[Guide] Greek Mythology

[stephy-gurl]

you said she governs matrimony and that birds are sacred to her. a lot of birds are monogomas do you think that that has any meaning?  

[oceantail]

stephy-gurl

you said she governs matrimony and that birds are sacred to her. a lot of birds are monogomas do you think that that has any meaning?

Perhaps, the Greeks did favor augury as their form of divination, I haven't researched that myself but you or anyone else who wants to can research it and tell the class what you found.  

[captains bootie]

I do know that both the Greeks and Romans practiced augury, but I don't know much else on the subject.

Perhaps I'll do a bit more research...

 

[oceantail]

Lesson II-B Hera's myth
Paraphrased from the aeneid
After Dido was left alone by Aeneas, after she sheltered and fed the Trojans( in doing so inspired the wrath of neighboring tribes). She lost the will to live and threw herself upon a sword on a funeral pyre. (which she had secretly made for herself) however by dieing in this way, before her time, there was no place reserved for her in the underworld. So Hera (called Juno because the Aeneid is roman), who had long been Dido's patron sent Iris (goddess of the rainbow) to go down and cut a lock of Dido's hair to give to Persephone (daughter of Demeter and wife of hades), that way her soul could go to the afterlife where there would be a place for her

Post scripta
I know that this is a Greek mythology class and the Aeneid is Roman but this was one of the few myths where Hera was not depicted as Zeus's wife on a never-ending quest to get back at her lecherous husband.  

[oceantail]

Assignment 2
find another myth, either on the internet or a book, that tells of Hera, fun-points for one where she is considered benign. Remember to cite your source. This is going to be class work so I will be due by next Saturday unless other mitigating circumstances.
Extra-credit/ fun stuff: Write a spell, charm, or for that matter poem either relating to this myth or others of Hera, or about her specifically  

[oceantail]

I am including this direct translation of the Homeric hymns as translated by Sarah Ruden, to serve as a relic of how the ancients would connect with their deities. The Homeric hymns were designed to win the gods' favor by either recounting a famous myth or praising them for what they have done

Quote:

Hera I sing the gold-throned child of Rhea,
Supremely beautiful,her reign unending,
Sister and noble wife of the thundering Zeus.
all of the blissful gods on high Olympus
Venerate her, with Zeus who loves the thunder

I present this as a relic and possibly inspiration, and do not claim credit for this work. I will leave it up to the class whether this should continue or not  

[ElletNah_Sword]

According to a retelling of myth in Ovid's Metamorphoses, for a long time, a nymph named Echo had the job of distracting Hera from Zeus' extracurricular activities by leading her away and flattering her. When Hera discovered this, she cursed Echo to only repeat the words of others (hence our modern word "echo").

Source  

[oceantail]

well its late but I still want it...
we seem to have a bit of an inverse, last time Elletnah was late, but now she is the only one who posted
please turn in homework as soon as you can, and (though I am not implying that you do) if you do want to leave my class please let me know so I wont keep posting reminders to pass in my homework  

[oceantail]

Homework: the new deal

* I will post homework with a due date on the message board when it is there, and I will try to remember to change its name on the front

* as some of you may have found out, there is a "find your own myth for each lesson. please turn in these any time after the lesson work is posted and before the due date.

* Yes, I am following the list I originally put up under Zeus, use that to plan ahead if you are going to be absent or busy.

* I am on randomly but I will answer all questions asked, or attempt to, each time I am on

* these polices will come into effect on May 1, to allow for time for all of those who wish to read this.

bona fortuna, class biggrin  

[oceantail]

sorry for not posting in a while, senior stuff at school is very frustrating and draining, This will continue until June 6th after which I should be able to resume the class as scheduled, thank you for your patience, there will be no new lessons until at least June 7th until then have fun, and Athena Bless.
~Oceantail  

[oceantail]

This weeks Deity is Athena,
She is also called Palas, and Minerva
originally Minerva was a goddess of crafts, when the Romans adopted the Helenic deities She took on the roles of Athena.
Athena is the daughter of Zeus, (and metis) she is a virgin goddess so she has no decedents.
Athena is the goddess of wisdom, war, crafts, and many many more things (the list includes medicine, poetry though these are more of a lesser association due to the big things that wisdom, war and crafts encompass)  

[oceantail]

One of the best known myths of Athena, is the story of Arachne.

Arachne was a mortal weaver who believed she was the best weaver on earth and Olympus. Athena, goddess of crafts, especially weaving, and she came down to challenge this mortal woman to a contest. Athena wove a tapestry of mortals and thier punishments for hubris, whereas Arachne wove an image of the gods and their misdeeds, Athena did not take kindly to this, and she destroyed Arachne's tapestry and cursed her by turning her into a spider where she would weave until the end of time.