By the Gods!
RSSPosts tagged with "legend"
Lamia
Lamia is another character from Greek mythology that ran into trouble when she met up with Zeus. A queen of Libya and daughter of Poseidon, her affair with the king of the gods put her on Hera’s radar as another competitor for Zeus’ affection. Not being the forgiving sort, Hera slew Lamia’s children, driving her insane with grief. Hera also transformed Lamia into a baby-eating monster with the lower body of a snake, or, depending on the source, a half-woman half-cat with snake scales.
Lamia was unable to get the image of her slaughtered children out of her mind, which meant that the sight of other children unbearable for her. Clearly, eating them was the only rational choice. At this point Zeus felt he was maybe at least partially responsible for Lamia’s misfortune, and decided to intervene: instead of restoring her children, her human form, or her sanity, Zeus decided to grant Lamia the ability to remove her own eyes. What a champ of an ex-boyfriend.
Some stories go on to say that Lamia had more crazy monster children afterwards, all sporting the same appearance: top half of a beautiful woman, lower half of a snake. These nightmarish land-mermaids are known as lamias with a lowercase “L” and appear in every good fantasy universe to this day.
Dullahan
A creature from Celtic mythology, the Dullahan is terrible to behold. He appears as a headless horseman, charging around tirelessly on a frightful black steed that shoots sparks and fire from its nostrils. The Dullahan carries his severed head under his arm as he rides, grinning and laughing at your understandably soiled trousers. Often this spirit acts as a herald of death, calling out the names of those about to die. Wherever the Dullahan stops his relentless riding is said to be a spot that someone will soon meet their end.
If the thought of a decapitated ghost riding around, placing bets on how soon you will kick the bucket makes you want to bar the door and hide from this equestrian evil, I have bad news for you: all locks and gates open at his approach, and any who stop to watch his ride are rewarded with a Carrie-esque dousing from his bucket of blood––and that’s only if he’s feeling charitable! Otherwise, unfortunate onlookers may lose an eye to his vicious whip (which is a human spine, making your loss of vision even more gross).
But all hope is not lost! The Dullahan fears gold above all else, even in small amounts. Those caught on the road at night would do well to carry a golden trinket to discourage the Dullahan’s wrath. This explains famed Celtic-scholar Flava Flav’s ridiculous teeth.
Thor
In honour of today’s premiere of the Marvel “Thor,” let’s give some credit to the Germanic god of thunder on whom the character is based!
The son of Odin the All-Father (and leader of the Aesir), Thor was the champion of good in Norse/German mythology. Riding his chariot pulled by goats through the sky, long red beard and hair blowing in the wind, Thor wields the magic hammer Mjollnir and brings the pain to Frost Giants. The name “Thor” means thunder, and “Mjollnir” may have once meant lightning.
Things that Thor loves: contests of strength, eating enormous amounts of food in one sitting (a whole ox, for example), drinking like a champ (at one time he drank so much that he lowered sea levels all over the earth), and as aforementioned, cracking Frost Giant skulls. The Frost Giants were the adversaries of the Aesir, and were generally gigantic, angry, and immensely strong. They all hated Thor, because he kept taking out their champions in duels and contests, one by one reducing their numbers and building his own prestige.
Though you might know Loki, the trickster, as an enemy of the Aesir (which he did eventually become), he and Thor used to have adventures together back in the good ol’ days. They have a complex relationship now, I suppose. I mean, sure, Loki did try and get Thor killed a few times, but it was all in the spirit of fun!
That should tide you over for now. Go out and see the movie (I’m checking it out tonight!) and try to spot the differences between Norse and Marvel mythos; Thor wasn’t a natural blonde, guys.
Arachne
Known far and wide for her incredible weaving talent, nobody loved Arachne more than Arachne. The story comes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, where the mortal girl Arachne boasts of her weaving ability to such an extent that Athena (Minerva, in Ovid’s Roman work), the Greek goddess of wisdom and crafts, is offended. You see, Arachne refuses to acknowledge that her gifts in weaving come, at least in part, from the gods (and from Athena, specifically). Athena then challenges Arachne to a weaving competition (a “weave-off,” perhaps) and Arachne accepts.
