Samoan mythology as a subset of Polynesian mythology will be the subject of this blog post. I have previously covered various deities of the Hawaiian islands and in the future I will address the gods of the other Polynesian island groups. 

GEGE – A deity who specialized in ridding the Samoan island of Upolu of demons. Operating out of his base at Falealili he roamed the island, met demons in contests of magic and transformed them into stone. Countless unusual rock formations on Upolu are said to be the petrified bodies of the demons overcome by Gege.

PAPA – In other Polynesian island groups Papa is the Earth goddess. In the Samoan pantheon she is strictly the goddess of the flatrock base beneath islands. Admittedly that is an oddly specific designation. She mated with the supreme deity Tangaloa to give birth to some of the Samoan islands.   

VAVAU – The Samoan god of peace. The chief deity Tangaloa sent Vavau from the heavens down to the earth, forbidding him to return until he had brought peace to all humanity. Since conflicts in some form persist in some areas of the world at all times Vavau is still wandering among humans, but every time he brings a peaceful resolution to one conflict another breaks out elsewhere.   

TOAFA and FOGE – The goddess and god of freshwater springs that burst forth from rocks. They are represented in the form of two smooth, oblong stones. Two mountains on Savai’i are named for them. Their daughter is the rain goddess Saato.   

TAEMA and TILAFAIGA – The patron deities of tattooing. These two goddesses were born as conjoined twins but as they swam the ocean to Tutuila and then Fiji they were separated by a collision with a floating log. On Fiji the twins learned the art of tattoing and when they swam back to the Samoan islands they introduced the artform there. As twins double yams, double bananas and other flukes are sacred to them. Because they were born conjoined it is considered an affront to Taema and Tilafaiga for humans to sit back to back.   

LESA – The Samoan god of agriculture and plenty. He brings abundant harvests and can help crops by asking his wife Saato to send rain. All manner of cultivated foods fall under his purview. Lesa can also be prayed to to ruin the crops of one’s enemies during wartime. He is the son of the god Turia, who controls the weather.  Lesa’s messenger is the owl.  

SAVEA – The god who rules over the subterranean land of the dead, called Puloto. Savea had the head, arms and torso of a human but the rest of his body was that of a large eel. His wives were the twin tattooing goddesses Taema and Tilifaiga, one of whom (accounts vary) gave birth to their daughter Nafanua, the goddess of war. Savea’s brother was Salevao, the god of minerals found deep in the earth.

The entrance to Savea’s realm was at a cave in Falealupo. Various demons patrolled the path to Pulotu for Savea and would seize any mortals daring to venture along that path while still alive.    

MANILOA – The Samoan god of cannibalism. Originally humans did not feed on each other. Maniloa (no relation to Barry Maniloa – rimshot) would construct bridges like spider-webs over ravines. When people would cross those bridges Maniloa would shake them, causing the mortals to fall to their deaths below, following which he would devour their remains. 

Eventually an entire army of ancient Samoans attacked him and succeeded in slaying him. His godly essence entered all of them, filling them with his hunger for human flesh and turning them into the first cannibals of the Samoan islands. In some versions Maniloa’s slayers ate his remains as a form of poetic justice, only to find themselves cursed with cannibalistic hunger after doing so.   

FAINGA’A and SI’SI - The patron goddesses of true but unrequited love. These two sisters fell in love with the mortal Pasikole, the only Polynesian man with blonde hair. Pasikole loved his mortal wife, however, and remained true to her. He rejected the two goddesses’ advances but they refused to leave him, even watching when he and his wife would have sex.

Eventually Pasikole tried to get rid of the goddesses by tricking them into huge baskets and leaving them in the mountains. They eventually made their way back to him so he next took them fishing and trapped them in a net. He weighed down the net with rocks and tossed Fainga’a and Si’si into the sea. The chief deity Tangaloa freed them and, as they requested, sent the two goddesses to the land of the dead to await Pasikole’s arrival after he died.

When the blonde man did finally pass away he still remained faithful to his wife and refused the goddesses’ advances again, preferring to wait for his wife’s arrival after her own eventual death. Fainga’a and Si’si later went on to marry the monster-slaying god Ti’i-Ti’i (the Samoan version of the Hawaiian god Maui) while Pasikole was worshipped after his death as the god of husbandly fidelity.         

TI’I-TI’I – The Samoan Hercules. This demigod was the Samoan island group’s version of the Hawaiian god Maui. In fact, Maui’s longer name is Maui-Tiki-Tiki and Ti’i-Ti’i is pronounced like Tiki-Tiki but with glottal stops where the k’s would be. Ti’i-Ti’i's deeds included: a) Slaying a land-dwelling octopus who lived in a cave and had tentacles so long it could pluck victims from anywhere on the island and drag them to its mouth to devour them,

b) Retrieving a floating island and returning it to its original position in the ocean

c) Slaying a shark-like Devil Fish that was eating all the fish of the sea and leaving none for Samoan fishermen,

d) Subduing and returning one of the four winds when it escaped from the cave of the wind god Fa’atiu,     

e) Freeing the Samoan islands from the reign of terror of a race of giant humanoids with the heads of dogs. Those giants were especially dangerous because they roamed the islands with packs of enormous dogs on leashes. Ti’i-Ti’i eventually killed them all,

f) Slaying Tetuna the eel god to stop his attempts to seduce the goddess Sina

and g) Stealing fire for humans by invading the underground lair of the fire and earthquake god Mafuie. Ti’i-Ti’i did this by defeating Mafuie in a wrestling contest. This was also how he obtained his two wives, the goddesses Fainga’a and Si’si, whom Savea, god of the dead, gave him as a reward for winning his battle with Mafuie.   

LOSI - A fishing deity and a member of the race of immortal earth-bound giants who are Samoan mythology’s version of the Titans. Losi was a master fisherman and a trickster deity who loved defying the heavenly gods. Once when the chief deity Tangaloa ordered Losi to provide all the gods of the heavens with fish for a feast the mischievous figure caught untold numbers of fish but placed them on the doorway of each of the gods’ homes in their heavenly realm.

When the gods emerged from their homes at sunrise they each slipped on the fish and filled Losi with laughter. Angered, the gods ordered Losi from the heavens. Before he departed the trickster concealed seeds for taro plants (which at the time grew only in the realm of the gods) in his anal cavity. Tangaloa sensed something was wrong and ordered Losi searched. The intimate search did not find the taro seeds but did embarrass the master fisherman to the point where he wanted revenge.

Back on Earth Losi rallied his fellow giants to him and they all stormed the skyland home of the gods. Though nearly all of the world’s belief systems feature a similar conflict between the gods and a race of giants the Samoan pantheon boasts the only version of the tale in which the gods get their celestial butts kicked. One of Losi’s fellows, the giant Lefanoga, was the god of destruction and led the giants to victory. They then ransacked the realm of the gods for fruit trees as well as yams and took those items down to the Earth to give to mortals. Previously only the gods had such things.      

PILI – The black lizard god who was the son of Tangaloa and the ancestor of the four main ruling families of Samoa. Though his primary form was that of a large lizard Pili, like all the other gods, could take human form at will. When his sister Sina was courted by the king of Fiji and then taken away to be his bride she invited him to come with the party on their journey by sea.

Enroute to Fiji the food ran out and Pili had to save Sina from the royal party’s plans to try to eat her. He did so and multiplied the ship’s existing food to make enough for the rest of the voyage. Unfortunately the king and his crew deceived Sina into thinking Pili was behind the food shortage in the first place and so she took her brother by surprise and tossed him overboard.

Pili was saved by his brothers Fuialaio and Maomao, then followed Sina to Fiji. The king’s evil nature had brought a famine to all of Fiji just as it had done to the royal party at sea. The vile king began killing his own subjects to provide food for the nobility. Pili saved the day by planting magical yams that grew immediately and saved the people from starvation and from being eaten themselves. Sina rejected the king and left Fiji with her brother.

Pili himself eventually married a mortal woman and had four sons – Tua, who founded Atua; Ana, who founded A’ana; Saga, who founded Tuamasaga and Tolufalo, the greatest of the four, who settled all of the island of Savai’i. Years later the brothers had a falling out, thus beginning the War of the Brothers, a real war but the history of which is complicated by the layers of mythology and folklore that have evolved alongside it. (Think of the Heike or the Trojan War or even Le Mort d’Arthur) The rivalries between the four factions of Samoa’s noble families linger to this very day.            

SINA – Samoan mythology’s counterpart to Hina from Hawaiian myths. Unlike Hina, Sina was not the moon goddess but was a deity of love, beauty,and fertility. As part of that role Sina had countless lovers (including her father Tangaloa) and various husbands. She also attracted plenty of demons and monsters as would-be romantic partners too.

Tetuna, who was the eel god of the Samoans just as he was for the Hawaiians, tried to court Sina at the spring where she would retire to for her baths. After Tetuna persistently joined the goddess in the spring for several days in a row Sina finally appealed to the chief deity Tangaloa for help. He ordered the demigod Ti’i-Ti’i to go and slay Tetuna, who, with his dying breath, asked Sina to transform him into the first cocoanut tree. Sina granted his wish, and that is why cocoanut trees have the long bodies of eels and why cocoanuts look like they have Tetuna’s face on them.

Sina’s promiscuity led to her being the mother of countless figures in Samoan myths. She would sometimes marry mortal men, but they would eventually die, freeing the goddess to pursue new romances with other males, either mortal or divine.      

NAFANUA – The Samoan goddess of war. She was the daughter of Savea, the god who ruled over the land of the dead, and of one of the tattoo goddesses (accounts vary as to which). Nafanua was born as a clot of blood and was thus thrown away by her mother. Savea found her and gave her life.

Nafanua could not be defeated in battle by any of the other deities in the Samoan pantheon. The center of her worship was Falealupo, which was also where tradition held that the entrance to the land of the dead lay. Nafanua’s first battle in the human world came when her father sent her to the realm of mortals to help Chief Matuna overcome the forces of a tyrannical war-chief who was trying to conquer all of Samoa. Matuna’s chief priest Tai’i had prayed to Savea for assistance.

