By the Gods!

Jan 24

Just a quick note…

I want to thank you all for sending in so many questions, and wanted to provide a general note of apology for those of you I don’t respond to.

We get a lot of messages every day here at By the Gods!, and don’t get a chance to answer each one. If a question is of general interest and I have some information or an opinion, I’ll try to post it for all to see. If it’s just a quick question or something personal or specific, I’ll answer privately. This is an interest blog I run out of love, and I don’t have as much time to devote to it as I’d like, but I do what I can.

Also, by way of sincere apology, though I’m an enthusiast of all things mythical and study religion in much of my free time, I’m far from a total expert. There are many specific, refined points that remain unclear to me. So if I haven’t studied the same ancient texts as you, don’t take it personally!

Thanks, everybody! I hope you keep on enjoying the content.

Posted 1 month ago

11 notes

message,

Jan 22

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Jan 21

Doubting Thomas

Just a quick one for you today, mythfans. The picture above is one that I snapped personally on my recent trip to Paris, within Notre Dame cathedral (now that you know the source, the horrendous quality is explained; it’s dim in there, okay?).

Thomas was one of the apostles of Jesus of Nazareth according to the gospel of John in the New Testament. After Jesus’ death by crucifixion, he was believed to have resurrected and briefly returned to visit his buddies. Thomas, being a shrewd man, (by comparison) wasn’t willing to believe just anything. He decided to investigate the situation more closely by putting his fingers in Jesus’ wounds, taking their friendship to a new level.

Upon seeing that the wound was authentic, Thomas put his seal of approval on the resurrection.

What I personally like about this story is skepticism and scrutiny on the part of ol’ Tom. At least for a single moment, he’s one of the only guys willing to use his noggin and raise an eyebrow at the seemingly magical.

Posted 1 month ago

62 notes

christianity, mythology, christian mythology, christian myth, christian, religion,

Jan 20

Atlas

The big man with the mother of all back pain, Atlas is one of the more famed Titans from the world of Greek myth. He was the son of Iapetus and Asia by Hesiod’s account (Hesiod being the author of the famed Theogony, from which a great deal of our info on Greek myth comes), but Hyginus believed him to be the son of Aether and Gaia. Regardless of his parentage, Atlas was a big strong fella who found himself on the losing team after the war between the Olympians and the Titans (the Titanomachy).

Atlas was undoubtedly a serious force for the Titans, but they still couldn’t quite get it done, due in part to Atlas’ brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus betraying their own kind to form an alliance with the Olympians. When Zeus and his cohorts had won out, they banished most of the Titans to Tartarus, the abyssal dungeon beneath even the Underworld. Atlas, however, with a nod to his incredible strength and apropos parentage, was sentenced to the western edge of the world and charged with holding up Uranus (the sky) on his shoulders forever. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a guy.

Though he’s often shown supporting the earth, this is an incorrect portrayal. He was originally depicted shouldering a great celestial orb, speckled with the sun, stars, and other knick-knacks of the firmament.

Atlas, in some stories, was turned to stone, and his tremendous body formed the Atlas mountain range in Northern Africa. In another tale, Heracles has a wacky adventure with the tragically trapped Titan, with hilarious results.

Posted 1 month ago

177 notes

greek, greek myth, greek mythology, myth, mythology, legend, atlas,

Jan 12

Momotarou, which can be translated as “peach boy” or “peach first son”, is a popular hero in Japanese folklore.

The story goes like this:

There once was an elderly, childless couple who lived out in the country. One day, the wife was washing the clothes in the river when she came upon a large peach floating towards her. Well, the wife grabbed that peach and brought it back with her to the house. She and her husband decided to open the peach, to eat the flesh inside. And what do they find when they cut it open? A little boy! The child went on to tell them that he was sent from Heaven to be their son. They were overjoyed, and named him Momotarou.

