#ff ourano

[zestyderg]

Here's Auron! Aster's Ourano and their first vivosaur. He's a bright, shiny gold color, with desaturated purple stripes replacing the dark blue of a typical Ourano. His eyes have blob-like markings underneath, and his front hooves are rimmed with purple too. The sail is vastly different from the norm, boasting blotches of purple ringed by thick, dark grey outlines. Even the thin grey stripes that surround the purple stripes running down his back are less rigid and more squiggly.

Aster doesn't know much about their new friend yet, but I listed some traits he's gonna have anyway.

[divinationsanctuary19]

9 Metageitniōn| Μεταγειτνιών (Attic Calendar) - 14th of August/ 20th-24th of August

Helios (Ἡλιος), The Muses (Μουσαι) and Rhea (Ρεια, Μητηρ Θεων)

The Muses are: Melpomene the Muse of tragedy held a tragic mask, Thaleia Muse of comedy a comedy mask, Terpiskhore Muse of dance a lyre, Kalliope the Muse of epic poetry a lyre, Kleio the Muse of history a stylus and scroll, Polymnia the Muse of hymns a veil and pensive pose, Ourania the Muse of astronomy a globe, Erato the Muse of erotic poetry a lyre, and Euterpe the Muse of lyric poetry a flute.

Hesiod, Theogony 1 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or 7th B.C.) :

"Of the Mousai Helikoniades (of Helikon) let us begin to sing, who hold the great and holy mount of Helikon, and dance on soft feet about the deep-blue spring and the altar of the almighty Kronion [Zeus], and, when they have washed their tender bodies in Permessos [stream of Helikon] or in the Hippokrene (Horse's Spring) or Olmeios [stream of Helikon], make their fair, lovely dances upon highest Helikon and move with vigorous feet"

Rhea, Mater Megala

Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 19 (trans. Celoria) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :

"In Krete there is said to be a sacred cave full of bees. In it, as storytellers say, Rhea gave birth to Zeus; it is a sacred place an no one is to go near it, whether god or mortal. At the appointed time each year a great blaze is seen to come out of the cave. Their story goes on to say that this happens whenever the blood from the birth of Zeus begins to boil up. The sacred bees that were the nurses of Zeus occupy this cave."

Ἡλιος

HELIOS (Helius) was the Titan god of the sun, a guardian of oaths, and the god of sight. He dwelt in a golden palace in the River Okeanos (Oceanus) at the far ends of the earth from which he emerged each dawn, crowned with the aureole of the sun, driving a chariot drawn by four winged steeds. When he reached the the land of the Hesperides in the far West he descended into a golden cup which bore him through the northern streams of Okeanos back to his rising place in the East.

Homeric Hymn 31 to Helius (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C7th - 4th B.C.) :

"Glowing Helios (Sun) whom mild-eyed Euryphaessa (Wide Shining), the far-shining one, bare to [Hyperion] the son of Gaia (Gaea, Earth) and starry Ouranos (Uranus, Heaven). For Hyperion wedded glorious Euryphaessa, his own sister, who bare him lovely children, rosy-armed Eos (the Dawn) and rich-tressed Selene (the Moon) and tireless Helios (Helius, the Sun) who is like the deathless gods."

[thesorcerersapprentice]

✦ A L T A L U N A & V A L E R I A N O ✦ Research

INTRODUCTION: "Corresponding to the human metis in Homer and the animal metis in Oppian [the fox & the octopus], in Hesiod we find the goddess Metis, the daughter of Tethys and Oceanus […] She is the first wife of Zeus, the wife he takes to bed as soon as the war against the Titans is brought to an end and as soon as he is proclaimed king of the gods, and thus this marriage crowns his victory and consecrates his sovereignty as monarch. There would, in effect, be no sovereignty without Metis. Without the help of the goddess, without the assistance of the weapons of cunning which she controls through her magic knowledge, supreme power could neither be won nor exercised nor maintained." - Cunning Intelligence in Greek Culture and Society by Marcel Detienne and Jean-Pierre Vernant

HOW SHE HELPED ZEUS WIN THE THRONE (Part 1): "When Zeus was grown, he engaged Okeanos' (Oceanus') daughter Metis as a colleague. She gave Kronos (Cronus) a drug, by which he was forced to vomit forth first the stone and then the children he had swallowed." - Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 6 (trans. Aldrich) 

HOW SHE HELPED ZEUS WIN THE THRONE (Part 2): "Metis […] is the ‘foreseeing’ one who, knowing everything in advance, possesses that type of knowledge essential to anyone engaged in a battle whose outcome is still uncertain. Metis ‘knows more things than any god or mortal man." - Cunning Intelligence in Greek Culture and Society by Marcel Detienne and Jean-Pierre Vernant [Note: She is the foreseeing one because, by her cleverness, she is always three steps ahead, so to speak. She is not 'all-seeing' in the sense that she has a psychic ability to 'see' the future].

