#mythology monday

[blackhornedarts]

My Gods Are Real Loki Work in progress.

Loki's punishment, and imprisonment for killing Baldr. Tortured, experimented on, and brought seconds to death only to be revived over and over again by Odin and many of the other Asgardians.

While his loyal wife Sigyn stays by his side.

[jurakan]

I find it weird and interesting that so many writers in Norse mythology retellings go with "Hel is totally infatuated with Baldr."

[huntunderironskies]

Mythology Monday: the Final Breath

Man, I owe you guys a few, huh.

But! I've mostly sorted my living situation out (which was singularly the biggest stressor I was deailng with) and I am currently free of deadlines. So I'm going to try and get back into this. This is another myth told in Wilmington, North Carolina.

...But it's a Changeling one, so there's almost certainly more than a grain of truth to it, isn't there? It might not be...just a Changeling one, though. ;>

Once upon the shores, there was a queen. She had not always been a queen, for once the queendom had been a society of equals. But a plague struck and the dead rose again, and the ones who did valued the blood of her people above all else. The queendom did not seek war, and so instead they bartered with the wicked dead.

At first, it was merely the criminals, and so the kings and queens gave up their subjects gladly. When the criminals ran out, they took the old and sick and those lost to their own dreams, saying they would die soon anyways. When there were no more old and sick, they claimed they had enough, but the young and helpless would disappear instead.

It was not long before there was only one person to take the throne, for she was the sole person left alive. Her grief was immeasurable, and she knew now it fell onto her to avenge her people. And so first, she turned to the oldest allies they had, the seasons.

“Summer, o Summer,” she pleaded. “You are the season of war, your sun shines so bright. Bring the light to the dead and turn them to ashes. Whatever you ask, I will give it to you, but let me take my revenge.”

“I cannot,” said Summer. “They already know to escape my gaze, they come only during the moon’s light. Seek help elsewhere, you lone queen.”

And so the queen ran, ran across the months, until the leaves turned to flame on the branches.

“Autumn, o Autumn,” she pleaded. “You know death better than any other season. That which clings to life can do so no longer with your passing. Let the false dead fall silent for good. Whatever you ask, I will give it to you, but let me take my revenge.”

“I cannot,” said Autumn. “There is no life left in them to take. Seek help elsewhere, you lone queen.”

And so the queen ran, ran across the months, until the flames on the branches turned to cinder and fell.

“Winter, o Winter,” she pleaded. “You are the season of bitter cold, freeze over the earth so the dead will be trapped beneath rimefrost and clay. Whatever you ask, I will give it to you, but let me take my revenge.”

“I cannot,” said Winter. “The dead lie in shallow graves, freeing themselves will be a simple task. Seek help elsewhere, you lone queen.”

And so the queen ran, ran across the months, until the blooms clawed their way out of the earth.

“Spring, o Spring,” she pleaded. “You are the season of desire. I know now that no season alone can defeat them. Bring those who still love life to me, then, so I will not be alone. We will defeat the dead forever. Whatever you ask, I will give it to you, but let me take my revenge.”

“I cannot,” said Spring. “Desire is selfish, and none desire death. You face a lost cause, lone queen. Escape with your life, this place is already lost.”

And so the queen ran, but there was nowhere left for her to run. She stopped at the sea, and knelt before it.

“Tides, o Tides,” she said. “You are where all things began, you are where all things will end. Swallow up the dead, take the rest of this place with them. Whatever you ask, I will give it to you. I care for nothing but my revenge.”

“It can be done, lone queen,” said the Tides. “I will tell you my request: my child needs a mother, there is only so much I can do alone. Protect them, guard them until they are well enough to rise again.” 

And the Tides parted, and she saw the thing beneath, claws and eyes and carapace. Her heart quailed. “You ask too much of me, this I cannot do.”

And so the queen ran, ran back to the dunes, and among the sea-oats and silkweed she collapsed, sobbing.

It was then the Owl who heard her tears, and they, all smoke and shadow, lofted next to her. “Why does one so beautiful mourn so?”

“The wicked dead have taken my people, I am the only one who remains. There are none left to help me, the seasons and the tides themselves have turned on me.”

“Ah! A story to make anyone weep,” said the Owl. “But perhaps you are not so alone as you think. My people have been known to take the carrion of the dead. Perhaps I can help.”

The queen, at last, took to her feet. “Then whatever you ask, I will give it to you, only let me have my revenge.”

“My queen,” said the Owl. “Your revenge is my own. I can ask nothing more of you than your success. Together, we shall never be forgotten.”

She wept tears of joy. "It will be done, this I swear." And then, there was no longer a queen, nor an Owl.

Now, there is only the Final Breath.

[mythsyourteacherhated]

This week, it’s off to ancient Greece to meet one of its most famous assholes - Theseus. We’ll cover his both and his Six Labors, which include a lot of general douchebaggery. Then in Gods and Monsters, it’s off to Crete for the origin of his most famous foe

[eirene]

Mermaid rising from the sea, 1930 Henry John Stock

Mermaid Mondays

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Do you know any books I can get to read the WELSH King Arthur stories? Something? I'm desperate for them.

In English? Or in Welsh? There's more options in Welsh, but in English your best bet is to get your hands on a copy of the Mabinogi, translated by Sioned Davies. There are a couple of Arthurian tales in there, most notably Culhwch ac Olwen. Also the Dream of Rhonabwy, but I think the general consensus of that one is that it was written in the medieval period as satire, possibly about the Glyndŵr uprising - it's utter batshit, therefore, it's great.

[fanartsandstuff]

Greek myths be like :

Many people turnd or were turned into flowers or trees . Its a pattern .

[lorific-arts]

BLACK FRIDAY COMMISSIONS ARE OPEN~!

