Aum Gung
Ganapathaye Namah
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma-sambuddhassa
Homage to The Blessed One, Accomplished and
Fully Enlightened
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most
Merciful
Greek Mythology
A Collection of Articles, Notes and References
References
(Revised: Thursday, November 02, 2006)
References Edited by
An Indian Yogi
What’s in a name? That
which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
- William Shakespeare
Copyright © 2002-2010 An
Indian Yogi
The following educational writings are STRICTLY for
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Should NOT be used for commercial, political or any
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8 "... Freely you received, freely give”.
- Matthew 10:8 :: New American
Standard Bible (NASB)
1 “But mark this: There
will be terrible times in the last days.
2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their
parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather
than lovers of God—
5 having a form of
godliness but denying its
power. Have nothing to do with them.
6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all
kinds of evil desires,
7 always
learning but never able
to acknowledge the truth.
8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses,
so also these men oppose the
truth--men of
depraved minds, who, as far as
the faith is concerned, are rejected.
9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those
men, their folly
will be clear to everyone.”
- 2 Timothy 3:1-9 ::
New International Version (NIV)
6 As
he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
- Hebrews 5:6 :: King James
Version (KJV)
Therefore, I say:
Know your
enemy and know yourself;
in a hundred
battles, you will never be defeated.
When you
are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself,
your chances of
winning or losing are equal.
If ignorant both of your
enemy and of yourself,
you are sure to be defeated in every battle.
-- Sun Tzu, The Art of War, c. 500bc
There are two ends not to
be served by a wanderer. What are these two? The pursuit of desires and of the pleasure which springs from desire,
which is base, common, leading to rebirth, ignoble, and unprofitable; and the pursuit of pain and
hardship, which is grievous, ignoble, and unprofitable.
- The Blessed One, Lord Buddha
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A Brief Word on Copyright
References
Educational Copy of Some of the References
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A
Brief Word on Copyright
Many of
the articles whose educational copies are given below are copyrighted by their
respective authors as well as the respective publishers. Some contain messages
of warning, as follows:
Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are
expressly prohibited
without the written consent of “so and so”.
According
to the concept of “fair use” in US copyright Law,
The reproduction, redistribution
and/or exploitation of any materials and/or content (data, text, images, marks
or logos) for personal or commercial gain is not
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cited, personal, educational and non-commercial use (as
defined by fair use in US copyright law) is permitted.
Moreover,
- This is a religious educational website.
- In the name of the Lord, with the
invisible Lord as the witness.
- No commercial/business/political use of
the following material.
- Just like
student notes for research purposes, the writings of the other children of
the Lord, are given as it is, with student highlights and coloring. Proper
respects and due referencing are attributed to the relevant
authors/publishers.
I
believe that satisfies the conditions for copyright and non-plagiarism.
- Also, from observation, any material
published on the internet naturally gets read/copied
even if conditions are maintained. If somebody is too strict with
copyright and hold on to knowledge, then it is better not to publish
“openly” onto the internet or put the article under “pay to refer” scheme.
- I came across the articles “freely”. So I
publish them freely with added student notes and review with due
referencing to the parent link, without any personal monetary gain. My
purpose is only to educate other children of the Lord on certain concepts,
which I believe are beneficial for “Oneness”.
References
Some of
the links may not be active (de-activated) due to various reasons, like removal of the
concerned information from the source database. So an educational copy is also
provided, along with the link.
If the
link is active, do cross-check/validate/confirm the educational copy of the
article provided along.
- If the link is not active, then try to
procure a hard copy of the article, if possible, based on the reference
citation provided, from a nearest library or where-ever, for
cross-checking/validation/confirmation.
References
About the Greek Mythology Link
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/AboutGML.html
Actaeon
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Actaeon.html
Hylas
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Hylas.html
Attis
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Attis.html
Mnemosyne
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Mnemosyne.html
Leda
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Leda.html
Briseis
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Briseis.html
ERINYES
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/ERINYES.html
Orestes 2
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Orestes2.html
Helen
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Helen.html
Atalanta
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Atalanta.html
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Educational
Copy of Some of the References
FOR
EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY
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Reference
About the Greek Mythology Link
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/AboutGML.html
"We
are all Greeks. Our laws, our literature, our
religion, our arts, have their root in
The inevitability of the Greek Myths:
- The Greek myths are at the dawn of Western civilization, which was built upon the remains of Greek-Roman civilization, which was in turn built upon the ruins of the Mycenaean civilization.
