#greek mythology couples

[king-nyx]

we're doing this again

[4h20art]

Follow me on Instagram! @4h20.art

[doesephs]

if my husband left to go fight a boywar then go on a boyquest with his boys id make him take a buzzfeed am i gay test asap (come home, penelope and telemachus miss you babe)

[vor-leser]

"He held his love, his faithful wife, and wept. As welcome as the land to swimmers, when Poseidon wrecks their ship at sea and breaks it with great waves and driving winds; Grateful to be alive they crawl to land. So glad was she to see her husband, and her white arms would not let go his neck."

[desos-records]

The EPIC Circe Saga making Odysseus' love for Penelope what ultimately saves him from Circe just healed a massive hole in my heart.

Because YES the Odyssey like all of Ancient Greek Mythology has a misogynist streak a mile wide, but that primarily comes down to the written text, preserved by Athens--no one hates women more than Athens--and translated into English for centuries by sexist men who wanted to see a powerful woman tamed by a man.

But the Odyssey and the Iliad come from ancient oral tradition. They were told and retold and everyone, EVERYONE, got a say in how to interpret them. Why can't we?

Why can't the story be: Odysseus' love for his wife and his family is what saves him. Hermes tells him the only way to protect himself from Circe is to seduce her. Agamemnon, who lied and betrayed his wife, warns him that trusting women will get him killed. But Odysseus doesn't listen. Instead, he passes Circe's test of character where others failed. He trusts Penelope and does right by her and she does the same for him. The secret of their marriage bed serves as a symbol of loyalty and commitment upheld by them both, not just Penelope.

Why can't it be that? Greek Myth is already brutal, why do we have to willfully make it more so?

[life-imitates-art-far-more]

John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) "Jason and Medea" (1907) Oil on canvas Pre-Raphaelite Currently in a private collection

[laritamiauu]

dioniso y ariadna? :D

I THOUGHT YALL WOULD NEVER ASK, THESE ARE MY PARENTS, MY ABSOLUTETLY BIOLOGICAL AND REAL PARENTS I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

(I started doing tumblr requests but i also asked on ig, so i should do those first cause theyre time limited lol)

[gigizetz]

Also since it's pride if you guys wanna send some couples for me to doodle feel free to do so

[hades-bat]

Dionysus and Ariadne 🖤🍇

[ink-stains-and-constellations]

So, this poll is over now, and a lot of people in the notes brought up stuff that I'd overlooked. Therefore, I'm doing it again, with more options this time.

I would have put a whole lot more options, but unfortunately, I can only do twelve. Again, please share more detail in the tags or replies if you want to.

[rapha-reads]

No but I gotta talk about Medusa for a minute actually.

It's been. A very long time since I read the PJO books so I don't exactly remember how Uncle Rick presents Medusa in the book. But the way the show introduces her myth? Fascinating. For me as a Greek mythology enthusiast, that is.

The show makes Medusa a victim of Athena. Of course, the show is mainly for kids, so they can't exactly say that, hey, kids, Medusa was Athena's priestess and she was raped by Poseidon, YEP, or protagonist's father, IN Athena's temple, nah, that's neither kid-friendly nor does it endears us to Poseidon. Not that Poseidon is very dear to us viewers/readers at this point, our narrator/protagonist can't stand his own dad.

But still what fascinates me is that even though they twisted the myth to ft the narrative they still managed to evoke Athena's curse as being actually a gift, and Medusa not feeling wretched over her condition but blessed.

Which is not a modern reading of the myth, actually. Saying that Athena couldn't punish Poseidon for his transgression and could only punish Medusa, but did so in a way that would give Medusa weapons to defend herself against whoever and whatever would try to harm her again, is a narrative that exists since Antiquity.

My point is that the re-framing of Medusa's myth, departing from the traditional, non-kid-friendly version while still incorporating both classic and modern elements, is a good frame of reference for the series (book and show)' entire approach to mythology. And I guess I'm saying that mostly for the non-book readers who are discovering this world, many of whom might be Greek mythology fans and might have gone "wait, why is Hades AGAIN presented as the bad guy when he's the chillest, most normal, most stable god in this entire pantheon", because that's a conversation the book fandom has been having (over and over again) for more than a decade.

