#aizeos

 Vigorous. PGM IV 2241-2358.

 …World-wide, dog-shaped, spinner of Fate, all-giver, Long-lasting, glorious, helper, queen, bright, Wide-aimer, vigorous, holy, benign…

-          Lines 2280-2283, Betz version.

 This particular spell contains a lengthy list of descriptives given to Hekate. She is conflated with Mene, Alkyone, and Kore, and is called upon along side of Hermes. The spell places Hekate’s power over the Fates, over Helios, and names her the Queen of Tartarus. It’s powerful stuff.

The footnote regarding these epithets gives a student of the Gods pause though – most of the original list is corrupt, giving only syllables or letters here and there, so the translation we have is conjecture. Betz freely confesses that many of these are questionable. And sadly, he doesn’t let on which ones are pure conjecture, nor which ones are debated, or why. How utterly frustrating!

 The LSJ gives Aizeos a translation of “in full bodily strength, vigorous,” as of a “stout, lusty slave.” Nice. Gladstone describes this as a term applied to princes, and speculates that vigor and strength were necessities in order to be an heir in antiquity. The ideal heir is one who is undefeated at the Games, and gifted in song, and powerful on the battlefield. The word also generally suggests the vitality of youth, so it is most readily given to the young heroes from the Iliad.

 All in all, there’s not a lot that’s been said about Hekate Aizeos by the scholars. When I rest my mind upon the epithet, I see Hekate battling the Titan Clytios with her bright torches, and I see Her tall and powerful over the magicians of the PGM. This is my Goddess wielding Helios as a sword, and this is my Goddess striding across the world gathering in the outcast and unwanted to her skirts. The images make my head swim and my heart sing.

 Sources:

Lsj.translatum.gr

Betz, Hans Dieter. The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation, Oxford, 1996. Gernet, Louis. The Anthropology of Ancient Greece, Johns Hopkins, 1981. Gladstone, William Ewart. Juventus Mundi: The Gods and Men of the Heroic Age, Macmillan, 1869. Whiter, Walter. Etymologicon Universale, Univ. Press, 1822.

Images:

´ ( ۰ ♔ levi ackerman.            aizeos.          meme . accepting

                        Full lips almost quirk upwards sardonically as the                        woman considers the words  of  her  double,  a                         huff of amusement tumbling out unbidden. ;;;;;;

♠ for a mun fact

When I was four, me and my friend thought it was a good idea to put a seesaw on the bed. It was once of these ones. But what we didn’t realise is when one person stood up (my friend) the other person (me) would roll backwards. 

I ended up being thrown backwards and off the bed, landing on my shoulder with the seesaw on top of me. My friend screamed for help and I just giggled on the floor thinking it was hilarious. 

wHY

✐ - fave types of movies?

Dies a little inside. This is no question to ask a former film studies student.

Honestly though... I have a massive soft spot for scifi. If we’re talking classical genres that is. I really fucking love slightly unusual science fiction- the kind of scifi that isn’t obviously scifi. Like Delicatessen. Fuck me I love that film.

And Cloud Atlas. I’m not even sure how to genre that. 

For me though there are films you watch purely for base enjoyment, ‘Movies’ stuff you watch with your friends etc. And there are films you watch because they are little master pieces. Because they are so flawlessly constructed and- urgh. urgh.

It’s like with any piece of media really, story is important, that comes first, and if it’s telling the story in a stylish way where the bones of the thing are only there when you look for them, it’s all a smooth transition wrapped up in a beautiful cocktail of semiotics and message... That’s craftsman ship and it does things to me.