17- THE MOIRA OR THE FATES
the 3 goddesses who determined human destinies especially the duration of one’s life and his share of misery.
Latin name : the Parcae : Nona, Decuma, Morta
There were 3 sisters:
Clotho : the spinner determines the thread of human fate,
Lachesis : the alloter who dispenses the good and bad fortune
Atropos : the inflexible who cut the thread of life.
The three sisters weaved the fate of humans and gods alike. Neither human nor God has the power to influence or question their judgment and actions.
Clotho, the youngest one, spins the thread of life; she is the very origin, the creation of life itself and her thread is spun upon the birth of a person.
Lachesis, the second sister, is the one that allocates the fate of people during life. The name comes from the Greek word ‘λαγχάνω’ which means to obtain from lots. In that sense, one can understand that their destiny is chosen out of a myriad of possibilities. It is said that Lachesis measures the thread of life with her rod, determining its length and nature.
The last sister of fate is Atropos, the unturning. Atropos is the cutter of the thread of life and with her shears she determines how someone will die.
According to the Greek mythology there are either 3 of the 6 children that Zeus had with the goddess of justice Themis, or in another version they are the children of Nyx alone.
How to recognise them ?
The fates are personified as 3 very old women.
Not to confuse with
*The Graeae: Deino, Enyo, Pemphredo or the Stygian Witches
The Walt Disney film “Hercules “ as well as Percy Jackson movies confuse the 3 Fates with the Graeae or Graiae old immortal witches who shared one eye and one teeth. The Graeae would read the future through the shared eye and then eat any mortal or hero like Perseus who came to ask for a prediction.
18- TYCHE
Roman name : Fortuna
The daughter of Aphrodite and Zeus or Hermes, Tyche was the goddess of fortune, chance and fate.
She was the personification of prosperity , growth, good fortune and abundance.
The goddess could as well make your good fortune or make your fortune disappear if you were not as grateful as you should .
How to recognise her ?
She holds a cornucopia or the wheel of fortune.
19- PAN
Latin name : Faunus or Sylvanus
God Pan is a secondary and anthropomorphic deity. His father Hermes took him from his homeland in Arcadia, a mountainous region to Olympus where everyone became infatuated with him.
He was the god of nature, of the woods and the forests but also the personification of the power of life.
He was the protector of breeders, hunters, fishermen and shepherds, anyone with a permanent residence in nature.
He was also envied for his numerous love stories with the nymphs.
According to the Ancient Greek historian Plutarch, Pan has a unique characteristic as he supposedly died despite the fact that he is a god.
During the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius (14- 37 CE) a rumour spread that a divine voice from nowhere had whispers to a fisherman that “The Great God Pan is dead”.
How to recognise him ?
Pan is represented as a handsome powerful man with horns on the top of his head and the lower legs of a goat. His symbol is the pan flute.
20- AIOLOS
Latin name : Aeolus
Aiolos, the son of a mortal king and an immortal nymph, was the god or the keeper of the winds . He had been appointed by Zeus. He was also king on the floating island of Aeolia, where he kept all the winds inside his huge shepherd’s bag, leaving them free only under the instructions of the major Olympic Gods.
Homer described in «The Odysseus» that Aeolus at first helped Odysseus and his crew when they reached his island Aeolia by giving to Odysseus a bag which trapped the four main winds so they could reach Ithaca rapidly. But Odysseus crew, just like Pandora, could not resist the temptation and they opened the bag while Odysseus was asleep. The ship was immediately blown back to Aeolia but Aeolus, infuriated by their immaturity, refused to help any longer.
Remember no one is allowed to disrespect a god.
How to recognise him ?
With his jar or bag where he keeps the winds, or a harp.
21- EROS
Latin name : Cupid
The son of Aphrodite and Ares, Eros was the winged god of love.
According to the legend, if he would hit two people with his arrows they would immediately fall passionately in love.
For Hesiod, Eros was not the son of Aphrodite and Ares but one of the four
primordial deities who created the world: “First there was Chaos, Gaia, Tartarus then Eros”. In Hesiod’s version, Eros does not bless someone with love but encourages it and facilitates birth and creation. He is a primordial force.
