#kolkhis

[pavrepekala]

Peroni ğampepeşen qini dobadonapeşa, skaniş k̆elen na iqoropen mu renna mteli ak renan amseri qoroperi çkimi.

Renkli boyalardan soğuk ülkelere kadar, senin tarafından sevilen ne varsa hepsi bu gece burada sevgilim.

[who-canceled-roger-rabbit]

Someone needs to draw Jason of Iolkos wearing this

[amostcuriousmythicist]

He [Diomedes] shall have slain the Drakon (Dragon) that harried the Phaiakians (Phaeacians)." [I.e. The Drakon of Kolkhis (Colchis) had arrived in Phaiakia (Phaeacia) in its pursuit of the Argonauts and the stolen fleece.]

Lycophron, Alexandra 631 (3rd BC)

[kaenove]

Affedersiniz, şarap bardağına sapından tutunamayanlar. Ruhumdaki ajan 21 gram, ayıklamayanlar faravahar. Gecenin vaftiz oğlu bize bizden haberleri sunar. Kavmim kolkhis. Yok, havadis zehr-i pilsen mayalayanlardan.

[nimblermortal]

One day someone is going to point out to Mildmay that the reason he repeats You can’t fix stupid to himself as a mantra is that Kolkhis knew how smart he was and was terrified of it and did everything she could to keep him from finding out.

[orsialos]

15 Days of Deity Devotion: ARES

Day 3: Symbols & Attributes

Ares has a few really interesting symbols that speak to the more nuanced parts of his domains, in particular the woodpecker and his shrine Guardians, who feature heavily in the mythologies of Cadmus and Jason. While he has the typical symbols you'd associate with a war deity, I am in particular interested in his associations with snakes as they were often seen as aprotopaic in antiquity.

Estate & Attributes

Chariot with gold reins drawn by four fire breathing horses

Bronze-tipped Spear (his typical weapon)

Golden armor & shield, usually with a serpent design

Shrine Guardians - Drakon at his sacred Grove in Thebes and another in Kolkhis

The Spartoi (fully grown warriors who came from the teeth of the Drakon that was slain by Cadmus and buried in the soil)

Sacred Animals & Guardians

Barn Owl & Eagle Owl (note these are different from the owl sacred to Athena). The owls represented ill omens and were considered a warning sign of war and sedition

Woodpecker - considered a good omen and sign of good fortune, especially when related to a hunt or feast

Vulture - another bird of ill omen as it was often associated with the dead left behind after a battle

"Zeus loathed them [the giants Agrios and Oreios] and sent Hermes to punish them . . . But Ares, since the family of Polyphonte [mother of the giants] descended from him, snatched her sons from this fate. With the help of Hermes he changed them into birds. Polyphonte became a small owl whose voice is heard at night. She does not eat or drink and keeps her head turned down and the tips of her feet turned up. She is a portent of war and sedition for mankind. Oreios became an eagle owl, a bird that presages little good to anyone when it appears. Argios was changed into a vulture, the bird most detested by gods and men. These gods gave him an utter craving for human flesh and blood. Their female servant was changed into a woodpecker. As she was changing her shape she prayed to the gods not to become a bird evil for mankind. Hermes and Ares heard her prayer because she had by necessity done what her masters had ordered. This a bird of good omen for someone going hunting or to feasts."

Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 21 (trans. Celoria) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.)

Poisonous serpent (he was the father of the Drakon of Thebes that was slain by Cadmus)

and just as a personal side note, I think it's so interesting that the woodpecker is one of the "positive" symbols of Ares. While we know his mythology paints the war god as more than just chaotic and evil and wanting to cause suffering, we don't see that in his attributes and symbols very much. Part of me wonders how much of this is due to his small cult presence, and how much is due to lost knowledge through the ages.

[upyrica]

So many of the Theoi h hold keys to some part of the cosmos. what are your insights on g Hecate's keys are unique?

Well, the reference to her keys was a quote; it is not the keys that are unique, necessarily, - those, if anything, merely exist, - but the goddess herself.

That said, it was certainly, ah, interesting to learn that the one Hellenic divinity I am most drawn to has direct ties to the Northern shores of the Black Sea, beyond the normal presence of Greek colonies:

"We are told that Helios had two sons, Aeetes and Perses, Aeetes being the king of Kolkhis and the other king of the Tauric Chersonese, and that both of them were exceedingly cruel. And Perses had a daughter Hekate, who surpassed her father in boldness and lawlessness."

[sadoeuphemist]

Hey, what do you think about Medea? I know people portray her as a cruel witch but I think she never had someone besides her than her aunt; Circe. She really deserved to be happy, right?

This is the story of the wicked villain’s daughter who whispers in the hero’s ear and teaches him how to overcome every trial. Through her magic she transmutes the most insurmountable labor into triviality, she foils the villain’s pursuit so that her father cannot catch them in their flight.

(she chops her brother into pieces and casts the pieces to the sea, so that her father’s fleet must be hindered dredging up every bloody portion so that their king might bury his son)

She is wise, and she is good, and she is wonderful, filled with wonders, and the story never thinks to ask:

Why, with all her knowledge and her power, in all the years before the hero came, did she do nothing to curb her father’s wickedness?

---

When Medea excoriates Jason for his betrayal, he snaps back in retort:

“You exaggerate your favors,” he sneers. “Should I thank you? Did you act purposefully? Or was it not the shafts of Eros, as Aphrodite willed, that compelled you to save my life?”  

---

Medea loves her children dearly, and she kills them, and in that she is beyond compulsion.

---

We might ask instead what purpose Jason served in the story, if Medea and the Argonauts accomplished all his feats for him. Did Jason on his own slaughter the six-armed Gegenees? Did he know how to withstand the fiery breath of the Kolkhis Bulls? Did he know the dangers of sowing the dragon’s teeth, how to lull the sleepless dragon into sleep?

