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virgils-muse · 7 months

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Aphrodite & Erato & some poor poet and uhhhhhhhh

Heavily inspired off of A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes & Aphrodite Made Me Do It by Trista Mateer

I literally just wrote this, May or may not have spelling and grammatical errors. Idk. Enjoy? Or something? Under cut because it’s long as hell.

He could tell, before he looked up at me, that I was not who his prayer had been intended for. My sister always made her presence known, but he didn’t even notice I was there until I had reach past his laptop that he had set upon the altar. I had grabbed two figs, figs meant for my sister, and plopped them into my mouth, one after the other. He didn’t dare look up at me, not yet. I could reduce him to atoms if I wished, a power not afforded to only the major Olympians. Yes, even lesser deities like myself are capable of destruction. He didn’t dare make a noise either, hands still clasped in a prayer. I knew he knew who I was. Even if he didn’t, he knew he had to be stepping on eggshells. If he speaks over me once, I may very well make sure he never speaks again. I could do that, as I have done many times before. But, Aphrodite would despise me if I did. Oh, who am I kidding. There are a million poets in the world, I’ll find another.

I laugh a bit, at his fear and to let him know he can face me. His white knuckles return to tan as his hands loosen, still interlocked. Now here is the fun part, what will he say? How will he kindly reject my inspiration without facing my wrath?

“I’m sorry,”

A great start, of course it was his fault. How could us gods do anything wrong? We couldn’t, that’s the answer. The short answer, at least. If he wanted to recall our misdoings and crimes then he could do so in the realm of Persephone. So for now, everything was his fault.

“As absolutely grateful that I am, having you bestow me with your grace, I do not have the capacity to write love poems. My occupation relies on the musings of Calliope. I hope that your songs will be recorded soon, but I do not think I am the one to do that. Not to imply you have made a mistake, of course.”

I laugh again, as if he had any choice in the matter, whether he wrote down the story I would sing for him or not. I don’t laugh too much, I keep it short. The laughter of a god could swallow a mortal like him whole. Yes, he will do. If his writings are as well-worded as his apologies, I’m sure Aphrodite will be very pleased.

“My sister has agreed to hand you over to me for now, as I am on behalf of Lady Aphrodite. I will give you the tales that you desire, the kind for your occupation. Her story will be told just as I dictate it. Either that, or you will get no story at all.”

He nodded. His fingers finally fall from prayer onto the keyboard, awaiting my words. I could make him wait as long as I’d like, I could make him wait forever. I like poets who don’t try and fight their inspiration, I’m sure my sister does as well. Yes, this one was a good choice.

Where to start, well of course I know where to start. She never liked the epithets her worshipers gave her, couldn’t imagine the epitome of beauty with blood and grime under her nails. Had to make an almost separate figure to try and understand the vastness that is love, in doing so missing the entire point. Aphrodite is love, and that is laughter and flowers, that is sex and erotic flirting, that is rising from the turbulent sea and rising above the stars, that is war and bloodshed, that is graves and the underworld. So we will start with the epithets, as much as she hates them, we can at least get these mortals to try and understand each broken shard of the sculpture they’ve torn apart, in an attempt to idolize each fragment of it. Yes, that is where we’ll start.

#vex sings to the muses #vex brings life to the heroes #original writing #aphrodite #epic poetry #a thousand ships #aphrodite made me do it #greek mythology #hellenic mythology #greco roman mythology

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corvianbard · 1 year

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#5249

Drown the music Of the sirens To continue the epic Of the golden fleece In a voice so majestic, Son of the Muse.

#my poem #poem #poetry #music #epic #voice #son #muse #fleece #siren #5249

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mariacallous · 9 months

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xjade-lotusx · 2 years

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gotta love the duality of morpheus's chosen love interests

ex-wife: a literal centuries upon centuries old ancient greek muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry and who looks and speaks like an ethereal wonder

current boyfriend: a himbo

#the sandman #the sandman netflix #netflix the sandman #netflix sandman #morpheus #dream #dream of the endless #tom sturridge #calliope the sandman #calliope #hob gadling #the sandman dream #the sandman hob #lord morpheus

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artbyanca · 1 year

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Probably the most musical family in the mythos: Kalliope, Orpheus and Apollo hanging out.

