#greco roman pantheons

[gingermintpepper]

Someday, eventually, I will get an opportunity to talk about Celtic Apollo.

I see a lot of discussions and content (light-hearted and not) talking about Greek Apollo and Roman Apollo but y'all don't understand; it wasn't just that Greek Apollo had a second Roman Apollo hidden in his pocket, it's that Greek Apollo also has a secret third Celtic Apollo hidden behind his back like a tramp stamp he got in college and refuses to acknowledge or show to anyone.

[sarafangirlart]

I am not gay but why do male Greco-Roman statues look better than female ones?

Maybe you aren’t gay, but those sculptors probably were.

[toxic-tendencies]

Dionysus made me do it. 🐆🌿🍇

[wisdomfish]

Christians Are Intolerant

It is well-known that in the Greco-Roman world there was a pantheon of gods. Every group had its own deities, and they were easily and naturally placed alongside other deities. For the most part, no one objected to the existence of other gods. It was a polytheistic world.

Of course, the earliest Christians were as monotheistic as their Jewish predecessors and quite unwilling to play along with the standard religious practices of Greco-Roman culture. For Roman rulers trying to keep the peace, Christian intolerance of other gods was a perennial frustration.

Pliny the Younger, Roman governor of Bythinia (writing c.111-113), expressed his frustration over the fact that Christians would not “invoke the gods.” In a letter to emperor Trajan, he lamented their “stubborness and unyielding obstinancy.” In other words, he was angry over their intolerance.

Why was Pliny so bothered? Because the influence of the Christians had caused the pagan temples to be “deserted” and thus “very few purchasers could be found” for the sacrificial animals.

In other words, they were losing money.

To fix the problem, Pliny decided to force Christians to worship the pagan gods and curse Christ, and if they refused they were put to death

~ Michael J. Kruger

[paganpillar]

Your sweet melody is that of the meadowlark bird, and it is the sweetest hymn I've ever heard.

[fluffymcsnuggles]

Ares/Mars another one of the ones I don't hate two years later. Yippee

[aroaceleovaldez]

Want to quickly address these two sets of tags:

- From @queen-of-weird-girl-nation and @bugwolfsstuff (not mad or anything, I'm presuming these questions are in good faith, I just want to answer the question):

Because, no, that would not fix the problem. In fact that would make it worse/be the exact problem, because they would be erasing Tyson's disability. His disability coding is extremely central to his character because it acts as the axis around the entire plot surrounding him. Yes, Tyson is technically not "explicitly" disabled, but also he is. This is acknowledged pretty explicitly within the book (other characters even call Tyson the r-slur - and he is the only one who ever has this happen. the book is entirely indicating that Tyson is disabled in no uncertain terms.) and you cannot remove that without destroying basically the entire plot of Sea of Monsters (it's about Percy overcoming internalized ableism and establishing him as a character who stands up for other marginalized kids, particularly other disabled kids, because that's the overarching plot of the first series - challenges that disabled kids struggle with and standing up for those issues. That's what the whole Titan War is a metaphor about - I've made a post about it [here] before). That is kind of how coding works. Also, him being "mentally seven" is (an outdated) major part of his coding meant to indicate that he has down syndrome, and also one of the most ableist parts about his coding. Having that be the only part left remaining would actually be one of the most ableist possible outcomes.

[turquoisemagpie]

Apollo.

(First of idk how many character sheets of my interpretation of the Greco-Roman pantheon).

[cloudselkie]

Worshipping the gods doesn't have to be super serious devotion level worship all the time. I see some people worry about having "too many deities", but you don't have to have a close relationship with a deity to work with them or pray to them. In fact, it was more common in ancient times to NOT be devoted to any specific deity at all if you weren't some kind of religious figure, like a priest or priestess. Most of the time, there were certain deities that a person would favor, but their worship was not the in-depth type of devotion we see on witchblr a lot. In fact, ancient people sometimes went to a temple for a specific god once in their whole life to pray for something very specific and give offerings and then never needed that specific deity ever again. That's the very nature of these large pantheons. You will have favorites, but even then, you don't NEED to be devoted to them to ask for their help or pray to them.

I say this as mostly a Greco-Roman polytheist, but I'm sure it applies to other large pantheons as well. And, as always, certain gods may be an exception to the rule and require more, both historically and UPG-wise. But it is still a good general rule of thumb. There is no pressure to find a patron or become a devotee of any deity, unless you truly desire to do so.

[tylands]

House of the dragon & the Greco-Roman Pantheon Part 3.

[katsona-the-katsequel]

Remembered that one time Michel fell in love with someone just because their Personas were married, so I hurried to make this.

Behold, the Greco-Roman Pantheon.

Ok, the point of this is that Metis would be Lisa's gay awakening.

