#persephone's lament

[jewishbarbies]

erin angelos + matt murdock

[x]

gcu tag: @moustache-bonnet

tag list: @starcrossedjedis @heirsoflilith @phoenixsupremacy  @eddiemunscns @darknightfrombeyond @sgtbuckyybarnes @raith-way @hiddenqveendom @foxesandmagic @chlobenet @edwardsshinyvolvo  @chrissymunson @katiekinswrites @arrthurpendragon (want to be added? hmu ♡)

[lotusquil]

I'm so mad it's already bedtime. I was so invested in writing today, in such the mood! And yet work. I had to work. And then work and traffic made my partner late. And then needing to run errands.

I got 300 words in thirty minutes. That's how excited I was to write. Now I sit, waiting for my bath to fill, sad.

Now I must wait, and hope the muse doesn't disappear on me come Saturday, then Monday.

[breitzbachbea]

You know, it's probably fuck you cold for a summer evening in Michele's eyes on a Donegal island (WELL YOU ARE THE ONE STANDING AT THE COAST, YA THICK), but he'd love how long the day lasts. Sure, you may not feel the sun like you do in Sicily, but such a nigh everlasting day in his eyes ... magical. Worthwhile. Glad he met someone who made that experience possible.

[katerinaaqu]

The Lament of a Life (Achilles and Antilochus short songfic)

If someone asks me how the lament of Achilles looks like my answer would be the amazing aria with music composed by Vivaldi:

The lyrics go on a repeat like this:

So today is a bit chilly and so I was inspired by this amazing song and made this! (Sorry itis a random inspiration I had this morning from this piece thus the title "song-fic")

***

His eyelids were heavy. He didn’t feel like getting up anymore. His bed seemed cold and inhospitable and yet he didn’t feel like moving out of it. His eyes opened slowly and looked to the side. It was empty. He looked outside his tent. Also empty. There was nothing left; he didn’t have the subject of his revenge anymore; he had given it back. Hector’s body was buried and celebrated. His revenge had come to an end. And yet, he felt empty. Nothing mattered. Achilles, the Best and Noblest of all the Greeks was no longer feeling anything mattered. What would it matter now that the subject of his vengeance was gone, if the subject of all the affections he could offer to a human being was also gone? His soul was in turmoil throughout the process. He thought on Briseis, the woman that he felt so strongly for; merely a slave and yet so important for him, had started this domino of reactions which led him to the strike; his refusal to fight. Then his refusal led to this terrible result; the death of his other half. The flame that flickered inside him was gone, the moment Patroclus’s eyes turned glassy from death and he wasn’t even there. During Patroclus’s last moments…he wasn’t there! He remembered his wife; a woman he barely knew and yet she gave him a son, a son he adored despite his young years, a son that he never knew and a son that never knew him back. He could be lamenting for them; they wouldn’t see him again possibly. Given the prophecy, he was to die in war. Possibly neither his wife nor his son, were included in the prophecy. He should be crying for them. He should be crying for the people that were around him and yet…he was feeling weak; unwilling to even get out of his bed and eat because of… He slowly forced himself to sit up and he looked at the magnificent urn with two handles that was always within eye gaze from him. The intricate patterns were cold; just like his bed that could not give him warmth.

“Come back…” he whispered in a voice chocked deep in his throat

Tears oozed out of his sea-blue eyes; his throat burning anew.

“I did what you asked…I offered you a burial…come back…! Please…come back to me!”

His hand was shaking as it was reaching for the cold, golden urn; his other fixing the covers upon his naked chest, in a vain attempt to generate some warmth within.

“Please…” he whispered again, “Come back…!”

“Achilles…”

The young and soft voice didn’t surprise him neither made him react. Antilochus was standing right behind him, undoubtedly had entered his tent a little while prior, enough to hear his foolish and childish lament.

“He won’t come back…” the young man said as a matter of fact, “You offered him a burial. He is in the land of Hades now… He will not come back”

More tears arose from Achilles’s eyes as he clasped desperately the covers against his chest; his face buried to the pocket created by them as if his own eyes wanted to confirm what hurt so much was indeed the organ that was pumping his blood, giving him life inside. Yes, he knew. His cut hair was also a proof of that but hearing it again was somehow destroying that foolish illusion that if he begged hard enough, goddess Persephone would have mercy and send back Patroclus to him; his soul to talk to or at least restore his body to hold one more time…

“Soul of my soul…” he mumbled in lament, “My dear as my own heart…”

“Shh…” Antilochus whispered in tears, hugging his shoulders affectionately, “I know… I know… Please don’t do this to yourself… I know it hurts but…he’s gone… No matter what you do…how much you melt…he won’t come back…”

“Heart of my heart…” Achilles lamented again, “I want him back…! I want him to come back…”

“I know…” Antilochus said again, caressing his golden locks with his hands

Achilles seemed almost aged at that point in his sorrow. Antilochus almost felt tempted to look for white hairs in his golden head.