- Homer, who emerged around 800 BC, is regarded as the author of the first work of literature that Western civilization may count as its own.
- Large sections of Western culture and art—music, painting and literature—refer to the Greek myths or have been inspired by them.
- The Greek myths are concerned with fundamental and
imperishable life issues.
ELUCIDATION
Myth is not, as popular belief often has it, 'mouth tale', whim, or arbitrary invention, but the account of the inspired poet. This account has been taken, at the dawn of our time (Homer and beyond), as an expression of truth. Accordingly, the poet, having been ackowledged authority, became the founder of culture; and his account, rich both in contents and form, laid the ground upon which several societies could build the whole, or large parts of their spiritual, artistic, and practical life. Culture is therefore a child of myth; when the impulse provided by myth ebbs away, culture languishes, and consequently civilization, which rests on culture, is endangered.
The myths and their gods reach man,
not through belief or theory, but by virtue of the knowledge that comes mainly
from artistic inspiration and the cognition of
forms, which in turn allow the acute
observation of reality and the veracious comprehension of human motivation.
This is to say that the myths favour serene
navigation across the fundamental issues of life for having unveiled, in
splendid manner, the twin heights of meaning and
beauty.
Therefore when we say 'myth', we do not mean 'absurdity', 'irrationality', 'incongruity', or 'nonsense', since these shortcomings cannot be properly reconciled with the art and thought of millennia, nor assumed to be the ground upon which the enlightenment of several societies flourished. Instead we mean by 'myth' the greatest and most luminous representations ever to seize the mind and heart of mankind, sustaining not only the spiritual life of generations and the art of ages up to our time, but also the very pillars of society.
…
Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology and the Greek Mythology Link are exclusively based on original sources, that is, authors from the period between approximately 800 BC and AD 600.
(Reference: About the Greek Mythology Link.)
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Reference
Actaeon
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Actaeon.html
Actaeon is the hunter who was torn to pieces by his own dogs after having been turned into a stag by Artemis, whom he had seen unrobed.
Misfortune
Actaeon's own death is what made him famous, for there are almost no accounts of his life, except that he was trained by the Centaur Chiron to be a hunter. And, they say, it was not any crime of his the cause of his death, but mere mischance.
Actaeon sees
the naked goddess
For not knowing anything about the secret cave of Artemis in the vale of Gargaphia, Actaeon came wandering with his dogs after a day of hunt, and entered the cave when the goddess of the wild woods was preparing to bathe in the waters of the spring Parthenius together with the nymphs that attended her.
Artemis
uses water instead of arrows
When Actaeon came into the cave, the girls, with loud cries, thronged around Artemis trying to hide her body with their own. But Artemis, standing head and shoulders over the rest, took up the water and flung it into Actaeon's face saying:
"Now you are free to tell that you have seen me all unrobed --if you can tell." [Artemis to Actaeon. Ovid, Metamorphoses 3.192]
Afraid
stag runs away ...
So soon she had uttered these words, Actaeon began to turn into a stag, much as the Cretan Siproites had his sex changed by Artemis when he saw the goddes bathing. And when the transformation was completed, the goddess planted fear within his heart, and the stag Actaeon fled away.
... pursued by the hounds
And his dogs went after him, pursuing him in all grounds around Mount Cithaeron, between Boeotia and Attica, and when they finally caught him, they buried their fangs in his body until there was no place for further wounds, and Actaeon the stag was dead.
Hunter
hunted
That was the misfortune of Actaeon. For not knowing what he did, he came to be punished and suffered to be hunted, just as he had hunted. Because of this deed, some deemed Artemis to be more cruel, but others judged her act worthy of her virginity.
(Reference:
Actaeon.)
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Reference
Hylas
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Hylas.html
Hylas made
immortal in a cave
Still others have said that Heracles 1 was hunting when Hylas, hiding himself, followed him. However, they say, Hylas lost his way, and wandering through the woods, he came to the cave of the NYMPHS. When these saw the young beauty approaching, they captured him in order to make him immortal and ageless. As the winds were then favourable, the ARGONAUTS decided to sail away, and it was Polyphemus 1, who climbing a rock, called the two absent ARGONAUTS for the last time without receiving any answer.
Plunged
into the spring
It has also been told that Hylas, when he went to fetch water with a pitcher of bronze
in hand for the evening meal, came to the spring called Pegae.
