughout history however, her sphere of influence also included the moon, night, crossroads, boundaries, ghosts and necromancy. Although Hecate was once considered to be a powerful Greek goddess of witchcraft, Hecate was not a major deity when compared, for instance, to the Twelve Olympians.

There are therefore few myths which revolve around this Greek goddess of magic. Nevertheless, the goddess Hecate plays a particularly important role in the Greek myth which relates the abduction of Persephone. It is also from this myth that the quintessential representation of Hecate, as a goddess holding a flaming torch in each hand, is derived.

The Powers of Hecate, the Greek Goddess of Witchcraft

It is generally believed that the goddess Hecate was the daughter of Perses and Asteria, both of whom were from the second generation of Titans. Nevertheless, some have claimed that she was the daughter of Zeus and either Hera or Pheraea. Yet others have stated that she was a daughter either of Leto or of Tartarus.

In any case, it is widely accepted that Hecate the goddess was not originally a member of the Greek pantheon. In fact, her cult is said to have originated in ancient Thrace, or perhaps in Caria, Anatolia. The original worshippers of Hecate believed that the goddess had power over heaven, earth, and the seas, thus making her an incredibly powerful goddess.

Hecate, whose name came from the Greek word hekatos meaning “worker from afar,” had the power not only to bestow upon those she favored wealth, good fortune, and wisdom, but also to withhold these gifts from those she perceived as unworthy. She was honored by all the gods, including Zeus. As she sided with the Olympians during the Titanomachy, she was the only member of the old regime who retained her powers following the defeat of the Titans.

Within ancient Greek religion Hecate had many different roles, as goddess not just of witchcraft, but also of magic, spells, the night, ghosts, light, necromancy, and even the moon. She was also seen as a goddess of oikos, meaning the household and family, and doorways. Some have even connected her to Artemis, who was portrayed in a similar style, with boots, torches and dogs.

Due to her extensive powers, Hecate has been confused and identified with several other deities throughout history. For instance, as a goddess of nature, she was identified with Demeter, whilst as a moon goddess, she has been identified with Persephone.

"I am she that is the natural mother of all things, mistress and governess of all the elements, the initial progeny of worlds, chief of powers divine, Queen of heaven, the principal of the Gods celestial, the light of the goddesses: at my will the planets of the air, the wholesome winds of the Seas, and the silences of hell be disposed; my name, my divinity is adored throughout all the world in divers manners, in variable customs and in many names, [...] Some call me Juno, others Bellona of the Battles, and still others Hecate. Principally the Ethiopians which dwell in the Orient, and the Egyptians which are excellent in all kind of ancient doctrine, and by their proper ceremonies accustomed to worship me, do call me Queen Isis." (Lucius Apuleius in The Golden Ass)

[daughterofprofit96]

On Instagram ( rescatedelgrishaverse) I've been comparing Grishaverse to mythological deities. Zoya was my latest!

Before I go on, remember to sign and share the petition!! You can Google it as "Save Shadow and Bone". Today we reached 200k signatures!!

Zoya Nazyalensky|| Bellona

You know why I love Zoya? Because in a society where us girls aren't allowed to be bad, to be tough, to be unforgiving without someone making us feel guilty, having characters like her, characters who defy those stupid enough to tell them what they're supposed to be, it's an honour.

Bellona it's one the Roman deities of war. Bellona was a personification of the most violent aspect of war, but someone who the Romans prayed for victory to. It was in her temple where they held the war counsels. It's in her temple where war was declared, by throwing a spear onto the land "designated" as enenmy; and where the victorious soldiers were received.

Zoya is a little bit like that. She's somewhat unpleasant at times. She can be violent. She can be intimidating. She can be terrifying. And you know what? That's completely fine. Zoya is a born leader, one of the best warriors and someone fiercely loyal to her friends and beliefs. Therefore, she's the best person to command an army.

Sometimes, it's good to have an armour.

[tiredwitchplant]

Everything You Need to Know About Herbs: Belladonna *Deadly Nightshade*

Belladonna (Atropa belladonna)

*Poisonous *Medical *Feminine

Folk names: Banewort, Black Cherry, Deadly Nightshade, Death’s Herb, Devil’s Cherries, Divale, Dwale, Dwaleberry, Dwayberry, Fair Lady, Great Morel, Naughty Man’s Cherries, Sorcerer’s Berry, Witch’s Berry

Planet: Saturn

Element: Water

Deities: Hecate, Bellona, Circe

Abilities: Protection, Psychic Abilities, Self-Awareness, Astral Projection, Forgetting Past Love

Why Poisonous?: Its roots, leaves and fruits all contain alkaloids: atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine. This causes dilated pupils, blurred vision, slurred speech, hallucinations, delirium, convulsion and some cases death.

Do not consume belladonna in any form

Characteristics: It has a rigid stalk that grow into branches. It is a perennial plant and can grow up to 3 feet tall. Its purplish-brown flowers are shaped like bells with its berries being black and the size of cherries. It is a part of the nightshade family and likes partial shade in chalky soil.

History: This plant has always been associated with witches and was used as an ingredient in flying ointment, a medieval cream that allowed people to unlock their spiritual powers. Belladonna was used by the Scottish army against the Norwegian troops of King Svein Knutsoon to incapacitate them when they were trying to overthrow the current King. Sacred to the Fates, it is also associated with the Fate Atropos, the Fates who cuts the thread of life. Its leaves were used by Venetian women in order to redden their cheeks, and Renaissance women used it as a tincture in order to dilate their eyes to seem more attractive.

Growing Belladonna:

Easy to grow? No

Rating: Expert/Low Success Rate

Seeds Accessible? No and Illegal in some areas

Growing Belladonna

Video Guide

Where to Get Seeds

Magical Usage:

Was used to encourage astral projections and produce visions (Is very much not safe)

Amplify seductive energy and give temporary illusion of beauty

Placing belladonna in a sealed jar can help your spirit move into the world beyond

The priest of Bellona, the Roman Goddess of War, would drink an infusion of Belladonna prior to worshipping Her and invoking her aid. The antidote for Belladonna poisoning is physostigmine, a reversible cholinergic medicine that is used to treat glaucoma and antimuscarinic toxicity.

Medical Usage:

Was used as an anesthetic for surgeries

Sources

[greenpanda-basicfakewitch]

Spiritual Dieties

A/N: Just realised that I've included a list of god/esses BUT Christian will be excluded because theirs is too BIG, seraphims, archangels, and the names of who is what that is it's own seperate post -_- they're christian witches so even my own opinion of christianty (I don't hate them but dont love them either) I would still respect anyone who still follows it.

_________________________________________________________

Deities: 

Divine status, quality or nature. A god or Goddess, a supreme being. Most well known in Persian/Norse/Celtic/Greek/Roman/Egyptian/Hindu/Pagan/ Christian Angels-Demons, etc.

Celtic Gods:

Alator: God of war and protection, name means “he who nourishes the people.”

Albiorix: God of protection and war, name means “King of the world.”

Belenus: God of healing, name means “Bright one.”

Borvo: God of healing waters and minerals.

Bres: God of fertility, tyrant ruler

Cernunnos: Horned god of Nature, fertility, the underworld, wealth and fruit

Esus: God of strength and human sacrifice.

Lenus: God of healing, associated with Roman god Mars

Lugh: God of the sun and craftsmanship, justice and ruleship

Maponus: God of music, poetry and youth

Nuada: God of healing, the sea and warfare.

Celtic Goddesses:

 Brigantia: Goddess of rivers and waters, poetry and crafts

Brigit: Goddess of fire, fertility, healing, cattle and poetry

Ceridwen: Goddess and sorceress, poetic wisdom, prophecy, magic and rebirth.

Epona: Horse goddess, fertility and cornucopias, horses and mules

Medb: Goddess of sovereignty and motherhood

Morrigan: Goddess of seafarers, fertility, and abundance

Nemausicae: Mother goddess, fertility and prosperity

Saitada: Goddess of grief.

_______________________________________________________

Norse Deities:

 Gods:

Baldur: God of Beauty, peace, innocence, rebirth.

Bragi: God of Poetry, music, the harp

Hodr: God of Winter, Blind God, god of Darkness.

Hoenir: God of Silence, passion, spirituality, poetry

Kwasir: God of inspiration, god of wisdom.

Loki: God of trickery, mischief

Magni: God of strength and bravery

Njord: God Of the sea, wind, fish and wealth.

Odin: The allfather, God of war, poetry, magic and wisdom.

Thor: God of Thunder and battle, protection of mankind.

Try: God of War and Justice, god of skies

Ulr: God of skis and bows, god of winter.

Ali: God of revenge and vengeance.

Goddess:

Eir: Goddess of healing and medical skill.

Eostre: Goddess of spring and dawn.

Freyja: Goddess of love, fertility, battle and witchcraft

Frigg: Goddess of marriage and motherhood, Queen of the gods.

Gefjun: Goddess of fertility and plough, abundance and prosperity.

Hlin: Goddess of consolation and protection

Jord: Goddess of the Earth, Mother Earth.

Nanna: Goddess of joy, peace, and the moon.

Nott: Goddess of the night and darkness.

Sif: Goddess of the harvest, grain and earth

Sigyn: Goddess of fidelity, mercy and mourning.

Skadi: Goddess of Winter, mountains and skiing.

Sol: Goddess of the Sun and healing

Vor: Goddess of Wisdom, knowledge and awareness. 

Greek Goddess

Aphrodite

Hera

Athena

Artemis

Demeter

Hestia

Persephone

Gaia

Greek Gods:

Zeus

Hermes

Ares

Poseidon

Apollo

Hephaestus

Dionysus

Hades

Cronus

Eros

Helios

Atlas

Pan

Heracles

Prometheus

Uranus

______________________________________________________________

Roman Goddess Minerva

Venus

Ceres

Juno

Vesta

Diana

Janus

Bellona

Cybele

Fortuna

Victoria

Proserpina

Roman Gods

Apollo

Mars

Jupiter

Neptune

Mercury

Vulcan

Pluto

Saturn

Faunus

Flora

Pax

______________________________________________________________

Egyptian Gods/Goddess

Horus

Anubis

Osiris

Isis

Thoth

Set

Bastet

Hathor

Amun

Sekhmet

Nephthys

Ptah

Sobek

Ma'at

Geb

Nut

Shu

Ra

Bes

Tefnut

Khnum

Khepri

Khonsu

Neith

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Persian Gods/esses

Ahura Mazda

Angra Mainyu

Mithra

Anahita

Verethragna

Atar

Vohu Manah

Haurvatat

Mitra

Ameretat

Vayu

Zoroaster

Haoma

Rashnu

Spenta Armaiti

Indra

Aka Manah

Allani

Ahurani

Kshatra Vairya

Azhi Dahāka

Arash

Apam Napat

Fereydun

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Hindu Gods/esses

Shiva

Vishnu

Ganesha

Brahma

Hanuman

Krishna

Durga

Rama

Saraswati

Indra

Lakshmi

Kali

Kartikeya

Parvati

Agni

Surya

Varuna

Vayu

Chandra

Devi

Kamadeva

Sita

Kubera

Shakti

______________________________________________________________

What is similar?

One type of ‘Leader’ along with a ‘Mother’ a ‘son’ or ‘Consort’ a god of death, healing, creativity, the Sun, the Moon, wisdom, mischief, fertility. Or some deities symbolise a couple of things based on their story. Or domain that they rule over. But most do have similarities or cross over to other religions. For example the Roman gods are just the Tumblr edgy oc’s of the Greek Gods. {And the Romans twisted greek stories but those stories is what we in modern day take as 'canon' }

“Our gods are stronger and better than yours!” ha, just kidding.

[wanderingmind867]

I just made a post mentioning how Rick Riordan made some evil amazons for his books, so here's an old idea of mine where I stole some of those ideas (but made them possibly darker). Presenting Superwoman of the Crime Syndicate, the Anti-Matter Universe version of Wonder Woman.

Superwoman (Bellona of Themyscira/Priscilla Rich): The amazons of the anti-matter universe were founded by women like circe and medea, powerful warriors and sorceresses who hated men and loved to torture them and drive them in fights to the death. Also, the amazons of the anti-matter earth have way more roman influence than greek. Hence their worship of the war gods mars and bellona. Bellona especially, since she's a female deity who wikipedia told me represented bloodlust.

The anti-matter island of themyscira is a horrible place to live, unless you're one of the amazonians. Because the amazons are fierce slavers. Years ago they led fierce incursions against man's world, kidnapping men to be their slaves. They then used those men as breeders and servants, forcibly having sex with them to produce more male slaves and/or female warriors.

It was into this world that princess Bellona was born, a child of the amazons queen, the evil enchantress known as Circe. She was named for her patron, the roman goddess of bloodlust and war. For years, Circe taught her daughter the ways of the warrior and of the magician, training her to be the perfect princess for this kingdom based on misandry and violence.

Bellona probably would have stayed on themyscira and continued on as her mother's pride and joy, but then a US aircraft crashed onto themyscira. Inside it lay pilot steve trevor, a US soldier brought down in the fight against Ultraman. When Bellona looked at him, she felt no love. But hearing about a world of men beyond themyscira…that intrigued bellona. So she begged her mother to let her go out and enslave man's world. Her mother agreed, after bellona proved herself in combat against all the other amazons.

So while steve trevor was left on themyscira to become one of the kingdom's many slaves, bellona headed for man's world. Landing in New York City, Bellona killed and promptly stole the identity of the rich socialite Priscilla Rich. And using this assumed name, bellona began writing propaganda to encourage the women of america to enslave their husbands and train themselves as warriors. She used Priscilla Rich's vast resources to monopolize certain sectors of the global economy.

Building an army of millions of bloodthirsty women (and having a stranglehold on world monetary policies), bellona became known as Superwoman to the people of man's world. Recognizing her talents as a propagandist and warrior (and seeing as she's one of the world's most preeminent terrorists), Ultraman formally invites her to join the Crime Syndicate and take over the globe with him. Bellona haughtily accepts, but makes clear her contempt for him and his masculine ways (bellona hates every single member of the team. Alongside the Aresian Barbarian, she's one of the most power hungry and cruel. She regularly dreams of killing Ultraman and taking his position as leader for herself).

[dryad-druid]

Bella stared at her uncle's face for quite some time.

It really had been a while since she had come face to face with her uncle, their relationship had become quite rocky since the man, openly stated that he wanted to destroy an entire species, and THAT no, he wasn't joking.

God, Titan and any deity that could hear her, she really needed a drink, no wait! make that two….. can she make that three?

The only reason she had gone in the first place was to verify certain rumors surrounding her uncle along with a certain missing battle Nexus champion. Also, she wanted to see if she could shut up Pax's whining for now.

Upon arriving at the castle she had been surprisingly greeted by two cheerful pygmy gargoyles, one of which had a foam beard on her face, who upon realizing that this was their boss's niece, kindly guided Bella to the main hall where said Yokai was supposed to be.

She really didn't expect what she saw, like, at all.

Sitting in the only available seat in the room, next to the fireplace, was her uncle; who just staring wide-eyed and dilated at the crystal sphere in front of him.

While this in itself was strange, it did not compare to the following.

Resting on the Yokai's legs, gazing intently at the Crystal was a human, and not JUST any human, but it was the missing reigning champion of the Battle Nexus, Lou Jitsu, SLURPING A SMOOTHIE USING ONLY WHAT LOOKED LIKE A VIRGIN KILLER SWEATER.

Bella could have stared at the scene for hours, were it not for one of the gargoyles raising his voice.

"Hey boss, you've got visitors!"

In just a second both the human and the Yokai looked towards the entrance to look at the newcomer, and upon seeing his niece Draxum quickly stood up forgetting for a second the human on his legs.

"Ouch, what was that for!" Said the recently fallen Lou Jitsu on the floor.

Draxum looked at both the human and his niece with a nervous expression, still deciding to help the half-naked human up and immediately regain his composure.

"Bellona. Your visit is unexpected. What brings you here?"

Despite being extremely amused by this whole situation, Bella had not forgotten why she had come here in the first place.

"There are certain rumors spreading lately, about you and a certain missing human champion. I just came to check" she said secretly glancing sideways at Lou Jitsu.

His uncle crossed his arms and just gave him a bored look "I have nothing to do with it."

"If you say so."

It was that moment that Lou finally decided to say something.

"So you're Bella! Draxum told me about you, I was wondering when I'd get to see you!" Lou held out one hand towards Bella while with the other he tried to discreetly pull the sweater down to cover his legs a little more. "Sorry about the look, you caught us on laundry day."

Bella took the champ's hand with a smile. " No worries."

"Oh! I definitely hope you stay for dinner, I haven't interacted with anyone else outside of this house in ages! I'll go see if lar gargoyles have any of my clothes ready, I'll be right back!"

With that said, the human quickly exited through the entrance leaving the Yokai and his niece alone.

Back at the present. Bella looked at her uncle un the eyes. "So.... How long have you two been dating?"

Draxum frowned. "we're not dating."

"BULLSHIT!”

------------

A spiritual sequel to this

Even though Bella is not canon in my AU, sometimes I wish she was, just to have these interactions more often.

Bella belongs @thedawningofthehour , go read her stuff!!!

[lovistella-a]

PRIMADONNA (프리마돈나) is a fictional girl group under JUPITER RECORDS. the group consists on BELLE, PHOEBE, MIRAN, VEGA, JIHYE, YOOBIN, SERA and ELARA. they debuted on january 1st, 2011 with debut single, DIVA.

PRIMADONNA are best known for their regal princess image, their commanding stage presence and it girl status. they portray the FIRST HOUSE in jupiter REPRESENTATION.