“And I am sorry that I cannot offer you any consolation… Forgive me. I am not him; I cannot take your sorrow away…”

Antilochus softly raised Achilles’s head, cupping his cheeks and making him look deep in the eyes. He moped the tears from his cheekbones with his thumbs.

“I know I am young and foolish…but, please, take one bit of advice from me; stop looking at it! Stop looking at that urn! It will only hurt you more… You need to come back to us too…we need you…”

He looked away.

“I need you…” he whispered shyly, “You are my hero, my idol… I need you back, strong and healthy…maybe some of your previous happiness back… Please…please my dear…we all need you. Above all I do…”

Achilles looked at him and for one moment he looked like a hurt animal facing the peasant that had released him from the hunter’s trap. However then he laughed; it was a dry, humorless, lamenting laugh.

“Don’t be foolish!” he said self-pettily, “No one shall need me! I shall die! I know I will!”

“Don’t talk like that!”

“You can’t deny it, Antilochus! I know it to be true! It was predicted for me! I will die! I will die in this war! My mother told me someday I would die in this war if I decided to fight! I shall never go home! I shall never see my wife and son! I will die now! I know I will and I don’t care! Nothing matters anymore!”

“Don’t say that!” Antilochus retorted again

“I know the truth” Achilles insisted, “I decided it for myself. I know what my fate is! That urn Im staring is waiting for me! I am to die!”

Antilochus looked away. He seemed hesitant; his arm rubbing his upper arm as if he was about to make that confession no one has heard before.

“I’ll tell you a secret…” he whispered, “So am I…”

Achilles seemed surprised and shocked for the first time in that conversation. Suddenly the lament gone; now there was fear in his eyes. Fear for yet another loss.

“My father was hiding it…but I overheard him. An oracle once told him to beware of an Ethiopian. At first I didn’t know…but my father tried to hide it from me. I know now that I am to die somehow by someone from a foreign land… Maybe today maybe tomorrow maybe here maybe at home… I know though that I will die like this…and…”

He swallowed and looked back at Achilles. The elder man gasped seeing tears to Antilochus’s eyes.

“…And I am scared! I am scared, Achilles! I don’t want to tell my father that for he would be ashamed of me and my cowardice but…I am scared! How can you take it, Achilles? How can you live knowing that you will die…?”

“Antilochus…”

Antilochus quickly mopped his own tears, sniffing his nose, trying to find his composure.

“I’m sorry…” he mumbled, “I don’t know what came into me! I just…”

He sighed.

“We need you back” he finally repeated, “You are our strength and our courage. When you are out there we are afraid of nothing!”

“Antilochus!”

And Achilles did something the younger prince never expected; he embraced him.

“Antilochus, dear to my heart…don’t say such things please. Don’t you say that you will die! I will not let you! I…I will protect you!”

“You…you will…?”

“I will!”

Achilles kissed the top of his head and held him close. Maybe for the first time in weeks he didn’t think of death and burials. Right now he was lamenting a life; this young man who was there apparently sharing his pain and fate. No, he wouldn’t see yet another young person close to him die before him in battle!

“I will protect you! I will not let anything happen to you I promise!”

The two men remained there for quite some time, neither wanted to count the time. It was a shared lament for their short lives; a lament that was different than the one for the dead souls. Who would die first? If both of them were destined to die in the war against Troy, who would die first and who would watch the other die? Neither wanted to be the last. Neither wanted to see the other die. What weird and sad fate! Achilles was almost rocking the youth in his arms so worried of his upcoming death while he was almost welcoming his at that point; oftentimes kissing tenderly his temple. Antilochus was trying to evoke some of his warmth to Achilles for he was afraid for his upcoming death; his welcoming of it. He didn’t want to hear fate yet alone his willingness to accept it. It was a weird way to connect that autumn morning. And yet he felt that at least Achilles might have found a reason to postpone his will to die. Antilochus broke the embrace first, standing up.

“Look at us!” he chuckled softly, “Looking like children playing at the gymnasium like this! We have a war to fight! I am sorry…I took your personal time, my lord Achilles…”

“Wait!” Achilles’s voice made him stop, “Stay…please…”

It was a request; a pleading.