Now things start to get messy: Arachne weaves a tapestry depicting the transgressions and loves of the gods. It’s gorgeous, sure, but the subject matter offends Athena. Besides that, the goddess is horrified to see that the mortal’s tapestry outshines her own. In a rage, Athena destroys the tapestry, and turns the prideful Arachne into––you guessed it––a skittery little spider. I guess she was the first one. Athena invented spiders, you guys; she’s pretty creative, after all. But where was that creativity in the weaving competition, Athena!?
Eostre and Easter
The Easter weekend isn’t over yet, folks. Time to get your learnin’ on. Ever wonder where the name “Easter” came from? The Germanic goddess Eostre gets the credit on that one. She was a goddess of fertility and plenty, and the Anglo-Saxons had a month named after her. For all of us on the Gregorian calendar, that’d match up with April. Anglo-Saxon and Northern European festivals for the Easter-month (the “Eostre-monath”) involved eggs and hares, and these came to be attached to Eostre herself. What with it being a spring festival and all, located on or around the Equinox, themes of birth and fertility were only natural. Hard to beat rabbits when it comes to fertility, I suppose.
Now, how did Eostre get attached to the Christian celebration of the resurrection? Well, the Church was a big fan of re-appropriating pagan holidays. They took Lupercalia and made it a Saint’s celebration day, took the festival of Sol Invictus and made it Christmas; they were pros when it came to this stuff.
The Catholic Church determined that they would bring the Jewish festival of Passover and the Christian observance of the resurrection together. This was done under the vigil of the Roman Emperor Constantine (the first Christian Emperor), at the first Council of Nicaea. The title of “Easter month” was taken from the pagans, as the Church observed its use in Northern Europe, and sought to both marginalize the pagan celebration and indoctrinate/accommodate new pagan subjects.
And there you have it. Sorry, Eostre, but they took your month. Somehow the rabbits and eggs stuck around, though.
Ophiucus/Asclepius
Many typical horoscope fans were shocked to hear the addition of a 13th sign to the Zodiac. The lucky constellation to be put in the infamous spotlight was Ophiucus the serpent bearer, formerly known as Serpentarius. But like most constellations, there is an origin to why they’re placed in the heavens. So who was Ophiucus? And for the sideline, the 13th sign only applies to those who follow the sidereal Zodiac - most Americans and the rest of western civilization follow the WESTERN Zodiac - so relax you’re still the sign you were born under.
Anyways back to the story. Ophiucus is actually Asklepios (Asclepius, Aesculapius in Latin ), the Greek God of Medicine. Not many know of Asclepius, however his legacy still impacts the present. He was the son of Olympian Apollo and the Trikkaian Princess Coronis. Unfortunately for the mother, she was caught being unfaithful to her godly spouse and was punished by the god by laying her out on a funeral pyre, however Hermes saved the infant Asclepius. In lighter versions, she died in childbirth. As a boy, Asclepius––like many would-be heroes and kings––was raised and educated by Chiron, the centaur and was taught the art of healing and medicine. In time he surpassed his father in healing and soon he was deified all over ancient Greece. His priests became the first doctors, but Asclepius himself obtained the cures from listening to the dreams of his patients.
His trademark logo, A staff entwined by a serpent came from a legend in which he was commanded to revive a patient. Deep in meditation a snake crept up on his staff and Asclepius struck the serpent again and again as it tried to flee. Another snake came out of the same hole the first one came out of and placed an herb on its head. Both snakes fled - seeing what happened tried the same herb on its patient, and what a miracle the patient was revived. Since then, the snake was under the guardianship of Asclepius.
