Melaina’s Art

moodboard: caer ibormeith

↦ Caer Ibormeith is the celtic goddess of dreams and prophecy. Caer Ibormeith was a daughter of Prince Ethal Anbuail of Sid Uamuin in Connacht. In Óengus’s dream, which lasted over a year, Caer Ibormeith stood beside his bed though when he reached out for her, she would disappear. Every alternate Samhain she would turn to human form for one celtic day, which begins at sunset, and after that, she would revert into being a swan, in which form she would remain for a year before becoming human again the following Samhain. Óengus went in search for this girl in his dreams at the lake of the Dragon’s Mouth and found 150 girls chained in pairs, his girl Caer Ibormeith, among them. Óengus was told he could marry Caer if he could identify her in her swan form, he chose correctly and with that Óengus turned himself into a swan and they flew away together, the pair sung beautiful music as they went, that put all listeners throughout Ireland asleep for three days and nights.

1920s vampires who prey on human party goers

moodboard: mielikki

↦ Mielikki is the Finnish goddess of forests and the hunt. In a country where the forest was central to providing food through hunting, gathering and cattle grazing, it was thought very important to stay on her good side. She is also offered prayers by those who hunt small game and those who gather mushrooms and berries. Mielikki is known as a skillful healer who heals the paws of animals who have escaped traps, helps chicks that have fallen from their nests and she is said to have played a central role in the creation of the bear.. She knows well the healing herbs and will also help humans if they know well enough to ask her for it. Her name is derived from the old Finnish word mielu which means luck.

requested by @itwouldbeajoytobringyoutea

@mythonetwork: trial 4: water spirits & creatures: rusalka

okay buckle up for the gaelic creation myth because it’s a wild ride

This is my interpretation of the Gaelic myth of creation which is hopefully of interest to some of you, so please take the time to read I promise it’s worth it! 

Okay so in the beginning the world was primal chaos and everything was volcanoes and sulphur etc.. then from space/heaven? comes a trickle of water, which turns into a stream, and turns the earth green and fresh and the volcanoes become mountains and the sky turns blue. This water is Danu, the divine waters, and is the mother goddess. Where the divine waters reach earth, there grows a giant oak tree called Bíle, and from the oak grows two acorns. Each acorn falls to the ground and one becomes The Dagda (the good god, the father etc.) and the other becomes Brigid (the mother, the wise one, and mother of healing, knowledge, poetry and craftsmanship). The Dagda and Brigid divert the divine waters east and this becomes the Danube, on which they create four great cities, which are populated with the children of the Dagda and Brigid, and are known as the Children of Danu.

Brigid explains to her children that true knowledge can only come from the feet of Danu, the mother goddess, and those that learned from her would worship Bíle the sacred oak. They weren’t allowed to say his name though and called him draoi for oak, and these worshippers become the druids. Also the Children of Danu in each city held a sacred artefact and one was the Stone of Destiny (which is very important and you’ll know what I mean if you’re scottish, if you’re not look it up), there was also a magic sword and spear and a sort of cornucopia cauldron they used to feed everyone. Then eventually Brigid calls them all to her and says they have to travel west to Inisfáil, the island of destiny. Which I’m pretty sure is Great Britain or Ireland. 

Ok so as well as the divine waters of Danu, there is also Domnu who is her evil sister who has created a race called the children of Domnu who are Bad and they live in underwater cities in the ocean or something. Basically they already live in Inisfáil and the children of Danu have to turf them out. Also I’m going to call the Children of Domnu the Fomorii, and the children of Danu just the Danu from hereon out because it takes a while to type. Okay so the Danu take the artefacts/treasures with them and go to Inisfàil, and have to fight the Firblog (who are some other weird race idk where they came from) and the Danu win but their leader/king Nuada loses a hand, and his hand gets replaced with a silver one and so he gets called Argetlámh from now on (silver hand, also anyone that’s familiar with the Inheritance cycle just knows). The god that gives him the new hand is Dian Cécht the god of medicine/healing. But apparently there’s a rule that you cant be king if you have a blemish, so Argetlámh cant be king and instead they decide to live under the Fomorii king Bres (the Fomorii are the evil ones so that’s not a good plan at all) on the condition that they can force him to abdicate if he fucks up too much. Also Dian Cécht the god of medicine marries Ethne who is the daughter of the foremost Fomorii warrior, Balor of the one eye (who is a giant cyclops). Basically it all goes to shit and the Danu have to live under the Fomorii who are Evil so everyone is having a shit time and the Danu are basically slaves, and this lasts for three years.

