Category: Mythology

Article by Rebecca
Image by Will Hobbs (www.sirwilliamwesley.com)

Mommy bails out daring, handsome, Finnish hero. That would be Lemminkainen, one of the heroes of the Kalevala. The Kalevala is an epic Finnish poem; it is considered the national epic of Finland. It is 50 chapters, runes, or cantos (depending on who you ask) of epic adventures. Today, we’re taking a little peak at Lemminkainen.
Lemminkainen is a young good-looking blond hunk of a Finnish hero. He is a sorcerer of sorts and is sometimes looked upon as a god of magic. Lemminkainen also gets to carry the magical sampo. No one knows for sure what the sampo is, just that it’s magical and lucky. Lemminkainen has a way with the ladies, and dedicates loads of time to wooing maidens. In fact, while attempting to win the hand of some lucky lady, he got himself killed.

He sets off hunting the black swan in the river of Tuoni (which is river of the underworld). Lemminkainen is approaching for the kill when Nasshut, the blind and crippled shepherd, sends out a poisonous serpent to kill the hero. Nasshut succeeds. Lemminkainen dies. The end.

Well of course, that’s not the end. Lemminkainen’s mother, Ilmater, begins searching for her son. Upon learning of his fate in the waters of Tuoni, she asks Ilmarinen, the eternal blacksmith, to construct a special rake for her. That’s right. She goes down there and rakes the river for all the bits and pieces of her son. Eventually Ilmater finds enough bits to make a man. She begins to sew her son back together with the help of Suonetar, the goddess of vein and vessels. However, when her task is complete, all she has is a body, there is no spirit.

So this when Ilmater talks to a bee. Yep, she asks a bee to go get a special honey to help her son regain his life. The bee goes and gets the special honey. However, wait, that honey helps just a little bit. Ilmater begs the bee to go get a different special honey to try. The bee lugs that honey back, and it helps more, but Lemminkainen is still not fully restored. At this point, Ilmater asks the bee to go get some of the honey that Ukko, the Creator, uses to anoint his children. At first, the bee is like, ain’t no way I’m going up there! Ilmater convinces the bee that he can do it, and by golly, he does. The bee brings back the super honey of the gods and lo and behold, Lemminkainen is restored.

That’s the end. Well, the end of this article. The Kalevala is an epic; there is a lot more to it than just this little bit. Many credit this little ditty with inspiring a Finnish national awakening that helped pave the road for Finland’s independence from Russia. Now THAT’S epic!

Article by Rebecca
Image by Will Hobbs (www.sirwilliamwesley.com)

If you’re like me, when you hear the name Daphne your brain goes to the redheaded damsel from Scooby-Doo. Crap, is that really just me? Well, the Daphne from Scooby-Doo was jokingly referred to as “Danger Prone Daphne”. The poor girl was constantly falling down the trap doors or being snatched by the villainous men in masks. Daphne Blake was, in fact, always the hapless victim. (Until Hanna-Barbera revamped the series and turned Daphne into a female MacGuyver of sorts.) The fact is Daphne made sure to end up involved with solving mysteries, and would pay the price by being the damsel of the story (with Velma being the brains, Fred, the brawn, and Shaggy and Scooby the bait). The Daphne we’re talking about is just as much a victim, but instead of seeking out mysteries to cause her trouble, she just needed to live during the time when Greek Gods visited the Earth.

When dealing with ancient myths you are likely to encounter many different versions of the same tales. That becomes multiplied by a dozen when you’re dealing with someone who A) wasn’t a god, and B) existed to justify essentially one custom. Welcome to the enigma of Daphne.

The consensus seems to be that Daphne was the daughter of the river god Peneus. A few sources describe Daphne as a priestess of Gaia and an extremely potent oracle. More sources describe Daphne as a woman who delighted in ranging the woods, much like the goddess Artemis, Daphne longed to stay chaste and free in the forest. Of course, the freakin’ Greek pantheon had to get in the way.

Apollo, who was the Greek god of light, truth, healing, medicine, and archery, fancied himself as quite the archer. He thought so highly of his skill that one-day he decided to smack talk Eros (known as Cupid to you Roman types) about his archery prowess. Eros, showing the personality traits we’ve come to know and love in the Greek pantheon, responded first by shooting Daphne (you know, the woman minding her own business) with a blunted lead arrow and then Apollo with a golden arrow. For smack talker’s sake, it should be noted that Eros hit both targets in one try. The lead arrow would dull the desires of love in an individual, not too tough considering Daphne wanted to remain unwed and chaste. The golden arrow was the infamous patented and trademarked arrow-o-love that Eros is famous for shooting at people.

