“ToHades … all-ruling, holy god, with glory bright, thee sacred poets and their hymns delight, propitious to thy mystics’ works incline, rejoicing come, for holy rites are thine.”
the encyclopedia of celtic mythology and folklore: ↳Epona
Among people whose vision of divinity was so polytheistic that the same name of a god or goddess is rarely found more than once, Epona is an exception, for statues and altars to her have been excavated across continental Europe, the center of her worship, and in Britain – more than for any other god or goddess of the Celts. Yet little is known of this goddess except that she was connected with HORSES. Her name means “horse,” from the Gaulish epos, and she was depicted astride a horse (usually a mare), surrounded by horses, or even occasionally lying naked on the back of one.
Naides (Αρτεμις meaning ‘to flow’) were the nymphs of rivers, streams, lakes, marshes, fountains and springs in Greek mythology. In many myths Naiades were the wives of kings and hold a prominent place in the royal genealogies. Others, such as the beautiful daughters of the River Asopos, were loved by the gods. They often gave their names to towns, cities and islands, and as such were surely regarded as the goddess-protectors of a settlement’s main water supply such as a spring, fountain, or wells. In conjunction with Artemis(goddess of the hunt) they were also nurses of the young and the protectors of girls, overseeing their safe passage into adulthood.
(Zuhair Murad Spring 2022 Haute Couture Collection)
Dryades(Δρυας meaning ‘Of the Tree or Oak’) were the nymphs of the trees, groves, woodlands and mountain forests in Greek mythology. Like all nymphs, were supernaturally long-lived and tied to their homes, but some were a step beyond most nymphs. These were known as The Hamadryads(nymphs of oak & poplar trees) who were an integral part of their trees, such that if the tree died, the nymph associated with it died as well. For these reasons, dryads and the Greek gods punished any mortals who harmed trees without first propitiating the tree-nymphs There were several types of Dryades associated with particular trees The Meliai(nymphs of the ash-tree),The Oreiades(nymphs of the mountain conifer),The Maliades(nymphs of the apple)andThe Daphnaie(nymphs of laurel trees).
The Hesperides (Ἑσπερίδες meaning ‘Daughters of the Evening’) were the goddess nymphs of evening and the golden light of sunsets Greek mythology. It was thought that there were three Hesperides, although some sources name four or seven. They were responsible for taking care of a garden in the western end of the world, near the Atlas mountainsinAfrica. The so called ‘Garden of the Hesperides’ belonged to the goddess Hera(queen of the gods), in which there was a grove of apple trees that bore golden apples. The golden apples were believed to give immortality to anyone who consumed them. Not trusting The Hesperides to guard the apple trees on their own, Hera placed a hundred headed dragon named Ladonin the grove to always keep watch.
The Hyades (Ὑάδες meaning ‘rain-makers’) were nymphs of the five stars of the constellation Hyades and daughters of the heavens-bearing Titan Atlas in Greek mythology. According to the myth, after their brother Hyas was killed by a lion their immense grief brought rain to earth. This eventually led to the nymphs being transformed into a constellation of the same name. The setting of their constellation in November marks the start of the rainy season inGreece and from this the nymphs were named ‘The Rainy Ones.’ The Hyades were also sisters to ThePleiades(nymphs of the mountains) andTheHesperides(nymphs of the evening).
According to Greek Mythology, Persephone, the queen of the underworld, was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of harvest and fertility. She was also called Kore, which means “maiden” and grew up to be a lovely girl attracting the attention of many gods.
“she spun herself a crown of gold, thrones of bones and citadels. to the deaf stars she screamed: make me queen or i’ll make you bleed.” —AMBITION | M.J., via @fairytalesques
SUMMER MYTH EVENT 4/7 → Western or Southern European Deity: Amphitrite
Amphitrite was the goddess-queen of the sea, wife of Poseidon, and eldest of the fifty Nereides. She was the female personification of the sea–the loud-moaning mother of fish, seals and dolphins. Amphitrite was depicted in Greek vase painting as a young woman, often raising her hand in a pinching gesture. Sometimes she was shown holding a fish. In mosaic art the goddess usually rides beside her husband in a chariot drawn by fish-tailed horses or hippokampoi. Sometimes her hair is enclosed with a net and her brow adorned with a pair of crab-claw “horns”. (x)
Goddess representing the mighty sun of summer solstice, but also goddess of joy and water. She is celebrated on Kupala Night with rituals of purification through water and fire. Kupala Night is a Slavic celebration of ancient pagan origin marking the end of the summer solstice and the beginning of the harvest (midsummer). (Photos:x)
As the god of the sun, Inti had a powerful influence over the lives of the Inca. He was believed to exert control over their agricultural activities and thus was vital to their existence. It is thanks to the sun’s warmth and light that crops are able to grow, hence farmers worshipped and prayed to this god. Whilst Inti was normally a benevolent and generous god, he was also capable of great anger, and solar eclipses were believed to be a manifestation of this displeasure. (x)
During the copulation she pressed her fingers against the forehead of the man who took her. And when the lamp was lit again, she saw her brother Moon with soot on his face. Sun became red and hot with shame. She took a whisk of moss from the heap by the lamp, dipped it in the blubber and lit it, and she ran out. Moon wanted to follow her, but he was in such a hurry that he didn’t get his moss lit very well. “We must run far away and never see each other again,” said Sun. And at the same moment they became spirits and were lifted up in the sky, where they continued their flight. But Sun has the stronger warmer light, because her whisk of moss burns clearly. Her brother Moon, who pursues her but never can catch up with her, has the weaker colder light. (x)
