Aphrodite is pouring a libation into the phiale (libation bowl) held by her lover Ares over an altar. A servant or child stands behind her on the left.
🏛️ Attic votive relief of Aphrodite and Ares. Marble. Dated to the 5th century BCE. Today in the National Archaeological Museum in #Venice.
According to Vietnamese folklore, the Jade Emperor was so impressed by the courage demonstrated by Toad when he traveled all the way to Heaven in order to plead for rain to end a drought that he bestowed the title of “Uncle of Heaven” upon the amphibian. #MythologyMonday
Have a beautiful Day of Aphrodite aka Venus' Day aka Frigg's Day aka Friday 🌹
Neoclassical statue of #Aphrodite and her lover #Adonis. Adonis was loved not only by Aphrodite but also by Persephone, Apollon, Dionysos, and #Herakles. In fact, Herakles' death was orchastrated by Aphrodite in revenge for the hero stealing her man!
🏛️ Venus and Adonis by Antonio Canova, dated ca. 1794 CE
It's the Day of Zeus / Jupiter's Day / #Thursday! ⚡
Painting of the theft of Fire: #Zeus and his eagle and his lover #Ganymedes are all asleep. Meanwhile, #Prometheus steals fire from the thunderbolt in Zeus' hand.
🏛️ The Theft of Fire by Christian Griepenkerl, dated 1878 CE.
I was browsing through old Greek mythology images and made a meme. I didn't read the background for this guy so I may have missed some context or misconstrued what's going on here, idk, whatev.
„Giraldis Cambrensis describes a family who turned into wolves every seventh year because of a curse, retaining human language and having prophetic powers.“
Source: P. Monaghan Encyclopedia of #Celtic #Mythology and #Folklore
Top of the pops on my website this week is my accidental growing of the massively poisonous and hallucinogen Datura stramonium or devil’s snare! A fascinating plant in #mythology and #folklore the world over but not one to have with a family around.
@antiquidons#Astronomy and calendars are the domain of #Hermes. His grandfather Atlas turns the heavenly constellations and his mother Maia is one of the starry Pleiades.
Atlas instructed him in astronomy and the Greek mythographer Euhemeros says that #Aphrodite first established the constellations and taught Hermes. The planet #Mercury is attributed to Hermes because he first established the months and perceived the courses of the constellations.
When a strange light is seen at night in the Welsh wilderness, often it's a pwca's candle. These black-furred goblins love to play tricks. Sometimes they turn into animals, other times they use their candles to lead lost travelers off cliffs and into bogs.
🎨 Huw Aaron #FolkloreSunday#OfDarkandMacabre#mythology#folklore#Celtic#Wales#fairy
In #Greek#mythology, Clytie¹ was an Oceanid nymph, lover of #Helios.
Since he cheated her with another woman, Leucothoe, Clytie revealed the affair to the other girl's father, who… buried her alive (that escalated quickly!).
Since Clytie intended to win Helios back, but he avoided her after what had happened, she fell in despair. She sat naked, accepting no food or drinks, for nine days.
Eventually, she turned into a purple flower, the heliotrope, "which turns its head always to look longingly at Helios the Sun as he passes through the sky in his solar chariot, even though he no longer cares for her, her form much changed, her love for him unchanged."
That was the story by Ovid; the heliotrope then became the sunflower.
On holiday, in Puymartin Castle² in #France, I found this paining based on a drawing by Pierre Brebiette.
You can see that later, in the 19th century, clothes were added to cover her body – and ruin the piece of art.
Also, Helios's chariot was covered by the #sun.
Happy #Equinox to all who celebrate. Today, day and night are of approximately equal length. From now on, the days get shorter in the Northern hemisphere as #Persephone descends to the underworld and Demeter's sadness halts any plant growth until her daugher returns in Spring. Unless it is actually in winter that Persephone is with #Demeter. Both interpretations are compelling.
In Chinese mythology the Eight Immortals are a legendary group of immortals, each with special powers that can bestow life or destroy evil. They are revered by Taoists and are also popular in secular Chinese culture and folklore. #folklore#mythology@folklore
The Sumerian creation stories are the oldest known myths in human history. They predate the biblical accounts of Genesis by thousands of years and share many similarities. The discovery of these ancient texts challenges the originality and authority of the Judeo-Christian tradition.
Have a beautiful Day of Aphrodite aka Venus' Day aka Frigg's Day aka Friday 🌹
One of the most famous artworks of #Aphrodite is Aphrodite Kallipygos, Aphrodite of the Beautiful Buttocks. The goddess lifts her dress to reveal her gorgeous backside to the onlooker.
🏛️ Roman marble sculpture, 1st or 2nd century BCE. Today in the National Archaeological Museum, #Naples.
It's the Day of Zeus / Jupiter's Day / #Thursday! ⚡
Humourous Roman #mosaic of #Ganymedes and #Zeus as a heron with a sponge on a stick, commony used by the Romans to clean the bum after going to the toilet. But if you know that Ganymedes is Zeus' lover, a different reason for sponging his genitals comes to mind 😏
🏛️ Dated 2nd century CE, discovered in Antiochia ad Cragum, Turkey