#parthenos

[herpsandbirds]

Blue Clipper (Parthenos sylvia cyaneus), family Nymphalidae, Sri Lanka

This species is wide ranging across South and SE Asia, has many subspecies, and comes in a variety of colors.

photograph by Ranmini Gunasekera

[deathlessathanasia]

Does the word "virgin" carried the same meaning to the Ancient Greeks as it does today? Were Athena, Artemis, and Hestia universally accepted as the virgin goddesses, and are there any other goddesses that were also referred as such?

The word „parthenos” is often taken to refer primarily to an unmarried girl/young woman, and you might encounter this as a justification for interpretations that make those goddesses sexually active. However, an unmarried girl was also assumed and expected to be physically a virgin; that is, parthenos also = a girl who, as far as it is known, hasn't engaged in (hetero)sexual intercourse yet. Still, the word parthenos could be used to describe a woman who not only has had sex, but has also borne a child.

“Unlike the modern notion of physical virginity (someone who has never had sex), a parthenos was a girl who had not clearly been shown to have had sex. A new bride might be referred to as a parthenos, as could a woman who had had sex but had hidden the evidence. Kreusa, in Euripides’s Ion, is the mother by Apollo of Ion (whom she exposes as an infant). Although the play’s chorus knows this about Kreusa, they nevertheless call her a parthenos, not because she is physically a virgin, and not even because she is not yet a mother, but because her social standing is that of a woman who is not known to be a mother. Thus, the ancient Greek term parthenos had more to do with how one was perceived by society than with the physical state of one’s body.” - The Ancient Greeks: New Perspectives by Stephanie Lynn Budin

„On the one hand, the noun parthenia denotes a condition that can be taken, λαμβάνειν,(Eschines, letter 10), and taken away, ἀφελέσθαι (Pollux, Onomastikon,3, 42). It is a treasure that can be protected, φυλάσσειν (Greek Anthology,9, 44). … There is ample evidence, therefore, that if a parthenos is endowed with parthenia, she possesses “something”. To complicate the semantic picture, parthenia may seem to be there, although sometimes it is not, or not any longer. The evidence includes the word pseudo-parthenos, in Herodotus’ narrative on the young women who, in libya, fight to determine who is still a true parthenos and who is a false one; the ordeals of virginity in Greek novels, and the definition of the word parthenios or parthenias, as the child of a “seemingly” parthenos. This semantic divergence places us in a tight spot. On the one hand, since parthenia can be taken, lost, or protected, in a sexual act, a woman who may either preserve parthenia, or be deprived of it, is supposed to have a quality that must be sexual, and cannot be a mere social status. On the other hand, since a parthenios or parthenias is defined as the offspring of a parthenos, this ought to imply that a woman can have sex, bear a child, and still be denominated parthenos. …

Ultimately, we have to decide: a parthenos must be either an unwed, or a vaginally un-penetrated, young woman. The utterances and the definitions to be found in our sources generate this semantic quandary. We can extricate ourselves out of it, by reading carefully the work of ancient lexicographers. The terms parthenios and parthenias, we learn, refer to the “child of an unmarried woman”, but more precisely of a woman who is believed to bea parthenos. … Pollux’ Onomastikon (III, 21) explains that, if a child is called parthenias, this is because “he was born of a woman who is supposed to be a parthenos”, ἐκ τῆς δοκούσης εἶναι παρθένου. In Hesychius, we read that parthenioi are called that way, “because we believe that those who engender them are still parthenoi”, ἁπό τοῦ δοκεῖνἔτι παρθένους εἶναι. The Suidas defines partheneios as “the one who was engendered by what appears to be still a parthenos”, ἐκ παρθένου ἔτιδοκούσης. We also see similar definitions in the Scholia to the Iliad, IV, 499, and to Pindar, Olympian, II, 48, … A parthenios is the child of a woman “still believed” (ἔτι νομιζομένης) to be a parthenos. These glosses agree that there is a quality – that of being a parthenos – which can be still taken for granted and attributed to a woman, even when it is no longer the case. The adverb ἔτι, “still”, points to a time-sensitive error. We keep believing that the woman is, still now, ἔτι, what she has ceased to be. This cannot mean that we were misinformed as to the date of her wedding. …