I pity the Persona User who awakens to Zeus/Jupiter. They will have to walk on eggshells around a good portion of the other Users.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Greco-Roman Deities

Zeus: The Father. Like Odin, a God of Thunder and King of all the Gods; his kingdom, the sky itself. Dispenser of justice, his word is law. (Roman counterpart: Jupiter)

Hera: The Mother. Consort of Zeus, Queen of the Gods, personification of the maternal aspect, ruler of marriage and motherhood. (Juno)

Poseidon: The mighty God that rules over the sea. Also has dominion over horses and earthquakes. (Neptune)

Ares: Not to be confused with Aries, Ares is the God of War and bloodshed. The two are sometimes confused, though, especially since Mars, the planet of war, rules the astrological sign of Aries. (Mars)

Hermes: The Messenger of the Gods, whose distinctive attribute is his winged sandals and the Caduceus he holds. Scribe and recorder to the Gods. (Mercury)

Hephaestus: Ruler over fire and forges, Hephaestus is the blacksmith of the Gods, making magically empowered weapons. (Vulcan)

Aphrodite: Goddess of Beauty, love, and sexual desire. (Venus)

Athena: Goddess of Wisdom, often accompanied by an owl as a sign of her sagacity and access to occluded information. (Minerva)

Apollo: The glorious Sun God, governor of light, music, poetry, and beauty.

Artemis: Goddess of the Hunt, often depicted with a quiver of arrows and a bow. Artemis is also the Moon Goddess and the Goddess of Virgins.

Demeter: Goddess of the Harvest, agriculture, and fertility. (Ceres)

Hestia: Goddess of the Home and the hearth. (Vesta)

NOTES

The Romans adopted many of these Greek Gods and their qualities, adding them to their own deities to form a Greco-Roman pantheon. In addition to the above-mentioned, here are more Roman counterparts:

Hades — Pluto; Persephone — Proserpina; Dionysus — Bacchus; Eros — Cupid; Chronos — Saturn; Coelus — Uranus

Mount Olympus, in Greece, is a sacred mountain archetype.

It is the home to the mighty beings that are called, collectively the Olympians or the Dodekatheon (twelve gods).

Twelve is, of course, a sacred number belonging not only to the number of solar months in a year but is also the number of fulfillment.

Although there were more than twelve beings that lived on top of the mountain, the twelve principal ones are mentioned above.

The family relationships of these Gods are labyrinthine:

Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Hestia, and Hades were all siblings.

Hades, as God of the Underworld, does not figure among the Olympians although he is of course a key God; his realm is the world of the dead that lies in the nether regions, not on top of a mountain.

Persephone, too, spends some of her time with the other Gods but also belongs to the Underworld where she spends four months of the year.

Hermes, Hephaestus, Artemis, Apollo, and Ares are children of Zeus by various mothers.

Athena was born from the forehead of her father Zeus.

Aphrodite was born from the castrated phallus of the sky that existed prior to the Creation.

Source ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References

[coinandcandle]

Hathor Deep Dive

One of the most popular deities in Ancient Egypt and still popular among Kemetic followers today, Hathor (𓉡) is the Egyptian Goddess of women, love, and many other things.

Let’s get to know this Kemetic queen!

Parents and Siblings

Ra is her father in most mythology

Shu (brother)

Tefnut (sister)

Sekhmet (sister)

Mafdet (sister)

Bastet (sister)

Satet (sister)

Anhur (brother)

Ma'at (sister)

Mut (sister)

Lovers or Partners

Due to her role as a “queen” goddess, she often subsumed the role of other goddesses and was commonly said to be the wife of whoever the ruling god of the city was.

Horus the Elder - The most popular version

Thoth - in Hermopolis

Atum

Amun

Khonsu

Children

Ihy

Neferhotep of Hu

Horus the Child (sometimes)

Epithets

Being as popular and ancient comes with many names, here is a non-exhaustive list of some:

Lady of Dendera

Eye of Ra (an epithet shared with other goddesses)

Lady of the sky

Ruler of all gods

Lady of the Two Lands

Lady of bread, who brews beer

Lady of Dance

Ruler of the jba-dance

Lady of drunkenness

Lady of making music

Lady of jubilation

Ruler of joy

The Primeval

The Lady of All

Lady of the West

Lady of the Holy Country

The Foremost One in the Barque of Millions

The Distant Goddess

Hathor of the Sycamore

Lady of the Southern Sycamore

Hathor of the Sycamore in All Her Places

Hathor in All Her Places

Hathor Mistress of the Desert

Hathor Mistress of Heaven

Notes

Hathor’s worship likely started in the early dynastic times.

Her name means “Estate/House of Horus”--referring to both the sky and the royal family.

She is one of the oldest gods in the comedic pantheon.

