#its the way apollo parallels both zeus and kronos in a way

[kalkiesoo]

olympus has never been apollo's home no matter how much time he spent on it. he seeks out his home amongst the demigods and mortals that aid him in truly seeing himself.

(in the same way, othrys has never been zeus' home no matter how much time he spent on it. he seeks out his home amongst siblings he longs to know and the nymphs that raise him.)

apollo spent years serving zeus as king and plotted a revolution at his feet.

(zeus spent years serving kronos as king and plotted a revolution at his feet.)

zeus, with the help of poseidon, hades, hera, demeter and hestia, overthrew kronos and became king of the gods.

(apollo, with the help of poseidon, athena, hera failed to overthrow zeus and was punished and temporarily turned into a mortal.)

[crazylittlejester]

Saw the post about the Chain and their god domains and my greek mythos obsessed brain got scritched so here is the Chain as Greek gods/mythos:

Time: The old man gave me such a hard time. absolutely going insane over him. He’s Hades. being one of the big three (this fucker split the timeline (almost like how the underworld is split)). Ive never finished MM or OoT but i believe the lore is that all the masks are possessed to put it simply, thus the spirits granting link his power, making Time a maestro of the dead. Many interpretations of hades also depict him as cunning, a trickster, while also being stern, much like our resident little shit (affectionate). Hermes was a big contender here for that reason.

Sky: This was a toss up but im gonna have to say Zeus honestly, mister Godslayer himself. less of a connection between their personalities honestly and more just focusing on their similar dynamics, skills, and symbolism. Obviously we have our favorite lightning motif, plus the position of leadership they both share - in the sense that zeus is more or less the leader of the gods and sky being the ‘leader’ so to speak of the timeline. Plus the parallels between demise and kronos, and zeus/sky’s respective roles there. It was between the big man or persephone.

Twilight: Artemis!! Our very literal leader of the pack. Goddess of the hunt, patron of animals, domain over the moon (cough twilight cough). Though, Demeter and hestia were fighting me here, the fursona won over the country bumpkin sadge.

Warriors: You are Athena! badass in the arena! /ref. Honestly, i feel like i should be assigning them their ‘obvious’ gods and then give them one that attaches to them more symbolically. Yes, everyone’s favorite captain is THE captain goddess. Cunning, strategist, warhead, intelligent, and alot of people forget that Athena is both charismatic and incredibly physically beautiful, in most adaptations. she was in the lineup for paris and guided the trojan war. I forget who it was on here that is a big “wars = helen of troy” truther but theyre absolutely so correct.

Legend: Also a tricky toss up, but i ultimately landed on apollo. Apollo’s known for being a sort of jack of all trades god, between his dominion over the sun, medicine, music, archery, and more. With the vet’s all encompassing experience, with his multitude of instruments and proficiencies in different magical items it made sense. Me, personally, I loved the stories of apollos shape-shifting mortal ventures more than say zeus or any of the other gods. Also, depending on your characterization of the vet, their supposed personalities line up quite well, with apollo being charming and somewhat arrogant/snarky with others

Hyrule: This feels left-field but rulie gets to be Persephone! Adept with magic, goddess of fertility and the harvest and just general growth (of nature), with the double edge of being the queen of the underworld. Ugh im so obsessed with downfall duo rulie is so tragic. left with a desolate wasteland, yet (depending on characterization) ushering in and doing his damndest to nurture life and growth. I love the headcanons where rulie is a survivalist through and through, proficiencies in botany and herbology, respect for the land and its inhabitants. 

Wild: Demeter! Wild is of the land, they are one and the same. The way his world is absolutely teeming with life, and the way he is molded to adapt and live with the land to complete his adventure,,, ugh its too good. He is the most in tune with the wolves, the bees, the cows, the reeds, the flowers, the dragons, the spirits, they ARE him. he woke up with NOTHING, except a vast land full to bursting with life and lessons. 

Four: Hephaestus, obviously. dont get me wrong, I love four so much, but anything else felt blasphemous (The way i could write essays about it—). He is the god of blacksmithing, if i assigned him anything else i fear he may just manage to kill me. 

Wind: Notos! God of the east Wind, known for the bringing of summer, cyclones, and warmth. love that funky little whirlwind hes so fun and spunky. being a god of wind was so on the nose it was too good. I didnt ever consider poseidon, winds too squishy and fluid for that. this kid is bouncing around like a cat 5 hurricane he is the wind, he is free (to cause chaos).

Ugh i love yapping about the mythologies. i may do this again except with minor gods/demigods (i will get back to that legend-achilles parallel i swear). I hope this was amusing to you

OKAY OKAY GO OFF!!!!

(I’m a huge Wars = Helen of Troy truther, I ain’t the only one, but I’ve yapped about it a lot akdkkdk)

you absolutely ate this up on my god i agree i agree i agree i agree. LEGEND AND ACHILLES?? SIGN ME THE FUCK UP IF YOU EVER FEEL LIKE YAPPIN ABOUT THAT THE FLOOR IS YOURS AND THE ASK BOX IS OPEN ID LOVE TO HEAR IT

[littlesparklight]

Some thoughts about the three different prophecies that tell of potential downfall of a divine father by his son(s), and the effects of these. What we have to keep in mind first, of course (because patriarchy), is that any daughters aren’t in the running for the cosmic throne. They can help their brothers, and thus be real threats, but they can’t take the crown themselves. This is just what we have to work with and accept for these prophecies to make sense from what the characters choose to do in response to them.

