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classicschronicles · 1 year

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Hi lovelies,

Last week I convinced my Dad to read the Iliad (well audio-book it but same thing). Every morning I get in the car for school and he launches the entire Spanish Inquisition on to me about whatever book he listened to the night before. He then just sits there in silence and questions why I took Classics. But after explaining the Iliad to my Dad every day, I’ve realised that it can be seriously confusing if you just pick it up with no context. So today I’m going to try and give the Cliff Notes version of the Iliad aetiology!

The ‘Iliad’ translates to the ‘Story of Ilium’ (Ilium being the contemporary name for Troy). The Iliad is a Greek epic written by the poet Homer, and the reason it is called an ‘epic’ is because it has certain defining features. An epic is a very large story that can be broken down into smaller books (in this case 24 books). It usually depicts or focuses on a journey or a large theme or event (so the journey of Achilles, the theme of war, or the event of the Trojan War). In traditional ancient epics the main character is a hero. *enter Achilles, stage left*

Achilles is the son of the Goddess sea nymph Thetis and the mortal king, Peleus. Initially Thetis was one of Zeus’ many loves but a prophecy that stated that the son of Thetis would be more powerful than his father led Zeus to marry Thetis off to Peleus (to ensure that this unborn son did not pose a threat to the king of the Gods).

As an apology to Thetis for making her marry a mortal man, Zeus throws Thetis and Peleus a huge, massive, over the top (basically Indian) wedding. Out of all the Gods and Goddesses only Eris, the Goddess of strife, is not invited. Which is understandable, because why would you want Strife at a wedding? Eris gatecrashes the wedding and holds up a golden apple and says that the apple belongs to the fairest of the goddesses. Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera all claim that the apple should be theirs. Zeus is too much of a pussy to chose which goddess the apple should go to and so he sends them to the Trojan Prince, Paris for judgment. This whole side myth, by the way, is called ‘The Judgement of Paris’

Okay so Paris, that’s a whole other story. Paris is the son of the Trojan King and Queen, Priam and Hecuba. Before his birth, Hecuba received a prophecy about her son too. Her prophecy stated that the child she would have would be a burning torch that set fire to Troy. After giving birth to the baby Paris, she left him on Mount Ida to die. However, he was adopted by a shepherd and brought up as his son. At some point he returns to Troy and reminds his mum that she left him on a mountain (although I don’t know how he knew that) and despite the prophecy Priam and Hecuba took him back in.

Back to the main plot. The three goddesses (Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera) go to Paris and ask him who is the fairest, each promising a gift if he chooses them. Athena says that she will bring him success in war, Hera says she will bring him political power, and Aphrodite promises him the most beautiful woman as his wife. For those amongst you already familiar with the story, I of course am referring to Helen of Sparta. Paris travels to Sparta on a diplomatic mission where the beautiful Helen is married to the most powerful of all the Greek kings- Menelaus. After the mission is complete, Menelaus leaves Sparta for some foreign business, leaving Helen to entertain the Trojans. It is at this point that Paris kidnaps Helen and takes her to Troy.

Now Helen is of course famed for being the most beautiful woman alive, but she was also a daughter of Zeus. When the time came for her to marry she had many suitors (such as Patroclus), but Menelaus was chosen. Odysseus suggested that all the unsuccessful suitors take a blood oath that if there ever came a time that Helen was in danger, they would all bring their men to protect her. That is why the armies of so many Greek kingdoms arrive in Troy (to fight alongside Menelaus and to save Helen). Fun fact! Achilles was never proposed as a suitor for Helen and so he wasn’t contractually obliged to be in Troy, he just went for the glory (and probably for Patroclus too). Oh and also because Odysseus told him that if he didn’t go he would look like a wimp.

The Iliad begins exactly one decade into the Trojan War (I’m not joking they have literally been there for ten whole years- I can’t make this shit up). When the poem takes off both sides are weary from war, but the Greek have just won a small battle victory- abducting two women- Chryseis and Briseis. And it is after the abduction of these two women that Book One takes place.

I’m not kidding, explaining this to my dad has been an entire Olympic Sport. I think me asking him to read it has just opened up the door to him questioning every single one of my life choices! But hopefully you all found that a lot more digestible. Hope you all have a lovely rest of your weekend :)

#classical studies #classics #greek mythology #ancient rome #ancient greece #dark acamedia #roman mythology #hellenic deities #ancient world #history #homer’s iliad #the iliad #my dad was like #wtf is this #wtf is happening #my child is fine #patrochilles #paris #the aeneid

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foxglow-diner · 2 years

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I have begun Book Two of The Iliad, and I’m only twenty lines in but I have words.

I’ll hand it to Zeus, he was diligent in carrying out in Achilles’ request. However, I think he should’ve considered the plan more thoroughly, as it results in our characters (mentioned and people who aren’t) either dying or experiencing immense trauma. And this concept, the reason why the War started, is rather interesting to me.

I don’t one hundred percent blame Achilles for the Trojan War. The entirety of the Trojan Cycle–––but primarily The Iliad–––was founded in tragedy. All of the events were brought upon the people partaking in the events, only their intentions and actions don’t equal the sorrow that emerged.

Hector was just trying to protect his family, when he killed Patroclus. He didn’t know that they would end up killed or enslaved.

Achilles didn’t know that Patroclus would be killed when he requested that Zeus punish the Achaeans. He just wanted Agamemnon to acknowledge his efforts.

Paris didn’t know (or most likely care, dare I say even consider) that he’d make an enemy of Menelaus and majority of the strongest Greeks. He just wanted a beautiful woman. Although, I don’t give him support in the Golden Apple Decision.

Agamemnon didn’t know Achilles was going to resort to divine retaliation. He just wanted to embarrass him and assort superiority. (Like Paris, I don’t support these actions)

Zeus granted Achilles’ prayer to appease a successful warrior, his kind mother, and get Hera off his back. He didn’t know that he’d have to restrain not only his wife’s bloodlust, but that of Athena, Ares, and Apollo’s distraught anger over the entire grand climax of the war.

Odysseus didn’t even want to fight in that war. He did as he was told. And as a reward, it took him a decade to get home, all of his remaining men were killed, and his palace overrun with suitors vying for his wife.