Could he have outplayed the sirens, killed the bronze man Talos on his own initiative?

What was the point of him, then?

(the answer is: it was his story)

---

When Medea returns to her home of Colchis many years later, after all the unpleasantness with Jason is well and done, she discovers her tyrannical father has been overthrown by his brother Perses, the new king.

Unfortunately for her, this is no happy ending. Perses hopes to purge her father’s bloodline and eliminate all other claimants to the throne.

So, she kills him.

(she is good at that, killing family)

It was said that when the Golden Fleece was removed from Colchis, so too would the king be removed from his throne. Medea returns, years later, and kills her uncle and restores her father to the throne, and the old wrong is finally set right.

.

The dead are all still dead, of course.

---

After Medea kills her brother, the gods demand she must be cleansed.

The Argo sails through storm and hellish steam and darkness, and finally docks at Circe’s island. Circe slits the throat of a piglet, stains their hands with its blood. The hearth fires blaze bright, and many cakes are brought out to be burnt as offerings to Zeus.

“There,” Circe says afterwards. “All done.”

Medea sits next to her on the polished chairs, looking at the thin dark line of pig’s blood still beneath her fingernails. “I don’t know that I can ever be cleansed of this.”

Her aunt smirks. “Too bad,” she says. “Ceremony’s over. You are.”

“I just -” she says, and looks towards the Argo where Jason is waiting, and feels her throat close up with emotion. “I feel like I’m going insane. I don’t know what I’ve done. I feel like I would do anything for him.” 

“The only morality in the world is love,” Circe says. “Everything else is mere ambition. Falling headlong into someone else’s story, and selfishly living out your own.”

“I helped kill him,” Medea says. “I killed my brother.”

“He was hunting you down. They would have killed you both, if they caught you.” Circe looks meditatively into the fire. “The gods have done worse, for worse reasons. Zeus, the Cleanser of Sins, once tried to devour his own daughter.”

They are silent for a time. The fire crackles cozily, and the burnt fragrance of cake hangs in the air. “I don’t deserve any of this,” Medea says.

“Ah, that’s the cruelty of it.” Circe sighs. “You are part mortal and part divine, a truth unto yourself, consequence unmoored from judgement.” She lays a hand over Medea’s. “You don’t deserve a damn thing.”

---

When Medea kills her children, she weeps.

(but she has wept before, and gone on to do more wickedness, and so tears are neither salve nor salvation)

After her children are dead, Helios sends down a golden chariot from the heavens to carry her away, to carry away with her the bodies of her children, so that she might bury them with her own two hands in Hera’s sacred grove, safe from any further indignity or harm.

(as a sign from the gods, this might be taken as approval)

---

This is how Medea’s story goes: Time passes and wounds slowly heal. She falls in love again, and has another child. She falls into old habits and once again tries to kill her lover’s son, but this time is unsuccessful. She is forced to flee, and at last returns to her father’s kingdom. She kills her uncle. More kinblood is shed.

Her son Medus grows up to take the throne, and he is so renowned in conquest that the Aryans rename themselves the Medes, in his and his mother’s name.

He is her darling son. She loves him dearly.  

.

This is a happy ending, perhaps.

[soritadeste]

The Goddess Hekate & the God Helios

This is an extract from the chapter “From the Three-Ways” in the book Hekate Liminal Rites by the authors Sorita d’Este and David Rankine, published by Avalonia in 2009. 

Helios was also associated with Hekate in various tales. With Hekate, Helios was the only other god to be aware of Persephone’s abduction in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. The two were also inked in a hymn fragment from the lost fifth century BCE play The Root-Cutters, by the Greek tragedian Sophocles:

O Lord Helios and Sacred Fire The spear of Hekate of the Crossroads Which she bears as she travels Olympus And dwells in the triple ways of the holy land She who is crowned with oak-leaves And the coils of wild serpents. [1]

Helios was the most commonly invoked god in the Greek Magical Papyri (sometimes syncretised with Apollo), as Hekate was the most commonly invoked goddess. Helios and Hekate are also both given in different sources as the parents to the sorceresses Circe and Medea, though not at the same time. In one account Helios was the grandfather of Hekate, who was the mother of the two sorceresses:

“We are told that Helios had two sons, Aeetes and Perses, Aeetes being the king of Kolkhis and the other king of the Tauric Khersonese, … Perses had a daughter Hekate … she married Aeetes and bore two daughters, Circe and Medea, and a son Aigialeus.”[2]

When Medea swears her oath in the Argonautica she also links Helios and Hekate:

“I swear by Helios’ sacred light and by the secret rites of Perses’ night-wandering daughter [Hekate].”[3]

[1] The Root-Cutters, Sophocles, C5th BCE, trans. Z. Yardley.

[2] Library of History, Diodorus Siculus, C1st BCE, trans. Oldfather.

[3] Argonautica 4.1018, Apollonius Rhodius, C3rd CE, trans. R.C. Seaton.

Further reading: Hekate Liminal Rites, Sorita d’Este & David Rankine (Avalonia, 2009) Hekate Her Sacred Fires, various contributors, edited by Sorita d’Este (Avalonia, 2010)

[caysevmeyenhamsi]

Kolkhis vallahi bıktım ne bitmez bi bitirme tezisin beni bitirdin.

[nehetisingsforhekate]

Epithets: Geneteira

Mother, can also mean Motherland, or Daughter

We come across this epithet in relation to Aphrodite, particularly in the Roman era. It is only one of many epithets that suggest a connection between the Golden Beauty and motherhood. This makes sense as love and sex generally serve as precursors to the role. Geneteira is also one of the more common epithets for Artemis, most likely related to Her position as a Goddess of Childbirth.