They said that the dances of the NYMPHS were then
just being held when he arrived, and that a
naiad, who some call Dryope 4, was just rising from the spring. It was night, for they tell that the
full moon beams smote Hylas' face. This naiad,
it is told, fell immediately in love with Hylas, and when he
dipped the pitcher in the stream, she laid
one arm around his neck, yearning to kiss him, and with her other hand she drew him down and plunged him
into the water.
Spicy
gossip
This is what happened to Hylas. And because he and Heracles 1 were so close friends,
they were believed to be lovers, and became the object of all kinds of spicy
gossip. For many have thought that Heracles 1's strong
complexion fitted perfectly the delicate beauty of Hylas.
There have also been those who have found of the
utmost interest to know all details about what is really going on in those chambers
which they are not allowed to enter. And some,
condemning these relationships, have refused to call them love.
Opinion
of a wise man
So, for example, a wise man from Alexandria (not for being born there, but because he was a priest in that city), being in possession of knowledge about the gods, and about the only God, and about the true nature of things, gave his opinion on these matters, more than one thousand years after Hylas' time, with these words:
"For
your gods did not abstain even from boys. One loved Hylas,
another Hyacinthus, another Pelops,
another Chrysippus, another Ganymedes. These are the gods
your wives are to worship!" [Clement of
What
the wise man did not say
And he could have added that this was the hate of love, the irreligiosity of religion, the profanation of worship, the shame of pride, the debauchery of abstinence, the scandal of solemnity, the vice of virtue, the adultery of fidelity, and the lasciviousness of decency.
What
he added
But being a better writer, he
proceeded instead to demonstrate that women, being
no better than men in these tales, rush as eagerly as them, after sexual
delights.
Powerful
god
Now, Love is a god impossible to
catch. For he accepts instructions from nobody and
disregards, when he pleases, human wisdom, which is for the gods as that of
apes is for men. And Love being everywhere,
he assumes different forms. But those who
seek to hurt and force others through persecution do worse, and
therefore make themselves inferior to those, who accepting the command of Love as they understand it and feel it, live happily
themselves in common agreement, neither hurting nor forcing anyone.
(Reference:
Hylas.)
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Reference
Attis
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Attis.html
Agdistis
Agdistis, who was a demon with both male and female sexual organs, was born from the seed that Zeus once let fall upon the ground when he was asleep. But since his double sexuality frightened the gods, they cut off Agdistis' male organ. From Agdistis' amputated organ then, an almond tree grew up with its fruit ripe; and when Sangarius' daughter came along, they say, she took of the fruit and laid it in her bosom and, on doing this, the fruit disappeared and she found herself pregnant.
Castration
at wedding party
When some time after a boy was
born she exposed him, but he was saved by a goat that nourished him. And when
years later Attis became a youth of beauty more than
human, he was sent by some relatives to Pessinus in
central
Attis buried
When this happened, Agdistis repented and asked Zeus to grant that Attis' body should not decay; for as they say, Agdistis was himself in love with the youth. But whatever happened to that request, Attis was buried in the vicinity of Pessinus, where a temple was built to the Mother of the Gods, whom they called Agdistis although she is often identified with Rhea 1, Cronos' wife.
Attis love for Sagaritis
Others have said that Attis was a worshipper of the Mother of the Gods, and that the goddess asked him to guard her temple and keep his chastity, whereupon he promised obedience saying:
"If I lie ... may the love for which I break faith be my last love of all." [Ovid, Fasti 4.227]
And since promises are more often than not broken, Attis met the Naiad Sagaritis and turned her into his sweetheart. But the Mother of the Gods, who was well informed, by wounding the Naiad's tree destroyed Attis' sweetheart as well, since her fate was dependent on the tree's. This event, they say, and nothing else, is the reason why Attis lost his mind, imagining that his chamber's roof was falling in.
Naiad
n.
- Greek Mythology. One
of the nymphs who lived in and presided over brooks, springs, and
fountains.
- Any one of a subfamily (Najades)
of butterflies including the purples, the fritillaries, the peacock
butterfly, etc.; -- called also naiad.
Attis goes mad
So being completely mad, Attis ran to the top of
"Ah, perish the parts that were my ruin." [Ovid, Fasti 4.240]
whereupon he cut off his genitals. Then Attis turned into a pine-tree, which is why this tree is pleasing to the Mother of the Gods.
Born
an eunuch and killed by a boar
Still others say that Attis was son of the Phrygian Calaus
and eunuch from birth. Attis became known, they say,
when he, after migrating to
The
Mother goes to
Later, at the time when Attalus was king of
"It
was my own will that they should send for me ... let me go, it is my wish.
