Helloo!! Welcome to our Hellenistic centric blog!! We are quite a large system, and headmates like to worship different deities and we haven't had a blog til now so here it is!!
Hii, Our collective name is Soup and we will use any neopronouns and he/they. Our body is a devotee to Persephone and Pan and smaller groups will worship and/or honor the other gods in the pantheon. We are also neurodivergent and will love to learn more about all the pantheon (special interest go brr). We love meeting new ppl but we are a bit anxious at times. Any regular headmates posting will have a tag, any children in system will not have any info shared and will always be with an adult (for safety). PLEASE USE TONETAGS WITH US
We are a traumagenic system. We don't want any discourse here but know that we are triggered (/neg) by Endo/tulpa systems and will probably not interact with them. Please be respectful.
Intro: Ty, cohost, fictive, he/they. I will usually post/reblog stuff about anything and everything. I like alternative music and will cry if you show me a picture of the enderdragon /pos
We will continually add to this, please again be respectful. Have a lovely day ^^ -Ty
If you are a trump supporter or maga in any way and consider yourself a hellenist, I’d like to remind you that:
- Artemis would have her hunting dogs eviscerate you into a pile of goo, she knows the only people you hate more than yourself are women, and she hates you for it.
- Aphrodite would cry knowing how much you hate her beautiful trans sons and daughters, they are more her children than you could ever be.
- Ares would decapitate you with his sword in one singular blow, he’s disposed of the soldiers of an arrogant, foolish, and evil empire before, he’ll do it again.
- Apollo would rupture your slanderous and lying vocal chords and burn you with the sun, you don’t deserve to bask in his radiance.
- Athena would roll her eyes at your idiocy and have you dragged away in handcuffs to a dungeon to rot. You are not an enlightened intellectual, you a stupid fool.
- Dionysus would smash a bottle of wine over your head and than stab you with it for worshiping an ableist and homophobic monster.
- Demeter would curse your grains with blight, after-all, you voted for the downfall of her farmers, and now children will go hungry because of your actions, she can only hope you starve too.
- Hades doesn’t even want you in his domain, the afterlife has standards. You aren’t wanted or loved in life, you won’t be in the afterlife either.
- Hera would puke on your shoes upon learning about the kind of “peace” you stand for, and she’d quickly turn you into the cow you are to become one of the animals on her farm, so that you might finally be of some use.
- Hermes would steal all of your blood money and invest it in trans rights organizations, and use the rest to fund the next democratic candidate.
- Hephaestus would weld a sword and cut your legs off with it so that you may find yourself experiencing the disability you have made people suffer from having to afford living with by your voting choices.
- Hestia would sprout black mold in your home, you hate the homeless so much, let’s see how you like it.
- Poseidon would tip your boat over and feed you to the sea, afterall, you have no problem throwing all your trash in it and voting for politicians who deregulate environmental protections.
- Zeus would smite you with a bolt of lightning. He hates that you’ve turned his symbol into the symbol of a nazi police force, and he’ll make sure it’s the fire you burn from.
Nazis and other hateful, ignorant people like trump supporters have no place in our religion, No place in our community, and no place in our lives. The gods hate you and so do I. Get the fuck out.
Tegea was a notable settlement of ancient Arkadia in the Peloponnese, mentioned in the Catalogue of Ships in Homer's Iliad.¹ It was an important religious center, having the famed Temple of Athena Alea, a deity who was also worshipped in nearby Alea and Mantineia.² This temple was known and respected across the Peloponnese as a refuge for those seeking sanctuary.³
While Alea became an epithet of Athena, it was originally the name of a unique Arkadian goddess.
She is attested by various names: the tribal name Epalea, the founder of her temple Aleos, and the name of the festival Aleaia. In the Classical period, a transition can be seen in literature and cult from Alea, to Alea Athena, to Athena Alea. Xenophon calls her Alea, while Herodotus, Menander, and Strabo, among others, call her Alea Athena. But the transition is not instantaneous, as Athena Alea, used by Pausanias, is attested before Alea Athena disappears.⁴
The earliest known cultic activity at Tegea is in the late tenth century. Pottery, animal bones, both burnt and unburnt, and terracotta figures & wreaths were found in the sacred pit (bothros).⁵
In the Geometric period, activity expanded: architectural evidence of 2 apsidal temples and a metal workshop was found. There was also an increase of votives found at the site, such as animal & human figures, jewelry, and shields.
