The Myths

THE MYTHS

There are many fascinating stories about the Titans and the Greek & Roman gods. The interest in them has transcended generations. It was a rich source of material for my very human characters. I was told that there was no point in writing about mythological characters if I was not going to give them god-like powers or write about the actual mythical events portrayed by Homer, but that did not interest me. I imagined a race of humans who might have inspired the stories. That is where the fun and richness resided for me. Repeating what had already been said about them felt redundant. I wanted to add a different dimension. Where possible, I incorporated some details from actual myths.

Diana/Artemis, daughter of Zeus and Leto and twin to Apollo, was revered as goddess of forests, hills, virginity and the hunt. She was often depicted as carrying a bow and arrows accompanied by her hunting hounds. The deer and cypress trees were sacred to her. In one tale, three-year-old Artemis asked her father to grant her lop-eared hounds among other Wishes. Diana was also known for turning a guy named Acteon, who dared to spy on her while bathing, into a stag. She then hunted him down. Although Diana was identified as a goddess of fertility and one who helped women conceive, she is never paired with other gods in terms of a mate. She is eternally chaste, which is why I chose to make her stance on marriage one of distaste. Her mother, Leto, in one tale, was reportedly sent snakes by Hera. In another myth, Leto was prevented from reaching land to deliver her twins, Diana and Apollo, because a large snake was following her. Hera reportedly hated this mistress of Zeus and was not happy about the birth of the twins.

Apollo is the day and Diana, the night. He is the son Zeus is most proud of and is expected to eventually take Zeus’s place as head of the council. In my version, Diana lives in her magnificent brother’s shadow and resents how much everyone adores him, though, she loves her twin and he is the only one she really trusts. Ares is the god of war. I chose to make him the evil half-brother. The one no one can trust, skulking in the shadows cast by his brilliant siblings. He is Hera’s son and she has big ambitions for him. Dionysus was the god of wine. I used that reference to have him struggle with the fallout from the challenge with Ares, Apollo and Pan. The actual back-story of what happened when the four boys went to Mythikas is never fully revealed, though I had it figured out in my mind. I have been asked if I will explore their story in a “prequel.” I won’t answer a definite “No,” though that wasn’t my original plan.

Pan was the god of the fields, groves and wooded glens. He was often depicted as playing a pipe. In some stories he has the hind quarters of a goat. I chose to play with that idea and gave him the affliction of never walking without aid due to injuries he received during the challenge. He was master of the lute and I used that as well. He is said to have given Artemis lop-eared hounds and to have taught Apollo the art of prophecy. Zeus was the youngest son of Cronus and Rhea. Other siblings included: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. Supposedly, Cronus swallowed them all as soon as they were born, since he had learned from Gaia and Uranus that he was destined to be overcome by his own son as he had overthrown his own father. Zeus was born and did indeed overthrow his father and free his siblings.

In most tales, he was married to Hera and they are attributed with three children: Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus. Hera was a vengeful, jealous wife, for ample reasons. Zeus was a womanizer and had many children with other women including: Aphrodite (with Dione), Athena (with Metis), Apollo and Artemis (with Leto), Hermes (with Maia), Persephone (by Demeter), Dionysus (with Semele) and several others.

I chose to do something slightly different with Persephone in terms of parentage and made her the daughter of Zeus’s sister Demeter and Theos, son of Gaia. In my story, Gaia was wisewoman to the Heliots. When the Titans came, they mistakenly believed that her son, Theos, was the leader of the Heliots. Zeus forced Demeter to marry him to strengthen their hold over the island. It didn’t work. Gaia was the leader, not her son, and Persephone is destined to become the next wisewoman and take her grandmother’s place.

The Persephone/Proserpina/Kore and Ceres/Demeter myths spawned entire cults that ranged from the innocent to the macabre. They were the basis for many ceremonies that celebrated fertility and death, the cycle of life and the cycle of the Seasons. The most well known story revolves around Persephone’s abduction by Hades. In one version of the story Persephone is out gathering flowers. Hades sees her and desires her and he takes her to the underworld in his chariot to be his bride. Persephone is tricked into eating a pomegranate seed and so she must reside with her husband for part of the year. Demeter scorches the earth when her daughter is kidnapped and refuses to let things grow while her daughter is forced to live in the underworld with Hades. Thus one explanation for why we have the seasons. Though I chose to play with the idea of Persephone’s abduction, I did not choose to focus on the more brutal aspects of her tale. It was an

artistic choice and I took into consideration the age of some of my readers.