How to recognise him ?
His attributes are either the bow and harrows, or the lyre.
22- ASKLEPIOS
Latin name : Asclepius
Asklepios, the son of Apollo, was the god of medicine and healings. He was worshiped all over Greece and especially in Epidaurus.
He was initiated into the science of healing and medicine by his mighty father Apollo but was taught the art of medicine by the centaur Chiron and by a snake he had rescued. Snakes were supposed to be sacred beings of healing and resurrection.
Askepios surpassed quickly Apollo and Chiron and soon Hades was in a terrible rage as Asclepius resuscitated too many creatures in the brink of his Underworld kingdom.
Zeus had to keep the delicate balance of life and death and therefore had to kill Asclepius with his thunderbolt.
Apollo retaliated immediately by killing the Titans who had forged the thunderbolts of Zeus.
Zeus punished Apollo by banishing him from Olympus and ordering him to serve for a whole year the king of Thessaly .
In order to reconcile with Apollo , Zeus accepted to resuscitate Asklepios with the obligation for him to stay in Mount Olympus and stop healing the mortals.
Even if Asklepios is not considered a major god, he is a central figure in the archetype of god-heroes-healers. Asklepios is the ideal conception of the healing power of nature, as it is perceived by humans today.
One of the greatest festivals in his honor was the Prominent Askleipia, which was originally held every 4 years in Epidaurus and lasted 7 days. The most famous temple of Asklepios was in Epidaurus , best known in modern times for its impressive theatre, Asklepios recommended to the sick people to be entertained as an important part of the healing process.
The original Hippocratic Oath starts with this reference : “ I swear by Apollo and by Hygieia and Panacea and by all the gods…..”
The daughters of Asklepios were Hygieia the goddess of cleanliness and Panacea, the goddess of universal remedy.
Hippocrates of Kos was a physician in the age of Pericles considered to be the apotheosis of the Ancient Greek civilisation ( 460-370 BCE). He is considered as the Father of Medicine. The Hippocratic oath is still being used worldwide by doctors in medicine.
How to recognise him ?
His symbol is probably the most famous attribute from the Greek Mythology: it is a rod or a staff with one serpent entwined. It is still use nowadays to identify pharmacies.
Many people confused this healing symbol with the attribute of the god Hermes who uses a staff with 2 serpents entwined.
Some Titans made peace with Zeus and stayed present with the Olympian gods such as :
THEMIS
According to Hesiod, Themis was a Tintaness. she was one of the daughter of Gaia and Uranus, one of the sisters of Chronos and Rhea. She was the goddess of divine order, natural law and fairness.
Her law was sacred and applied equally to the gods, superior even to their will. Her laws must be respected over the laws of the men.
She also could predict the future. She had links with Apollo and was present at Delos to witness the birth of Apollo.
If Themis was not respected then Nemesis would take over and inflict the punishment.
How to recognise her ?
She is usually depicted wearing a blindfold, holding a bronze sword, believed to represent her ability to cut fact from fiction. She can also be represented holding scales of justice.
Finally there were the Monsters, no gods but not growing old.
EHIDNA, THE MOTHER OF THE MONSTERS
Most of the famous monsters from Greek Mythology had the same mother : Echidna the mother of Monsters. In some versions Echidna was the daughter of Tartarus and Gaia.
Hesiod’s Echidna was half beautiful maiden and half fearsome snake. Hesiod described «the goddess fierce Echidna» as a flesh eating «monster, irresistible», who was like neither «mortal men» nor «the undying gods», but was «half a nymph with glancing eyes and fair cheeks, and half again a huge snake, great and awful, with speckled skin», who «dies not nor grows old all her days.»
Echidna and her off springs lived to challenge many future Heroes. Some of her descendants were:
- Cerberus, the three-headed dog of Hades, guardian of the Underworld;
- Lernaean Hydra , the serpentine water monster that was killed by Hercules;
- Chimera, the fire-breathing hybrid creature;
- Sphinx that would kill anyone that would answer wrongly to her riddle;
- Scylla, the legendary sea monster