If I had another daughter, I’d name her Artemis, for the Greek goddess of the hunt.
Of course, she’d hate me because then people would call her either Artie or Missy. No, really, Artemis is my favorite Greek goddess. She’s a woman of action, she kicks butt - look at her the wrong way and she’ll change you into a man who stares at his reflection day and night! Aphrodite ain’t so bad, but her Roman counterpart, Venus, is such a loser! And Athena, popping fully-formed out of Zeus’ forehead! How do you like those apples???
In truth, I’m quite fond of the Greek gods and their oh-so-human foibles, petty jealousies and internecine feuds on Mount Olympus. I have a four-part work of futuristic science fiction romance coming out in July and August, Daughters of Persephone - which is loosely based on my favorite story of the lovely Persephone, her kidnapper, Hades, God of the Underworld, and her mother Demeter, Goddess of Nature.
Persephone was, herself, a Goddess of the Natural World. One day, she was out innocently picking flowers when the God of the Underworld, Hades, spied her. He burst through a cleft in the earth and carried her off to the underworld. As a result, without Persephone, the earth lay barren. Her devastated mother searched for her and finally, the sun told her what had happened. Her father, Zeus, hearing the cries of his hungry people and hearkening to the pleas of the other gods, forced Hades to return Persephone, however, things did not go according to plan. The Fates had decreed that anyone who ate or drank anything in the Underworld would have to remain there for all eternity. Hades knew this rule and he tricked Persephone into eating six…count ‘em…six pomegranate seeds. Therefore, six months out of the year, Persephone must return to the Underworld - and we have autumn and winter, the season of death and dying. When she rises to our world, we have spring and summer, the season of rebirth and growth. Great story!
When I was just a kid, I read a remarkable book - The Children of Odin. I loved the stories within so much that I begged the librarian to give me the old, musty, repaired copy containing incredible illustrations, in exchange for a brand new copy! She did! I cherish the book even now. The Children of Odin contains stories of Norse mythology. If you can find, beg, borrow, buy a copy, maybe upload a copy from somewhere, read it. There is nothing more compelling than the vision of the father of the gods, Odin, hanging upside down from the Tree of All Knowledge, the world ash, Yggdrasil. In other words, he allowed himself to be crucified upside down. He was even pierced by a spear - all in order to gain ultimate wisdom.
- I know that I hung on a windy tree
- nine long nights,
- wounded with a spear, dedicated to Odin,
- myself to myself,
- on that tree of which no man knows
- from where its roots run.
Anyway, check it out. Norse mythology has influenced everything from comic books to Richard Wagner (who I should hate, but I love his music), to video games.
Are you fond of mythology? What’s your favorite?
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