Okay so Dian Cécht and Ethne have two kids, Miach and Airmid, and these guys make Argetlámh a new hand which is actually flesh so he can be king again cause it technically doesn’t count as a blemish? Also Dian Cécht kills his son, Miach for like showing him up or something, so its just his daughter Airmid left. Anyway Argetlámh becomes king of the Danu again and they go to war with the Fomorii. So now we are in the middle of a huge battle, its Samhain (Hallowe’en for you plebs, and the Celtic/druidic new year), and a bunch of death and destruction gods like the Mórrígán have turned up to watch and wail despairingly and stuff. 

So the Danu seem to not be dying and have unlimited weapons, and the king of the Fomorii (Bres) is very suspicious. He sends his son Ruadan (lovin it because my name is Ruadan basically) to go find out wtf is going on over there. Ruadan discovers that the carpenter, smith and bronze worker gods are just forging new weapons like madmen, and Dian Cécht and his daughter Airmid have set up a nifty little well of healing and are just resurrecting every fallen warrior. Ruadan stabs the smith god with a javelin and the smith god kills him before going to be healed in the magic well, so that was a DUMBASS IDEA RUADAN (however relatable). The Fomorii sing in despair and stuff, and then some other come and fill in the magic well with stones so now they cant use it and the Danu are mortal. 

Now the battle continues only this time the Danu actually die. Elsewhere on the battlefield Argetlámh fights Balor the giant evil cyclops. Argetlámh loses (sad reacts only) and Balor kills his wife too just for good measure (she was the personification of battle and goddess of warriors and shieldmaidens and sounds absolutely awesome). Argetlámh’s replacement then shows up, he is called Lugh Lámhfada and is both the grandson of the god of speech, Cainte, and is himself all-wise and all-knowing, so go Lugh! Lugh goes and finds Balor and shoots his giant evil one eye out with a slingshot, and the crowd goes wild! Now the Danu are reinvigorated and press forward, beating back the Fomorii. ‘It is said that more Fomorii were killed on the plain of battle than there were stars in the sky, grains of sand on the seashore, or snow-flakes in winter.’ So the Danu are doing great! Now ya boi Lugh walks up to the evil King Bres, who immediately starts begging for his life. Lugh lets him live in return for Bres telling the Danu what time of year to plough, sow and harvest (because idk that was the one thing they didn’t already know). 

So the battle was won, the Fomorii were pushed back into their undersea fortress, and the Danu got to live on Inisfáil and be its protectors and gods and goddesses of goodness and light and stuff. BUT, evil Domnu set a curse upon the Danu, that one day everything would go to shit and the plants and animals would die and judges will make unjust laws and people will lose their honour and integrity and furries will happen and stuff. And it happened!  A new race appeared on Inisfáil and they were the Children of Míl (who were the Gaels and ancestors of modern Celtic peoples) and they were awful and everything Domnu said they would be. The Danu went into hiding in the hills and became known as the sídhe (færies to you plebs) and the great invincible god Lugh, all-wise and all-knowing and everything, became lost. The new religion of the cross twisted him and forgot him and he is only remembered today as Lugh-chromain, the leprechaun.

If there is something I’m really sick of reading over and over in Tumblr is this idea of comparing Greek Gods to human and reducing them to human flaws. 