All of those above goings-on I described are things that aided in the start of the war, with the exception of Odysseus. The Odyssey is a consequence of this war. But the examples I provided are all pieces of the greater whole, responsible for the Trojan War. They are all personal trains of thought that didn’t anticipate such stinging pain.

#the iliad #achilles #patroclus #agamemnon #zeus #hera #athena #apollo #hector #paris #odysseus #greek mythology #readathon #ronin reads the iliad #ronin talks about the iliad #senior thesis

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danganronpasurvivoraskblog · 9 months

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Rpg Anon: Sry I'm late. Had work to do.

The weirdest shit in Greek Mythology is that lots of morals are reversed. They say the morality of the god is incomprehensible to us mortal but damn.

Medusa is punished for Poseidon forcing himself on her.

Paris did a pure deed of honesty for Zeus and so Zeus gives him the responsibility of the golden apple which eventually led to the Trojan War.

Gods hate arrogant mortals but brag to and piss on each other, causing battles.

Aphrodite wanted to fuck a man who essentially choose to be asexual and live his life free of romance so she tortured his life until I think be killed himself.

Yeah.

Hades is an interesting case cuz he IS a BAD guy but he's never EVIL. Basically, he knows who he is, while the others think a lot about themselves. In fact, it's really really hard to find any cases of times he cheated on his wife, Persephone. (Yes I know he kidnapped her and tricked her to stay with him but that's besides the point)

I honestly could keep going on but I don't have time.

//Hey, Persephone was cool with it?

//This is why Hades is so respectable compared to every other god. He just does well enough for himself and his family and that's all he needs

-Mod

#mod

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sourstars · 3 years

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HELLO BABYDOLL !!! i am requesting the answer to atlas on your greek mythology question list ??? bc i feel like that’s a cool and underrated question

also i love you and i hope you’re having a good day. u mean so much to me !! stay hydrated <3

Atlas: favorite myth?

OH MY GOD WAIT I DIDN’T EVEN SEE THIS ONE??

okay okay wait bc it’s tied between three or four

Orpheus and Eurydice: a tragic love story of to two lovers doomed to be kept apart. they pull on your heart strings whether it be in the original myth form, or even the musical Hadestown.

one of the original versions is that a nymph named eurydice, daughter of apollo, had caught the eye of orpheus, who was considered one of or the greatest lyre player in the world. He had wooed her with song and thus married her, however, tragedy quickly began to take root. on her wedding day, eurydice was bitten by a viper, and died shortly after. overcome by grief, orpheus traveled his way to the Underworld to persuade the hades to return her. the king and queen of the underworld were moved by his song, as were the fates would were described as "unable to keep tears from their eyes", and under one condition, eurydice would be able to return to live again;

she was to follow behind him through a dark path, to eventually reach the light of the sun. but orpheus was told he should not turn to her until she was out into the light. due to this, orpheus' doubt of hades began to grow, and with both belief it was a trick and the inability to hear her voices or steps (she was a shade who would turn back into human once above), orpheus lost faith and turned, thus causing eurydice to fall back to the underworld once more.

The Apple of Discord: the great trojan war was not out of thin air. in fact, it began with an apple.

during the wedding of thetis and peleus, the goddess of discord, eris, was not invited. due to this, she felt offended and arrived the wedding regardless, tossing forth a single golden apple, saying to the fairest and it was claimed by all hera, athena, and aprhodite, igniting a disarray of beliefs among the three. turning to zeus, they asked for his opinion, and shocking all of them, he said a mortal man and the rightful heir prince of troy, paris, should choose.

and paris had grown up as a sheperd, unaware of his royal blood due being abandoned as baby by the oracle’s prophecy of him bringing forth his city's destruction. because of this, the goddesses each offered him a gift to sway his decision. hers offered wealth and power, athena offered wisdom and glory, and aphrodite offered him love from the most beautiful women in the world. he chose aphrodite instantly, handing her the apple, and in turn she began to offer council to paris, leading him back to troy and telling him of his royal blood, which caused the war in the future.

Eros and Psyche: it is another love story, yes, but with a happy ending.

in greek myths, love is held to a great regard, and so psyche was a very astonishing mortal girl. she was claimed to surpassed even aphrodite in beauty and it was so well traveled that it caused men from all over to visit her and to admire. of course, aphrodite was enraged and jealous, and decided to give the girl a punishment. her son, eros, who deals with matters of love and could make a mortal fall into love with a single arrow, was told to make her fall in with the most cruel and horrible being on the earth.

but eros could not, due to him falling for her himself once he laid his eye upon her. due to this, he could not carry out aphrodite's wishes and did not strike her, causing years to go by with psyche still unmarried. eventually, her parents decided it'd be best to ask the god apollo for advice, and the oracle said for her to dress in black, climb the highest mountain and remain until the winds picked her up to carry her off. and when it did in fact happen to her, eros begun the route pf climbing into bed with her into the dark, where she could not see his face, and he would lie beside her every night. psyche beloved to know he was not a monster, but a loving man and the possible husband she';d always seem looking for, but eventually, like orpheus, faith and trust could be crumbled within seconds.

after days and time passing with visiting and seeing her family, psyche’s sisters began to feed her whispers of eros being a beast, the horrible creature, and it overwhelmed the girl so much, that one night, when eros was asleep, she'd kill him if she checked his face and he was indeed a monster. if he was not, she'd go back to sleep. but a drop of the oil of her candle touched his face and he awoke, immediately vanishing off and telling her heartbrokenly love cannot live without trust, and due to her overbearing sadness, she reached out to aphrodite, who sent her off to carry out three impossible tasks, and psyche completed them with the help of the nature around her.

with aphrodite enraged once more, she intended to never let the girl go and the other olympians bore witness to this, sending hermes off to tell eros. eros was touched by her love for him so greatly that he returned and as a wedding fit, zeus allowed psyche a taste of ambrosia, the drink of the gods, and aphrodite was now sated with the truth that men would forget psyche and once again worship her instead.