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evermore-grimoire · 2 months

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The Evermore Grimoire: Greek Mythology

Calliope (Καλλιοπη meaning "beautiful-voiced") was the Muse of epic poetry and heroic song in Greek mythology. She was widely considered the leader of the Muses and was the greatest and wisest of them all. Calliope began as a Muse of poetry, which later developed into epic poetry (tales of the legendary adventures of a people, its myth, and heroes). She was often represented in art as a seated or standing figure, holding a writing tablet and a stylus, as if she were getting ready to write the next great epic poem. Calliope was also the mother of Orpheus, the most famed musician in all of Greek mythology. He was said to have received his gift of music from his father, Apollo (god of prophecy). When Orpheus was dismembered by the Bacchantes (women & nymphs who worshipped the god of wine, Dionysus), Calliope recovered his head and enshrined it on the island of Lesbos.

artwork by Yliade

#MyEdit #MythologyEdit #FYeahMyths #FantasyEdit #Greek Mythology #Goddesses #My Edit

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avelera · 1 year

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Calliope in Sandman is the Muse of Epic Poetry, right? Not the Muse of Haikus. We mostly see her in captivity but the few times we don't even in the comic I think we've got some evidence that this goddess likes to talk.

So now I'm imagining that Dream of the Endless has an even more specific type than we realized: not just gorgeous brunets with dark eyes (Nada, TV version Calliope & Hob, and Comic Alianora)

No, Dream's type is in fact gorgeous brunets with dark eyes who will also talk at him for hours about their special interest so he doesn't have to. All Dream has to do is sit back, relax, and listen to his love tell him stories all day.

#the sandman #dreamling #calliope #and yeah he had like ONE WEIRD DAY with Nada but I like to imagine she was a storyteller and maybe that's how he fell for her #and why he approached her in the first place #Calliope is like an obvious one she inspired the Iliad and the Odyssey those aren't SHORT POEM #Hob's whole deal with him is literally to TALK ABOUT HIS LIFE #that's why Dream is so slow to figure out Hob and one day it clicks when he lets Hob finally get going for once without a YOU DARE

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allmythologies · 9 months

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greek mythology: calliope

calliope is the goddess and muse of epic poetry and eloquence. according to hesiod, she was the wisest of the muses.

#greek mythology #the muses #gods and goddesses #calliope #greekmythologyedit #greekmythedit #*mine*#mythedit

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zeldasnotes · 6 months

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The Nine Greek Muses

CALLIOPE

The Muse of Eloquence & Epic Poetry. Can also be spelled Kalliope. In the chart signifies a poet, a talented writer, a beautiful voice or someone good at delivering speeches. Can show someone who uses their voice to get what they want or to seduce, especially when conjunct Venus. She is the oldest of the nine muses & considered the leader of the muses.

Her name means: "Beautiful voiced" from the Greek words kallos and ops.

CLIO

The Muse of History. Can also be spelled ”Klio” Can show an interest in history. Can also show someone who ”makes history” In the natal chart its a fame indicator and an indicator of being interested in history. Can make you unforgettable. Ive seen this in the 11th house of a person who was involved in a scandal on the internet and since then her name has been linked to that.

Her name means: "To make famous" or "celebrate." from the Greek verb kleô.

URANIA

The Muse of Astronomy & Astrology. Back then astrology and astronomy was considered the same. She was also considered Muse of mathematics. In the chart she indicates talent and strong interest in astrology, astronomy, the stars, mathematics and metaphysics in general.

Her name means: ”Heavenly" or "of heaven"

THALIA

Muse of Comedy & Idyllic Poetry. In the chart it shows a comedic talent. Conjunct the Ascendant can be someone who are good at funny expressions. Shows someone who naturally have comedic timing since timing is everything when it comes to humour. Harsh aspects can shows someone who tries too hard to be funny or someone whos humour is not appreciated.

Her name means: "Rich festivity" or "blooming."