Apollo became consumed with love and passion for Daphne. The chase was on. Daphne fled as Apollo followed professing his love for her. Now Daphne was in pretty good shape, she was young and spent most of her time outdoors, but come on, Apollo is a god. Eventually Daphne’s strength and stamina were fading and Apollo was getting ready to sweep in for the conquest.

That is when Daphne cried out to Gaia, or in some stories her father, and begged for help. Her pleas were heard, and Daphne was transformed into a laurel tree.

Apollo was filled with such sorrow at losing Daphne that he respectfully took a branch from the tree and made a circlet to wear upon his head. This made the laurel sacred to Apollo and his followers soon took to wearing similar circlets.

You can choose to see Daphne as some sort of embodiment of the feminine free spirit. Perhaps she’s an important piece to the Greek mythological puzzle. In my opinion, no matter how you view Daphne, or her tale, at the end of the day she’s stuck as a tree. That kind of sucks.

Article by Rebecca
Image by Will Hobbs (www.sirwilliamwesley.com)

Attempting to discuss Set can be a tricky endeavor. Like all deities, he has had a long and varied existence, and those darn Egyptians were so fond of writing about their gods that the stories are long and the inferences are many. So, bear with me as I take a stab at talking about Set.


It appears that originally Set was a desert god, and thus all desert things were under his purview. Some examples are sandstorms, desert caravans, and the animals that lived near the edges of the desert like donkeys and gazelles. Set was a very important and powerful god. You would have to be if you held court over such a hostile environment. Set was a chief god and his influence was strongest in Lower Egypt.

Just as Set was the big deific cheese for Lower Egypt, Horus laid claim on Upper Egypt. When the two lands became united the pair worked together crowning pharaohs and such. Of course, since technically Upper Egypt had defeated Lower Egypt Set was viewed as the bad guy counterpart to Horus’ supreme coolness. Despite the fact that Set gouged out Horus’ eye in their conflict, Set was still an all right god in most Egyptian’s books.

Then the fit really hit the shan for the poor guy. These pesky foreigners, the Hyksos, had to go and gain rulership of Egypt. Worse, Set reminded the Hyksos of their warrior god and so they raised Set up to be the primary god of Egypt. Sure, it sounds like a good gig, but you know, the Egyptians were obviously not the biggest fans of the Hyksos. Since Set was already the lesser bad boy god to their beloved Horus, guess who got to eat all the seething burning foreigner hatred? That’s right, our boy Set. Set grew to embody all that the Egyptians hated about the Hyksos, and thus began to be perceived as an even darker and more evil deity than before. Soon all the identities of other evil deities began to be absorbed into Set’s identity.

Gradually no one even remembered desert Set. You know, the guy who controlled the sands? Friend to donkey and gazelle everywhere? Now Set was associated with animals the Egyptians feared, like crocodiles and hippopotami. Also, Set became related to evil deities of other rising empires.

These days when you look for a basic definition of Set you generally hear these words: chaos, war, storms, inhospitable places, Satan, black magic, Left-Hand Path, and other unsavory persons, places, and things. Granted, Set was never the God of Puppies and Rainbows, but still, it’s a dark place to land for any deity. If darker things float your boat, you’ll be happy to know that there is in fact an active organization devoted to the worship of the Set from the end of the story. Me, I’m looking for the ones that likes the Set from the beginning. I’ve got my sunscreen and flask of water waiting for when they call.

Article by Rebecca
Image by Will Hobbs (www.sirwilliamwesley.com)

Sure their cuisine is tasty, and their language is incredibly pleasant to the ears (that may just be to me, but oh well), but deity wise what does Italy have to offer us? They have a feisty mystical meatball of healing magic named Angitia! I promise, that’s the only Italian food thing I will use!


Angitia is an ancient healing and snake goddess who was particularly revered by the Marsi. They were in central Italy during pre-Roman times. Throughout the years Angitia became associated with many goddesses from different cultures, but it was the worship of the original Angitia that was the root of the Marsi’s faith. And there was a lot to love about her!

Yes, Angitia is associated with healing and snakes, and obviously was unsurpassed when it came to curing people from snakebites. It is also said that she could kill snakes with but a word from her deific lips. Maybe it is because Angitia was already attributed with remarkable knowledge of healing herbs and magics that she is also associated with powerful witchcrafts. This is not to be confused with the religion of Wicca, although Wiccans of a goddess oriented leaning may chose to include such a powerful yet compassionate goddess in their worship.