ZEUS TURNS ON METIS AND SUBSUMES HER GIFTS (Part 1): "Zeus, as king of the gods, took as his first wife Metis, and she knew more than all the gods or mortal people. But when she was about to be delivered of the goddess, gray-eyed Athene (Athena), then Zeus, deceiving her perception by treachery and by slippery speeches, put her away inside his own belly. This was by the advices of Gaia (Gaea, the Earth) and starry Ouranos (Uranus, the Sky), for so they counselled, in order that no other everlasting god, beside Zeus, should ever be given kingly position. For it had been arranged that, from her, children surpassing in wisdom should be born, first the gray-eyed girl, the Tritogeneia Athene . . . but then a son to be king over gods and mortals was to be born to her and his heart would be overmastering; but before this, Zeus put her away inside his own belly so that this goddess should think for him, for good and for evil." - Hesiod, Theogony 886 ff (Trans. Evelyn-White)

ZEUS TURNS ON METIS AND SUBSUMES HER GIFTS (Part 2): "Metis, inside Zeus’ belly, will make known to him everything that will bring him good or evil fortune.” - Cunning Intelligence in Greek Culture and Society by Marcel Detienne and Jean-Pierre Vernant

HOW SUBSUMED METIS HELPS ZEUS MAINTAIN POWER: “Forewarned of the danger that awaits him [the birth of a son that would supplant him on the throne], as his father was, he goes straight to the root of the evil […] Appropriating the wiles of Aphrodite, he treacherously seduces his wife with caressing words (haimulioisi logoisi), and having beguiled her wits by cunning (dolly phrase expatesas), he engulfs her within himself […] So this time Zeus was able to make the weapons which made the goddess invincible rebound against her, namely cunning, deceit and surprise attack. His victory eradicates forever from the course of time the possibility of any cunning trick which could threaten his power, by taking him by surprise. The sovereign Zeus is no longer, like Kronos or any other god, simply a deity who possesses metis [cunning]. He is metieta, the Cunning One, the standard gauge and the measure of cunning, the god himself becomes entirely metis." - Cunning Intelligence in Greek Culture and Society by Marcel Detienne and Jean-Pierre Vernant

CONCLUSION OR WHY ZEUS NEEDS METIS SO BADLY: In every confrontation or competitive situation - whether the adversary be a man, an animal or a natural force- success can be won by two means, either thanks to a superiority in ‘power’ in the particular sphere in which the contest is taking place, with the stronger gaining the victory; or by the use of methods of a different order whose effect is, precisely, to reverse the natural outcome of the encounter and to allow victory to fall to the party whose defeat had appeared inevitable. Thus, success obtained through mētis can be seen in two different ways. Depending on the circumstances, it can arouse opposite reactions. In some cases, it will be considered the result of cheating since the rules of the game have been disregarded. In others, the more surprise it provokes, the greater the admiration it will arouse, the weaker party having, against every expectation, found within itself resources capable of putting the stronger at his mercy. […] It [Mētis] is, in a sense, the absolute weapon, the only one that has the power to ensure victory and domination over others, whatever the circumstances, whatever the conditions of the conflict. - Cunning Intelligence in Greek Culture and Society by Marcel Detienne and Jean-Pierre Vernant

[hollowwhisperings]

Thank you for such an in depth response, I feel honored by it and that I was able to inspire you about the concepts and I agree. I had similar thoughts about the theming of Sora’s name and him being the void of space. Even had musings of how in primordial myths the heavens (sky) and the earth are considered the couple that brings about the first forms existence. Gaia and Ouranos and on the Egyptian mythos there was a love story of Geb (earth) and Nut (sky) although interesting enough geb and nut are kept separated by Ra (the sun).

But regardless, I’d say nomura is quite interesting and impressive to consistently yet subtly equate riku to that of deity so easily. Yes, I believe in riku being a dia in some sort. Probably kingdom hearts sending out an avatar to grow, or the king to kh reincarnated, or some other thing I can’t quite grasp right now but overall with the ending of the series hopefully not too much farther in our lifespan. This is why I enjoy reading and interacting with metas and theories especially about sora and riku and soriku because I said in a comment in a YouTube video that discussed the sleeping real theory and I said it feels like we have the right answers but just not forced into the right shape (a key perhaps 🫣) to unlock the final gate.