Figure 1. Bronze votive pins from the sanctuary of Athena Alea (Kladouri and Orfanou 4)
The Archaic temple, most likely built around 625-600 BCE, became the first monumental building at Tegea, and stood until it burnt down. An abundance of votives were found once again: bronze & lead jewelry, statuettes, terracotta figurines, and miniature vessels. We don't know when Alea and Athena became equated, but a 6th century votive figurine of an armed Athena could be seen as a representation of this syncretism.⁵
Figure 2. An archaic bronze figurine of an armed Athena (Dugas 359)
When the Archaic temple burnt down, the famous marble temple, whose remains can still be seen today, was built.
In the temple, there was a statue of Athena Alea. Originally an ivory statue stood, but it was carried away to Rome by Augustus. A new statue was made and later flanked by a statue of Asklepios and a statue of Hygeia on either side. Pausanias writes that the statue was originally surnamed Hippeia, but the locals continued to call her Alea.⁶
There were also representations of the Calydonian boar hunt, as Atalanta was Arkadian, and another local hero, Telephos, fighting Achilles. The tusks of the boar were said to be present in the temple until Augustus removed them. Present still in the temple in the days of Pausanias was the rotted hide of the Calydonian Boar.⁷ He also lists other votives: a couch dedicated to the goddess and a portrait of Auge, a priestess of her's.
Also in the sanctuary were representations of Rheia, local nymphai, the mousai, and Mnemosyne.⁸
Figure 3. The remains of the temple of Athena Alea at Tegea (Hagedorn)
We don't know a lot about Alea herself. She was clearly a goddess of refuge, granting safety to various people. She also seemed to have a martial aspect even before she became associated with Athena, which explains why she was syncretized with Athena to begin with. A connection could be made both to horses, via Hippeia, and boars/pigs, via the Calydonian Boar.
Pausanias also describes a peplos woven for the goddess as an offering, so weaving could also be an attribute of her's.⁹ Though, of course, these can all be argued as just examples of the syncretism with Athena. The metal workshop could attest to a connection with smithery.
Erik Øtsby suggests that she is a fertility goddess with a connection to water in some way, citing Madeleine Jost, who also discusses a possible solar aspect.¹⁰ Her sanctuary was located near a natural spring, and in the early periods was located within a loop of a river.
So, all in all: Alea was a goddess of protection and refuge, a fertility goddess with a connection to water and a martial aspect even prior to her association with Athena. She was often offered jewelry, attesting to a large female cult. These were likely dedications related to puberty and/or marriage. The tusks and hide of the Calydonian Boar were held in her sanctuary, and like a lot of Arkadian deities she was associated with nymphai.
I think she's a very interesting study of how Panhellenic deities absorbed local deities and took on new characteristics.
Yes I spent 3 hours writing this for about ~7 people to see. No I don't regret it.
Sources:
[1] Homer, Iliad 2.607-609
[2] Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.9.6; 8.23.1; 8.4.8
[3] Pausanias, Description of Greece 3.5.6
[4] Madeleine Jost, 2007, “The Religious System in Arkadia” in A Companion to Greek Religion
[5] Mary E. Voyatzis, The Cult of Athena Alea at Tegea and its transformation over time
[6] Pausanias 8.41.1
[7] Pausanias 8.47.2
[8] Pausanias 8. 45. 4-47. 4
[9] Pausanias 8.5.3
[10] Nordquist and Voyatzis, Tegea I: Investigations in the Temple of Athena Alea 1991-94
As voted on on Wednesday, today's topic is the myth of Endymion! If any of you have suggestions for next weeks poll, or anything you want me to talk about / research!
Apologies for any spelling, grammar, or general sentence fulidity errors. I've been tired and mentally / emotionally drained recently due to some personal happenings; but I still wanted to get this out on time. Let me know if there was anything you wanted me to elaborate on more or anthing I missed and I can try and get back to you as soon as possible! << Post under the cut >>
So,
Who was Endymion?
ENDYMION was a handsome shepherd-prince loved by the moon-goddess Selene. When Zeus offered him his choice of destinies, Endymion chose immortality and youth in eternal slumber. He was laid out in a cave on Mount Latmus in Karia (Caria) where his lunar lover would visit him each night.
In another myth--which contradicts the first--Endymion was a king of Elis in the Greek Peloponesse who founded the kingdom with a group of Aiolian (Aeolian) colonists from Thessalia (Thessaly). Zeus granted him foreknowledge of his own death and, when his time had come, he set up a racecourse at Olympia and commanded his sons compete for the throne. Endymion was afterwards entombed beside the starting gate.
