I hate generative AI. There was no need to give it to the public.
People forgot to be human. And now they ask chatbots how to be normal again.
AI in science is meant to help us live, survive. But now I wake up knowing that in a few years, I may not have water to drink.
People already go to sleep with poisoned water in their bodies.
That makes me think of my ancestors. They would go to a village well to fill their pot, boil it, and have water. It wasn't "free". It required labour and time.
But they didn't need endless plastic to have it. No companies were telling them that water is not a human right.
I wonder if they felt like I do now. When the first person had no other choice but to buy bottled water, what were they thinking?
Did they know that in years there will be no clear water left to buy?
You can't find a portrayal of a futuristic world without mention of water pollution. Or just outright NO WATER LEFT FOR PEOPLE THAT CANNOT PAY MILLIONS FOR IT.
Do people who poison the land and water never see it? Did they never read a book? Did they never think beyond a few years? Did they never look beyond their bank statement?
Maybe they should ask ChatGPT what will happen with all their AI products if they kill all the "potential customers".
Drink water today, thank Poseidon. Cook something warm, thank Hestia. Spend time with your loved ones, thank Hera. Sign a petition against AI centres, thank Zeus. Draw something ugly, thank Apollo.
Go outside and cry about all the beauty we will lose because a few rich people decided you and I are not worth living.
Be mad at AI, thank Ares.
Hunt for AI in the name of Artemis.
Hestia, first and last, sacred goddess of hearth and home
I call upon you to protect the domestic worker - those who do the thankless work of caring for children and cleaning homes. May they be honored and rewarded.
O Hestia protect the migrant - those who leave the familiarity of their own homes and loved ones in search of a better life to support their families. May they be honored and rewarded.
Eternal Hestia may you protect those so often overlooked by society - the dishwashers, cooks, landscapers, nannies, maids, construction workers, and all those whose toil is used to build and maintain homes and society without thanks. May they be honored and rewarded.
Painting is The New American Gothic by Criselda Vasquez
hosted by @sag-dab-sar , layout inspired by the wonderful @wayfind-er ! 🩷🌺
🌾 Why? Γιατί;
Why do you want to research this Theos Why is this Theos important to the 'modern world' (if you think they are)?
Demeter protects and assures crop growth and fertility, which could be interpreted in a variety of ways in modern life, from aid with food insecurity to helping grow a garden. She was highly regarded in the ancient world and, in my opinion, should absolutely still be respected and venerated today. My hope with writing this is that I help myself and others learn more, to cultivate a relationship with her.
🌾 Who? Ποιος;
Who is the family of this Theos (parents, siblings, children etc)? There may be multiple variations.
Demeter is the daughter of Rheia and Kronos, and the sister of Hestia, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus¹. She is the second eldest according to Pseudo-Apollodoros and Hesiod's Theogony. She is swallowed by her father as a child until Zeus, hidden away by their mother Rheia and aided by Metis, forces him to vomit out his children (not really a nice way to put that, lol). She resides on Mount Olympos with her siblings.
By Zeus, Demeter has Kore-Persephone, goddess of spring growth and queen of the underworld². When she is kidnapped by Hades with only the consent of Zeus, Demeter grieves greatly and causes famine. Their relationship is deeply important to their myth and cult, and the two are typically worshipped as a pair.
But she also has various other children:
By her mortal lover Iasion, Demeter has Ploutos, the god of wealth³. He is blinded by Zeus to ensure that wealth is distributed indiscriminately. He is linked to the Eleusinian Mysteries, and often equated with Hades in his Plouton guise.
Hyginus lists another son by Iasion (to Ceres-Demeter), Philomelos/Bootes, the inventor of the wagon/plow⁴. He becomes represented as a constellation beside Ursa Major. (Diodorus also gives an account of a syncretized Cybele-Demeter bearing Iasion a son, named Corybas⁵. But it's most heavily related to Cybele’s mythology, rather than Demeter’s)
In Crete, Demeter bears Eubouleus (whose name is attested in the Eleusinian Mysteries, possibly as a different figure or euphemism of Hades)⁶
When Demeter was searching for Persephone, Poseidon pursued her. When she turned into a mare to escape, he transformed into a stallion and raped her. She later gave birth to the immortal horse Arion⁷. In Arkadia, a local goddess titled Despoina (mistress, her true name was only known to initiates) was also born of this union⁸
There are also some lesser known genealogies that place other Olympian gods as the children of Demeter. Pausanias records that, in Despoina’s cult, Artemis is the daughter of Demeter⁹. A scholar on the Argonautica says that in the Orphic Hymns, Hekate is her daughter¹⁰. Another source recorded by Diodorus lists the Orphic Dionysus as the son of Zeus and Demeter (rather than Persephone)¹¹
Who is in this Theos retinue (messengers/heralds, cup bearer, student, companions etc)?
Demeter is, of course, often depicted alongside her daughter Persephone, as well as Hekate, who is said to become Persephone’s companion and attendant after she returned from the Underworld in the Homeric Hymn¹². Hekate holds a special status among the two, as she is the only goddess to help Demeter in her search for her daughter. She often appears alongside her son Ploutos as well.
She’s also depicted with:
The Eleusinian demi-god Iacchus, connected to the “iacche” cry of the procession during Eleusinia¹³ He’s often depicted as a young man with a torch. He is sometimes referred to as a son of Demeter or Persephone. He is later conflated with Dionysos¹⁴
Another Eleusinian demi-god, Triptolemus, who is often depicted as a young man in a serpent-drawn chariot. He was considered the inventor of agriculture, taught by the goddess herself¹⁵. He had his own temple and statue in Athens¹⁶
Triptolemus’ parents, Metadeira and Celeus, also appear in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter and iconography¹⁷
Who was considered the "equivalent of" or was syncretized with this Theos? This includes historical associations in any pantheon, not just Greek.