Anyway, yeah. As a long time book fan and a show appreciative, here's my advice to anyone who knows WAY too much about Greek myths and still want to enjoy the ride without going every five minutes "wait, that's not correct": reframe. Contemporary rewritings, modern audiences and Fantasy genre.

[psykopaths]

Penelope and Odysseus

[doesephs]

congratulations eurylochus and ctimene on getting married!! sure it will be long lasting and not interrupted by 20 years of boyexploring and death!!

[imaginal-ai]

"Hercules and Jason"

[captainzagreus]

Surprise kiss !

I ship them so hard.

Art (c) captainzagreus

Hades characters (c) Supergiant games

[lyculuscaelus]

Telestratus

So, we have the word ὁμοφροσύνη (homophrosynē) which approximately means “like-mindedness, oneness of mind”. The word seems to be an ideal state for a man-woman relationship, as proclaimed by Odysseus in the Odyssey, book 6, line 180–185, when he was wishing Nausicaä the best kind of marriage:

σοὶ δὲ θεοὶ τόσα δοῖεν ὅσα φρεσὶ σῇσι μενοινᾷς, 180 ἄνδρα τε καὶ οἶκον, καὶ ὁμοφροσύνην ὀπάσειαν ἐσθλήν: οὐ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ γε κρεῖσσον καὶ ἄρειον, ἢ ὅθ᾽ ὁμοφρονέοντε νοήμασιν οἶκον ἔχητον ἀνὴρ ἠδὲ γυνή: πόλλ᾽ ἄλγεα δυσμενέεσσι, χάρματα δ᾽ εὐμενέτῃσι,  μάλιστα δέ τ᾽ ἔκλυον αὐτοί. 185 May the gods grant you all that your heart desires, A man and a household, and may they send with like-mindedness, A good gift—for nothing is better or greater than this, When a man and a woman maintain a household together, Their thoughts like-minded—a great pain for their enemies, Yet pleasure for well-wishers, and they know it best themselves.

Many scholars have been analyzing like-mindedness in man-woman relationships in Homeric epics, the most famous examples should be Odysseus and Penelope, Menelaus and Helen, etc. Apparently, like-mindedness is a strong bond to keep their family together, and their love intact.

But that’s not what I’m gonna do at the moment, cuz I’d like to bring up another text where this word appears once more in the Odyssey. Basically, Book 15, line 194–202, when Telemachus was asking Peisistratus not to bring him to the house and hear Nestor yapping this time:

καὶ τότε Τηλέμαχος προσεφώνεε Νέστορος υἱόν: ‘ 195 Νεστορίδη,  πῶς κέν μοι ὑποσχόμενος τελέσειας μῦθον ἐμόν; ξεῖνοι δὲ διαμπερὲς εὐχόμεθ᾽ εἶναι ἐκ πατέρων φιλότητος, ἀτὰρ καὶ ὁμήλικές εἰμεν: ἥδε δ᾽ ὁδὸς καὶ μᾶλλον ὁμοφροσύνῃσιν ἐνήσει. μή με παρὲξ ἄγε νῆα, διοτρεφές, ἀλλὰ λίπ᾽ αὐτοῦ, 200 μή μ᾽ ὁ γέρων ἀέκοντα κατάσχῃ ᾧ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ ἱέμενος φιλέειν: ἐμὲ δὲ χρεὼ θᾶσσον ἱκέσθαι. ’ And then Telemachus addressed the son of Nestor: “Son of Nestor, can you make me a promise and fulfill it, as an order of mine? We can claim that we’re guest-friends forever, Through our fathers’ friendship, but we’re also of the same age; And this journey will greatly inspire our like-mindedness. Don’t lead me past my ship, O you cherished by Zeus, but leave me here, In case that old man keeps me in his house against my will, Eager to treat me kindly; I need to go home quicker.”

So Homer, you’re telling me that Telemachus was using a word commonly used for the bond of a couple, to describe his relationship with Peisistratus???

…Sure. And they were roommates.