- theoi.com
There are many different variations of the myth of Prince Endymion, but they all hold the same basics; Endymion was a prince / king renowned for his beauty, so much so that he caught the eyes of various (due to differing sources) gods, and he, by one way or another, was succumb to eternal slumber with his eyes open.
Front of a Sarcophagus with the Myth of Endymion ^^
Variations of myth
In most myths, Endymion was beloved by Selene, the moon goddess. She was so enamored by his beauty, that she begged Zeus to make him and his beauty immortal in slumber - with his eyes open so that she may peer into them and bask in his beauty. Zeus agreed and let him lay upon Mt Latmos for eternity, allowing Selene to gaze at her lover each night.
In another retelling of the myth, it was Zeus who gave the King a choice to have anything he [Endymion] may desire; Endymion chosing to be cast into an everlasting sleep so that he might remain youthful forever. Then after he was bound to sleep forever did Selene fall in love.
In both versions of these myths, Selene laid with Endymion one night and concieved 50 lunar nymphs called the Menae, whose number was said to represent the fifty lunar months of the Olympiad (the four years between each Olympic games). No sources tend to say whether the conception happened before Endymions eteneral sleep or after / during.
Again, in another version, the eternal sleep of Endymion was a punishment given to him by Zeus for falling in love with and attempting to have sexual relations with Hera - Zeus' wife.
However, in the earlier accounts of the myth by Licymnius (as shown below) it was Hypnos who had fallen in love with the beauty of the Prince. And some recounts say that both Selene and Hypnos fell in love with him.
Licymnius, Fragment 771 (from Athenaeus, Scholars at Dinner) (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric V) (Greek lyric C4th B.C.) :
"[Endymion was a handsome youth loved by the moon-goddess Selene. He was granted immortality in a state of eternal slumber :] Likymnios of Khios (Licymnius of Chios) says the Hypnos (Sleep) loves Endymion and does not close they eyes of his beloved boy even while he is asleep, but lulls him to rest with eyes wide open so that he may without interruption enjoy the pleasure of gazing at them. His words are ‘And Hypnos (Sleep), rejoicing in the rays of his eyes, would lull the boy to rest with eyes wide open.’"
- theoi.com
There are technically more versions of this myth, however that would be too many for this post to cover. Some are also just combinations of the different myths listed, in an attempt to fit all the variations into one.
How do people view the myth?
Despite the variations of the myth; the metaphors that it proposes largely all stay the same. One may view the myth as the ancients giving a reason for being comatose state; however most interpretations from what I could find, see the story of Selene / Hypnos and Endymion as a divine love story; showing how great of lengths one is willing to go for love. In Selene / Hypnos' case, casting their lover into eternal slumber, something many would consider selfish, but is a true testiment to what lengths one will go in order for them to feel love.
Little disclaimer!:
This story, as all myths, can be interpreted in different ways - yours may be different to mine and that's okay. As mythic literalism does not occur in Hellenic Polytheism, the myths are open to interpretation from person to person; although their may be a consensus or a majority that interprets it one way, does not mean you must follow. That being said you can find truth / believe in multiple interpretation / variations. They are myths, not history bound by fact.
Photos / Art:
Sources used;
(not including the knowledge I previously had of this myth)
In Greek mythology Endymion was a handsome shepherd-prince loved by the moon-goddess Selene. When Zeus offered him his choice of destinies,
Hypnos was the ancient Greek god or personified spirit (daimon) of sleep. He dwelt in Erebus, the land of eternal darkness beyond the gates
Explore the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center and the Getty Villa.
Hypnos, son of Nyx and twin brother of Thanatos, was the divine personification of sleep. A handsome winged god who could be gentle as well
Greek Mythology Link - a collection of myths retold by Carlos Parada, author of Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology.
In ancient days when the human race was young, the story is told that there was a youth called Endymion, a Shepherd Prince, who fell in lov
Endymion, in Greek mythology, a beautiful youth who spent much of his life in perpetual sleep. Endymion’s parentage varies among the differe
Heyo, I've recently become fascinated with Helen of Troy, and would love to see your thoughts on my take on the story! TW: SA
My version of Helen is the daughter of Zeus and Nemesis (goddess of vengeance) conceived without consent on her mother's part.
Zeus took a liking to Nemesis and forced himself on her. Nemesis was deeply ashamed of this, and went to Leda to ask a favor.