She is depicted as a woman with a bull's head, a woman with cow ears, a cow, a woman with cow horns and a sundisc.

She was also portrayed as a lioness, a serpent, a papyrus plant and a sycamore tree.

She is associated with the constellation Ursa Major or Mesketiu.

She is regarded as a goddess of love, fertility, marriage and motherhood.

She was also known as a goddess of gratitude and as a sky goddess.

She also represents a vengeful aspect protecting Ra from his enemies.

She would be considered a psychopomp helping deceased souls transition to the afterlife.

In Greco-Roman times, she was seen as a manifestation or another version of Aphrodite.

She is also the goddess of pleasure and music with the sistrum being an important part of her worship.

Her imagery was found often on beer or wine containers, and she is linked to alcohol.

She is often seen wearing a menat, which is a beaded necklace representing rebirth.

Hawthorne's cult became popular in the 4th and 5th dynasty, and her cult believed that she played a huge role in the creation of the universe. They also believed due to her role in the creation of the Earth that she is her own mother.

She was considered to some as being connected to foreign lands.

She is often misrepresented and conflated with Isis.

She was the main deity in Gebelein, Denderah, and had separate temples in Memphis and Heliopolis.

Her most prominent temple was located in Denderah.

In Imu/Kom el-Hisn she was fused with Sekhmet.

Daily offerings were common in Ancient Egypt.

Goods such as incense, semi precious stones and other votive offerings were a part of her worship.

She is connected to the dead and said to nourish those in the afterlife by providing food and milk from her seven sacred cows.

These these seven cows were called the Seven Hawthorns and were named in the Book of the Dead: 

Lady of the Universe

Sky-storm

The Hidden One-Presiding Over her place

“You from Khemmis”

Red-hair

Bright-red

"Your Name Prevails Over the West."

The Seven Hathors may or may not also represent the Pleiades constellations. The Seven Hathors were said to have a red ribbon that binds evil.

She was often depicted wearing red, the color of passion.

She is honored in the festival of sacred marriage, which is 18 days into the month of Paoni.

As mentioned earlier, she often absorbed the roles of other goddesses as her popularity grew. Some of these roles included Seshat's role of a witness at the judgment of the dead.

While she was worshiped among all social classes. She was especially popular among the poor.

She had both priests and priestesses, which was uncommon since most clergy had to be the same sex as the god they served.

In the funerary text known as the Book of the Heavenly Cow, her father, Ra, sends her to punish humans for plotting against his rule. She is sent as Sekhmet, the lioness goddess, and massacres the rebellious humans relentlessly. But in order to prevent the wiping out of all of humanity, Ra orders that beer be dyed red and poured all over the land to mimic blood for the (literally) blood-thirsty goddess. Sekhmet then sees the “blood” and drinks all of it. In an inebriated state she passes out and reverts to a benign and calm Hathor.

Correspondences

Rocks/crystals/metals

Selenite, hematite, gold, turquoise

Plants

Papyrus, sycamore tree, lotus flower

Animals

Bull, cow, snake

Symbols

Sistrum, Bull horns with sundisc

Offerings

Milk

Gold

Makeup

Mirrors

Beads

Incense

Stones, especially those worn by royalty in Ancient Egypt such as turquoise or carnelian.

Jewelry

Acts of Devotion

Read the Book of the Heavenly Cow

Daily prayers

Show and share gratitude

Donate either money, clothes, or time to those less fortunate

Dance

Play music

Create a song for her (or a playlist!)

References and Further Reading

Ancient Egypt Online - Hathor

Britannica - Hathor

Hathor and Music

Hathor Epithets

Music and Dance in Ancient Egypt

Mythopedia - Hathor

The Complete Gods And Goddesses of Ancient Egypt by Umair Mirza

The Pleiades: the celestial herd of ancient timekeepers. By Amelia Sparavigna

Wikipedia

[fluffymcsnuggles]

The start of a series of portraits I've made of the Greco-Roman gods and goddesses

[what-even-is-thiss]

Depending on what pantheon/mythology you’re looking at if you claim your goal is to kill a god there will be varying degrees of probability and possibility for you.

The things we’re worshipping is kind of the earth and animals and people themselves of course they die (various forms of animism and ancestor worship)

Dying is kind of a promotion in this religion if you’re important enough (some types of Buddhism, Catholicism from certain points of view)

Technically possible to kill a god and it has happened before but you probably won’t be the one to do it (Egyptian, Norse, Aztec, some other polytheistic religions)

Lol and also lmao gods don’t die. You can stab them though. (Greco-Roman mythology)

God(s) became mortal on purpose you’re not special L + Ratio this was part of the plan the whole time (Christianity, some avatar stories in Hinduism)

What are you gonna do? Stab the entire universe? You’re picking a fight with reality itself. Idiot. (Most monotheistic religions)