🌟Star Prince🌟

-Brencis||He/Him||31- -Hellenic||Kitchen Witch||Oracle||Fae- -Dedicated to Apollo||Also work with Dionysus and Persephone||Child of Amphitrite-

[thoodleoo]

from a classicist perspective i know that the true forms of the gods are humongous but from a person who has good opinions about greek mythology perspective i know in my heart that hermes is 5'2

[feefal]

The ocean is sentient and she’s a pretty lady with water hair! Trust me, I went to science school.

[heartnosekid]

🌟 the name apollo ☀️

with gold for @thetransmascbadass!

☀️-🌟-☀️

🌟-☀️-🌟

☀️-🌟-☀️

[thatsbutterbaby]

Jean Cocteau, Apollo mit Lyra, 1950.

[incorrectmythology]

dionysus be like:

[greek-museums]

Archaeological Museum of Patra:

Four crowned skulls of two little girls, and two women, from the North Cemetery in Patras, from the Hellenistic Period. 

The first skull bears a wreath of gilded myrtle fruits. The deceased wore golden earrings. (300-275 B.C)

The second skull bears a wreath of fruits and myrtle flowers. The flowers are earthen, some gilded and others in a variety of colors. (late 4th-3rd cent. B.C)

The third skull bears a gilded myrtle wreath, where apart from the leaves, some of the small fruits have survived as well.

The fourth skull is also decorated with a gilded myrtle wreath. The shaft is made of lead and has been also perforated. Gilded bronze leaves and earthen fruits were attached to the small holes.

A detail from the heads of the two little girls. Damages to the skulls might have occured posthumously- it was not specified in the tags.

I have seen many luxurious funerary wreaths, made of gold, with extraordinary craftmanship, they are a particular trait of the burials of the Hellenistic period, and these burials were of particularly wealthy, aristocrats of the (Greek) Macedonian elite, usually families of soldiers associated with the campaigns of Alexander the Great. They were discovered either in ornately painted built tombs, under raised mounds, or well built cist graves, who often would also be decorated with painting.

But these burials of commoners, those wreaths of painted, clay flowers are the most touching of them all. It just shows you the exceptional love and care that existed in those ancient families.  

[othersidesofnobody]

Might have been better to to leave them in their graves. Let them rest in peace. How much time must pass before a grave is fair game for grave robbery?

[greek-museums]

Hello! Although I do agree about the suggestion that human remains should be treated with great sensitivity, and I too believe that this particular exhibit could have been presented with greater care. I have to clarify that their tombs were not looted.

Greece is a very small place and many times new buildings or great public works of infrastructure like highways or metro stations happen to be built over existing archaeological sites. In this case rescue excavations remove everything that can be salvaged so it won’t be destroyed by the building works.

In remote locations that cannot be guarded, the contents of found tombs are always transferred to archaeological museums and storage houses because looting is still a very unpleasant reality and so human remains and other grave finds are removed to be protected from actual grave robbers.

Most new archaeological museums will take care to present funerary objects, graves and human remains in a single hall devoted to them as an indication of the type of finds to be encountered in the necropolis of their area; to facilitate the work of researchers mostly and also educate people on the importance of protecting these sites so they won’t be looted in the future.

I think the best museum dedicated to presenting graves as they are found, in a less exhibitionistic manner, is the Archaeological Museum of Arta, and I am pretty sure in the future many other regional museums will be moved to follow its example.

So this is part of the effort to protect these human beings that once existed, and for a lot of locals visiting these funerary halls does produce a feeling of reverence towards these people.

[lovecorekiss]

Apotropaic Apollon

There is so much to Apollon I never see discussed. Usually, I’m having to fight Helios erasure and explain syncretism when it comes to Apollonian circles. Apollon fills many other rules than merely music or healing. Like Herakles, Hekate, Zeus, etc, Apollon is an apotropaic god.

Apotropaic roles are common within Ancient Greek religion. For example, you could pray to Keto to keep the monsters of the sea away. Even “negative” gods and spirits can take on Apotropaic functions.

Apollon has multiple Apotropaic epithets and roles. By his very nature, Apollon is an averter. His ‘darker’ aspects such as Smintheus could also take on an Apotropaic function. To owe to this, his silver bow was weapon of destruction and protection. It is by his bow that he averts plague and pestilence, but also by this very same bow he destroyed the Achaeans at Troy, defended his mother Leto, etc. Due to his apotropaic and deadly nature, Apollon is the one who both cleanses and brings forth evil to the city.

There are likely more than what I have found and listed, so I encourage you to study his apotropaic functions on your own. His apotropaic side is usually connected to averting plague and pestilence, as he is the lord of plague so keep that in mind.