“Please stay with me longer…” he almost seemed worried, afraid

“Are you afraid of the dark and shadows?”

“Yes…” Achilles admitted, “More like those inside my heart… Please stay a bit longer…”

Antilochus smiled softly.

“Of course, my lord…” he whispered, “I would be delighted”

*

Outside the tents, the Greeks were already preparing for the events of the day. The kings were to negotiate their next step again given how the mourning period for Hector was over, how the killings would start anew. It was a sad prospect and they knew their own forces wouldn’t last long. The spies were also informing them on movement on Troy’s part to call upon more allies to arrive to the battlefield. Odysseus was thinking all this as he pranced about the camp. He blew some warm air to his freezing fingers. Autumn was in for good. Soon winter would arrive again.

“Yet another year to the foot of Troy…” he thought miserably, “Yet another year away from our homes…for the sakes of this war…”

He was also worried on Achilles. That last lament period shocked everyone. Achilles had just collapsed and then turned into blind rage. People were afraid on his sanity; that his mind would break. An out of control Achilles was much more dangerous than they would have thought. And their army needed their support. Before the Trojans had Hector to even the odds. Now their strongest warrior was gone. It would be their chance to have higher spirits and yet they didn’t. Achilles was a mess. Once more they seemed to square one… He could only hope he would snap out of his grief enough to fight. His gloomy thoughts were interrupted when he saw old Nestor. Nestor was suffering more than the rest of them from the cold; he had a bear skin over his shoulders to keep his old bones warmer and yet he refused to stand back. Odysseus smiled.

“Good morning, my friend” he said

“Good morning” Nestor replied, “It turned chilly!”

“Yeah…” Odysseus agreed, “Sometimes I envy the young!”

“Speaking of which…my son left the tent earlier this morning. He said he wanted to check on Achilles and I didn’t hear from him since. Have you seen him?”

“No” Odysseus replied thoughtfully, “But I was heading there myself to check on things. Maybe he is still there”

As if on a queue they heard light laughter coming from the direction where the Myrdmidons had camped.  The distinct, clear laughter from Achilles made a small smile creep to Odysseus’s lips.

“It’s the first time I hear him laugh in weeks…” he sounded almost hopeful, “Your son is a miracle-worker!”

Nestor smiled back.

“He is…” he whispered thoughtfully, “He is…”

Odysseus’s smile dropped when he saw a shadow in Nestor’s eyes. He didn’t need to ask to know there was something ominous hanging over the two youths.

Yet another time he looked at the cloudy, gray sky and wondered to Athena how all that was even justified…if the youth were to perish and all the others would live…

***

So yeah...Achilles being depressed and Antilochus giving some consolation! TT_TT Achilles hoped to see Patroclus's ghost again (which is what inspired me from that amazing Aria as well!)

Also I wondered if Antilochus knew the warning Nestor got to "beware of an Ethiopian" if he would know or sense the warning was for himself instead of his father...what if he feared it all along...maybe that would be the connection with Achilles!

Set after the mourning period of Hector! As you can see I kept it a bit "homeric" in the essence that I love tenderness in his writing and then leave it unravel!

a small thanking thing in a way too for @smokey07 for honoring me with a mention! Anoher thankng for @h0bg0blin-meat for his sketch to one of my silly headcanons about Achilles and Patroclus! Still makes me giggle my friend!

Also I want you guys check out my brilliant friend's art and mentions on our characters trust me you won't regret it! Many parallels of the epic cycle were added unconsciously to our story! Hahahaha! @artsofmetamoor

My analysis on Achilles and Patroclus can be found here

Antilochus needed some love too there! Hehehe others write scary stories for October but I was like "nope I shall mention ghosts in angst!"

[wee-chlo]

So I'm reading a pretty cool book called Hades: Myth, Magic and Modern Devotion by Jamie Waggoner, which is very good and interesting so far, 10/10, really enjoying my preliminary ADHD skim.

And one of the chapters deals with the obvious: Greek thoughts about death, dying, and the various rituals surrounding the dead in ancient Greece.

And that's the chapter that mentions Hades' children.

So apparently in actual myth, whether or not Hades has children is fairly ambiguous, but the ones that do say he has children reference two daughters specifically: Melinoë and Makaria.

Both deal with the dead specifically. Makaria is the goddess of the blessed dead, and rules over Elysium. She's the embodiment of the shades who pass peacefully, or have come to terms with their death and settle in the Underworld.

Melinoë, on the other hand, is the goddess of restless spirits. Shades who return to haunt the living for various reasons but most commonly because of a failure to show their remains due deference, who are angry and unsettled. She doesn't rule over a specific place in the Underworld, but is associated with the river Cocytus, or the river of wailing and lamentation.