Like Artemis, Hekate is associated with childbirth, and the two Goddesses are often conflated both in the modern age and by the ancients. However, Hekate is also a mother in Her own right in several different stories. There are several scholars who believe, in fact, that Hekate is Potnia Theron, the Lady of the Wild Beasts, and a Great Mother Goddess in ancient Anatolia. She is described in the Argonautika as the mother of Skylla. Diodorus gives us a Hekate who is married to the king of Kolkhis, Aeetes, mother of Kirke, Medea and Aigialeus.

There are several other epithets that seem to relate closely with Geneteira in Hekate’s corpus of titles and stories. She is Pammetor, Mother of All. She is one of the Eileithyiai, the Goddesses of Childbirth.

In late antiquity, the title remains associated with Her to some degree, as we find it in the PGM(IV 2785-2890). The prayer there is listed as being directed at Selene, but the description of the Goddess therein bears all the traits of Hekate as well as invoking Her by name. She is called the Mother of Gods and Men, as well as Mother of All.

In the Christian Era, Sophia, too, is Geneteira, often paired with the epithets Agape (love), Aletheia (truth), and Syzygos (Consort). This seems to be primarily a survival of the imagery of the Goddesses of the ancient world.

Communing with Hekate Geneteira for the last week has been very comforting. The energy around Her is a comforting blanket for me, and I really needed that!

Thanks to Hekate Geneteira, For the Mother love Which She lays about my shoulders, A comfort.

Sources:

Lsj.translatum.gr theoi.com

Betz, Hans Dieter. The Greek Magical Papyri in translation, including the Demotic Spells, Vol.1, Univ. Chicago, 1996.

Good, Deirdre Joy. Reconstructing the Tradition of Sophia in Gnostic Literature, Scholars, 1987.

-----------------------. “Sophia as Mother and Consort: Eugnostos the Blessed and the Sophia of Jesus Christ,” dissertation, Harvard, 1984.

Graninger, Charles Denver. “The Regional Cults of Thessaly,” dissertation, Cornell, 2005.

Moon, Beveryly. “Aphrodite, Ancestor of Kings,” in Goddesses who Rule, edited by Beverly Ann Moon and Elisabeth Anne Benard, Oxford, 2000.

Wallensten, Jenny, “Greek Responses to the Idea of Aphrodite,” in Brill’s Companion to Aphrodite, edited by Amy Smith and Sadie Pickup, Brill, 2010.

Images:

Cassatt, Mary. “Mother About to Wash Her Sleepy Child,” 1880, oil on canvas, now in the LACMA. Via wikicommons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mary_Cassatt_-_Mother_About_to_Wash_Her_Sleepy_Child_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

Sorolla, Joaquin. “Madre,” 1895, painting, now in the Sorolla Museum. Via wikicommons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joaqu%C3%ADn_Sorolla_y_Bastida_-_Mother_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

[pavrepekala]

Xvaloba do umitelobaşi dobadona skindura noğapek mtviriş tude eǯažinan irdros, var it̆ibunan.

Yalnızlığın ve kimsesizliğin ülkesi çadır kentler her mevsim kar altında durur, ısınmaz.

[who-canceled-roger-rabbit]

In my urban fantasy 'verse, I am going to establish that the "foo fighters" of World War II were actually Medea and her dragons, fighting for Kolkhis (in present-day Georgia, which was part of the USSR at the time) against the Axis

[cultureisdarkbeer]

The Honeymoon by @peacenik0 and @cultureisdarkbeer

Ch. 150 of Rooted in Friendship

Can be read as separate fic READ HERE

With only a short time left until they reached their destination, Mulder stared out the window of the flying metal tube with wings as it hovered over where the ocean met the sky. The flowing dense layer of sheeted clouds below prevented him from seeing most of the topography, but every so often, in a clearing, he caught a glimpse of the hazy pink band that separated the delicate hues of midnight blues. 

Having flown so often over the years, Mulder and Scully had become strangely accustomed to being squashed like sardines in the tight confines of the airplane cabin. Mulder could curl up and sleep as easily as he dozed on his own couch. The engine roared as the plane, rocked by the winds, soared above cruising altitude and tilted left. He took Scully’s hand as she squeezed his arm, part of their usual in-flight dance. Some things never changed. 

Scully lifted her head from Mulder’s shoulder to gaze at him. She thought it unfair that nowadays a few minutes was all it took for Mulder to fall into a deep sleep. Asleep, but awake in his soul, as he re-lived their memories, and Scully lavished in the solemn happiness shown across his face. One they shared. He was so handsome as he slept, his steady heart, his peaceful breaths, it was more than enough to make her fall in love with him all over again.  

Mulder’s eyes fluttered open and Scully’s heart clenched at being caught in such a delicate moment of reverence. He followed her thought without a word, instead closing his eyes and briefly joining their lips in the dimly lit cabin. He tasted of honey roasted peanuts and salty pretzels, his cologne faded, but still enough for it to produce a glint of euphoria in her chest.

“What?” She asked, indignantly when he pulled away with a smirk.

“It feels different, doesn’t it?” 

“Flying in an airplane?” she returned, with a lift of her brow.

“No, I meant..” Mulder held up his wedding finger and caressed the band with his thumb. “Different.”

Scully shrugged. “No.”

Mulder’s lips parted as if to say more, but the ‘fasten your seatbelt’ light dimmed and Scully flagged down a flight attendant. He glanced at his phone and sighed. They would be landing soon, but not soon enough.

“Hey, Scully?” Mulder called as his eyes fixated at the window. “Do you know about the Golden Fleece?”

Scully leaned her head against his shoulder. At least it would pass the time. “You mean like Sinbad? Or was it Jason and the Argonauts?”

Mulder scoffed. “Those are horrible Hollywood productions that make a mockery of the rich legends of the Greek. Krios Khrysomallos was the name of the flying, golden-fleeced ram. It was sent by the cloud-nymph Nephele to rescue her children Phrixos and Helle when they were about to be sacrificed to the gods. The ram carried Phrixos all the way to Kolkhis at the far end of the Black Sea and then instructed the boy to sacrifice him to the gods and lay his fleece in the grove of Ares. Khrysomallos was afterward placed amongst the stars as the constellation Aries.”