MELPOMENE

Muse of Tragedy. In the chart it can show where we experience tragedy, grief or loss and what makes us experience these things. In the chart of an actor it indicates a talent in playing tragic and sad roles. If it conjuncts Venus the person might experience a lot of tragedy in love. If conjunct asteroid talent it indicates a talent with these topics and for example work as a psychiatrist.

Her name means: "To celebrate with dance and song."from the Greek verb melpô or melpomai

POLYHYMNIA

The Muse of Hymns & Meditation. In the chart can make someone calm, peaceful and collected. Definitely an introvert indicator and can show someone who doesnt not talk a lot. She is often depicted holding a finger to her mouth.

Her name means: "Praise" or "hymn." from the Greek words poly- "many" and hymnos

ERATO

The Muse of Erotic Poetry & Mimic Imitation. In astrology shows someone who acts as a muse for erotic art. Prominent in the chart of sex symbols & adult movie stars. If conjunct the Ascendant or Midheaven shows someone who awakes erotic imaginations in others.

Her name means: "Lovely" or "beloved" from the Greek word eratos.

EUTERPE

The Muse of Music. In the chart it shows musical talent. Singing and songwriting. Also prominent in the charts of DJs since they know what the public wants to hear. Can also show what you make music about. Ive seen this conjunct Venus in the chart of a woman who dated a musician who made songs about her.

Her name means: "Giver of much delight." from the Greek words eu- and terpô.

TERPSICHORE

The Muse of Dancing. In the chart she gives talent in dancing & choreography. The legendary balet dancer Vaslav Nijinsk has Terpsichore conjunct Venus and Anna Pavlova have it conjunct her Part of Fortune. They both helped establish the Russian Ballet. Both of them household names because of their dance talent.

Her name means: "Delighting in Dance" from the Greek words terpsis "to delight" and khoros "dance".

ASTEROID NUMBERS: 22, 30, 33, 27, 62, 81, 23, 18, 84

CLICK HERE FOR MORE GREEK ASTEROIDS.

#astro notes #astrology #astro observations #astronotes #kalliope #erato #klio #asteroids #muses

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apollosgiftofprophecy · 7 months

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Statistics of Apollo's Lovers

I was wondering just how unfortunate of a love-life our boy Apollo had, so - as one does - I did the research, math, and writing of said love-life.

such is the life of an adhd teen :)

In total, there are 59 people on this list. I have them separated into eight groups; Immortal, Immortal & Rejected, Lived, Died, Rejected & Died, Rejected & Cursed, Rejected & Lived, and who were Rejected by Apollo

Disclaimer: I am not a historian nor an expert in Greek Mythology, I am just a very invested nerd in Mythology, and in Apollo's mythology in general, and got curious about what his rap sheet actually looks like.

Sidenote: There will be some "lovers" not on this list. Reasons being;

No actual literary sources behind them

Said literary sources are dubious at best

Not enough information is given about the nature of their relationship to make an accurate take

So if somebody isn't on this list, it's because of one of those three reasons. Although there is still a chance I missed somebody! :)

Also, no RRverse lovers include in this list. Sorry my fellow ToA fans.

(Edited 12/22/23 - Currently adding in sources/references)

Let's begin! :D

Immortal Lovers

Calliope: muse of epic poetry. Mother of Hymenaios by Apollo.

Clio: muse of history

Erato: muse of love poetry

Euterpe: muse of music

Polyhymnia: muse of hymns/sacred poetry

Melpomene: muse of tragedy

Thalia: muse of comedy. Mother of the Corybantes by Apollo.

Terpsichore: muse of dance

Urania: muse of astronomy

Boreas: the North Wind. yes Apollo apparently dated the North Wind. Who knew? It's mentioned in the Argonautica by the Boreads - they call Apollo "beloved of their father" so...hmm. wonder what happened there because that's all we get.

10 lovers total here.