Nafanua’s strength was equal to hundreds of men and she wielded a huge fallen tree as a war-club. The goddess overcame several of the tyrant’s armies enroute to his capital. Nafanua at last reached Matuna’s home where he and his family feasted the goddess and let her drink all of the kava in the village.

Refreshed, Nafanua took the field the next day, leading Matuna’s armies against the tyrant’s forces. The war goddess killed dozens for every one killed by the mortals she led. At length, the wind blew Nafanua’s tiputa (warshirt) up far enough that the opposing forces could see her breasts and realize it was a woman decimating them. The rest of the tyrant’s army surrendered in shame.

Before starting wars chiefs would often make a pilgrimmage to Falealupo to pray to Nafanua for her help in the upcoming battles.      

TANGALOA – The supreme deity of the Samoan pantheon, also called Tagaloa. He incorporates elements of the gods Kanaloa, Rangi and Lono from other Polynesian island groups. Tangaloa rules both the sky and the sea. One of his early acts was to use his nets to fish up the sun-fish and the moon-fish and set them in the heavens. The two take turns leaping through the sky, but like other flying fish eventually need to land back in the sea. Tangaloa rides the sun-fish across the sky during the months with long days but rides the moon-fish through the sky during the months with long nights. His son takes his place on the other fish at such times. Eclipses are caused by the sun-fish and moon-fish having sex. 

Originally there was no land on the Earth and the sea filled the world. Sina flew down to the Earth in the form of a bird but complained to Tangaloa that she had nowhere to land. Tangaloa threw enormous boulders down from the heavenly realm of the gods to form some islands and fished up other islands from the bottom of the sea.

When Sina had rested she returned to her father, who sent her back down to the ancient Samoan islands with a giant creeper vine. As the vine rotted, large worm-like creatures were formed and Tangaloa went down to personally craft them into the first humans. Originally they were all males but when one of them died for the first time Tangaloa resurrected the being as the first woman.

Tangaloa’s children are innumerable but include various gods, demigods and even the race of giant immortals like Losi, who once led the giants in an attack on the heavenly home of the gods. He mated with his daughter Sina to spawn the race of giants.

Tangaloa does not like noises in his presence, so when he visited ancient Samoa carpenters were forbidden to work. Tangaloa also created the nine heavens where the Samoan deities live.      

FOR MORE DEITIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD: http://glitternight.com/category/mythology/

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

CHALCHIHUITLICUE - The Aztec goddess of lakes, streams, rivers and the ocean. She was also the patron goddess of birth, with the newly-born being soon after immersed in her waters to “cleanse” them. The diseased would often pray to Chalchihuitlicue for a cure before bathing in a body of water asking the goddess to wash away their illness. She was also considered the goddess of whirlpools, which the tectonics under Mesoamerica made fairly frequent back then. At Lake Texcoco in Pantitlan there was long ago a much more active whirlpool that the Aztecs would periodically sacrifice a young woman to in honor of Chalchihuitlicue.

The goddess wore a dress adorned with water lilies and a 200 ton statue of her was unearthed in what is now Mexico City. In various versions of Aztec myths Chalchihuitlicue is depicted as either the wife, sister or mother of Tlaloc, the rain god of the Aztecs and ruler of the Earthly paradise called Tlalocan. This paradise welcomed the souls of those people who were killed by lightning,  drowning, leprosy and contagious diseases. Tlaloc controlled the rains, clouds and lightning.  

FOR MORE AZTEC DEITIES CLICK HERE: http://glitternight.com/2011/05/10/the-top-eleven-deities-in-aztec-mythology/

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog, 2011. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

In the tradition of Balladeer’s Blog’s previous looks at neglected epic myths from the Navajo, Vietnamese and Chinese pantheons here is Part 2 of my look at the Iroquois god of magic Hodadeion.

PART 2 – THE WASP-MEN - (Hodadeion was the son of the creator god Tharonhiawakon and a mortal woman, the same mortal woman who bore him Hodadeion’s siblings. Those siblings were Otgoe, the wampum god and Yeyenthwus, the future goddess of chestnut trees.)

Hodadeion ventured to the north despite his sister Yeyenthwus’ warnings. He came across a few more villages that were now deserted like his own and he realized how far-reaching was the reign of terror of the cannibalistic wizards who had decimated the population of his and his siblings’ home village.

Eventually Hodadeion stumbled into the territory of the Wasp-Men, who flew after Hodadeion, forcing him to retreat. Having been taken by surprise Hodadeion’s magic was able to shield him from being stung but he could not rally and drive back the naked Wasp-Men.

After reaching safety Hodadeion resolved not to return home after this defeat and began taking dozens of large sticks and piercing the ground with them so that they each stood upright like poles. He chanted over these sticks for a full night and come morning he returned to the territory of the Wasp-Men.

Once again the naked Wasp-Men flew at the god of magic and he retreated before them, but this time it was a planned retreat that was leading his attackers into a trap. When the Wasp-Men reached the clearing where Hodadeion had planted his sticks in the ground those sticks turned into short wooden men and attacked the god’s pursuers.

Since they were made of wood Hodadeion’s magically conjured army was unharmed by the stings of the Wasp-Men. After the wooden warriors had slain a large number of the Wasp-Men those beings fled and never again attacked Hodadeion when he would travel through their territory. Other versions claim the wooden soldiers killed every single one of the Wasp-Men.  

PART THREE COMING SOON. FOR PART ONE CLICK HERE: http://glitternight.com/2013/03/17/iroquois-epic-myth-hodadeion/

For my original list of Iroquois deities click here: http://glitternight.com/2013/01/28/the-top-fifteen-deities-in-iroquois-mythology/

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. 

PART 3- THE WIZARD HODIADATGON. With the Wasp-Men overcome, Hodadeion the god of magic piled all of their naked bodies in a pile and burned them, all the while being observed by a sinister-looking owl. Then he ordered his wooden soldiers to go back to the cabin he shared with his sister Yeyenthwus and brother Otgoe. The demigod further ordered them to fall in a neat pile once there and revert to their stick forms so that they could be used as firewood by his siblings.

When those tasks were completed Hodadeion continued north on his quest, happily noting the vile owl was nowhere in sight. At length he came upon a large tree stump in the middle of the path he was following. The path was well-traveled so it seemed impossible that a tree had grown and eventually died on the path, leaving  only this tall, thick stump.

Apprehensively the god of magic approached the stump, only to feel himself bounced back as he reached out to touch it. Hodadeion rose to his feet, ready for anything as the stump transformed into an elderly wizard before his eyes. The sorceror, named Hodiadatgon, announced that he had Hodadeion where he wanted him and had seen him burn the bodies of the fallen Wasp-Men after they had been slain by the demigod’s wooden warriors.

Hodiadatgon asked the deity how he would like it if he chanted a counter-spell to transform his wooden warriors into sharp spears and caused them to fall on his sister and brother’s cabin in a deadly rain. Hodadeion taunted back that he would like it fine since it would give his siblings spears to fish with in his absence.

While the evil magician carried out his threat, Hodadeion sang a chant of his own, causing Yeyenthwus and Otgoe’s cabin to turn to stone, making it invincible to the rain of deadly spears. When the raining spears had all broken on the stone cabin the vile Hodiadatgon cursed and transformed himself back into a stump like a tortoise retreating into its shell.

Not to be thwarted, Hodadeion set a small twig on fire then transformed himself into a mole. Carrying the burning twig in his mouth he dug into the ground under the stump until he came to one of the roots. He used the twig to set the root on fire and then fled back to the surface and transformed himself back into his humanoid form.

A great smoke arose from the ground under the stump, then flames began to spread around the base of that stump. Unable to endure any more Hodiadatgon turned back into his own humanoid form but was burned to a crisp. As the defeated old sorceror fell down his head burst open and his soul escaped in the form of the owl that had watched Hodadeion burn the corpses of the Wasp-Men.      

PART FOUR COMING SOON. FOR PART ONE CLICK HERE: http://glitternight.com/2013/03/17/iroquois-epic-myth-hodadeion/

For my original list of Iroquois deities click here: http://glitternight.com/2013/01/28/the-top-fifteen-deities-in-iroquois-mythology/

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. 

PART FOUR – THE EYELESS ONE – With the evil medicine man Hodiadatgon overcome the god of magic Hodadeion continued his quest toward the north to find the cannibal wizards who had depopulated so many villages.

At length he came upon a longhouse lodge in a clearing. Creeping closer, Hodadeion looked within and saw an elderly man with no eyes sitting on the floor of the lodge. The old man was surrounded by furs and meat while the walls of his lodge were filled with the severed heads of men, both young and old. Seeing nothing inside that concerned him Hodadeion decided to move on, only to come out of thick woods to find the exact same clearing with the exact same lodge. Even the old man with no eyes and his macabre trophies lining the walls dwelt inside.

No matter which direction Hodadeion traveled or how long he ventured through the thick forest he always emerged on the clearing where the eyeless old man’s lodge stood. This time while he was standing outside the door the man with no eyes called out to Hodadeion, welcoming him to come in.

The god of magic entered, and the blind man informed him that he was an elderly medicine man skilled in the manipulation of “otgon”, negative life-energy or Dark Magic. Hodadeion announced that he was skilled in manipulating “orenda”, positive life-energy or White Magic. The eyeless man had no name and stated he had traded away his name and his eyes in return for mastery of the magic of gambling with dice. (Gambling plays an important part in many Native American belief systems. Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog will remember my examination of Nohoilpi, the Navajo god of gambling.)

The Eyeless One challenged Hodadeion to a game of dice, which everyone who tried to pass his lodge had to play with him to win right of transit. The Eyeless One said he always won and the stakes were always the same. If Hodadeion won he could resume his journey, but if he lost the nameless man would get all his possessions and would get to cut off his head as a trophy. The god of magic had no choice but to accept.

Hodadeion sat down on the floor of the lodge opposite the old man. The Eyeless One then produced his six “dice” – owl’s eyes. The nameless man shook the six eyes in a cup, calling upon all his power to make them all come out pupil-side up when he rolled them. Hodadeion simultaneously called upon all his power to make them come out white side up. The eyes were rolled and Hodadeion’s magic proved stronger, since five eyes landed with the white side up and just one with the pupil side up.