Scully yawned and Mulder continued. “During Jason and his Argonauts’ quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece, they landed their ship on Anaphe Island in the Aegean Sea. Euphemus, the son of Poseidon served as helmsman during that journey. When there, Euphemus dreamed of making love to a nymph… Are you still awake Scully?”

“Yes,” she replied with her eyes closed, rocking her cheek against his bicep.

“Okay, what did I just say?”

“You were about to regale me with nymph attire,” Scully replied sarcastically, yawning again, her eyes yet to open.

Mulder chuckled. “I could, but no. After making love, the nymph decried she was pregnant with Euphemus’ child and she would need a calm safe place to give birth. Being the son of Poseidon, Euphemus knew there could be consequences if he did not do as he was bidden. He told Jason of this dream and with Jason’s encouragement, he followed the dream-nymph’s instructions. After they’d left port and journeyed some distance, they approached calm waters. Feeling this was the right location, Euphemus tossed the clod of earth from Anaphe into the sea. A miracle happened before the crews’ eyes. They witnessed the birth of the island now known as Santorini as it emerged from the sea.”

Mulder pursed his lips, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “And that, Scully, is why Hollywood movies suck. Scully?”

Mulder smiled at Scully’s even labored breaths. He slouched down so she could have the rest of his shoulder as he closed his eyes and leaned his head gently against hers.

Continue reading

Tagging: @peacenik0 @ms31x129 @season4mulder @today-in-fic

[mythologyfolklore]

Ares and Athena through the years - Ch. 14

Chapter Fourteen: Odyssey, Pt. 02

(A/N: The second part of the Odyssey! The next one will be the last one, but also the longest, because I’m barely half-way through this damn book! Also a warning for people getting eaten by cyclops and sea monsters)

.

Odysseus continued: “Now that you know this, you're probably wondering how I got into this situation. So I will tell you also of my many troubles, that in the end have brought me here.

.

It all started at the sacking of Troy and the surrounding area.

I insisted, that we should leave immediately after winning the war.

But Agamemnon, master of bad decisions, and a majority of his army, refused, continuing the sacking, partying and getting drunk and making sacrifices that couldn't appease the angered gods anymore. A retaliatory force coming to the aid of the surviving Trojans overwhelmed us and killed many of the Achaeans, who had survived the war. In addition Zeus' wrath came upon us and a large part of the fleet was wrecked in a storm. My ships and men survived, albeit damaged, but we were brought off course and sent adrift on the sea, all the while mourning those of our men, who had fallen against the Kykones.

.

After a few days we drifted to the island of the Lotophages¹.

They were friendly and meant well, but the Lotos they shared with us was apparently a hallucinogen, because it clouded the senses of my men to the point where I forcefully had to drag them back to the ships, despite their tears and protests.

You will see, that this stop was the least problematic on my journey.

.

The next island we came to was that of the Kyklopes², audacious, lawless men, who rely on the Deathless Ones so much, that they don't sow fruits or corn, nor drive out to fish, as they don't know rows or ships. Their fruits grow without care, by the blessing of Zeus. We found insane lots of goats living on the island. As we set out to look the place, we found a cave and in a fit of stupidity decided to explore it.

We were still there, when its owner came back, a nasty Kyklops named Polyphemos.

He heeded not the laws of hospitality – perhaps he didn't even know them – spoke blasphemy against Zeus and … and he grabbed two of my men, flung them around like dolls … and ate them. Gods, it was horrifying! Then he went to sleep. In the morning that monster devoured two more of my men, drove his sheep outside and pushed a boulder in front of the entrance, locking us inside. I really wanted to kill him in his sleep, but I couldn't do that without trapping us all inside the cave, so we had to bide our time. During that time we looked for something to aid us in our escape and found a huge bludgeon. I cut a piece off with my sword and ordered the others to sharpen it into a rod. By the time the Kyklops was back, it was ready and so was my escape plan. After he had devoured two more of my men, I managed to get him drunk on the wine we had brought along. He asked me what my name was and I told him it was 'Nobody'. He declared, that he would eat me last and went to sleep.

We took the big pale we had made, heated it over the fire and used it to gouge his eye out.

The Kyklops awoke, roared in pain and fury, that the cave shook and we all ran, trying to get out of his reach. He pulled the pale out of his eye, scrambled around and kept on screaming.

From outside we could hear his fellow Kyklopes gather around his cave to see what was wrong. We could hear them ask him, why he was screaming like that. When he told them that 'Nobody' had blinded him and wanted to kill him, we heard them scoff in response and tell him to pray to his father, mighty Poseidon. My heart laughed, because my idea had fooled them so well.

Polyphemos kept feeling around and finally moved the boulder from the entrance of the cave. He felt the backs of his sheep to prevent anyone from escaping among them. Little did he know, that we were clinging to the bellies of the sheep – and beautiful, well-fed and well-cared sheep they were – and that was how we got away. We quickly drove the sheep to the ships to those of the crew, who had stayed there and made haste to get away from the island.

But I had a moment of hubris – I still don't know what I was thinking – and provoked the Kyklops with taunting words, that he threw a boulder at us, narrowly missing our ship. My companions told me to shut my mouth already (and I really should have) but I didn't listen and made the mistake of giving my real name. In his rage, he prayed to his father Poseidon, that I should never reach my home, or if I should, that I would get there very lately and all alone.

Thus he prayed and Kyanokhaitis³ heard him.

But we, now finally out of that danger, mourned those who had died, while thanking the gods for ourselves staying alive.

We shared the sheep we had taken among us and made sacrifices to Zeus, which went unheard.

.

We kept on sailing, until we landed on the island of Aiolos.

He received us kindly and asking us about everything. I told him whatever he wanted to know and after a month finally asked him to allow us to leave.