Successful
priesthood
When the Mother of the Gods had
spoken, Attalus, understanding that Rome traced its
origin to Aeneas and Phrygian ancestors, let the envoys take the goddess, whose
image was embarked in the Hellespont, the strait in northwestern Asia Minor,
and came to the mouth of the Tiber, Rome's river, some time later. For this
reason the Asian temple became famous where the
Mother of the Gods was venerated. She was in
(Reference:
Attis.)
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Reference
Mnemosyne
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Mnemosyne.html
"If someone is successful in his deeds, he casts a cause for sweet thoughts into the streams of the Muses. For those great acts of prowess dwell in deep darkness, if they lack songs, and we know of only one way to hold a mirror up to fine deeds: if, by the grace of Mnemosyne with her splendid headdress, one finds a recompense for toils in glorious song." [Pindar, Nemean Ode 7.11]
"... and in addition to the gods you mentioned I must call upon all the rest and especially upon Mnemosyne. For practically all the most important part of our speech depends upon this goddess ..." [Critias to Hermocrates. Plato, Critias 108d]
"Please assume ... that there is in our souls a block of wax, in one case larger, in another smaller, in one case the wax is purer, in another more impure and harder, in some cases softer, and in some of proper quality...Let us, then, say that this is the gift of Memory, the mother of the Muses, and that whenever we wish to remember anything we see or hear or think of in our own minds, we hold this wax under the perceptions and thoughts and imprint them upon it, just as we make impressions from seal rings; and whatever is imprinted we remember and know as long as its image lasts, but whatever is rubbed out or cannot be imprinted we forget and do not know."
[Socrates to Theaetetus. Plato, Theaetetus 191d]
"... If you had no memory you could not even remember that you ever did enjoy pleasure, and no recollection whatever of present pleasure could remain with you ..." [Socrates to Protarchus. Plato, Philebus 21c]
Mnemosyne's
gifts
This Titaness of beautiful hair discovered the uses of the power of reason, and gave a designation to every object, which is of the utmost importance, since without names very little could be expressed, and mortals would not be able to hold conversations with each other.
But above all, she made available to mortals the power to remember, a great faculty upon which rest many others.
Her
daughters
It is told that before Hera became Zeus' wife, the god, taking the form of a shepherd, consorted with Mnemosyne, whose domain is in the hills of Eleuther, lying with her nine nights. And when time passed, Mnemosyne gave birth to nine daughters, the MUSES, who some affirm were born in this order: first Calliope, then Clio 1, Melpomene, Euterpe, Erato 3, Terpsichore 1, Urania 2, Thalia 2, and Polymnia.
She
owns all tales
This is about all that has been
told about Mnemosyne, for there are no tales
recording other deeds. Yet she owns all tales, and
these could not exist without her power, since each narrating word would vanish
without leaving a trace as soon as it appears if Memory would not preserve
them.
No
survival without her
Some have suggested that it is
natural to see Memory honoured by illiterate
societies; for such communities, being immerse in what is called oral tradition, never
commit anything to writing, and rely on minstrels and others like them, who
know everything by heart. However, neither
society nor individuals, literate or not, could survive without Memory.
Knowing
oneself and others
For
if some person were deprived of the gift of Memory, he would neither know who
he is nor what he is. And if he were told, he would not be able to retain that
knowledge, and each moment would be for him
as the first instant of his life, feeling, thinking, and acting much like a
newborn.
Then if Memory came to him so
that he could remember who he is and what he normally does, but did not assist
him in other regards, he would not, for example, be able to recognize other
people. In that manner, he would have to make the acquaintance of his loved
ones every new instant of his life, incapable of remembering either names or
faces, or how he is related to them. Consequently, the meaning of such words as
'mother', or 'son', or 'wife' would have to be explained to him over and over again, and there would be no hope that he would retain what
he is told. For, deprived of Memory, he would not
be able to learn anything permanently.
Organizes
Time in the human mind
Now, if Memory would allow him to
recognize himself and other people as well as objects around him, but nothing
else, then he would still have no idea about how
things are connected to each other, and he would ignore causes and effects, not being able to distinguish between 'before' and 'after'. For even if Time may be assumed to
corrode Memory, she is Time's best organizer. But there is no Time for the mind that cannot remember.
