Tag: ancient history

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Greek Myth: Sirens

Funerary statue of a siren with a shell lyre, c. 370 BCE

In Ancient Greek mythology, the sirens are vaguely described by various sources but are usually interpreted as being large birds with the heads of women.

In the classic Ancient Greek legend The Odyssey attributed to Homer, the hero Odysseus’s ship is attacked by sirens who sing from the cliffs with the voices of women. The witch Circe had forewarned Odysseus and his crew to block their ears with wax so not to hear the siren’s song. Odysseus was tied to the mast as he insisted on hearing the sirens but safely tied, he couldn’t be taken from the ship. According to Circe, the sirens would fly down from three cliffs, attack crews and take men back to their roosts to feast on their victims.

The painting John William Waterhouse (1891) and depicts the sirens as described in ancient Greek mythology.

Ulysses and the sirens– John William Waterhouse (1891)

During the medieval period, the siren became confused with the mermaid and was often depicted in many Bestiaries as a half-fish, half-woman or a chimera of both with wings.

Bestiary bound in a theological miscellany. British Library, Harley Collection, MS 3244.

English artist William Petty was one of the first artist to depict the siren as a naked woman in Ulysses and the Sirens (1837) but a darker interpretation than later artists with Petty depicting the sirens an rocky isle atop the corpses of sailors lured to their deaths.

Ulysses and the Sirens– William Petty (1837)

Following the tradition of William Petty, a second siren painting by John William Waterhouse (ca. 1900) The Siren depicts the Petty-style completely different interpretation of the siren. Here, the siren is a beautiful naked woman playing a lyre and sitting on the rocks to lure sailors into the ocean to drown before they reach her.

The Siren– John William Waterhouse (ca.1900)

This transformation of the siren from the classical Greek version into the one we know today as the deadly seductress is a fascinating re-shaping of folklore and mythology over time.

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Egyptian Myth: Hathor

Hathor was known as “the Great One of Many Names” and her titles and attributes are so numerous that she was important in nearly every aspect of ancient Egyptian life and death. Her widespread worship in the Predynastic period is indicated by her depiction on the Narmer palette.

During the Old Kingdom period, her worship was well established. Hathor symbolically represents Upper Egypt while the god Bast represents Lower Egypt and both are depicted in The Valley Temple of Khafre at Giza.

Hathor was originally a personification of the Milky Way which was considered to be the milk that flowed from the udders of a heavenly cow, which links her to the goddess Nut and Bat. But over time, Hathor absorbed the attributes of many other goddesses to become more closely associated with Isis. In turn, Isis usurped Hathor’s position as the most popular and more powerful goddess. But, Hathor remained popular throughout Ancient Egyptian worship.

Festivals were dedicated to Hathor and her worship extended beyond Egypt and Nubia. She was worshipped throughout Semitic West Asia, Ethiopia, Somalia and Libya and she was particularly worshipped in the city of Byblos.

Hathor was among the goddesses that carried the Eye of Ra – a symbolic representation as the female opposite of Ra in which she had an avenging character protection g her from her opposites.

In her feminine aspect, Hathor represented the musical arts, dance, joy, love, sexuality, and maternal care. These were the properties of the goddess and represented ancient Egyptian femininity.
As the goddess of music and dance, her ministry was formed by dancers, singers, actors and even acrobats.

Hathor crossed the boundaries between the worlds to learn from the dead as they transitioned to an afterlife.

She was entrusted to receive the dead to enter the afterlife and when they went to her in an adequate manner, their petitions would be were heard. The goddess Hathor herself would lead them over to the room of the dead. To some, Hathor was a cow goddess that suckled babies with her sacred milk, or was associated with the wild lioness that lived in the desert capable of extinguishing all life.

Hathor was often personified as a cow – or the symbol of a woman with a crown of cow horns and a solar disk. She could also be symbolized as a lioness – the protective emblem used by the pharaohs. She was also associated with a sycamore tree – the yellow trunk of resistant, durable wood.

In Egyptian mythology, Hathor also was the defender of the drunkards, ruled the celebration of drunkenness, which was celebrated in Dendera, twenty days after the overflowing of the Nile. She was named “The lady of joys” for to her cheerful, festive and game-related personality and “The lady of the garlands” for her beauty

Many shrines were consecrated to Hathor with the most famous at Dendera in Upper Egypt where she also enjoyed being worshipped in the temples of her male companions.

By the New kingdom era, the goddesses Nut and Isis took the place of Hathor, but she continued to represent one of the most revered goddesses. At the end of the New Empire, Hathor was overshadowed by the goddess Isis.

During the Ptolemaic era, a rite arose based on Hathor and Horus forming a marriage saw “The Good Gathering” celebrated in the month of Epiphany according to the Egyptian calendar.

Hathor appears as a woman with a cow’s head, or a human head with the ears and horns of a cow.

She can also appear as a lioness associated with Sekhmet or the cat.

In the late period tale, Ra transformed Hathor into Sekhmet who was the eye of her father. He sent her to devastate humankind for not obeying him, but later, in remorse, Sekhmet was so drunk so that Ra transformed her back into Hathor – the goddess who represents love and veneration

In Egyptian mythology, Hathor is the “mother of mothers”, a goddess of women, maturity, children, and work. Her enigmatic energy connected her with women.

