War's Spirit

Within old Sparta

Bound by chains, forged of iron

The spirit of War

Vigilant, he stands

The wild bane of Olympus

Ares, Lord of War

Unrivalled in might

Death lies within his nature

With bloodthirst and war

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Queen Of Hades

Draped in November skies,
Ashen meadows she leaves
In her amaranthine wake
As she ascends her Hadean throne
And adorned once again
With Death's primordial crown:
The Queen of Midwinter

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Gorgon

A beautiful maiden was she,
whom pledged herself to Athena,
With a celibate’s vow, as a Priestess,
And her heart, so full of joy

But the ocean’s Lord lusted for her,
And his advances she would deny,
Athena’s service she was within
And that oath, she would not betray

Then the fateful day would come,
When the Ocean’s Lord would claim,
With force and rage, that which was not his
Her innocence, her purity, violated

Soon Athena learned, of that grim crime,
that unhallowed her Temple grounds
Her fury, she would unleash, ever so vile
Upon her Priestess, so loyal

And so, the Priestess, once so beautiful,
Was morphed from maiden to Beast,
Snakes now grew, where her hair once was
And her legs, a python’s scaly body

Vilified for a crime, which hers was not,
From Athens, she fled, to lands distant
Sorrow took root in her heart
But soon to be replaced by venomous fury

Vengeance, she swore against Athena,
Against the Ocean’s Lord, and Olympus,
For her curse gave the means of revenge
“Hell hath no fury, like the Gorgon scorned!”

Gorgon is based on Ovid's version of Medusa's story, which can be found in his work, Metamorphoses (Book IV). This poem will also be featured in my upcoming book: She Set The Sky Ablaze.

Image source: quora.com.

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Mythology: Laima

Laima is one of the many figures that appears in Baltic mythology and appeared in both Latvia's and Lithuania's pre-Christian religions. She is regarded as a goddess of fate and fortune, and is associated with the linden tree. Another of Laima's functions was as the patron of pregnant women.

 In Latvian beliefs, Laima and her sisters, Karta and Dekla, were a trio of fate goddesses - a role similar to that of the Norse Norns and the Greek Moirai. In this role, Laima's functions and roles were more associated with mothers and child birth. Whereas in Lithuanian beliefs, Laima could appear as either one goddess or as a trio. She also had many functions and duties, one of the most important of these was to map out how a newborn's life would proceed.

Image source: Journeying To The Goddess.

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Mythology: Vesta

As May is generally accepted to be the month of the fire celebration, Beltane, I thought it would only be fair to write about a fire deity. In the case, Vesta, Roman goddess of the Hearth, And on that note, a poem I wrote about her can be found in this lovely Beltane anthology.

In Roman mythology, Vesta is the Goddess associated with fire - in particular the hearth fire. She was also regarded as the guardian of the Roman people and of the city itself. Vesta was such an important deity in Roman mythology that she was counted as one of the Dii Consentes - literally, the 12 most honoured deities in the Roman pantheon, similar to the 12 Olympians of Graeco mythology.

There are few stories involving Vesta, which is surprising given her importance. The ones that are known about her are limited to tales of immaculate conception involving a phallus appearing in flames, which, I suppose, in a way is contradictory Vesta and her priestesses (The Vestals) were celibate.

Vesta, unlike many of the other Roman gods, was very rarely depicted in human form. She was depicted as fire, a fire stick or a ritual phallus. She was seen as a well-behaved deity, in that she didn't bother with the quarrelling of the other gods and she was regarded as the cleanest of the all the gods, which makes sense, given that a number of cultures view fire as something that cleanses. The ritual phallus on the other hand is associated with Vesta's connection to agriculture and fertility.

In her temple, rather than a statue, there was a fire that was dedicated to her - The Eternal Flame. The belief was that the fire had to re-lit every year to ensure the preservation and continuity of the Roman state. Clearly the Vestal Virgins didn't do their job properly since the Empire ultimately crumbled.

Image source: sara-otterstaetter.homepage.t-online.de

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Mythology: Vidar

When it comes to Norse mythology, most people will at least know of Odin, Thor and Loki. Especially since the release of Marvel's Thor. Anyway, Norse mythology is full of interesting figures, be they heroes, gods, dwarves, elves, and so on and so on. When I first developed a true interest in Norse mythology in my teenage years, there was one god I was absolutely fascinated with and that was Vidar.