Narcissus and Echo: another tragedy. at least we know why I love angst so much, right? but truly, this one breaks my heart

echo was a wood nymph, who was cursed by the queen of the gods, Hera, to never be able to speak properly, but instead only ever be able to repeat anyone's last words to her. one day, she saw a handsome young man on the mountains. narcissus was his name, and when her eyes fell upon him she fell in love. but due to her cursed state, she could not speak to him, instead following him from the shadows, silently, loving him greatly from a distance, and lying in wait for the right moment to appear. when narcissus eventually realized she was around, he asked, is anyone here? and echo replied here. the conversations could only go so far with repetition, and when narcissus beckoned her to come out and make love to him, she was revealed as a wood nymph and thus refused to give himself, saying he would rather die.

heartbroken, echo raced off and hid in a cave, losing her appetite and craving for food and water, and eventually she let herself starve until her body disappeared. but the story was not over. when the goddess of revenge, nemesis, had witnessed the treatment of soft echo, she made narcissus fall in love with himself, dooming him to remain at his own reflection and meet the same fate as echo had. and before he withered, he cried out farewell dear boy. beloved in vain, and echo's voice repeated his last words from the cave as he passed. to this day, echo still repeats phrases in caves or labyrinths.

also the myth of Sisyphus is wild too - the man escaped death two to three times and then was made to enterally push a rock up a mountain.

#studio interviews: sincerelykore #studio’s co producers #greek myth ask game #ghostie’s studio games: back to work!

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intelligentdumbass · 4 years

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No I Cannot Get a Break(Part2)

(The first part’s over here)

“Athena? Have you seen Apollo?”

The grey-eyed goddess raised an eyebrow.

“Wasn’t he with you?”

“Yes, but that was an hour ago.” Calliope frowned. “Hermes ran off to look for him but he hasn’t come back yet-”

Just then, two immortals came running out of the trees; it was the two gods that the muse was looking for. She immediately rushed towards them and inquired as to what had happened; Athena was about to do the same when her father’s voice thundered across the garden.

“AH-” “What’s this??” On his hand, he held out a fruit made out of pure gold. It had stuck him right on the face while he was chatting with his siblings, just like the messenger before him.

“Father.” Apollo suddenly spoke up and stared; one of his eyes twitching. “Father please, for the love of Troy, throw that into Tartarus!”

Before Zeus could respond, the apple was already gone; snatched out of his hands by the god of love. His wings instantly threw him up into air as he curiously stared at the fruit of gold.

“Pft, what’s wrong sunshine? Why so stressed?” Eros grinned mockingly at the sun deity. “Tis’ just a yellow apple with a few words craved onto it.” He cleared his throat in preparation to read the inscription. “To the fairest goddess of them all!”

Athena could’ve sworn Apollo’s fingers were twitching like he wanted to break Eros’ neck. Calliope and Hermes seemed to be holding him back; trying to calm him down. She gazed back at her father, who was just a tiny bit drunk, and he looked both confused and slightly concerned. This surprising turn of events had gotten a lot of the other immortals’ attention; even Artemis had took notice and quickly sped towards her twin.

Meanwhile Eros had flown over to his mother and exclaimed, “Well, well, well… I guess we all know who this trophy belongs to then now, don’t we?”

Aphrodite smiled, flattered by her son’s compliment. Just before she was handed the prize, however, a spear came hurling out of nowhere; piercing the fruit and pinning it against one of the trees.

“Wait.” Athena’s voice was commanding; briefly glancing back at her distraught younger brother. “This all feels a little off. Where did that apple even come from?”

Eros rolled his eyes. “Don’t know; don’t care Misses killjoy.” He flew over to retrieve the fruit; tossing the spear aside.

“I can assure you that I sense nothing of the like, no malicious auras or weird obscure magic, at least, not on the apple itself. If anything, this is probably just some secret admirer trying to praise their idol.” He smiled, but it was the kind of smile that proves he had a suspicion that wasn’t the case at all. “Besides, why do you care? Don’t tell me that this trophy was meant for you instead?”

“What-” “No!” The goddess seemed appalled that he would even consider that to be a possibility.

Then there was a loud sigh. It was from Hera.

“If that truly is why the apple exists,” She said. “Then for all you know it might’ve been intended for me instead. It landed very close to me after all; specifically onto my husband’s face. Maybe they just had bad aim?” It was hard to tell whether or not she was joking (‘She’s most likely joking’ Athena thought), but even Poseidon muttered against his breath that she did have a point.

Aphrodite just smiled. “Then why don’t we let the king of the gods decide?” She nodded at her son, who gave the fruit back to the lightning-bearer. “Tell us my lord, who do you think deserves to be awarded with the title of the fairest goddess of them all?”

Zeus blinked. “I…” “You want me to choose between you, Athena and Hera? With all of my possible biases I think I would be the least fitting judge for that matter.” He was still uneasy about his eldest son’s reaction; even quickly glancing back to make sure he wasn’t having a panic attack amidst all of this.

‘If only he hadn’t blocked my voice from his head.’ He thought. ‘Then I would know what’s bothering him so much.’

On the other hand, now that he was holding it again, Eros seemed to be right. It looked and felt like a normal and harmless shiny apple; a very pretty one at that.

“Let a mortal who is not part of any of your cults decide, and swear not to endanger their life over some trivial matter such as this.”

Aphrodite peered off the edge; her gaze landing on a young prince of Troy. “I think I already know who.”

Eros took the golden apple and flew down onto the earth. She motioned to the two goddesses to follow as well before morphing into a dove; flying just behind her son.

---------------------------------

Paris stared at the three deities standing before him. At this rate, it looked like he was too shocked to be able to choose anyone at all. Athena internally sighed, wondering how she got herself involved into this mess.

“Okay well, how about this.” Aphrodite pondered for a moment. “If you choose me, I’ll give you the most beautiful mortal princess the world has ever laid their eyes on.”

Eros gave his mom a look, but she whispered to assure him that she was in fact not finding a way to get rid of Psyche.

Athena raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s just cheating-”

“Zeus never said anything against bribery~”

“In that case,” Hera said. “Choose me and you’ll get to rule the whole of Asia Minor.”

The war goddess thought that was an extremely irresponsible opportunity to give to someone as young as Paris, but then again maybe that was the point. She suddenly felt a little bad for the young prince.