Riku has always had all those "subtle" visual shorthands used to denote super special celestia mystery powers (etc) but, like the Subtly OP antics of the Disneytowners (e.g. Donald casually casting the Boss-level spell 'Flare', Goofy tanking hits from Literal Deities with 1 shield & no apparent magic of his own), Riku looking "anime" gets brushed off as "standard JRPG aesthetic".

Naturally silver-haired youths in anime tend to be Plot-Relevant, typically having ☆Super Special Bloodlines☆, typically being Secret Royalty &/or related to Angels or Spirits.

(and it WAS suspiciously easy for Riku to just... BECOME Sora's Dream Eater, especially given what we know of the Chirithy spirits, their abilities to act as psychopomps, & whatever the Dream Eater crafting system in DDD may imply about Dream Eaters as a whole)

From what I can recall, the only naturally silver-haired characters original to KH are:

Riku

Ephemer

Xehanort (confirmed descendant of Ephemer)

Xemnas (Terranort)

Ienzo (taken in by the Always Sus Ansem the Wise, origins unknown)

From the Final Fantasy side of the crossovers, we have Setzer (who only appears in the DATA Daybreak Town, not the "real" one) and... Sephiroth.

For being such an "anime" JRPG, Kingdom Hearts is pretty sparing in its use of Anime Hair Colours. Aqua & Isa's blue hair aside, the colour palette is fairly "natural": pale blonds & yellows, oranges & pinks amongst the reds, browns & blacks. There aren't many characters old enough to have "grey" hair but the ones that do are ALSO fairly mysterious: Merlin, Fairy Godmother, Master Yen Sid, Zeus... Kairi's Mysteriously Knowledgable Grandmother (who i am, like, 75% convinced was a retired Princess of Heart). Even the "silver/white" House of Duck are all Very Suspicious: Donald is, canonically, the most powerful Black Mage of the FF franchise; Scrooge & Donald's Nephews casually worldhop for fun & profit as if they were Moogles or something.

So, yeah, even Riku's "anime boy" aesthetic is itself pretty Telling of Riku being Plot-Relevant. He's canonically part-spirit, after DDD, but his ability to do that at all IS unprecedented (just like his ability to Balance Light & Darkness within himself, like his Light being equated with the Sun, like his easy grasp on using Darkness...). Whatever the KH-universe equivalent of an "angel" may be, Ephemer & Riku seem closest to it. That Riku met JOSHUA (himself a kind of Gay Angel) in DDD does not seem at all a coincidence.

oh! there's also that whole [terra] sigil thing! Riku's costume/keyblade designs imcorporate it (i forget how) & THAT sigil is probably the in-universe namesake for Terra, the character. Rather than [earth] or [land], the [terra] sigil seems older & is likely referencing an "[original/first] earth" or mean "[land of origin]".

It makes me wonder whether Riku's parent/s were themselves Aware of Other Worlds? If he's a relative of Xehanort, it's plausible that Xehanort's Skuld-resembling mother learned about Xehanort's ending up at the Destiny Islands & their family possibly moving to the World in hopes of a reunion. Which... would mean they weren't just AWARE of Other Worlds but ALSO capable of traveling between them. This is probably going to Come Up in Missing Link.

[deathlessathanasia]

Hera’s early life: Sources and References

BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD

General:

 “Rhea, surrendering to Kronos, bore resplendent children: Hestia, Demeter and gold-sandaled Hera, mighty Hades who lives under the earth, merciless of heart and the booming shaker of earth, and Zeus the resourceful, father of gods and men, under whose thunder the broad earth is shaken. The others great Kronos swallowed, as each of them reached their mother’s knees from her holy womb." (Hesiod, Theogony 453); "[Kronos] married his sister Rhea; and since both Ge and Ouranos had prophesied to him that he would be stripped of his power by his own son, he swallowed his children as they were born. He swallowed his first-born, Hestia, and then Demeter and Hera, and after them, Pluto and Poseidon." (Pseudo-Apollodoros, The Bibliotheke 1.4); “To Kronos and Rhea, we are told, were born Hestia, Demeter, and Hera, and Zeus, Poseidon, and Haides.” (Diodoros of Sicily, Library of History 5); "From Saturnus and Ops were born]: Vesta, Ceres, Juno, Juppiter, Pluto, Neptunus." (Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae); “Next came twin children, Jupiter and Juno. Juno was given to Saturn to see while Jupiter was secretly removed and given to Vesta to be brought up without Saturn’s knowledge.” (Lactantius, Divine Institutes, quoting Ennius); "But When now At the third birth the august Rhea bore, She brought forth Hera first; and when they saw A female offspring, the fierce Titan men Betook them to their homes. And thereupon Rhea a male child bore, and having bound Three men of Crete by oath she quickly sent Him into Phrygia to be reared apart In secret; therefore did they name him Zeus, For he was sent away." (The Sibylline Oracles Book 3).