In the Book of the Dead from the 13th century B.C., Hathor was one of the goddesses associated with the souls in the afterlife. Among those deities, there was Amentit, a deity of the west, who represented Necropolis or sarcophagi on the western banks of the Nile and the kingdom of life after death.

Hathor’s associates:
Women, musicians, dancers, singers, perfumers, aroMatherapists, cosmeticians, brewers, vintners, magicians, fortune-tellers, diviners, and henna artists

Manifestations:
Hathor is most often depicted as a cow with the solar disk and plumes between her horns or as a woman whose crown is a solar disk held between a pair of cow horns.

Iconography:
Hathor is symbolised as tree with a woman’s breast, with which she nourishes pharaohs.

Attributes:
Mirror, frame drum, and sistrum: the sistrum, a percussion instrument, is sometimes decorated with Hathor’s image, as are Egyptian hand mirrors.

Animals:
Cow, gazelle, cat, goose

Plants:
Myrrh tree, date palm, sycomore fig, papyrus, and henna

Stones:
Malachite, turquoise

Metal:
Gold, copper

Color:
Red

Planet:
Moon. Hathor also has associations with the Dog Star, or Sirius which the ancient Egyptians called Sothis, the Great Provider or the Womb of Hathor.

Places:
Hathor’s principal sanctuary was at Dendera, on the edge of the desert between Luxor and Abydos, where it is believed her cult first began. Dendera was a healing center, the Egyptians considered it the Navel of the Universe, or Earth’s spiritual center. The mountain range to the west of the Nile River and marshes were sacred to Hathor.

Time:
An annual festival of appeasement corresponded with the rising of Sothis (Sirius) or approximately 20 July by our calendar. Hathor was offered copious amounts of beer and pomegranate juice shared by celebrating devotees.

Offerings:
A gift of two mirrors is her traditional votive offering. Hathor is the spirit of alcohol and beer or wine were used as offerings. Other traditional votive offerings include fabrics, scarabs, and other amulets; images of cats and cows; jewelry; and ex-votos (milagros) in the form of eyes or ears to encourage Hathor to see or hear petitioners.

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Greek Mythology: Hades

Hades may be one of the most-well known and most popular gods from Ancient Greek mythology but wasn’t one of the recognised Olympian gods even despite being the brother of Zeus. Hades was the Greek god of the Dead and his domain took on his name and didn’t exist in the mortal realm but an Underworld.

Hades was the son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea which made him brother to Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Poseidon and Zeus. Cronus – fearful of his position as supreme ruler and determined to avoid a prophecy about his own downfall, swallowed each of his children when they were born. Hades and his siblings were imprisoned in the stomach of their father.

Zeus was the only one if the sibling to escape being swallowed by Cronus and escaped to Crete – where when he reached maturity- he returned to confront Cronus. Aided by Cronus’s wife Rhea and Gaia, Cronus was presented with a potion he was told would bring gift him invincibility. Instead, it made him regurgitate all his imprisoned children.

Zeus led a rebellion against Cronus and Hades was presented with a Helmet of Darkness by the Cyclopes. The helmet would make the wearer invisible and in later legends, Perseus would make use of it. During the war against the Titans, Hades wore it was was responsible for bringing the war to an end when Hades entered the Titans’s encampment and destroyed all their weapons.

Victory over the Titans meant the cosmos was divided between the three sons of Cronus. A drawing of lots saw Zeus became lord of the heavens and earth, Poseidon the lord the earth’s waters and Hades the lord of the Underworld.

The ancient Greek underworld holds many realms and was more than Tartarus, the fiery pit – it also included the Elysian Fields, a realm of paradise. The dead would be judged as to how they had lived their lives and an eternity might be spent in Tartarus, the Elysian Fields or the nothingness of the Asphodel Meadows.

The dead were a population of Hades’s realm but the god did not take judgement over them. Instead, he gave those tasks to others and was revered for the fear and power he invoked. Hades doesn’t bring death either – this was carried out by the god Thanatos, a son of the goddess Nyx.

Hades had an ebony throne and held a sceptre in one hand and a two-pronged spear in the other. When travelling, his black chariot was pulled by four coal-black horses. The most famous association to Hades was his guard dog, Cerberus, the monstrous three-head offspring of Echidna.

Other Names: Aidoneus, Pluto

Manifestation: A large man with a curly black beard

Attribute: A helmet of invisibility

Familiar: Cerberus, the monstrous three-headed guard dog

Plants: Black narcissus, mint, cypress tree, fava beans

Colour: Black

Metal: Iron

Animals: Black ram, wolf, bear

Sacred site: A shrine on Mount Mentha in Tryphelia, Elis. Hades was also worshipped with Athena at her temple near Koroneia in Boeotia.

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Aztec Mythology: Mictlán

In Aztec cosmology, the soul intakes a journey to the Underworld after death and they have four destinations: the Sacred Orchard of the Gods, the Place of Darkness, the Kingdom of the Sun, and a paradise called the Mansion of the Moon.

The most common destination for a soul is Mictlán (Place of Darkness) with nine levels, crashing mountains and rushing rivers, and four years of struggle. There are 13 Heavens over which various gods and goddesses preside and provides the cultural basis for the Day of the Dead customs and celebrations.

Mictlantecuhtli is the skeletal Lord of the Land of the Dead – the supreme ruler of Mictlán. He oversees the place of eternal smoke and darkness along with his consort Mictlancihuatl.