“If you choose me, I can give you unlimited wisdom and glory in war.”

She could’ve sworn she heard Aphrodite curse. However, defying most of their expectations, Paris uttered the words, “I choose Aphrodite” and awarded the golden apple to the goddess of love.

‘Oh. Well, I tried to give him the least risky option.’

When she got back to the main event, it was almost like nothing had ever happened. Despite the incident that had killed the mood a few minutes ago, the party seemed to be back in full swing. She noticed one key difference though. Athena walked over to some of the muses; giving Clio a gentle tap on the shoulder.

“Where’s Phoebus?"

---------------------------------

Apparently Apollo disappeared when they weren’t looking, so Hermes, Artemis and Dionysus had gone off to go look for him in the depths of the garden.

“I tried to approach him, but he wouldn’t even look at me.” Zeus sighed. “And I am still not able to hear his thoughts.”

“Don’t worry, if I see him I’ll try to talk to him.”

“…please do.”

---------------------------------

There were already three gods searching for him among the trees, so she figured she might as well try looking inside the palace itself. Besides, if he really wanted to be left alone, he might’ve tried hiding somewhere else, far from where Hermes last found him. Plus, she had a few spots in mind that she could try checking out.

The silence was eerie, but also oddly comforting. There was nothing but the soft hollow thumps of her steps as she walked through the empty halls. As luck would have it, it didn’t take long for her to finally spot the god sitting on the railing of a certain balcony, the one that even their father himself often stood on.

The blonde was tense, but when he turned around and saw Athena, he started to relax.

“What’s wrong?”

“Your steps scared kind of scared me. I thought I was having another vision for a second there… I mean, you are the real Athena right?” He laughed, but his breath was more than a little shaky.

“Of course I am the real Pallas Athena. Who else would I be?”

She allowed a full minute to pass by to let him fully process her statement to be true before moving to stand right next to him.

“What’re you doing here?” Apollo asked.

“I wanted a break from the party.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” He paused. “You sure it’s not because you’re salty about the golden apple?”

Athena scoffed. “Don’t even think about trying to tease me. Why on earth would I care that much about some accursed fruit?”

“Aw, don't worry Athe. If I were him, I would've definitely chosen your deal instead."

"Well, of course, no surprise there. You choose what you don’t have after all."

“Wha-” “I was trying to cheer you up and this is what you do to me?!"

"So, you admit that what I just said is true?"

He had his hand over his chest as if he were offended; that forced smile on his face feeling just a little bit more genuine, until it slowly dropped entirely.

“Paris fucked up, Athena. Paris really fucked up.” He sighs. “Do you still remember their oaths?”

“Helen’s suitors?” She thought for a moment. “Apollo, I doubt Paris would still want to keep her after seeing the army that comes after-”

“But he will.” His voice suddenly hardened. “And he’ll keep her for over 10 fucking years and will become the torch that burns his city down to a crisp.”

Her tone softened. “How much did you see?”

“I don’t know, but I do know that Thetis is about to give birth to one of the greatest warriors in recorded history and-” “and-” He suddenly stopped, stuttering.

Athena placed a steady hand on his shoulder, as if he might fall.

Apollo’s grip on the railing tightened. “I-” “I don’t want to lose another one, Athena. Not now, it’s too fucking soon I literally just watched Asclepius-” The tears started trailing down his cheeks until they dissipated into thin air as a whiff of steam. “I just want a fucking break!”

There was a long pause before he continued.

“Why do I care so much?”

“I’d be more concerned if you didn’t. After all, I’m barely any better.”

------------------

“Athena?”

“Yes Phoebus?”

“What do you think dad’s going to do about this?”

“…I don’t know.” ------------------

“Apollo?”

“Hm?”

“Do you hate him?”

“…sometimes I wish I did”

“…”

“I-” “I’m sorry-”

“No, don’t be. I occasionally wished I did too, but it’ll never be that simple, no? Who would even replace him?”

“You?”

Athena laughed. “Weren’t you the one always asking to be his heir?”

“I was a very stupid toddler back then, hell, probably still am now. I mean, don’t tell me you actually trust me to run this thing?”

“True. I don’t blame you for not believing in yourself. Honestly, I don’t either.”

“I-” “Wow, you couldn’t have at least sugar-coated it a little?”

------------------

“Hey Pal, maybe we could share the throne?”

Athena immediately made a face of disgust. “But then if we kept our titles as King and Queen, someone might assume we married each other.”

“Wow!” Apollo tried his best not to laugh. “I mean, I don’t want to marry you either but still, you make it look like being with me is a bad thing!”

------------------

“I-” “I don’t want to get rid of him Apollo...”

“…I know.”

------------------

For a few minutes, all they did was stare and enjoy the view; looking down at the earth like they owned everything that the light could touch. Then with a flick of her hand the goddess summoned her spear and slung her shield over her back.

“Apollo, get your bow.”

“Wait-” “What? Why?” It took a few moments for him to realize what she was suggesting. "Athe, no matter how much I try, you know I’ll never stand a chance against you in close combat-"

“I did say get your bow, not your sword, didn’t I? I mean, you’re welcome to try if you want.” Her eyes were taunting him. “Father invited almost every single deity to Thetis and Peleus' wedding in Olympus. Excluding the mortals, the rest of Greece should be fairly empty right now."

"...I guess a duel does sound fun.”

"It certainly does. Besides, you really look like you could use one right now."

"Did-” “Did you just insult me by calling me out of shape or am I just over thinking this and you're genuinely trying to cheer me up?"

"Maybe both."

“…Fine. Only a few conditions: no one uses the aegis or the masterbolt, and that you better be a hundred percent sure father isn’t watching us right now.”

“Of course, wouldn’t want to embarrass you in front of him now, would we? I’m not that mean.”

After a few moments of consideration, Apollo summoned his signature bow and wore his golden quiver. Taking one last glance behind them to assure themselves that they were, in fact, alone; they went over the railing. It was faint and easy to miss, but when Athena saw the eager and determined look on his face, she couldn’t help but smile.

‘Now there's the arrogant bastard that I know.’

"Mt. Othrys?" She asked.