An exhibit at the Chieti’s Civitella Museum has begun that is helping highlight the importance of the goddess Angitia, not only years ago, but today. The worshippers of Angitia have provided researchers information as to the dialect spoken in that era, thanks to the various inscriptions dedicated to her. The muesum hopes to highlight links between the natural world and female power. Proving that Angitia’s place is not confined to the ancient world, but in the consciousness of today’s spiritual seekers as well.

I promised no more references to Italian food, so I have to admit to having difficulties finding an appropriate or entertaining conclusion to this piece. So here’s what you’re getting. I proudly introduce you to Angitia, an ancient goddess who, thanks to the faith of her worshippers of the past, is finding her way into the hearts of the people of the future.

Article by Rebecca
Image by Will Hobbs (www.sirwilliamwesley.com)

Did the people of Carthage sacrifice babies to Tanit? Is that really all there is to the Patron deity of Carthage? An online search says, “Yes, it really is.” To that I say, in my best Fozzie the Bear voice, “For shame.”

Tanit is the great Phoencian goddess of Carthage, consort of Ba’al-Hammon. As a deity, Tanit embodies all things traditionally associated with the feminine. She is considered a lunar goddess, as well as motherhood and fertility. Tanit watched over the city of Carthage, and the people there built numerous temples in her honor.

The people also created a symbol to represent her, something uniquely hers, a triangle with a circle at the top with a horizontal line between the two. Often the horizontal line has smaller up turned lines at the end. Many believe this to be a woman, or goddess, in a long dress with her arms upraised in worship or blessing. Of course, others feel this symbol represents an altar. You know, the triangle is the base, with the line being the altar top, and then the circle would be the sacrifice. That’s where the trouble begins.

Many say the circle represents a baby. Historians have been debating about whether the citizens of Carthage sacrificed babies for a very long time and I am absolutely not going to be able to answer that question for you…. Oh, you’re still reading? Good for you! Here’s the deal, when they excavated the burial grounds of Carthage they found hundreds of urns, many of these urns were inscribed to Tanit or Ba’al (the hubby, remember?) and contained the remains of infants. Obviously there are arguments for both points of view; some point out that young lambs received the same burial treatment as the infants, that older children and adults were buried in a separate place, of course they also mention that many cultures buried children separate from adults. The list of yes they dids and no they didn’ts goes on and on. You know what I have to say to all this?

I don’t care. You heard me, I don’t care! I’m not saying that I’m pro baby sacrifice, what I’m saying is that it’s not happening now, so why let it be an issue when contemplating Tanit? The true horror of Tanit isn’t the potential of infants being sacrificed to her, it’s the fact that it’s hard to find anything besides that about her! Here is Tanit, THE goddess of Carthage, and I can’t learn anything about her because everyone wants to talk baby slaughter. Even if people did sacrifice children to her, I’m sure there’s more to her than that. Hopefully one day I’ll get to learn what it was about this goddess that inspired the love of all of Carthage.

Article by Rebecca
Image by Will Hobbs (www.sirwilliamwesley.com)

Last month we talked about Hephaestus, the Greek god of fire and volcanoes, whose fires helped forge some of the greatest legendary items of all time. This month we’re discussing Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes who uses her fires to demonstrate her power and emotions.

Let me start out by saying that Pele is a beautiful woman. Sure most goddesses are attractive but Pele is beautiful and the bad girl diva of the Hawaiian pantheon. When Pele appears to mortals in human form and busts out the hula dance, of which she is one of the patrons of, hot times literally and figuratively occur! With that being said, now it should come as no surprise to learn that Pele ended up in Hawaii after fleeing her sister, Na-maka-o-kaha’I the Goddess of Water and Sea who was more than a little upset at Pele’s indiscretions with her husband. In fact, most stories about Pele involve her torrid affairs, generally with very handsome mortal chiefs.

There is one story I like about Pele that for once does not involve her totally dominating her potential partner. A demi-god named Kamapua’a proved to be quite the match for her. Where Pele would cover the land with lava creating barren landscapes, Kamapua’a would bring down torrents of rain to extinguish the fires and then since he was the God of Pigs, he would call wild boars to come and break up the earth so that seeds could be sown there. These two fought against each other for so long that eventually Pele’s brothers begged her to give him a chance. They feared Kamapua’a would make it rain so long that Pele may lose her abilities to even create fire! So at a place called Ka-lua-o-Pele, where the land appears to have been torn up, is where it is said that Kamapua’a finally caught and ravaged Pele. The two stayed lovers until a child was born, at which point he left and Pele went back on the prowl for another man. Moreover, much like our modern day tabloids, the volcanoes let people know what is going on in Pele’s love life. When there are squabbles, there are jets of steam and smoke, and when there are fights, there is lava.