CHOI SUAH (최수아), known professionally as BELLE, is the leader and eldest member of PRIMADONNA. as the embodiment of the deity BELLONA, the goddess of warfare and conflict, she commands great honour and reverence within the company. within PRIMADONNA, she personifies the fierce determination, guiding the group through adversities and strives for victory. she is best known for her ferocious attitude, chaotic destructive tendencies and courageous rap style.

stage name belle korean name choi suah birthday february 25, 1989 birthplace daegu, south korea position leader, main rapper, lead dancer, vocalist faceclaim park gyuri

OH YEEUN (오예은), known professionally as PHOEBE, is the main dancer of PRIMADONNA. she personifies the essence of youth and rejuvenation, symbolising JUVENTAS, perfectly complimenting her fake maknae persona. her youthful and radiant charm fosters rejuvenation within PRIMADONNA, often symbolising the beauty in life's every-changing journey. she is best known for her graceful dancing, heartfelt interactions with her fans and living in the moment sentiments.

stage name phoebe korean name oh yeeun birthday august 19, 1990 birthplace dunedin, new zealand position main dancer, lead rapper, vocalist faceclaim kim hyoyeon

HAN MIRAN (한미란), known professionally as MIRAN, is the variety diva of PRIMADONNA. as the embodiment of the goddess of war and agriculture, MARS, she brings a fiery and nurturing energy to the group. her dynamic persona and warrior-like image inspires a profound sense of vitality and passion among PRIMADONNA's dedicated fanbase. she is best known for her visual charisma, extraordinary vocal prowess and being the glue that binds the group together.

stage name miran korean name han miran birthday september 9, 1990 birthplace incheon, south korea position lead vocalist, face of the group faceclaim tiffany young

UM HYERIN (음혜린), known professionally as VEGA, is the versatile ace of PRIMADONNA. she is the enigmatic essence of the goddess of the underworld, PROSERPINA, infusing the group's performances with an otherworldly allure. her enchanting artistry not only distinguishes the group apart but also forges deeper connection amongst the PRIMADONNA members. she is best known for her entrancing talents, magnetic stage presence and captivating personality.

stage name vega korean name um hyerin birthday june 16, 1991 birthplace miami, united states position lead vocalist, lead rapper faceclaim yoon bora

PARK JIHYE (박지혜), known professionally as JIHYE, is the main vocalist of PRIMADONNA. as the manifestation of the goddess MINERVA of wisdom & victory, JIHYE brings an intellectual and assertive presence to the group's musical landscape. her transcendent vocal prowess and deep artistic wisdom inspire not only fans but embody the ideals of MINERVA herself. she is best known for her soulful vocals, entrancing personality, and the songwriting genius of PRIMADONNA.

stage name jihye korean name park jihye birthday november 10, 1992 birthplace suwon, south korea position main vocalist, face of the group faceclaim im jinah

LEE YUBIN (이유빈), known professionally as YOOBIN, is the ethereal visual of PRIMADONNA. as the embodiment of the goddess VENUS, representing love, beauty and desire, she brings an alluring elegance to the group's musical tapestry. her captivating presence and divine visuals inspire passion and desire among fans, mirroring the very essence of VENUS herself. she is best known for her favouritism from fans + the company, photogenic qualities and popular CF appearances.

stage name yoobin korean name lee yubin birthday may 13, 1993 birthplace seoul, south korea position lead vocalist, visual faceclaim son naeun

GO SERA (고세라), known professionally as SERA, is the regal princess of PRIMADONNA. SERA brings a fiery elegance to the group's captivating performances as the goddess of fire and forge, VULCAN. her spoilt presence and princess-likecharisma ignite fervor and admiration among fans, embodying the very spirit of VULCAN herself. she is best known for her majestic dancing, blazing artistry and her natural inclination for always being the center of attention.

stage name sera korean name go sera birthday july 22, 1993 birthplace busan, south korea position main dancer, vocalist, center faceclaim lee sunmi

MOON EUNHA (문은하), professionally known as ELARA, is the chaebol maknae of PRIMADONNA. she brings a unique blend of grace and vitality to the PRIMADONNA's artistry by manifesting DIANA, the goddess of the hunt, wild animals and the moon. her graceful and ethereal presence invoke admiration and reverence, epitomizing the very essence of DIANA herself. she is the best known for rich, chaebol upbringing, radiant personality and sophisticated talents.

stage name elara korean name moon eunha birthday dec 1, 1994 birthplace london, united kingdom position lead dancer, lead rapper, vocalist, maknae faceclaim krystal jung

[citrineandrosmarin]

30 Days of Deity Devotion - Athena

Day 8: Variations (aspects, regional forms, etc.)

I decided to use this opportunity to briefly touch on Menrva and Minerva. Soft polytheists will worship them, and other Greek and Roman deities, as the same entity. Hard polytheists will worship them as separate entities. I ask my deities individually, as I don't believe it's fully either.

Context

The Romans came into contact with the Greeks early on in their history, and were heavily influenced by both the Greek and Etruscan cultures. The Romans had some of their own deities, but they were not anthropomorphic like that of the Greeks. They had various lares and genius loci: protective divinities of the land, rivers, and many facets of life. Over time, particularly as they interacted and traded with the Greeks and Etruscans, they saw the anthropomorphized gods of these cultures in their pottery and art works, and began to integrate these figures and their stories into their own culture.

Menrva

Menrva is an Etruscan goddess who was the daughter of the king and queen of the Etruscan gods. They were the main three lightning-wielding gods of the pantheon, which the Romans inherited as the Capitoline Triad (Jupiter, Juno and Minerva were worshiped as a ‘Big Three’ and protectors of Rome).

Menrva was associated with crafts, artisans and trade guilds, but like Athena was depicted in a long chiton and helmet, carrying a spear and shield. (Do note: It was common for images of deities to be borrowed from Greek culture, but their personalities and natures were still specific to the culture). A major difference is that, like other Etruscan deities, Menrva was often depicted with wings. Menrva was also not a virgin goddess, but the mother of Maris (either a god or triplicity of gods) with Heracle.

Minerva

Minerva is the Roman goddess of wisdom, poetry and music, medicine, justice and law, victory, commerce, weaving and crafts. It was only later on that she became specifically associated with war through being equated with the Greek Athena, and war was already under the domain of the god Mars and other deities such as Bellona and Nerio.