Mictlán ruled by its Lord and Lady, is a gloomy place a soul reaches only after wandering for four years beneath the Earth, accompanied by a “soul-companion,” usually a do which was customarily cremated with the body.

Aztec myth tells how Quetzalcoatl (Nahuatl language means “feathered serpent”) journeyed into Mictlán at the dawning of the Fifth Sun (the present world era), and restored humankind to life with from the bones of those who had lived before. Bones are like seeds: everything that dies goes into the Earth, and from it new life is born in the sacred cycle of existence.

Quetzalcoatl’s Descent To Mictlán

At sunset, Mictlantechutli (Lord of Underworld) and Tonatiuh (Star God) take their place to illuminate the world of the dead.

Legend tells that after Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca created the world, the day and night, they placed Mictalntecuhtli and his wife Mictlancihuatl as Lord and Lady of the underworld.

The counterpart of Mictlán is the paradise known as Tlalocán, or the home of the god Tlaloc, where the dead who drowned or were struck by lightning would dwell.

The 4 houses of the dead:

•Chichihuacuauhco

•Mictlán

•Ilhuuicatl-Tonatiuh

•Tlalocán

Chichihuacuauhco is the first mansion, a place of dead children. In its middle there is a large tree whose branches drip milk so the children could might feed and gain strength. These children will return to the Earth when our world of the Fifth Sun is destroyed. That is why children died young so they might repopulate the Earth for the future.

Mictlán is the second house. Those who succumbed to illness and old age went to dwell in Mictlán. The soul must make a 4 year journey and pass through nine layers of the Underworld and various daunting tests. These included the dead coming to the river Apanohuaya which is impossible to cross without the help of an Itzcuintli (xoloitzcuintle), a special dog each family raised and cremated alongside the mourned deceased.

Among the Aztecs, the god Xolotl was a monstrous dog. During the creation of the Fifth Sun, Xolotl was hunted by Death and escaped him by transforming himself first into a sprout of maize, then into maguey leaves and finally as a salamander in a pool of water. The third time that Death found Xolotl, he trapped and killed him. Three important foodstuffs were produced from the body of this mythological dog.

Mictlantecuhtli, Lord of the Dead, had kept the bones of a man from a previous creation. Xolotl descended to the Underworld trying to steal these bones so that man could be reborn into the new world of the Fifth Sun. Xolotl recovered the bones and brought man to life again by piercing his penis and bleeding upon them. Xolotl is seen as an incarnation of the planet Venus as the Evening Star (the Morning Star was his twin brother Quetzalcoatl).

Xolotl is the canine companion of the Sun, following its path through both in the sky and the Underworld. Xolotl’s strong connection with the Uderworld, death and the dead is demonstrated by the symbols he bears. In the Codex Borbonicus Xolotl is pictured with a knife in his mouth (symbol of death), and has black wavy hair like the hair worn by the gods of death.

Upon recognising his dead master, the dog barks, then rushes to help the deceased to cross the river and carries its master upon his back while swimming.

After the crossing, the soul is stripped of all clothes, beginning the second part of his journey between two mountains that conflicted with each other. This pass is called Tepetl Monamiclia, where the deceased would make warily make their way hoping the two mountains wouldn’t clash and crush the passing traveler.

At the end of the pass, a descent down a hill strewn with flints and sharp obsidian (same material used to make knives) and the soul would call to Ilztepetl. But the stones still mercilessly cut the feet of the dead as they passed.

Celhuecayan, the eight mountains is covered i perpetual snow that falls constantly and is whipped up by strong winds.

The soul the arrives at the foot of a hill, the last part in the journey called Paniecatacoyan. These moors here are cold and large, where the dead would walk endlessly crossing the desolated land.

The soul then take a long path, where they are struck with arrows. This place is Temiminaloyan and the arrows are fired by unseen hands.

At the end of the path is Tecoylenaloyan, where the soul exists with thousands of fierce beasts. When any of the beasts reached them, the souks would throw open their chests and let the beasts eat their hearts.

The souls os then forced to dive into the Apanuiayo (black water river), and where the Xochilonal dwells. The soul must swim in this lake, dodging the animals, including the terrifying lizard to get to the next test.

Finally, tired, injured and exhausted with suffering, the soul reaches Chicunamictlan, where they would meet Mictlantecuchtli, the fierce God of the Death who would receive them with vengeance.

Here the soul’s cycle ends forever and here they would live until their bodies and their lives extinguish.

The long journey lasted for four years, in which the deceased came to his eternal rest.

The mansion where most of the dead arrived were those who would diedof natural causes.

The is the Kingdom of the Sun.

Here the warriors, slaughtered at the hands of their enemies, rest. Those souls of women who died in childbirth are counted among these. For among the Aztecs, pregnant women were like warriors who symbolically capture her child for the Aztec state in the painful and bloody battle of birth. Considered as female aspects of defeated heroic warriors, women dying in childbirth became fierce goddesses who carried the setting sun into the netherworld realm of Mictlán.

Mictlán is a place outside of the time. A wonderful infinite place, and a beautiful plain, at every day the sun rose, warriors beat their shields.

After four years, these warriors would turn into rich bird-feathers, small, living creatures eating the flowers.

Those who had died by drowning, lightning, and other deaths related to water and rain arrived at Tlalocán, the Mansion of the Moon, a place of unending springtime and a paradise of green plants. This place belongs to Tlaloc.