“I [Hera] am off to the ends of fruitful earth, to visit Oceanus, source of all the gods, and Mother Tethys. They nursed and cherished me lovingly in their halls, after taking me from Rhea, when far-echoing Zeus imprisoned Cronos beneath the earth and restless sea." (Homer, Iliad 14. 200 ff).

Local traditions

Samos: "The Samians themselves hold that the goddess was born in the island by the side of the river Imbrasos under the willow that even in my time grew in the Heraion." (Pausanias, Description of Greece ,7.4.4); "You [Hera] reside in your ancient shrine at Samos, which alone can pride itself on your birth, your infant cries, and your nurture." (Apuleius, The Golden Ass 6.3); "'The island of Samos', writes Varo, 'was previously called Parthenia because there Juno grew up." (Lactantius, Divine Institutes); A scholion to Apollonios Rhodios' Argonautica (schol. Ap. Rhod. 1.187) similarly names Samos as the place of Hera’s childhood.

The Argolid: "... Hera was born in Argos" (Strabo, Geography 9.2.36); "Euboia is the name they give to the hill here, saying that Asterion the river had three daughters, Euboia, Prosymna, and Akraia, and that they were nurses of Hera." (Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.17.1).

Euboea: "they relate that Hera, being brought up in Euboea . . .” (Eusebios of Caesarea, Praeparatio Evangelica, quoting Plutarch).

Arcadia: "The story has it that in the old Stymphalos dwelt Temenos, the son of Pelasgos, and that Hera was reared by this Temenos." (Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.22.2).

Crete: "When he noticed that Rhea was pregnant, Kronos was getting ready to swallow the child, but, by accident the mother first bore Hera, while Zeus remained in the safety of the womb. Kronos then gave Rhea permission to raise this daughter, whom the Cretans named 'Hera', because they pronounced the word ἄραι (‘raise’) as ἦραι.” (The Hera of Zeus: Intimate Enemy, Ultimate Spouse by Pirenne-Delforge and Pironti, citing  a story from the Etymologicum Magnum).

OTHER EVENTS OF HER EARLY LIFE

"After Opis had borne Jove by Saturnus, Juno asked her to give him to her, since Saturnus had cast Orcus under Tartarus, and Neptunus under the sea, because he knew that his son would rob him of the kingdom. When he had asked Opis for what she had borne, in order to devour it, Opis showed him a stone wrapped up like a baby; Saturnus devoured it. When he realized what he had done, he started to hunt for Jove throughout the earth. Juno, however, took Jove to the island of Crete, and Amalthea, the child's nurse, hung him in a cradle from a tree, so that he could be found neither in heaven nor on earth nor in the sea." (Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae) 

"Hera, while she was being nurtured by her parents, was raped by one of the Gigantes, Eurymedon, and she became pregnant and bore Prometheus. Zeus, after marrying his sister and learning of the event, punished Eurymedon by throwing him into Tartarus, and Prometheus, under the pretext of fire, was bound in chains." (Scholion on Iliad 14.295); Alternatively: „Some say that Hera, when she was a maiden, fell in love with Eurymedon, one of the Gigantes, and by him bore Prometheus. Zeus, knowing this, hurled Eurymedon into Tartarus, and on the pretext of the stolen fire, chained up Prometheus.” (Schol. T ad Il. 14.296).

"They say that during the reign of Kronos Zeus and Hera were in love for three hundred years, as Kallimachos mentions in his second Aetia, "Zeus loved [Hera] for three hundred years". In secret, they came together without their parents' knowledge and they brought forth a son, Hephaistos ..." (Scholion on Iliad 1.609)

“Hera and Zeus, coming from Crete, are said to have arrived in Hermione and to have raised a sanctuary of Hera Parthenos there.” (The Hera of Zeus: Intimate Enemy, Ultimate Spouse, citing a story attested by Stephanos of Byzantium);

“Hera the Titan's daughter took strong part in the war against Kronos her father and helped Zeus in his fight." (Nonnos, Dionysiaca 31. 264).

[jasper-pagan-witch]

Hello there! Same person from the last ask, I hope its not too much of a bother, but I was wondering If I could get your opinion on this if thats okay! Though I understand if not :)

quite a couple years ago I began worshipping a deity (Hellenic paganism) and I did a couple of prayers and offerings. I stepped back for a few years until recently.