Hodadeion now reached into his pouch to produce his own pair of makeshift dice – six woodpecker’s eyes. The god of magic shook the eyes in the cup, calling upon all his power to make them all come out pupil-side up when he rolled them. The nameless old man simultaneously called upon all his power to make them come out white side up. The eyes were rolled and Hodadeion’s magic again proved stronger, with the eyes all landing pupil side up. 

The Eyeless One had lost, and Hodadeion collected his “winnings” by beheading the old man who had foolishly devoted his life to the ways of otgon rather than the ways of orenda. Hodadeion then resumed his journey to the north.

PART FIVE COMING SOON. FOR PART ONE CLICK HERE: http://glitternight.com/2013/03/17/iroquois-epic-myth-hodadeion/

For my original list of Iroquois deities click here: http://glitternight.com/2013/01/28/the-top-fifteen-deities-in-iroquois-mythology/

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. 

PART 5 – WITCHES WITH HIDDEN HEARTS - Hodadeion the god of magic continued traveling northeast on his quest. Presently Hodadeion spied three hideously old witch-women pounding corn outside their longhouse lodge. The demigod’s sharp eyes noticed that the three women were using human bones as cooking implements and remained hidden in the forest so he could observe the obviously dangerous ladies and devise a strategy for dealing with them. 

As with so many heroes in Iroquois myths Hodadeion suddenly found the breeze blowing through his ears to be the whisperings of the wind god Geha. Hodadeion was Geha’s grandson, after all, and he did not abandon his descendant in his time of need. Geha whispered to the god of magic that the witches were cannibals like the sorcerors who had depopulated so many Iroquois villages. Though very old each member of the trio was far stronger than any mortal man and used human thigh bones from their previous meals to club new victims to death.

Rashly Hodadeion let his anger get the better of him and emerged from hiding. The cannibal witch-women caught sight of him and began shambling toward him. The demigod fired three arrows at the approaching crones in rapid succession, as usual whispering a spell ordering the arrows to hit only what he wanted them to hit. Each struck the hearts of their target but left the women unfazed as they continued forcing their old and twisted bodies toward Hodadeion.

Over and over again the god of magic fired arrows at the monstrous witches, riddling their bodies but having no effect. Hodadeion turned to flee but would have been overtaken by the maneaters if not for Geha using the winds he commanded to propel his grandson along faster than his pursuers could travel.

Once at a safe distance Geha reproached Hodadeion for prematurely attacking before he had finished giving him advice. Chastened, the god of magic listened as Geha now whispered to him that the sorceresses had magically removed their hearts from their bodies and had planted them under their longhouse lodge for safekeeping. The three witches were invincible unless their hearts could be unearthed and then destroyed.

Now fully armed with the knowledge he needed Hodadeion transformed himself into an ant and made his way into the longhouse lodge of the evil trio. Digging under the lodge he located the three beating hearts of the witches then returned to his normal size and form, digging the hearts out of the soil with his hands.

The maneaters sensed the moment alien hands had touched their disembodied hearts and raced inside their lodge, circling Hodadeion like cats and hissing threats at him. Paying them no mind the demigod squeezed one of the hearts until it burst in his hand and one of the witches fell down dead. The other two women began screeching and screaming but Hodadeion quickly silenced them by squeezing the other two hearts until they too had burst and their original owners lay dead on the floor of the lodge.

PART SIX COMING SOON. FOR PART ONE CLICK HERE: http://glitternight.com/2013/03/17/iroquois-epic-myth-hodadeion/

For my original list of Iroquois deities click here: http://glitternight.com/2013/01/28/the-top-fifteen-deities-in-iroquois-mythology/

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. 

In the past Balladeer’s Blog examined sun deities and monster slayers from neglected pantheons of gods from around the world. This time around neglected moon deities will be the subject.

9. PUEPA

Pantheon: Tupari

Comment: Puepa is the husband of the sun goddess Karam in Tupari myths. Though both are aged they retain a great deal of divine power, Karam more so than her husband, hence her brighter light. Eclipses occur when the sun and moon are attacked by the celestial crocodiles who usually guard the realm of Patobkia, god of the dead. Puepa and his wife always succeed in driving the crocodiles off with their power.

For more Tupari deities : http://glitternight.com/2013/04/02/the-top-ten-deities-in-tupari-mythology/

8. HINA

Pantheon: Hawaiian

Comment: Hina was the most beautiful goddess in Hawaiian myths. The owl god Puenui was just one of her rejected suitors. Those suitors were so numerous that their constant attentions drove the goddess to first fly off to the moon for some peace and quiet. The figures on the moon are said to be Hina beating tapa, a frequent activity of Polynesian women.

For more Hawaiian deities : http://glitternight.com/2011/03/02/eleven-more-deities-from-hawaiian-mythology-2/ 

7. TSUKUYOMI

Pantheon: Shinto

Comment: Tsukuyomi was the brother of the sun goddess Amaterasu and the storm god Susanowo. In the distant past the sun and moon filled the sky together until a violent incident. That incident involved Tsukuyomi slaying Ukemochi, the goddess of agrarian foods, for offending him while serving him a meal. Disgusted with her brother Tsukuyomi the sun goddess Amaterasu, the supreme deity of the Shinto pantheon, decreed that her brother must be banished from her sight, condemning him to the nighttime skies.

For more Shinto deities: http://glitternight.com/shinto-myth/ 

6. HVASHI

Pantheon: Choctaw

Comment: The light of the moon was Hvashi’s radiance as she flew across the sky astride her gigantic owl. The figures on the moon were supposedly the faint outlines of the goddess and her mount amid the bright light they gave off. Hvashi was the very first wife and married the sun god Hashtali. On moonless nights the Choctaw said that Hvashi was off sleeping with her husband.

For more Choctaw deities : http://glitternight.com/2012/06/03/the-top-twelve-deities-in-choctaw-mythology/ 

5. ISAZA

Pantheon: Bunyoro

Comment: isaza was a deified ruler of the Banyoro people of Bunyoro who also ruled over the moon as part of his domain. The moon wasn’t merely part of Isaza’s kingdom, it was a living being that obeyed his commands and even let him eat of its meat (the phases of the moon of course). The moon-food always grew back each month.

For more Bunyoro deities : http://glitternight.com/bunyoro-mythology/

4. TRANG CHIM

Pantheon: Vietnamese

Comment: Trang Chim reclined upon her palanquin providing light to the nighttime sky as her six celestial  attendants carried her. The moon goddess shared these attendants with her sister the sun goddess Mat Ga Trong. In the winter months Trang Chim had the six young, virile attendants who enjoyed flirting with the godess as they carried her swan-adorned palanquin across the sky, hence the longer nights in winter. During the summer months Trang Chim had the six elderly attendants who hurried across the sky to be done with their labor sooner, hence the shorter nights in summer.

For more Vietnamese deities : http://glitternight.com/vietnamese-myth/

3. TKLEHANOAI 

Pantheon: Navajo

Comment: Tklehanoai was the father of the sun god Tsohanoai. Originally the sun and moon were large shell-like objects that he and his son carried across the sky. After the sun god created horses – a sky-blue one for himself and a coal-black one for Tklehanoai, the myth changed. From that point on the moon was the shield that Tklehanoai held as he rode his horse across the sky, just as the sun was Tsohanoai’s shield as he rode across the sky.

For more Navajo deities : http://glitternight.com/navajo-myth-clear/ 

2. CHANG O

Pantheon: Chinese

Comment: Chang O was the wife of Yi the Divine Archer in Chinese myths. She had drunk the elixir of immortality and then flew away to the moon. The figures on the face of the moon are said to be Chango O and her faithful rabbit helper making more of the elixir of immortality for the gods on Kun Lun Mountain. The main ingredient of that elixir is nectar from the peaches of eternal youth that grow in the celestial orchard of Hsi Wang Mu, the goddess of youth.

For Chang O’s complete story : http://glitternight.com/2012/03/17/mythology-the-neglected-epic-myth-of-yi-the-divine-archer/  

1. TATQIM

Pantheon: Inuit

Comment: The moon was the partially burned-out torch that Tatqim carried as he ran across the nighttime sky. Tatqim had much more authority than most other moon deities. He was also the god of the hunt, the god of fertility and was the deity who brought souls from the afterlife (Udlormiut) back down to the Earth for reincarnation as either humans or animals. Tatqim delivered these souls during the moonless nights each month by transporting them down on his dog-sled. That sled was pulled either by one enormous dog or four smaller ones, depending on the version.

This god’s control of the tides was crucial to Inuit survival because when the tide rolled out it left behind seaweed, virtually the only vegetation in the far northern reaches of Inuit territory. Tatqim gave women their vaginas by using his hunting knife to carve a hole in women’s bodies. Each month women bleed from that stab-wound for a few days. Infertile women prayed to Tatqim to bless them with babies, a task the fertility god often took care of personally, with unknown numbers of Inuit males as his secret offspring.

For more Inuit myths : http://glitternight.com/2011/06/06/the-top-12-deities-from-inuit-mythology-2/

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. 

Lisa Lipps, better known as Le Lei to her friends and followers, has spent her life celebrating the Female Divine. Even before she embarked on her newer and more spiritual path she made her name as an object of worship around the world, being celebrated for her intoxicating beauty and for her embodiment of pagan love goddesses from the past.

After a career as an icon of erotic performance art Lisa/ Le Lei is now sharing her spiritual gifts with the world. She lectures about Gnosticism and other mystical philosophies that lead to enlightenment. Le Lei has a very versatile approach and does not limit herself or those who seek her help to just one discipline.

This mystic beauty offers skype consultations for those who cannot meet with her in person. For details on contacting her for consultations, spiritual guidance or her healing skills read on.

Balladeer’s Blog: You’ve made it clear that in your belief system the goddess is worshipped under the name Azna. Could you clarify that name?

Le Lei: In the Gnostic teachings Azna was the feminine name given. She is the part of god that is more hands on with creation and can manifest easier.  

BB: As a “chicken or the egg” question do you feel the demonization of human sexuality led to discarding goddess worship or do you feel that when the emerging patriarchal societies turned their back on goddesses that that led to the demonization of human sexuality?

LL: Sexuality had nothing to do with discarding of the goddesses, that was done by man. Constantine to be exact in 345 AD. Actually spirituality and sexuality go together because of the connection made during the act of giving oneself to another. Men have been taught over centuries that women are beneath them but that’s not true. We are the chalice, the life-givers to the world. 