Asclepius did many wonders healing the sick and reviving the dead. Hades complained to Zeus he was being cheated dead souls and the Fates got the thread of life all tangled up, unable to sever it. Apollo reasoned that Asclepius was doing it for the benevolent reasons. However, Zeus grew furious when he heard that Asclepius offered to resurrect the dead in exchange for gold. He threw a thunderbolt at Asclepius. In honor of the good deeds he performed he was placed in the heavens as the constellation Ophiucus, along with his serpent.
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 and Messiah 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.
Hestia
Kind and humble, passive and non-confrontational, Hestia is the virgin goddess of domesticity, architecture, and the hearth in the Greek pantheon. She would receive the first offering at every sacrifice within a Greek household, back in the day. She would also have a public hearth within each major city where a flame burned continuously. When a new colony was established, the flame would be carried from this hearth to the new settlement.
Hestia is one of the goddesses of the first generation of Olympians; her brothers are Zeus, Hades and Poseidon, and her sisters Demeter and Hera. If you recall, that means she’s one of the children of the Titans Rhea and Cronus. She was described as both the oldest and youngest of the three sisters, as she was the first to be swallowed by Cronus and the last to be burped back out.
Though she was originally listed as one of the Twelve Olympians, she willingly gave up her seat for the newcomer, Dionysus, to go instead and tend the sacred fire on Mount Olympus. She was always a good sport, that Hestia. Never threw tantrums like the other Olympians. She has the fewest exploits of any Greek god or goddess; I guess she was too busy tending that fire, being quiet, and and practicing not-arguing.
Saint Patrick
Here he is, folks: the patron Saint of Ireland, whose big day is March 17, honoured the world over with copious amounts of green alcohol and annoying pinching prayer and appreciation. It’s the end of the holiday now as this article goes up, but who are we kidding— none of you will be in any shape to read this until late tomorrow morning, right?
We have two authentic letters written by the ol’ Saint, and from them we can garner a few pieces of information: Patrick, when he was about 16 years old, was captured from Britain by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland as a slave. He dwelt there, slave-style, for six years before escaping and returning to his family. After entering the Church and becoming a learned fellow and ordained bishop he returned to Ireland and did the whole Saint-thang.
His famous exploits include but are not limited to:
▪ Banishing all the snakes from Ireland (they attacked him during a fast — big mistake.
▪ Making the Shamrock important — he related the three-leafed clover to the three faces of the trinity. The metaphor stuck.
▪ His magic walking stick growing into a real tree.
▪ Communicating with ancient Irish ancestors. Being psychic is always a helpful Saintly tool.
To sum up, he was a devout bishop that served in Ireland, and lived through the late-4th to mid-5th centuries CE. He died on the 17th of March, and the day is celebrated as a day of solemnity and holy obligation in Ireland, and a day of general merriment and “kiss-me-I’m-Irish-ness” everywhere else.
Gungnir
Gungnir was the magic spear of Odin, the mighty chief of the Aesir. It was forged by the dwarfs, the sons of Ivaldi, who dwelt in mountains and beneath the earth. They were master craftsmen, and forged many magic knick-knacks for the Germanic gods.
On this occasion, they had been ordered to make a wig of spun gold as a replacement for the golden hair of Thor’s wife, Sif, that had been cut off as a joke by Loki, who was never as funny as he thought he was. Having made the wig without any issue, the dwarfs thought they’d use the furnace, already working, to make some additional godly gear. They made a magic ship for Frey that could be folded up small enough to fit in a pocket, and for Odin, the powerful spear, Gungnir.
Gungnir was remarkably slender, that it could be thrown great distances, and yet so strong it was nigh unbreakable. It was blessed with spells to ensure that it would never miss its mark when thrown. When Odin hung himself on the cosmic tree Yggdrasil for nine nights in order to obtain wisdom, he was, just like Jesus of Nazareth, stabbed with a spear. Patterns! Keep your eye out for them. Cultural diffusion suggests that similarities in myth aren’t just coincidences! People hear a story, and make it their own. Keep that in mind when perusing this here blog!
It was required, in Germanic custom, that a spear should be thrown over the heads of an enemy force before battle commenced, as an entreaty for Odin’s aid.
About By the Gods!