I chose to make Hades, god of the underworld, a “body-bearer”. In some cultures, those who were responsible for transporting the dead to their final resting place were considered unclean and lived apart from the rest of the community. When Hera wanted someone to get rid of little Persephone, she ordered Hades to do it. But Hades couldn’t bring himself to kill her. As in the myths surrounding death and life, it is the healers of the world who help women bring forth life and heal the sick. There are those who help people with their passage from this life. It is a very compassionate duty and, in my opinion, one of the most sacred services a person can perform in this world. Although Persephone does not herself profess to perform magic, she uses natural healing. To many, that is practical magic. From the healers of old who practiced the laying on of hands to those who master the art of Reiki, many believe we can manipulate the energy that runs through our bodies. That was my inspiration for the scene where Persephone revives Diana. It was fitting that the Persephone character, whose myths involve death and resurrection, should be given this role.

I chose to alter Aphrodite’s parentage as well. In most stories, Aphrodite/Venus supposedly rises from the sea fully frmed. However, in Roman mythology she was the daughter of Jupiter and Dione. Homer wrote that she was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. It worked better for my story to make her the daughter of Poseidon and Dione rather than sister to Diana and Athena. Poseidon is the god of the sea and that inspired me to make him the one who, supposedly, explores the River Ocean and oversees the fishermen. Aphrodite was the goddess of love, forced by Zeus to marry the ugly Hephaestus/Vulcan, god of blacksmiths, metallurgy and volcanoes. Unhappy with her marriage, she reportedly sought comfort with various lovers including Adonis and Ares. I drew from that her impending arranged marriage to Hephaestus and her love for the Heliot, Adonis. In one version of the tale, Persephone agreed to hide Adonis from Aphrodite's jealous husband. She fell in love with Adonis too and refused to release him from the underworld to be with Aphrodite. Zeus intervened and mandated that Adonis had to spend a third of the year with Persephone, a third with Aphrodite and would be left on his own for the remainder of the year.

It was Adonis’s love of hunting that caused his death. Aphrodite warned him the woods were dangerous, but he went hunting anyway. He was gored by a wild boar and died in Aphrodite’s arms. This was my inspiration for the tragic events at the end of Book Three on Mythikas Island. I struggled most with Aphrodite’s story. How do you make a character who is struggling with delusions a compelling narrator? I was happy with the results. Even though Aphrodite had to endure tragedy, she overcame it and ended up stronger than when she went into the story. She proved she has something to offer to very dissimilar cousins.

In some versions of the myths, Athena/Minerva sprang fully formed from Jupiter’s head. In others, her mother was Metis and her father was Zeus. In fact, she was known as Zeus’s favorite child. Athena was said to be jealous of a young woman named Arachne, who proclaimed herself a better weaver than Athena. In return, Arachne was turned into a spider. So, Athena could be quite arrogant and vengeful, but if she were on your side, you were certain to win.

Athena also remained single and considered herself to be as good a warrior as any man. Athena was known as the goddess of justice and wisdom. She was fearless and is often depicted wearing armor and carrying a spear. She had an affinity for the owl and the olive tree. At times, she is called Pallas Athena. In one tale, Pallas was Athena's best friend. During a sparring incident, Athena accidentally delivered a fatal blow and, blaming herself for her friend’s death, added Pallas to her name so Pallas would never be forgotten. That was my inspiration for Athena’s “ghost” encounter on Mythikas. What is scarier than seeing someone you thought you killed walk right up to you?

As islands grew and became submerged, it was inevitable that isolated civilizations would learn of one another and meet. In the time of the River Ocean, the ancient Greeks were not aware of the greater world. They had knowledge of only two other bands of humans: The Aethiopeans to the south and the Hyperboreans to the North. It is suggested that the Hyperboreans’ lands lay within the Arctic Circle. Some scholars suggest they were Celtic and their home was Ireland or England. Though another description said their home was inaccessible by land or sea. Their caverns were supposed to send forth the piercing blasts of the north wind. Apollo was rumored to spend his winters among them. They were known to have an affinity for feasting and a love of gold.

Some scholars suggest Hyperborea was Scandinavia since the peninsula is crossed by the Arctic Circle, north of which they experience the “white nights” of summer and deep, dark winters. This was my inspiration for the strangers who come ashore on Mythikas after a brief stop on Helios to gather supplies and converts. In my version the Hyperboreans left their land to settle where there was no fighting. Along the way, they lost all but two brothers. When they arrived at Helios they found people willing to help them but also realized Helios was on the verge of civil war. Having no desire to stay in such a place, they decide to move on, taking Heliots and Titans with them. The tsunami wrecks them on Mythikas Island and that set up the conflicts that plague Book Four: Athena.