Great
goddess at all times
This is why Mnemosyne
is a great goddess, not only in the illiterate era when mistrels
sang relying only on what they found printed in their hearts, but instead at all times. For the
mere act of being could not be apprehended without her; and man, in order to be, must be able to remember that he is, lest his very
identity vanishes behind the clouds of inexplicable confusion.
Knowledge
inseparable from Memory
And
once he remembers who he is, he still needs Memory in order to acquire and practise any science, art, or skill. For knowledge is inseparable from Memory, by which all things that are and have been may be learned
and recalled.
Nice
letters
Consequently, the collection of past events called 'History' is also evoked by her, and that is why it is possible to chant:
Holy
Memory, reveal
the glories of
yore:
how Spartans and
Athenians
won the Persian war.
Athens
met them on the sea,
and
although the Persian
forces were
more numerous than
sand.
[Aristophanes, Lysistrata 1250]
Nice letters like this would be the envy of anyone abandoned by Memory, were he able to remember who Envy is.
Letters
undermine Memory
Yet it has been said that letters undermine Memory, producing forgetfulness:
Letters, some affirm, were invented by the Egyptian god Theuth, who also invented numbers, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, draughts, and dice. Theuth, the story goes, came to Thamus, the god who then ruled Egypt, and showing him his new inventions, suggested that they should be taught to all Egyptians.
Thamus commented in detail the different sciences that had been invented by Theuth. Later, when they came to the letters, Theuth presented them thus:
"This invention, O king, will make the Egyptians wiser and will improve their memories; for it is an elixir of memory and wisdom that I have discovered." [Plato, Phaedrus 274e]
But, since he who judges is seldom of the same opinion as he who produces, Thamus answered:
"This invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory. Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within them. You have invented an elixir not of memory, but of reminding; and you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom, for they will read many things without instruction and will therefore seem to know many things, when they are for the most part ignorant and hard to get along with, since they are not wise, but only appear wise." [Plato, Phaedrus 275b]
Written
words say always the same
Ever since Thamus' prophecy, there had been those who thought that mankind tends to become more and more forgetful; for by putting more and more things into writing, they could indulge in absent-mindedness during the day. And writing has been also described thus:
"Writing ... has this strange quality, and is very like painting; for the creatures of painting stand like living beings, but if one asks them a question, they preserve a solemn silence. And so it is with written words; you might think they spoke as if they had intelligence, but if you question them, wishing to know about their sayings, they always say only one and the same thing." [Socrates to Phaedrus. Plato, Phaedrus 275d]
(Reference: Mnemosyne.)
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Reference
Leda
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Leda.html
Zeus in the form of a swan consorted with Leda, and on the same night Tyndareus, king of Sparta, also made love to her. This is why four children were later born from the same mother but from different fathers: Castor 1 and Polydeuces, called the DIOSCURI, and Clytaemnestra and Helen. Of all four Helen and Polydeuces, being the children of Zeus, were immortal, but Castor 1 and Clytaemnestra, being those of King Tyndareus of Sparta, were mortal.
consort
v. t.
To unite or join, as in affection, harmony, company,
marriage, etc.; to associate.
He with his consorted Eve. --
bestiality
n :
sexual activity between a person and an animal
Others affirm that Helen was a daughter of Nemesis and Zeus, and that a shepherd found the egg and brought it to Leda. When Helen was hatched in due time, Leda suckled her, nursed her, and brought her up. Leda is said to have died of shame because of the deeds committed by Helen.
(Reference:
Leda.)
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Reference
Briseis
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Briseis.html
Women
and trouble
For the sake of golden-haired Briseis great trouble came about. But this should cause no particular surprise, some think, since not seldom there is a woman behind devastating wars, overthrown households, and other disasters. For example Agamemnon, they reason, was destroyed by his own wife Clytaemnestra on account of Iphigenia and Cassandra; and Jason's past and prospective houses were turned into ashes by Medea on account of his marriage with Glauce 4; and Athamas 1, by wedding a second wife and then a third, let intrigue enter his home, going mad himself; and Theseus cursed his own son and caused his death on account of Phaedra; and Heracles 1 was destroyed by Deianira 1 because of Iole; and for Hermione's sake Orestes 2 slew Neoptolemus, whose household was already a ruin because of Andromache.
…
…those
who carry out orders, which they themselves deem as unjust, suffer a great
disgrace and are filled with shame.