The worship of Minerva as a war goddess became very popular in the Republican Era, and by the time of the late Republic, she began to eclipse Mars as a deity of war. The festival that signaled the beginning of the campaign season for the army, the Quinquatrus Festival, was associated with Mars only in early Roman history but later became devoted to Minerva instead. The festival also evolved to include literary competitions to reflect Minerva’s association with the arts.

[thedansemacabres]

Bellona, I feel, offers a very unique way to understand the mind and its relation to action. I was doing my psychology homework and my textbooks states that the brain acts, then looks for explanation.

My Dea Bellona is very much so a goddess of action, moving to arms, invoking wrath and bloodlust within one, and is very concerned with justice, statehood, revenge, and what is right.

Bellona can allow one's action to be aligned with thought at once, for action to have a meaning and force, to be violent yet seeking peace, to know action as good and for a completeness of self when your actions are your own. When they are right and just, beyond the scope of what higher society may call good.

[hadesisqueer]

Weiss?

Oh, this one. Roman Demigod, child of Jupiter. I'd say she might also be a legacy of another respected deity, like Bellona, or something like that. Winter and Whitley too. I'd say she's also probably a centurion or something like that at Camp Jupiter, but that she specifically joined the least popular cohort on purpose for some rebellion. I'd say she doesn't really like Camp Jupiter (I mean, she does like it, you know what I mean) and eventually, she'd move to Camp Half-Blood, where people were more relaxed.

[happyk44]

Cracking open my Religio Romana handbook to check out what's going on next month and, since my Saturnalia post is making the rounds again, decided to write down some for anyone that would like to write some Jason/Reyna/Camp Jupiter religious shenanigans throughout the year 👍

This isn't all of them btw! I just grabbed a couple that seemed most interesting for their respective months or most relevant to the Roman babes

January 11th and January 15th: Carmentalia, two feast days in honour of Carmenta (goddess Juturna also celebrated on the 11th)

February 13th to 22nd: Parentalia, commemoration of ancestors and the dead in families

February 22nd: Caristia, family pot luck in spirit of love and forgiveneness

February 23rd: Terminalia, in honor of Terminus

February 27th: Equirria, first of two horse-racing festivals in honor of Mars

March 1st: original New Year's Day when sacred fire of Rome was renewed; Matronalia in honor of Juno Lucina; also considered the dies natalis (birthday) of Mars

March 14th: second Equirria

March 15th: Feriae Iovi, sacred to Jove (Jupiter)

March 17th: Agonalia in honour of Mars

April 1st: Veneralia in honor of Venus

April 21st: Parilia, rustic festival in honor of Pales, Roman patron goddess of shepherds and flocks, and the dies natalis (birthday) of Rome

April 23rd: Vinalia Priora, the first of two wine festivals

May 9th, 11th, and 13th: Lemuria, festival of the dead

May 15th: Mercuralia, in honor Mercury; Feriae (free day) of Jove (Jupiter)

June 3rd: anniversary of the Temple of Bellona

June 7th to 15th: Vestavia, in honour of Vesta, June 9th specifically is a die religiousus to her

June 24th: festival of Fors Fortuna

July 6th to 13th: Ludi Apollinares, games in honor of Apollo

July 14th to 19th: series of markets or fairs - not religious

July 17th: anniversary of the Temple of Honos and Virtus, sacrifice to Victory

July 23rd: Neptunalia, held in honor of Neptune

August 23rd: Vulcanalia in honor of Vulcan

September 1st: ceremonies for Jupiter Tonans (the Thunderer) and Juno Regina

September 20th to 23rd: days set aside for markets and fairs

October 7th: rites for Jupiter Fulgur (Jupiter of daytime lightning) and Juno Curitis

November 4th to 17th: Plebeian Games

November 18th to 20th: markets and fairs

December 1st: ceremonies at temples for Neptune and for Pietas

December 3rd: Bona Dea rites for women only

December 17th to 23rd: Saturnalia in honor of Saturn with public ritual on the 17th

Side note that I am not an academic, not religious, not a pagan, and not spiritual in any way. I just like reading about mythologies and how those stories/deities used to be, and still are, worshipped by people. Also helps when coming up with religions and stuff for stories. But that's it, I have one book and access to google/wikipedia and that's the depths on my knowledge on Roman polytheistic practices 🙌

[general-radix]

A recent development in my mythology-based musings is where to factor in the Roman pantheon.

While a handful do have separate origins from their Greek counterparts, they're so heavily syncretized that they're functionally identical (save for Ares vs. Mars). So, as not to have the Greek gods simply take new names or ignore Roman mythology entirely, I've decided to give the Roman pantheon as depicted in these musings mostly-new vocations and myths. (And also, no double-dipping for Apollo.)

The following are rough notes:

Jupiter: leader of the Deii Consentes alongside his twin sister Juno. (They are not married.) His duties have more to do with law and order than flinging lightning bolts from the sky.

Juno: the other leader. In this scenario, she's the arbiter of justice and vengeance.

Mars: As in actual myth, an older and more mature god of war than Ares who pulls double duty as an agricultural guardian. Unlike actual myth, he's older than the Ju' twins and has served as their mentor ever since Zeus and his siblings were young, being a soldier of the twins' father Saturn.

Janus: Well, being the only Rome-exclusive deity here, he didn't change much aside from getting a permanent spot in the consentes.

Ceres: the goddess of wind and a free spirit. It's said that she's the one calling down storms and the like.

Mercury: tomboy goddess of esoteric magic. Dut to their similar vocations, she has a crush on the Egyptian god Thoth, though it's strictly one-sided and will become platonic in the future. Mercury is the youngest of the Consentes and looks up to Ceres.

Vulcan: the god of fire. His boisterous attitude grinds on Hephaestus's nerves, leading the two to clash every now and then.

Neptune: protector of sailors and god of rivers, springs, and water. There are rumours that, as a way of performing his duties, he moonlights as a pirate.

Minerva: goddess of wisdom, peace, and the arts. She also defends Rome from outside threats with her fists, and is the second-youngest of the Consentes.

Venus: goddess of the stars, what with her namesake planet being the Morning Star and all. She doesn't enjoy being perceived and dresses accordingly. Older sister of Vesta.