We clean out every 33 days. A complete detox if you will, emotionally, physically and spiritually.

BB: What role do you feel women should play in the spiritual life of men?

LL: We take in more and feel deeper than men do and there’s a reason for that. We are built to cleanse men on many levels. 

BB: In addition to Azna who are some of your other favorite embodiments of the Female Divine?

LL: I look back to the Egyptian times. With Isis women were not an afterthought in the divine plan.

BB: Are you fond of one of the alternate esoteric interpretations of INRI: “Isis Naturae Regina Ineffabilis”?

LL: “Isis, Ineffable Queen of Nature.” Women are mothers to all. I happen to take care of all life big and small. Now let me ask you a question. Do you have an alternate esoteric interpretation that you favor? 

BB: I favor “Ingenio Numen Resplendent Iacchi”, but I think “Igni Naturae Renovateur Integra” has more of a real-world application … Aside from Gnosticism what are some of your favorite approaches to the spiritual realm? 

LL: I’m also a Mystic and a Sikh.

BB: Which metaphysical entities would you say are the closest equivalents of Azna?

LL: The Holy Mother Mary, Isis … Mother Nature, another giver of life.

BB: Do you feel goddess worship should exclude any male entities or are there male figures you consider useful additions to goddess worship?

LL: I love Father God, for all of us from the light should. Equally.

BB: How would you summarize the gifts you have to offer people who seek out your guidance?

LL: I have so many gifts that keep growing and becoming stronger with age and my method of living. My gifts were given by the Divine as a whole. Not just from the Mother but from the Father as well.  

BB: Which gift would you consider the greatest?

LL: The best of my many gifts are my healing hands. I love the gift of channeling other celestial entities to give messages to those who need them. I can read into a person’s current life chart and help them by channeling. However by using my gifts I become depleted of energy and get symptoms of sickness at the end of the day.

BB: What spiritual activity do you consider the most draining?

LL: Depending how badly the person’s energy field is clouded it takes a lot for me to clear it out. Then I have to get rid of it as well. That can take time. That’s why I choose to stay in places where I know where to go to be cleansed.

BB: Which areas work best for you?

LL: Places with higher vibrations that are natural to our planet.

BB: What would you say is the main obstacle to people discovering their spiritual side?

LL: People have numbed themselves to being able to open up to the thin veil between our world and the one overlaying us. Everyone has the gift. It’s a matter of taking the time to slow down and use their inner magic to get in touch with it.

BB: How would you put Gnosticism in perspective for those unfamiliar with it?

LL: Gnostsicism was the belief system of many Magi before and during the time of Christ. His faith was based on these gentle beliefs as well, proving that there are kinder ways to live and love. Not this hypocritical religion being negatively taught today, where people talk the talk but can’t walk it for a single day.

Living your beliefs seems so hard to most everyone but I do it with great honor and reward every day. No more lying to yourself or others is the first step. The start of breaking the habits we were taught as children, changing everything about who one is and starting over.

It refreshes the soul and unclogs the mind. Opens you up to receive divine messages, dreams and to astral travel while sleeping. All of those benefit us. Everyone of us is a gift to each other. Our paths cross for a reason: some for greatness, others to teach us how not to be taken advantage of.                           

BB: Any other words for readers pondering their spiritual course in life?

LL: I also want you to know that all paths to the divine are the right choice. Everyone gets there on their own terms and in their own time. My way is not the only way. Each path in life takes us where we need to be. We are all here to learn and elevate our souls.

Some have had many lifetimes, all with different themes, all knowledge for the divine and the soul. We will all judge ourselves by the life blueprint we created before coming into this world. This is something we all do with help from those on the other side.

BB: How may people seek out your assistance?

LL: I’m currently working on my site for live cam readings. It will be a couple of weeks before it’s up and running: http://www.trumystic.com .  For now people can just use my twitter account twitter@trumystic . I will be doing online lectures as well once I get it set up. Being spiritual is so different from dogmatic religion.         

BB: Special thanks to Le Lei and good luck with her new site! 

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.  

PART 6: HORNED SERPENTS - Continuing his journey, Hodadeion the god of magic came to a river across which an impossibly long and thick tree served as a bridge. Believing this might lead to the village of the cannibalistic wizards he was searching for the demigod set off across the makeshift bridge.

When he was halfway across Hodadeion abruptly stopped. He sensed something immense lying in wait on the other side of the river. Frustrated by being detected by their potential prey two enormous serpents with deerhorns on their heads sprang from hiding and hissed insults at the demigod who stood tantalizingly just outside their reach. Unafraid, Hodadeion shouted insults of his own back at the two monstrous serpents, who were as big around as several tree-trunks and as long as several trees laid end to end.

The gigantic snakes revealed that they were among the race of thunder-serpents slain by the Iroquois storm god Henon. They two were all that remained and were alive only because they were too powerful for Henon to destroy, no matter how many of his spears made of lightning that he had thrown at them. They reflected that they would have been better off dead because, unable to slay them Henon had instead condemned them to forever guard this river-crossing to discourage the Iroquois people from venturing into the dangerous territory beyond.

Because they were forever bound to that spot by the storm-god’s power the pair were at all times ravenously hungry since none of the humans or other prey they fed upon could ever satisfy their enormous appetites. Armed with this knowledge Hodadion decided on his course of action. He knew he had no chance of destroying the monstrous horned serpents if even Henon had been incapable of doing so. That meant he had to rely upon guile.

Hodadeion left the bridge and removed two squirrel-skins from his pouch of magical implements. Chanting and singing he transformed the dead skins into two living squirrels. Holding each squirrel by the tail he returned to the bridge. Walking across the fallen tree the demigod continued chanting and singing, causing the squirrels he held to continue growing and growing.

By the time Hodadeion had reached the other side of the river the squirrels were the size of dogs and he tossed them to the ground. The two horned serpents had been hungrily eyeing the growing squirrels, anticipating feeding upon them when they finally stopped growing. Hodadeion chanted and sang until the squirrels were over twice as large as the largest moose or bears. As soon as the squirrels stopped growing the horned serpents swallowed down one each and the bodies of the suffocated squirrels, now just bulges in the bodies of the two monsters, began their slow path down the digestive systems of the two serpents.

Like all snakes with full throats the horned serpents lost all interest in any more prey for the moment and let Hodadeion slip past them and into the forest beyond. Before too long his spell would wear off and the two squirrels would shrink back down into lifeless skins in the bellies of the snakes but by then the god of magic would be long gone and headed for his next adventure.

PART SEVEN COMING SOON. FOR PART ONE CLICK HERE: http://glitternight.com/2013/03/17/iroquois-epic-myth-hodadeion/

For my original list of Iroquois deities click here: http://glitternight.com/2013/01/28/the-top-fifteen-deities-in-iroquois-mythology/

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. 

Yes, it’s the 16th of June, better known to James Joyce geeks like me as Bloom’s Day. The day is named in honor of Leopold Bloom, the Jewish advertising sales rep and Freemason who is one of the major characters in Joyce’s novel Ulysses. The novel also brings along Stephen Dedalus, the protagonist of his earlier novel Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. For those unfamiliar with this work, Ulysses is Joyce’s stream-of-consciousness novel in which he metaphorically features the events from the Odyssey in a single day – June 16th, 1904, in Dublin. (The day he met Nora Barnacle, the woman he would eventually marry after living together for decades) Bloom represents Ulysses/Odysseus, Stephen represents Telemachus and Leopold’s wife, Molly Bloom, represents Penelope.

The novel is jam-packed with allusions to all manner of mythology (including sly references to the ancient Semitic myth which was the forerunner of the Odyssey, that’s why the character representing Ulysses is Jewish), Irish history and politics as well as a great deal of mystical and literary philosophy. Anyone into the Rosicrucians and their teachings should love spotting all the hidden meanings. 

When I was in my teens and twenties Ulysses was my favorite Joyce novel, but after that Finnegan’s Wake became my favorite. Anyway, I figured I’d use one of the few photos of James Joyce in which he does not look like the love child of Floyd the barber and Wally Cox. Enjoy!

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog 2011. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. 

Le Lei

If you missed my exclusive interview with living legend Lisa Lipps consider this your official notice that her spiritual healing, cleansing and channeling site is in full swing now.

For one-to-one readings and consultations with this talented healer click here: http://trumystic.com/

Iroquois Confederation

Continuing the adventures of the Iroquois god of magic, Hodadeion.

PART 7 – THE TWIN HERONS – Hodadeion moved swiftly through the forest. He wanted to put as much space between himself and the giant horned serpents as possible before they grew hungry again. He continued heading north and at length came upon a pathway guarded by two enormous white herons. Each bird was bigger than a horse and at the sight of the demigod they attacked him, trying to claw and peck at him while simultaneously battering him with their powerful wings.

Hodadeion fled as quickly as he could back the way he had come until the twin herons halted their pursuit. The presence of the two horned serpents just ahead had no doubt taught the giant birds to stay well clear of this part of the forest. Since the herons seemed to be trying to eat him the demi-god Hodadeion reasoned that he would use a similar strategy with these new monstrous foes. He began picking as many wild beans as he could and stuffed them in his pouch of magical implements. When the pouch was full Hodadeion retraced his steps back to the lair of the gigantic herons.

This time when the twin creatures attacked him Hodadeion reached into his pouch and tossed a handful of beans in the air. The ravenous white herons gobbled them all up immediately, following which the god of magic repeated the procedure. Chanting and singing all the while to magically conjure up more and more beans, creating dozens for every lone bean in his pouch, until at long last his two avian attackers were glutted and could eat no more.

Their hunger satisfied the gigantic herons began tweeting and singing until, before the astonished Hodadeion they turned into two beautiful human maidens. The twins drew closer to the demigod and began thanking him for filling their bellies so thoroughly. Charmed by the two women Hodadeion sat on a nearby log with him, engaging them in conversation. After a while they began stroking his hair and slowly lowering his head into their laps. With a vague feeling of alarm Hodadeion realized he was being enchanted to sleep. Too drowsy to react further he hazily noted that the twins were picking lice from his hair and eating them, then everything went black.