(on a note somewhat unrelated to actual Greek mythology, Cocytus is also the place in Virgil's Divine Comedy where traitors are sent, including Cain, Judas, and Satan)

In the context of SGG Hades, this means a few things to me:

A) there is a clear piece of connective tissue between the divine portfolios of all of Mel's potential divine suitors and her own: retribution, strife, and doom all slot pretty neatly into the idea of being haunted by shades of angered dead.

B) Much like Zagreus always being On the Go, I don't think Melinoë will settle into the House very well. Perhaps hers will be a mirror of Persephone, where she stays there for short stays and goes between the House and the Crossroads.

C) Hades and Persephone will have another kid and she's gonna be the baby of the family and have a great time being a chthonic goddess while her siblings are just like "WOW WONDER WHAT THAT'S LIKE"

[ambros1an]

acheron — persephone

warnings: spoilers for Acheron backstory & real name, loosely!! based off hades and persephone myth, gn! reader, implied nihility emanator reader

summary: Acheron, who is tasked with ferrying the dead comes across an unusual guest. A living person.

In hades, “the drowned ask for help, lament with songs, find their happiness, enjoy sweet moments, and suffer great agony.”

In hades, the shadows reach out to grasp her ankles in an effort to free themselves from the river of woe; unaware they have long since departed. Their hands are just wisps of something that once was.

In hades, an end does not exist.

Nonetheless, it is her duty to guide lost souls back to the other side, no matter how pointless the task.

In memories long ago, she encountered few travelers, Frebass, Tiernan, all met their departure within the Nihility.

One drowned beneath the sea, picking apart her bones till she was nothing. The other lingered for years, maybe decades, unaware of his own death.

However, you seemed unaware of your own life.

You stood there looking up at the sin thirsters, your feet planted in the water. The constant rain pouring down, drenching your clothes.

“This is no place for the living,” she said, “you must be cold, follow me.”

Guiding the dead was what she was used to. Her title, Acheron, was a river upon which souls of the deceased were ferried across. But not the living. Not even when she was Mei did she avoid bloodshed.

She shepherded you across the black sea in a run-down boat. It bobbed up and down in the water, the sin thirsters nearly turning it over with their claws. They could sense the living. One sight of the sword had them shrinking away.

She led you to a cave which hadn’t been used in sometime. It was damp, droplets slid down the wall of the cavern. The only warmth came from the fire the hooded figure put together.

“Usually those that come to IX are dead or planning to die. You don’t look like either. What brought you?” Acheron broke the silence.

“Death. I must be dead,” you say. It was as if you woke up after a long period of time. Nothing looked familiar. Nothing, not even your last memories gave any hints.

She shook her head, “I guide those who are departed. Those ‘shadows’ were the dead. You certainly aren’t like them.”

“So, I’m alive?” You look at your hands. They were still flesh, and not shadow.

Acheron nods, “Mmm, for now.”

For now? Your eyes widen at the response. Backing up against the wall, you look for the words to say but your mouth just opens and closes. Is she going to kill you?

She looks over to you, expressionless, she reaches into her cloak and throws out a peach at you. “There’s a storm coming. It’ll be a long one. Not to worry, I will guide you,” and this time I won’t fail.

To consume the fruit of the underworld meant to be binded. To be indebted to Hades.

The peach lands in your hand. “Guide me?”

“To lead you out of here. To take you back to the mortal realm.”

With the peach in your hands, you stare at it. The bleak monochrome world of IX comes back to you. The wispy shadows pooling around your feet. Every step making a splash in its waters. Staying any longer…

You look back to the woman who’s called “Acheron,” who led you to shelter, who created warmth in the form of a flame, who leads the dead to a new life. Although her expression never changed, her words were always sincere.

“I trust you,” you take a bite of the peach, “but first, what’s your name?” You ask in between chews.

“…..Raiden Bosenmori Mei,” she mumbles but her words sound more like a whisper, something that should’ve been left unsaid, “But Acheron is fine.”

The only response that follows is the rain beating against the roof, and the flames licking against wood.

“Hey,” she says, “six months. That’s all I need. Just don’t forget when the six months are up,” Acheron grins, “Persephone.”