"Sure, the closer the more convenient.” He grinned. “Mt. Othrys it is.”

And so, they jumped off, straight into the abandoned ruins of a golden age long forgotten; landing in the middle of all of those towering columns and mighty slabs of black, the remains of their father’s decade long war.

#Apollo #Athena #golden apple #greek gods #greek mythology #MyWritingShit #If no one writes Apollo and Athena interactions #then I will

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travellersurvivornewearth · 4 years

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Tribal Immunity Challenge #7 Results

Story:

Helen and the Apple of Discord.

Priam, king of Troy, lived in a prosperous city called Ilion, with many sons and daughters around him. One of the sons, named Paris, had a strange history. He was only a few days old when his mother dreamed that he found and took a blazing torch and ran through the city, setting it on fire. The king asked an oracle what that dream meant. He was told that it would all come true. Priam ordered that the child should be taken to Mount Ida, on the eastern side of the kingdom, and left there to die.

Some shepherds found the boy and brought him up as their son. He was strong and bold and liked to fight, to wrestle, and to run with the other young shepherds. They called him Alexander, which means, “Defender of men.” When everybody was afraid to race or fight with him, he was made the referee of their games. He always gave just decisions, and even the gods knew that he was fair and honest.

Years later, after learning that a child of Thetis, an immortal nymph, and a god would come to overthrow the king of Olympus, the gods Zeus and Poseidon, who both loved her very much, decided she must marry a mortal. At the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, an uninvited guest arrived. The goddess of Discord, Eris, angry that all the gods but her were invited to the wedding and loving to see mortals argue, flew in anyway and threw on the table a golden apple, marked, “For the most beautiful.” Hera said, “That is for me. Who is so beautiful as the queen of heaven?” But Athena stretched out her hand and said, “No, it is for me. Who can equal me in the beauty of wisdom?” Then Aphrodite rose up and said, “It is for me.”There was a nasty argument, until someone said, “Let us go to the shepherd of Mount Ida; he will decide accurately.” It was agreed, and Paris saw all heaven coming to him on the mountain-side. Among so much beauty and power the shepherd found it hard to choose. The goddesses made him wonderful promises.

Hera said, “Give me the prize, and I will make you the most powerful king in the world.”

Athena said, “No one will be able to match your wisdom if you give me the apple.”Aphrodite smiled at the youth and said, “Give it to me, and you shall have for a wife the most beautiful woman in the world.”He gave her the golden apple, and from that moment Hera and Athena hated him and his family.

King Priam knew nothing of all this. He intended to have a contest among the young princes, his neighbours, and the prize was to be the finest bull on Mount Ida. Officers looking for such an animal found it in the herd of Paris.

“Shepherd,” they said, “the king has need of this beast.”“

Why does he want him?” asked Paris. The officers answered, “To be the prize of the royal games. How much is he worth?”

Paris replied, “He is not for sale.” When the officers urged him he said, “You can not have the bull unless I may enter the games and have a chance to win the prize.

”When this was told the king said, “Let the bold shepherd come.” Paris went to Troy, and in the games conquered everybody except Hector, the king’s oldest son. The younger man was afraid of this great hero, so he dropped his sword and ran for his life.

When Paris reached the temple of Zeus he went in and was safe. Nobody would dare to harm him in that holy place. Cassandra, his sister, was a prophetess in that temple. She cried out that this was not a shepherd, but the king’s son; that his name was not Alexander, but Paris; and that Hector was his brother. They all went to the palace, and Priam was glad to see again his child whom he had sent away to die. He welcomed the youth to his royal home and gave him every right of a king’s son.

Paris as a prince was not so happy as he had been when a shepherd. He lived in the city instead of on the mountain, and had nothing to do but amuse himself. His clothes were very fine and set off his handsome face and figure. But he grew tired of home and friends.”Father,” he said to Priam, “let me go abroad and see something of the world.

”The king thought well of the plan, so he gave Paris money, and sent him to travel with several young men like himself. They traveled from island to island and came at last to Sparta where Menelaus was king. He welcomed the young travellers and was very kind to them. In a few days, he said to his guests, “I must go to Crete on important business. Excuse me for leaving you, but my queen will do all she can to make you comfortable while I am gone.

”That queen was named Helen and was the most beautiful woman in the world, hatched from an egg after Zeus turned into a swan and seduced her mother, Leda. When Helen was a girl many princes asked her in marriage, but she did not care for any of them.

Her father said to these princes, “I can give her to only one. You must not argue over her. Let each man promise to be satisfied when she has made her choice, and to defend her husband against all enemies.” They promised, and she chose Menelaus, king of Sparta, and went with him to his home.

They had lived happily for some years when Paris came. He was a prince, rich, fair to see, and with very good manners. Helen was young and weak. She forgot about her marriage to Menelaus, fell in love with Paris, and went with him to Troy.Aphrodite had kept her promise.

Paris had the most beautiful wife in the world. But sadness, suffering, and death followed, as they are sure to follow selfishness and deceit. When Menelaus returned and found his wife had left him, he called all the princes of Greece and of the islands to help him get back Helen, now known as “the face that launched a thousand ships.” They raised a large army and sailed against Troy. This was the beginning of the Trojan war, which lasted for ten years.

RESULTS:

Vi: 8

Julia: 2

Congratulations Vi you have won immunity. I’m sorry you will be joining us at tribal council tomorrow at 8PM EST.

#likeclockwork

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catyo90 · 5 years

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Hello Everyone. Tonight I want to talk about Greek Mythology.

Specifically on the story about The legend of Troy.

Now for this, I will go over the Iphigenia first, The Illiad second and the Odyssey third. However, you guys are gonna need some background info and naturally, it starts off with Zeus trying to bone someone. (Fun)

Zeus sought the Nereid ( a sea Goddess who could change shape at will) Thetis. However, it was predicted that if she bore a son that child would be greater than their father. Zeus had fallen in love for her but he decided not to risk having such a son. So he sent word to Peleus and he was just like “Ok”

Peleus found Thetis on the seashore and seized her. See the Proteus gave him this advice as he knew it was the only to have her. Thetis not being too thrilled about being grabbed on transformed into multiple forms like literal fire, water, a lion, a serpent, and a cuttlefish, but Peleus being a badass managed to hold on to her. (Btw how the hell do you hold fire?)