9 Female, 1 Male

Immortal & Rejected

Hestia: goddess of the Hearth

1 Interest. Female.

Lovers Who Lived:

Branchus: mortal shepherd, gifted prophecy

Rhoeo: mortal princess, eventually married an apprentice of Apollo

Ourea: demigod daughter of Poseidon, dated Apollo during his punishment with Laomedon; had a son named after the city of Troy

Evadne: nymph daughter of Poseidon, Apollo sent Eileithyia & (in some texts) the Fates to aid in their son's birth

Thero: great-granddaughter of Heracles, described as "beautiful as moonbeams"

Cyrene: mortal princess-turned-nymph queen, kick-ass lion wrangler, and mother of two of Apollo's sons - Aristaeus (a god) and Idmon (powerful seer)

Admetus: mortal king, took great care of Apollo during his second punishment, Apollo wingmanned him for Alcestis's hand - basically Apollo doted on him <3

Hecuba: queen of Troy, together they had Troilus.

It was foretold that if Troilus lived to adulthood, Troy wouldn't fall - unfortunately, Achilles murdered Troilus in Apollo's temple. When the Achaeans burned Troy down, Apollo rescued Hecuba and brought her to safety in Lycia.

Hyrie/Thyrie: mortal. mothered a son by Apollo. Their son, Cycnus, attempted to kill himself after some shenanigans and his mother attempted the same. Apollo turned them into swans to save their lives.

Dryope: mortal. had a son named Amphissus with Apollo, who was a snake at the time. Later turned into a lotus flower, but it had nothing to do with Apollo so she's still on this list.

Creusa: mortal queen. had a son named Ion with Apollo. Please check out @my-name-is-apollo's post for more details because they make some good points about what's considered "rape" in Ancient Greece.

Melia: Oceanid nymph. Had a son w/h Apollo named Tenerus. will expand on them in a bit

Iapis: a favorite lover. Apollo wanted to teach him prophecy, the lyre, ect. but Iapis just wanted to heal :) so Apollo taught him healing :)

Aethusa: daughter of Poseidon & the Pleiad Alcyone. Mother of Linus and Eleuther. She is the great-great grandmother of Orpheus.

Acacallis: daughter of King Minos. there's a lot of variation on whether or not she had kids with Hermes or Apollo. Some say she had a kid with each.

Chrysothemis: nymph queen who won the oldest contest of the Pythian Games - the singing of a hymn to Apollo. She had three daughters, and one of them is said to be Apollo's.

Corycia: naiad. had a son with Apollo. the Corycian Cave north of Delphi is named after her

Leuconoe (also Choine or Philonis): daughter of Eosphorus, god of the planet Venus, and mother of the bard Philammon.

Melaena (also Thyia or Kelaino): mother of Delphos, member of prophetic Thriae of Delphi. Priestess of Dionysus.

Othreis: mothered Phager by Apollo, and later Meliteus by Zeus.

Stilbe: mother of Lapithus and Aineus by Apollo.

Syllis (possible same as Hyllis, granddaughter of Heracles): mothered Zeuxippus by Apollo.

Amphissa: Apollo seduced her in the form of a shepherd. They had a son named Agreus.

Aria (or Deione): had a son named Miletus. Hid him in some smilax. Her father found him and named him.

Arsinoe: she and Apollo had a daughter named Eriopis.

Queen of Orkhomenos (no name is given): Mother of Trophonius (my fellow ToA fans will recognize that name haha).

Hypermnestra: Either Apollo or her husband fathered her son Amphiaraus. (sidenote: @literallyjusttoa suggested that Apollo was dating both Hypermnestra and Oikles, and I, personally, accept that headcannon)

Manto: Daughter of Tiresias. Apollo made her a priestess of Delphi. They had a son named Mopsus. When Apollo sent her to found an oracle elsewhere, he told her to marry the first man she saw outside of Delphi. That man turned out to be Rhacius, who brought her to Claros, where she founded the oracle of Apollo Clarios. Later, another man named Lampus attempted to assult her, but was killed by Apollo. She is also said to be a priestess who warned Niobe not to insult Leto, and to ask for forgiveness. Niobe did not.

Parthenope: granddaughter of a river god. Mothered Lycomedes by Apollo

Phthia: prophetess. called "beloved of Apollo". Mother three kings by him; Dorus, Laodocus, & Polypoetes

Procleia: Mother of Tenes, son of Apollo, who was killed by Achilles before the Trojan War. Daughter of King Laomedon, king of Troy.