…
Briseis'
reproaches
Briseis, who followed them to her second captivity unwilling and unhappy, is said to have later reproached her lover the readiness with which she was delivered to the heralds, without even a farewell kiss. And while she was away, she wrote to him saying that his wrath was not deep enough:
"... all these nights I am absent from your side, and not demanded back; you delay, and your anger is slow." [Briseis to Achilles. Ovid, Heroides 3.21]
…
Briseis despised
He then called a council and, without asking anything, officially ended his feud with Agamemnon. The king in turn, acknowledging that he himself had been the one whom the gods blinded, declared that he was ready to make amends and pay Achilles the compensation of the seven tripods, the seven women, the seven cities, and all other magnificent gifts which included Briseis. Yet Achilles, who now had his mind in the battlefield, replied that Agamemnon could produce the gifts or keep them at his convenience. And regarding Briseis, he uttered these thoughtless words:
"Has it proved a good thing, either for you or for me, to keep up this desperate feud about a girl? I only wish that Artemis had killed her ... that day I chose her for myself." [Achilles to Agamemnon. Homer, Iliad 19.55]
…
Briseis'
farewell to Achilles
Briseis
remained with Achilles until his death, which soon came in the shape of an
arrow shot by
"Never
on me came anguish like to this—not when my brethren died, my fatherland was
wasted—like this anguish for your death! You were my day, my sunlight, my sweet
life, my hope of good, my strong defence from harm,
dearer than all my beauty—yes, more dear than my lost
parents! You were all in all to me, you only, captive though I be. You took from me every bondmaid's task and like a wife
you hold me." [Briseis
to the dead Achilles. Quintus Smyrnaeus, The
Fall of
(Reference: Briseis.)
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Reference
ERINYES
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/ERINYES.html
Nature
These spirits are detectors and avengers of crime and wickedness. They are also called goddesses of vengeance, ready to stab fear into the hearts of mortals. The ERINYES along with the MOERAE are the steersmen of a great goddess: Ananke (Necessity). The ERINYES pursue and punish those who are guilty of bloodshed, defilement or impiety. They say:
"We claim to be just and upright. No wrath from us will come stealthily to the one who holds out clean hands, and he will go through life unharmed; but whoever sins and hides his blood-stained hands, as avengers of bloodshed we appear against him to the end, presenting ourselves as upright witnesses for the dead." [The ERINYES. Aeschylus, Eumenides 310]
Origin
This is how the ERINYES came to be:
Cronos the Titan revolted against the first ruler of the universe, his father Uranus, and waiting for him in an ambush took a long sickle with jagged teeth, cut off Uranus' genitals, and cast them away to fall behind him [see Castration of Uranus]. The bloody drops that gushed forth were received by the Earth (Gaia), and in time she bore the ERINYES, the GIANTS and the MELIAD NYMPHS (Nymphs of the ash-trees).
Orestes
2's case
Orestes 2, for having killed his own mother Clytaemnestra, was pursued by the ERINYES, and afflicted with madness, because as they declare:
"We drive matricides from their homes ... Since a mother's blood leads us, we will pursue our case against this man and we will hunt him down ..." [The ERINYES. Aeschylus, Eumenides 210, 230]
And so they said to Orestes 2:
"Allow us in return to suck the red blood from your living limbs. May we feed on you -a gruesome drink! We will wither you alivve and drag you down, so that you pay atonement for your murdered mother's agony. " [The ERINYES. Aeschylus, Eumenides 265]
When Orestes 2 went mad, he bit off one finger of one of his hands. It is told that when the ERINYES were about to put Orestes 2 out of his mind, they appeared to him black, but that once he had bitten off his finger they appeared to be white, and seeing them under this new color, he recovered his mind. So he made a sin-offering to the black goddesses of wrath (ERINYES) to avert them while to the white deities of blessing (EUMENIDES) he made a thank-offering.
Other
interventions
This is also the case of Alcmaeon 1, who also became mad after killing his mother Eriphyle because of the ERINYES pursuing him [see Robe & Necklace of Harmonia 1]. The ERINYES are also reported to have tortured Theseus and Pirithous when they descended to the Underworld. They had come because Pirithous wished to marry Persephone. So when Hades learned about this preposterous desire, he had them stretched out and tortured for a long time by the ERINYES.
Fearful
trinity
The
ERINYES are Alecto, Megaera,and Tisiphone 1.
Tisiphone
1 sits wrapped in a bloodstained robe, and guards the entrance to Tartarus, the place of punishment. Tisiphone 1 is
the one who drove mad both Ino and Athamas 1, and when Athamas
1 was out of his mind, he hunted his elder son Learchus
as a deer and killed him. Alecto is said to be a maker of grief, a spirit who revels in
war and quarrels. She was believed to be able to set brothers of one mind at
one another's throats, or to torment a home with hatred.