@ryeins

a/n: this was so hard bc I didn’t want to make it creepy like the og myth but also not ooc. also readers nihility influences them to lose their sense of self (hence the whole dead thing)! lore

[mythologyofthepoetandthemuse]

The worship of cereals was also a crucial part of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The nutritious grain participated in the Eleusinian drama but the way it was presented still remains secret. Some claim that the sprout blossomed miraculously during the ceremony, or in the end of the Mysteries, a hope for humans this gift of Demeter. In many other myths from other traditions, this rebirth of nature is connected with the death of a sacred creature, of a god, a supernatural sacrifice that was esteemed necessary by the archaic consciousness. In Greece, the death of the youth Zagreus took that form, the child of Persephone and Zeus, that was later reborn as Dionysus, and the circle eternal leading to the violent death of Adonis, lover of Aphrodite, which is also identified with vegetation. The murder of Osiris in Egypt by his twin brother Set (another Cain) and the dramatic quest of his sister and wife Isis to find his scattered pieces resembles that of Demeter trying to refind Persephone in her grief and worry, in both stories the natural world withers and dries while the goddesses lament. When finally the search for the lost loved person becomes fruitful then nature returns to fruition too.

Illustration by Willy Pogany

[deathlessathanasia]

“Theophilê Hekataiou gives her greeting. They were wooing me, Theiophilê the short-lived daughter of Hekataios, those young men [seeking] a maiden for marriage. But Hades seized me first, since he was longing for me When he saw a Persephone better than Persephone. [….] And when the message is carved on the stone He weeps for the girl, Theiophilê the Sinopian, Whose father, Hekataios, gave the torch-holding bride-to-be To Hades and not a marriage. […] Maiden Theiophilê, no marriage awaits you, but a land With no return; not as the bride of Menophilos, But as a partner in Persephone’s bed. Your father Hekataios Now has only the name of the pitiable lost girl. And as he looks on your shape in stone he sees The unfulfilled hopes Fate wrongly buried in the ground. Theiophilê, a girl allotted beauty envied by mortals, A tenth Muse, a Grace for marriage’s age, A perfect example of prudence. Hades did not throw his dark hands around you. No, Pluto lit the flames for the wedding torches With his lamp, welcoming a most desired mate. Parents, stop your laments now, stop your grieving, Theiophilê has found an immortal bed.”

Hades’ Newest Bride: A Remarkable Epitaph

[tylermileslockett]

"The Gate to Hades" (part 3 in my Orpheus and Eurydice series)

Part3: But Orpheus is not satisfied to sit in solitary mourning. There was a great injustice in the death of his love Eurydice. If the beasts and rocks of the wild woods of Olympia bow before his song, what is to stop him for persuading the spirits of the underworld? Perhaps he can even persuade the King Hades to take pity on him and his lost love. With this determination, he receives directions to the dark gate from the forest nymphs and sets out. Many days later, standing before that gaping black maw, Orpheus shivers. He might never return to the land of the living. He steps forward. He has nothing left to lose.

In Greek literary sources we have varying references to the location of the entrance to underworld. In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus must travel to Hades to  perform a “Nekyia” ceremony to commune with the dead to receive prophecies. Circe gives Odysseus the vaguest of directions; “…once your ship has crossed flowing Ocean, drag it ashore at Persephone’s groves, on the level beach where tall poplars grow, willows shed their fruit, right beside deep swirling Oceanus.  Then you must go to Hades’ murky home, where Periphlegethon and Cocytus, a stream which branches off theriver Styx, flow into Acheron.” – translation by Ian Johnston.

Some scholars believe Homer’s description of the location is based on the real-world temple of the “Nekromanteion” (oracle of the dead) in Ancient Epirus (Northwest Greece). This was a temple of necromancy dedicated to Hades and Persephone where devotees could commune with dead spirits, and was believed to be the entrance to Hades. The temple was located at the meeting point of three rivers; the Acheron (river of woe), Pyriphlegethon (river of fire), and Cocytus (river of lamentation).

Thanks for reading and looking! If you share this image I'll swim the river styx to.give you a high five! Xoxo

Like this art? It will be in my illustrated book with over 130 other full page illustrations coming in march to kickstarter. Please check my links in my linktree in my bio to join the kickstarter notification page. 🤟❤️🏛

[highladyjane]

So... it's 3am and I might be delirious and delulu, so this'll be a very quick dive, but I just couldn't help but see some parallels and connections that I felt the need to share no matter how far-fetched😅

If/say Azriel is Death & darkness aka Hades.

And Elain is the lovely fawn of Spring aka Persephone...

And Mor is Leuce who was Hades' first love who had similarities with/was friends with/an epiteth of Persephone much like Mor and Elain has Golden/Sunshine etc. similarities

Then could our resident red-headed nymph Gwyneth be... Minthe?

And diving deeper... Cocytus, which literally means "lamentation" (which is, you know, also a special kind of song 👀), the underground river/lake where Minthe is from...

