Blog on: Mythology and Humanity, Literature Once Read In High School
(1.)
Of Mythology And The Tales Of The Seven Sisters
Man that walks beneath winds of searching doom
Ever seeking treasured filled rooms
Therein lusting for all and all the more
Drinking in war and its murderous roar.
From words of a wizen sage- what is Life
But a zagged cut from a rusty knife?
From the dregs of a poisoned chalice,
Whispers uttered in the king's palace
Seeds of pain laced with life-moans of dread
Within deep agonies of Hades' dead.
From words of a wizen sage- what is Life
But a zagged cut from a rusty knife?
Forbidden, wretched agonies of Hades
Wondrous, bright glimmerings of the Pleiades
Asterope weeping in night skies above
Innocence ravaged, forcing her love.
From words of a wizen sage- what is Life
But a zagged cut from a rusty knife?
Stars and tales of damaged gods of old
Mankind believing such as it was told
Yet existing upon this floating speck
In greed's name, savaging earth, creating wrecks.
From words of a wizen sage- what is Life
But a zagged cut from a rusty knife?
Zeus striding across towering mountains
Commander of all life giving fountains
Once a wrathful god but now just a myth
Even He, Death cut with its mighty scythe.
From words of a wizen sage- what is Life
But a zagged cut from a rusty knife?
Robert J. Lindley, 3-12-2021
Rhyme, ( Wondrous Tales From The School Literature Of My Youth )
Of Mythology and Humanity…
(With Tribute given to Homer) , ( "The Iliad And The Odyssey")
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(2.)
As Destiny And Fate, The Olympic Gods Destroyed
As time plays its ancient dirge
Did not Zeus fly down to sate his deep urge
Not as a fallen god among mere men
But ravenous pillager of women
In such depraved deeds man still gave way
Gathering in temples to his name pray
And blindness held its grip on mortal souls
Seen, fallacy mythology extols.
Ancient Greeks believed in such Olympic truths
As a model to mode their warrior youth
Praising the gods for their powerful might
Blinded to the truth denying true light
In Nature's beauty they saw god faces
Honoring such by Olympic races
Man raced forward and its folly found
Set about to Prometheus unbound.
The gods so angered swift were their wraths
Futile their standing in man's raging paths
O' pity the tale of Olympic fall
And Fate and Death's sad final curtain call
For mankind saw they were not truly gods
Left them to die as it stalwartly plods.
Wherein mankind found yet another way.
Leaving gods in temples bound to decay.
Robert J. Lindley, 3-12-2021
Rhyme, ( Wondrous Tales From The School Literature Of My Youth )
Of Mythology And Humanity…
(With Tribute given to Homer) , ( "The Iliad And The Odyssey")
Note:
Pleiades, in Greek mythology, the seven daughters of the Titan Atlas and the Oceanid Pleione: Maia, Electra, Taygete, Celaeno, Alcyone, Sterope, and Merope. They all had children by gods (except Merope, who married Sisyphus).
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https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pleiades-Greek-mythology
Pleiades
Greek mythology
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Haiphong cyclone | tropical cyclone, Pacific Ocean [1881]
Pleiades, in Greek mythology, the seven daughters of the Titan Atlas and the Oceanid Pleione: Maia, Electra, Taygete, Celaeno, Alcyone, Sterope, and Merope. They all had children by gods (except Merope, who married Sisyphus).
mythology. Greek. Hermes. (Roman Mercury)
BRITANNICA QUIZ
A Study of Greek and Roman Mythology
Who led the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece? Who is the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Ares? From fruits to winged sandals, test your knowledge in this study of Greek and Roman mythology.
The Pleiades eventually formed a constellation. One myth recounts that they all killed themselves out of grief over the death of their sisters, the Hyades. Another explains that after seven years of being pursued by Orion, a Boeotian giant, they were turned into stars by Zeus. Orion became a constellation, too, and continued to pursue the sisters across the sky. The faintest star of the Pleiades was thought to be either Merope, who was ashamed of loving a mortal, or Electra, grieving for Troy, the city of Dardanus, her son with Zeus.