The prayers I did were more of the moment on my mind and since it was a long time ago, I don’t particularly remember what I said and i’m worried if I accidentally said “I vow” at all (came from a catholic family) though at the time i figure it just meant promise. This is all on me considering I was real young and should’ve researched! I cannot confirm if i DID say that at all, so I was wondering:

In your opinion: How would I go about figuring that out if I DID? How would I ask my deity if I did promise anything? (since i don’t remember at all!)

Would I be able to explain to my deity what happened? I understand Deities are patient and understanding of mistakes but want to be respectful as possible and I’m constantly trying to learn!

Thank you so so much!

Alright, thank you so much for coming back with some more information! I'm happy to give my two cents. I'll go ahead and address your questions:

How would you go about figuring that out if you did? Well, divination is a little wonky sometimes, but you can try almost any form to get an answer. I know a few folks who reach out to deities via divination (for a price, of course; pay your diviners) if you're worried that you're "too close" to the issue to read for yourself.

Would you be able to explain to the deity about what happened? Yeah, probably! Most Greek deities are pretty understanding about the whole "forgetful mortal" thing.

As for if "I vow" counts as an oath, I do not personally believe so. Oaths taken in Hellenism often include the invocation of the River Styx or Zeus himself.

Examples from theoi.com's page on Styx:

It was particularly Homer who introduced the name of Styx to poetry; in Hera's oath he writes : ‘Witness this earth, witness this heaven and the down-dropping water of the Styx.’ [Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 17. 6 - 8 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.)]

"[Hypnos (Hypnus), the god of sleep, insists Hera seal her pledge to him by an oath on the Styx :] ‘Come then! Swear it to me on Styx' ineluctable water. With one hand take hold of the prospering earth, with the other take hold of the shining salt sea, so that all the undergods who gather about Kronos may be witnesses to us.’" [Homer, Iliad 14. 271 ff (trans. Lattimore) (Greek epic C8th B.C.)]

"[Hera addresses Zeus :] ‘Now let Gaia (Gaea, Earth) be my witness in this, and wide Ouranos (Uranus, Heaven) above us, and the dripping water of the Styx, which oath is the biggest and most formidable oath among the blessed immortals.’" [Homer, Iliad 15. 35]

So...you're probably in the clear, but it's also probably a good move to reach back out to the deity and be like "Hey, we chill?" Probably won't hurt.

~Jasper

[amcrist]

"At the beginning there was only Khaos (Chaos, the Chasm) [Air], Nyx (Night), dark Erebos (Erebus, Darkness), and deep Tartaros (the Pit). Ge (Gaea, Earth), Aer (Air) [meaning Aither, the upper air] and Ouranos (Uranus, Heaven) had no existence. Firstly, black-winged Nyx (Night) laid a germless egg in the bosom of the infinite deeps of Erebos (Darkness), and from this, after the revolution of long ages, sprang the graceful Eros [the primordial Eros] with his glittering golden wings, swift as the whirlwinds of the tempest. He mated [or fertilised] in deep Tartaros (the Pit) with dark Khaos (Chaos) [Air], winged like himself, and thus hatched forth our race, which was the first to see the light. That of the Immortals did not exist until Eros had brought together all the ingredients of the world, and from their marriage Ouranos (Uranus, Heaven), Okeanos (Oceanus, the World-Stream), Ge (Gaea, Earth) and the imperishable race of blessed gods (theoi) sprang into being. Thus our origin is very much older than that of the dwellers in Olympos. We are the offspring of Eros; there are a thousand proofs to show it. We have wings and we lend assistance to lovers. How many handsome youths, who had sworn to remain insensible, have opened their thighs because of our power and have yielded themselves to their lovers when almost at the end of their youth, being led away by the gift of a quail, a waterfowl, a goose, or a cock."

Aristophanes, Birds 685 ff (trans. O'Neill) (Greek comedy C5th to 4th B.C.) :

[teethands]

shoutout to the stygi that saved my ass countless times during my ff1 playthrough and also beat dynal and guhnash as the last vivosaur standing. im proud of her

[percabeth4life]

Mythconception Ask Game: Maybe the birth of Athena? I've wondered how Zeus got around the prophecy, for instance, and it seems weird overall.

Okay so Athena’s birth is something really interesting. 

Athena was born shortly after the prophecy was given, which everyone knows, what I see commonly said about her though is that she is the prophecy child, and this is not the case.

There are two parts listing the Prophecy

Hesiod, Theogony 886 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or 7th B.C.) : "Now Zeus, king of the gods, made Metis (Wise Counsel) his wife first, and she was wisest among gods and mortal men. But when she was about to bring forth the goddess bright-eyed Athene, Zeus craftily deceived her with cunning words and put her in his own belly, as Gaia (Earth) and starry Ouranos (Heaven) advised. For they advised him so, to the end that no other should hold royal sway over the eternal gods in place of Zeus; for very wise children were destined to be born of her, first the maiden bright-eyed Tritogeneia, equal to her father in strength and in wise understanding; but afterwards she was to bear a son of overbearing spirit, king of gods and men. But Zeus put her into his own belly first, that the goddess might devise for him both good and evil."

Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 20 : When she was pregnant, Zeus took the precaution of swallowing her, because she had said that, after giving birth to the daughter presently in her womb, she would bear a son who would gain the lordship of the sky.

The child fated to be born was to be the one after Athena, not Athena herself. This is specifically stated in the prophecy.

Now, there are two possibilities for how he “got around the prophecy”.

1. By swallowing Metis (and some myths state that he absorbed her) she is no longer able to have a child, ergo there is no possibility of another child after Athena, and thus there is no prophecy child there.

2. Apollo is the next boy child born after Athena (Aphrodite is born next (depending on the myth) and then Artemis and Apollo) and ergo is the child of the prophecy. Many consider him to be Zeus’ heir, as he is the dearest child of Zeus and the Greeks considered him to be one of the most important Gods (alongside Zeus himself).

Callimachus, Hymn 4 to Delos 51 ff : And thou didst not tremble before the anger of Hera, who murmured terrible against all child-bearing women that bare children to Zeus, but especially against Leto, for that she only was to bear to Zeus a son dearer even than Ares.

It’s also notable that Apollo holds the epithet Loxias, which means the interpreter or prophet of Zeus. And he is one of the few (Zeus being one) who can see the Fates of others.

All these factors combine such that Apollo is viewed as the heir of Zeus by many, and as such is the one the prophecy would speak of, and Zeus has willingly declared it such (ensuring that the prophecy is turned in his favor, as Apollo is loyal to Zeus and Zeus favors him).

Hope that explains the mythconception with Athena and the prophecy :)

[piristephes]

The 5th lunar day, to the Eumenides/Kindly Ones.

The 5th lunar day, as all lunar days ending in 5, is dedicated to the Kindly Ones. They were midwives to Eris, the Goddess of Strife, and assisted the birth of Horkos, the daimon/god who punishes the oath-breakers.

Hesiod, Works and Days 218 ff : "The better path is to go by on the other side towards justice; for Dike (Justice) beats Hybris (Outrage) when she comes at length to the end of the race. But only when he has suffered does the fool learn this. For Horkos (Horcus, Oath) keeps pace with wrong judgements."

Hesiod, Works and Days 804 ff : "Beware of all the fifth days [of the month]; for they are harsh and angry; it was on the fifth, they say, that the Erinyes (Furies) assisted at the bearing of Horkos (Horcus, Oath), whom Eris (Strife) bore, to be a plague on those who take false oath."

At Haliartos there is in the open a sanctuary of the goddesses they call Praxidikai (Those who Exact Punishments) [the Erinyes]. Here they swear, but they do not make the oaths rashly. The sanctuary of the goddesses is near Mount Tilphousios."  (Pausanias, Description of Greece)

 Make no empty promises today, philloi (friends), honour the things you say.  Also a good day to demand justice to the Gods if you have been wronged in any way and to pray to the Semnae - The Holy Ones, another euphemistic title to the Furies.

I found a quote that was rather lovely about a family who was in charge of priesthood towards Them:

Callimachus, Fragment 123 (from Scholiast on Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus 489) (trans. Trypanis) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.) : "And evermore to burn for them [the Eumenides] honey-sweet cakes is the duty of the sober priestesses, the Hesykhides (Hesychides, Of the Quiet, Of the Still)." [N.B. The descendants of the Athenian hero Hesykhos (Hesychus) were encharged with the priesthood of the Eumenides.] 

 Honey-cakes were really common offerings to the Gods back then. There are a lot accounts of Them receiving goat meat and wine as offerings too. Likely done in a chthonic manner, which means you take no part of what’s being offered and pour it on the ground/burn it all/bury it.

Pausanias, Description of Greece 10. 38. 8 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) : "[Myonia, Lokris] has a grove and an altar of the Meilikhioi (Gracious Gods) [the Erinyes]. The sacrifices to the Meilikhioi are offered at night, and their rule is to consume the meat on the spot before sunrise."

 They are punishers of evil-doers, inflicters of madness, guardians and oathkeepers, powerful and fearful Goddesses, described to be either daughters of Night (Nyx) or born out of the blood of Ouranos. If you wanna know a bit more about them, Theoi has a bit about their worship throughout Greece and you may also read the Oresteia, which tells the story of Orestes, the son of Agamemnon and Klytaimnestra.