Hodadeion woke up to the sound of roaring, unaware of how long he had been unconscious. Like in a dream he remembered the lovely twins turning back into giant herons and flying through the air with him, carrying him in a large, long basket. Groggily, he realized he was still lying in that basket but when he made to climb out of it he froze with trepidation. The roaring noise was the sound of water rushing by him. The heron-maidens had left him stranded on a small rock near the top of the enormous falls later to be called Niagara.

PART 8 COMING SOON.  FOR PART ONE CLICK HERE: http://glitternight.com/2013/03/17/iroquois-epic-myth-hodadeion/

For my original list of Iroquois deities click here: http://glitternight.com/2013/01/28/the-top-fifteen-deities-in-iroquois-mythology/

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. 

Aiwel Longar

Once again Balladeer’s Blog examines a neglected epic myth from around the world. Previously I have dealt with epics from the Navajo, Vietnamese, Iroquois, Aztec, Hawaiian, Chinese and other belief systems.

The mythic tale of Aiwel Longar comes from the Dinka pantheon. Nhialic is the supreme deity to the Dinka and the first man and woman he created were Garang and Abuk. The Dinka people live in the Upper Nile in Sudan, as they have for centuries.

AIWEL LONGAR

I often cover the way in which cultures which come into contact borrow mythic material from each other to embellish their own respective belief systems. The story of Aiwel Longar clearly influenced (and vice versa) Egyptian, Jewish, Christian and Muslim myths. It also bears striking similarities to the Gnostic Hymn of the Pearl.

PART ONE – Born as simply Aiwel, this figure was a gift from the god of the Nile River to Aiwel’s widowed and childless mother. The infant already had a full set of teeth when his mother picked him up out of the Nile River, where the river god had set him adrift.

Like many mythic figures Aiwel could talk and function like an adult at a very young age. While still a toddler he often stole and drank entire gourds full of milk. After one such binge Aiwel’s mother caught him and the young demigod warned her not to tell anyone or else she would die. His mother disobeyed Aiwel and admitted his deeds to other Dinka villagers and, as Aiwel predicted, she immediately passed away. Aiwel went to live with his godly father in the Nile River.

PART TWO – When he is an adult Aiwel suddenly reappears, entering his late mother’s village with a huge ox of many colors (a two-colored ox was highly valued – a MULTI-colored ox was priceless). The ox was called Longar and so Aiwel was then known as Aiwel Longar. This tradition of a Dinka male being given his surname or “ox-name” from an ox given to him on reaching manhood is still in practice today.

Aiwel lives in the village, tending the cattle that belonged to his mother’s dead husband. After a time the area is plagued by a massive drought and many of the villagers’ cattle begin to die, but not Aiwel’s, which remain fat and strong. Jealous villagers spy on the demigod to see how he feeds and waters his herds but Aiwel is aware of their interest and decrees that they will die if they try to reveal his secret to the other villagers. These men do try to expose Aiwel’s secret but die in the attempt.

PART THREE – The drought becomes worse and is accompanied by a plague and by crocodiles beginning to overrun the land. Aiwel announces to the Dinka people that one of the gods (in some versions his father in others the supreme deity Nhialic) has told him that all of them are to follow him to a promised land in the distance, a land of plentiful water and no disease.

The Dinka refuse to listen to him and when he heads off they all stubbornly head in other directions. After a few days many of the Dinka abandon the disobedient throngs and seek out Aiwel, eventually overtaking him and following him from then on.

PART FOUR – After traveling for an indeterminate time Aiwel, fish-spear in hand, leads his people across the Nile and miraculously the water never rises above any of their heads the entire way across. It rises to their necks but no further. After reaching the other side and emerging from the reeds on the riverbank Aiwel stands and kills the Dinka people who come out after him, impaling them with his fish-spear as they emerge.

Per Aiwel’s instructions from (whichever god gave them) this slaughter continues until a Dinka man named Agothyathik fools Aiwel by disguising an ox-bone as his head. He then submerges himself and holds the disguised ox-bone just above the water level. After Aiwel stabs at the bone Agothyathik leaps up from the water and begins fighting the demigod. The battle continues until Aiwel decides that Agothyathik will be a fit Chief of Chiefs for the Dinka. The remaining Dinka people are permitted to emerge from the river without being slain. 

PART FIVE – When all the rest of the refugees have crossed the Nile Aiwel Longar informs them that they have reached the promised land. He gives fish-spears to various men who are remembered as Spear Masters and who became the heads of all the clans of the Dinka. Aiwel next teaches them about all the lesser deities created by Nhialic and gives them “commandments” about the proper ways to worship them.

Finally Aiwel Longar gives the Dinka a sky-blue bull to worship. When the bull dies its thigh bone is worshipped by the Dinka from then on. Aiwel Longar tells the Dinka he is not meant to dwell with them in the land he has led them to and he wanders off, promising to return at some vague time in the future when the Dinka need him the most. (You’d think he would come and save them from the genocidal treatment that Muslims have been subjecting them to.)

FOR MORE MYTHS CLICK HERE: http://glitternight.com/category/mythology/

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.     

Yi the Divine Archer

On August 15th the Chinese people offered up gifts to Chang-O, their moon goddess. Balladeer’s Blog presents the story of Chang-O, her husband Yi the Divine Archer, and the origin of that ritual.

I.WHAT’S UP WITH YI?  – Yi the Divine Archer from Chinese mythology deserves to be remembered in one breath with some of the other great heroes and monster slayers from belief systems around the world. Most people are only familiar with his feat of shooting down multiple suns that appeared in the sky one day, but this article will provide a light- hearted look at all of his fantastic adventures. 

Yi is pronounced “Yee” according to some sources, but according to others it’s pronounced “EEE”, so you can insert your own Ned Beatty joke here. (Mine would go like this:  REDNECK: C’mon, ya fat little hog, what’s the name of the Divine Archer in Chinese mythology?    NED BEATTY: EEEEEE! )

Yi was of semi- divine birth, but since “Yi the Semi- Divine Archer” doesn’t have the same ring to it, we’ll stick to his better- known nickname. Yi performed most of his heroic feats for the Chinese ruler Yao, the godling son of the supreme deity Huang Di. Yao would be remembered as the first of the Three Sage Kings in Chinese legends.   

2. OFF- BROADWAY – Two of Yi’s earliest adventures after reaching manhood presented him with the weapons he would be most associated with forever after. Yi saved the people of Yao’s kingdom from a monstrous tiger, from whose bones he carved his indestructible bow. Conveniently his next adventure involved slaying a rogue dragon, from whose tendons he crafted thousands of unbreakable shafts, then affixed arrowheads and feathers to the two ends. 

No mention is made of his bowstrings being made of anything special, however. Personally, I’ve always speculated that the strings were made from the nosehairs of the next creature he slew, but I’m kind of weird. At any rate, armed now with his trademark bow and arrows, Yi the Divine Archer was ready for prime time!   

3. KISS MY BUTT, HERCULES -  In the next period of his eventful life, Yi courageously took on a virtual bestiary of mythic creatures rivalling any that were slain by the other great monster slayers of global  belief systems,  like Hercules, Thor, Gilgamesh and others. As usual in mythology, the exact order in which our hero faced these menaces varies, so you can pretty much mix and match them however you like.

I’ll start with Zhayu, a gigantic beast with the body of a leopard, but the head of a dragon. Zhayu was using his fiery breath to destroy crops and defoliate the countryside and since that kind of thing can make a body hungry, he would also devour any stray animals or humans who crossed his path. The well-armed Yi was more than up to the task of dispatching Zhayu.

Next up was the monstrous Zaochi, a bipedal creature with teeth as sharp and strong as chisels. Zaochi was foiling the Divine Archer’s best efforts by devouring Yi’s arrows as quickly as he could fire them. Personally, I would have just stopped aiming at his mouth, but that’s me. Anyway, Yi wound up strangling Zaochi to death in hand-to- hand combat.

Jiuying was a cave-dwelling monster with nine heads, and it could pop one of its heads out of any of the nine caves that served as entrances to its lair. It didn’t do this just for fun, of course, but in order to seize and devour passersby. Yi, presumably knowing better than to shoot directly into his opponent’s mouth this time, soon added Jiuying to his “kill” list. The next three creatures to have fatal encounters with the Divine Archer were Dafeng, an enormous bird that was flying around scooping up and swallowing people by the dozen, then Fengxi, a monstrous boar who also had a hankering for human flesh, and finally Hsiushe, a snake with a body as thick and long as the tallest tree.

4.I’M BIGGER THAN JESUS! – With several hard-rocking hits in the field of monster- slaying under his belt, Yi was soon to face two of his biggest challenges yet. Feng Bo, the wind god who had rebelled against the supreme deity Huang Di eons earlier, was once again displaying disobedient tendencies. The unruly god was causing severe windstorms to destroy the homes of many of Yao’s subjects, on his own initiative and against the Divine Order.

Huang Di gave his descendant Yao the okay to sic the heroic Yi on Feng Bo. First Yi found himself facing Feng Bo’s beast Fei Li An, the wind deity of an earlier era defeated and tamed by Feng Bo (Did this guy get along with anybody?) Fei Li An was a gigantic creature with the wings and head of a sparrow, the body and horns of a deer, the tail of a serpent and the fur of a panther. None of this impressed Yi after all his other adventures and he soon killed Fei Li An. Next, in a climactic confrontation in the Qinqiu Marsh the Divine Archer managed to slay the errant deity with his bow and arrows. Then, really feeling his oats now, John Lennon style, Yi transformed the slain Feng Bo into swamp gas, trapping him forever in the Qinqiu Marsh.   

It’s hard to stop after killing just one god, however, and before long the Divine Archer was once again sent out to deal with another rogue deity. He Bo, also called Ho Po, was the god of the Yalu River, and was crankily causing his realm’s waters to rise up and drown any and all people trying to cross the river from any direction.

He Bo’s sister was the goddess Chang O, also called Heng O, and He Bo kept her forever by his side (get your minds out of the gutter). Chang O was very desirable (I said stop it!) and Yi was immediately smitten with her. So smitten, in fact, that while fighting He Bo and shooting him directly in the eye, forever blinding him in that eye, he spared Chang O from all harm, merely parting her silky hair down the middle with a well-placed shaft (I’m not telling you again!).

