#the river lethe

[aielylois]

I've crossed the street too many times to count just to escape your memory all of my bridges have burned down but you've always known how to swim I have been drowning for years s(wallow)ing (in) the River Lethe hoping that when I finally get to the other side I will not look for you there

crossing the Lethe street -ylm

Prompts: a poem inspired by the line, "I still love the people I've loved, even if I cross the steet to avoid them" Uma Thurman - #elocintingprompts on ig // s(wallow) - #bellaryanprompts on ig

[soracities]

Chris Abani, from "Fragrance", 3 poems pub. Air Light Magazine [transcript in ALT]

[thepenguisalive7]

sucks to be you

-“Dessert mindscape: Day 1 (Are we back?)”

[cookieclover]

Achilles, my beloved (he came looking for Patroclus)

(thanks to @happy-duckie my obsession with Hades game came back, and with that, the motivation to finally draw a fanart!)

[fortunaestalta]

[sleepnowmychild]

Hypnos, standing at the banks of Lethe with a fishing net: if you don’t stop stealing my shiny offerings you’re being put in air jail.

The Lethe sirens: *underwater giggling noises*

[diana-thyme]

Greek Gods 101: Lethe

Lethe is a goddess of the River Lethe and forgetfulness. Excluding the universal offerings, some common offerings include:

Poppies

Water

Sticky Notes

Dirt or Sand from Rivers

Cups and Chalices

Coins

Dead Plants

Graveyard Dirt

Bones

For devotional acts, some activities that can be done for her include:

Airing Out Issues and Grievances

Writing Down Things You Want to Forget & Burning Them

Living Life to the Fullest

Letting Go Things You Cannot Change

Keeping a Diary

Learning About the Ancient Greek Belief of Reincarnation

She is not celebrated in any Athenian holidays.

[ghost-bxrd]

You’ve read about Orpheus and Eurydice, but have you read about the sad sob who joined a shady organization just to keep his childhood crush safe? No?

Well then buckle in folks, cuz it’s gonna be a ride.

[crossdressingdeath]

I have thoughts about Nico's sword. Seriously, where the fuck did he get a three foot long Stygian iron sword at the age of ten or eleven? Was it a gift from Hades? Possible, but he has that sword while he's hanging around Minos and I can't see Hades tolerating his kid getting used that way by a mere ghost, and certainly not a son of Zeus; if nothing else I feel like it would hurt his pride. Did Nico make it himself? Also possible, but it would display a level of control over metal that he doesn't show at any other point. He might have been able to find the raw metal on his own even though Stygian iron seems to be the rarest of the three godly metals, since as a child of the Underworld he might be able to sense it even if precious metals aren't his specialty, but how would he get a sword out of it? He's not a swordsmith I don't think, and he definitely wasn't at that age. It'd be cool if he just willed it into shape, but a) I don't think Stygian iron works that way and b) see previous point about how he never shows that level of control over metal at any other point. Stygian iron has to be cooled in the Styx, too, so if he made it... uh, how. I don't think it would be safe for him to get that close to the river.

Also according to the wiki Stygian iron can harm mortals as well as immortals, demigods and monsters, and it is absolutely wild to me that this passes without mention after what a big deal and terrible sign Luke acquiring a sword that can harm mortals is. ...Actually all the information about Stygian iron on the wiki is wild (WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT MIGHT BE ABLE TO KILL MONSTERS PERMANENTLY. WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT MIGHT DESTROY SOULS. WHAT DO YOU MEAN AMONG DEMIGODS ONLY CHILDREN OF THE UNDERWORLD CAN WIELD IT SAFELY BECAUSE IT WAS COOLED IN THE STYX. WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S AS FAR AS WE KNOW INDESTRUCTIBLE AND IF IT CAN BE BROKEN MIGHT ONLY BE ABLE TO BE BROKEN BY CHILDREN OF THE UNDERWORLD), Rick can we please have a whole book about how Stygian iron works. Also can the wiki please list its sources, I suspect a lot of the Stygian iron info comes from Read Riordan but that site is such a bitch to search.

Also the fact that Nico is the only demigod we've seen so far who uses Stygian iron is so much to me (*squints in Zagreus!Nico*). Oh, and according to the wiki Nico's sword is a falcata, which... okay, I don't know where they're pulling that information from—I think it's Read Riordan? The picture they've got from Read Riordan definitely looks falcata-ish—but if true that's interesting because as far as I'm aware that would make Nico the only main character in the Greco-Roman series who uses a weapon that isn't Greco-Roman (the falcata is from pre-Roman Iberia). Nico's sword is just so interesting to me and I desperately want to know more about it, Rick can we have a flashback or a short story or something about how he got it at least.

[epicthemusicalstuff]

Underworld Saga Countdown: 21 days

The underworld is home to many rivers, the most well known being the river of the dead, the Styx. The river Styx circles around all of the underworld, and must be crossed by the souls of the dead. Often oath were sworn in this river. Also sometimes Achilles was dipped into it as a baby (on the occasions that he wasn’t held above a fire). Then there is the Acheron (sometimes a lake?) which sometimes replaces the Styx in some myths. Sometimes it is the headwater for all the rivers of the underworld, while in others it is where all the rivers flow into. Next, the Phlegethon, the river of fire, which is associated with punishment in the underworld. The river Cocytus is the river of punishment. The river Lethe is the river of forgetfulness. Lastly, there is sometimes the river Oceanus, which shares a name with the titan whose offspring went on to become the river gods and Oceanids! This ‘river’ around the world helped to separate the living from the dead.

This is by no means all there is to know about the rivers, just a few fun tidbits, so I highly recommend doing more research if you are interested! In addition, I would ask you to keep in mind that there are lots of versions of all the myths, so what I know might be slightly different from what you know!! In any case, have a wonderful 21 days until the underworld saga!!!

[spineless-lobster]

They call me the river lethe the way I… uh… the way I-hold on, uhm… the way I…

[mysterious-secret-garden]

Gustave Doré - Dante and the River of Lethe, 1880. Illustration for "The Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri.

See Andrzej Masianis' version of this engraving, here.

[soracities]

Dunya Mikhail, from Diary of a wave outside the sea (trans. Elizabeth Winslow and Dunya Mikhail) [ID'd]

[alohamoon]

Lethe siren

[ac-art-and-stuff]

Imagine Marius goes down in battle. Imagine Lethica, unable to control her fear as something tugs at the emptiness in her mind. Something unsettlingly familiar that she's felt before. Imagine the breaths in between her prayer to Shar to return him to life. Ragged. Pained. Panicked.

Something bright and hot pushes against the cool darkness in her memories. She thinks of the pyre outside of the mines. "By Lathander! By Shar!" She thinks of the vision of Marius in her the burning house while on the roof of the church in Cyril. "No...! No no no! What have I done!? I'm so sorry!" She thinks of the comforting chill of his hands as they danced, her own uncomfortably warm within them. "I'm sorry... for everything; but I've enjoyed every moment with you."

"No no no!" She demands. "Not again!"

I won't lose you too.

I can't erase myself twice.

[provelove]

there are some songs i cannot listen to in public because i legitimately can’t be normal about them and ‘first time’ by hozier is one of them.