Thetis who was quite impressed agreed to marry him. At their wedding is where the avalanche of the Trojan war starts.

See at their wedding all the gods were invited. ( That had to be way too much chaos.) Except for Eris, The Goddess of Discord. Eris basically burst at the feast of the celebration all Maleficent like and had with her a golden apple and inscribed it “For the Fairest.” Three goddesses in an instant went to claim for it however Eris handed the apple to Zeus to decide. Zeus (doing like maybe the only smart thing) did not want to choose between them since the fury of the other two would be unimaginable. So he decided to have a mortal choose. (This is the dumb part of the idea.) The young prince Paris.

* Paris is the son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy but at his birth,, it was foretold that he would cause the downfall of Troy. (Foreshadowing.) So he was left on a hill to die. He was saved by a she-bear who fed him her milk until he was found by a herdsman. (Only badass thing to happen to him.)*

One day while he was watching his sheep, Hermes greeted him with the three other goddesses and told him he had to choose the loveliest of them. Each of them tried to bride Paris for the apple. Hera offered him power and wealth; Athena offered him great victories and wisdom. Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful woman in the world. (Ughhhh) Paris being the young idiot he chooses Aphrodite gaining him the hatred of both Athena and Hera. Aphrodite then informs Paris that the most beautiful woman was Helen of Sparta.

*Now in some versions, Paris kidnaps her with Aphrodite’s help (Basically being the matchmaker.) but this one isn’t seen as the correct version.

See Paris basically traveled to Troy for some games being thrown, he seemed to have beaten everyone and in fear of the trojans harming Paris. King Priam reveals who he really is and the Trojans welcome him. (Somehow they forgot about the prophecy which they seriously should have just kicked him out the moment they saw him.)

After this event, his King Priam asks Paris to travel to Greece to bring back his sister Hesione of Troy. He told him that if the Greeks did not return her he was to kidnap a Greek princess. Paris kidnapped Helen as punishment for the Greeks not returning Hesione to them. Menelaus being pretty pissed off by this went to his brother Agamemnon to ask for his help in bringing her back.

Agamemnon sees this as a way to conquer Troy, agreed to this. This brings us to Iphigenia, Agamemnon's daughter.

See the Goddess Artemis wasn’t too happy about the idea of Troy being attacked. In her rage, while the men were preparing the ships. Sent opposing winds to stop them from sailing and demanded the sacrifice of Agamemnon daughter. Seeing as this was the only way for them to set sail he agrees. (Father of the Year everyone.) He sends word to wife, Clymenestra that their daughter that he has promised her hand in marriage to Achilles. After he sends the letter he feels troubled for having to murder her, he then sends a letter telling her to stay away however Menelaus intercepts the letter telling him that he has to sacrifice her. However, Iphigenia, Clymenestra, and Orestes soon arrive. Agamemnon seeing that he has to sacrifice her prepares for the ritual. Clymenestra speaks to Achilles and speaks of how wonderful it is that he is marrying Iphigenia. Achilles becomes confused seeing as he wasn’t going to marry her. Soon they realize the true plot both of them getting fairly pissed about the idea. Iphigenia asks her father why she has to die to which he explains that he cannot travel to Troy until then. the men soon realize that if she dies they can be set off to Troy. Achilles tries to protect her. (Seeing as he is almost indestructible.) Iphigenia then agrees to be sacrificed seeing as it would help her father and the army continue on their journey. (Give this woman a metal.) Immediately after she is sacrificed the winds start off in the right direction and Clymenestra and Orestes are sent home while the army travels to Troy.

*Some renditions say that Artemis snatched Iphigenia and replaced her with a deer as she was taken to safety and became a priestess of Artemis.

After this I will cover the Illiad which will probably be in two parts. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this short story.

#greek #greek mythology #part 1

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hereticaloracles · 6 years

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Pallas Athene in Libra: Fairest of Them All

“But how did you fight an enemy who never fought fair? Didn’t you have to break the rules to win against the Devil?” ― Libba Bray

Effective Dates: November 4th, 2018- August 27th, 2019 (Retrograde February 18th – May 30th, 2019)

Helios on Pallas Athene in Libra– Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all? Well, that would greatly depend on your idea of what is and isn’t fair, now wouldn’t it? At least, that’s what Pallas Athene, the asteroid goddess of Justice, Politics, and Wisdom would say. See, she also would be considered to rule fairness as well, but I can’t in good conscience give it to her, and let me tell you why (I promise its relevant) and why this placement is not a good one for Pallas.

So, let’s talk about the Trojan War- The event that destroyed Troy and paved the way for the rise of Rome was started by a wedding. Specifically, the wedding of Peleus and Thetis (parents of Achilles). Now, this was a normal wedding (well as normal as the wedding of a demigod and goddess can be), but Hera was in charge of the guest list. She decided, in all her infinite wisdom, to snub a goddess by pointedly not inviting her- that goddess was Eris, goddess of discord, strife, and chaos. She took offense to this (shocker) and crashed the party to throw a golden apple into the affair, saying it was “For the fairest” and promptly bounced. Now, this led to three goddesses claiming it was theirs- Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Since they couldn’t work it out among themselves, they ganged up on Zeus to decide, who promptly yeeted all semblance of duty to a Trojan patsy named Paris. The goddesses instantly started bribing the poor guy- with Hera offering to make him King of the known world, Athene offering military victory and skill, and Aphrodite offering the hand of the most beautiful woman in the world (additionally, all the goddesses were completely naked while bribing the poor sod). Guess which one he went with?

Unfortunately for everyone, the most beautiful woman in the world (Helen of Troy) was already married to a Greek King and general, Menelaus. Aphrodite helped Paris abduct her, and they ran to Troy. This started the war that doomed the city and claimed the lives of many of the Greek and Trojan heroes, but allowing Rome to rise in the void Troy left. For more, go read the Iliad and the Odyssey.