Tlaloc is also associated with caves, springs, and mountains, most specifically the sacred mountain in which he was believed to reside. His animal forms include herons and water-dwelling creatures such as amphibians, snails, and possibly sea creatures, particularly shellfish.

The dead arriving here would be happy, fresh and unconcerned. These dead hadn’t been cremated, but buried.

And so, between the mansions the dead Aztecs were divided, each person going to their designated place in the Mexican Underworld.

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Greek Mythology: Nyx

Nyx is a very unique goddess. She has the ability to bring sleep or death. Even Zeus feared Nyx because she was older and stronger than him. She is the only goddess he’s ever known to fear.

She is often described as a winged or riding in a chariot across the sky, shrouded in mist with stars and the night unveiling behind her. She resides in the western part of Hades, where she and her daughter Hemera (Day) pass each other at sunrise and sunset.

Nyx is not a personification of evil in Greek mythology. She’s never spoken of having done anything more ‘evil’ than Zeus himself in any mythology. Yet, it is her mysterious and dark nature, that lead her to be viewed more villainous than she is.

In Greek mythology, Nyx married Erebus – the God of darkness. Nyx and Erebus had Hemera (Day) and Aither (Light). Hemera is literally Nyx’s opposite. When Nyx brings the dark veil of the night over the world, she is chased away each morning by Hemera.

Curiously, Nyx also created her own dark spirits including the Fates, Sleep, Death, Strife, and Pain. Other of Nyx’s children include Geras, Moros, Nemesis, the Keres and the Oneiroi.

Nyx appears in many important ancient greek poems. In the fragments of poetry Nyx is the first of all in creation. Before there was anything, there was darkness or ‘night’ and it was here that Nyx came to be. She is often portrayed in symbolism as a moon or stars due to her ending the daytime and bringing the night.

Nyx is considered either be helpful or harmful: she brings sleep and relief, or the opposite- she can bring pain and death.

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Sumerian Mythology: Ereshkigal

Ereshkigal in Near Eastern mythology (Babylonian – Assyrian) was the goddess of the underworld, married to the war god Nergal.

Ereshkigal ruled over the Mesopotamian realm of death. She is Inanna’s sister, rival, or alter-ego as descriptions of her and her realm are found in the Sumerian hymn, The Descent of Inanna (available in English translation). This is the descent Inanna makes into Irkalla-Ereshkigal’s realm of death.

Ereshkigal is great and powerful and possesses power over life: has access to the Water of Life and is capable of resurrecting the dead.

She is a tempestuous, volatile and aggressive. She commands and compels the dead with her powers are invoked in necromantic spells from the magical papyri of Alexandria, Egypt.

An Akkadian hymn recounts the union of Ereshkigal and Nergal. Nergal was delegated to deliver food offerings to Ereshkigal and they unexpectedly fell passionately in love and she conceived. When Nergal returned to his home in the court of the spirits, Ereshkigal threatened the supreme authorities with an army of the raised dead to devour the living unless Nergal was sent back to her. Unless her “request” was granted, the dead would outnumber the living. No attempts were made to call her challenge and Nergal was allowed to return.

Inanna’s Descent to the Underworld

Ereshkigal plays a prominent role in the myth known as ‘Inanna’s Descent to the Underworld’ . Inanna is the Queen of Heaven and Ereshkigal’s younger sister. In the myth, Inanna journeyed to the Underworld to observe the funeral rites of Gugalanna, Ereshkigal’s husband. Although Inanna was allowed to pass through the seven gates of the Underworld, Ereshkigal instructed her gatekeeper, Neti, to remove a piece of clothing or jewelry from her sister as each gate was opened. This may be interpreted as the gradual removal of Inanna’s power as she progressed deeper into the realm belonging to her sister. Finally, when Inanna reached Ereshkigal’s throne room, she was completely naked and powerless. After the Annuna of the Dead passed judgment on her, Inanna was killed by Ereshkigal and her corpse hung from a hook on the wall. The gods succeeded in rescuing Inanna and removed her from the Underworld alive.

Origin: Sumerian

Manifestations: Ereshkigal may manifest as a woman but she may also appear with a lioness’ head on a woman’s body.

Attributes: Her scepter is a snake.

Consort: Nergal

Allies: Gestinana and Belit-Seri, Lady of the Desert, serve as Ereshkigal’s personal secretaries, writing down her decrees.

Animals: Snakes, scorpions, lions

Realm: Irkalla, realm of no return; realm of the dead.

Offerings: Made to the dead find their way to Ereshkigal.

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Eros and Psyche

The myth of Eros and Psyche is probably one of the best known love stories in Greek mythology. Eros, the son of Aphrodite and personification of intense desire threw arrows to to hit a person’s heart and make them fall in love. Psyche was a beautiful maiden, who accordingly personified the human soul. She becomes the symbol of the soul purified by passions and misfortunes and who is prepared to enjoy eternal happiness.

In the love story of Eros (Cupid in Romans) and Psyche (meaning “soul” in Greek), the perseverance of a man – even when he is possessed by passion and the effort of a woman to overcome many obstacles – are willing to sacrifice to achieve love.

Psyche was the youngest of a king’s three daughters but she was much more beautiful than her two sisters. The fame of her beauty spread throughout the whole kingdom and men kept coming to the palace to admire and worship her. They swore not even Aphrodite herself could compete with Psyche. The temples of Aphrodite saw less visitors and her altars covered with cold ash. Sculptors crafted no more statues in her honour but instead – all honours were reserved for Psyche.