So, first you’ve got Kronos:

“[...] that no other of the proud sons of Ouranos should hold the kingly office amongst the deathless gods. For he learned from Gaia and starry Ouranos that he was destined to be overcome by his own son,” (Theogony)

I always thought it kind of strange that Kronos then ate his daughters, since they can’t, by the very structure of the prophecy, be a direct threat. But they can assist their brothers. Even if Kronos hadn’t swallowed them and even treated them exemplary, there’s no guarantee they wouldn’t have been appalled at their baby brothers being swallowed, and/or sided with Rhea. So down they go. Another point is here also that it’s his own son - the mother doesn’t matter. Of course, the simple solution of not having sex with her at all is clearly impossible, so he persists...

And his solution is something no one else has done before. Even his father “only” imprisoned the older siblings, which Kronos could have done himself. But he knows his children could be released from Tartaros, so instead he chooses an action that, by its very intent, hopefully will nullify any offspring. If we consider that these gods are Deathless, and very, very hard to meaningfully kill, this might be one of the methods by which it can actually be achieved, but even that is clearly not simple or quick, since they end up rescued.

Next is 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.” (Theogony, Hesiod - another translation uses “overmastering” instead of “overbearing”)

With Metis first. Here, the point isn’t the father (aside from that the daughter born of Metis will match her father in strength and wisdom). Rather it’s Metis herself, presumably regardless of whoever the father is, who will bring a son who will be powerful and apparently bad ruler. Zeus chooses to mimic his father, but compared to Kronos, and possibly because Zeus knows what Kronos did, he does it better than his father did. Metis does not escape (I’d go with that he sort of absorbs her, in some way). Athena, of course, survives to be born, perhaps because Metis ensures her survival (a more metaphorical armour given her, if you will).

Zeus couldn’t have chosen to just not have sex with Metis and leave her, before any children at all, or after Athena was born. Metis’ first son will spell terrible things for his own rule and reasonably everyone else too. She could willingly refrain from sex, of course (and might even have been willing to!), but we all know that doesn’t necessarily guarantee she might not have ended up having said son anyway. (For me in my fics, I also leaned on the fact that Zeus is young in this instance, they have just won a ten year war that would’ve ended terribly if the new Olympians had lost, and here is immediately a threat that promises more of the same - he just lashes out, no real thought to it compared to Kronos.)

Obviously, this is still a terrible thing to do (especially because/if Zeus does it more effectively than Kronos did), but at least Metis can defend herself as it happens, compared to defenseless babies.

“For in their midst wise-counselled Themis told that it was ruled of fate that the sea-goddess should bring forth a son, of strength mightier than his father, whose hand should launch a shaft more powerful than the bolt of thunder or the fearsome trident, if she wed with Zeus or with his brothers.” (Isthmian Ode 8, Pindar)

Then there is Thetis. This time, it’s not just one or the other parent that matters; both of them do. Thetis specifically carries the same potential as Metis does, but it also relies on the strength of the father - the logical solution can for once be followed. Both Zeus and Poseidon refrain from having sex with her. But, it can’t just be left at that. Thetis could have sex (willing or unwilling) with someone, or marry someone, who could still produce a son strong enough to be stronger than Zeus. So, to ensure that doesn’t happen, Thetis can’t be left alone to her own devices; the man who will produce this one son with Thetis must be someone guaranteed not to be stronger than the gods in general, or the three sons of Kronos in particular.

Hence, she has to marry a mortal.

I do really like the detail that Thetis rejects Zeus specifically because Hera is her foster mother, but that can easily exist parallel to the prophecy and as soon as Zeus finds out about it, saddling Thetis with a mortal becomes not just a solution to a personal insult, but cosmically important. On the other hand, Thetis is still a goddess nymph, so she gets as noble a mortal as can be found.

Some brief extra discussion of Zeus and Athena under the cut:

Going back to Athena and Zeus here at the end, you could be exceedingly cynical and say Zeus deliberately made her a “favourite” to ensure she is kept as docile as possible and has no reason to make any threatening noise.

I don’t accept this, because firstly, Zeus has no reason to. Athena alone isn’t a cosmic threat, (accepting that only a male can hold the throne) no matter that she is as strong and wise as he is. She would only be a potential threat if her little brother of Metis had been born. He never is. Zeus has made sure of it, and while Athena very pointedly joins Hera in her uprising against Zeus, it certainly doesn’t succeed (and I wouldn’t expect it to necessarily succeed if she’d attach herself to one of her brothers, since the point is very much Metis’ son).

Athena as (one of, with Apollo as the other) Zeus’ favourite is definitely meant to be genuine, with no backhanded reasons behind it.