#hyginus fabulae

[greekmythcomix]

Odysseus vs Palamedes

From Hyginus, Fabulae

95: When Agamemnon and Menelaus, son of Atreus, were assembling the leaders who had pledged themselves to attack Troy, they came to the island of Ithaca to Odysseus, son of Laertes. He had been warned by an oracle that if he went to Troy he would return home alone and in need, with his comrades lost, after twenty years. And so when he learned that spokesmen would come to him, he put on a cap, pretending madness, and yoked a horse and an ox to the plow. Palamedes felt he was pretending when he saw this, and taking his son Telemachus from the cradle, put him in front of the plow with the words: "Give up your pretense and come and join the allies." Then Odysseus promised that he would come; from that time he was hostile to Palamedes.

105: Odysseus, because he had been tricked by Palamedes, son of Nauplius, kept plotting day by day how to kill him. At length, having formed a plan, he sent a soldier of his to Agamemnon to say that in a dream he had been warned that the camp should be moved for one day. Agamemnon, believing the warning true, gave orders that the camp be moved for one day. Odysseus, then, secretly by night hid a great quantity of gold in the place where the tent of Palamedes had been. He also gave to a Phrygian captive a letter to be carried to Priam, and sent a soldier of his ahead to kill him not far from the camp. On the next day when the army came back to the camp, a soldier found on the body of the Phrygian, the letter which Odysseus had written, and brought it to Agamemnon. Written on it were the words: "Sent to Palamedes from Priam," and it promised him as much gold as Odysseus had hidden in the tent, if he would betray the camp of Agamemnon according to agreement. And so when Palamedes was brought before the king, and so denied the deed, they went to his tent and dug up the gold. Agamemnon believed the charge was true when he saw the gold [and it also proved Odysseus was right to move the camp]. In this way Palamedes was tricked by the scheme of Odysseus, and though innocent, was put to death by the entire army.

[false-guinevere]

Ok I swear I’m going insane or something. Anytime I look up something about the House of Atreus, they always mention a daughter of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus who is named Helen and who Orestes kills as an infant. But I cannot for the life of me find what source mentions this.

[ribbittrobbit]

“Cassandra, daughter of the king (…), exhausted from practising, is said to have fallen asleep;(…) when she prophesied true things, she was not believed.”

(A bastardisation of Hyginus’ Fabulae)

text under the cut:

This is your fate, Cassandra, You, who are cloaked in mystery: To be a god that knows fear, To live begging for believers

You will call out to them, But they will be deaf to you You will stand before them, And they will not see you

This is your destiny, Cassandra To have only hidden altars, For your only song to be silence, To dwell in the deepest darkness

You are for the doubtful and uncertain, Those who search and do not find, At the mercy of your prophet, A mere child, who chose you

This is your lament, Cassandra, To weep and to rage, For your greatest mystery is to never know Whether today you live or die

-

I feel insane about Cassandra and Kristen if you can't tell. The name! the mystery of religion! the conflict of belief!! the hard sell!!! I lay in bed and started writing in verse!! I don't write in verse!!!

But I did grow up with a lot of latin and catholic liturgy so that's probably where the structure comes from? bec i do not remember any classics despite having majored in liberal arts. (my classics professor sucked)

aight. there you go. catharsis and melodrama.

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

Statistics of Apollo's Lovers

I was wondering just how unfortunate of a love-life our boy Apollo had, so - as one does - I did the research, math, and writing of said love-life.

such is the life of an adhd teen :)

In total, there are 59 people on this list. I have them separated into eight groups; Immortal, Immortal & Rejected, Lived, Died, Rejected & Died, Rejected & Cursed, Rejected & Lived, and who were Rejected by Apollo

Disclaimer: I am not a historian nor an expert in Greek Mythology, I am just a very invested nerd in Mythology, and in Apollo's mythology in general, and got curious about what his rap sheet actually looks like.

Sidenote: There will be some "lovers" not on this list. Reasons being;

No actual literary sources behind them

Said literary sources are dubious at best

Not enough information is given about the nature of their relationship to make an accurate take

So if somebody isn't on this list, it's because of one of those three reasons. Although there is still a chance I missed somebody! :)

Also, no RRverse lovers include in this list. Sorry my fellow ToA fans.

(Edited 08/15/24 - ALL SECTIONS SOURCED)

Let's begin! :D

Immortal Lovers

Calliope: muse of epic poetry. Mother of Hymenaios and Ialemus (Pindar's 3rd Threnos) by Apollo.

Clio: muse of history

Erato: muse of love poetry

Euterpe: muse of music

Polyhymnia: muse of hymns/sacred poetry

Melpomene: muse of tragedy

Thalia: muse of comedy. Mother of the Corybantes (The Bibliotheca by Pseudo-Apollodorus) by Apollo.

Terpsichore: muse of dance

Urania: muse of astronomy

Boreas: the North Wind. The Boreads called Apollo "beloved of our sire" in Apollonius of Rhodes's Argonautica.

10 lovers total here.

9 Female, 1 Male

Immortal & Rejected

Hestia: goddess of the Hearth (Hymn to Aphrodite)

1 Interest. Female.

Lovers Who Lived:

Branchus: mortal shepherd, gifted prophecy (Conon's Narrations 33 & Callimachus's Iambus)

Rhoeo: mortal princess, eventually married an apprentice of Apollo (Diodorus Siculus's Bibliotheca historica 5.62 and Tzetzes on Lycophron 570)

Ourea: demigod daughter of Poseidon, dated Apollo during his punishment with Laomedon; had a son named Ileus, after the city of Troy (Hesiod's Catalogues of Women Fragment 83)

Evadne: nymph daughter of Poseidon, Apollo sent Eileithyia & (in some texts) the Fates to aid in their son's birth (Pindar's Olympian Ode 6)

Thero: great-granddaughter of Heracles, described as "beautiful as moonbeams" (Pausanias's Description of Greece 9)

Cyrene: mortal princess-turned-nymph queen, kick-ass lion wrangler, and mother of two of Apollo's sons - Aristaeus (a god) and Idmon (powerful seer) (Pindar's Pythian Ode 9.6 ff. and Nonnus's Dionysiaca and Callimachus's Hymn to Apollo 85)

Admetus: mortal king, took great care of Apollo during his second punishment, Apollo wingmanned him for Alcestis's hand - basically Apollo doted on him <3 (Callimachus's Hymn II to Apollo and Apollodorus's Bibliotheca 1.9.15 and Hyginus's Fabulae 50–51, and also written about by Ovid and Servius)

Hecuba: queen of Troy, together they had Troilus.