Vesta: god of ceremonies; an extrovert who prefers feminine clothing. Younger brother of Venus.

Pluto: the advisor to the Consentes, in theory. They can only seem to get Juno, Mars, and Minerva to listen to them without having to relate a parable first.

Other notes:

Unlike with Zeus and co. with Kronos, the Ju' twins and Saturn are and always have been on good terms. Zeus doesn't know how to feel about that.

Hades was the first of the Olympians to meet the Consentes through his wife Libera.

Minerva has a twin sister, Bellona, who is not allowed into the Consentes on account of making Ares look level-headed. She's the edgy rival to Minerva's shonen protagonist, seeking battle and conflict for its own sake.

I have in mind that Janus's two faces will be represented by him wearing half a mask.

Diana is absent because I wasn't sure how to sufficiently differentiate her from Artemis.

Tangentially:

IF I were to try and connect all this with Heaven Sent: non-Abrahamic pantheons could fall under Gaia, herself a non-Abrahamic concept. So Zeus, Jupiter, et al. would be (mostly) wingless angels who live among and help govern humans, and had no idea that they were connected to the Spirit of the Earth because their capricious mistress never told them shit. (As far as canon HSent goes, this role largely goes to the Nephilim.)

[muiltifandomnerd]

Adventures of Chika Hanabusa: The Restoration of Earth

Disclaimer: This book follows the events of Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus fanfic. This fanfic will not include Trails of Apollo, The Kane Chronicles, and Magnus Chase.

Chapter 5: Hyun’s Origin

Hyun PoV

After we are done talking to Ceres about the quest to stop Discordia and Bellona Greek forms, we walk to New Rome. AHH, the place a child soldier can retire from constantly fighting the god’s war. It is truly a shame that we literally fight two wars for the gods, and we don’t even get a reward for it. I guess you will have to be Percy Jackson and Jason Grace to get the gods to care.

"I never thought I would have to fight gods in my first quest," Chika says in a low voice while she looks down on the ground. Reyna gave a reassuring pat on Chika's shoulders and Chika put on a huge smile and blushed like crazy. This girl is such a simp for Reyna, and it is funny to watch.

“Do not worry Chika, you will get used to fighting mightier enemies. After all, I fought the Titans when I was just 13 years old. Besides Hyun and I will help you defeat them.” Reyna says reassuring while she continues to pat Chika and has a small smile. Ok, Reyna is never that touchy with others or even that smiley, I guess Reyna is fed up with being a soldier queen and just wants to be a normal girl. Well, Reyna deserves it, the girl needs to release that pent-up tension somehow, I remember the days when she was a simp for Jason Grace, now she's acting like this with a Greek no less.

“You know guys I think Eris and Enyo will be a walk in the park. Reyna, are you ok to fight your mother, I know it’s her Greek form and all of that?” I asked in concern.

"I will do what I must to protect Camp Jupiter, even if it means fighting my mother," Reyna says in an assertive tone while she looks down at the ground for a bit and then looks up in determination. I imagine it will be very hard for Reyna to fight her mother, but it is a good thing that she has a lot of resolve.

While we were walking around New Rome, we saw many children practicing their sword skills by slicing up the dummy. I pray for the day when we demigods don’t have to fight for our survival anymore. I also saw an elderly couple having Italian cuisine at a small table, and many teenagers getting a lot of candy and shirts from the gift shops. Fauns just lying in the grass and smoking cigarettes, Ugh Why can't we get satyrs instead, these fauns are just too dang lazy and have never done anything. The weather is a bit mild but not enough to ruin my makeup or make me sweat like a pig.

"Thank you, guys, for helping me on this quest, We will be alive by then," Chika says in a stutter between each word, Poor girl is nervous.

"Don't worry cheerleader because you have me on your team. Eris and Enyo will have no clue about how to deal with the most dangerous demigods." I chuckle as a mad woman.

"We shouldn't underestimate them just because they are minor deities, they help Mars wage war for millennia." Reyna looks at me like I'm some insane little child. Reyna needs to buy a sense of humor; she is the most serious teenager I have ever met.

“Ehh, we have two months to prepare, and we got a bunch of their myths. So we will be fine.” I say in a confident tone while Chika and Reyna stare at me, wondering why I’m so confident. Chika was quiet and anxious the whole time while we walked on the boardwalk of New Rome. Chika is truly lucky that she hasn't dealt with the demigod for long and she gets to have an active godly mother and an alive father. Truth be told, I'm very envious of her. My father died from cancer when I was just 10, and I still remember it yesterday.

Flashback (6 years ago)

I can't wait to show Daddy that I passed so many of those tests, maybe we will have a cool painting. I skipped to my house in New Rome, it was much nicer than the apartment we had back in Chicago. As I got into the house, I ran up to Daddy's room. I hear my daddy violently coughing blood and Mrs. Sinclair looking on to my dad with tears in her eyes. Daddy has a bald head, and he wears a worn-down expression, he doesn't move in his bed that much. And just lays there. Her son Ben was looking at my dad with empathy and he was crying for him. I saw Ben look at me with tears coming out of his eyes.

“Will my daddy be alive, Miss Sinclair," I say in a low voice, this can’t be happening, my daddy was supposed to beat this cancer. It’s not fair, my daddy didn’t do anything wrong to deserve this fate. I was about to tear up, but then Daddy patted my head and held me close. This is it; my daddy will go to Hades and I’m not ready to let him go.

"This is it, my moon. I'm about to leave this world, I have saved up a lot of money and you should be covered up to go to a university. Please take my will and make sure you have a happier life in New Rome. I'm sorry I failed you as a father."

“You didn't fail me at all, we watched many Disney movies together and we painted this whole house by ourselves. I remember you pretended to be the knight and I'm your princess. I will be fine at New Rome, but I'm not ready to let you go." I sobbed through my tears while everybody else looked on in sympathy. My daddy's coughs were getting so much worse, and he was breathing very rapidly. Miss Sinclair sets him back down on the bed and gives him the medicine. He drinks the medicine, and his coughs are getting a bit better.

