Son of Neptune Book Review

Loved it! I read it in a day!

Yes, I know it's a kid's book, but I really love almost anything Rick Riordan writes. The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is a favorite of mine. It's all about the Greek Pantheon and their children, the demigods. In this spin off series, he tackles the Roman pantheon!

I can't tell you how thrilled I was to see a good description of Rome proper, the buildings, the clothing and armor, the major and minor deities, the temples, auguries.... and even the Lares! Yes, there was a comical treatment (Mr. Riordan seems to like making ghostly characters the butt of jokes), but I was delighted to just see them addressed as part of the every day life of the citizens.

One of the things I enjoyed most about the book was how they drew the distinctions between the Greek and Roman deities such as Greek Hades and Roman Pluto, and Greek Ares and Roman Mars. He illustrated the differences very well, including how Pluto was also a deity of wealth, not just death.

I was disappointed in the simplified "Romans imported the Greek Gods and perfected them" explanation. In The Lost Hero, the first book of this spin off series, Heroes of Olympus, there was the promise of a much deeper, much more clever connection between the two pantheons, much the same way Riordan explained the vast differences in Egyptian lore in his Kane Chronicles books.

We also get to experience some of the military jargon of the Roman army, including one of my favorite words: Cohort.  I love talking about my cohorts! Where'd the word come from? Italy! Ha! It's a military unit, 1/10 of a Legion.

The last nifty detail I will mention is that each of the Roman demigods gets a magical tattoo when they become an official member of the legion:

Senatus Populusque Romanus.

The Senate and People of Rome.

Travel

Here's an aspect of Mercury I don't think I've really discussed before (other than drooling over the statue of Him). Then again, I'm almost at the 300 post mark, so really, I don't recall everything I've posted about in the past 9 months. As the ruler of communication and commerce it only makes sense that travel is also within his domain: Messages travel from one person and/or place to another, goods must travel to get from farm to market or workshop abroad.

Here is a spell I was given. A friend and I parted ways in the city today. For me it was a quick jaunt to my abode, but he had a long trip ahead so this came to mind. It can be done for yourself or another, using me/my or person's name/their.

Mercury, Lord of Air and Sky
make my long trip hurry by.
Make my travel smooth and sweet.
As swiftly as your winged feet
Carry you from throne to land,
Over sea, across the sand
to destinations fair and bright,
Mercury, gently alight
me safe and sound
back to my home where I am bound.
Mercury, as I am true
Do now what I ask of you
My word you have,
to honor you.

When you get home, tip an offering. Coins, incense, food, etc.

Of related Mercurial interest: I was just looking up something Ovid had written and came across a picture of a vase where Mercury is wearing the cap  of Adoneus (aka Hades). I haven't found other references to the helm of invisibility being part of His travel retinue. Some say it's the same as his messenger cap, other sources say it's different, ie: Perseus returns all of the things he was loaned by the Gods to Mercury, including the Black Helm. Interesting point of conflicting lore. It seems minor, but nothing about Mercury is minor. ;)

Charon the Ferryman.

Let me start by saying the passing of Amy Winehouse took me on this search. I wouldn't call myself a fan, I never really knew much about her, other then a few of her most popular songs. It was her fighting the demons of alcohol, bulimia, self cutting, and drug abuse, that really made me feel so sorry for her. A life with so much talent was being so tormented on this side that she finally decided she had had enough. I only pray that she finally finds the peace on the other side that obviously she could not find on this plane. Rest in Peace Amy Winehouse.

Charon was believed to be the ancient son of Erebus and Nyx (the goddess of night). His symbol was the double headed hammer. He was the ferryman to the Titans delivering the souls of mortals to the underworld. His job was to ferry the dead across the River Styx to the entrance of Hades. A coin was placed in the mouth of the dead person as payment for Charon. If there was no payment, the soul was forced to wander the shores for 100 years. Cerberus is the three headed dog that guards the entrance to Hades allowing souls to enter but none to leave.

So while doing my research on Charon I found this very interesting site. It is a voyage with Charon the ferryman. It took me almost an hour but I did complete the journey. May you enjoy your journey with the boatman. Collect as many coins as possible. You will need them to complete your journey.

Charon and Psyche

The Tragic Women of the Greco-Roman world...

I hate the term Greco-Roman, but alas, that pretty much describes what we have here. Tonight, Nemesis and I were talking about Dido's lament (aka her suicide speech). I remarked about that being the moment opera was born. We waxed poetic once again about Medea and Jason and how Medea has been much maligned over the years. This lead to a chat about Jeff Mach's play, Seeds, a bdsm take on the relationship between Hades and Persephone. I think fans of Ann Rice's The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty‎ will like it. It's slated to premiere at The Geeky Kink event in NJ, Nov 4th - 6th. This got me to thinking about all of the "wronged women" in Greek and Roman lore:

Ariadne: Abandoned by Theseus, "rescued" by Dionysus.
Demeter: Daughter stolen, gets to see her for half the year..
Hera: Cheated on left n right by Zeus.
Diana: Tricked into killing her lover, Orion!
Medussa: Get's it on with Neptune on Aphrodite's altar and is turned into a stone-turning, snake headed monster. And what happens to Neptune? Jack and shit. Nice.
Khione: Date-raped by two Gods, gives birth to their twins.
Helen: The face that launched a thousand ships. Nevermind that it was her husband who went after her when he could have just given her a divorce. Sheesh.
Pasiphaë: Minos' wife who winds up mating with a bull because Minos wouldn't sacrifice the best one to Neptune. That's where we got the minataur! She was an innocent bystander, yet she's the one who's blamed for doing it with a bull! And check out Neptune's involvement in yet another debasing of a Goddess... how did he come to be associated with these stories?
Athena: Hephaestus tries to rape her and his spunk lands on the earth which impregnates Gaia who then gives birth to Erichthonius!

I'm writing the Wronged Goddess version of the Vagina Monologues. What should I call it?

I don't take these stories literally, but I, and I'm sure many of you who bother to read this blog have looked beyond the surface of the stories and into the deeper themes. There is some evidence that Hephaestus and Athena were considered a divine pair and that Erichthonius is their son (Shhh! Don't tell Marguerite Rigoglioso!)

Likewise, Pasiphaë, Europa and Ariadne are linked with the Moon Goddess in ancient Crete, the theory being that "Ariadne" is a Greek epithet for the Goddess the same way "Lucina" is in Italy. I also like to note that Pasiphaë is the sister of Circe, Aunt of Medea and both are from Thessaly. I don't always appreciate wiki articles, but this one is a wonderful starting place. Note the mention of Pasiphaë as an oracular Goddess!


That's all for tonight. Tomorrow, something practical!