It was foretold that if Troilus lived to adulthood, Troy wouldn't fall - unfortunately, Achilles murdered Troilus in Apollo's temple. When the Achaeans burned Troy down, Apollo rescued Hecuba and brought her to safety in Lycia. (Stesichorus's Fr.108)

Hyrie/Thyrie: mortal. mothered a son by Apollo. Their son, Cycnus, attempted to kill himself after some shenanigans and his mother attempted the same. Apollo turned them into swans to save their lives. (Antoninus Liberalis's Metamorphoses 12 and Ovid's Metamorphoses 7.350)

Dryope: mortal. had a son named Amphissus with Apollo, who was a snake at the time. Later turned into a lotus flower, but it had nothing to do with Apollo so she's still on this list. (noncon; written by Ovid in Metamorphoses 8 CE/AD and later by Antoninus Liberalis in his own Metamorphoses sometime between 100-300 CE/AD)

Creusa: mortal queen. had a son named Ion with Apollo (Euripides's Ion). Please check out @my-name-is-apollo's post for more details because they make some good points about what's considered "rape" in Ancient Greece. I expand on this further at the end of the post.

Melia: Oceanid nymph. Had a son w/h Apollo named Tenerus. (Pausanias's Descriptions of Greece 9.10.5–6)

Melia was said to be kidnapped, and her brother found her with Apollo. He set fire to Apollo's temple in an effort to get her back, but was killed. Melia and Apollo had two kids - but here's the interesting part. Melia was highly worshiped in Thebes, where her brother found her. She was an incredibly important figure in Thebes, especially when connected with Apollo. She and Apollo were essentially the parents of Thebes.

As I read over their story, it sounded like (to me, at least. it's okay if you think otherwise!) that Melia just absconded/eloped with Apollo.

Was kidnapping an equivalent to assault back then? Perhaps. But it's still debated on whenever or not that's true. However, one thing I've noticed reading up on these myths is that when Apollo does do something unsavory, the text says so.

It never says anything about Apollo doing anything to Melia. Her father and brother believe she was kidnapped, but, like mentioned previously, it seems far much more likely that she just ran off with her boyfriend or something.

But that's just my interpretation.

Moving on! :)

Iapis: a favorite lover. Apollo wanted to teach him prophecy, the lyre, ect. but Iapis just wanted to heal :) so Apollo taught him healing :) (Smith 1873, s.v. Iapis)

Aethusa: daughter of Poseidon & the Pleiad Alcyone. Mother of Linus and Eleuther. She is the great-great grandmother of Orpheus. (Apollodorus's Bibliotheca 3.10.1 and Pausanias's Descriptions of Greece 9.20.2 and Suida, s.v. Homer's Of the Origin of Homer and Hesiod and their Contest, Fragment 1.314)

Acacallis: daughter of King Minos. there's a lot of variation on whether or not she had kids with Hermes or Apollo. Some say she had a kid with each. (Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Kydōnia (Κυδωνία and Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, 4.1492)

Chrysothemis: nymph queen who won the oldest contest of the Pythian Games - the singing of a hymn to Apollo. She had three daughters, and one of them is said to be Apollo's. (Pausanias's Descriptions of Greece 10.7.2 and Hyginus's De Astronomica 2.25)

Corycia: naiad. had a son with Apollo. the Corycian Cave north of Delphi is named after her (Hyginus's Fabulae 161)

Leuconoe (also Choine or Philonis): daughter of Eosphorus, god of the planet Venus, and mother of the bard Philammon. (Hyginus's Fabulae 161)

Melaena (also Thyia or Kelaino): mother of Delphos, member of prophetic Thriae of Delphi. Priestess of Dionysus. (Herodotus's Histories 7.178.1)

Othreis: mothered Phager by Apollo, and later Meliteus by Zeus. (Antoninus Liberalis's Metamorphoses 13)

Stilbe: mother of Lapithus and Aineus by Apollo. (Diodorus Siculus's Library of History 4.69.1 and Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, 1.40 and Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, 1.948)

Syllis (possible same as Hyllis, granddaughter of Heracles): mothered Zeuxippus by Apollo. (Pausanias's Descriptions of Greece 2.6.7)

Amphissa: Apollo seduced her in the form of a shepherd. They had a son named Agreus. (Ovid's Metamorphoses 6.103 and Hyginus's Fabulae 161)

(hey, has anybody else noticed that 'Apollo disguising himself' seems to only be a thing in Roman literature?)

Areia (or Deione): had a son named Miletus. Hid him in some smilax. Her father found him and named him. (Apollodorus's Bibliotheca 3.1.2)

Arsinoe: she and Apollo had a daughter named Eriopis. (Hesiod's Ehoiai 63 and Scholia ad Pindar's Pythian Ode 3.14)

Queen of Orkhomenos (no name is given): Mother of Trophonius (Pausanias's Descriptions of Greece 9.37.5)

(my fellow ToA fans will recognize that name haha).

Hypermnestra: Either Apollo or her husband fathered her son Amphiaraus. (Hyginus's Fabulae 70)

(sidenote: @literallyjusttoa suggested that Apollo was dating both Hypermnestra and Oikles, and I, personally, like that headcannon)

Manto: Daughter of Tiresias. Apollo made her a priestess of Delphi. They had a son named Mopsus. When Apollo sent her to found an oracle elsewhere, he told her to marry the first man she saw outside of Delphi. That man turned out to be Rhacius, who brought her to Claros, where she founded the oracle of Apollo Clarios. (Apollodorus's Bibliotheca E6. 3)

Later, another man named Lampus attempted to assault her, but was killed by Apollo. She is also said to be a priestess who warned Niobe not to insult Leto, and to ask for forgiveness. Niobe did not. (Statius's Thebaid 7 and Ovid's Metamorphoses 6)

(Dante's Inferno places her in the eighth circle of hell, and let me just say- what the FUCK Dante! What did Manto ever do to you, huh??!! Don't do my girl dirty!!)

Parthenope: granddaughter of a river god. Mothered Lycomedes by Apollo (Pausanius's Descriptions of Greece 4.1)

Phthia: prophetess. called "beloved of Apollo". Mother three kings by him; Dorus, Laodocus, & Polypoetes (Apollodorus's Bibliotheca 1.7.6)

Procleia: Mother of Tenes, son of Apollo, who was killed by Achilles before the Trojan War. Daughter of King Laomedon, king of Troy. (Apollodorus's Epitome 3. 26)

Helenus: prince of Troy. Received from Apollo an ivory bow which he used to wound Achilles in the hand. (Photius's 'Bibliotheca excerpts')

Hippolytus of Sicyon: called "beloved of Apollo" in Plutarch's Life of Numa. I don't think this guy is the same as the Hippolytus, son of Zeuxippus (son of Apollo), king of Sicyon Pausanias talks about in his Description of Greece. That would be a little weird taking the whole family tree into account - though it's never stopped other gods before. *shrug*

Psamathe: nereid, said to be the personification of the sand of the sea-shore. (Conon's Narrationes 19)

She and Apollo were lovers, but never had any kids. When another man assaulted her, she had a son and abandoned him.

(He was found by some shepherds dw - wait, he was then torn apart by dogs. Nevermind,)

Back to her, her father ordered for her to be executed and Apollo avenged her death by sending a plague onto Argos and refused to stop it until Psamathe and Phocus/Linus (her son) were properly given honors.

