OVID - Metamorphoses

Isis appears promising help. " Not far from Knossos * lived a man Ligdus by name, of humble family,  Freeborn but hardly known, nor did his purse Surpass his pedigree, though none could blame His life or probity. "  ( * The term "palace" may be misleading; Knossos was an intricate collection of over 1000 interlocking rooms, some of which served as artisans' workrooms and food processing centres (e.g. wine presses). It served as a central storage point, and a religious and administrative centre. ) Otherwise today Ligdus would be judged a "wrongheaded Cretan" in the pejorative sense when he observes:  "Girls are more burdensome " Telethus, wife of Ligdus, is caused " carking cares " when he announces " And fate denies our means. If--heaven forbid!-- The babe should chance to be a girl-- she must die ". ----------------Time passes-------------- Telethus on the midnight eve of...

Repoussé and engraved relief of Hercules (right),   Eros (center) and Iolaus (left) on the Ficoroni cista.  4th century BC Etruscan ritual vessel Magically a young lad, Iolaus, appears. He's a gift of Juno's daughter, Hebe. Thought to be Hercules lover but also his nephew. Themis is mentioned. Civil war is upon Thebes. She meant to swear not to bestow such gifts On any man thereafter, but was stopped By Themis. From wikipedia: " As a son of Iphicles, Iolaus was a nephew of Heracles. He often acted as Heracles' charioteer and companion. He was sometimes regarded as Heracles' lover, and the shrine to him in Thebes was a place where male couples worshiped and made vows. The Theban gymnasium was also named after him, and the Iolaia or Iolaea (Greek: Ιολάεια), an athletic festival consisting of gymnastic and equestrian events, was held yearly in Thebes in his honor. The victors at the Iolaea were crowned with garlands of myrtle. Iolaus provided...

Hercules and Achelous in a Roman wall painting from the Hall of the Augustales . Achelous is subdued even after changing himself into a snake and then into a Bull. Hercules wins Deianira and marries her.  ============ Time passes here.=========  Nessus, a centaur, abducts Deianira; Hercules returns after many love affairs, subdues and slays Nessus. But it's a lingering death ( pierced with an arrow). His blood bearing the Hydra's poison soaks Hercules tunic after Nessus has given it to Deianira, "A talisman, he said, to kindle love... Long years had passed, and Hercules' great deeds Had filled the world and sated Juno's hate...'At Cenaeum, when rumour rode ahead-- Rumour who talks and loves to tangle true with false, and from near nothing flourishes On her own lies --and swiftly reaches the ears Of Deianira, rumour that her lord was held in thrall by love of Iole.  Her doting heart believed." Deianira decides... "To send the s...

Minerva (Pallas Athena) and Arachne ,   René-Antoine Houasse, 1706 In Greek mythology (and later Roman mythology), Arachne (/əˈrækniː/; from Greek: ἀράχνη "spider", cognate with Latin araneus) was a talented mortal weaver who challenged Athena, goddess of wisdom and crafts, to a weaving contest; this hubris** resulted in her being transformed into a spider. There are many versions of the story's weaving contest, with each saying that one or the other won. Athena (Minerva) was the virgin goddess of music, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, and the crafts. She is often depicted with her sacred creature, an owl usually named as the "owl of Minerva", which symbolised her association with wisdom and knowledge as well as, less frequently, the snake and the olive tree. Confederate 100 Dollar Bill displays a image of Athena (Minerva) and her sacred creature, an owl. Athena traps Arachne by disguising herself as an old lady ...

OVID - Delacroix 1859 - Met - New York In 8 AD Caesar Augustus banished Ovid to the Black Sea where he drank mare's milk and languished having finished writing  Metamorphoses before he left Rome Photo by Tom Ferguson, Scribe 2018 Niobe's story also involves the now familiar theme that the gods are quick to wreak vengeance on human pride and arrogance ( hubris** ). Niobe, however, is the subject of lost tragedies by both Aeschylus and Sophocles. Is it her grieving tears that drew the interest of those early and most forward tragedians? Not likely in my view. Then, too, why all the interest in the grisly results (14 of her children are slain by the gods) when she ignores this imperative? A 1772 painting by Jacques-Louis David depicting Niobe attempting to shield her children from Artemis and Apollo. She fails and all 14, seven sons and seven daughters are mortally wounded, the sons by Apollo and the daughters by Artemis. Let's attempt a close (or at...

Leto (aka Latona) with the infants Apollo and Artemis, by Francesco Pozzi (1824) Sent by his father who: "Had charged me to retrieve some special steers And given me a Lycean for guide, With him I traversed those far pasture-lands, When, standing in the middle of a mere (lake), And black with ash of sacrifice, behold An ancient altar, ringed with waving reeds. Inquiring as to who build the altar: "no mountain deity Enjoys this altar; it is claimed by her Whom the queen of heaven barred from the world, Whom drifting Delos scarcely dared consent To harbour, when that island swam the sea. Latona (Leto) in spite of Juno (Hera) bore her twins; If you are wondering how Leto got her bad temper, that story unfolds here. Recall, if you will,  Artemis & Apollo, the children of Leto, methodically kill Niobe's children. Latona and her babies (both divine) got thirsty; spied a mere The flaming sun beat down upon the fields; The goddess, tir...