He Bo vowed to curb his unruly behavior and Chang O was so grateful to Yi for not killing her she agreed to become his wife. (I can’t tell you how many couples I know who met in this EXACT same way!) To go off and marry the semi-divine Yi, Chang O had to renounce her own immortality, however, a decision that would have far- reaching ramifications down the road. For the moment, however, Yi and Chang O were a happily married couple. (Chicks just can’t resist a guy who permanently blinds their brother in one eye.)   

5. HERE COME THE SUNS … TEN OF THEM – And so Yi and his wife Chang O spent a few years of marital bliss. Eventually, when the time drew near for King Yao to step down and name a successor he decided that none of his five sons were worthy of ruling. He therefore established the precedent that made him the most respected of the Three Sage Kings, that of passing the throne on to the most deserving person, not necessarily a family member.

Bypassing his sons, Yao named the demigod Shun as his successor, and Shun would go on to rule so well he became revered as the second of the Three Sage Kings. Initially, however, Yao’s deviation from what seemed like the natural order of the universe by going outside of his sons for a successor was causing the very fabric of the cosmos to be disrupted. (I get like that when it comes to talk show host succession so I can relate)

The greatest manifestation of this disorder arose when the giant crows who carried the ten suns rose all at once instead of one at a time on consecutive days like they normally did. For the first time ever all ten crows were carrying their suns across the sky a the same time, and as the days went by the damage increased. The multiple suns were causing the waters to dry up, the ground to crack and all plant life to begin withering, and it looked like the end of the world was at hand.

6. I’LL PUT MY BEST MAN ON IT – Yao once again called on the reliable Divine Archer, instructing him to shoot down nine of the ten crows carrying the multiple suns in order to save the world forever more from the threat of multiple suns. There was only one place high enough for Yi to accomplish this, however. The peaks of Kun Lun, the home of the heavenly gods. Even with Yi’s superhuman strength and stamina it would take him several days to climb to the top of Kun Lun, so Yao gave him some of the Shirou, a staple of the gods’ diet. Shirou was meat shaped like calves liver with two eyes. As a hunk of Shirou was eaten, the amount bitten out of it would always grow back, providing a never-ending supply of food, that is if you can stand nothing but raw meat three meals a day.

The Shirou would satisfy Yi’s hunger on the long climb to the top of Kun Lun and therefore keep him full enough to resist eating the Pincao Grass that grew in patches on the way up the mountain. Eating the Pincao Grass would make anyone who consumed it forget all their troubles and linger forever in blissful happiness. (Did they eat it or smoke it? And how relaxed can you be living on the side of a steep mountain?) 

7. TOP OF THE WORLD, YAO! – Reaching the top of Kun Lun mountain, Yi found his journey had just begun. None of the deities would help him because they felt that Yao’s foolishness in deviating from the way things were usually done had unleashed all this destruction. The gods felt that if it was meant to be, Yi would accomplish his mission. If not, no help from them could aid him and restore tranquility to the world. The supreme deity, Huang Di, would not even let Yi enter the city. Kaiming, the giant tiger with nine human heads and the creature who guarded all nine gateways to the divine city, was instructed to bar Yi’s way and inform him of the gods’ non-involvement.

Alone but determined, the Divine Archer  began his journey to reach the high peak overlooking the city of  the gods. First he passed by the fields in which grew the forty foot high Grain of the Gods, used to make other delicacies for the deities. (“Join Emeril tonight on Delicacies for the Deities … “) 

Next he had to pass through the Valley of the Phoenixes, in which the giant winged creatures wore deadly serpents as jewelry and in which even more deadly serpents filled every inch of the ground. Only someone of Yi’s supreme stealth could make their way through without disturbing the poisonous serpents and inviting their own doom. After surviving that peril the Divine Archer found himself in the Celestial Orchard, filled with trees that grew pearls and jade the way trees in the mortal realm grew fruit. The orchard was the home of a giant bird with six heads: two dragon heads, two panther heads and two snake heads. Following a running fight through the orchard Yi succeeded in slaying the creature, freeing him to return to his mission. 

8. I NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD BE THE BEES  -  The Divine Archer next found his way barred by a wide river, the Ruoshui. The river was impassable because its waters were too weak even to float a feather. Yi tried repeatedly to make a boat out of the trees in the orchard, but every boat sunk. He tried swimming across but the waters were too weak to support his body and he always sank to the bottom. He tried walking across the riverbottom but he couldn’t hold his breath long enough to get even halfway across. After studying the situation for a time the Divine Archer became puzzled about how the fish in the Ruoshui were able to swim in the waters without sinking. At last he noticed that the fish nibbled the bark of some trees that had fallen partway into the river. These were the Shatang Trees, found only on Kun Lun. Chewing the  bark of those trees would make you light enough to float across even the waters of the Ruoshui.

Yi approached the nearest Shatang Tree, but before he could chow down on some of the bark he found himself under attack by the Qinyuan Bees. These insects were the size of Mandarin ducks and their stingers killed any of the forest animals they struck. Not only that, but when the Qinyuan Bees stung the trees those trees would wilt and die. Yi realized that the giant six- headed bird must have been the only thing that kept these destructive monsters away from the trees in the Celestial Orchard. With the bird slain the bees could intrude with impunity. (“D’oh!”)

The Divine Archer found himself in another pitched battle, agilely avoiding any contact with the stingers of the Qinyuan Bees while slowly but surely whittling down their numbers with his deadly archery skills. At times he would even take temporary refuge in the waters of the Ruoshui, then spring up from them, arrows at the ready. (Meanwhile I’m guessing the Earth  below has been burned to a cinder by now as long as all this is taking.) At last all the bees were slain and Yi then chewed some of the bark of the Shatang Trees, making himself so light he could simply walk across the waters of the Ruoshui River. 

9. SUNRISE TIMES TEN – The Divine Archer believed he had passed the last obstacle to the topmost peak. Since that would be terribly anticlimatic he instead found himself facing the monster who called the peak home: Tulou. This creature was a giant sheep with four sharp horns protruding from its head. Tulou’s paws clung to any surface, so he could trot down the side of Kun Lun mountain anytime he pleased and prey on his favorite food: human beings.

Tulou was naturally delighted with having a meal walk right into his backyard, especially with game dying all over from the world-wide heat wave. Tulou attacked Yi, starting a prolonged battle between the two. Yi had to avoid being impaled on the beast’s horns or snapped up by its gnashing teeth while simultaneously shooting arrow after arrow at it. He also had to avoid letting himself fall off the steep peak as he dodged Tulou’s attacks. Yi’s arrows just glanced harmlessly off Tulou’s horns or simply caught in his thick hide without penetrating further. The stalemate might have gone on forever but at length Yi saw the monster freeze in its tracks while looking at something behind him. Next Tulou galloped off in fear, freeing the Divine Archer to turn and see what had scared the brute away. 

Yi was nearly blinded by the sight of the Ten Celestial Crows rising one by one over the horizon, the combined brilliance of the mammoth suns each bird carried driving him to his knees. A mere mortal would have been rendered sightless forever, but Yi had divine blood in him, and managed to rise and face the awe- inspiring beings approaching him. He had very few arrows left in his quiver by now, and had to make each shot count.

At the speed the Celestial Crows were flying, he couldn’t afford to let any excess suns pass since the suffering world below might not survive another day with multiple blazing spheres burning and drying the life out of it. Drawing his bow and squinting his eyes against the  unrelenting glare and the rising heat as his targets approached, Yi aimed his shaft (You people are incorrigible) at the tender flesh of the lead crow’s neck, as  Yao had instructed him to do. Yao, who had unintentionally unleashed all this destruction on the world by daring to grandly ignore tradition, thus upsetting the cosmic order out of his great love for his people. 

The Divine Archer took strength from his faith in the correctness of the path the Sage King had chosen and let fly his arrow … and it struck true! The first Celestial Crow was mortally wounded and fell off into the void, still a majestic sight as it carried its glowing burden into oblivion with it. In rapid succession now, Yi unleashed eight more arrows and eight more times his shafts found their marks. Once struck, the cosmic birds perished, joining the first in shrinking from sight off into the black void beyond Earth. Each of the suns fell along with each Celestial Crow, and Yi allowed himself to at last breathe a sigh of relief as the extraneous suns all vanished forever. Only the one Celestial Crow remained alive, and it would need to carry its sun around the world every day now, since its colleagues were gone. Never again would there be a danger of multiple suns eliminating all life on Earth. The Divine Archer had saved the world.       

10. EPILOGUE: NOBODY LIVES HAPPILY EVER AFTER, YI – With the usual chill already returning to the lofty peak Yi was standing on he quickly retraced his steps all the way back across the Ruoshui River and into the Celestial Orchard. To his surprise the orchard’s guardian, the giant bird with six heads, had come back to life and was approaching him under the control of the goddess Hsi Wang Mu. That  goddess grew the peaches of immortality (as opposed to the mangoes of stamina) in the same way that Iduna from Norse myths grew the golden apples that kept the Aesir and Vanir eternally young.

Hsi Wang Mu used the peaches to make the Elixir of Immortality and had used it to bring the six- headed bird back to life. Seeing that what Yi had accomplished was good, the goddess rewarded the Divine Archer by giving him a jar containing a serving of the elixir to take home with him. Because the rivers on the top of Kun Lun  were the source of all the rivers in the world below, Hsi Wang Mu advised Yi he could return by rafting down one of those rivers as they poured down the side of the mountain. Yi complied and was home in much less time than it took him to climb to Kun Lun in the first place.

Yi was given a hero’s welcome and Yao rewarded him for his deeds with pensions, a mansion and various titles. Yi simply stored away the single serving of the Elixir of Immortality because he did not want to be immortal without his beloved Chang E, who, if you’ll recall, had renounced her own immortality when she became the Divine Archer’s wife. Yi even took a young apprentice named Feng Meng, whom he trained in the art of archery.

After several years of marital bliss and boring everyone with tales about his accomplishments (that’s just an assumption on my part) Yi was growing quite pleased with Feng Meng’s progress. For his part, however, Feng Meng had developed an unhealthy interest in the Divine Archer’s wife, Chang E. The apprentice was also very angry at being considered only the second greatest archer in the world, next to his master Yi, who had been sitting on his butt for years, living off the fame from his long- ago accomplishments, just like Jack Nicholson.