(I really like how even though Linus isn't Apollo's kid, and that Psamathe wanted nothing to do with the kid, Apollo still considered him worth avenging too <3 )

Okay, in a previous incarnation of this post, I said there was a version where she is raped by Apollo...however, I can't find any sources to back it up😅 Even her wiki page doesn't mention rape, and Theoi's excerpt of Paunasias's Descriptions of Greece about her doesn't either.

So where did I hear about this supposed version? (Don't shoot)

Youtube. A youtube video about Apollo. Yeah...

Lesson, kids! Don't trust youtube videos on mythology! Yes, even if they dedicated lots of time to it! They can still get things wrong! In fact, don't even take my word for it! Do your own research <3

Alright. 34 lovers here.

5 Male. 29 Female.

33 are 100% consensual. Creusa is questionable, depending on who's translating/which tradition you go with.

Lovers Who Died:

Hyacinthus*: mortal prince. we all know this one, right? Right? one and only true love turned into flower (okay that's my bias speaking but AM I WRONG?) (Plutarch's Life of Numa, 4.5; Philostratus the younger's Imagines; Pseudo-Apollodorus's Bibliotheca 1.3.3; Ovid's Metamorphoses 10.162–219; Bion's Poems 11; and various pieces of art)

Cyparissus: mortal. his DEER DIED and he asked Apollo to let him MOURN FOREVER so he was turned into a cypress tree (Ovid's Metamorphoses X 106ff)

Coronis: mortal princess. cheated on Apollo w/h Ischys, who in Fabulae was killed by Zeus. mother of Asclepius. killed by Artemis. (Pindar's Pythian Odes 3.5; Pausanias's Descriptions of Greece 2.26.6; Hyginus's Fabulae 202; Ovid's Metamorphoses 2.536 and 2.596; Hyginus's De Astronomica 2.40; Isyllus's Hymn to Asclepius 128.37 ff.)

There is another version of Asclepius's birth given by Pausanias in Descriptions of Greece 2.26.1-7, where Coronis exposes him on a mountain and Apollo takes him in.

Adonis: yes, THAT Adonis. he's in this category because. well. he died. rip (Ptolemy Hephaestion's New History Book 5)

Phorbas: Okay so Apollo's lover Phorbas and another Phorbas sometimes get mashed together so this is what I was able to gather.

Plutarch's Life of Numa 4.5 and Hyginus's De Astronomia 2.14.5 cites Phorbas as Apollo's lover. The other Phorbas is said to be a rival to Apollo in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo. Personally, I separate the two because it makes more sense with Phorbas the lover's overall story.

Here it is: The island of Rhodes fell victim to a plague of dragons or serpents, and the oracle said to summon Phorbas for help. He defeated the infestation, and after he died, Apollo asked Zeus to place him in the stars, and so Phorbas became the constellation Serpentarius, also known more widely as Ophiuchus (a man holding a serpent).

FORGET ORION AND HIS ONE-OFF MENTION OF BEING DIANA'S LOVER HERE IS A CONSTELLATION TRAGIC LOVE STORY!!!!!

(*Hyacinthus was resurrected, as celebrated in the Hyacinthia festival in Sparta. Nonnus's Dionysiaca 19.102 and Pausanias's Descriptions of Greece 3.19.4 supports this belief as well.)

5 lovers.

4 Male. 1 Female. All consensual.

Sidenote: QUIT BURYING THE GAYS GREECE!!!!

Love-Interests Who Rejected & Died:

Daphne: do i nEED to say anything? Nymph. turned into tree to escape.

Daphne and Apollo actually go back a bit. Their story was used to explain why the laurel was so sacred to Apollo. It's in Delphi, Branchus planted laurel trees around the temple he built to Apollo, the laurel was even sacred to Apollo's historical forebearer Apulu, an Etruscan god! (I have sources to back this up :3 along with an Essay.)

Apollo & Daphne first originate from Phylarchus, but we do not have any of his work :( It's been lost to history...a moment of silence RIP. He was a contemporary in the 3rd century BC/BCE (first day of 300 BC/BCE and last day of 201 BC/BCE).

He was, however, cited as a source in Parthenius's Erotica Pathemata, written sometime in the 1 century AD/CE (sometime between 66 BC/BCE and the author's death in 14 AD/CE).

Then they show up again in Pausanias's Descriptions of Greece, written between 150 AD/CE and 170 AD/CE.

Hyginus wrote his Fabulae sometime before Ovid's because it's widely criticized to be his earliest work and Ovid wrote his Metamorphoses in 8 AD/CE.

The first two versions are roughly the same, and Ovid's shares similarities with the first in only the ending. Hyginus is basically like Ovid's but without Eros.

So in publication order, it's; Erotica Pathemata, Fabulae, Metamorphoses, then Descrip. of Greece.

In Erotica Pathemata, Daphne is the daughter of Amyclas and is being courted by Leucippus. She is not interested in any sort of romance. Leucippus disguises himself as a girl to get close to her, but his ruse is revealed when Apollo nudges Daphne and her attendants into taking a bath in the river. Leucippus is consequently killed.

Apollo then becomes interested and Daphne runs away, imploring Zeus that "she might be translated away from mortal sight", and is transformed into the laurel tree.

In Fabulae, Daphne's story is a bit more familiar. She's the daughter of Peneus, the river god, and Gaea is the one who transforms her into a laurel tree.

In Metamorphoses, Eros's is added to the story and is the reason why Apollo is so enamored and Daphne is so repulsed. (I would just like to say that in this version, it was 100% nonconsensual for them! And I don't mean with rape- Apollo never touches Daphne in any of these version. What I mean here is that Eros maliciously makes Apollo chase down a woman and makes sure Daphne would be repulsed by him. That is noncon behavior there on both sides.)

In Descriptions of Greece 10.7.8, Daphne is the daughter of Ladon and her and Apollo are only connected by why of why the laurel crown is the victory prize of the Pythian Games. However, in Descriptions of Greece 8.20.2-8.20.4, Daphne and Leucippus make an appearance here too, but Apollo is not the reason why they stop to take a swim and his ruse is revealed, resulting in his death.

Castalia: Nymph. turned into spring to escape.

First things first, Castalia was used to explain the existence of the Castalian Spring in Delphi. However, in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, the spring is already there when Apollo was born. So there's that to consider first.

Anyway, to escape Apollo's advances, Castalia transforms herself into a spring. (Lactantius Placidus's On Statius's Thebaid 1.698. This was written between Lactantius's lifespan of c. 350 – c. 400 AD/CE, placing it firmly in Roman times.)

2 Interests.

2 Female.

Love-Interests Who Rejected & Cursed

Cassandra: mortal princess. Received the gift of prophecy from Apollo. Due to a broken oath, she was then cursed. (Aeschylus's Agamemnon)

It is only in Roman-era tellings where Cassandra is cursed for not sleeping with Apollo, and there was no oath made (Hyginus & Pseudo-Apollodorus). In Agamemnon, it was done so because of the broken oath- not the refusing to sleep with Apollo thing.