Aphrodite couldn’t accept such a situation and asked for the aid from her son, Eros. She told him in distress, to use his power and make Psyche fall in love with the vilest and the most despicable creature who has ever walked the Earth. Eros agreed to but once he saw Psyche, his own heart was pierced by his own arrows. He couldn’t make Psyche fall love with a vile man but didn’t tell Aphrodite.

Psyche, however, couldn’t fall in love with anyone but, even more surprising, nobody would fall in love with her. Men were happy to admire her but they always married another. Her two sisters who were far less seductive had already held lavish weddings and married kings. Psyche was the most beautiful woman on Earth but always sad and lonely, always admired but never really loved. It seemed that no man would want her as his wife and this caused great anxiety and distress to her parents.

Her father visited the oracle of Delphi to ask Apollo for advice on what to do with finding Psyche a husband. Apollo decreed that Psyche, dressed in black should be brought to the summit of a mountain and to stay there alone. The husband that was assigned to her, a winged serpent, terrible and more powerful than the gods themselves, would come and take her for his wife.

Terrified, her parents locked themselves in their palaces to mourn her fate for the rest of their days.

She felt herself being lifted and carried into the air. Over the rocky hill and onwards to a soft meadow circled by trees with flowers He did l his best to make her forget her pain and put her to sleep.

All she’d heard was accommodating However, she could clearly hear the words: The a Liu mmediately honor you with a greatkj

Psyche woke up by the sound of clear stream and when she opened her eyes, she faced an imposing castle. It seemed destined for dividers in the kingdoms with silver walls and floors of an inlaid precious stones. Absolute silence ruled. It seemed uninhabited and Psychez

The following days passed in full joy and Psyche could not I’m remember any happier time of her life. However, day after day, she was feeling sadness that she could not see her husband. Moreover, she was left alone all day and boredom filled her heart. Suddenly, she started missing her family. They must have been mourning for her and she was alive and happy. This was not fair and she didn’t want her in her room until it must be family to suffer.n

Never had she taken such a refreshing bath nor tasted such delicious dishes. While eating, she heard a soft music around her, like a harp accompanying a numerous choir. She heard it.

The whole day she was alone and only accompanied by the voices. But somehow she knew her husband would come at night. And so it was. When she felt he was close to her and heard his voice whispering sweetly in her ear, her fears disappeared. Without even seeing him, she was certain that he was not a monster but the loving husband she had always been wishing for.

That night, she asked her mysterious husband to grant her a favor. She wanted her tow sisters to come up at the palace and make sure that she was fine. That would be a comfort for her old parents. At first, her husband refused but when Psyche turned out so sad, he told her. OK, I will allow your sisters to come up here, but I am warning you, do not let them influence you. If they do, you will destroy our relationship and suffer a lot.

Next day, her two sisters, carried by the wind, they came up to Psyche. They were all happy to see each other and cried in happiness. However, when they entered the palace, the two older sisters were amazed by all those magnificent treasures. During dinner, they heard a wonderful music and drank the most delicious of wines. Envy was flourishing in their heart and an irresistible curiosity to know the owner of such magnificence, the husband of Psyche. They kept asking the poor girl questions on her husband, his look and his occupation. Psyche just said that he was a young hunter.

But, they didn’t believe her, of course. Could a simple hunter be so rich? He must be a prince or even a god, they thought. The two sisters knew that compared to Psyche, their own wealth and happiness were nothing at all and in total jealousy, they made a plan to hurt their sister. When, they were saying goodbye, they two evil women told Psyche that her husband must be the awful snake that the oracle of Delphi had told her husband. That is why he doesn’t allow you to see him. Because he knows that if you see him, you will disgust in his sight and leave him forever. Oh, poor Psyche, how can you sleep with such a horrible creature?

From that day on, Psyche could think of nothing else but these words. Her sisters must be right. Why doesn’t he come to me in the day? Why doesn’t he allow me to see him? What is his secret? Why hasn’t he ever told me about his life? These thoughts were puzzling Psyche for many days long. He must be hiding something horrible and that is why he does not want to be seen in the daylight. I must find out. Tonight, when he falls to deep sleep, I will light a candle to see him. If he is a snake, I will kill him. Otherwise, I will turn the candle off and go happily to sleep. He had taken her decision, forgetting all about her husband’s warning.

Indeed, that night, when her husband fell asleep peacefully, she took courage and lit the candle. Walking on her toes she approached the bed and she felt a deep relief. The light did not show a monster but the most beautiful of men. Ashamed by her madness and her little confidence, Psyche fell down on her knees and thanked gods for this happiness. But while he was leaning on him, a drop of oil fell from the candle on the back of that handsome, young man. He woke up in pain and saw the light. He looked her at the eyes and, facing Psyche’s distrust, he left their bedroom without uttering a single word.

Psyche immediately ran after her husband. It was dark and she could not see him, but could hear his heartbroken voice: Love can not live without trust. Those were his last words before flying to the dark sky. The god of love!, she thought. He was my husband and I did not trust him. She cried and cried for days and then she decided to do anything to gain her back. She would look everywhere for him and she would prove her love.