Vidar is one of the sons of Odin and a half-brother to Thor. According to the myths, Vidar was the strongest of all the gods after Thor. He was also a quiet god, being as "silent as the grave".

There isn't much known about Vidar compared to the more prominent figures in Norse mythology. He does appear occasionally in the Poetic and Prose Edda. He is best known for his role at Ragnarok (The end of the current cycle but I'll cover Ragnarok in another post). At Ragnarok, Vidar avenges his father, Odin, by slamming his boot into the lower of jaw of Fenrir and grabbing the wolf's upper jaw and gradually tears the beast in two. The boot that Vidar uses to pin Fenrir's lower jaw in place is said to be bigger than the average boot, as it's made from the leather scraps of other boots that people have thrown away for Vidar to collect.  

Vidar is one of the gods that survives Ragnarok and starts the new cycle, along with his brother Vali and other members of the Aesir.

Image source: The Elder or Poetic Edda; commonly known as Sæmund's Edda. Edited and translated with introduction and notes by Olive Bray. Illustrated by W.G. Collingwood (1908)

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Mythology: Medeina

I think it's time for another mythology posting. Today, I'm writing about Medeina, the Baltic hunt goddess.

Medeina is one of the prominent deities of the Lithuanian pantheon. According to some sources, she would take one of two forms. The first being a young woman and the second being the form of a she-wolf, in which she would lead a pack of wolves.

In a way, Medeina is an Artemis-like figure, though this is a bit of a simplification, as some of her roles differ from that of her Graceo-Roman counterpart.While Medeina is regarded as a goddess of the hunt, she protected wild animals as opposed to lending aid to hunters. According to the myths, she would send a leaping hare out to lure hunters away from their path. Interestingly enough though, according to my friend Kat, during in spring, the first hunted animal would be sacrificed to Medeina.

The Hypatian Codex states that Medeina is one of the pagan deities worshipped by the Lithuanian King Mindaugas. I recall reading somewhere that he had such a respect for Medeina that if he ever saw a hare while hunting, he would leave the forest immediately for fear of incurring her wrath. Let's be honest, if any of us iknew there was a deity roaming near us that would possibly maim us or worse, we'd get as far away as possible.

According to research by French-Lithuanian scientist Algirdas Julien Greimas she was unwilling to marry though she is a voluptuous and beautiful huntress, however there is some academic confusion to as her relation to the grove god, Giraitis - he is either regarded as her twin brother or her lover.

One of Medeina's earlier roles in the Lithuanian pantheon was that of vested military interest of warriors. Sadly, after the Baptism of Lithuania, Medeina's cult declined and ultimately diminsihed.

Image source: http://maxkennedy24.tumblr.com/post/136322885822

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Mythology: Giltine

It's been a while since I've last made a blog post, mainly due to laziness and partly because of working. Anyway, I've decided to make more of blog and start writing about mythology on here, as well as updates about my current projects and so on.

So, to start my series of mythology postings, I've decided to write about Giltine, the Baltic goddess of death. I recently came across her in my research for She Set the Sky Ablaze and I have to say, I found her story to be quite interesting. My friend Kat gave me quite a bit of information on her.

The story goes that Giltine was once a beautiful woman and for some reason (which isn't stated in the myths), she was deceived and trapped in a coffin for seven years. After she emerged or escaped from the coffin, she was no longer beautiful. Instead, she became a hideous woman, with a long nose and a long, venomous tongue.

The myths about Giltine state that if she would appear at the top of one's bed, it meant your time was up but if she would appear at the bottom of your bed, while you were ill, it meant you would recover. She was also alleged to have spent her days in graveyards, feeding on the dead, which helped keep her tongue venomous.

As stated above in this post, Giltine was trapped in a coffin for seven years. The belief was that you could trap her in a nut shell to prevent, temporarily, a loved one's death, however doing this would invoke her wrath. One of my friends, Vytaute, feels that this is why she was trapped in the coffin.

Giltine's appearance is that of a slim woman, dressed in white, though this is possibly a manifestation after the baptism of Lithuania. Giltine has also been described as the sister of Laima, the goddess of fate and death. One other thing that my friend Kat told me about Giltine, is that around the time of All Soul's Day (2nd November), she would make rice ales or something to that extent for the homeless, so they;d pray for those who have passed on.

While Giltine may come across as being a scary figure in Baltic mythology and folklore, I wouldn't say she's evil as so many death deities are portrayed. She is simply an agent of fate, the one who pulls the plug on us when our time has come.

Image source: Piper Fantasy.

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