If you had to pick a specific dynamic for Zeus and Metis, how would you depict them?
Wow my inbox is full of greek mythos questions!
So, actually my Zeus design is a system, and Metis is one of his alters! She wasn't always, but that's divine intervention for you.
I did this because Metis is a very finicky figure in mythology.
She's a goddess of deep thought, though her name implies something more of a trickster. Wisdom, and magical cunning. Daughter of Tethys and Oceanus. A serenity only the oceans could bring.
Her relationship with Zeus is often a loving one, with many viewing her as Zeus' first love.
It's important to note that Metis isn't always an actual person. Rather, most often, Metis is an aspect of Zeus, with the epithet Μητίετα (Mêtieta), meaning "the Wise Counsellor."
That said, the myth goes that Metis was the advisor of Zeus. She helped him develop the poison that saved the first Olympians from the stomach of their father.
After the 10-year war Titanomachy, Zeus pursued Metis, and they married. In his mind, she was indispensable and important. A threat. Still he lay with her, he loved her. However, a prophecy from his grandparents Gaia and Uranus, kept him awake at night.
It was said that Metis would birth a daughter wiser than she, and a son more powerful than his father. A child that would eventually overthrow Zeus and take his place.
Enveloped in fear, and wishing to forestall (merely prolong) this fate, Zeus tricked Metis. Convinced her to turn herself into something small, and ate her.
She was already pregnant. In his head she rested, birthing and raising athena in his mind, advising him even still.
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Still, others say she was a victim, changing into smaller and smaller creatures to evade the new king.
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I view their relationship as something bittersweet. A love never meant to last. She never wanted to be loved, but she knew better. He knew better than to love, but he wanted to.
What is your opinion on the myth of Zeus and Ganymede? Do you view Ganymede as a minor in that story? Is it a romantic/sexual relationship? And more importantly do you have a Ganymede design or interpretation of your own?
Ganymede is a fascinating story, honestly.
Hailed as THE "gay" myth, Ganymede has become a figure synonymous with homoeroticism.
(Picture at bottom.)
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Originally a very simple story, Ganymede is a child of Tros. The Dardanian (/Trojan) prince was the most handsome of all mortals, even from his youth.
The fellow Olympians, seeing this, took him to Olympus to be Zeus' personal cup-bearer as a gift befitting their king. Not to replace Hebe, but to be in-tandem. Working alongside her. Hebe as wine-pourer to all the other gods, while Ganymede serviced exclusively Zeus.
Some sources say it was Zeus himself, or his bird Aëtos that swept Ganymede from the mortal realm.
Regardless, Zeus delivered divine horses by messenger Hermes to Ganymede's father Tros. Along with a consoling message that Ganymede was safely among the land of the gods, a great distinction and title for their bloodline.
It is said that Zeus granted Ganymede immortality and an eternally youthful appearance. He cast Ganymede among the stars as the constellation Aquarius.
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In astronomy, the largest moon of Jupiter is named after this divine cup-bearer, said to have rivaled even Hera for her husband's affections.
Some say Zeus and Ganymede had a very profound relationship. Some say it was desire and physical attraction. Others, such as Socrates, argue it was an attraction to the psyche.
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Personally I feel the relationship started strictly as a cup-bearer/God dynamic. As time progressed, I don't doubt Zeus and Ganymede got more intimate.
I feel that Ganymede may forever LOOK young, but that he still gets older. It's not like he can die now, of course.
I could believe that he was young when he was abducted. A teen at the youngest, I'd say.
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I actually put my Ganymede to Canvas just for this ask! :D
Any thoughts on calypso? I think people hate her for no damn reason.
This one is a little heavy.
Content Warnings for talk of Rape, Suicide, Entrapment, and Coercion. If I've missed any, please let me know.
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So, of course we know Calypso doesn't have much lore. She's only really mentioned in The Odyssey. However, we do know that Calypso has unique abilities that are utilized in her story.
Her name means "She Who Conceals." A testament to how she conceals Odysseus and her island from the world, hiding away in true "no one can hear you scream" fashion.
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Calypso's parentage is some of the most varied family trees I've covered here. She even has some other divine sisters (Circe/Metis) in certain variations.
There are many options, such as:
Oceanus and Tethys (Metis Relation) (Hesiod)
Atlas (Homer's Odyssey) and Pleione (Fabulae)
Nereus and Doris (Nereid) (Apollodorus)
Helios and Perse (Circe Relation) (John Tzetzes).
It varies from media to media. It's believed John Tzetzes wrote Calypso as a child of Helios and Perse due to a common confusion of Calypso and Circe as a result of their overlapping behaviors and connection to Odysseus.
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It is said that Calypso was an enemy during Titanomachy, a war between the Olympians and titans. She fought on the side of the titans, often connected to her titan parentage.
However, Riordan (author of the "Percy Jackson" series) took a lot of liberties in his writing. While the exact origin of the idea that Calypso was "trapped" or "banished" is lost to time, early known sources of her story imply she still held an amicable connection with the Olympians.