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 34. 1 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) : "[Near Megalopolis in Arkadia] is a sanctuary of goddesses. They call the goddesses themselves, as well as the district around the sanctuary, Maniai (Maniae, Madnesses). In my view this is a surname of the Eumenides [Erinyes]; in fact they say that it was here that madness overtook Orestes as punishment for shedding his mother's blood. Not far from the sanctuary is a mound of earth, of no great size, surmounted by a finger made of stone; the name, indeed, of the mound is the Tomb of the Finger. Here, it is said, Orestes on losing his wits bit off one finger of one of his hands [in his Erinys-driven madness]. Another sanctuary called Ake (Remedies) because in it Orestes was cured of his malady. Near to the place called Ake is another . . ((lacuna)) a sanctuary called . . ((lacuna) because here Orestes cut off his hair on coming to his senses. Here too it a sanctuary of the Eumenides. The story is that, when these goddesses were about to put Orestes out of his mind, they appeared to him black; but when he had bitten off his finger they seemed again to be white and he recovered his senses at the sight. So he offered a sin-offering to the black goddesses to avert their wrath, while to the white deities he sacrifices a thank-offering. It is customary to sacrifice to the Kharites (Charites, Graces) [perhaps the Semnai] also along with the Eumenides. Historians of Peloponnesian antiquities say that what Klytaimnestra's (Clytemnestra's) Erinyes did to Orestes in Arkadia took place before the trial at the Areopagos; that his accuser was not Tyndareus, who no longer lived, but Perilaos, who asked for vengeance for the mother's murder in that he was a cousin of Klytaimnestra."

 I wanted to make this post because I recently found out that I was born on a their day. Quite an ominous one, but as always, the Gods of the Underworld are portrayed as some of the scarier forces of the Cosmos - which makes it easy to understand why people are nervous to get in touch with some of Them - but that doesn’t mean that the Theoi Khthonioi are less honourable in any way. They are just as necessary to the world as the other Gods are, and you may always honour Them just as much. Hekate, Hermes Chthonios, The King and the Queen, along with the Kindly Ones, are all well-deserving of praise for their role in the universe.

May their fiery wrath strike only the deserving and keep us safe from any evil!

 Errosthe (Be strong/healthy!)

[antiloreolympus]

5 Anti LO Asks

1. I understand getting rid of the incest, but she really went about it in the dumbest way and really just stripped Hera, Demeter and Hestia of any power. Hera, whose supposed to be basically second only to Zeus, now seems super less powerful than the brothers. Demeter got super shafted since she’s not even the main fertility goddess now and is easily pushed around by Zeus when she was one of the only gods he didn’t push around in the myths (and he bent to her anger when he tried with the Abduction of Persephone) and I don’t even know if Hestia has any power now in this version when she had been the oldest and arguably most respected (and only universally loved) Olympian.

Honestly though, Zeus and Poseidon don’t even seem that powerful either. Any other powerful god (Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite) either never shows any power or is not very powerful apparently. Heaven forbid Hades and Persephone not be the most powerful people in the comic.

2. I seriously don’t get how Webtoons doesn’t promote True Beauty and the creator more because her story is so inspiring. It turns out she’s actually a really young mom (only at most 23 when she had her child), and went through a nasty divorce to get away from her abusive ex and now raises her son as a single parent in an extremely socially conservative nation like South Korea, and was able to make her Webtoon by herself to where it’s an actual global hit and was able to take her and her son out of poverty. She’s also been very open about her mental health issues (which is also frowned upon in SK) and how she refuses to abide by their conservative standards and wants to live a life that is best for her and her child, helping young readers feel inspired to follow their own paths instead of what society tells them to do. Why wouldn’t you want to promote that as a feel-good story of success Webtoons was allowed to create instead of propping up an already well off white woman who speaks over rape victims and is super terfy and racist in her fifty shades rip off? True beauty isn’t perfect but at least the creator seems like a genuinely nice person with an inspiring life story, meanwhile Rachel just seems like an entitled asshole who thinks people not worshipping the ground she walks on to be a personal insult. Also it’s just gross to undermine a Korean woman’s hard work and actual success so a white lady’s mediocre product gets more attention.

3. the thing with kronos is in myth both zeus and ~*HADES*~ decided their father had atoned for his sins and freed him of tartarus and they both let kronos rule for the isle of the blessed. like?? they BOTH decided kronos had made up for his sins, and it showed that they were fair rulers who let people redeem themselves. Ouranos i can get making a dick bc he was one, but Kronos has actual myth proof telling us he redeemed himself? w/ zeus and hades agreeing on it? what a wasted opportunity tbh

4. On the topic of age, RS literally does not have to put an actual number for any of them but she did. (They're gods, ffs.) And with everyone else being thousands years old, emphasising that Persephone is 19 was weird af??? Also, another couple in this comic with the same age gap problem but wasn't fetishized was Eros & Psyche. Psyche being literally a mortal is likely around 20 but bc 1) Eros act with the same maturity 2) no one kept on hammering how YOUNG & WRONG that is, readers don't feel uncomfortable about their age. The only reason the age gap between H/P is so jarring was because ALL THE CHARACTERS keep telling us how wrong it is.