The version where she gains prophetic abilities by way of a snake licking her ears is not part of Greco-Roman literature, but rather by an American poet.

Nevertheless, even after the curse Cassandra still loved Apollo, and called him "god most dear to me" in Eurpides's play The Trojan Women.

1 Interests.

1 Female.

Lover-Interests Who Rejected & Lived

Sinope: mortal. there are two different version of her myth.

In Diodorus Siculus's Library of History 4.72.2 and Corinna's Frag. 654, Apollo "seizes" her and they have a son named Syrus.

In Apollonius's Argonautica  2.946-951 and Valerius Flaccus's Argonautica 5.109, it is Zeus who abducts her, but she gets him to promise her anything and requests to remain a virgin. He obliges. Later, Apollo and the river Halys both try to charm her, but fall for the same trick.

Library of History was written between 60-30 BC/BCE, Apollonius's Argonautica between 300 BC/BCE and 201 BC/BCE, and Valerius Flaccus's Argonautica between 70-96 AD/CE, making Apollonius's version the oldest and Valerius Flaccus's the youngest.

Marpessa: mortal princess, granddaughter of Ares. Idas, son of Poseidon, kidnapped her and Apollo caught up to them. Zeus had Marpessa chose between them, and she chose Idas, reasoning that she would eventually grow old and Apollo would tire of her. (Homer's The Iliad, 9.557 and Apollodorus's Bibliotheca 1.7.8–9)

Bolina: mortal. Apollo approached her and she flung herself off a cliff. He turned her into a nymph to save her life. (Pausanias's Description of Greece 7.23.4)

Ocroe/Okyrrhoe: nymph and daughter of a river god. asked a boatman to take her home after Apollo approached her. Apollo ended up turning the boat to stone and the seafarer into a fish. (Athenaeus's The Deipnosophists 7.283 E [citing The Founding of Naucratis by Apollonius Rhodius]. The Deipnosophists was written in the early 3rd century AD, between 201 AD and 300 AD)

Sibyl of Cumae: mortal seer. promised to date Apollo if she was given longevity as long as the amount of sand in her hand. he did, but she refused him. (Ovid's Metamorphoses 14)

5 Interests. All female.

Okyrrhoe's story is the only one with any iffy stuff, although, when something iffy does occur, the text usually says so outright.

Rejected by Apollo:

Clytie*: Oceanid nymph. turned into a heliotrope to gaze at the sun forever after the rejection.

1 Advance. Female.

(*Clytie's story was originally about her affection for Helios. [Ovid's Metamorphoses 4.192–270; Ovid used Greek sources about the etymology of the names involved, meaning Clytie and Helios go back to Greek times] As Apollo got superimposed over Helios's myths, people have assumed it is he who is the sun god in her myth and not Helios.)

In Conclusion...

59 people total, and 33 of them have Roman-Era roots with (as far as I known!! Don't take my word as gospel truth!!) no relation to Greece except by way of shared mythology.

Here's the list:

Rhoeo

Thero

Hyrie/Thyrie

Dryope

Melia

Aethusa

Acacallis

Chrysothemis

Corycia

Choine

Thyia

Othreis

Stilbe

Syllis

Amphissa

Areia

Queen of Orkhomenos

Hypermnestra

Manto

Parthenope

Phthia

Procleia

Helenus

Hippolytus of Sicyon

Psamathe

Cyparissus

Adonis

Phorbas

Castalia

Sinope

Bolina

Ocroe/Okyrrhoe

Sibyl of Cumae

Meaning, 56%- and really, it's more like 57%, because Clytie is not Apollo's lover at all- of the lovers listed on this post are not entirely Greek in origin (AS FAR AS I KNOW-)! That does not mean ofc that you have to ignore them. I, for one, really like the story of Rhoeo, and Manto, and Psamethe- I find their myths sweet (Rhoeo & Manto) and bittersweet (Psamethe).

Let's get to the calculations now, yeah?

59 people total (Includes Clytie)

48 Women (81%). 11 Men (19%).

19% were Immortal (Including Lovers & Rejected)

68% Lived (Including Lovers & Cursed & Rejected)

14% Died (Including Lovers & Rejected)

1% were Cursed

2% were Rejected by him

58 people total (Not Including Clytie)

47 Women (81%). 11 Men (19%).

19% were Immortal

69% Lived (Lovers & & Cursed & Rejected)

12% Died (Lovers & Rejected)

in that 12%, one was apotheosized - Hyacinthus.

Meaning 10% died permanently, while 2% were resurrected.

2% were Cursed

0% were Rejected by him

Additionally, I left off three male lovers and two female lovers - Atymnius, Leucates, Cinyras, Hecate, & Acantha.

Atymnius has no references to being Apollo's lover, only to Zeus's son Sarpedon.

Leucates is another male "lover" left off the rack - apparently he jumped off a cliff to avoid Apollo, but I couldn't find any mythological text to account for it- and no, OSP's wiki page is not a reliable source. There is a cliff named similarly to him where Aphrodite went (by Apollo's advice) to rid herself of her longing for Adonis after his death. Also Zeus uses it to rid himself of his love for Hera before he...well, commits adultery again.

Cinyras was a priest of Aphrodite on the island of Cyprus. He was also the island's king. Pindar calls him "beloved of Apollo" in his Pythian Ode. However, looking further into Cinyras's life throws a bit of a wrench into it. He's also cited to be a challenger to Apollo's skill, and either Apollo or Mars (Ares) kills him for his hubris.

(honestly, I kinda like the idea that Mars went into Big Brother Mode)

I did consider leaving him on the list, since technically you could argue it was a romance-gone-bad, but among every other source Cinyras is mentioned in, Pindar's the only one who puts a romantic label on him and Apollo.

Hecate, the goddess of magic and crossroads, is said to be the mother of Scylla (like, the sea-monster) by Apollo, but Scylla's parentage is one of those "no specific parents" ones, so I left her off the list.

Acantha has absolutely no classical references. There's a plant like her name, but she's made-up, so she doesn't count.

(Of course, I could be wrong about any of these. Again, I'm not an expert.)

With all this in mind, this means Apollo's love life actually isn't as tragic as media portrays it, and he isn't as bad as Zeus or Poseidon in the nonconsensual area.

Does he still have those kinds of myths? Yes, with Dryope and Creusa; though, we can discount Creusa because;

1) Depends on who's translating it; and

2) Ion is given different parentage in the Bibliotheca, which yes, came much after Ion, however Xuthus was traditionally considered to be Ion's father rather than Apollo. This means there was probably a different oral tradition on Ion's parentage that just wasn't written down as early as Euripides's was- in fact, it may even just be an invention of Euripides's.