He did so and also gave me a leather bag, into which he locked the winds, safe for the west wind, so that we might get home quickly.

And we did have good wind, it was wonderful. It wasn't long, until Ithaka was in sight!

But unfortunately, my crew had to be idiots and put it into their heads, that the leather bag had treasures in it. They uncorked it, the winds escaped in a furious storm and we were blown back to Aiolos' island. But this time he sent us away, saying that we had to be cursed by the gods and he didn't want to have cursed people in his home.

I returned to the ships empty-handed and crestfallen.

.

The next land we came to was that of the Laistrygones.

As we went out for enquiries, we found a girl, who pointed us to the house of her parents. We quickly found out, that they were man-eating giants, as the king quickly seized one of my men, killed and cooked him.

The rest of us quickly fled back to the ships and made haste to get away as quickly as possible.

But alas, only my own ship managed to escape, the others and their crew were lost.

We kept on rowing, mourning the loss of so many more of our comrades.

.

For days we meandered across the sea, until we got to the isle of Aiaia. There lives Kirke, daughter of Helios and the Okeanide Perse and sister of king Aietes of Kolkhis. She is a goddess and a sorceress of great power.

That I found out, when I sent a few of my comrades to scout the surroundings and only one of them came back, completely out of his wits. He told me, that the others had been invited inside her home and not returned. Only he had refused to come inside her house and therefore had escaped that fate.

This prompted me to go out and see for myself what was going on.

On my way, I was met by Hermes, the golden-staffed, who told me what exactly had happened: that my comrades had been turned into pigs and that I wouldn't stand a chance saving them without his help. He gave me a herb that would make me immune against Kirke's sorcery and told me what I should do. I was to eat that herb, before she would give me her enchanted meal, then, as soon as she would hit me with her switch, pull my sword and attack her, as if I wanted to kill her. Then I was to make her swear a Stygian Oath not to harm me and go to bed with her, then she would restore my comrades back to humanity.

So I did, so it happened and we spent over a year at her home, before one of my comrades reminded me of home.

I asked Kirke to let us go and she agreed, but advised me to travel to Hades first and consult the spirit of the blind seer Teiresias, as he was the only one, who knew how I could get home.

The prospect of going to Hades alive frightened me, but she gave me detailed instructions on how to get there and what to do upon arrival.

.

We sailed to the far west, to the stream of Okeanos and beyond.

There we found a grove of white poplars, the tree of terrible Persephone.

There we entered the underworld and sacrificed the two black sheep we had brought along.

It attracted many of the feeble spirits, who wanted to strengthen themselves by drinking some of the blood, but I pulled my sword and refused to let anyone drink, before Teiresias had arrived.

Oh how many familiar faces I saw, and how surprised I was to see them!

I found one of my comrades, whom we had left behind in Kirke's home. He told me, that he had fallen out of a window and broken his neck and begged, that he should be buried properly and with his oar. I promised him to do so.

And there I saw Antikleia, my dear mother, who had been alive, when I had sailed for Troy. How shocked I was to see her here!

But even her I couldn't let near, before I had consulted Teiresias.

He came and strengthened himself on the sheep blood, before revealing, why I was cursed and what I should do to return home. I had invoked the wrath of Ennosigaios⁴ by blinding his son Polyphemos, but even so my remaining men and I would come home, under one condition: he predicted, that we would land at the isle of Thrinakia, where the sun Helios lets his cows graze. Only if we kept our hands off the cows and didn't harm them, we would get home. If we hurt them, my crew would die and I would return only after many years more – alone, on a stranger's ship. And once there I would find many suitors at my home, vying for my wife and consuming my property. I would slay them all for their impertinence and then I was to seek a land afterwards would live the rest of my days more or less peacefully, until death would come for me from the sea.

Having learned this, I allowed some of the other spirits to drink from the blood.

The first to drink was my mother. I wept bitterly, when I heard how she had passed away. She told me … excuse me, please – ahem – she had died of heartbreak during my absence, that she had withered away yearning for me. She also told me, that my Penelope was still waiting for me, that my father was sorely missing me and wasting away (just like herself) and that my son was ruling over my estate. I sought to hug my dear mother, but it's the lot of the dead to be incorporeal ghosts. She bid me farewell and retreated back into the darkness.

Then came more souls of the dead, some of them lovers of gods and mothers of famed heroes.

I even encountered Alkmene, the mother of Herakles, and Leda, the mother of Helene – both beloved by Zeus during their lifetime.

I met so many, but if I recounted them all, we would be sitting here all night and it's really time to go to sleep.”

.

Silence filled the room, as everyone else gazed at Odysseus in wonder.

Eventually queen Arete broke the silence: “Look at what a splendid guest we have here! We shouldn't send him off too quickly, not without appropriate guest presents. The gods have given us great wealth and it's only fair, that we should share it with this man, who is in need of our gifts indeed.”

The assembled nobles nodded in agreement and looked at their king, waiting for what he had to say.

The king turned to Odysseus and asked him to stay for a day longer, as much as he probably desired to go home. Alkinoos was delighted, when the war veteran agreed.

“But first”, he said, “my curiosity needs to be satisfied. Please do tell us, if you saw any of your comrades who met their fates in front of the walls of Troy. It would really delight us all. I wouldn't mind staying up all night just to hear that!”

Odysseus was obviously tired, but humoured them and went on: “As you wish, then. Yes, I did see them all – them and those of my old comrades, who survived the war, but met their fates at home. First I saw dark Persephone herself – she came to lead the gentle women's souls away, then allowed me to see my old friends and acquaintances.