An arrangement was struck. Leda's nurses would deliver the baby and ask no questions about who the mother was.
Leda would raise the baby as her own and take the truth of the real parents to her grave.
Nemesis stayed with Leda for a few months after the birth, recovering physically and mentally. She kissed Helen on the forehead before flying away, vowing that this would never happen to her again.
In my experience, Nemesis is a very acts of devotion heavy goddess and tends to appreciate it over physical offerings. However, as a Nemesis devotee with various disabilities, I understand that it can be difficult to go out and do much especially when bedridden, so here are some ideas for low-spoon-friendly offerings to her.
Self care tasks related to water such as drinking water, bathing/showering, washing your hands, etc
Listening to true crime podcasts or watching crime-related media
Not pushing yourself during flare-ups
Stretching or just moving your body even just a little in case you’ve been sitting/lying down for a very long time
Opening a window for fresh air or turning on a fan for air circulation
Burning incense or using a diffuser
During flare-ups or when nearing crashes staying away from things that take away your capacity such as talking to people when your social battery is low, being online if it tends to distract you from your self-care tasks, etc
Creating/adding things to a devotional Pinterest board for her
Advocating for your needs in public spaces such as making sure profs are respecting your IEPs, asking for a seat on transit if you need to sit down, etc
Creating/listening to a devotional playlist to her
Watching silly geese videos
Building/creating in Minecraft, Stardew, ACNH, or other similar games spaces dedicated to her
Doing devotional acts for the deities/beings associated with her such as Mother Nyx, Lady Nike, Lady Tyche, Lady Fortuna, Lord Moros, Lady Diana, Lord Mars, Lady Themis, etc.
Interacting with posts that need visibility (GoFundMes, social justice related posts, etc)
Writing, saying, or reflecting on things that you’re grateful for
Writing, saying, or reflecting on things about yourself that you’re proud of
Taking your meds if you have any
Remembering to use your accessibility aids (this includes glasses, please wear your glasses!!!)
Sharing a meal, or having a meal in her honour if you interact with her chthonic epithet
Taking time to reflect on your practice and ways to make it more accessible for you
Dedicating the time you take brainstorming on passion projects or working on them in her honour
Reading academic and archeological papers on her or related to her
Basking in the sunlight or the moonlight
Writing down, saying out loud, or reflecting things you love about her
Reinforcing your boundaries especially when it’s around your disability and well-being
Eating comfort food, watching your comfort show, or doing things that bring you comfort
Talking to/at Nemesis about your feelings or what’s on your mind (this can be serious stuff or just like podcasting to her)
Nemesis while being a goddess of retribution and justice, is also a goddess of balance and discipline. You can only invest in others and other things as much as you invest in yourself. That's why at the end of the day, taking the time to balance your needs with the rest of the world I think is one of the greatest acts of devotion you can do for her.
Nemesis while I’d say a very serious no B.S deity, she’s also one I think who understands humans and the human experience the most. So, for those who may feel guilt around sometimes not being able to show up as much due to health and disability, her like most if not all the gods understand and aren’t going to shame you for taking care of yourself 🧡
This is merely info I’m sharing from my experience as a Nemesis devotee, please do further research on her and formulate your own opinions via your own experience, thank you 🧡
Cardinal Directions : Northwest, Northeast, East, West
Celestial Objects : the sun, the moon, mars, saturn, asteroid Nemesis, asteroid Augusta, asteroid Victoria, asteroid Adrasteia, asteroid Fortuna, asteroid Rhamnus, the draconids meteor shower, black holes
Colours : deep oranges, reds, golds, bronzes, silvers, blues, black
Crystal-Like Things : amber, amazonite, ametrine, apatite, black moonstone, black obsidian, bloodstone, clear quartz, garnet, goldsheen obsidian, green aventurine, hematite, malachite, most metals, rutiled quartz, sea glass, smoky quartz, star sapphire, tigers-eye (all types)
Events/Time : august, september, october, november, dusk, night, twilight, eclipses, new moons, full moons, windstorms, lightning storms
Tarot : Wheel of Fortune, Chariot, Justice, Temperance, Judgement, Two of Pentacles, King of Wands, Six of Cups, Two of Swords, Queen of Swords, Sword Suit in general
Hope you enjoyed this I might turn this into a mini series with other deities and possibly some specific epithets of Nemesis, let me know your thoughts and what’s one thing you associate with Nemesis?