Helenus: prince of Troy. Received from Apollo an ivory bow which he used to wound Achilles in the hand.

Hippolytus of Sicyon: called "beloved of Apollo" in Plutarch Life of Numa. I don't think this guy is the same as the Hippolytus, son of Zeuxippus (son of Apollo), king of Sicyon Pausanias talks about in his Description of Greece. That would be a little weird taking the whole family tree into account - though it's never stopped Zeus before, I guess.

Psamathe: nereid, said to be the personification of the sand of the sea-shore. There are two versions of her myths, both very different, but I'll only explain the one that explicitly states her and Apollo's relationship, which is by Conon's Narrationes. She and Apollo were lovers, but never had any kids. When another man assaulted her, she had a son and abandoned him. (He was found by some shepherds dw - wait, he was then torn apart by dogs. Nevermind.). Back to her, her father ordered for her to be executed and Apollo avenged her death by sending a plague onto Argos and refused to stop it until Psamathe and Linus (her son) were properly given honors.

(I really like how even though Linus isn't Apollo's kid, and that Psamathe wanted nothing to do with the kid, Apollo still considered him worth avenging too <3 )

(also would like to say that I found her on another's wiki page and that page said she was raped by Apollo - this just proves that you shouldn't take the wiki at face value because as shown above, that is not what happened.)

Alright. 34 lovers here.

5 Male. 29 Female.

33 are 100% consensual. Creusa is questionable, depending on who's translating.

The last one is Melia, who I will expand upon here.

Melia was said to be kidnapped, and her brother found her with Apollo. He set fire to Apollo's temple in an effort to get her back, but was killed. Melia and Apollo had two kids - but here's the interesting part. Melia was highly worshiped in Thebes, where her brother found her. She was an incredibly important figure in Thebes, especially when connected with Apollo. She and Apollo were essentially the parents of Thebes.

As I read over their story, it sounded like (to me, at least. it's okay if you think otherwise!) that Melia just absconded/eloped with Apollo.

Was kidnapping an equivalent to assault back then? Perhaps. But it's still debated on whenever or not that's true. However, one thing I've noticed reading up on these myths is that when Apollo does do something unsavory, the text says so.

It never says anything about Apollo doing anything to Melia. Her father and brother believe she was kidnapped, but, like mentioned previously, it seems far much more likely that she just ran off with her boyfriend or something.

But that's just my interpretation.

Moving on! :)

Lovers Who Died:

Hyacinthus*: mortal prince. we all know this one, right? Right? one and only true love turned into flower

Cyparissus: mortal. his DEER DIED and he asked Apollo to let him MOURN FOREVER so he was turned into a cypress tree

Coronis: mortal princess. cheated on Apollo w/h another guy. mother of Asclepius. killed by Artemis.

Adonis: yes, THAT Adonis. he's in this category because. well. he died. rip

Phorbas: at first I was going to keep him off, till I went "hOLD UP!". Listen, this guy's story is contradictory in Hyginus's De Astronomica - he's a rival of Apollo, then all of a sudden his (dead) lover. My first reaction was the above, then it was "OH MY GODS CANON ENEMIES TO LOVERS??? WITH DEATH???"

There's also a second account of Phorbas - he ended a plague on an island and became Apollo's lover that way, and when he died, Zeus turned him into a constellation - Ophiuchus.

(*In some texts, Hyacinthus was resurrected.)

6 lovers.

5 Male. 1 Female. All consensual.

Sidenote: QUIT BURYING THE GAYS GREECE!!!!

Love-Interests Who Rejected & Died:

Daphne: do i nEED to say anything? Nymph. turned into tree to escape.

Castalia*: Nymph. turned into spring to escape.

2 Interests. 1 debatable reliability.

2 Female.

(*Castalia's myth was written in 400 AD, VERY late in the myth cycle, and was strictly ROMAN. In every other case, the Castalian spring was already at Delphi before Apollo was born.)

Love-Interests Who Rejected & Cursed

Cassandra: mortal princess. Promised to date Apollo if she was given gift of prophecy. when he did, she rejected him and he cursed her to never be believed for her visions.