One big problem is that -almost- everyone seem to ignore what mythology is, and what are the functions mythology plays in a civilization. Myth tales are not some kind of “fanfiction” to keep people entertained, not a “fandom” of Ancient people, please stop it. For centuries the very sole concept of “myth” and “mythology” has been an object of study. You can’t just speak of mythology and ignore the psychology, cosmology, and sociology behind it. Myths are not meant to be plausible or realistic, they are meant to be true/sincere. Greek Mythology -as other mythologies- has its own inner coherence, we can have different works done by different people in different times, but the framework maintains the essence of Greek identity. Since mythology is not meant to be plausible, by hyper-rationalazying it we make it lose its sense and meaning. Statements like “Oh Zeus puts his dick anywhere means Ancient Greek were rapists, or oh but why sophrosyne was a value for Ancient Greeks if their gods had sex all time” are the biggest display of ignorance regarding Greek Mythology and its functions.

It is also true that Ancient Greeks didn’t have an specific notion for “religion” as something separate from daily life, and unlike other religions they wouldn’t have “sacred books” or similar. But that doesn’t mean one must take a myth story literally and pretend it was a realistic reflection of Ancient Greek religion or daily life. Their religion was based on the idea that gods and goddesses were beings of excellence and superiority, who deserved love and respect and should be reached with a pious heart. 

If you’re going to talk with such authoritarian tone about the Greek Gods whether as characters from mythology or as divine beings, please do it with a little bit of previous knowledge. It’s really sad to see the legacy of an amazing culture being reduced into so much stupidity because people are too lazy to educate themselves a bit. And seriously, this is not asking for that much. 

About the Zeus-is-everyone’s-father thing: The Aristocrats/nobles of that time set heros as the first of their blood lines. For example Alexander the Great of Macedonia had Heracles as an ancestor from his father’s side and Achilles as ancestor from his mother’s side of the family. He was proud of that - he tried to find Achilles’ armor. Anyway: the nobles wanting special ancestors was one of the practical reasons to make a Heros half-divine and if they could, the kid of Zeus. People usually forget that religion has practical uses that sometimes explain parts of it.

:) exactly! Thank you for the contribution! ❤️

i would love to see artwork of a black Aphrodite with pearls and roses sewn into cornrows or dreadlocks. like so much of the art and interpretations of Aphrodite are so white. she’s the goddess of love and beauty like variety would be lovely just sayin’. 

and there’s the excuse “well, she’s greek”

well…. she’s a fucking goddess. if Zeus can show up as a fucking swan and Poseidon can turn into a goddamn horse Aphrodite can be black and fucking beautiful

THIS!!

I kind of headcanon the fact the can change races? It would be dope if she could one day be white, the next  be black, the next hispanic, and so on. Since there are different types of beauty in the world, she can’t just portray only one version of beauty.

I’ve noticed this revisionist Greek myth is common wherein Persephone loves Hades and eats the pomegranate seeds in order to evade her overbearing mother, and that’s all well and good. You know, sometimes I’m in the mood for it and sometimes I’m not. But hear this: as long as we’re doing this, why is no one wondering whether Aphrodite might really love Hephaestus? 

Think about it. All the gods in their immortal splendor are lining up to marry her, doing everything in their power to impress her, the goddess of love and beauty, and she choses…that guy. A god in technical terms only, a social reject who’s ugly and malformed and um, no fun. Always slaving away in his workshop when everyone else is quaffing nectar and having their eternal beach party up on Mount Olympus. They can’t believe she’d give up all of them for that. 

So, because the gods do not take rejection well (looking at you Apollo), eventually they start to say to each other, well, we all know Zeus made her do it anyway. He’s gotta feel guilty for throwing Hephaestus off Mount Olympus that one time. And it quickly becomes that poor girl, stuck in that workshop full of sweat and dirt and cyclopses when she could have had one of us. Because of course they’ve got love all figured out; it’s entirely technical and dependent on who’s the most charming and good-looking and not at all variable and strange and notoriously unpredictable, right?