Imagine my surprise, when the first to appear was Agamemnon of Mykene, who had been alive last time I had seen him. He was wailing and weeping over being dead and it was so heart-wrenching, that I began to cry as well. When I asked him, what fate had befallen him, he told me about how his wife Klytaimnestra and her lover Aigisthos had perfidiously murdered him, right after his return home. They had slaughtered unfortunate Kassandra too (the princess of Troy, I remember her – she was a lot like me). He then proceeded to go on a rant about the falsehood of women, only to remind me, that I had chosen a good and loyal wife in Penelope (as if I didn't already know). Then he bewailed, that he hadn't even got to see his son again, before he had died and wished me, that I would see my dear child grow into a fine young man. He also asked me, if his son Orestes was alright, but I didn't know.

He retreated into the shadows and the next to come were Akhilleus and Patroklos (always together even in death), Antilokhos and Ajax the son of Telamon.

Akhilleus recognised me and sadly asked me, why I had come to the underworld. I told him and congratulated him on now being the ruler of the shades. He moaned and responded, that he would rather have been a peon, serving another and living in poverty, than be the superior of mindless shades. He also inquired after his father and son. I told him what I knew about them and he returned to the Asphodel Fields, proud that his son had gained glory.

Other souls stood sadly and asked what I could say about their loved ones.

Only Ajax stood aside; he held a grudge and didn't want to talk to me. I must admit that I regret winning the competition against him for the armour of great Akhilleus – it brought him to the grave and that just wasn't worth it.

I also saw king Minos of Crete, who now judges the dead.

I saw the giant hunter Orion, still chasing wild game even in death.

There was Tityos, who had assaulted black-robed Leto and as punishment was chained to the ground, while two vultures were feeding off his liver.

And there I saw Tantalos, perpetually starving and thirsty, trying in vain to reach the fruits above him and the water below, always retreating, when he reached or stooped for either.

Then there was Sisyphos, the trickster, rolling his boulder up a mountain, only for it to roll down, when he was almost there, so that he would have to start again.

I even encountered the shadow of famed Herakles. But he himself isn't there – he sits with the Immortals as a god and is wed to Hebe, the giver of youth.

The shadow gave me his sympathy and recalled how once he had been sent here during life, to get terrible Kerberos from Hades, for his last service to Eurystheus.

And I would have seen many more, but the dead now came in such large numbers, that I was seized by terror. When venerated Persephone motioned for me to leave, I was more than happy to comply.

So I grabbed my terrified companions and we returned to the surface and onto the stream of Okeanos.

.

We returned to Kirke's island and buried Elpenor, as I had promised him.

The sorceress let us rest for a day, gave us provisions and warned us about several dangers ahead on our journey.

Among other things, she warned me about the Seirênes and their entrancing voices. She advised me to stuff the ears of my crew with wax, as soon as we came near their island. If I wanted to hear them, I was to let my crew tie me to the pylon. I would be entranced by their singing and beg my crew to untie me, but with the wax in their ears, they wouldn't hear me and just row past their island.

But danger wouldn't end there, because next we would come to the narrow strait of Messina. The strait is flanked by two cliffs.

Halfway up the bigger one there is a a cave, where hideous Skylla has her home. Kirke described her as a bellowing monster with twelve dangling feet, six long necks and nasty heads on each, with a triple row of sharp teeth. Normally she fishes in the waters below with her long-necked heads, but when a ship came past, she'd eat a man with each of her heads.

On the smaller cliff opposite her cave stands a giant fig tree. Beneath it is a giant whirlpool, the monstrous Kharybdis. Thrice a day she would swallow water and throw it back up thrice.

There was no way past either of them without losing men.

After that we would come to Thrinakia, the island where Helios kept his cattle. She gave me the same advice Teiresias had given me before: not to touch them or all of my men would die and my return home would be delayed.

With her warnings on my mind, we set sail in the morning.

I told everything to my crew and they stuffed their ears with wax and tied me to the pole, as soon as the isle of the Seirênes came into sight.

I could see, that they looked just the way Kirke had describe them: they had the upper bodies of fair Nymphai and the wings and lower bodies of birds and were sitting on a green field, each on her own pile of bones and rotting corpses of men, who had been spellbound by their singing.

The men started to row as fast as they could.

As soon as the Seirênes spotted our ship, they began to sing to me.

Their heavenly singing ensnared my senses, as they called to me and promised me all the knowledge I had ever desired and dreamed of. I wanted to hear more and begged my men to untie me, but they leaned further into their oars and sailed faster. Two stood up and bound me tighter to the pylon.

It was only when their voices couldn't be heard anymore, that I stopped struggling against the ropes. Only then did my comrades take the wax out of their ears and untie me.

We just about had time to catch our breaths, before our ship was pulled into a strong and loud current. My crew was seized by fear and they let go of their rows. I had to give them a rousing speech to get them back to rowing the ship.

I instructed the helmsman to steer the ship away from the whirlpool towards the bigger cliff (I hadn't told my men anything about Skylla, because it would have frightened them even more). As we drove past Kharybdis, it sucked in water and we could see its insides, a truly horrific sight: from the walls of water came sharp rocks like teeth and at the bottom of the whirl the earth, darkened by the wet sand. That was terrifying enough, but it all got worse when we passed the cave of Skylla, her monstrous heads dashed down and grabbed six of my comrades. They thrashed in Skylla's six maws, calling my name, screaming for help, before they got devoured … it was … it was the most woebegone thing I had ever seen in my entire life. And that means a lot coming from me. We hastily sailed past, while her mouths were full.

After getting past those monstrosities with heavy losses, we finally got to the island of Helios.

We could see golden cows and sheep grazing on green fields.

Remembering what Teiresias and Kirke had told me, I warned my crew against landing here and told them, that we would land at the next island we'd find. But their collective protest forced me to give in and we landed on Thrinakia.

Predictably enough, Zeus sent a perpetual storm, which kept us there for over a month. At some point the provisions Kirke had given us began to run out.

We had to resort to hunting our food, birds, berries, roots, small game and so on.

One day I slipped away to make some sacrifices and pray to the gods for deliverance. What I got instead was a deep slumber.