"All this medicine does is ease your coughs, but you will die a painless death. Forgive me, Sir, I’m sorry I didn’t do much to save your life.”

"You give me more years to spend on my daughter, promise me to help my daughter whenever she asks.” My father says as he begins to close his eyes.

"I will look after Hyun no matter what and I make sure she and Ben will go to New Rome University together." Miss Sinclair holds my father's hand in a soft caress. I hugged my daddy tightly and Ben was holding me closely while I sobbed in my dying dad's chest.

"Thank you, Emma, now Hyun promised me that you will be a good girl and won't cause Miss Sinclair wrinkles. This is it, this is goodbye, I’m proud of my daughter. You will do great things in the future. Promise me you will go to New Rome University."

“I promise to go to college, and I promise to not cause Miss Sinclair problems." I sobbed like crazy, and Ben held me to his chest. I hear Father gives out his last breath and closes his eyes. He closed his eyes to spare me from looking at him and make it look like he had gone to sleep. I prayed to Letum to be a compassionate guide for my dad in the underworld and I put a drachma on my father's chest. I sobbed the whole day while Miss Sinclair and Ben held on to me.

Flashback Ends

Why do I have to think of that memory right now? Reyna leads Chika and me to the practice area.

"Now Chika, are you prepared to lose again to me." I give a wink and a mischievous smirk.

“I’m ready to beat you in our spar.” Chika took on a karate stense, I lounged at her, and I did round house kick to her his. Chika blocked the roundhouse kick and did a single-leg takedown. Great now she is a wrestler, but I can get out of this. I tried to move my hips while she was pinning me down, but she what I was doing and moved to do a side cradle. While she has me in a side cradle, she wraps her hands around my head and moves our body to the ground while she puts me in the D’arce choke. I tapped quickly because I knew that I lost, I may have underestimated her. She will be fine in the quest, thank the gods that she is not useless.

"Ok, I yield Chika. I guess it is 1-1 now, I admit I have underestimated you. Hey Reyna why do you need to do more hand-to-hand combat drills?” I ask.

“Because we are fighting a war goddess and so far what you guys demonstrated is not enough to beat her. We will work more on these drills and also we need to work on our powers.”

"I trust your judgement Reyna because I'm not sure if my plant abilities will be enough to defeat the two goddesses." Chika looks on to Reyna like she wants to please her master, oh boy these two might be gay for each other. The good thing about being a legacy of Venus is that I have excellent gaydar.

“We should also work on using our weapons and practice our powers. I can bring my spellbook and my magic should be very useful for the quest.” I say as I break up their moment.

"Excellent point Hyun, We will need your spells as well for the quest." Reyna looked startled, how unusual it was to see Reyna in her little world. We spent the whole day doing weapon drills, practicing hand-to-hand combat drills, and working on our powers. Chika and Reyna watched me hit the targets with my arrows while they sat on the grass like a couple. These two are hopeless and I must be the one to set them up. I will need good luck to deal with the hopeless romantics in the quest.

[reasoningdaily]

So far we have given little or no attention to the evidence of comparative religion. The study of ancient religious history is important, for religion, like philosophy, changes but slowly. Institutional religion, being conservative and static in its outlook, has preserved much ancient lore that would have otherwise been lost to the modern student.

The Greek philosopher Xenophanes (572–480 B.C.), pointed out a profound truth when he observed that the gods men worship very closely resemble the worshippers. In the words of this ancient sage: “Each man represents the gods as he himself is. The Ethiopian as black and flat-nosed the Thracian as red-haired and blue-eyed; and if horses and oxen could paint, they would no doubt depict the gods as horses and oxen.” This being the case; when we find the great nations of the world, both past and present, worshipping black gods, then we logically conclude that these peoples are either members of the black race, or that they originally received their religion in toto or in part from black people. The proofs are abundant.

The ancient gods of India are shown with Ethiopian crowns on their heads. According to the Old Testament, Moses first met Jehovah during his sojourn among the Midianites, who were an Ethiopian tribe. We learn from Hellenic tradition that Zeus, king of the Grecian gods, so cherished the friendship of the Ethiopians that he traveled to their country twice a year to attend banquets. “All the gods and goddesses of Greece were black,” asserts Sir Godfrey Higgins, “at least this was the case with Jupiter, Baccus, Hercules, Apollo, Ammon. The goddesses Benum, Isis, Hecate, Diana, Juno, Metis, Ceres, Cybele were black.” (Anacalypsis, Vol. I, Book IV, Chap. I.)

Even the Romans, who received their religion mainly from the Greeks, admitted their debt to Egypt and Ethiopia. This may be well illustrated by the following passage from The Golden Ass or Metamorphosis, by Apuleius. The author, as an initiate of the Isis cult is represented as being addressed by that goddess: “I am present; I who am Nature, the parent of things, queen of all the elements … the primitive Phrygians called me Pressimunitica, the mother or the gods; the native Athenians, Ceropian Minerva; the floating Cyprians, Paphian Venus … the inhabitants of Eleusis, the ancient goddess Ceres. Some again have invoked me as Juno, others as Bellona, others as Hecate, and others Rhamnusia; and those who are enlightened by the emerging rays of the rising sun, the Ethiopians, Ariians and Egyptians, powerful in ancient learning, who reverence by divinity with ceremonies perfectly proper, call me by my true appellation, Queen Isis.” (Doane’s Bible Myths, Note, p. 478.)

A study of the images of ancient deities of both the Old and New Worlds reveal their Ethiopic origin. This is noted by Kenneth R. H. Mackezie in T. A. Buckley’s Cities of the Ancient World, p. 180: “From the wooly texture of the hair, I am inclined to assign to the Buddha of India, the Fuhi of China, the Sommonacom of the Siamese, the Zaha of the Japanese, and the Quetzalcoatl of the Mexicans, the same, and indeed an African, or rather Nubian, origin.” Most of these black gods were regarded as crucified saviors who died to save mankind by being nailed to a cross, or tied to a tree with arms outstretched as if on a cross, or slain violently in some other manner.