How does this apply to this transit though? Well for one, Libra is famous for its doubletalk and backroom deals Diplomacy, and you would think that Athene would be 100% in for this- But remember, she is a warrior. She likes to fight, she’s good at it. Its what she does. Libra tries to avoid fights at all costs (and there is ALWAYS a cost to avoiding a fight). In Libra, Athene ends up like Zeus, trying to keep everyone happy and keep your hands clean of any responsibility. You cannot do this right now. This is a time where it is so, so imperative to stand up and be counted, to defend what you believe is right. There is wisdom in the struggle, not in keeping the peace. There is no place for a compromise with evil when it rears its head, it must be destroyed and resisted.

You will want to retreat, to create situations where you allow those who disagree with you to the point of violence and hatred to have their place. You cannot. You must go deeper than what is good to stand by what is right. Fuck pleasantness, fuck compromise. Who you allow to be cruel and evil is what you will allow into the world. Tell people to eat a dick when they espouse beliefs you cannot abide. Stand by your moral code, and don’t give an inch to compromise. Fair is an illusion that will destroy all you hold dear if you let it- Just look at Paris and Troy. It’s a cautionary tale, not to look down from your literal ivory tower to separate yourself from what is going on on the ground. The more you try to avoid the fight around you, the more you will watch your kingdom burn around you.

Dig in, this one will be rough.

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Pallas Athene in Libra: Fairest of Them All was originally published on Heretical Oracles

#asteroid astrology #asteroid pallas #Pallas Athene #Pallas Athene astrology #pallas athene in libra #Pallas Athene Retrograde #astrology #tarot #fuckstrology #bruja #brujeria

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beyondthedreamline · 7 years

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Ladies of Legend: Helen and Cassandra

References: The Greek Myths Volumes I and II (The Folio Society, 2003) by Robert Graves, Mythology: Myths, Legends, & Fantasies (Hodder, 2013) by Dr. Alice Mills, The Greek Myths Volumes I and II (The Folio Society, 2003) by Robert Graves, Mythology: Myths, Legends, & Fantasies (Hodder, 2013) by Dr. Alice Mills, Eyewitness Companions: Mythology (Dorling Kindersley Ltd.) by Philip Wilkinson and Neil Philip, A-Z of Mythology (Bison Books Ltd, 1990) by Peter Clayton, Greek Mythology (Michaelis Toubis S.A., 1995) by Sofia Souli, translated by Philip Ramp, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassandra, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_of_Troy

Trigger warning: references to rape and incest

It all began with Eris, the Greek goddess of discord and the original bad fairy at the christening – or in this case, at the wedding, showing up at the nuptials of Thetis and Peleus to make everyone simultaneously regret not inviting her and remember exactly why they didn’t by riling up the three most powerful goddesses in the Pantheon and starting one of the most famous wars in myth and legend. She brought with her a golden apple (never ever trust a golden apple) with an inscription on it reading ‘for the fairest’. Zeus, who might be all kinds of terrible but was smart enough to realise that was a mess he wanted no part of, hastily foisted the role of judge onto Prince Paris of Troy. Thanks to an ominous prophecy made at his birth, Paris was living as an anonymous shepherd at the time, in ignorance of his birthright. All that was about to change.

The three goddesses who felt the strongest right to the apple were Hera, Zeus’s wife and sister and queen of the gods; Athena, goddess of wisdom and war; and Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Each offered Paris an appropriately extravagant bribe depending on her governance. Hera promised power and riches, Athena assured him of good fortune in battle, but Aphrodite swore that he would have the most beautiful woman in the world as his own and Paris awarded her the apple – thereby making himself two implacable enemies, and an ally as fickle as she was powerful.

And who, might you ask, was the most beautiful woman in the world? According to Aphrodite, at least, it was the princess Helen, whose parentage was as mysterious as it was regal. In one version, Zeus took the form of a swan and came to Leda, daughter of the king of Aetolia and wife of King Tyndareus of Sparta, who fell pregnant from the union and bore an egg with three children within: Helen and her twin brothers, Castor and Pollux. Helen also had a mortal half-sister, Clytaemnestra, the child of Leda and Tyndaerus. Another version has Clytaemnestra (also spelled Clytemnestra) as Helen’s twin, originally married to Tantalus and later claimed as a spoil of war by Agamemnon of Mycenae, the man who widowed her. In yet another version, Zeus pursued the goddess Nemesis, who changed herself into a goose to escape – not that it stopped him. In this story, she gave her egg to Leda, who raised the children as her own.

Whatever her true origins, Helen had the blood divine and it showed. Her beauty rapidly became her curse. Before she was ten years old, Theseus (he of the Minotaur incident) had abducted her for a mockery of ‘marriage’ and her brothers had to come to her rescue. As she grew older, the number of her suitors grew to a number between 29 andd 99, which meant – in a neat mirror of Paris’s conundrum – that whoever eventually married Helen would have a great many resentful rivals to contend with afterwards. A solution was proffered by Odysseus of Ithaca: all the suitors would be sworn to accept Helen’s choice and support that man should the need ever arise.

It’s a serious oath. It is also an interesting indicator of Helen’s paradox. She had just enough choices to drown in, and none of them were offered for her benefit. Various versions of the legend give her up to five husbands over the course of her life: Theseus (ugh), Menelaus, Paris, Achilles and Deiphobus.

In the best known version, Helen married Menelaus, Agamemnon’s brother. How much of that was her choice and how much was Tyndaerus’s influence is dodgy at best; Tyndaerus once gave the brothers his support in overthrowing their usurping uncle and after the marriage, gave Menelaus his throne. In reward for his good advice, Odysseus was given the hand of Penelope, Tyndareus’s niece. All very neatly settled for the king, except for a tricksy detail: Tyndaerus was not offering Aphrodite her due worship (or what she considered her due, anyway). That’s a lot of marriages to arrange when you’re on the outs with the goddess of love.

Helen gave birth to a daughter, Hermione, and three sons, Aethiolas, Maraphius, and Pleisthenes. Clytaemnestra also had four children: three girls, Electra, Chrystoethmis and Iphigeneia, and a son called Orestes. Both women lived as wives, mothers, queens – perhaps happy with their husbands, perhaps not, but untroubled by great events. And then, of course, Aphrodite happened.