Medical language confirms the corporeal reality of the virginal condition. The anonymous writer of Diseases of Virgins, as Helen King tells us, accounts for a disorder that strikes “girls who, despite being ‘ripe for marriage’ remain unmarried. In the body of a girl of this age there is a greater quantity of blood than usual ‘because of food and the growth of the body’. This blood, moving towards the womb ready to leave the body, is unable to escape because the ‘mouth of exit’ is not open”. What matters are the repercussions of non-marriage on the body, because no-marriage means no-sex. As I just mentioned, Soranos explains that parthenia is highly recommendable, in opposition to the damages caused by the emission of seed, and by maternity. The entire discussion involves arguments about semen, menstruations, defloration, pregnancy, strength, weakness, movement and other physical alterations. In both texts, the point is the impact, positive or negative, of heterosexual – and, crucially, prolific, coition – upon the female body.” - The Hymen Is a Problem, Still. Virginity, Imperforation, and Contraception, from Greece to Rome by Giulia Sissa

Were Hestia, Athena and Artemis universally considered parthenoi? I don't know about "universally". Strabo for instance mentions a tradition from Rhodes stating that the Korybantes were sons of Helios and Athena. Several other deities are occasionally or more frequently called maidens: Persephone, Dike, Hekate, Iris, the Graces, the Muses, Britomartis, etc. Some of these do have male consorts and/or children, at least sometimes. Hera had a noteworthy parthenos aspect too but that hardly makes her a virgin goddess.

[saritawolf]

Blue Clipper Butterfly (Parthenos sylvia lilacinus) - (c) SaritaWolf - please do not repost

[fleurbleedinghearts]

I always get really devastated remembering that all of Ariadne's sons were mortal and died

but it does make me happy to know that a couple of her granddaughters Hemithea and Parthenos were immortalized (by Apollo!)

I'm glad she has some immortal family besides Dionysus, Pasiphaë, & her grandfathers Zeus & Helios. I like to think she would been a nice grandma too.

[thelaurenshippen]

my dear friend Olivia Buntaine, playwright extraordinaire, has a new audio drama out that's all about teen girlhood, greek mythology, christianity, and shakespeare. Olivia rules and this show rules and you should listen!

[nike-apteros]

"Athena Parthenos"

Acrylic painting by American artist Lynn Curlee of Pheidias' 38ft gold and ivory masterpiece of Athena that stood in the Parthenon 🏛

Current asking price £19,791 /$25,500 🏛🦉

[my-name-is-apollo]

So my dash got a little dark and grim from all the talk about the punishments imposed on the mortals by Apollo for their hubris. So to lighten things up, here are some instances where Apollo is being kind and helpful

Hecuba: One of my favorite post troajn war tidbits is that after Troy was sacked, Apollo carried away Hecuba to his sacred land Lycia to keep her safe. If you didn't know, they had previously been lovers, so this really shows that Apollo cared a lot for her even after they weren't lovers anymore.

Prometheus: Prometheus was cruelly punished for a long time, but when Apollo, Artemis and Leto saw him, they straight away went to Zeus, and Apollo implored him to free the titan, while Artemis and Leto stood there crying, unable to speak anything. Since Zeus had high regards for Apollo's words, and because he was moved by the tears of the goddesses, he decided to do as his son requested and sent Hercules to free Prometheus.

Periphas: Periphas was a great king who loved his subjects and respected all the gods. He was a priest of Apollo as well. Eventually he became so popular that people started worshipping him in Zeus's place. Zeus was having none of this and decided to destroy the king and his entire kingdom. But since he was such a devoted and noble man, Apollo stopped Zeus and requested his father to spare the king. Zeus heeded Apollo's request and spared the king from death. But he turned Periphas into an Eagle and made the Eagle his own companion.

Molpadia and Parthenos: they were the sisters of one of his lovers named Rhoeo. Their father was Staphylos, a son of Dionysus. One day, Staphylos assigned to his daughters the work of watching over a wine casket that was an ancestral gift. The girls, however, fell asleep while watching it, during which swines came and destroyed it. Afraid of the cruel punishment their father would give to them, they jumped off a mountain to kill themselves instead of facing their father. But Apollo caught them in time and carried them away to a far away place. He then made them immortal and bade the people to worship these two as goddesses.

Aphrodite: when Adonis died, Aphrodite was heartbroken. She knew of a rock, called rock of Leukates, which had the powers to heal heartbreak, so she went in search of that rock. She finally found it in Apollo's temple. There, she goes to Apollo and pours out all her grief. Apollo consoles her, and tells her how to use the rock of Leukates. He tells her to take leap from the rock, and when Aphrodite does that, her heartbreak is cured.

Well there are still a lot more such instance, these were just some of my favourites.

[artbyanca]

Another member of the “Aphrodite holds no power over here” squad: Athena, goddess of wisdom, war and crafts.