Years pass by and Momotarou leaves his parents to go and fight this band of marauding oni’s (demons or ogres) on a distant island. While he’s on his way there, he happens to befriend a talking dog, monkey, and pheasant; who all agree to to help him on his quest. At the island, Momotarou and his talking animal friends are able to penetrate oni’s fort and literally beat those oni’s into surrendering! Momotarou and his friends return from the battle, with treasure and the oni leader as their captive.

Momotarou returns home to his parents with all his spoils, and they all live comfortably from then on.

——————

Thanks for the awesome submission! If you’re interested in more of the Japanese-style myths in our archives, check out the Shinto and Buddhist directories!

Posted 1 month ago

138 notes

shinto, buddhism, japanese, japan, myth, mythology, japanese mythology, japanese myth, eastern, submission,

Jan 10

Just what is a Myth exactly? What makes it different from a fairy tale for example?

fantasysscrybe

This is a question that we get asked constantly, and it’s a difficult one to answer.

First and foremost, a myth is a story. People are obsessed with defining the word in terms of true/untrue, but we shouldn’t start there. A myth is all about cultural tradition. It represents the values and perspective of a group of people at a given time.

Myth is more specifically defined (technically) as a sacred narrative that explains the origins of the world and universe in a unique cultural voice. That definition jives with a lot of the myths we discuss here concerning creation and the first men and women who crept out of the ocean/dust/space/heaven/flower, but it doesn’t fit as nicely when we consider heroic sagas, cautionary tales steeped in magic, and local or environmental stories.

Myth has become a very broad term, and I choose to allocate it to any story that is representative of a group of people. The use of myth as a substitute for lie isn’t particularly helpful or insightful; an old story isn’t necessarily false, just as a story that can’t be technically disproven isn’t necessarily true.

When an the truth of a story is dismissed as “only a myth,” the word isn’t being used properly. Is it “only a traditional cultural story,” or is it “not true”? Choose your words carefully! Respect the myth, yo.

Posted 1 month ago

47 notes

Jan 5

A gift from Luke. He knows me too well.

NOTHING LEFT OUT!

Posted 1 month ago

53 notes

Jan 5

Janus

There’s no better time to learn about Janus than in January, his very own special little month. As Janus is the Roman god of beginnings, (among other things) it’s fairly apropos to talk about him in the first days of a brand new year (on western calendars).

Besides being the patron of beginnings, (and endings) Janus is the god of transitions, as represented by doors and gates. Big fan of a good door, that Janus. Oh, and he’s also the god of time, and thus the two faces: looking back into the past and forward into the future.

Janus is actually difficult to classify in the Roman Pantheon: he’s one of those everything and nothing types of deities. It’s been debated exactly what he presides over, since things like “time” and “transitions” are nebulous. Is he everywhere, and perhaps all powerful, or is he literally just hiding behind a rock, watching you get out of bed and start your day? Many Roman philosophers saw him as both the spark that caused every beginning, and the shadow that brought about every end.

Janus is certainly one mysterious deity, and was the topic of countless debates in western culture since the days of the old Roman Kingdom.

Posted 1 month ago

214 notes

roman, myth, mythology, god,

Dec 21

Hector

Are you familiar with the Iliad? Yes? Well, congratulations: it means you’re familiar with an amazing man named Hector.

No? What’s wrong with you? Don’t you like rad dudes? Let me tell you about this one rad dude named Hector.

Praised far and wide for his honour and heretofore unmatched prowess in battle, Hector was the firstborn son of Priam and Hecuba, the king and queen of Troy. As you may or may not know, Troy got tangled up in a tiff with all the Greeks on the other side of the Aegean, who were, for the most part, vassals to Agamemnon. Paris, Hector’s little brother, whisks away Helen, the wife of Menelaus (the king of Sparta), and this is used as a convenient reason for the Greeks to go to war with Troy.

While Hector was an incredible soldier, he was the sort of fellow who valued the lives of his men, and would rather avoid bloodshed. He was regarded highly by friend and foe for his noble and courtly nature, but when it came down to it, he could break your back with his little finger. Hector led the Trojan troops in the war, and demonstrated his brilliant leadership time and time again. He defeated the Greek champion Protesilaus in a duel, and forced a stalemate with the undefeated Ajax. Throughout the siege of his city, it was Hector who planned most of the defenses, and led the counterattack that burnt the Greek ships, nearly securing victory for the Trojans. Odysseus, when faced with Hector’s personal attack, described it as an “invincible headlong terror!”