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https://www.naic.edu/~gibson/pleiades/pleiades_myth.html
Pleiades Mythology
The mythology associated with the Pleiades cluster is extensive; Burnham alone devotes eight pages to the subject, and Allen more than twice that number (see references). Here only Greek legends are presented. Even so, these are manifold and often contradictory, being patched together from many different cultures over a long period of time. Further uncertainty is added by most Pleiads sharing names with otherwise unrelated mythological characters. So enjoy, but please do not consider this information to be infallible.
Possible Name Derivations
plein, `to sail', making Pleione `sailing queen' and her daughters `sailing ones.' The cluster's conjunction with the sun in spring and opposition in fall marked the start and end of the summer sailing season in ancient Greece.
pleos, `full', of which the plural is `many', appropriate for a star cluster.
peleiades, `flock of doves', consistent with the sisters' mythological transformation.
Genealogy
The Pleiad(e)s were the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione, and half-sisters of the Hyades, whose mother was Æthra (`bright sky'; a different Æthra than the mother of Theseus). They were perhaps also half-sisters of the Hesperides, who were daughters of either Night alone, or Atlas and Hesperis (`evening'), or Ceto and Phorcys. Both Pleione and Æthra were Oceanids, daughters of Oceanus and Tethys, the titans who ruled the outer seas before being replaced by Poseidon. Atlas (`he who dares' or `suffers'; from the Indo-European tel-, tla-, `to lift, support, bear'), another titan, led their war against the gods, and was afterward condemned by Zeus to hold up the heavens on his shoulders. The Pleiades were also nymphs in the train of Artemis, and together with the seven Hyades (`rainmakers' or `piglets'; individual Hyad names are not fully agreed upon) were called the Atlantides, Dodonides, or Nysiades, nursemaids and teachers to the infant Bacchus. The Hesperides (`nymphs of the west'), apparently not counted in this, were only three, and dwelled in an orchard of Hera's, from which Heracles fetched golden apples in his eleventh labor.
Individual Sisters
For each, a name translation is given first, followed by available biographical information, and parallel stories of like-named characters.
Alcyone or Halcyone - `queen who wards off evil [storms]' -
Seduced by Poseidon and gave birth to either Hyrieus (the name of Orion's father, but perhaps not the same Hyrieus) or Anthas, founder of Anthæa, Hyperea, and Halicarnassus.
Another Alcyone, daughter of Æolus (guardian of the winds) and Ægiale, married Ceyx of Trachis; the two jokingly called each other Hera and Zeus, vexing those gods, who drowned Ceyx in a storm at sea; Alcyone threw herself into the sea at the news, and was transformed into a halcyon (kingfisher). Legend has it the halcyon hen buries her dead mate in the winter before laying her eggs in a compact nest and setting it adrift on the sea; Æolus forbids the nest to be disturbed, so the water is calm for 14 days centered on the winter solstice, called the Halcyon Days. The actual bird does not build nests however; instead the story probably derives from an old pagan observance of the turning season, with the moon-goddess conveying a dead symbolic king of the old year to his resting place. Though this Alcyone and the Pleiad Alcyone appear to be separate individuals, they may be related: in 2000 BC, a vigorous period of ancient astronomy, the Pleiades rose nearly four hours earlier than they do today for the same time of year, and were overhead at nightfall on the winter solstice, when the Halcyon supposedly nested; their conjunction with the sun during spring equinoxes at that time may have something to do with the association of the cluster with birds, which are often used as symbols of life and renewal.