Heyyy I’ve been wondering, could you give your opinion on how you see the myth between lord Apollo and Cassandra of Troy❓A lot of people have mixed feelings about it and I’d like to hear your opinion
Love your acc❗️💖
🦚💞
Alright, this might be a long one, Thank you so much for the ask, I love talking about Cassandra.
I will be using Robert Fagles’ translation of The Oresteia to answer this.
I think people have complicated feelings about Apollo and Cassandra because the situation in itself is complicated.
On the one hand, many versions of this myth, I think, portray it as Cassandra intentionally manipulating a god and being hubristic. That is cause for punishment. She promised him a child in exchange for the gift of prophecy. After getting her gift, she didn’t uphold her end of the bargain.
Now— it’s complicated. Because consent is always allowed to be revoked at any point during any thing. And saying ‘but I did x for you’, which is essentially Apollo’s side, would be coercion.
….But he’s a god. And she broke an oath. And this is why we don’t make oaths. You can’t lie to the god of truth.
The way that Cassandra herself discusses what went down is really important, I think:
“I yielded, then at the climax I recoiled — I deceived Apollo!”
There’s certainly something more nuanced about the idea that she ‘recoiled’, specifically. During the act itself rather than before. That’s less cut-and-dry than outright denying him the thing she promised. I don’t know exactly what to make of it.
But she does feel guilt and remorse. She doesn’t hate Apollo for this and in fact comes across still quite respectful of him throughout her scene, although she believes that he is leading her to her own death. She also frequently likens him to fire and burning, which is just something I found particularly interesting, especially given both of their connections to Troy, which burned, and how Cassandra almost represents Troy within this play.
I have always found Cassandra the assault victim having a curse that specifically makes people not believe her to be quite an interesting metaphor. Like, yeah. That’s how victims are treated sometimes and that’s how it feels. It is like a curse.
There’s one more line I really want to point out, though. In Fagles, she calls him:
“Apollo my destroyer”
But Anne Carson points out that the etymology of this is really interesting in Greek. It could both sound like “my destroyer” or “my Apollo”. Mortals often refer to gods as ‘theirs’ throughout their play in a devotional sort of way. It happens often with Hermes. Having Cassandra use that same devotional phrasing, but with the double meaning of it sounding like “my destroyer” is… genius.
The Oresteia portrays Cassandra with an incredible amount of depth. Which is funny, because she is so irrelevant to the wider plot, but I appreciate her a lot.
All that to say, my opinion and interpretation of Cassandra and Apollo is also so complicated, like many other people’s. I wish I could give a more concise answer, but I really just used this as a Cassandra yap session.
I don’t think Apollo is necessarily in the wrong for what he did to her, given the broken oath thing. But I don’t think she deserved it, either. And within the Oresteia specifically, it almost comes across as a huge misunderstanding that results in something terrible.
do you ever ever think about icarus and his proximity to asterion? because depending on the myth (one where daedalus' imprisonment comes after the labyrinths construction rather than after theseus' escape) and how you interpret it you could extrapolate them growing up in the labyrinth at the same time.
basically what I'm saying is there's a missed opportunity to explore the dynamic between ariadne, icarus, and asterion as the children of the labyrinth. with ariadne being its keeper and icarus and asterion being it's prisoners. the potential for some sort of comradery between an isolated icarus and a young lonely asterion. the familial guilt and love between asterion and ariadne. the tension in the power dynamic between ariadne and icarus. do you understand my vision.
can I get a moodboard for the priestess Kassandra using either the epithet ομιλητής της μοίρας (speaker of fate) or ψιθυριστής κατάρων (curse whisperer) please?
you won’t find much for these epithets online because they’re mine, sorry if that makes it harder.
hi!! would you be open to sharing some of your experiences with worshipping the kharites? how have they impacted your life? i'm interested but there's so little information surrounding them. thank you so much :D
Ah hell yeah! I'll jump on any chance to talk about them!
I love the elder Kharites so much, sure I honor ALL of them but the first three are the ones directly in my life, and the third to have a statue on my altar. My main go-to with them is every art that has to do with writing, those that really eat up poetry and storytelling in all forms. They're givers of joy, grace, beauty, and eloquence, and the ones I lean on most for my own writing more than anyone else in company with two that they're in the retinue (staunch companions) of Hermes and Aphrodite. I feel like I might be the odd one out on my tendency to lean on them with H and A over the Mousai and Apollon, but it's just what feels most right for me. I can't dream of it being the latter when in my mind the five in question embody what grips and makes writing special while also being patrons of the arts.