(and honestly Apollo's characterization in Ion just doesn't quite match up with the rest of his appearances in the wider myths (in my opinion, at least))

So that leaves us with just Dryope, who comes from Ovid, a Roman poet, and Antoninus Liberalis, a late Greek one.

Now I'm not saying we should throw her out because of Ovid's whole "wrote the gods even more terribly to criticize Augustus" thing, but it is something to keep in mind. Political mechanics have been used to change myths before, and this is certainly one example of it.

Additionally, I have seen many people discard Dionysus's rapes in the Dionysiaca because of how late it was written, so this one can be given similar treatment if one choses too because of just how late Ovid and Antoninus Liberalis's work was.

You can, in fact, pick and chose if you wish, especially if it'll increase your enjoyment of literature. That's certainly what I do :)

So overall, I'd say Apollo has a rather clean relationship past. He's doing pretty damn good.

Also, I think we should all take note that even if Apollo had noncon myths, that doesn't reflect on the actual god. The Ancient Greeks did not see the myths as "canon" to their gods- in fact, some were not happy with the myths showing the gods in such a light.

That's something else to keep in mind. The gods of the myths are not the gods of Greece, and are more like parables or fables for the Ancient Greeks I'd say. Lessons on morality and such, and of course, warnings against hubris and the like.

This was quite the journey, and I really hope you all enjoyed reading and learning with me! This really makes me wonder- if Apollo's love life is this good, I wonder how misinformed we are on everyone else's? I have no plans on doing Zeus or Poseidon or anyone else (not for a LONG time lol, this took a lot of effort and research!), but if anyone has any idea, or gets inspired to do something like this for any other god, please tag me!! I'd love to see it! :D

And since this was on a previous reblog, here be a meme from a while ago:

[ID: Me Explaining Me. On the left is a girl with her hands up, fingers pinched together, like she's intensely explaining something. The text over her says "Me giving a detailed diatribe about Apollo's love life and how modern media has done him and his lovers dirty". On the right is the girl's mother, wrapped up to her chin in a blanket, with a look on her face that screams "I hear this all the time". The Mother is labeled "My family". /End ID]

suffers in I'm the only mythology nerd in the family

[vdoes]

"Mortals who were made immortal . . . Icarus and Erigone, his daughter, placed among the stars--Icarus as Arcturus, Erigone as the sign Virgo." -Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 224

with Anthesteria coming up I felt inspired to draw Erigone and her dog Maera the moment she finds her father's body.

it's a bit of an obscure Dionysus myth but one I find really interesting.

//print

[corvid-ghost]

Ok so I'm trying to collect every piece of the epic cycle/ things that have to so with the Trojan ar/ the characters, and thos what I have so far

Aethiopis - Arctinus of Miletus

Achilleid - Statius

Aeneid - Virgil

Ajax - Sophocles

Alcmeonis - don't know

Andromache — Euripides

Bibliotheca - Pseudo-Apollodrus

Cyclops - Euripides

Cypria - Stasinus

Descriptions of Greece - Pausania

Ehoiai - Hesiod

Electra - Europides

Electra - Sophocles

Epigoni - Homer(?) Antimachus of Teos(?)

Fabulae - Hyginus

Fragment 14 - Sappho

Fragment 44 - Sappho

Hecuba - Europides

Helen - Europides

Heroicus - Philostratus

Iliad - Homer

Iliou Persis - Arctinus of Miletus

Iphigenia - Euripides

Iphigenia Among the Tauri - Euripides

Iphigenia in Aulis - Europides

Little Iliad - Lesches of Lesbos

Metamorphoses - Ovid

Nostoi - Agias of Troizen

Odyssey - Homer

Oedipodea - Cinaethon of Sparta

Oresteia (trilogy) - Aeschylus

Philoctetes — Sophocles

PostHomerica - Quintus Smyrnaeus

Telegony - Eugammon of Cyrene

Trojan Women — Euripides

Thebaid- Homer (?)

If any of this is incorrect lmk or if there's any other you know too

[gotstabbedbyapen]

Hyacinthus Iceberg Meme EXPLAIN (P4)

Part 1 ✿ Part 2 ✿ Part 3 ✿ Part 4 ✿ Part 5

It's time for me to answer your questions about this Hyacinthus iceberg meme. There is a lot to tackle, so I'll divide it into 5 parts for the sake of my sanity.

Quick disclaimer: I am NOT an expert in Greek mythology, just a fan of Hyacinthus who wants to learn about him and anyone related to him. Most of the things I'm about to discuss are just theories and speculations of a passerby on the Internet, so do not take them as valid facts!

The Hyacinthides (Hyacinthus' daughters)

People are yelling for answers, and I shall give them.

The Hyacinthus with four daughters sacrificed in Athens isn't Apollo's lover Hyacinthus. But the confusion is understandable because the "father" Hyacinthus is also from Lacedaemon.

"[...] the Athenians at first, in obedience to an ancient oracle, slaughtered the daughters of Hyacinthus, to wit, Antheis, Aegleis, Lytaea, and Orthaea, on the grave of Geraestus, the Cyclops; now Hyacinthuss, the father of the damsels, had come from Lacedaemon and dwelt in Athens." - Pseudo-Apollodorus, "Bibliotheca"

Another account claims that Hyacinthus (the father) killed his daughter on his own.

"Hyacinthus, a Spartan, killed Antheis his daughter according to an oracle on behalf of the Athenians." - Pseudo-Hyginus, "Fabulae"

When I first read these on Theoi.com, I thought that was that. There is another dude named Hyacinthus who lost his daughters to a human sacrifice (or sacrifice them himself). Cool!

But then I read Michael Pettersson's "Cults of Apollo at Sparta" book, and some of his analyses intrigued me.

According to Pausanias, there is an altar depicting Hyacinthus and Polyboea taken to the heavens by a parade of gods and goddesses. The Hyacinthus in this relic has a beard, which means he is a grown man by Spartan standard.

Pettersson explains the bearded Hyacinthus contrast the usual depiction of Apollo and Hyacinthus' myth because, in most versions, Hyacinthus is a youth. Pausanias also acknowledge this as he mentioned the depiction of youthful Hyacinthus.

So from there, Pettersson suggested that the young Hyacinthus and mature Hyacinthus (on the altar) should be two separated figures. I will disagree with him on this because in Pausanias' work, the altar of Hyacinthus was built under Apollo's statue, so bearded Hyacinthus has to be related to Apollo somehow, possibly still his lover.

"The pedestal of the statue [of Apollo] is fashioned into the shape of an altar and they say that Hyacinthus is buried in it, and at the Hyacinthia, before the sacrifice to Apollo, they devote offerings to Hyacinthus as to a hero into this altar through a bronze door, which is on the left of the altar." - Pausanias, "Description of Greece"

Pettersson also mentioned another version of the sacrifice of Hyacinthus' daughters. The Hyacinthides may have been the daughters of another man named Erechtheus. And Erechtheus and mature Hyacinthus may have connection with one another, though that is still up for debate.