While I was asleep, one of my comrades (my brother-in-law, sadly enough⁵) got the – urgh! – 'bright' idea, that it would be perfectly fine to kill one of the sacred golden cows, sacrifice it to the god and eat it. I woke up and returned to the ship, only to smell and behold beef being roasted over fire. Of course I was angry, frustrated and completely devastated, but it was too late now.

Meanwhile, one of the maidens living on the island reported the robbery to her father Helios.

Later, Kalypso, who had heard everything from other sea deities, told me what exactly had happened: wroth at my comrades' offence, the Sun had complained to Zeus and demanded reparation, or he would sink into the stream of Okeanos and never rise again. Zeus had pacified him and promised him retribution.

In the meantime the gods sent us bad omens: the cow skins crawled around, the flesh on the skewers screamed and it sounded much like the pained mooing of living cows. It was really nauseating to me, but apparently my comrades didn't notice anything. They merrily ate the beef for six days.

On the seventh, the storm sent by Zeus suddenly stopped.

We quickly went aboard and set sail. But as soon as we were on the open sea and there was no land in sight, the skies darkened and the King of the Gods unleashed another hurricane, worse than the last. It was already ripping the vessel apart, when Zeus struck our ship with a lightning bolt. It killed all that had been left of my crew and wrecked the ship completely.

I survived just barely, by clinging to the pylon. The storm ceased after a while, but bad winds carried me across the sea all night long – right back to Skylla and Kharybdis. Latter was swallowing the sea water, but I just about managed to grab the branches of the fig tree above. All I could do was hold on, until the monstrous whirlpool finally spat the water and with it the pylon back out. I let go, clung to the wooden pole and paddled out of there as fast as I could.

For nine days I was adrift on the sea, until I was marooned on the island of the goddess Kalypso, who treated me well and nursed me back to my full health and wits.

You know the rest, king; I told you and your esteemed queen yesterday. I would rather not tell again.”

.

Silence settled over the crowd once more.

This time it was Alkinoos, who broke it by deciding, that Odysseus, in addition to all the other guest presents he had already received, should also have kettles and tripods. His decision found collective approval.

Next day, the gifts from the Phaiakoi were carried to a ship, more festivities were held and Odysseus did his best to rein in his anxiety.

The morning after that, the ship was finally ready to leave the harbour.

With gladdened soul, the long-suffering hero bade his kind hosts farewell and wished them the best, a wish that was requited by the Phaiakoi. The proper sacrifices to the gods were made, the crew and he himself went aboard and after everyone was in place, they set sail.

He stood on the rail to wave at the crowd standing on the dock. Meanwhile a few of the rowers spread out blankets and cloths for him to sleep on.

With a thank you, he lay down and fell into a deep slumber.

All day and all night the ship practically flew across the sea and arrived at Ithaka early in the morning. They steered the ship to a remote place they knew, carried Odysseus (who was still sleeping like a log) down onto the strand with his newly given treasures, in this remote place where no one would see all of this and rob all the goods.

Then they sailed back home.

.

On Olympos, Poseidon was throwing a hissy fit.

“This will not stand!”, he roared, “If the mortals don't honour me anymore, does that mean that the gods don't do it either? I thought I decreed, that Odysseus would only come home after much suffering, as you decreed that eventually he should return! But the Phaiakoi – descendants of mine, no less – escorted him to Ithaka on a fast ship, with greater treasures than he ever could have won at Troy! This will not stand!”

“Now, now”, Zeus sought to pacify him, “No one disrespects you here. After all, you're the oldest here-”

“Fourth oldest!”, Aphrodite corrected sharply. “Of us Olympians, I, Demeter and Hera are the oldest here!”

“Whatever”, Zeus went on, “Dear brother, if a mortal disrespects you, you can still get revenge later. If you feel, that the Phaiakoi disrespected you by bringing him home at last, punish them to your heart's content.”

“I will!”, Poseidon huffed, “And also-”

“Uhhh, uncle?”

The gods turned to Dionysos in surprise.

The god of wine and madness sighed: “Uncle, don't you think it's time to just … stop? Being charitable towards an honoured guest is no disrespect to us gods. And Odysseus has already gone through so much shit. You got what you wanted. I have looked into his mind; he will be scarred for life, will always have nightmares at night. He has suffered too much by now, that it more than makes up for his crime. Let it go.”

Athena beamed at her half-brother and would have hugged him, but she had a reputation to uphold.

“You heard him”, she triumphed, “I couldn't have said it better. With all due respect, uncle, you need to calm down. The Phaiakoi shouldn't suffer, because of your petty grudge (besides, Polyphemos more than deserved what he got). Under any other circumstances, you – and we all – would have rewarded their helpfulness and hospitality. Should this be an exception?”

Poseidon grumbled, but assented and promised not to take it out on the innocent Phaiakoi.

That pacified Athena; Poseidon was a god of his word.

Still, it went against the fate that the Moirai had decided and so Zeus Moiragetês⁶ had a long talk with them. For once, the Moirai were generous enough to turn a blind eye to this subversion of fate.

And that's how a mean prophecy didn't come true.⁷

.

In Ithaka, Odysseus finally awoke from his slumber. But as he looked around, he didn't recognise his own home; the gods had summoned a thick mist to conceal the surroundings in its silver grey veil.

At first he was totally lost and despaired over it, praying that someone would send him a sign to let him know, where he was.

Athena heard his prayer and emerged from the mist in the guise of a young shepherd.

The battle-hardened veteran spotted him and inquired, where he was.

She laughed and informed him, that he was on widely known Ithaka, where else could they be?

She could tell, that he was relieved beyond comprehension.

But with healthy suspicion, he told her a fib, that he was from Crete, had fled after murdering a prince, then got into a storm and had been dumped here by the crew of the ship he had sailed with.

Athena laughed in amusement: “And this is why you're one of my favourite heroes. Your cunning is exceptional and you and I have that in common.”