In my opinion, not only is Pele an ancient goddess, but she is so potent that she crosses over to urban legend as well. Stories are told of Pele appearing as an old haggard woman asking strangers for food and drink. Those that help her are rewarded; those who do not are punished. What is noteworthy here is that these stories are not always ancient; there are modern tellings as well. In these more modern times, she sometimes is dressed in white and asks for a ride across the island. When the driver looks in his rearview mirror, she is gone. This bears some similarities to the woman in white stories that our urban legend fans will recognize. Another religious, yet urban folklore type thing is the removal of volcanic rock from the islands. Religiously speaking, should you take something of Pele’s without her express permission, a cavern of bubbling churning lava tells you the answer is a resounding “No!” When tourists started visiting the islands, and more specifically the volcanoes, park rangers would warn that removing volcanic rock would cause you to be cursed by Pele. Many say the park rangers made up this whole thing to keep people from removing mounds of volcanic rock from these historical landmarks, but that does not stop people from mailing volcanic rock back to the islands asking for forgiveness and for the curse to be lifted. If you want to learn more, or perhaps have some volcanic rock of your own to return, you should check out these guys: http://www.volcanogallery.com/lavarock.htm.

What is the appeal of Pele? Why after so much time is she still so relevant in the lives of people? For starters, as long as there are volcanoes in Hawaii, there is proof that Pele is around. In addition, I find Pele appealing because she embodies womanhood in a very true, if more exaggerated way. Pele’s blend of beauty, grace, sexuality, and desire for vengeance are always portrayed in very recognizable ways. In my opinion, as long as there are wild women, there will be a Pele for them to model themselves after.

What else can I say? Hawaii rocks! Want to learn more? Start here: www.gohawaii.com.

Article by Rebecca
Image by Will Hobbs (www.sirwilliamwesley.com)

He is the God of all Craftsmen, particularly those who work in metals, a sometimes God of Fire and Volcanoes. He also was an exiled child who became a disgruntled and disfigured adult. Then he went on to construct the most important items in all of creation. When you talk about overcoming handicaps to achieve great things, look no further then Hephaestus.

Some stories say this Greek deity is the child of Zeus and Hera, other stories explain that Hephaestus was conceived by Hera alone, without you know, having known anyone (wink, wink). One telling of his life’s tale explains that Hephaestus stood up for his mother Hera when she was fighting with Zeus, and thusly Zeus expelled him from Olympus. Quite forcefully in fact, he literally tossed him out and Hephaestus fell for nine days. When he landed it caused him to become crippled and disfigured. Another version says that Hephaestus was born crippled and that Hera was so repulsed by her newborn son that she discarded him, which also involved him doing some falling from Mount Olympus. No matter how it happened, Hephaestus is always shown as unattractive and misshapen, lame and hunched over his anvil. He walks with the aid of a stick because of his physical ailments, which are sometimes played up to such an extreme that his feet are actually back to front! An interesting note here is that some people mention that Hephaestus’s physical appearance could be a caused by low levels of arsenic poisoning. This is interesting because arsenic was sometimes added to bronze to help it harden, which resulted in many smiths of the Bronze age suffering from low levels of arsenic poisoning. This meant that many smiths of that era would bear some of the same marks as their patron Hephaestus. It should be noted that I am not a medical expert, nor a history buff, so I cannot vouch that this is 100% true, but I found it to be an interesting theory at the very least.

Hephaestus was crippled and tossed aside. He only made it back to Olympus by being dragged there drunk after having constructed a chair that held his mother Hera prisoner. Athena, a suitable partner didn’t want him, Aphrodite, his sometimes wife cheated on him. Also, let’s call it a hunch; I’m guessing Mom and “Dad” never really welcomed him back like the long lost son he was. Overall, Hephaestus had it tough, but to get all symbolic ironic on your ass, sometimes the hottest fires forge the toughest steels.

It’s true, Hephaestus did not have a lot in his favor, but what he did have was mad skills (as the kids say) at the forge. Once the gods realized this, he was the go to guy for all your legendary item needs! Firstly, it is said that he built all the homes for the gods on Mount Olympus, but that’s child’s play compared to his other creations. Hephaestus is credited with having constructed Achilles’ armor, Hercules’s bronze clappers, Helios’s chariot, the Aegis breastplate, Eros’s bow and arrow, and much more. Anyone who was anyone in the Greek pantheon’s prime had to have at least one item that Hephaestus created, but all the mythological bling bling is overshadowed by one very important creation, woman.

When the gods decided to give man the gift of woman, Hephaestus created her out of clay. So ultimately it was Hephaestus that gave man the gift of woman, a beautiful woman named Pandora that was bestowed to man bearing a very special jar (or box). Of course, that is another story all together….