And just who lives in an underground lake? Koschei.

I don't really want Gwyneth to turn out to be a villain, and I especially do not want her to join the drama and give Gw*nrie/s and the necklace fiasco anymore validity than they're due, but she does have suspicious qualities that I know many are already familiar with...

All in all, this just further gives quite another meaning to secret, lovely beauty in my eyes 👀

[aliciavance4228]

I think I've already talked a lot about how lots of fanfics and retellings are making Persephone, Demeter and Hades dirty, so I'm going to talk about other two figures from Homeric Hymns to Demeter people made dirty as well.

First of all, there is Hecate. In a lot of fanfictions and retellings she's either Hades' adviser and/or one of his most loyal subjects or something like that because... *checks notes* Ah yes, she's a chtonic deity too!

While Hecate was indeed associated with the Underworld for a very long time, she didn't have any sort of direct connection with Hades nor with his kingdom until Demeter asked her to become Persephone's attendant and substitute queen. Before that she was living in her cave and minding her own business.

Besides, it’s also important to emphasize the fact that Hecate was the only one who took pity of Demeter when she was hopelessly searching for her daughter and the one who led her to Helios so that she would find out where is her daughter.

Hekatê came to her, holding a light ablaze in her hands. She came with a message, and she spoke up, saying to her: “Lady Demeter, bringer of hôrai, giver of splendid gifts, which one of the gods who dwell in the sky or which one of mortal humans seized Persephone and brought grief to your philos thûmos? I heard the sounds, but I did not see with my eyes who it was. So I quickly came to tell you everything, without error.” So spoke Hekatê. But she was not answered by the daughter [Demeter] of Rhea with the beautiful hair. Instead, she [Demeter] joined her [Hekatê] and quickly set out with her, holding torches ablaze in her hands.

This is one of the most prominent examples of women supporting women from Greek Mythology, considering not only that Hecate helps Demeter, but becomes a protective figure towards her daughter during her time in the Underworld when she's far from her mother as well.

Depicting her as supporting Hades or even being against Demeter and suggesting Persephone to remain with her husband isn't just out of her character, but also very reductive, especially for a written work based on a hymn which centers on its female characters along with their interactions and suffering.

Then there's Rhea. As I said, Demeter's interactions with other female characters are a relevant aspect from the myth, since these are the only type of figures who seem to emphatize with her and comfort her in a way other gods cannot. The only male figure from this hymn who tries to bring her some sort of consolation is Helios, and he literally told her that she should consider herself honoured that her daughter is now the wife of one of Zeus' brothers, as if he didn't clearly hear Persephone's screams when she was kidnapped.

But I urge you, goddess: stop your loud cry of lamentation: you should not have an anger without bounds, all in vain. It is not unseemly to have, of all the immortals, such a son-in-law as Hadês, the one who makes many sêmata. He is the brother [of Zeus], whose seed is from the same place. And as for tîmê, he has his share, going back to the very beginning, when the three-way division of inheritance was made. He dwells with those whose king he was destined by lot to be.”

This part basically shows the patriarchal mentality people from that time had on marriage, or, in the best case, how Helios is uncapable of fully understanding Demeter's grief and concern purely because he doesn't know what being a woman and a mother respectively is like.

But then we have Rhea, who is not only a female figure, but also her own mother. She understands not only what being a woman or a mother is like, but also the fear and rage of seeing your own children being taken from you, considering the fact that she saw five of her children being eaten by her husband, and even when she saved Zeus from the same fate she wasn't able to raise him because otherwise Cronus would've soon figured out what is happening.

This happened the moment she [Rhea] arrived from the boundless aether. They [Demeter and Rhea] were glad to see each other, and they rejoiced in their thûmos. Then Rhea, the one with the splendid headband, addressed her [Demeter]: “Come, child, Zeus the loud-thunderer, the one who sees far and wide, is summoning you to come to the company of that special group of gods. And he promised tîmai that he would give you, which you could receive in the company of the immortal gods. He [Zeus] assented that your daughter, every time the season comes round, would spend a third portion of the year in the realms of dark mist underneath, and the other two thirds in your company and that of the other immortals. He has assented to all this with the nod of his head. So come, my child! Obey! Do not be too stubborn in your anger at the dark-clouded son of Kronos. Straightaway make the harvest grow, that life-bringer for humans.”

Now, many people would say things like: "Oh, but she was just sent by Zeus to tell Demeter what he has decreeted!" and ignore that she literally told Demeter that her rage and persistence weren't in vain, that she managed to gain her own victory to some extent by getting to spend the majority of the year with her daughter besides her despite the fact that she ate those pomegranate seeds.