He gawked at her and fell onto his knees.

She smiled and continued: “I have come to assist you. For you're not out of danger. Teiresias surely has warned you, that you would come home to find strangers inside your home, wooing your unwilling wife. You and I must plan now how to vanquish them.”

Odysseus looked up and replied: “Hardly a man could ever recognise you, oh goddess. For you disguise yourself as one of us mortals, when you walk among us and shroud yourself in illusions.”

Athena concealed, that one hero had seen her and other gods for what they were: Diomedes, Odysseus' former friend, whom she might have favoured just a little more. Even if these times of peace, she had never taken away his enhanced sight.

“Let's not talk about that”, she went on instead, “First we need to hide all those treasures. Then I will cast an illusion on you. We both know that it's better, if no one recognises you just yet.

And I know, that you're suspicious. You don't want to truly return, until you have reassured yourself about your wife's loyalty, no matter how much I insist, that she has never been unfaithful to you. She passes the days weeping for you, missing you sorely and stalling all the suitors that pressure her to marry one of them. Her loyalty is the last thing you have to worry about – it's her hope slipping away and the loyalty of her and your servants.

I will be honest with you: I always knew, that you would return home alone and in secret, after much suffering, but I couldn't go against Poseidon, who is my father's brother. He begrudges you still, because you blinded his son Polyphemos (even though that shitfaced Kyklops really had it coming). But it was my father's will, that you would come home eventually.

Listen: right now, you are in the harbour of Phorkys⁸, the Old Man of the Sea. Over there is a cave, dedicated to him and the local Naiades, who you always honoured with sacrifices. And there is the tree-clad Mount Neriton.”

With that she dispersed the fog, revealing the familiar environment.

With a happy cry he sank to the earth, kissed the ground and made a sweet prayer to greet the Naiades he had honoured, while had had been home.

After that, the mortal and the goddess carried the riches into the cave to hide them.

Then they began to plot the imminent doom of the intruding suitors, who were vying for Penelope.

“Thank you for warning me”, Odysseus told her, “Had I come in unprepared, I would have ended up like Agamemnon, slaughtered in my own home, except that it wouldn't be by my dear wife. Please help me, as I plan how to get my kingdom and property back and vanquish the intruders. Stay by my side, as I reclaim what's mine. With your wise counsel and assistance, I would take on hundreds of men without fear.”

Athena smiled. “Gladly will I be by your side through it all, my mortal friend.”

.

A risky thing for any deity, to call a mortal “friend”.

But Athena was a lonelier goddess than most people thought.

She had surprisingly few friends. And with Ares gone, she didn't even have a rival to regularly spar with (she didn't even know where he was; he had left right after the Trojan War had ended for good, was now the-Fates-knew-where and only occasionally wrote to his family).

Her mortal favourites were as close to being friends as her status allowed.

And she chose them carefully, because she hated when the favour of a god went to a mortal's head. Her favourites had to be sensible enough to not take her goodwill for granted.

.

Odysseus smiled back: “There are no words to express my gratitude, Oxyderkês⁹.”

.

---

.

1) Lotophages: Lotos-Eaters. 2) These Kyklopes are the children of Poseidon and the sea nymph Thoôsa (probably a goddess of swift currents), a daughter of Phorkys and Keto and sister to the Gorgones (among others). They are not to be confused with the Elder Kyklopes, who are the sons of Ouranos and Gaia, or with their children, the Younger Kyklopes, who worked for Hephaistos, before Apollon slew them. 3) Kyanokhaitis: "The (dark) Blue-Haired", an epithet of Poseidon. 4) Ennosigaios: "Shaker of the Earth", an epithet of Poseidon in his function as god of earthquakes. 5) Eurylokhos of Same was married to Odysseus' sister Ktimene. Throughout the Odyssey, he's shown to be a cowardly ass, who constantly goes against Odysseus' orders and undermines his authority. 6) Moiragetês: "Leader/Guide of the Fates", an epithet of Zeus in his function as god of fate. It's also en epithet of Apollon in his function as god of prophecy and oracles. 7) In the actual Odyssey, the prophecy is that the vessel carrying Odysseus home would be turned into stone, shortly before reaching the home harbour. In the original version Poseidon actually does get revenge and turns the ship into stone. It terrifies the Phaiakoi into resolving to never escort sea travellers again. Afterwards, Poseidon creates a mountain ridge to encompass their city and make sure they never escort strangers again. I don't like that version at all, so I took the liberty to alter it and let the innocent people get away. After all, their only "crime" was being friendly and helping a man, who was acting in self-defense, when he blinded a man-eating Kyklops. 8) Phorkys is an old sea god, son of Pontos and Gaia and brother of Nereus (the god of sea bounty and father of the Nereides), Thaumas (god of the wonders of the sea), the whale-shaped sea monster Keto and (perhaps) the whirlpool-shaped sea monster Kharybdis. He represents the dangers of the sea. Together with Keto, he is the father of the most dangerous and monstrous sea deities, the Graiai & the Gorgones (those you know from the myth of Perseus), Thoôsa (the mother of Polyphemos by Poseidon), Skylla and Ekhidna and according to some sources of Ladon, the Drakon that guards the Garden of the Hesperides. 9) Oxyderkês: "Sharp-Sighted", an epithet of Athena.

[sarhosumastroloji]

Mitolojide Koç

Yunan kralı Athamas ikinci karısının tuzağına düserek ilk karısından olan çocukları öldürmeye karar verir. Tam kurban edecegi zaman Zeus altın postlu koçu gönderir. Bu koç çocukları Kolkhis ülkesine kaçırırken Helle ölür. Ülkeye tek başına varan Phriksos, Zeus'a tesekkür amaçlı koçu keser ve altın kürkünü Kolkhis'e asar. Zeus isr koçun cesaretini ödüllendirmek için onu yıldızların arasına yerlestirir