Meanwhile Ares, only the most arrogant and brainless of the crew, can’t take a hint and is still showing up wherever Aphrodite goes trying to hit on her, so eventually she and Hephaestus decide to rig up an elaborate mechanical trap for him, using her as bait. When all the gods have laughed at him for getting caught he huffily attempts to regain his dignity by telling them, whatever, guys, you want to know the truth, I was meeting her for an assignation. And they all kind of know he’s full of it but they just accept it as the unvarnished truth from thereon in, because they’d love to believe she’d cheat on Hephaestus with Ares. They’d love it. Come on, Aphrodite, get off your high horse and admit you’re just as shallow as the rest of us. 

So they talk, but Aphrodite doesn’t really care about their collective jealousy because she dotes on her misshapen genius of a husband with his sooty hands and his sweaty brow who always takes her seriously and is always so hard at work inventing astonishing new things to make her happy, and she loves the volcano they live in with its internal pressures so conducive to the formation of precious stones and its passages lit with glowing lava that so gorgeously offsets her cheekbones, and all the cyclopses worship her because even with one eye apiece they’ve still got more depth perception than most men do where she’s concerned. True it is that as a couple the two develop a reputation for not getting out much, because all those Olympian parties bore them to death and they’d rather spend time with each other (poor Aphrodite, she’s such a vivacious young thing and her husband is so grasping and insecure that he won’t let her go out and have fun), but they do all right. 

THIS IS THE KIND OF CONTENT I’M LOOKING FOR

love <3

Ok, ok, wait, but it doesn’t end there. Because Aphrodite features pretty heavily in the story of Eros and Psyche. She’s painted as the villain, her jealousy causing her to send her son to curse the girl, but that’s just not true. She knows what it’s like to be clamored over for your beauty, knows the lies that are spread, the way it sets you up as a target and discredits your mind. Aphrodite hears the mortals whisper that this human girl rivals her in beauty, and one day she gets around to seeing what the fuss is about.

She finds Psyche’s home all but besieged by suitors, but she notices the girl isn’t falling for their flattery, that she is still kind, no matter who she’s dealing with. She sees a bit of herself in this girl who aches to be spoken to, not at, and who wants most of all to be heard.

When she sends her son to the girl, she is less than truthful about her motivations. She knows if she tells him she hopes he will fall for this mortal girl it will make things awkward for him, that true love must be discovered on its own and cannot be forced. When he comes away from the encounter with her name on his lips, searching for excuses to talk to her again, Aphrodite whispers into the soothsayer’s ear to tell Psyche’s father that she is loved by a god. Frees her from the hoards of shallow admirers and gives her son the opportunity he needs to see her again. 

When a year of late-night conversations fails to convince her son that it’s time to reveal himself to his beloved, she puts a bug in Psysche’s ear to ask for her sisters to visit, whispers in their ears to convince Psyche to take matters into her own hands, ensures the two can finally meet face to face. She is saddened when Eros flees, believing Psyche had betrayed him.

The four tasks Psyche must overcome to be reunited with her son aren’t laid forth out of spite, but rather to help the girl find herself. Aphrodite knows this girl hasn’t had a choice in the path her life has taken up until this point. Knows that everything was in the hands of her father, and of Aphrodite herself. She wants to make sure Psyche means it, wants Psyche to know what she’s getting into when dealing with the Olympians. Wants, most of all, for Psyche to question her own motivations, fully evaluate the situation, and then make her own choice.

Her frustration at the Olympians aiding the girl isn’t because she hates being tricked. No, she wants Psyche to break out of her shell, wants her to have the option to decide this isn’t worth it and walk away. 

When the final task ends in Psyche laying unconscious on the roadway, Aphrodite searches the girl’s heart and knows her intentions are true. Knows she is ready to join the family. She kicks Eros out of the house to ensure he would find Psyche, to ensure he would come to his senses and forgive her, realize that he had been unfair to her and to ask her forgiveness in turn.

They say Aphrodite was sour about the whole ordeal until her  granddaughter was born, but the truth was she hadn’t stopped smiling from the moment her son had first come home, whispering the girls name in reverence.

I liked before. 

Now I find it awesome. 

will someone please do a different take on icarus too

or medea

or  andromeda