At length Feng Meng yielded to his darker nature and tried to force himself on Chang E, who, determined to resist, ran to the hidden Elixir of Immortality and drank it down, thus regaining her immortality and the power of flight that went with it. Fleeing the villainous Feng Meng, Chang E flew to the moon, where she lives to this day as the lunar goddess. Yi was devastated by this, since he could not join his wife in immortality. No, I don’t know why she couldn’t just fly back down to Earth after Feng Meng had been killed by Yi, but you know mythology!

At any rate, Yi spent the rest of his life gazing at the moon, and he initiated the custom of offering moon cakes and assorted fruits to the moon goddess every 15th day of the eighth lunar month. Of course, like most myths, this one comes with alternate endings, just like a DVD. 

ALTERNATE ENDING ONE: After saving the world from the multiple suns and being buried in rewards, Yi became a vain, impatient, wicked and cruel lord. Eventually Chang E couldn’t bear him any longer and drank the Elixir of Immortality, flying off to become the goddess of the moon. A remorseful Yi longed for his wife’s return for the rest of his life, but Chang E would have none of it, becoming Cher to his Sonny Bono. 

ALTERNATE ENDING TWO: Yi’s evil apprentice Feng Meng planned to drink the Elixir of Immortality, kill the Divine Archer and take Chang E as his reluctant bride. To prevent all this Chang E heroically quaffed the elixir herself, and flew off to the moon where she reigned forever after. 

ALTERNATE ENDING THREE: Yi stopped Feng Meng from molesting his wife, then tore off Feng Meng’s mask to reveal Old Man Wong, who was trying to scare the Divine Archer and Chang E away so he could have the Elixir of Immortality for himself. Oh, wait, I’m sorry, that’s the ending to just about every  Scooby Doo episode instead. Never mind! 

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Iroquois

Part 8: Niagara Falls Death Trap  - As part 7 concluded Hodadeion, the Iroquois god of magic, was alarmed to find that the twin enchantresses who were in reality two giant white herons had flown him in a huge basket to a rock at the top of what is now called Niagara Falls. They had stranded him there surrounded by a massive volume of water roaring its way past the small outcropping of rock the demigod was on, ultimately descending in a loud roar of falling liquid.

Hodadeion did not know what fate awaited him in that precarious position, or what dire menace the Heron Maidens expected to assault him in his perilous situation but he had no intention of waiting around to find out. Reaching into his pouch of magic implements (typical of villains in fiction the Heron Maidens had neglected to strip the hero of items that could potentially save him from a death trap) Hodadeion extracted a few elm seeds and, moistening them with his spittle, he attached them to the head of one of his arrows. (Okay, even for an ancient myth not taking his bow and arrows away from him was REALLY stupid on the part of the story’s villains.)

Taking up his bow Hodadeion aimed the arrow at a patch of dry land far below near where the plummeting falls crashed onto the rocks to continue their journey. Whispering his magical instructions to the arrow he then fired and the arrow obediently hit precisely where he had instructed it to on the dry land.

Next the god of magic sat down to concentrate and began singing and chanting until slowly but surely the seeds and the arrow produced a rapidly-growing elm tree. Hodadeion knew that if danger struck while he was engrossed in enchanting the elm tree he was finished, but he also knew he dared not stay on that small outcropping of rock where he had no mobility and was nearly helpless. Ignoring the roar of the water thundering past him he sang and chanted on. 

Eventually the tree had grown to an impossible height and the god of magic mystically coaxed its highest branch into extending itself until it reached him. Climbing onto the branch Hodadeion clambered over to the trunk of the now-enormous tree and climbed down to the ground below. As he caught his breath he noted that the sun, which was really the glowing dead body of the goddess Eithinoha, was setting and the moon, Eithinoha’s decapitated head, was peeking over the horizon.

As night officially fell the waters at the very bottom of Niagara Falls began churning and bubbling until a monstrous figure erupted from the water and flew into the moonlit sky, hovering, roaring and gazing down at Hodadeion with a look of unbridled hatred and fury.

Vague memories of the tales told to him by his mortal mother stirred in the demigod’s mind, chilling his spine. As he remembered her warnings about the dread and powerful abominations the gods of the distant past had overcome. If the colossal figure above him had only ever fallen in combat with full-blooded gods what chance did he, with only a  half-divine heritage, have against it?

PART 9 COMING SOON! FOR MY ORIGINAL LIST OF IROQUOIS DEITIES CLICK HERE: http://glitternight.com/2013/01/28/the-top-fifteen-deities-in-iroquois-mythology/

CHOCTAW INDIAN MYTHS – http://glitternight.com/2012/06/03/the-top-twelve-deities-in-choctaw-mythology/

The Trung Sisters, national goddesses of ancient Vietnam, atop their war elephants

THE TRUNG SISTERS – Trung Trac and her sister Trung Nhi occupy a special place in Vietnamese mythology. If you want a glib or simplistic comparison to approach their story with think of them as an ancient Vietnamese version of Lakshmibai of Jhansi in the history of India or Joan of Arc in Western lore. In the early 40′s C.E. Trung Trac led an uprising against the latest Chinese occupiers withher sister acting in a much smaller capacity according to all accounts but the Trung Sisters  are always mentioned as a team and iconography usually depicts them together astride their battle elephant.

 Trung Trac’s uprising, consisting largely of former noble families and by all accounts (even on the Chinese side) large numbers of female combatants, succeeded in driving the occupying forces far to the north. She then abolished all the Chinese taxes and restored Vietnamese-style rule. Traditionally sixty-five major cities proclaimed themselves under her rule and stood against the Chinese attempts to retake the ancient equivalent of Vietnam.

The area under Trung Trac was semi-autonomous (to what degree of course varies from history book to history book) from approximately 40 C.E. to 43 C.E. before the armies she and her sister led were defeated. She and her sister were beheaded and their heads reportedly presented to the Han ruler in China at the time.  

POSTHUMOUS MYTHOLOGY – Over the centuries poets and scholars would revive and embellish the story of the Trung Sisters to provide popular inspiration against whatever occupying force the Vietnamese people were rising against, from the Chinese through the French Colonial forces, etc. Trung Sisters imagery was even being used by the North Vietnamese to encourage popular hostility to the U.S. and its allies during the Vietnam War.  They began to be referred to as The Sister Queens even though Trung Nhi seems to have played a much less active role than Trung Trac.

The reverential attitude toward the sisters grew to the point of outright worship and they were invoked as god-like guardian figures of the Vietnamese people and as embodiments of whatever nationalistic feeling the tale-spinners of the time wanted to present. (Sort of like two female versions of Uncle Sam in that respect) Since mythology is often all about keeping royal families in power through pretended dynastic legitimacy the Trung Sisters were frequently presented as a direct link from the ruling families of the time period on back to the legendary Hung Vuong Dynasty.

The ladies were even depicted as ethereal protectors of the “Dragon’s Belly” area that eventually became Hanoi. Eventually the sisters were prayed to for reasons not related to national resistance to outside forces, too. King Ly Anh-Tong (1138-1175) prayed to the Trung Sisters for rain during a drought and when the rains came claimed he had a dream in which the sisters, as always astride their battle elephant, were the dispensers of that rain, which flowed like a fountain from the trunk of their elephant. Other versions say he dreamed of them riding a giant iron horse like the war god Than Giong. 

FOR MORE VIETNAMESE DEITIES CLICK HERE: 

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog, 2010. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

AH NHI – The Vietnamese god of fire. The child of the sun goddess, he is often depicted holding a burning golden crow similar to the golden roosters that adorn his mother’s palanquin. In other myths about the fire god this flaming crow is depicted as being large enough for Ah Nhi to ride on his journeys between the heavens and the Earth. Ah Nhi taught humanity the use of fire and how to strike stones together to generate sparks and then use dry twigs and leaves to build those sparks into a flame to cook food and provide warmth. 

To read more about other Vietnamese deities click here: http://glitternight.com/vietnamese-myth/

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog, 2010 and 2011. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Theogony, The Iliad and The Odyssey are a few of the more well-known Greek epics of the distant past. In keeping with the theme of Balladeer’s Blog I will present a look at the neglected Greek epics, many of which cover other aspects of the Trojan War. Yes, for those readers who think The Iliad is the sole epic regarding that conflict there are other tales that chronicle the mythic events from long before the opening passages of The Iliad. Here is one of those neglected works.

CYPRIA – Credited to either Stasinos of Cyprus (my bet), Hegesias or Homer himself. This epic featured the original recounting of the marriage feast of Peleus attended by several deities. Eris, the goddess of discord (and the central figure in the still-extant quasi-religion called Discordianism) resents not being invited to the celebration. She tosses in the golden apple labeled “For the fairest” which causes the infamous argument among the attending goddesses as to which of them should be given the apple.

The three goddesses – Hera, Athena and Aphrodite – seek out the shepherd Paris at Mount Ida where he tends his flocks and allow him to judge which of them is the fairest and therefore deserving of the apple. Each goddess tries to bribe Paris with gifts they are particularly suited to grant. Hera, the queen of the Greek deities offers him an Earthly empire to rule. Athena, goddess of wisdom and warfare, offers him glory in battle. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, offers Paris the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. (For a humorous rendition of The Judgment of Paris see my article about the ancient Greek comedy Dionysalexandros, the comic poet Cratinus’ famous political satire about Pericles)

As everyone knows Paris awards Aphrodite the apple and the designation of the fairest. She fulfills her bribe by causing Helen of Troy, the world’s greatest beauty, to fall in love with Paris when he visits the court of her husband King Menelaus of Sparta. While Menelaus is on a state visit to Crete the treacherous Paris romances Helen and convinces him to flee with him to the city-state of Troy aka Ilium (which is how we arrive at the title of The Iliad). Troy is ruled by King Priam, Paris’ father, who permits Helen and Paris to seek asylum in his kingdom.