Furthermore, Pettersson went as far as to say the mature Hyacinthus in Athens could have been the same as the Spartan Hyacinthus.

From there, he suggested that the scene of mature Hyacinthus and Polyboea on Pausanias' record isn't about a brother and sister because they might have a large generational gap (a bearded man and a virgin maiden)

And if we want by the conflation of both Hyacinthus figures, the scene of Hyacinthus and Polyboea could have been the scene of a father sacrificing his daughter.

So what does that mean?

From my non-expert opinion, Hyacinthus might have different depictions in ancient Greece, sometimes as a bearded man and others a young fellow (like how Dionysus is seen as a hairy guy and a flaming twink). As a bearded man, he has one or four daughters (the Hyacinthides), and his daughters were conflated with Erechtheus of Athens' daughters. I rule out the possibility of Polyboea being Hyacinthus' daughter because I think that is a bit of a stretch, but it's fun food for thought.

Hyacinthus and Hymenaeus

Like Hyacinthus and Erechtheus, Hyacinthus and Hymenaeus' conflation is... complicated.

If you remember part 1, I already talked about Hymenaeus as the Thessalian version of Hyacinthus. He is the son of Magnes of Magnesia and a lover of Apollo.

Another figure by the name of Hymenaeus is the god of wedding hymns and a son of Apollo and/or one of the Muses, presumably Clio.

Why did I mention Clio specifically?

Because if you remember part 1, I mentioned that one of Hyacinthus' parent is the Muse Clio and King Pierus!

These three figures (Spartan Hyacinthus, Thessalian Hyacinthus, and god Hymenaeus) all have similar parentage and some kind of relationship with Apollo.

Is this a coincidence or the result of century-long syncretism? We will never know - or, at least, not for now.

But pairing with the previous part about Hyacinthus and Erechtheus, we can see there are a handful of different depictions and counterparts of Hyacinthus outside of Sparta, so it's possible that he wasn't as obscure back in the day as many would have thought.

Hyacinthus is Persephone's male counter part

This is more of a personal headcanon than an actual discovery. I've talked about it before but there are a few things I want to add in.

First, quick run down on why Hyacinthus' death and Persephone's abduction share a few common traits:

They were Chthonic deities associated with vegetation. They were even theorized to be very ancient deities possibly outdating other partners (Hades and Apollo).

They were killed literally and figuratively by their partners. Hyacinthus was slain by a discus and Persephone was kidnapped to the Underworld.

(This is common knowledge at this point, I ain't gonna put snippets)

They represent a natural cycle. Persephone's journey to and from the Underworld brings the change of season. Hyacinthus' death and resurrection symbolizes flowers wilting under the summer heat but regrows again every year.

Now these might only be coincident and it would be a stretch to assume they are related.

But! There is another thing I've found that further convince me that Hyacinthus and Persephone could have been counterparts at some point.

Yeah, spending time in two worlds is no longer Persephone's trademark. And there's a post that analyze Hyacinthus' travel to Hyperborea that you can read for further insight.

Wikipedia said this theory came from Frederick M. Ahl's "Amber, Avallon, and Apollo's Singing Swan". I'm trying to find a PDF version of this book to confirm its legitimacy, so for know take this new knowledge with a grain of salt.

And now with the final note! This one is very interesting.

You guys remember that Demeter, Kore (Persephone), and Hades were also presence on Hyacinthus' tomb? There may be a reason as to why these three in particular were somehow connected to the Hyacinthia.

Basically, the girls in ancient Sparta would attend the Hyacinthia - a festival for a chthonic deity - like a ritual that transfer them from young girls to adult women. This tradition might have been "inspired" (for a lack of better words) by Persephone's myth, who was a maiden before the abduction and a woman after the abduction.

Pretty cool, huh?

Cult of Apollo - Hyakinthos

This is an actual research topic in the classical and archaeologist fields, and there are scholars written about it before. I won't talk much on this part because I really want you guys to check out the academic essays yourself, they are really worth the read!

Hyakinthos and Apollo of Amyklai: Identities and Cults A Reconsideration of the Written Evidence (Angeliki Petropoulou)

Hieromênia and sacrifice during the Hyakinthia (Angeliki Petropoulou)

A Companion to Greek Religion [pg 49, 212, 238] (Daniel Ogden)

Hyacinthus is a pre-Hellenic nature god

This is one of my favorite Hyacinthus theory, and it seems to be supported by scholars alike.

(Angeliki Petropoulou, "Hyakinthos and Apollo of Amyklai: Identities and Cults A Reconsideration of the Written Evidence")

But just how old is Hyacinthus' worship? Here are some theories:

(Michael Pettersson, "Cults of Apollo at Sparta")

In the section about Hyacinthus' death symbolizing the vegetation wilting, I already talked about how the myth of Apollo and Hyacinthus is an analogy for Apollo's worship taking over Hyacinthus'. You can check it out in Part 2!

The final days of the Hyacinthia festival???

So we all know what the Hyacinthia is by now, but not all of it. One of the biggest mystery of this festival is what was happening on the final days (some say that the Hyacinthia lasts for three days but others suggests it can be longer, up to nine or eleven days!)

But we can still have some guesses.

(Angeliki Petropoulou, "Hyakinthos and Apollo of Amyklai: Identities and Cults A Reconsideration of the Written Evidence")

(Hellenica World, "Hyacinthia")

I can't find many articles talking about the final days for the Hyacinthus, given that it's a mystery to both the ancient people and modern scholars. But if you do know something, I would love to hear to out!

TO BE CONTINUED

[lunarforager]

Who is Ares?

Welcome to another "Introduction to the Hellenic Gods" post! The next deity I'm going to be covering is Ares, as he's next alphabetically but also a deity that a lot of folks on here seem to work with.

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Ares is the name given to the ancient Greek god of war and courage.

While both Ares and Athena are considered "war gods" they rule over different aspects of war, with Ares being the god of the more brutal and violent aspects of war while Athena is the goddess of the strategy and battle tactics of war.

Ares' Roman equivalent is Mars.

---

There is no any birth myth attributed to Ares. All that is agreed upon is that his mother is the goddess Hera and his father is usually the god Zeus. The lack of records is most likely due to the fact that the Athenians were not fond of Ares and most surviving literture we have is Athenian in origin.

---

Unlike many other Hellenic gods, Ares didn't have different epithets that were worshipped.

---

Fun Fact! -> Ares and Aphrodite Areia were worshipped in tandem in Sparta as a duo, similar to how Mars Ultor (The Great Mars) and Venus Genetrix (Venus the Creator) were worshipped as a duo by the Romans. Ares and Aphrodite are frequently connected to one another, through children, affairs, and other stories.

---

Finally, I wanted to share my favourite stories and art pieces that mention or depict Ares.

The Iliad by Homer -> Ares was frequently talked about in writings of the Trojan War, often being painted in a negative light. In Book 5 of the Iliad, his own mother, Hera, even describes him as a "manic" with "no sense of justice".