She kept her promise to Paris. When he came to the Spartan court and met Helen there, the goddess of love smoothed the way for a wildly inadvisable love affair. Menelaus sailed to Crete during the (by now discovered and royally acknowledged) Trojan prince’s visit, and while he was gone Paris seduced Helen into returning with him to Troy. She took her treasures and her slaves – but not her children. Possibly it was Aphrodite’s influence again that caused the Trojans to consider Helen as Paris’s wife, though her husband ensured his existence could not be swept aside and before long Helen wasn’t popular at all. Only Paris’s brother Hector and his father Priam saw that she was not to blame for the devastation that followed in her wake. The gods were bad enough at their own relationships. When they got involved with mortals, it could get astonishingly ugly.

But Aphrodite was not the only one with a promise to keep, and Menelaus was quick to call upon the former suitors to fulfill their oath, with his brother taking charge of proceedings. A seer told Agamemnon that he could win over the will of the gods…by sacrificing Iphigeneia. Agamemnon sent for his wife and daughter, telling them that Iphigeneia was to marry the beautiful young Greek warrior Achilles. Then he slit her throat.

It took ten whole years to assemble the Greek army, since most of them either didn’t want to fight over a woman they weren’t actually married to or (very understandably) didn’t like Agamemnon. But assemble the army he did. It would be another ten years before the war reached its bloody end.

Meanwhile, in Troy, let’s meet a woman with spectacular relationship problems of her own: Cassandra, daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba and sister of Paris. She was the one to recognise him as a prince of Troy, after he won all the events at a funeral games and Cassandra’s other brothers were humiliated enough to murderously bad sports. Paris took refuge in the temple of Zeus, where Cassandra found him and brought him home.

She had a veritable horde of siblings, actually, well over fifty. Her sisters included Creousa, Laodice and Polyxene; her eldest brother was Hector, followed by Paris, Deiphobus, Hellen (Cassandra’s twin), Polydorus and Troilus. Cassandra was beloved of the sun god Apollo. He tried to buy his way into her bed with the gift of prophecy – which she accepted, but she changed her mind on accepting him. Apollo, it should be pointed out, was exactly the type of male deity to use the term ‘friend-zoned’. Unable to withdraw his gift, he went with the path of maximum spite and swore that whatever prophecy she made, no one would ever believe her.

Cassandra foresaw that Paris and his love for Helen would bring about the destruction of Troy. When the Greeks, worn down by long years of fighting and relying once again on the trickery of Odysseus, placed their notorious wooden horse outside the gates of the city, Cassandra told everyone exactly what would happen. When the warriors concealed in the body of the horse sacked her home, Cassandra took refuge at the statue of Athena. She should have been safe there. She was not. The prince of Locris, known as the Lesser Ajax, dragged her from the temple and raped her. Athena destroyed his ship on his way home from the war and Poseidon personally drowned him – but while it’s nice to know justice was done, none of that protected Cassandra.

As a spoil of war, she was claimed by Agamemnon, who took her with him on his return to Mycenae. Cassandra told Agamemnon they would both die there, only to have her desperation dismissed as ravings. Clytaemnestra had to wait a long time for her vengeance, but once the murderer of her little girl was within her reach, she wasted no time. Having once been taken as a spoil of war, you might think she would have fellow feeling for Cassandra. Instead, she murdered her.

Agamemnon had fathered two sons with Cassandra, twin boys called Teledamus and Pelops; neither survived the savagery of Mycenae, dying at the hand of Clytaemnestra’s lover and accomplice Aegisthus.

So, what about Helen? A Greek queen all in the arms of a Trojan prince, her heart would be broken no matter which way the dice fell. During battle, Helen would stand on the city walls and point out the Greek leaders on the field; but Odysseus entered Troy twice, disguised, and she let him pass by. Though Paris was still a favourite of Aphrodite and subject to her formidable protection, all the gods had a stake in the outcome of this war. He shot down Achilles in vengeance for the brutal killing of Hector, only to be slain by an arrow himself.

After his death, Helen took up with his brother Deiphobus, but he was no incentive for her to stay loyal to Troy. Odysseus slipped into the city to steal away the Palladium – a holy statue of Athene held in Troy, weakening the goddess’s partiality to the Greeks – and Helen told him exactly how to find it. Yet even after that, she was not Odysseus’s ally. When his wooden horse was brought into the city and the Trojans were celebrating what they believed was victory, Helen approached the horse and called out to the warriors within with stunningly accurate mimicry of each of their wives’ voices in turn. Odysseus, master of the underhanded trick, kept his wits about him enough to prevent his companions succumbing to Helen’s voice and emerging from the horse.

After the fall of Troy, when Paris’s family had been slaughtered or enslaved – Deiphobus among the dead – Helen retreated to the temple of Apollo. Menelaus found her there. The story goes that Helen did not speak a word in her defence, simply bared herself for him to run her through, but as soon as Menelaus saw her breasts he was helplessly hers again. Which strongly smacks of Aphrodite’s influence, bawdy and unpredictable and cunning as she was.

So Helen went home to Sparta. The versions of her later life vary wildly. Homer’s Helen became a model wife, insisting that Menelaus come with her when she was deified. In another Zeus rescued her from the vengeful attack of Pylades, lover of Clytaemnestra’s daughter Electra, who blamed Helen for all the disaster that came from the war. A much more fun alternative has Helen hooking up with an Achilles who did not die, the two of them enjoying immortality on an island getaway in the Euxine Sea.

Other stories take a harsher view. Helen became a sacrifice, or was murdered by Achilles’ despairing mother, or even committed suicide to escape the guilt of the war. Because beautiful women are always responsible for the pointless cruelties of grown men, you know, and ten years is not a long enough time for said grown men to recognise that no cause in the world could be worth so much bloodshed, least of all a spurned husband’s pride.

Helen and Cassandra are opposite sides of the same impossible dilemma. The capricious love of the gods gave both women extraordinary powers and extraordinary grief – but they have always been more than the beautiful tragedies of Troy.

These stories vary wildly depending on time and teller – I work with the sources I have to hand but if you know an alternative version I would love to hear it!

Originally posted on Wordpress

#my writing #ladies of legend #helen of troy #cassandra #mythology girls #greek mythology

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