Looking
like them to commit crimes
Some say that Aeschylus was the first to represent the ERINYES with snakes in their hair. But even if otherwise there is nothing specially terrible in their appearance, they were frightening enough to be used in special performances: it is told that when Polyxo 4 decided to kill Helen, she sent against her, when she was bathing, servants dressed up as ERINYES, who seized Helen and hanged her on a tree.
(Reference: ERINYES.)
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Reference
Orestes 2
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Orestes2.html
…it is said, women's love is for their lovers, not their children.
…
For revenge seeks to imitate the gestures of outrage and to return to the location where the first affront occurred, turning both gestures and location into the meaningful symbol from which it derives its deepest pleasure.
…
Pylades:
What of the future? What of Apollo's oracles, declared
at
…
Remorse
In any case, when Orestes 2, assisted by his sister Electra 2 and his faithful friend Pylades, had committed the horrible crime of taking, besides Aegisthus', his own mother's life, he was prostrated by the weight of the deed he had performed. Orestes 2 spent most of the time in bed wasted with a fierce disease, having fits of madness, and being tortured by the ERINYES, who turn painful remorse into the master of both heart and mind.
Menelaus
arrives from
One week after the matricide,
Menelaus arrived from
Orestes: My
revenge was Apollo's command.
Menelaus: A command showing some ignorance of law and right.
Orestes: What
are the gods? We don't know, but we are their slaves.
[Euripides, Orestes 416]
…
Friends who in times of trouble are no longer friends mock the true force of friendship with an empty name." [Orestes 2 to Menelaus. Euripides, Orestes 450]
The
citizens condemn the murderers
During the deliberations of the
assembled citizens, Talthybius, the herald of Agamemnon
at Troy, was heard making an ambiguous speech, for as it is said, that is the way of heralds, always trying to please the
winning side.
…
"For Helen's beauty was to the gods their instrument for setting Achaeans and Trojans face to face in war. And multiplying deaths, to purge the bloated earth of its superfluous welter of mortality." [Apollo to Menelaus. Euripides, Orestes 1640]
…
Purifications
of little avail
However, Orestes 2 remained insane after the trial, having fits of madness
as before, and some have said that once he had bitten off one of his
fingers, the ERINYES ceased to torture him, and he recovered his senses. But
Orestes 2 is also said to have sought purification
by the waters of the Horse's Fount in Troezen,
in the place where the earth sent up the water when the horse Pegasus struck
the ground with his hoof. Centuries after there was still a building called the
Booth of Orestes, where the descendants of those
who cleansed Orestes 2 used to dine on
appointed days. In that building, which was in front of a sanctuary of
Apollo, the Troezenians lodged Orestes 2, for before he was purified no citizen would receive him into
his home.
…
Iphigenia's
life in Tauris
The priestess of this temple was Iphigenia, sister of Orestes 2, who had not lost her life at Aulis as some believed; for in the last moment, when Iphigenia was about to be sacrificed, she vanished and was saved by Artemis, who substituted for her a deer at the altar, and transported her to Tauris. In this barbarian country she lived many years, performing the rites and sending strangers to the altar where they were butchered by other attendants, without ever blaming the gods, for she reasoned:
"... Men of this country, being murderers, impute their sordid practice to divine command. That any god is evil I do not believe." [Iphigenia. Euripides, Iphigenia in Tauris 390]
And as before Electra 2, she also wept for what she believed was the lost life of her own brother Orestes 2, the destruction of her father's house, the extinction of her family, and her own fate.
(Reference:
Orestes 2.)
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Reference
Helen
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Helen.html
Wisdom
and beauty
The Trojans did not yield to
persuasion, and that is why a prolonged siege and war ensued, in which many
perished for the sake of Helen. Yet, not even the Elders of
"Who
on earth could blame the Trojan and Achaean men-at-arms for suffering so long
for such a woman's sake? Indeed, she is the very image of an immortal goddess."
