Tales of the Wheel of the Year

City Dionysia.

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Resurrected from the death corner of internet yet came back to post, and so I’m posting our fav god that has been born twice :)

Happy New Moon holidays to the Hellenics, praises to Hekate , the Agathos Daimon and all the household gods!

Happy Quinquatria to the Romans, praises and happy birthday to Minerva !

Happy Earrach to the Irish, may spring bring you joy and luck!

Happy Uisonnalitus, Conderga, Giamouretîmâ, Lohitik or Litu Uesonnae to the Gaulish who celebrate any of these, happy spring if you don't! Praises to Sirona, Nehallenia, Mars Sutugius, and any other god your celebrate!

Happy equinox to the Baltics, praises to Perkūnas and Vėlinas!

Happy Komoyeditsa to the Slavics, respectful partings to Morena!

And if I missed anyone, happy holiday to you too and may spring grow the seeds of your happiness! <3

06: Chthonian Zeus

Pray to Zeus of the earth and holy Demeter to make Demeter’s holy grain ripen to fullness.

Hesiod, Works and Days, translated by  Apostolos N. Athanassakis

“Rather surprisingly in view of his origins as a sky god, many cults of Zeus were chthonian or semi-chthonian in character. One of the most widespread was that of Zeus Meilichios (the Mild). Like many chthonian gods, Meilichios bore a euphemistic name. In truth he was by turns angry and kindly, a deity who required regular appeasement in order to keep the beneficial side of his personality to the fore. By calling him “mild” or “kindly”, his worshipers expressed their hopes rather than their fears. Because they governed the fruitfulness of the earth, chthonian deities had the power to be givers of good things if properly propitiated.”

“Personal or family offerings to Zeus Meilichios were the rule in the Greek world, but in Athens there was an important public festival for this god, the Diasia. In early spring, people gathered just outside the city at the banks of the river Ilissos for the rites, which involved bloodless offerings of agricultural produce and pastries shaped like animals. For the average citizen, the festival was a time to gather with family members and to enjoy a fairground atmosphere.”

“Yet Meilichios was also an awesome and somber deity. On votive reliefs, he usually appears not in human form, but as a huge coiling snake, rearing up to meet his worshipers. (In Greek art, the snake as companion or attribute often indicates that the deity or hero in question belongs to the underworld. Such theriomorphic epiphanies, in which the gods took animal form, were unusual among the Greeks.)”

Ancient Greek Cults: A Guide by Jennifer Larson.

Having no other choice, Zeus called upon his son Hermes, the divine messenger of the Gods. He arrived quickly at his father’s call.

“Hermes, I need you to go down to the Underworld and get Persephone back from her husband. Demeter will not stop this otherwise,” Zeus said.

“You’re going to give in?” Hermes asked.

“There is no other option, now go! Bring her back to the mortal realm!”

With that command, Hermes made the familiar descent into the House of Hades, through caves and caverns, further and further down, crossing the threshold into the land of the dead. He passed the Asphodel meadows, the entrance to Tartarus and the Elysium fields, towards the thrones, occupied by the Underworld King Hades and the Dread Queen Persephone.

She had a sorrowful expression, gazing upward towards the mortal realm, almost as if she were reaching out to her mother above. Meanwhile his face was drawn down in a scowl, tight with stress. The couple took notice of their visitor and gave each other apprehensive looks.

“Please tell me you’re not here because you’ve been guiding more souls down to be judged,” Hades said.

“Fortunately no,” Hermes replied. “Not yet anyway. I’m here because Zeus has a request for you.” Hades perked up upon hearing that.

“What does he want from me?”

“Well, I’m sure you’ve noticed the sudden uptake in souls arriving to the Underworld in recent months. That’s due to Demeter, she’s been very upset ever since you took Persephone as your wife. Now she’s refusing to do her godly duties, resulting in an eternal winter and famine that is killing the mortals at too fast of a rate. Zeus noticed this when he didn’t receive the usual amount of sacrifices and sent down everyone to try and convince Demeter to return to Olympus and resume her work, however she has stubbornly refused to until Persephone has been returned to her side. Zeus sent me to request that Persephone be allowed to return to her mother before the famine destroys the mortal realm.” As Hermes finished his speech, Hades and Persephone both had expressions of alarm. Hades turned to his wife and spoke to her.

“Persephone, dear, this is clearly a terrible situation, you should go see your mother if it will end this. Return to her as soon as you can.” Persephone gracefully roe from her throne, still looking upset. Hades took noticed and rose too, taking her hand.

“Please don’t be sad, my flower, as my wife you are a Queen who rules that all that lives and moves within our domain. A Queen who will have the greatest rights amongst all the Goddesses, even above Hera. I will work to be the best husband possible for you, everything I do, I do for the love of you. You will be held in such high regard to me that if anyone dares not appease your power they will find only eternal punishment awaiting them in Tartarus.”

Persephone smiled at her husband and gave him a final hug goodbye. Hades gazed at her as she prepared for her trip back to the mortal realm. Seeing how happy it had made her worried him, would she ever return to him once she got back to the sun? He decided to combat this by handing her some pomegranate seeds to eat as he and Hermes readied his chariot for the journey. Soon, Hermes took the reigns and Persephone boarded the two leaving the Underworld.

The chariot ascended, bursting through the ground in Eleusis, not far from Demeter’s temple. Hearing the commotion, she peered out of her window to see Hades’ chariot with Persephone in tow. Overcome with relief, she rushed out of her temple, sprinting towards her daughter who responded with equal enthusiasm Reaching each other at last, they shared a tearful hug, almost collapsing in each other’s arms.

However, Demeter sensed something wrong with Persephone’s aura. Pulling back from the hug, she asked her daughter.

“Did you eat anything while you were in the Underworld?”

“I had some pomegranate seeds,” Persephone replied a little confused. At that moment, Zeus finally descended from his throne upon Mount Olympus, startling the two Goddesses. Neither one particularly happy to see him.

“Persephone has eaten the food of the Underworld and must therefore return to the Underworld for at least half of each year,” he declared.

Mother and daughter

The union of Demeter and Zeus gave birth to the young goddess Kore. ​​Demeter loved her daughter very much and her kind and gentle nature. Perhaps this is why Kore later became the goddess of spring, which is associated with the qualities of this goddess. The mother and daughter loved to spend time in a meadow with flowers, where one day Kore braided a small braid for Demeter, which she wears today. But who knew that this meadow with flowers would later become the place where the young Kore was kidnapped by the ruler of the Underworld - Hades? But now is not about that, let's enjoy the moment of mother and daughter.

SEEMS LIKE A GOOD DAY TO REMEMBER: LOVE WINS

Self love, friendship, partnership, nurturing, spiritual, romantic... all kinds of love. Love wins.

Venus and Mars, flanked by Venus' son Cupid holding his bow and drawing an arrow, and one of Mars' sons, Pavor (panic) or Formido (dread), trying on his father's helmet.

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Image information: Fourth Style fresco, 1st century CE, found in the House of Mars and Venus, Pompeii; now in the collection of the National Archaeological Museum, Naples. Photo by Carole Raddato, 2014.

Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fourth_Style_fresco_depicting_Mars_and_Venus,from_the_House_of_Mars_and_Venus_in_Pompeii,_Naples_National_Archaeological_Museum(17491135395).jpg

Image license:  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic