Androktones

Pallas Athena and the Herdsman’s Dogs

Briton Riviere (British, London 1840–1920 London)

Date: 1876 Medium: Oil on canvas

When exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1876, the present painting was accompanied by the following verses from book 16 of the Odyssey: “Then drew she nigh, in shape a stately dame, / Graced with all noble gifts of womanhood: / None save Odysseus saw her; for to few / Of mortal birth the gods reveal themselves. / But the dogs knew her coming, and with whine / And whimpering crouched aloof.”

Okay, friends—so the University of Oslo is doing a Thing called The Great Viking Survey.

It explores “both popular portrayals and personal perceptions of the viking figure, with a particular focus on the concepts, themes, and ideologies of ‘warriorhood’.” And they plan to use the data to “to paint a more comprehensive and representative picture of the many ways in which the Viking Age continues to resonate in the present day.”

It takes 15-20 minutes, requires that you be 18 or older, and has no wrong answers. And, for those concerned about privacy, they note that “all personal data will be rendered anonymous and protected in accordance with Norwegian and EU law.”

So yeah, if you’re interested in participating in their survey, here’s a link to get started (and also learn a bit more about it, perhaps):

Piantata in (N)asso - 🍇 Dionysus & Ariadne of Crete 🍇

Mythical Aesthetics // Banshee

Banshee: a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening. Requested by @theunknownbaka-blog and @sundry-whovengerslocked

The Evermore Grimoire: Celtic Mythology

Ceridwen was the goddess of rebirth, transformation and inspiration in Celtic Mythology. She was also a powerful Welsh sorceress who had a great cauldron (The Awen) of poetic inspiration, which was one of her main symbols, that she used to create potions, including the ability to imbue wisdom, beauty, and prophecy. In one story a potion mixture had to be boiled for a year and a day. She set Morda, a blind man, to tend the fire beneath the cauldron, while Gwion Bach, a young boy, stirred the concoction. The first three drops of liquid from this potion gave wisdom; the rest was a fatal poison. Three hot drops spilled onto Gwion’s thumb as he stirred, burning him. He instinctively put his thumb in his mouth, and gained the wisdom and knowledge Ceridwen had intended for her son. Realising that Ceridwen would be angry, Gwion fled. She chased him. Using the powers of the potion he transformed into a hare. She became a greyhound. He became a fish and jumped into a river. She transformed into an otter. He turned into a bird; she became a hawk. Finally, he turned into a single grain of corn. Ceridwen then became a hen and being a goddess (or enchantress, depending on the version of the tale), she found and ate him without trouble. But because of the potion he was not destroyed. When Ceridwen became pregnant, she knew it was Gwion and resolved to kill the child when he was born. However, when he was born, he was so beautiful that she could not do it. So Ceridwen threw him in the ocean instead, sewing him inside a leather-skin bag. The child did not die, but was rescued on a Welsh shore (near Aberdyfi) by a prince named Elffin ap Gwyddno; the reborn infant grew to become the legendary bard Taliesin.

@mythsnet mini event | gtkom - godly parents