Zeus, Hades and Demeter are all Rhea's children. Technically you would expect their mother to remain impartial in this sort of situations and conflicts, yet she still wanted to comfort the only one of them three who went through a similar suffering she went through once and was able to understand what losing your child and being almost unable to do something about it is like in a way her sons couldn't.

So the fact that a lot of retellings either completely erase her or depict her as Hades' lovely mother who is happy because her oldest son finally has a wife (I've seen a comic where she meets Persephone and tells her something like: "You're very beautiful. No wonder why my son kidnapped you.") and consider her role to be a minor/insignificant one in Homeric Hymns to Demeter despite of the (more or less) clear historical context and how girls used to be taken from their mothers and forcibly married off to men they probably didn't even know is, again, out of her character and whoever thought that this is a briliant idea misses the entire point of why she's making an appearance in this myth in the first place.

So if you really want to create a "feminist", or at least decent/compelling retellings of this myth (though let's be honest, Homeric Hymns to Demeter is already a masterpiece and a surprisingly progressive/innovative written work considering the time when it was written), perhaps it would be a better idea to focus on women's interactions with other women, instead of either sanitizing or demonizing them based on what sort of relationship they have with the central male figure from it (Hades).

[jewishbarbies]

PERSEPHONE’S LAMENT ⇢ a gcu installment

Dr. Erin Angelos was comfortable in her position as an attending physician in one of the top hospitals in the country. Still, something was missing. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. But when a position opened up at Metro-General for a new outreach program, she couldn’t stop herself from transferring, uprooting her life to start anew in an all too familiar place—Hell’s Kitchen, New York City, New York. A place she hadn’t been to since she left for medical school.

Though the city was a bit different than it was when she was younger, much of it was still the same. Erin settled into life in Hell’s Kitchen as well as could be expected. Her new job entailed house calls and visits to various shelters, footwork she didn’t mind doing, and it felt much more satisfying than her previous position. However, no one anticipated the sudden, staggering surge in gang violence. Doctors were needed more than ever before and Erin was kept busy at the hospital and on the streets.

She was ordered to go home, get some rest, but with the carnage she’d seen, sleeping felt like the last thing on her mind. So, she found a little bar off the beaten path called ‘Josie’s’ and made a home out of a barstool. It was there she met Karen Page as she ordered another round for herself and her coworkers—a pair of local lawyers, Erin learned. Notable ones. Karen offered Erin a round at the pool table. And, although she wasn’t keen on the idea of butting into strangers’ spaces, it sounded like a decent way to get the blood off her mind. Karen introduced her to Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock and they played a round.

Who would’ve thought that an innocent game with strangers would lead to the destruction that followed? Or to a tumultuous relationship with one of New York City’s best lawyers—and it’s best defender?

gcu tag: @moustache-bonnet

tag list: @starcrossedjedis @heirsoflilith @phoenixsupremacy  @eddiemunscns @darknightfrombeyond @sgtbuckyybarnes @raith-way @hiddenqveendom @foxesandmagic @chlobenet @edwardsshinyvolvo  @chrissymunson @katiekinswrites @arrthurpendragon  (want to be added? hmu ♡)

[musicalcastingideas]

Dropout Does The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals

So my theory about overlap of Dropout and Team Starkid seems to be accurate, and people seemed to like my Dropout does Nerdy Prudes Must Die post, so I'm back for another. Same method and criteria as my previous post, you can go see that if you want to know what they are. Also, I have previously done a similar list with Internet Personalities that included a handful of Dropout people, but I'm gonna try to make this one different.

Also spoilers for potentially anything in the Hatchetfield verse

Paul: Ross Bryant

Ross is a great straight man (in the comedy sense, I don't know his sexuality) while being very funny in his own right, and I think, while Paul has a lot of his own funny moments, it's very important that his character is also the more normal guy reacting to the madness around him. Also, he would slay the Jekyll and Hyde homage that is Let it Out.

Emma : Siobhan Thompson

I think one of the essential parts of Emma's character is an underlying exhaustion with the world, and that is very Adaine Abernant and Ruby Rocks, so I think Siobhan would embody that very well.

Charlotte: Vic Michaelis

I don't think I've ever heard them do a transatlantic accent before, but I just have this gut feeling they'd be so good at it.

Ted: Ify Nwadiwe

While I do genuinely think Ify would be great in the part, if I'm being fully honest, this casting is because I (despite my better judgment) find Ted Spankoffski hot, so casting arguably the hottest man in Dropout in this part makes me seem less damaged for being attracted to the self-proclaimed sleazeball. Also him and Vic seem like they would be great playing off each other.