The story thus far is pretty well-known, though many people mistakenly think all of these events were first related in The Iliad itself. We now move into less well-traveled territory, beginning with Menelaus learning what Paris and Helen have done and vowing to get his wife back. Menelaus visits Nestor, seeking his help in rallying the various Greek city-states to the cause of retrieving the missing Helen to defend Greek honor against the Trojans of Asia Minor.

Readers are reminded of the purpose of these ancient epics as a combination of entertainment and history (or at least history approved by the people wielding power at the time) when Nestor wastes time regaling Menelaus with unrelated stories of the past. Nestor tells the tales of Epopeus and Lycus’ daughter, of Oedipus, of Herakles and finally the myth of Theseus and Ariadne. Menelaus, no doubt thinking “Did I ASK?” is ultimately pleased when wise old Nestor agrees to accompany him on his mission of lining up allies for the assault on Troy.

As with all mythic tales from all around the world, including from the Koran and the Bible, there are many contradictory versions of events in the different epics. In Cypria, when Menelaus and Nestor seek to enlist King Odysseus of Ithaca, he pretends to be ill to avoid being dragged into the upcoming war. To punish him Menelaus and Nestor take his infant son Telemachus with them in his stead. This of course varies from the version of these events as related in The Odyssey, which depicts Odysseus feigning madness to avoid being drafted into the conflict. (“Corporal Klinger Umpty-Thousand B.C.”) Odysseus fakes insanity by leading a team of oxen through his fields dementedly sowing salt instead of seeds.

In that version Menelaus and Nestor suspect Odysseus is faking his madness so they have the toddler Telemachus placed in the way of his father’s team of oxen. Odysseus comes out of his crazy act in order to save his son and, thus exposed, is dragged into the war along with his kingdom. I repeat, that is the more well-known version of those mythic events.

As Cypria continues the assembled Greek forces, the legendary “thousand ships” launched by Helen’s face, set sail for Troy but accidentally storm and sack Teuthrania by mistake (“D’OH!”). Telephus, the son of Herakles and Princess Auge, tries to inform the Greeks about their error but is accidentally wounded by Achilles in the process. The red-faced Greeks set sail again for Troy but the various fleets are scattered by a storm. Achilles and his men land at Scyros to do repairs and to resupply, during which time the Greek hero romances and marries Deidameia. Telephus, still crippled by his wound, has made his way to Scyros and is healed by Achilles.

The scattered Greek forces link up at Aulis but before they can set sail from there Agamemnon blasphemes against the goddess Artemis, who prevents their sailing by having unfavorable winds directed at Aulis, thereby preventing the Greek ships from leaving. To appease Artemis the Greeks attempt to sacrifice Agamemnon’s daughter Iphigeneia to her, but Artemis falls in love with Iphigeneia and substitutes a goat for the girl and makes Iphigeneia immortal. With the punitive winds lifted the various Greek navies once again set sail for Troy. During a stopover at Tenedos Achilles feels slighted by a tardy dinner invitation from Agamemnon (“Teenage Girls of Ancient Greece”), thus starting a feud that will have far-reaching consequences for the Greek war effort.

At last arriving at Troy/Ilium the Greeks storm the beaches but the Trojan forces, led by the sea god Poseidon’s son Cycnus, repeatedly prevent the invaders from securing a beachhead. Achilles at last manages to kill Cycnus and the Greek forces drive off the remaining Trojan forces, who withdraw inside the gates of Troy itself. In the subsequent sacking and raping which closes Cypria Achilles takes the woman Briseis while Agamemnon seizes Chryseis. This, of course, will carry over into many events of The Iliad.

Many more of these neglected epics are coming up in the days ahead!

FOR MORE EPIC MYTHS CLICK HERE: http://glitternight.com/epic-myths/

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.   

Death of Penthesilea

Previously Balladeer’s Blog examined Cypria, the neglected Greek epic myth that dealt with the events leading up to the Trojan War all the way up to Achilles leading the Greek forces in establishing a beachhead at Troy. The Trojan forces were then forced to retreat inside the walls of Troy itself, leaving the outside settlements to be sacked by the Greek forces. This led right into the whole Briseis/Chryseis conflict between Achilles and Ajax that opened up The Iliad.

The events of The Iliad are well-known enough that I will skip over a recap of that epic and move on to the very next neglected epic in the cycle: Aethiopis.

AETHIOPIS – This work is often attributed to Arctinus, by some accounts in 776 BCE to coincide with the very first ancient Olympic games. Other sources place it as late as the 740′s BCE. Very little of Aethiopis itself survives, so most of what is known about it comes from Proclus and other – often contradictory – references in ancient writings. The tale begins soon after the death of Hector which marked the end of The Iliad.

Just as the fighting is set to resume following the break in honor of Hector’s funeral the Amazons arrive on the scene to support their allies the Trojans. Needless to say they are very effective in combat and cause the Greek forces besieging Troy a lot of trouble. The Amazons are led by their new Queen Penthesilea, who succeeded to the throne after accidentally killing her more famous sister Hippolyta in a hunting accident. Penthesilea is so grief-stricken from causing her sister’s death that she wants to die, but as Amazon royalty she cannot simply commit suicide but must die gloriously in battle.

In some accounts Penthesilea brought twelve squadrons of Amazons with her, each led by prominent Amazons like Thermodosa, Derinoe and others. Other accounts claim just the twelve leaders of the squadrons accompanied her on her suicidal alliance with the outnumbered and surrounded Trojans. After killing countless Greek soldiers Queen Penthesilea came face to face with Achilles, the greatest Greek hero of the war. Achilles slays Penthesilea in combat but when he pulls off the dead woman’s helmet he sees how beautiful she was and “falls in love” with her.

Thersites, the ugly, bow-legged Greek warrior with a misshapen head, behaves as spitefully as usual and tears out the eyes from Penthesilea’s corpse. Infuriated, Achilles kills Thersites, angering Thersites’ kinsmen and causing another period of discord among the Greek forces. Thersites’ cousin Diomedes further mutilates Penthesilea’s corpse prompting Achilles to retrieve it and give the Queen a proper funeral ceremony. Achilles sulks like at the beginning of The Iliad and the little diva runs off to the island of Lesbos, where Odysseus catches up with him and ritually purifies him of the murder of Thersites.

The Trojans meanwhile luck into another ally when King Memnon of Ethiopia arrives with an army of 10,000 men to aid the forces of Troy. Memnon was the son of the mortal singer/poet Tithonus and Eos, the Titan who was goddess of the dawn. At Eos’ urging Tithonus bribed their son Memnon into going to the aid of his uncle King Priam of Troy through the gift of a golden grapevine. Memnon was considered Troy’s best hope against Achilles because he wore an indestructible suit of armor forged by the god Hephaestus. It was hoped this might make him the equal of Achilles, whose body (except, as everyone knows, for his heel) was invulnerable to harm after his childhood immersion in the river Styx.

King Priam welcomed King Memnon with a huge banquet at which the heroics of the Ethiopian ruler were recounted for all to hear. Eventually King Memnon killed Antiochus in combat after Antiochus slew Memnon’s dear friend Aesop. In return Antiochus’ father, wise old Nestor, challenged Memnon to a duel to avenge his son. Memnon refused to fight Nestor because of his advanced age so Nestor fled to the Greek ships and begged Achilles to fight Memnon in his stead. Achilles and Memnon agreed to fight each other.

Zeus, the ruler of the gods on Mount Olympus, forbade any of the deities from helping either Achilles or Memnon in the battle to ensure an absolutely fair fight. Zeus also enlarged the two combatants to the size of giants so that the assembled Greek, Trojan and Ethiopian armies would all be able to witness the grand battle.

In the resulting “Kaiju in ancient times” clash of gigantic heroes Achilles eventually pierced Memnon’s heart by thrusting his lance through his foe’s exposed armpit. Memnon died, causing his army to flee back to Ethiopia except for a few loyal retainers who stayed with their king in order to perform funeral rites. The enormous flow of blood draining from the giant body of Memnon was collected by the gods to prevent it from drowning the assembled armies in a flood.

Once a year the gods permit Memnon’s blood to cause a river (in some sources the Nile) to run red with this blood in memory of the heroic King. Much speculation exists about parallels with the Jewish and Christian myth about Moses causing the Nile to turn to blood and about parallels with the Syrian myth about Adonis, whose blood also caused a river to run red once a year. (I always throw in the Vietnamese river god whose domain periodically ran red with his blood) Zeus’ aunt Eos was so upset over her son Memnon’s death that Zeus dried her tears by granting Memnon an eternal place beside the gods in the afterlife.

Meanwhile both Achilles and Memnon’s bodies have reverted to normal size and the Greek warrior leads the army against the Trojans to take advantage of their abandonment by the Ethiopians. In his battle-rage (think of Cuchalainn in Celtic myths) Achilles fails to notice he has outdistanced the rest of the advancing Greek army and has penetrated inside the gates of Troy itself.

Paris, whose abduction of Helen of Troy caused the whole conflict in the first place, shoots an arrow at Achilles. The arrow is guided by the god Apollo who causes it to strike the only spot on Achilles’ body that is open to harm – the heel by which his mother Thetis held him as an infant when she dunked him in the River Styx to make him invincible. (Think of the leaf that clung to Siegfried’s back in Norse myths and thus prevented his bath in the dragon’s blood from making Siegfried’s entire body invincible)

Achilles, an apparent hemophiliac, bled to death from the wound, causing the Greek forces to fall back in a panic at the site of their dead hero. Odysseus and Ajax (aka Aias) were the only exceptions and the two retrieved Achilles’ corpse to prevent it from being defiled by the Trojans. (As with many events in the epic Cypria, many people mistakenly think Achilles’ death is covered in The Iliad)

After the funeral ceremony for Achilles his mother, the Nereid Thetis, recovered his body and took it to White Island (modern-day Snake Island) in the Black Sea. It was there that Achilles lived on after his death in a mythical paradise. Many parallels are drawn with King Arthur’s alleged transport to the elysiac island of Avalon after his death. To this day an Achilles cult is centered around Snake Island, mostly by off-islanders, since the island’s permanent population is barely over a hundred.

I’LL CONTINUE SOON WITH THE VERY NEXT NEGLECTED EPIC IN THE CYCLE.

FOR MORE EPIC MYTHS CLICK HERE: http://glitternight.com/epic-myths/

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