Without knowing what else to do, she went to the temple of Aphrodite and prayed to the goddess. She asked Aphrodite to speak to her son and persuade him to get Psyche back. Aphrodite had not, of course, overcome her jealousy for Psyche and still wanted her revenge. She told the young girl that she needed to be completely sure that Psyche was the appropriate wife for her son. Therefore, Psyche should accomplish three tasks to prove her skills. If she failed in even one of these tasks, Eros would be lost for ever.

Psyche agreed and Aphrodite led her on a hill. There the goddess showed her a dune of different small seeds of wheat, poppies, millets and many others. I want you to separate these seeds by this afternoon. If you do not, I will never let you see Eros again, said Aphrodite and left. How could see do that? How could see separate all these tiny seeds? This was a cruel task that filled her eyes with tears. That moment, a group of ants were passing by and saw her in despair. Come, feel mercy for this poor girl and let us help her, they said to each other. They all responded to this appeal and worked hard, separating the seeds, something in which they were experts. From the big original dune, they formed several smaller dunes, each with one king of seed. These smaller dunes saw Aphrodite and became angry.

You have not finished your work she said and ordered Psyche to sleep on the ground, without giving her any food, while she leaned in her soft bed. She thought that if she could compel Psyche to hard work for a long time, her beauty would not resist. Meanwhile, Aphrodite would not let her son to leave his room, where he was all that time mourning for Psyche’s betrayal.

Next morning, Aphrodite came up with a new job from Psyche, a dangerous task. Can you see those black waters descending from the hill? That is River Estige, awful and abhorrent. Fill this bottle with its water, the goddess said. On reaching the waterfall, Psyche realized that the surrounding rocks were slippery and steep. The waters rushed through such abrupt rocks that only a winged creature could approach.

And indeed, an eagle helped her. It was flying with its huge wings above the river when it saw Psyche and fell sympathy for her. It seized the bottle from her hands with its beak, filled it with some black water and gave it back to Psyche. Venus accepted her with a cold smile. Someone helped you, she said sharply, otherwise you would not have been able to perform this task by your own. I’m going to give you another chance to prove you that you are as determined as you claim to be.

She gave a box to Psyche. She had to take it to the Underworld and ask Persephone, queen of the Dead, to drain a little of her beauty into the box. Obedient as usual, Psyche took the path leader of Hades. When she entered the gates and took the boat to the other bank, where the dead people used to leave, she gave much money to Charonte the boatman to help her find her way in the dark to the palace of Persephone.

Indeed, the boatman helped her and after a while, she was right in front of Persephone. When she asked her to drop a drain of her beauty in the box, Persephone was glad to serve Aphrodite. Psyche took the box and returned cheerful to the Earth. When she gave Aphrodite the box, the goddess got extremely angry. She yelled the poor girl that she would never let her go and she would always be her servant.

At this crucial moment, the Gods, who were watching this wrongdoing all this time, decided to take up action. They sent Hermes, the messenger God, to narrate Eros all the misfortunes that his wife through. Eros was touched and this healed the wound of betrayal. He left his room and found Psyche exhausted in his mother’s garden.

From that moment on, Eros and Psyche lived happily together in their lovely palace which is always full of roses and flowers. Psyche persuaded Eros to forgive his mother for what she had made her suffer. Even Aphrodite was happy because now that Psyche was living in the sky with her husband and as a wedding gift, Zeus made Psyche immortal and allowed her to taste ambrosia, the drink of the Gods.with her husband, men on earth had forgotten all about her and were again worshiping the true goddess of beauty.

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Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice

Orpheus was the son of Apollo, the Greek god of music and poetry. Eurydice was a beautiful nymph. Their tragic love story is about losing someone you love and having the opportunity to get them back if you can follow one simple rule.

Apollo is the Greek god of music and poetry and is most famous for playing the lyre – a musical instrument made of strings and a tortoise shell. Apollo gave his son Orpheus a lyre and taught him how to play.

Orpheus quickly learned how to play and soon could play more beautifully than his father. Wherever Orpheus played his lyre objects would come to life, and beings became entranced by the music. Orpheus had a true talent for music.

Orpheus was in the woods playing the lyre when he noticed a beautiful wood nymph Eurydice who had heard Orpheus playing and was drawn to his music. Likewise, Orpheus was drawn to the Eurydice’s beauty.

They had a beautiful ceremony with a festive celebration afterward.

Orpheus and Eurydice were overwhelmed by their love for each other and spent all their time together. They decided to get married and Hymenaios, the god of marriage blessed their matrimony but warned Orpheus and Eurydice that the harmony of their marriage would not last.

Eurydice was a beautiful and her beauty was obvious to more than just Orpheus. A shepherd named Aristaeus had noticed Eurydice and wanted her for himself. He hid in the bushes and waited for her, planning to kill Orpheus and take Eurydice as his own.

When Eurydice and Orpheus neared, Aristaeus’s hiding place, he jumped out and tackled Orpheus but was unable to kill him. Instead, Orpheus grabbed Eurydice and they ran through the woods away from Aristaeus. As they ran, Aristaeus chased them. Orpheus held Eurydice’s hand tight while they fled through the woods until he felt her fall and slip her hand let go of his.

When he turned around, Orpheus saw Eurydice had stepped on a venomous snake which had bitten her. As she was dying, Orpheus was unable to save her. Eurydice died from the venomous snakebite and descended to the underworld.

After Eurydice died, Orpheus was not the same anymore. He no longer enjoyed playing the lyre and he no longer enjoyed life. Orpheus wanted Eurydice back, and so he did the only thing he knew. He asked his father Apollo for help.