Demeter was commonly conflated with:
The Roman Ceres, the goddess of agriculture and fertility. Her mythology (at least what is written down) is identical to those of Demeter, and we don't have any of the native Roman myths of hers¹⁸
The Egyptian goddess Isis, the goddess of motherhood and fertility¹⁹, due to the similarities between the search for Persephone and the search for Isis’ son Osiris
She also became equated with the Phrygian goddess Cybele (though Cybele was oftentimes syncretized with Rheia as well/instead). This can be seen earlier with Iasion
Thank you for reading!! Research is a little difficult for me, even when I love doing it. So I'm getting out of my comfort zone and working on this :o). I'm sure there are countless more obscure myths that I missed haha. I'd like to recommend @/brimo5's blog as a wonderful resource for more obscure chthonic deity myths!
🌾 Bibliography
[1] Hesiod, Theogony 453; Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1.4
[2] Homeric Hymn to Demeter; Apollodorus 1.29
[3] Hes. Theogony 969
[4] Hyginus, Astronomica 2.4
[5] Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historia 5.48.2
[6] Diodorus Siculus, 5.76.3
[7] Apollodorus 3.77
[8] Paus. 8.25.5
[9] Paus. 8.37.3
[10] Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius’ Argonautica
[11] Diod. iii. 62
[12] Homeric Hymn to Demeter
[13] Strabo, Geography 10.3.10
[14] Sophocles, Antigone 1115-1125
[15] Apollodorus 1.5
[16] Paus. 1.14
[17] Homeric Hymn to Demeter
[18] Room, Adrian, Who's Who in Classical Mythology, p. 89-90
[19] Apollodorus 2.9
Aphrodite Philommeidís, laughter-loving queen, bless me and my friends with your jovial presence. Let us bask in your joy and smile. Aphrodite, of all forms of love, may we feel your divine touch as we talk and your reassuring hand as we laugh. Aphrodite Philommeidís, join us in our merriment and may the sounds of our hollering be heard as praise to you, lovely queen.
This is broken up by her epiphets and may not work for all prayer beads, feel free to adjust! Each line represents a bead, the orange text being separator beads
Hestia,
Goddess of the home,
She who tends the hearth,
She who is the first and last born,
Please accept this praise and devotion,
I praise and honour you, I thank you for your blessings.
Hestia Äídios,
Keeper of the eternal flame,
She who is so dedicated to her work,
She who is always there in our lives,
Bless me with your unwavering presence.
I praise and honour you, I thank you for your blessings.
Hestia Bulaea,
Overseer of community council,
She who oversees charity work,
She who upholds civic unity,
Bless me with your inclusive care for all.
I praise and honour you, I thank you for your blessings.
Hestia Polyolvos,
Bringer of blessings,
She who is so generous in her gifts,
She who assists those in need,
Bless me with your favour.
I praise and honour you, I thank you for your blessings.
Something about Aphrodite walking out of the sea for the first time being a metaphor for stepping into womanhood and going through puberty.
Lived for so long weightless and carefree and naked in the sea, and now theres suddenly the crushing weight of gravity, you have to carry your own weight with no help. Everyone is looking at you, at your body, you're so exposed. You're being seen, percived. But by more than just fish and nymphs, by everyone, even those with bad intentions. Judged and lusted over at the same time, when you're still so young and learning to walk on land without stumbling, the water hasn't even dried on your skin yet and already theres expectations to meet.
Helios is the sun incarnate but Apollo is the rays of light as they peak through clouds and hit the ground, and Selene is the moon itself but it’s Artemis that tells the wilderness its time for bed, you know?
I had the great honor of praying to Aphrodite in her place of birth today ❤️ Nothing makes me feel closer to her. I felt her presence so strongly in that moment. May she bless all who love her 🕯🩷
Aphrodite isn't just love and sex and frilly pink bows,
She's passion, the raging fire that burns between the hearts of two friends or lovers when one is under duress,
She's the unbreakable bond of family (found or bio), everlasting, infinite, no matter how close or far they are,
She's the pain of a broken heart, manifest in anger and vindication, the one standing behind you as you confront an abusive partner/friend/family member,
She's salvation for everyone who has ever been or is being hurt,
She is self love for everyone with self esteem issues, looking you in the eye as you stare into the mirror and saying 'You are wonderful just as you are',
She's the comfort when you're in your darkest times, Her hands cradling you as you cry into Her shoulder,
She's the swelling of your heart when you experience new love or when you pick up a child,
She is justice for every queer person of the world just trying to exist peacefully-- transgender/sexual, intersex, aromantic, asexual, non-straight,
And She is the feeling of your smile slowly fading when you didn't realize you were smiling at all.
Popular animals that are sacred to/associated with Hellenic Deities
Horse Girls Horses:
Athene, the Anemoi, Artemis, Demeter, Dioskouri, Enodia, Eos, Hekate, Helios, Hemera, Hera, Hermes, Nyx, Poseidon, Selene, *Zeus, starred because his only ties to horses really only have to do with the Anemoi when they take the form of horses.
Bees:
Aphrodite, Apollon, Aristaios, Artemis, Demeter, Dionysos, Gaia, Hekate, Hermes, the Nymphai (the Meliai and Thriai as the Melissai specifically but all are connected to bees), Pan, Persephone, Rheia, Zeus