But as their years had made them acquainted with restraint and moderation, they also added:
"All the same, and lovely as she is, let her sail home and not stay her to vex us and our children after us." [Antenor 1 and the Trojan Elders chatting among themselves. Homer, The Iliad 3.155]
…
Helen
marries again
While Menelaus outraged Paris' body, the latter's brothers, Helenus 1 and Deiphobus 1, quarrelled as to which of them should marry Helen; and having Deiphobus 1 been preferred, he married Helen, and Helenus 1 moved his residence to Ida. This change of residence seems to have made it easier for Odysseus to capture him and learn about the importance of the Palladium. This is what Helen herself says about her new marriage with Deiphobus 1:
"... when Paris died, and earth concealed his corpse, I should have left his house and sought the Argive fleet, since my marriage was no longer in the hands of gods. That was what I was eager to do; and the warders on the towers and watchmen on the walls can bear me witness, for often they found me seeking to let myself down stealthily by cords from the battlements, but there was that new husband, Deiphobus, that carried me off by force to be his wife ..." [Helen to Hecabe 1. Euripides, Trojan Women 954]
But again she has not been believed:
"... you assert that you tried to let yourself down from the towers by stealth with twisted cords, as if unwilling to stay? Where were you ever found fastening the noose about your neck, or whetting the knife, as a noble wife would have done in regret for her former husband? [Hecabe 1 to Helen. Euripides, Trojan Women 1010]
Helping
the Achaeans
Some have said that Helen helped the Achaeans during the war; for they tell that when Odysseus entered incognito into Troy as a beggar he was recognized by Helen, who helped him to steal away the Palladium, which he brought to the ships with the aid of Diomedes 2.
Likewise when Sinon, who having been left behind by the Achaeans during their pretended retreat in order to light a beacon lamp as a signal to them, started signalling with a shining brand beside the tomb of Achilles, Helen too was awake and signalling herself from her chamber to the Achaean fleet to return; for the WOODEN HORSE was inside the walls, the gates would soon open, and it was time for the Achaeans to make the final assault.
Helping
the Trojans
And yet, when the Achaeans were inside the WOODEN HORSE, Helen went round, calling the different chiefs, and by imitating the voices of each of their wives, tempted them to reveal themselves. She did it so well that Anticlus would have answered, but Odysseus held fast his mouth; and when he tried to escape the pressure of his hands, Odysseus held him harder and Anticlus lost his breath and died.
…
Life
in
Yet it is also told that
Odysseus' son Telemachus, while still looking for his
father, visited Helen and Menelaus in Sparta to see if he could get some news
about him, and at that time it looked like the king and queen of Sparta led a
pleasant life in their city. Helen also explained on that occasion how she felt
when Odysseus came disguised to
"I had suffered a change of heart, repenting the infatuation with which Aphrodite blinded me when she lured me to Troy from my own dear country and made me forsake my daughter, my bridal chamber, and a husband who had all one could wish for in the way of brains and good looks." [Helen to Menelaus and Telemachus. Homer, The Odyssey 4.260]
The
proper thing to say
But, some could think, that was the proper thing to say when she was back home. And had things been different, she would have said otherwise. For Hecabe 1, thinking that Helen had always her eyes fixed on Fortune, once reproached her:
"... when you had come to Troy, and the Argives were on your track, and the mortal combat had begun, whenever tidings came to you of Menelaus' prowess, you would praise him, to grieve my son, because he had so powerful a rival in his love; but if the Trojans prospered, Menelaus was nothing to you." [Hecabe 1 to Helen. Euripides, Trojan Women 1004]
…
After the death of Paris, the
sons of King Priam 1, Helenus
1 and Deiphobus 1, quarrelled
as to which of them should marry Helen. Deiphobus 1
won the quarrel and married Helen, but on the fall of
(Reference:
Helen.)
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Reference
Atalanta
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Atalanta.html
Atalanta
changes shape
On taking home his new wife, the fortunate
suitor, forgetting that he had won by Aphrodite's favour,
did not give thanks to the goddess. So while he was sacrificing on
Yet others have said that his happened later, when once Atalanta and her husband (Melanion or Hippomenes 2) were hunting. They are said to have entered into the precinct of Zeus, and having made love in the temple, were changed into lions.
(Reference:
Atalanta.)
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“Thou belongest
to That Which Is
Undying, and not merely to time alone,” murmured the Sphinx, breaking its muteness at last. “Thou art
eternal, and not merely
of the vanishing flesh. The soul in man cannot be killed, cannot die. It waits, shroud-wrapped,
in thy heart, as I waited,
sand-wrapped, in thy world. Know thyself, O mortal! For there is One within thee, as in all men, that comes and stands at the bar and bears witness that there IS a God!”
(Reference: Brunton, Paul. (1962) A Search in Secret
Amen