Asterope or Sterope - `lightning', `twinkling', `sun-face', `stubborn-face' (Indo-European ster-, `star', `stellar', `asterisk', etc.) -
In some accounts, ravished by Ares and gave birth to Oenomaus, king of Pisa. In others, Oenomaus was her husband, and they had a beautiful daughter, Hippodaima, and three sons, Leucippus, Hippodamus, and Dysponteus, founder of Dyspontium; or, Oenomaus may instead have had these children with Euarete, daughter of Acrisius.
Another Asterope was daughter of the river Cebren.
Still another was daughter of Porthaön, and may have been the mother of the Sirens, who lured sailors to their deaths with their enchanting singing.
A possible alternate name is Asterië (`of the starry sky' or `of the sun'), which may also be a name for the creatrix of the universe, Eurynome, in the Pelasgian myth. Graves mentions her as a Pleiad only in passing, with no other mention in the other references. Perhaps she was at one time a Pleiad when different names were used, or an earlier version of Sterope, whose name is similar; or perhaps Graves is incorrect. He also in passing calls the titan or oak-goddess Dione a Pleiad, without explanation or corroboration. Does the term have a broader meaning in some contexts?
Celæno - `swarthy' -
Had sons Lycus (``wolf'') and Chimærus (``he-goat'') by Prometheus. No other data.
Electra or Eleckra - `amber', `shining', `bright' (Indo-European wleik-, `to flow, run', as a liquid); electrum is an alloy of silver and gold, and means amber in Latin, as does the Greek elektron; Thales of Miletus noted in 600 BC that a rubbed piece of amber will attract bits of straw, a manifestation of the effects of static electricity (outer charge stripping via friction), and perhaps the origin of the modern term -
Wife of Corythus; seduced by Zeus and gave birth to Dardanus, founder of Troy, ancestor of Priam and his house. Called Atlantis by Ovid, personifying the family. May also, by Thaumas, be the mother of the Harpies, foul bird-women who lived in a Cretan cave and harried criminals, but this could be a different ocean-nymph of the same name.
Another Electra was a daughter of Oedipus, though this may not be the same Oedipus who killed his father and married his mother. She is said to be mother of Dardanus and Iason.
Yet another Electra was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytæmnestra, with an alternate name of Laodice, and with brother Orestes and sisters Chrysothemis and Iphigeneia (or Iphianassa), though the latter sister may have been Clytæmnestra's niece, adopted from Theseus and Helen. Agamemnon was king of Mycenæ and led the Greeks against Troy; he was murdered at his return by Clytæmnestra and her lover Ægisthus, both of whom Orestes and Electra killed in revenge, whence the psychological term `Electra complex'. This Electra was also wife to the peasant Pylades, and bore him Medon and Strophius the Second.
Maia - `grandmother', `mother', `nurse'; `the great one' (Latin) -
Eldest and most beautiful of the sisters; a mountain nymph in Arcadia. Seduced by Zeus and gave birth to Hermes. Later became foster-mother to Arcas, son of Zeus and Callisto, during the period while Callisto was a bear, and before she and Arcas were placed in the heavens by Zeus (she as Ursa Major, he as either Boötes or Ursa Minor).
Another Maia was the Roman goddess of spring, daughter of Faunus and wife of Vulcan (his Greek counterpart, Hephæstus, married Aphrodite instead). Farmers were cautioned not to sow grain before the time of her setting, or conjunction with the sun. The month of May is named after her, and is coincidentally(?) the month in which the solar conjunction happens. By our modern calendar, the conjunction occurred in April in early Roman times, with the shift since then due to the precession of the Earth's axis; but calendars too have changed over time, especially before the time of Julius Caesar, so the month and the cluster's solar conjunction may have lined up then as well.
