Myths and Legends of the World

This Memorial Day I present to you Odin, King of the Norse Gods and Host of our fallen, valiant soldiers Subtle, aristocratic, and at times inexplicable, Odin (Woden or Wotan) was the Father of all the Gods and men. He is also the Chief god of Germanic mythology. Son of Bor and Bestla, Odin was raised to favor mostly by the Vikings, and became known as the supreme god in the eighth and ninth centuries. Odin is pictured either wearing a winged helm or a floppy hat, and a blue-grey cloak in Viking era but in the modern era who knows? He can travel to any realm within the 9  worlds. His two ravens, Huginn and Munin (Thought and Memory) fly over the world daily and return to tell him everything that has happened in Midgard (Earth). He cherished them both, but particularly Munin, which seems to underscore the importance he placed on rune writing, record keeping, and honoring the heroic deeds of the past. Odin is the literal father of important gods, such as ...

Ok recap: Judgment of Paris- Paris awarded the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite as the Fairest of All. Paris won Helen and the wrath of two powerful goddesses. Helen: Helen’s background, the suitor’s military alliance deal, her decision to left with Paris. To war: Oracle of Delphi With Helen gone, Menelaus (most likely his brother Agamemnon) called upon Helen's former suitors to fulfill their duties and aid him in bringing her back. All of the former suitors answered Menelaus' call to arms, bringing large number of men and ships with them. Menelaus' brother, Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, had brought 100 ships with him. Agamemnon became commander-in-chief of the Greek forces. Agamemnon always wanted to conquer Troy and its surrounding neighbors for his kingdom. Helen provided the spark that started the war. Agamemnon and Menelaus learned from the Greek seer Calchas that Troy could not fall without two great warriors, Achilles and Odysseus. Odysseus, King of I...

Some of you may have even seen Troy, the movie with Brad Pitt playing a very sensitive Achilles and Orlando Bloom as a painfully wus Paris. The movie was good, despite the fact that it's really loosely based on the Trojan War, but seeing Helen was a big downer. I mean, she was hot (and that was great given my feelings about most artistic representations of the heroine), but what's awesome about Helen is that no one ever can really know her. She is profoundly multi-dimensional and beyond any one telling.  I'm here to tell you the story how those infamous thousand ships got launched, but, since you can  go ahead and read Homer’s Iliad  to see the version focusing on such heroes as Achilles and Hector, I will begin with the woman who got the blame, and I will begin at the beginning. Leda was the very beautiful Queen of Sparta and married to King Tyndareus by loved by the King of the gods, Zeus himself. Only, this wasn't any old' seduction, as you...

Congratulation to all college seniors  (like me!)  are finishing up their classes and preparing for graduation!

The story is almost standard, and reminds me strongly of the story of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, but instead of an evil fairy, the main character is the sinister Goddess of Discord and Strife: Eris. Thetis, basically the most eligible bachelorette of the Gods that both Zeus and Poseidon wanted to sleep with her. Until they told a prophecy the Titan Prometheus that any son Thetis bore, would become greater than the father, possibly ruling Olympus, if Zeus became the father. This stopped their lustful advances upon Thetis dead in their tracks. Zeus quickly arranged to have her marry a mortal to make sure that no god marries her. Zeus decided to marry her to the hero, Peleus, King of Phthia. Thetis, like many sea-deities, had the ability to change her shape as well being gifted with prophetic power. In order for Peleus to marry Thetis, Peleus had to capture while the goddess slept in the cave. Peleus had to hold the goddess as she chang...

I was watching the movie Troy. I was mad about it really messing up the Trojan War. If producers want to make a story of the Trojan War they should make a T.V. series of it like Spartacus. I am writing or blogging the Trojan War in series. The Trojan War Queen Hecuba of Troy woke in the middle of the night from a terrifying dream in which she gave birth to a burning torch. Consulting the oracles, she was told that her child would be the ruin of his country. After the boy, Paris, was born, her husband King Priam reluctantly commanded the child to be slain. Unable to do the dirty work, the King gave the child to a shepherd who also didn't have the heart to touch the child, but instead exposed it on the slopes of Mount Ida to die of starvation, as was the custom in those days.   A she-bear suckled the child, and when the shepherd returned, saw the boy still alive. He took the boy home and raised him as his own son. The boy grew into a man of great beauty and int...

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Freyr ("Lord") is the God of Fertility, God of the Elves and Ruler of Alfheim, God of the Rain, the Shining of the Sun and vegetation. Freyr is associated with sacral kingship, virility and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather, and is pictured as a phallic fertility god, Freyr bestows peace and pleasure on mortals. Freyr is the brother of Freya, son of Njord and Nerthus, and is one of the leaders of Vanir divinities. The word "Freyr" itself means "Lord," as the word Freya translates to "Lady." The names of both are believed to be simple epithets, rather than their true names, as Freya is known by many alternate names, and Freyr himself has also been known as Ing or Yngvi. Many also believe that the mythical immortal King Frodhi of Sweden is also Freyr due to many similarities between lore and historical evidence. Freyr's main role is fertility, as well as keeper of frith. Roman sources suggest that the worship of Freyr is ...