Bill: Brian "Murph" Murphy

He just has "refuses to drink during the apocalypse so he can be the DD" energy.

Mr Davidson: Brian David Gilbert

Since I'm splitting up all the parts, this basically turns Mr Davidson into a Princess Track where the actor just shows up, sings about desire and being choked while he jerks off, but laments how he can never achieve his dreams, and then pretty much leaves, and I don't know why, but that seems right up BDG's alley.

Melissa: Lisa Gilroy

Lisa Gilroy seems nice, but also kinda scares me, and those are the correct vibes for Melissa (#heymelissacore)

Sam: Jacob Wysoki

My only concern about this casting is that he'd go SO HARD in You Tied Up My Heart that he would keep breaking the handcuffs and/or chair, but that's fine, it would be worth it.

Nora: Katie Marovitch

The "Decaf?" parts of Cup of Roasted Coffee already sounds a bit like her TBH.

Zoey: Rehka Shankar

I feel like Zoey is such an underrated, funny side character in the show (I know she's a very small part, but like every line she has is a banger) and I feel like Rehka is a very underrated performer, so this is a good match.

Greenpeace Girl: Persephone Valentine

Making up the Save the Sea Turtles campaign is such a Sam Nightengale move, and also she would eat up Lah Dee Dah Dah Day.

Alice: Surena Marie

She's got a bit of a baby face (I thought she was like 25) and I think she would handle the change from Alice to Hivemind Alice really well.

Deb: Emily Axford

I'm definitely not just casting this because I want Emily to be my protective and caring girlfriend...

Professor Hidgens: Josh Ruben

I don't have an explanation for this one, this is vibes alone.

General MacNamara: Brennan Lee Mulligan

"Wear a Watch" and a song highlighting how the hivemind is essentially fascist and using the military to destroy any resistance to their regime is so Brennan core.

Homeless Man: Ally Beardlsey

I just feel like this is the part they'd want.

Dan Reynolds: Lou Wilson

Icons play Icons.

Donna: Aabria Iyengar

Icons play Icons

Hard Cuts:

Jacob Wysoki as Ted

Mike Trapp as Paul

Emily Axford as Emma

Jess Ross as Charlotte

Lily Du as Zoey

Grant O'Brien as Professor Hidgens

Grant O'Brien as Ted

Ally Beardlsey as Ted

[anotheroceanid]

Someone on tiktok

"When i'm trying to watch a troy adaption but they make the Goddess Percy a slutty Athena as if she didn't spend centuries as a maiden because she didn't realize sex was a thing"

Commenter #1: Yes!!! I also really hate when they make her flirt with everything that moves!! She was described as kind and loving in the myths, not an aphrodite lite

Commenter #2: I remember watching one and they completely skip over the scene where she saves Hector's son from being thrown off the wall but added one of her lamenting that a boy as hot as Achiles died 🙄

A TikTok video like: when im consuming a Greek mythology adaptation and they make Perse flirt with every demigod 😭😭😭 when im consuming a Greek mythology adaptation and they bring up Ovid’s characterisation of Perse 👹👹👹 when im consuming Greek mythology adaptation and Perse is a pick me obsessed with Dionysis and/or Odysseus

Comment 1: when im consuming Greek mythology adaptation and they mix Perse with either Hebe or Persephone 👹👹👹

[spiribia]

Persephones commonly considered story was already well configured for feminist commentary, it’s not just that hades wanted her but that Zeus shook his hand and said Go ahead brother she’s yours, to persephones lamentation and to Demeters, persephones friend reduced to water with inability to prevent the tragedy, demeters gods-cursing winter in her grief, her bleak search in which a mortal woman endeavored to cheer her up. This is a Revolutionary Girl Utena setup and you all want it to be Beauty and the Beast or 50 shades of grey, for shame (wandering mumbling to myself but at day 3 of this it’s not even cute anymore and I’m eye bagged)

[incorrect-au-master]

Tiresias' lament.

Tiresias: *singing* I see a song of past romance. I see the sacrifice of man. I see portrayals of betrayal and a brother's final stand...

*meanwhile*

Hades and Persephone: *whatching with some binnoculars from some bushes*

Hades: um... why are we intruding in the Elysium again?

Persephone: tsssss. I wanna hear the rest of the song...

Tiresias: i see a man who gets to make it home alive! But it's no longer youuuuuu...

Persephone: gasp! *eating popcorn*

(Guess who got really into Epic the musical)