To put it into perspective and why I went from honoring, to actively worshipping and now being their devotee and crediting them with every piece I make:
Bacchylides, Fragment 10 (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric IV) (C5th B.C.) :
"Truly the skilled man [poet or artisan] prospers in golden hope, whether he has won honour from the Kharites (Charites, Graces)."
Pindar, Nemean Ode 4. 6 ff (trans. Conway) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) :
"If that man with the Kharites' (Charites', Graces') favour haply bring forth the heart's deep mood to live upon the tongue."
Pindar, Olympian Ode 14. 1 ff (trans. Conway) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) :
"Whose haunts are by Kephissos' (Cephisus') river, you queens beloved of poets' song, ruling Orkhomenos (Orchomenus), that sunlit city and land of lovely steeds, watch and ward of the ancient Minyan race, hear now my prayer, you Kharites (Charites, Graces) three. For in your gift are all our mortal joys, and every sweet thing, be it wisdom, beauty, or glory, that makes rich the soul of man. Nor even can the immortal gods order at their behest the dance and festals, lacking the Kharites' aid"
From their theoi page:
"The character and nature of the Charites are sufficiently expressed by the names they bear: they were conceived as the goddesses who gave festive joy and enhanced the enjoyments of life by refinement and gentleness. Gracefulness and beauty in social intercourse are therefore attributed to them. (Horat. Carm. iii. 21, 22; Pind. Ol. xiv. 7, &c.) They are mostly described as being in the service or attendance of other divinities, as real joy exists only in circles where the individual gives up his own self and makes it his main object to afford pleasure to others. The less beauty is ambitious to rule, the greater is its victory; and the less homage it demands, the more freely is it paid. These seen to be the ideas embodied in the Charites. They lend their grace and beauty to everything that delights and elevates gods and men. This notion was probably the cause of Charis being called the wife of Hephaestus, the divine artist. The most perfect works of art are thus called the works of the Charites, and the greatest artists are their favourites. The gentleness and gracefulness which they impart to man's ordinary pleasures are expressed by their moderating the exciting influence of wine (Hor. Carm. iii. 19. 15; Pind. Ol. xiii. 18), and by their accompanying Aphrodite and Eros. (Hom. Od. viii. 364, xviii. 194; Paus. vi. 24. § 5.) They also assist Hermes and Peitho to give grace to eloquence and persuasion (Hesiod. Op. 63), and wisdom itself receives its charms from them. Poetry, however, is the art which is especially favoured by them, whence they are called erasimolpoi or philêsimolpoi. For the same reason they are the friends of the Muses, with whom they live together in Olympus. (Hes. Theog. 64; Eurip. Herc. fur. 673; Theocrit. xvi. in fin.) Poets are inspired by the Muses, but the application of their songs to the embellishment of life and the festivals of the gods are the work of the Charites."
It certainly doesn't help that so many of the gods I focus on and are most important to my personal worship directly have them in their retinue or are their companions in the sense like the Mousai and the Horai where it's more an equal footing kind of thing versus what it's like with Hermes, Aphrodite, Apollon, Athene, Artemis, Dionysos, Hera, Hekate, and while it isn't noted anywhere, I can't see it in any other way than Hestia's inclusion as one of the trio leaders of festivities with Hermes and Dionysos and the Kharites embodying mirth, cheer/excitement, and festivities.
The best way to devote yourself to them and my go-to when I'm down and don't have the energy or focus and willpower to do much more is to do something for myself that will bring joy, comfort, and elation in their name. Hedonism and doing your hobbies go a long way with them.
Further reading:
The Graces in Ancient Greek Mythology
The Graces by Louis de Jaucourt
The three Graces, or the allegory of the gift published by Denis Vidal (also here if the other link dies)
Pausanias tries to visualize the three ‘Graces’ of Orkhomenos in Boeotia by Gregory Nagy
The Three Graces: Cosmic Harmony in Scève's Délie by Joan A. Buhlmann
The Three Graces: Composition and Meaning in a Roman Context by Jane Francis
highkey i love it when gods have such stark epithets ie
Aphrodite Philomeidēs vs Aphrodite Areia
(smile loving vs warlike)
apollo paeon vs Apollo Loimios
(healer vs plague bringer)
Dionysus Maenoles vs Dionysus Patroeus
(raging vs parental)
SUCH A DIFFERENCE WHAT??
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