Orpheus asked Apollo to help him go into the underworld and retrieve his Eurydice. Apollo went to Hades, the god of the underworld, and told him that Orpheus wished to visit and requested the return of his wife, Eurydice.

Lyre in hand, Orpheus went into the underworld and found Hades. Orpheus played and sang for Hades and so all those in the underworld could hear. Everyone was so had moved by the beautiful song that Orpheus played especially for his Eurydice.

Hades agreed to let Orpheus take his Eurydice to the upper world under one condition: Orpheus had to lead Eurydice out of the underworld himself and could not look back at her for any reason.

Hades told Orpheus when Eurydice finally entered the light of the upper world, he could look at her but not while she was in the dark of the underworld. Hades warned that if Orpheus broke his request, Eurydice would be condemned to the underworld forever.

Orpheus was overjoyed that he could regain Eurydice and began leading her out of the underworld. As they neared the upper world, Orpheus could hear the land of the living above him and couldn’t contain his excitement. As he finally entered the light, he turned around to embrace his Eurydice, but she hadn’t yet emerged from the underworld. Eurydice was still in the dark when Orpheus turned around to her. At that moment, she was condemned to the underworld forever.

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Blathnat: Irish Mythology

Goddess of the Tuatha de Danann

Blathnat is an Irish goddess of abundance and tales of her appear in the Ulster Cycle describing her as the beautiful, scheming and unfaithful queen of the sorcerer Cu Roi.

The intense love affair between Blathnat and Cuchulainn led to the death of her husband, Cu Roi. A common theme, Blathnat was one of the many women of the Otherworld who caused great harm to the mortal men who fell in love with them.

Blathnat belonged to the god-like tribe of the Tuatha de Danann who were considered benign deities by the druids and Celtic tribes. She owned a huge cauldron of plenty which was pulled by three cows. The cauldron brought abundance wherever it went.

In the Ulster Cycle of mythology, the tragic love triangle between Blathnat, Cu Roi and Cuchulainn is told.

Blathnat lived happily with her father, Mend, in the Otherworld kingdom of Inis Fer Falga (known today as the Isle of Man) she was abducted during a raid by Cuchulainn and Cu Roi. The pair also stole the cauldron of plenty and the three cows belonging to Blathnat Inis.

Cuchulainn and Cu Roi fell in love with the beautiful Blathnat and quarrelled over her. Cu Roi claimed Blathnat as part of the booty of the raid and Cuchulainn refused to let Blathnat leave with Cu Roi.

Cu Roi was a powerful sorcerer and skilled warrior. He humiliated Cuchulainn by cutting off all his hair after burying him up to his shoulders in the ground. Cuchulainn watched with sadness as Cu Roi left with Blathnat and all the booty. Blathnat was taken to Cathair Chonroi which was Cur Roi’s fortress in Dingle Peninsula in modern County Kerry.

Although Blathnat became the queen of Cathair Chonroi and was treated well by her husband, Cu Roi, the Otherworld kingdom of Cathair Chonroi was a forbidding and lonely place with its castle on top of a high peak in the Slieve Mis mountains.The castle was impenetrable because Cu Roi used spells and magic to confound his enemies. The castle would whirl around at night and the entrance couldn’t be found by those seeking to do Cu Roi harm.

A year later, Blathnat met Cuchulainn when he paid a visit to the castle. Cu Roi was away but had instructed Blathnat to be hospitable to their guest. Very soon, Cuchulainn and Blathnat became lovers and plotted the murder of Cu Roi so they might live together.

Cu Roi was not an easy man to kill because his soul rested in the stomach of a salmon which lived in a stream in the Slieve mountains. Blathnat had learned the secret of Cu Roi’s mortality by constantly flattering him. Once she knew, she told Cuchulainn to kill the salmon first before trying to slay Cu Roi.

Cuchulainn waited at nightfall for a signal from Blathnat so he may enter the castle while Cu Roi lay asleep. When Blathnat poured milk into a stream following out of the castle, the two lovers escaped by running across the battlements of the castle. But Cu Roi’s poet, Ferchertne, saw Cuchulainn and Blathnat fleeing the castle and guessed what had occurred.

Blathnat led Cuchulainn to her husband’s bedroom door and Cuchulainn murdered Cu Roi with a sword while he slept.

Cu Roi’s poet grabbed Blathnat’s hand and hurled himself from the castle’s walls, taking Blathnat with him to the ground below. Cuchulainn could only watch in horror as Blathnat and Ferchertne died instantly.

Some years later, Cuchulainn met his death at the hand of Cu Roi’s son, Lugai, after conspiring with the warrior goddess Medb. Lugaid ensured Cuchulainn suffered an agonising death in revenge for the murder of his father.

The druids and Celts in Ireland regarded Blathnat as an evil woman of the Otherworld who willingly plotted to kill her husband, Cu Roi, with her lover, Cuchulainn.

The modern interpretation of Blathnat’s actions is a young woman forced to marry a ma she didn’t love and was rescued by her true love, Cuchulainn.

The truth of the matter likely lies somewhere between the two.

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Mirror Folklore

In folklore, a mirror is a doorway or portal through which spirits, including ghosts and demons can gain access to the physical world where demonic infestations and hauntings occur.

In prehistory, any shiny surface was regarded as a spirit doorway and used to summon spirits into the world. They also are used for seeing visions of the future.