However deserving a warrior he might’ve been, though, Hector was no match for the wrath of Achilles and the capriciousness of the gods. Hector had slain Patroclus, a beloved friend of Achilles, who had been wearing Achilles’ armour. Sadly for the Trojans, angry-Achilles doesn’t have an off-switch, and no amount of apology can calm the big guy down. As the Trojans retreat to their walled city after a failed attack, Hector hangs back to guard the rear and meets Achilles. They eventually do battle, but Hector is fooled by Athena, who had pretended to be Hector’s friend and shield bearer, but vanished in his moment of need. Achilles stabs poor Hector through the throat, and then attaches the body to his chariot, which he proceeds to drag about the battlefield. He “mistreats” Hectors body for two weeks, but Aphrodite and Apollo protect it from injury.

Priam, Hector’s father, is eventually allowed to reclaim the body. The subdued Achilles, filled with regret at the loss of such a great adversary, allows a twelve day truce so the Trojans can properly mourn Hector.

Besides being a great hero of Mediterranean myth, Hector is still remembered by lovers of antiquity in the western world, and was even immortalized as one of the “Nine Worthies” in medieval Europe, for being so honourable and mighty.

Posted 2 months ago

181 notes

nine worthies, heroes, greek, greek myth, myth, mythology,

Dec 19

In a move of unprecedented hubris, I hereby reblog myself. This aggregious act is not wholly without purpose, however:

I intend to tackle, in post form, many of these magnificent men in the days to come. Prepare yourselves for the might of the Worthies!

Also: feel ~~free~~ encouraged to imagine them as an amazing squad of crime-fighting hero-buddies. I know I will.

bythegods:

The Nine Worthies

The Nine Worthies are nine figures from history/scripture/mythology who were set up in the Middle Ages as archetypal heroes who personified the ideas of chivalry and virtue. All nine were deemed “Princes,” each being leaders in some form or another. In French, they are Les Neuf Preux, meaning “Nine Valiants,” which gives a more particular idea of the sort of virtue and all-around goodness they were meant to embody. The idea of setting up the Nine Worthies was that the study of each of them would form a good education for aspiring princes regarding their chivalry and radness.

The Worthies were first described in 1312 CE by Jacques de Longuyon in his Voeux du Paon. The idea was that good ol’ fashioned Christian virtue predated the coming of Christ, and was present in Pagan and Jewish societies as well. I bet you’re just dying to know who the Worthies were, huh? I don’t blame you. Let’s get to it. They were divided into a triad of triads, as follows.

Pagans:

Hector, the champion of Troy, who fell honourably to the mighty Achilles.

Alexander the Great, who conquered much of the Mediterranean and Persia, spreading the wisdom of the Greeks, as the medieval scholars saw it.

Julius Caesar, who was the progenitor of Rome’s Empire, that would become the bed of Christendom.

Old Testament Jews:

Joshua, who became the leader of the Israelites after Moses, and led the conquest of the holy land, Canaan.

David, the anointed king of the Hebrew people, who slew Goliath and whose line was forever chosen by God (Yahweh) to lead his people.

Judas Maccabeus, who led the revolt against the Seleucid empire, and restored the Jewish faith to the Temple at Jerusalem.

Christians:

King Arthur, who in Christian myth was the idyllic king in pursuit of honour, justice, and the holy grail.

Charlemagne, the King of the Franks who turned his kingdom into an empire that would encompass most of western Europe and be the protector of Catholic Rome for centuries.

Godfrey of Bouillon, a medieval Frankish knight who was a leader of the First Crusade, and became the first ruler of the (short-lived) Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Reblogged 2 months ago from bythegods

451 notes

the nine worthies, worthies, heroes, hero, christian,