Apollon Apotropaios

Apollon Apotropaios literally means “Apotropaic Apollon” or “Apollon Apotropaic.” Under this epithet, Apollon was classified as one of the gods who’s images were placed at city gates. As a plague god, Apollon’s image could be made to be drawing back an arrow and shooting away from the city. By gaining favour through gifts and sacrifices, Apollon would shoot the plague away from the city. In Rhodes, Apollon Apotropaios was worshipped alongside Hekate Propylaia and Hermes Propylaios.

Apollon Alexikakos

As an epithet, Alexikakos is used for multiple deities. Herakles, Zeus, Apollon, etc. all bare this epithet. Alexikakos means ‘averter of evil’, therefore marking any deity baring this epithet as having the power to advert evil. He was believed to have stopped the plague at Athens and therefore was honoured as Alexikakos there.

Averting war and disease both fell under Apollon’s power. The Ancient Greeks and Romans did not differentiate the two. Therefore, Apollon can keep both away. Especially as Alexikakos.

Apollon Akestor

This epithet has the same meaning as alexikakos, ‘averter of evil’. It designates him as an averter of evil and a healer. Therefore he can avert illness and bring forth good health.

Apollon Agyieus

Like the three-formed images of Hekate that guarded the streets, Apollon Agyieus stood at the door. Agyieus means “of the streets”, therefore marking him as the protector of the streets and public places. Apollon Agyieus was represented by a pointed column.

Apollon Loimios

Yet another plague averting epithet, Loimios means ‘the deliverer from plague’. This aspect was worshipped in Rhodes.

Apollon Smintheus

The epithet Smintheus is a complex and unusual epithet. Within the Iliad, Apollon’s priest calls upon Apollon as Smintheus and plague ensues, revenging the warriors, horses, etc. In the Hellenistic Era the epithet was identified with mice. Myths explaining the epithet describe Apollon being a destroyer and bringer of mice; bringer and averter of pestilence.

Due to his plague bringing ways, one may worship Apollon Smintheus to keep away the plague. Instead of invoking one of his aspects to avert, this would be invoking him to keep it away and hold back his plagues. Personally, I would invoke Apollon Smintheus to hold back the plague instead of just averting it. But that’s also because that’s an aspect of him I am very familiar with.

Application in praxis

The apotropaic power of Apollon can be invoked to avert sickness, illness, and other forces. Applying this in praxis can be simply praying to that aspect of him and worshipping him under these epithets. This could also extend to creating a spot for Apollon Agyieus to invoke his protection.

As Alexikakos, Apollon could also rid you of nasty spirits haunting you so feel free to invoke him for spiritual protection, especially Apotropaic magic. He could also avoid conflicts to come in your life; allowing you to have an easier time. Herakles Alexikakos can also repel bad spirits, as this was his aspect were he repels bad spirits.

Tldr; Apollon has multiple Apotropaic aspects: Apotropaios, Alexikakos, Akestor, Agyieus, Loimios. His epithet ‘Smintheus’ can also take on an Apotropaic meaning if invoked in that way. Apotropaic Apollon can avert evils, especially plague.

wordpress link

Bibliography

Larson, J. (2016). Understanding Greek Religion. Taylor & Francis.

Graf, F. (2008). Apollo (1st ed.). Routledge.

Johnston, S. I. (2013). Restless Dead: Encounters between the Living and the Dead in Ancient Greece (First ed.). University of California Press.

H., & Green, P. (2019). The Iliad: A New Translation by Peter Green (First ed.). University of California Press.

APOLLO – Greek God of Music, Prophecy & Healing. (2017). Theoi Greek Mythology. https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Apollon.html

Ogden, D. (2009). Magic, Witchcraft and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds: A Sourcebook (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.

[theslowesthnery]

i feel like shit so can i show you guys my favourite minotaur statues/sculptures

[theslowesthnery]

warning for artistic nudity i guess

first, there’s this lovely guy

if i don’t gush over back muscles assume i am dead

then there’s this unnecessarily horny theseus and minotaur

another theseus and minotaur. theseus leave the minotaur alone challenge

nice butts and back muscles, i approve

then there’s this gorgeous lad

but my favourite is this pensive li’l guy

please look at him and his little tail and how he’s leaning on his own horn and is kinda just trying to figure things out. amazing

thank you, that’s all

[theslowesthnery]

wait i forgot one

“well now i’m not doing it”

[explorerrowan]

Also, the minotaur was 100% the victim of the story. King Minos is a dick.

King Minos prayed to the gods to send him a bull to sacrifice. They did. Minos got greedy when he saw how cool the bull was that he refused to sacrifice it like he promised.