5. i really want to know the lo color choices bc 98% of them make no sense? like i can get athena being gray or hera being gold, but then why is poseidon green? shouldnt he be blue instead? or blue-green? why is ares colored like a creamsicle? wouldnt aphrodite be better as pink? why is hermes red? why hecate blue? and if its going off what color fits better in each setting, then perspehone sticking out so badly would imply she doesnt fit in the underworld? make her purple? or green? i dont get it

[zestyderg]

A little paraloph, requested by @lady-aries-wolfy

[divinationsanctuary19]

Hekate’s Deipnon

(3rd of September- 29 Metageitniōn)

"For to this day, whenever any one of men on earth offers rich sacrifices and prays for favour according to custom, he calls upon Hekate. Great honour comes full easily to him whose prayers the goddess receives favourably, and she bestows wealth upon him; for the power surely is with her. For as many as were born of Gaia (Gaea, the Earth) and Ouranos (Uranus, Heaven) [i.e. the Titanes] amongst all these she has her due portion. The son of Kronos did her no wrong nor took anything away of all that was her portion among the former Titan gods : but she holds, as the division was at the first from the beginning, privilege both in earth, and in heaven, and in sea [...]."

-Hesiod, Theogony 404 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or 7th B.C.)

[paganimagevault]

The birth of Athena by The Phrynos Painter 555 - 550 BCE

"The land circled by the sea [Rhodes], where once the great king of the Gods [Zeus] showered upon the city snowflakes of gold; in the day when the skilled hand of Hephaistos wrought with his craft the axe, bronze-bladed, whence from the cleft summit of her father's brow Athene sprang aloft, and pealed the broad sky her clarion cry of war. And Ouranos (Heaven) trembled to hear, and Mother Gaia (Earth)."

-Pindar, Olympian Ode 7. 33 ff (trans. Conway) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.)

https://paganimagevault.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-birth-of-athena-by-phrynos-painter.html

[craftedintentions]

Hesiod, Theogony 404 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) : "Hekate whom Zeus the son of Kronos (Cronus) honoured above all. He gave her splendid gifts, to have a share of the earth and the unfruitful sea. She received honour also in starry heaven, and is honoured exceedingly by the deathless gods . . . For as many as were born of Gaia (Gaea, Earth) and Ouranos (Uranus, Heaven) [the Titanes] amongst all these she has her due portion. The son of Kronos [Zeus] did her no wrong nor took anything away of all that was her portion among the former Titan gods: but she holds, as the division was at the first from the beginning, privilege both in earth, and in heaven, and in sea. Also, because she is an only child, the goddess receives not less honour, but much more still, for Zeus honours her."

                       Hecate Einalia | Hecate Ourania | Hecate Cthonia

Source

[alatismeni-theitsa]

About titans: anything about Theia most of all. I guess I just start learning Greek 🙂

Alright! ^^ I don’t know a lot about Theia, so I will tell you what I found online (kinda fact checked from what I know).

Of course, Theia is a female Titan. (The name Theia means "goddess" or "divine") She was the mother of god Helios (Sun), Ios and Selene (Moon) and I found. Her parents were Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (Sky). Ηer husband was the Titan Hyperion. Her other name is Euriphaesa. Pindar mentions that she was the goddess of all that was shiny (like precious stones and gold) and humans honored those things for her.

In the battle against the Olympians, the Titans had mt Orthis as their base. In the battle there were no victims since the Titans were immortals. But the Olympians, with the help of Cyclopes and Ekatogxeires (those with the hundred hands) imprisoned the Titans in Tartara (the deepest part of the Underworld).

Honestly, wikipedia can be a good-ish source for her. More sources:  

Hesiod, Theogony 132 ff, 371 ff

Homeric Hymns to the Sun

Homeric Hymn Εἲς [Δήλιον] Ἀπόλλωνα (to Delion Apollon) 89 ff

Pindar, Isthmionikoi 5. 1 ff

Strabon, Geography 9. 5. 15

Emmy Patsi-Garin: «Επίτομο λεξικό Ελληνικής Μυθολογίας», εκδ. οίκος Χάρη Πάτση, Αθήνα 1969 (Lexicon on Greek mythology)