Fabulae by Gaius Julius Hyginus -> Ares is known to be the father of Otrera, the first Queen of the Amazons, a group of female warriors that appeared in many epic poems including the Iliad.

Statue of Ares found in Hadrian's Villa -> This statue depicts either Ares or Hermes and was found in the home of the Roman emperor Hadrian.

---

Thank you all for taking the time to read this post! As I've said probably a million times already, I absolutely love sharing my knowledge of the Greeks and Romans with others and also love talking about out Hellenic deities. Feel free to reach out about which gods/goddesses you want to see next or if you simply just want to chat! I love making new friends :3

Valete, friends!

[thewhisperofzagreus]

Youths who were most handsome, who is called Hermaphroditus.

— Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 27.

[deathlessathanasia]

Kinda curious why did Theseus abandon Ariadne

Various reasons are given:

He was in love with someone else, a woman named Aigle: „she was abandoned by Theseus because he loved another woman: --Dreadful indeed was his passion for Aigle child of Panopeus.” This verse Peisistratus expunged from the poems of Hesiod, according to Hereas the Megarian, …” (Plutarch, Life of Theseus 20);

It was an accident and he came back after her: „He [Paeon the Amathusian] says that Theseus, driven out of his course by a storm to Cyprus, and having with him Ariadne, who was big with child and in sore sickness and distress from the tossing of the sea, set her on shore alone, but that he himself, while trying to succour the ship, was borne out to sea again. The women of the island, accordingly, took Ariadne into their care, and tried to comfort her in the discouragement caused by her loneliness, brought her forged letters purporting to have been written to her by Theseus, ministered to her aid during the pangs of travail, and gave her burial when she died before her child was born. Paeon says further that Theseus came back, and was greatly afflicted, and left a sum of money with the people of the island, enjoining them to sacrifice to Ariadne, and caused two little statuettes to be set up in her honor, one of silver, and one of bronze.” ((Plutarch, Life of Theseus 20);

He didn't abandon her, Dionysos simply took her from him: „[Theseus] carried off Ariadne from Crete and sailed out unobserved during the night, after which he put in at the island which at that time was called Dia, but is now called Naxos. At this same time, the myths relate, Dionysos showed himself on the island, and because of the beauty of Ariadne he took the maiden away from Theseus …” (Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4.61.5); „And by night [Theseus] arrived with Ariadne and the children at Naxos. There Dionysus fell in love with Ariadne and carried her off; … In his grief on account of Ariadne, Theseus forgot to spread white sails on his ship when he stood for port; and Aegeus, seeing from the acropolis the ship with a black sail, supposed that Theseus had perished; so he cast himself down and died.” (Apollodorus, Epitome);

He abandoned her because Dionysos threatened him into doing so: „Theseus, seeing in a dream Dionysos threatening him if he would not forsake Ariadne in favour of the god, left her behind him there [on Naxos] in his fear and sailed away.” (Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 5.51.4); „That Theseus treated Ariadne unjustly--though some say not with unjust intent, but under the compulsion of Dionysos--when he abandoned her while asleep on the island of Dia” (Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 1.15);

He abandoned her because he feared disapproval if he were to bring her to Athens: „Theseus, detained by a storm on the island of Dia, thought it would be a reproach to him if he brought Ariadne to Athens, and so he left her asleep on the island of Dia.” (Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 43);

Alternatively, he didn't abandon her at all, but she was killed by Artemis apparently as a favor for Dionysos, in which case she was probably already the consort of the god when she got involved with Theseus: „Ariadne, that daughter of subtle Minos whom Theseus bore off from Crete towards the hill of sacred Athens; yet he had no joy of her, since, before that could be, she was slain by Artemis in the isle of Dia because of the witness of Dionysos.” (Homer, Odyssey 11.320).

[littlesparklight]

If you're like me and sometimes gets strange ideas into your head and want to make little lists, here's the (maybe not exhaustive?) list of the mortal daughters of the gods:

Poseidon Eirene (daughter of Melantheia, daughter of Alpheios) - Plutarch, Quaestiones Graecae 19 Aithousa (daughter of Alkyone) - Bibliotheke 3.110, Pausanias 9.20.1 Evadne (daughter of Pitane) - Pindar, Olympian 6 Lamia - Pausanias, Description, 10. 12. 2

Zeus Helen (daughter of Leda) - lots of sources [Hierophile (daughter of Lamia) - Pausanias, Description 10.12.1 Keroessa (daughter of Io) - several post-0 sources] -I've put both Hierophile and Keroessa within square brackets because I'm half discounting them. Keroessa more so, considering her very late sources. Helen as Zeus' (only) mortal daughter has more relevance and is more weighted, I think, even if more than one source mentions Zeus' love of Lamia. Of course, one could keep that and discount Hierophile herself as a daughter of Zeus.

Apollo Hilaeira and Phoibe (otherwise daughters of Leukippus) - Kypria, via Pausanias, 3. 16. 1 Eriopis (daughter of Arsinoe, daughter of Leukippus) - Ehoiai 63; Scholia ad Pindar, Pythian Ode 3.14 Melite (otherwise daughter of Myrmex) - Harpocration, possibly Hesiod Parthenos (daughter of Chrysothemis) - Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 25 Phemonoe - Pliny the Elder [Eurynome (daughter of Iphthius and mother of Adrastus)??? Pamphile???] -The square brackets here are because Wikipedia only listed sources to myth compendiums of 1800-1900's, and so I have no idea what actual ancient sources make these women daughters of Apollo. (The Leukippides are most usually daughters of Leukippos, but I've included them here for completeness' sake.)

Ares Alkippe (daughter of Agraulos) - Bibliotheke 3.180 Amazons in general/unknown number of general Amazons - Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 2.989 Hippolyte, Antiope, Penthesilea[, Melanippe] (daughters of Otrera) - Bibliotheke 2.98+Epitome5.1, Hyginus, Fabulae 30, 112, 223, 241, Aethiopis Thrassa (daughter of Tereine, daughter of Strymon) - Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 21

Dionysos Deianira (daughter of Althaia) - Bibliotheke, 1.64, Hyginus Fabulae 129

I rather expected Ares and Apollo to be at the top of this list. Ares in particular, even if we have only a small number of individual Amazons named as his daughters by a specific woman. But Apollonius' Argonautica is pretty clear and he must absolutely in general have fathered more than just a handful of daughters especially in the beginning, to "make" any Amazons worthy of a name as a people at all. I was surprised at the number of daughters Poseidon could have, honestly! Didn't expect that. But as we can see, the number of women here is very low - the absolute vast majority of demigods are sons, not daughters.

[gunsandspaceships]

Prometheus's Heart

In most interpretations of the myth of Prometheus, we find a version that the titan chained to a rock had his liver pecked at every day by an eagle or vulture.

For a time it was actually believed that the liver was the seat of life and pleasure in the body. Thus the bird torturing Prometheus flew in every day to take away his very life and the desire for it. But the immortal titan could not die and continued to suffer for centuries or even millennia.