In other words, after Titanomachy, she likely wasn't "banished" to Ogygia as a punishment, but rather it's simply where she lives. Ogygia is a mythical island that flourished and was filled with lush vegetation. Narratively, it describes the end of the known world, and acts as an embodiment of the harrowing decision to choose between immortal comfort or mortal duty.
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Her island, concealed, unable to be found or escaped is, as many have come to know, a paradise. When a worn and half-dead Odysseus washes ashore, Calypso nurses him to health.
Most famously, Calypso held him on her island. Some say it was a favor to Poseidon, some say it was a curse of love (Riordan), and others say it was her immediate love for Odysseus in particular that drew her to such a decision.
She offered him immortality, and sensual pleasures beyond his mortal dreams in exchange for his freedom. Stay with her, and he could have it all. He notably denies all of her offers.
Despite his frequent wishes to go home, Calypso enchants him with her song as she would weave on her loom. For seven (7) years, Calypso held him prisoner, forcing him to be her husband. It is believed this singing also keeps her island concealed, serving to hypnotize and hide her victim, Odysseus.
As time went on, Odysseus wished for things to change. He missed Penelope (his wife), and couldn't bear to be apart from her any longer. Though he wished to tell Calypso, he rather spent his days on cliffsides or shores, crying under the sun (some believe going as far as attempting to kill himself, or trying to escape), and his nights in bed with her against his will.
The language from the time is quite vague, but considering later details, we can safely presume "in bed" means nights of sex that Odysseus went through with non-consentually as a means of survival when imprisoned by a divine goddess. That is to say, he was raped, likely every night, for 7 years.
This point is often contested, and Odysseus' consent is often debated. However, it was well believed that any rejection of the gods would result in punishment. Most famously, the story of Cassandra, a woman that rejected the advances of Apollo; a story for another time. The power imbalance was simply too great to be "fair," or truly "consensual" in the case of Ogygia.
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Odysseus' patron goddess Athena asks Zeus to order the release of the hero from the confines of the island. He sends Hermes, in a quite famous moment, to deliver the order.
It was not Odysseus' fate to spend his days with Calypso, of course.
Upon being told to release him, Calypso chided about the double-standards. Noting how the Gods hate for Goddesses to participate in affairs with mortals (even though Zeus and other male gods did so often).
Begrudgingly, Calypso complies. Providing Odysseus with everything he would need to build a boat and travel safely, she sets the wind at his back and he departs Ogygia at last after 7 long years.
Jorge Rivera-Herrans' EPIC: The Musical, provides a key dialogue in this moment; a confession. That she loves him; and for a moment, he does to. Though, with the idea that this is a victim of rape, Odysseus could likely have developed a sort of Stockholm Syndrome. That is, to say he grew to care for her as a means to survive.
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In the wake of Odysseus' departure, her fate becomes muddled.
Some sources say that Odysseus promised to return one day, and so she forever waits for him. Others argue she may have jumped from a cliff on her island, consumed with grief as she killed herself. Still, others say she moved on from Odysseus, and now lives her days out on her island just as before.
As for Odysseus himself, we have a good idea at the impact his imprisonment had.
On his travels home, Odysseus stopped ashore another polis, where he was kindly tended and offered xenia. He accepted food, gifts, and well wishes. However he refused the touch of maidens to bathe him, instead cleaning himself and making haste to depart home once more.
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Some variations of her story provides that Calypso bore children to Odysseus, which of course was "in bed" against his will, adding to the idea that it was rape. These children include:
Nausithous
Nausinous
Latinus (often attributed to Circe instead)
It is also suggested in Catalogue of Women, that Calypso birthed the Cephalonians to Hermes.
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I believe that, while Calypso is inexcusable in her actions, modern storytelling has been quite kind to her in comparison to any other deity.
From Riordan labeling her love as a curse bestowed upon her to love anyone she comes across, to some in history saying she was just as trapped on Ogygia as Odysseus. Even still, others sparking debates about the language in this tale.
Be honest, if the roles had been reversed, how likely would it be that such kindness would be extended?
"It wasn't rape and imprisonment, it was love! They were just sharing a bed, he didn't rape her. Anything that happened was consensual!"
I won't say that people aren't overly harsh on her compared to gods. They certainly are, and it gives credit to her words that the gods are hypocrites.
However, that isn't to say that disliking her isn't reasonable, especially that this is the only myth we have of her.
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I'm not here to help anyone form any opinions on these figures. This was as unbiased as I could get while keeping the narrative cohesive.
Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of her as a being. However, from a narrative and storytelling perspective, she serves her purpose well, and is a strong piece of symbolism. The choice between comfort you can't refuse, and the dutiful obligation to leave it behind for the fate you're set to live. It's pervasive, and enchanting. You want to give in to that comfort so that it hurts less to ignore it, but you can't; you won't.