The gods noticed, and decided that if he was so horny for the bull, maybe they should make his wife Pasiphae (to whom he was already kind of an asshole) horny for it, too.

Pasiphae was so horny for the bull that she hired Daedalus the engineer to build her a cow fursuit so she could fuck the bull.

Deadalus did, because he knows better than to ask questions when royalty is in the mood to fuck something.

And she did. Wouldn’t fuck Minos at all, only the bull. And because it wasn’t a regular bull, but a bull sent by the gods, she got pregnant and gave birth to the minotaur.

King Minos is furious, especially since he knows it’s his own damn fault.

But he can’t just have the minotaur killed, because it’s his wife’s kid. Royal blood, sent by the gods. So he hires Daedalus to build the Labyrinth to put the minotaur in.

Daedalus and his son Icarus take years to build the Labyrinth. This poor minotaur child probably watched them building his prison all growing up, knowing that as soon as it was finished, his step-dad wanted to throw him in the bottom of it. Talk about way to fuck up a kid.

Once it’s built, Minos throws the minotaur in, and then, to make sure no one knew who the minotaur’s real parents were, or the secret how to get out of the Labyrinth, Minos threw Daedalus and his son Icarus in the Labyrinth, too.

Now, Daedalus is pretty clever, and remembers what an epic fursuit maker he is, so he makes bird wings for himself and Icarus out of feathers and beeswax. They escape out a window, and fly off.

Daedalus warns Icarus not to fly too low and get the wings wet with sea spray, and not to fly too high and melt the wax. But Icarus is so very into flying that he does both those things and drowns in the sea.

Minos eventually had a human son with Pasiphae, Androgeus. Unfortunately, Androgeus was a moron. There are different stories about how Androgeus got killed (won all the games at the Olympics, rubbed it in, and pissed off everyone enough that they assassinated him; the king of Athens talked him into stupidly fist-fighting his mother’s bovine side-piece), but Minos blamed Athens for Androgeus’ death.

So Minos waged war on Athens and won. And demanded that every 7 years, Athens send 7 young men and 7 young women to throw in the Labyrinth to get eaten by his stepson, the Minotaur.

Nevermind that Minos could have just sent, you know, food.

Theseus is a “hero” of Athens, but rather than target the real cause of all the problems, King Minos, he decides the best thing will be to rescue the Athenians thrown in the Labyrinth and slay the Minotaur.

Somehow, Theseus woos and elopes with Minos’ daughter Ariadne, and she gives him a huge ball of string so he can find his way in and out.

Theseus navigates the Labyrinth, kills the minotaur, rescues the Athenians, and sails home.

(Theseus is also kind of a dick, and abandons Ariadne on the island of Naxos on his way home to Athens. But Dionysus, the god of wine, finds her, picks her up, and marries her, so don’t worry, she got an upgrade.)

King Minos, never one to tolerate a single consequence without burning the world down with him, spent the next several years hunting Daedalus, deciding that it was somehow all the fault of his former best employee.

He went around asking people to weave a string through a nautilus shell, and if he found anyone that could, obviously that’s where Daedalus was hiding. Daedalus tied the string to an ant and had the ant walk all the way through.

Daedalus figured out Minos was after him, so he had some servant girls draw Minos a bath. They then boiled Minos alive in the bath.

Somehow, this qualified Minos to be one of the judges for the souls of the dead in Hades? Who knows. Motherfucker somehow keeps getting all the breaks instead of living with the consequences of his actions.

King Minos is the worst.

[headspace-hotel]

educational

[dotoro3]

this tumblr post has me in a vice grip

[karpetshark]

neapolitan cerberus

[skyebluew0lf]

GOOD. QUALITY. CONTENT.

[princet-ofthe-rivers]

10/10

[suonko]

Briton Rivière - Aphrodite 

[shiftythrifting]

Dicklamp at antique mall in Georgia

[terpsikeraunos]

ancient greek word of the day: χρυσωπός (chrysōpos), with golden eyes or face, beaming like gold, of the sun

[cafeinevitable-deactivated20220]

Pomegranate by Relm

ceramic sculpture

[nirnaetharnoediads-deactivated2]

Leonidas at Thermopylae, Jacques-Louis David [Detail] 

[hekateanwitchcraft]

The idea of worshipping deities being scary, difficult, and not for beginners that’s being popularized on TikTok is literally so absurd. Like these gods were worshipped by entire civilizations for millennia. WHICH INCLUDED LITERAL CHILDREN??? So no, you don’t have to be some advanced witch to start interacting with deities. If seven year olds could do it, so can you.

[thatsbutterbaby]

Jean Cocteau, Apollo mit Lyra, 1950.