Merope - `eloquent', `bee-eater', `mortal' -
Married Sisyphus (se-sophos, `very wise'), son of Æolus, grandson of Deucalion (the Greek Noah), and great-grandson of Prometheus. She bore Sisyphus sons Glaucus, Ornytion, and Sinon; she is sometimes also said to be mother of Dædalus, though others in the running are Alcippe and Iphinoë. Sisyphus founded the city of Ephyre (Corinth) and later revealed Zeus's rape of Ægina to her father Asopus (a river), for which Zeus condemned Sisyphus to roll a huge stone up a hill in Hades, only to have it roll back down each time the task was nearly done. Glaucus (or Glaukos) was father of Bellerophon, and in one story was killed by horses maddened by Aphrodite because he would not let them breed. He also led Lycian troops in the Trojan War, and in the Iliad was tricked by the Greek hero Diomedes into exchanging his gold armor for Diomedes' brass, the origin of the term `Diomedian swap'. Another Glaucus was a fisherman of Boeotia who became a sea-god gifted with prophecy and instructed Apollo in soothsaying. Still another Glaucus was a son of Minos who drowned in a vat of honey and was revived by the seer Polyidos, who instructed Glaucus in divination, but, angry at being made a prisoner, caused the boy to forget everything when Polyidos finally left Crete. The word glaukos means gleaming, bluish green or gray, perhaps describing the appearance of a blind eye if glaucoma (cataract) derives from it. Is the name Glaucus a reference to sight, or blindness, physical or otherwise? It is also curious that meropia is a condition of partial blindness.
Another Merope was daughter of Dionysus's son Oenopion, king of Chios; Orion fell in love with her, and Oenopion refused to give her up, instead having him blinded. Orion regained his sight and sought vengeance, but was killed by Artemis, or by a scorpion, or by some other means (many versions).
Yet another Merope and her sister Cleothera (with alternate names of Cameiro and Clytië for the two of them) were orphaned daughters of Pandareus.
Still another was mother of Æpytus by Cresphontes, king of Messenia. Her husband was murdered by Polyphontes, who claimed both her and the throne, but was later killed by Æpytus to avenge his father's death.
One last, more often known as Periboea, was wife of Polybus, king of Corinth. The two of them adopted the infant Oedipus after his father Laius left him to die, heeding a prophecy that his son would kill him, which, of course, he eventually did.
Taygete or Taygeta - ? tanygennetos, `long-necked' -
Seduced by Zeus and gave birth to Lacedæmon, founder of Sparta, to which she was thus an important goddess. In some versions of the story, she was unwilling to yield to Zeus, and was disguised by Artemis as a hind (female red deer) to elude him; but he eventually caught her and begot on her Lacedæmon, whereupon she hanged herself.
Another Taygete was niece to the first. She married Lacedæmon and bore Himerus, who drowned himself in a river after Aphrodite caused him to deflower his sister Cleodice. One of the Taygetes may have been mother to Tantalus, who was tormented in Hades with thirst and hunger for offending the gods; however his parentage is uncertain; his mother may instead be Pluto (not the Roman version of Hades), daughter of either Cronus and Rhea or Oceanus and Tethys, and his father Zeus or Tmolus.
Astromorphosis
One day the great hunter Orion saw the Pleiads (perhaps with their mother, or perhaps just one of them; see Merope above) as they walked through the Boeotian countryside, and fancied them. He pursued them for seven years, until Zeus answered their prayers for delivery and transformed them into birds (doves or pidgeons), placing them among the stars. Later on, when Orion was killed (many conflicting stories as to how), he was placed in the heavens behind the Pleiades, immortalizing the chase.
Lost Pleiad
The `lost Pleiad' legend came about to explain why only six are easily visible to the unaided eye (I have my own thoughts on this). This sister is variously said to be Electra, who veiled her face at the burning of Troy, appearing to mortals afterwards only as a comet; or Merope, who was shamed for marrying a mortal; or Celæno, who was struck by a thunderbolt. Missing Pleiad myths also appear in other cultures, prompting Burnham to speculate stellar variability (Pleione?) as a physical basis. It is difficult to know if the modern naming pays attention to any of this. Celæno is the faintest at present, but the "star" Asterope is actually two stars, each of which is fainter than Celæno if considered separately.