Of these crucified saviors, the most prominent were Osiris and Horus of Egypt, Krishna of India, Mithra of Persia, Quetazlcoatl of Mexico, Adonis of Babylonia and Attis of Phrygia. Nearly all of these slain savior-gods have the following stories related about them: They are born of a virgin, on or near Dec. 25th (Christmas); their births are heralded by a star; they are born either in a cave or stable; they are slain, commonly by crucifixion; they descend into hell, and rise from the dead at the beginning of Spring (Easter), and finally ascend into heaven. The parallels between the legendary lives of these pagan messiahs and the life of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Bible are so similar that progressive Bible scholars now admit that stories of these heathen Christs have been woven into the life-story of Jesus. (These remarkable parallels are discussed and interpreted in a pamphlet, Christianity Before Christ, by John G. Jackson, New York, 1938.)

The late Mr. Maynard Shipley, President of The Science League of America, made a very scholarly study of the various mythologies and religions of the world, and in the concluding passage of a brilliant essay, Christian Doctrines in Pre-Christian America, he offers a profoundly thought-provoking statement:

That the ancient pagan creeds, legends and myths—part of the universal mythos—should be found embodied in the religion of the ancient Mexicans, and that all these again are found to be but the original sources of the modern orthodox Christian religion, is by no means inexplicable, and need not be attribute to the subtlety of the Ubiquitous Devil. The explanation is that all religions and all languages of the civilized races of men had a common origin in an older seat of civilization.

Where that original center of culture was is another story.

The evidence seems to show that the “original center of culture,” referred to by Mr. Shipley, was that vast domain known to the classical geographers and historians as Ethiopia. A study of religious images throws much light on this early civilization. The tau (T-shaped) cross is thought by many Christians to be a unique emblem of their faith. The fact is that this cross is of ancient Ethiopian origin. In the words of an outstanding student of symbolism: “The Ethiopic form of the tau is an exact prototype of the conventional Christian cross; or, to state the fact in its chronological relation, the Christian cross is made in the exact image of the Ethiopian tau.” (Sex Symbolism. P. 9, by William J, Fielding, Little Blue Book No. 904.) The cross was known to all the great ancient nations, and was sometimes shown with the image of a man upon it. The Church Father, Minucius Felix, writing in the early part of the third century, severely rebukes the Pagans for their adoration of crosses: “I must tell you that we neither adore crosses nor desire them; you it is ye Pagans … for what else are your ensigns, flags and standards, but crosses gilt and beautiful. Your victorious trophies not only represent a cross, but a cross with a man upon it.” Commenting on the preceding extract, the American scholar, T. W. Doane, notes that:

It is very evident that this celebrated Christian Father alludes to some Gentle mystery, of which the prudence of his successors has deprived us. When we compare this with the fact that for centuries after the time assigned for the birth of Jesus Christ, he was not represented as a man on a cross, and that the Christians did not have such a thing as a crucifix, we are inclined to think that the effigies of a black or dark-skinned crucified man, which were to be seen in many places in Italy even during the last century, may have had something to do with it. (Bible Myths, p. 197, 7th Edition.)

The same writer also refers to “the Mexican crucified god being sometimes represented as black,” and that “crosses were also found in Yucatan, as well as Mexico, with a man upon them.” (Ibid., p. 201.)

The numerous black madonnas and infants in European cathedrals are discussed in detail by Sir Godfrey Higgins in The Anacalypsis, Vol. I, Book IV, Chap. I, to which the interested student is referred. However, the remarks of Mr. Shipley on this point are worthy of our attention:

Very suggestive is the fact that representations of the virgin mother and infant savior are often black. This is true in the case of the paintings and images of Isis and Horus, of Devaki and Krishna, and in many cases of Mary and Jesus. The most ancient pictures and statues in Italy and other parts of Europe, which are adored by the faithful as representations of the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus, reveal the infant draped in white, but with face black and in the arms of a black mother. … How does it happen that the Virgin Mother of the Mexican Savior-God so closely resembled the Black Virgins of Egypt and Europe? Had they not all a common origin?” (Sex and The Garden of Eden Myth, pp. 50–51, by Maynard Shipley, Little Blue Book No.1188.)

Mr. A. H. Verrill, an American archaeologist, visited an Indian shrine in a small town in Guatemala a few years ago, and found that on a special festival day Indians traveled to this little church to bow down to the image of a Black Christ. From the attendant ceremonies, Verrill judged the rite to be of Mayan origin. (see Verrill’s Old Civilizations of the New World, New York, 1938.) The Mayas possessed knowledge of the arts and sciences equivalent to that of the ancients of the Old World, but upon that we cannot dwell, since limitations of space forbid it. The reader is referred to Professor Paul Radin’s fine book on the American Indians, where after surveying the marvelous scientific achievements of the Mayas of Yucatan and Central America , Dr. Radin admits that: “No excavations have ever revealed to us any civilization of a simpler nature from which this very elaborate culture could possibly have been developed.” (The Story of the American Indian, p. 77, Garden City, 1937.)

Egypt and Western Asia tell the same story. “In each case we have a standard or measuring-rod of authentic historical record,” declares Samuel Laing, “of certainly not less than 8,000 and more probably 9,000 or 10,000 years, from the present time; and in each case we find ourselves at this remote date, in the presence, not of rude beginnings, but of a civilization already ancient and far advanced. We have populous cities, celebrated temples, an organized priesthood, an advanced state of agriculture and of the industrial and fine arts; writing and books so long known that their origin is lost in myth; religions in which advanced philosophical and moral ideas are already developed; astronomical systems which imply a long course of accurate observations. How long this prehistoric age may have lasted, and how many centuries it may have taken to develop such a civilization, from the primitive beginnings of Neolithic and Paleolithic origins, is a matter of conjecture. All we can infer is, that it must have required an immense time, much longer than that embraced by the subsequent period of historical record.” (Human Origins, by Samuel Laing, p. 30, London, 1913.)

Much more could be said on this subject, but since this essay is addressed mainly to readers who have little time for the study of history, it must be made as concise as possible. The numerous citations from standard scientific and historical works, it is hoped, will be of some benefit to students who are out of reach of large public libraries, or who lack the leisure time necessary for reading and research along these lines.