Much of the folklore about mirrors is negative. They are viewed by some as “soul stealers” with the power to suck souls out from bodies. In the Greek myth of Narcissus, he sees his own reflection in water and falls in love with it, staring hopelessly until he dies.

In some Christian beliefs, the Devil and Demons can enter through mirrors to attack people.

There are also numerous beliefs about mirrors and the dead. In many folklores, when a person dies, all the mirrors in a house should be turned over because if the soul sees itself in a mirror, it will not rest or can become a vampire. Corpses seeing themselves in mirrors will also draw bad luck upon the household. In some cultural beliefs, where corpses are laid out in homes, people still believe that souls linger about the body until burial.

Another folk belief is if a person sees his or her own reflection in a room where someone has died, it is an omen of their own death. Mirrors also should be covered in sick rooms in the belief that when the soul is weakened it is more vulnerable to possession during illness.

In other folklore, mirrors are believed to reflect the soul and must be guarded lest the soul be lost. These fears carry over into superstitious customs, such as covering the mirrors in a house after death to prevent the souls of the living from being carried off by the ghost of the newly departed through a mirror.

In some Russian folklore, mirrors are considered the invention of the Devil because they have the power to draw souls from bodies. Similarly, mirrors and in some places of the world all shiny surfaces, must be covered in a house after a death to prevent the soul of the living from being carried off by the ghost of the newly dead. Mirrors are covered in case one sees the corpse looking over one’s shoulder.

In an old Persian spell, ghosts may be seen in a mirror by standing in front of it and combing the hair without thinking, speaking or moving.

In then folklore of the American Ozark, the appearance of a distant friend in a mirror means he or she will soon die.

The famous folklore that breaking a mirror means seven years of bad luck but also heralds a death in the family or household. For example, if a child breaks a mirror, one of the children in the house will die within the year.

If a home is plagued with unpleasant spirit activity, the mirror in the bedrooms should never be placed at the foot or head of a bed. To do is is considered a negative influence for a person to be able to see himself or herself from any angle in a mirror while in bed. Mirrors should also never reflect into each other as this creates an unstable psychic space. A folk remedy says a mirror should be placed so that it faces outward toward a door or window. The reasoning being when the unquiet spirit looks in a window or attempts to cross a door threshold, it will see its own reflection and be scared away. Mirrors can also be closed as portals by rubbing the edges of them or washing the surfaces in holy water.

Mirrors are also tools used in Divination and Magic. In divination, mirrors train the inner eye to perceive the unseen. Throughout history, mirror gazing has been used for prophecy, aid with healing, find lost objects and people and even to identify or find thieves and criminals.

The power of mirrors—or any reflective surface—to reveal what is hidden has been used since ancient times. Gazing upon any shining surface is one of the oldest forms of Scrying (a method of divination practiced by the early Egyptians, Arabs, the Magi of Persia, Greeks, and Romans). Magic mirrors are mentioned by numerous ancient authors, among them Apuleius, Saint Augustine, Pausanias, and Spartianus. According to Pausanias, divination for healing was best done with a mirror attached to a string . The string was dangled into water and the diviner ascertained whether or not a sick person would heal.

In ancient Greece, the witches of Thessaly reputedly wrote their oracles in human blood upon mirrors. Pythagoras was said to have a magic mirror that he held up to the Moon to see the future in it. Romans skilled in mirror reading were called specularii.

In the late Middle Ages, Catherine de Medicis reputedly had a magic mirror that enabled her to see the future for herself and for France. Pére Cotton, the confessor to King Henri IV of France, had a magic mirror that revealed to him any plots against the king.

In Christian folklore, mirrors enable demons to make themselves known. St. Patrick declared that Christians who said they could see Demons in mirrors would be expelled from the church until they repented.

In Vodoun, a magical mirror is called a minore. A minore is made of highly polished metal and is consecrated for the purpose of seeing visions in divination. Only a priest or priestess may use a minore.

For Magic, both flat mirrors and concave mirrors are used in magic. Other shiny and reflective surfaces work as well like crystal balls, good size crystals and bowls of water or ink. Franz Bardon taught precise instructions for making magical mirrors that would be “loaded” or empowered with the help of the elements, the Akasha, light and fluid condensers. The result of such a charged magic mirror should be stored wrapped in silk to protect its energies from contamination.

Mirrors are also used in Scrying which is accomplished by the astral and mental powers developed by the magician and not specifically the mirror. The mirror serves only as an aid for focusing such powers.

Visualising a person in a magical mirror enables contact. The scryer can then go to the astral plane to communicate with the dead. The living can be contacted through a mirror as well with the scryer visualizes the person intensely until they seem drawn out of the mirror.

The magic mirror can be used as a tool for investigating the past, present, and future. A mirror helps the magician transcend time to see events which is one of the most difficult aspects of mirror work.

The medieval magician Albertus Magnus recorded a formula for making a magic mirror: Buy a looking glass and inscribe upon it “S. Solam S. Tattler S. Echogordner Gematur.” Next, bury it at a Crossroads during an uneven hour and on the third day, go to the spot at the same hour and dig it up—but do not be the first person to gaze into the mirror. In fact, said magnus, it is best to let a dog or a cat take the first look.

The Aztecs used a mirror like surfaces to keep witches away. A bowl of water with a knife in it was placed in the entrances of homes. A witch looking into it would see her soul pierced by the knife and flee.