There is one issue with ancient sources - some of them talk not about the liver, but about the heart. One of the earliest works of art depicting Prometheus shows the eagle pecking at his chest, rather than his abdomen, where the liver is located.

Gaius Julius Hyginus (64 BC – AD 17) in his work "Fabulae" also mentions the heart, not the liver.

Fabulae 31 "The shining eagle which was eating out the heart of Prometheus he [Herakles] killed with his arrows."

Fabulae 144 "Because of this, Mercurius [Hermes], at Jove's [Zeus'] command ... set an eagle to eat out his heart; as much as it devoured in the day, so much grew again at night..."

There is an explanation for this confusion: in ancient times, the liver and heart competed for the title of the most vital organ in the body. Some people believed that the center of life was in the liver, while others believed that it was in the heart. Sometimes one of them would gain a temporary victory. Before Galen (129–216 BC), who insisted that the liver was the most vital organ, Aristotle (384–322 BC) considered the heart to be the center of life in the body. It was already established in their times that the heart "generated the innate heat of the body" (Findlen P. "A History of the Heart").

The myth of Prometheus was not born in the time of Galen though. This was much earlier, when people knew little about the liver, but could hear and feel the heart in their chest. The heartbeat and warmth were present while the person was alive and disappeared when the person died.

"The word “liver,” or “hepar” in Greek, was often substituted for “heart” in ancient Greek poetry. For example, the phrase “hit in the liver” is comparable to the modern phrase “struck in the heart,” meaning to mortally wound someone". ("Understanding The Liver - A History" Chen).

The beaks of shrapnel that pecked at Prometheus' heart every day:

The Arc Reactor - "The source of heat and life" from "Eternal Atomic Fire" running Prometheus' heart:

[brother-emperors]

When Philoctetes, son of Poeas and Demonassa, was on the island of Lemnos, a snake struck his foot. Juno had sent it, angry with him because he alone rather than the others had dared to build the funeral pyre of Hercules when his human body was consumed and he was raised to immortality.

Hyginus, Fabulae, 102

the repeating cycles of it all, and also the. the everything about Sophokles' Philoctetes. wounds. abandonment. the fucking isolation and misery of it all.

Introduction to Sophocles' Philoctetes, Diskin Clay, trans. Carl Phillips

and this too, from a conversation between Philoctetes and Neoptolemos

Sophocles' Philoctetes, trans. Carl Phillips

society6 | ko-fi | twitter (pillowfort, cohost) | deviantart

[s-c-r-ee-ch]

Battle of the Gods against the Titans

From A Popular History of Greece (1887)

[Upon Juno's encouragement]: "When they (Titans) tried to mount heaven, Jove with the help of Minerva, Apollo, and Diana, cast them headlong into Tartarus. On Atlas, who had been their leader, he put the vault of the sky; even now he is said to hold up the sky on his shoulders.". — Hyginus, Fabulae 150

[my-name-is-apollo]

Hello! Apollo is one of my favourite gods and I'd love to learn more about him. Do you have any recommendations/ idea on how I can do that? I don't really have any idea what the accurate sources and what things to read to just get into Greek myths in general. So yeah! Please recommend if you can like a beginner (accurate) guide to the Greek myths (with a focus on Apollo)

Homeric hymn to Apollo, Callimachus Hymn to Apollo are good starting points. Apollo also plays an important role in the Iliad (you can find translations online for free). If you're into plays, I'd recommend Alcestis by Euripides, The Oresteia (a trilogy) by Aeschylus. Apollodorus' Bibliotheca and Hyginus' Fabulae are like encyclopaedia where the authors have written various myths/versions of myths about many gods and mortals so if you are interested in the greek myths in general, those are works you might find useful.

[literallyjusttoa]

Ok I have just been scrolling on your blog for like ages now and I just wanna say that I find your greek mythology rants literally so interesting bc a) they are so informative and when reading them it's obvious your dedicated abt it and b) I just love the way you write??? There's so much passion and it makes reading all your posts so interesting. I just love the info dumps especially bc I really want to know more abt greek mythology but I just don't have the time + have no idea where to start finding this information.

Plus I just really really love your art. It's so adorable?? I love your style and the way you draw your characters I just want to bundle them all up and never let go like I am literally etching every last bit into my brain.

Anyways I hope this doesn't seem like weird ☀️

These are like the kindest compliments, thank you!!!!

I'm so glad my passion for mythology comes through in my writing bc I do care so much about greek mythology and like mythology in general, if I thought I could make it in academia I would totally get a job in mythology research it is one of my favorite things. AND! I have a couple of resources I would totally recommend for a good place to start researching!

Theoi.com: oml this is such a phenomenally good resource for greek mythology. It has a whole bunch of different information and all of it is linked back to it's original source from antiquity. I will say that the writing on the website can be a bit dense, but it's not horrible and I could not recommend this site enough as a source for information.

If you have the money to buy a book I would recommend getting a copy of the Apollodorus' Library. This is a collection of mythography (It's like a mythological dictionary) that is thought to have been written around 2nd century BC. So, two plusses. 1. It's a primary source. 2. It has a lot of myths in a small package. Obviously, the original book is in ancient greek, which I sadly have not learned to read, but there are a lot of really good translations in english that are readily available. The one I have was translated by R. Scott Smith and Stephan M. Trzaskoma, and it's really cool because it also has the translated Hyginus' Fabulae, which is also mythography but this time it's roman. So like, two in one go! Woop woop!

After these two resources, I would recommend going trying to find resources that go more in depth on whatever myth catches your eye. Of course, that could be anything, so I can't really offer up a certain book or website for that, but I can give a couple of tips I use when looking into potential sources of information!

Primary resources!!! Always look for primary resources!! These are the sources that are actually from ancient greece, and have little to no additions from an author. I know these sources are usually more dense and harder to get through, but I think it's good to have an understanding of the original myth before you start looking at other people's interpretations of that myth, just so you don't get their thoughts confused with the actual original text. If you're having trouble figuring out if a book or site is a good primary research, search it up and look for reviews! Usually there's at least a couple people talking about how good the source is academic-wise.

I would always encourage researching ancient greek and roman history alongside researching mythology. These myths did not exist in a vacuum, and a lot of the time certain myths and stories are the direct result of the culture and politics of the era. I think the connections between greek mythology and history give you a greater understanding of both topics, and is always a good step!

(Also just my bias showing, but greek art history!!! is so good!!! and tells you so much about the culture!!! and then roman art history is also great!!! Because you get to see how the artists of rome used the cultural and artistic values of greece to create meaning and influence the people!! Like, Octavian purposefully had himself sculpted in a hellenistic style so that people would be less worried about him ruling from such a young age?? That's so interesting!!! I love art history!!!!)

I will say a lot of this does take a lot of time (I only really have time to research now bc it's summer so i'm not in college ;-;) but I really think it's such an interesting field, as you can probably tell by how long this was.