Taking 5 slots and the sale lasts till December 2nd!

Fill out the following form to reserve a slot before they’re filled!⬇️

[arthistoryanimalia]

For #ManuscriptMonday:

Illustration of the goat Heiðrún from Icelandic Manuscript SÁM 66, 1765-6, housed at the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.

"Heiðrún or Heidrun is a nanny goat in Norse Mythology, that consumes the foliage of the tree Læraðr and produces mead from her udders for the einherjar. She is described in the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda."

[gingermintpepper]

Mother Love - Demeter and Persephone in poetry

Alright, so, let's finally talk about Mother Love.

I've spent the past couple of weeks compiling most of the poems from my physical copy of Mother Love into a publicly accessible google doc because there is a quite frankly embarrassing lack of archiving of this particular anthology of Dove's work and I am genuinely and greatly saddened that it is not a work more commonly brought up when discussing Demeter/Hades/Persephone retellings and reinterpretations for modern audiences.

In order to speak about what Mother Love is, I first need to address what it is not. It's not a coming of age story which portrays Persephone as a caged bird under a too-smothering Demeter. It's not a love story where Hades is some valiant hero who rescues an innocent maiden and through his love empowers her to be her truest self. It does not demonise Demeter, who has forever lost her daughter, it does not demonise Hades, who took that daughter away.

Instead, Mother Love is, perhaps, the truest interpretation of the themes of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter that I've seen, down to the structure of the anthology mimicking the hymn's narrative structure. It is the story of a mother who loses her daughter, of the grief that ensues as she worries for her, of her being pitied and given empty words instead of help finding her, of her trying to soothe herself by filling the void with new children that are not her own. It is the story of a daughter who loses her way, who went seeking flowers and was unwittingly caught in the machinations of those in higher positions of power than her, of the kingdom she is promised and refuses, of the changes she goes through in this new, strange world without her consent and how those changes will define her the rest of her life. It is the story of a lonely king overrun with ennui who wants companionship but never asks, of he who tries in vain to tempt with wealth and land and must ultimately yield to the love of a mother. Not even the lord of the dread Underworld can escape that all-consuming mother's love and this was a theme found all over greek mythology and their literature, and it is also the theme that has been unfortunately and miserably lost as we've told and retold the tale of Hades and Persephone time and time again.

Please, please read this work, and if you enjoy it, do consider picking up an actual copy of the anthology. There is so much to be gained from speaking of the Demeter/Hades/Persephone myth as one of nuance and devoid of the unnecessary moralisations and accusations that we habitually foist onto cultural figures and heroes in an attempt to validate our opinions and interpretations to our peers. In my compilation, I did leave out three poems: Breakfast of Champions, Blue Days, Nature's Itinerary, mainly because I did not think they were relevant -- but I'm always open to requests for those poems to be added to the doc if anybody gets curious. Below I've also attached a few of my favourite short poems from this anthology so people can get an idea for the content that is included in the doc.

@gotstabbedbyapen who requested a way to read these poems but could not find them, I sincerely hope you enjoy them <3

[saraharveypatrick]

Aurora and Athena, roommates, goddesses 🦉🔥 From web comic Persephone in Hell, re: an indie coffee shop in classical Hades

"Out of the skull sprang Athena, fully grown and in a full set of armour. Due to the way of her birth, she became the goddess of intelligence and wisdom." —greekmythology.com Just another Tuesday

[daphnalia]

this post literally is not even funny its just me asking for someone to write a dndads x pjo fanfic

[jurakan]

TV Tropes, I am begging you to find out why the number twelve might be important in Judaism/relevant to the Jewish people in Jesus's time.

Spoiler alert: it's not because of Greco-Roman mythology.

[From "Hijacked by Jesus" article.]

[huntunderironskies]

Bloodline Foundational Myths

So I worked on Bloodlines: the Ageless, for three separate Bloodlines (all of whom have Protean, funny enough.) I'd like to talk some about my design process tomorrow, but first....it is Mythology Monday so let's have a look at one (of three, I had a good time coming up with nine separate myths!) of the foundational myths of one of them. Which one...well, that's a surprise. I did change this particular one quite a bit to feel more connected to their origin point but I think there are definitely some implications which one it might be in these myths. Answers on a postcard, please. ;>

Kidding. It'll be beneath the cut. Guess based on the themes or spoil yourself, whichever you prefer!

---------------------

The scorpion-men were the guardians of the land of darkness, where the sun god Shamash went each night and returned each morning. It fell upon these creatures to open the gates for Shamash, for they were the only ones who could. One day, a priestess fell in love with one of the scorpion-men, as did he with her, and on the night it was her paramour's turn to open the gates for Shamash, he was in the bed of his priestess, leaving the god trapped for three nights.

The sun god was enraged at this transgression, and when the scorpion-man returned, Shamash slew him. The god claimed his tail, and when the priestess returned to see her dead lover, Shamash used the scorpion-man's own venom to strike her down.

But her torment was not at an end, and she rose again beneath the moon's baleful gaze for Shamash had cursed her so she could never look upon the sun's face again. Her anger was immeasurable, and she swore to use it against her enemies forever more.

So, with all that Sumerian mythology, the endless hatred, and the connection to assorted venomous creatures...yep, it's the Iltani! The scorpion-men are one of my favorite elements from mythology that I never see used (though Sumerian mythology is generally underused except for Gilgamesh) so I couldn't resist dragging them into one of the three stories I wrote.

[mythsyourteacherhated]

New episode for Mythology Monday! It’s the further adventures of Jack the Giant Killer. Bonus, it’s a crossover episode with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table!

[eirene]

Mermaid is holding a lobster, 1895 Alder

Mermaid Mondays