References
The information above was taken from:
Burnham's Celestial Handbook, Revised & Enlarged Edition, Robert Burnham Jr., 1976, Dover Publications Inc.
Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning, Richard Hinckley Allen, 1899, 1963, Dover reprint (Note: Allen's text on individual Pleiades stars can be found at Alcyone Systems.)
Star Lore of All Ages, William Tyler Olcott, 1911, 1931, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York
Star Tales, Ian Ridpath, 1988, Universe Books
The Age of Fable, Thomas Bullfinch, 1942, Heritage Press
The Greek Myths, Robert Graves, 1960, Pelican Books
The Reader's Encyclopedia 2/e, William Rose Benet, 1965, Thomas Y. Crowell Company
American Heritage Dictionary, 1965
Fundamentals of Physics 2/e, David Halliday and Robert Resnick, 1986, John Wiley & Sons, New York
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_epic_poems
List of epic poems
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This list can be compared with two others, national epic and list of world folk-epics.[1]
This is a list of epic poems.
Ancient epics (to 500)
Before the 8th century BC
Epic of Gilgamesh (Mesopotamian mythology)
Epic of Lugalbanda (including Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave and Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird, Mesopotamian mythology)
Epic of Enmerkar (including Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta and Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana, Mesopotamian mythology)
Atrahasis (Mesopotamian mythology)
Enuma Elish (Babylonian mythology)
The Descent of Inanna into the Underworld (Mesopotamian mythology)
Legend of Keret (Ugaritic mythology)
Cycle of Kumarbi (Hurrian mythology)
8th to 6th century BC
Iliad, ascribed to Homer (Greek mythology)
Odyssey, ascribed to Homer (Greek mythology)
Works and Days, ascribed to Hesiod (Greek mythology)
Theogony, ascribed to Hesiod (Greek mythology)
Shield of Heracles, ascribed to Hesiod (Greek mythology)
Catalogue of Women, ascribed to Hesiod (Greek mythology; only fragments survive)
Cypria, Aethiopis, Little Iliad, Iliupersis, Nostoi and Telegony, forming the so-called Epic Cycle (only fragments survive)
Oedipodea, Thebaid, Epigoni and Alcmeonis, forming the so-called Theban Cycle (only fragments survive)
A series of poems ascribed to Hesiod during antiquity (of which only fragments survive): Aegimius (alternatively ascribed to Cercops of Miletus), Astronomia, Descent of Perithous, Idaean Dactyls (almost completely lost), Megala Erga, Megalai Ehoiai, Melampodia and Wedding of Ceyx
Capture of Oechalia, ascribed to Homer or Creophylus of Samos during antiquity (only fragment survives)
Phocais, ascribed to Homer during antiquity (only fragment survives)
Titanomachy ascribed to Eumelus of Corinth (only fragment survives)
Danais (written by one of the cyclic poets and from which the Danaid tetralogy of Aeschylus draws its material), Minyas and Naupactia, almost completely lost
5th to 4th century BC
Heracleia, tells of the labors of Heracles, almost completely lost, written by Panyassis (Greek mythology)
Mahabharata, ascribed to Veda Vyasa (Indian mythology)
Ramayana, ascribed to Valmiki (Indian mythology)
3rd century BC
Argonautica by Apollonius of Rhodes (Greek mythology)
2nd century BC
Annales by Ennius (Roman history; only fragments survive)
1st century BC
De rerum natura by Lucretius (natural philosophy)
Georgics by Virgil (didactic poem)
Aeneid by Virgil (Roman mythology)
1st century AD
Metamorphoses by Ovid (Greek and Roman mythology)
Pharsalia by Lucan (Roman history; unfinished)
Argonautica by Gaius Valerius Flaccus (Roman poet, Greek mythology; incomplete)
Punica by Silius Italicus (Roman history)
Thebaid and Achilleid by Statius (Roman poet, Greek mythology; latter poem incomplete)