1 Interests.

1 Female.

Lover-Interests Who Rejected & Lived

Sinope: mortal. got Apollo to promise her anything; requested to remain a virgin. he obliged.

Marpessa: mortal princess, granddaughter of Ares. Idas, son of Poseidon, kidnapped her and Apollo caught up to them. Zeus had Marpessa chose between them, and she chose Idas, reasoning that she would eventually grow old and Apollo would tire of her.

Bolina: mortal. Apollo approached her and she flung herself off a cliff. He turned her into a nymph to save her life. Nothing happened between them, although some texts may say that she eventually dated him.

Ocroe/Okyrrhoe: nymph and daughter of a river god. asked a boatman to take her home after Apollo approached her. Apollo ended up turning the boat to stone and the seafarer into a fish.

Sibyl of Cumean: mortal seer. promised to date Apollo if she was given longevity as long as the amount of sand in her hand. he did, but she refused him.

5 Interests. All female.

Okyrrhoe's story is the only one with any iffy stuff, although, like stated in previous sections, when something iffy does occur, the text usually says so outright.

Rejected by Apollo:

Clytie*: Oceanid nymph. turned into a heliotrope to gaze at the sun forever after the rejection.

1 Advance. Female.

(*Clytie's story was originally about her affection for Helios. When Apollo got conflated with him, her story also changed.)

In Conclusion...

59 people total (includes Castalia & Clytie)

48 Women (81%). 11 Men (19%).

19% were Immortal (Including Lovers & Rejected)

66% Lived (Including Lovers & Rejected)

14% Died (Including Lovers & Rejected)

1% were Cursed

2% were Rejected by him

57 people total (Not including Castalia & Clytie)

46 Women (82%). 11 Men (18%).

18% were Immortal

68% Lived (Lovers & Rejected)

12% Died (Lovers & Rejected)

in that 12%, one was apotheosized - Hyacinthus.

Meaning 10% died permanently, while 2% were resurrected.

2% were Cursed

0% were Rejected by him

Additionally, I left off three male lovers and two female lovers - Atymnius, Leucates, Cinyras, Hecate, & Acantha.

Atymnius has no references to being Apollo's lover, only to Zeus's son Sarpedon.

Leucates is another male "lover" left off the rack - apparently he jumped off a cliff to avoid Apollo, but I couldn't find any mythological text to account for it. There is a cliff named similarly to him where Aphrodite went (by Apollo's advice) to rid herself of her longing for Adonis after his death. Also Zeus uses it to rid himself of his love for Hera before he cheats on her again.

Cinyras was a priest of Aphrodite on the island of Cyprus. He was also the island's king. Pindar calls him "beloved of Apollo" in his Pythian Ode. However, looking further into Cinyras's life throws a bit of a wrench into it. He's also cited to be a challenger to Apollo's skill, and either Apollo or Mars (Ares) kills him for his hubris.

(honestly, I kinda like the idea that Mars went into Big Brother Mode)

I did consider leaving him on the list, since technically you could argue it was a romance-gone-bad, but among every other source Cinyras is mentioned in, Pindar's the only one who puts a romantic label on him and Apollo.

Hecate, the goddess of magic and crossroads, is said to be the mother of Scylla (like, the sea-monster) by Apollo, but Scylla's parentage is one of those "no specific parents" ones, so I left her off the list.

Acantha has absolutely no classical references. There's a plant like her name, but she's a made-up myth, so she doesn't count.

(Of course, I could be wrong about any of these. Again, I'm not an expert.)

With all this in mind, this means Apollo's love life actually isn't as tragic as media portrays it, and he isn't as bad as Zeus or Poseidon in the nonconsensual area.

Does he still have those kinds of myths? Possibly, depending on which translation you decide to use for Creusa in Ion.

Even so, when you compare Apollo to basically every other Greek figure?

He's doing pretty damn good.

#ramblings of an oracle #greek mythology analysis #apollo #greek myths #greek gods #greek myth #ancient greece #still gonna tag this as toa #just because #;)#the trials of apollo #toa #trials of apollo

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