Queen of The Naga

Vasuki (Sanskrit: वासुकी, वासव) is a naga, one of the serpents of Hindu and Buddhist mythology. He is a great king of the nagas and has a gem (Nagamani) on his head. Manasa, another naga, is his sister.Vasuki is Shiva's (The destroyer) Snake. Vasuki is known in Chinese and Japanese mythology as being one of the "eight Great Naga Kings" (八大龍王 Hachi Ryuu-ou), amongst Nanda (Nagaraja), Upananda, Sagara (Shakara), Takshaka, Balavan, Anavatapta and Utpala.

In this image however, I interpret the woman as a female version of Vasuki rather than Manasa as she appears to be ruling over the other nagas rather than being one of them.

The most famous legend in Hinduism in which Vasuki took part was the incident of Samudra manthan, the churning of the ocean of milk. In this legend, Vasuki allowed the devas (gods) and the asuras (demons) to bind him to Mount Mandar and use him as their churning rope to extract the ambrosia of immortality from the ocean of milk.
Vasuki is also mentioned and used as a tightening rope in other Hindu scriptures, such as in each of the Itihasas (Ramayana and Mahabharata).
In Buddhist mythology, Vasuki and the other Naga Kings appear in the audience for many of the Buddha's sermons. The duties of the naga kings included leading the nagas in protecting and worshiping the Buddha, as well as in protecting other enlightened beings.

The reason why I'm so drawn to this image is basically because of the color scheme used. The depth and color scheme in this painting create a great mysterious atmosphere. The movement and composition is amazing, all the elements flow nicely and complement the soft design of the clothes and the dark nature of the Naga.



"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"
Images are the property of Saryth Chareonpanichkul of Thailand

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

The Dark Warrior

An original piece by the artist himself, this image caught my attention when I first viewed his gallery for the below stated reasons.

The first thing that got my attention was the ground, giving the overall feel of the picture very chaotic. the contrast of the warriors coloring and Armour sets him apart almost perfectly, mixing the strong bold oranges reds and black,with the cold and armor colors. the final upside on this picture is the movement it has, again with the ground it gives off a sense of disruption, chaos and anger. The warriors movements are in perfect balance to this, with his arms well proportioned and the chains adding another depth of balance too, the only thing i would pick on is his head,and how it seems as if it doesn't really fit with the body its on, not proportion wise, just that,the coloring doesn't mix well and it feels like he should be looking at something,rather than staring away from his nearest opponent, but hey, maybe he's just too strong to care about someone that insignificant in comparison.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"
Images are the property of Saryth Chareonpanichkul of Thailand

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

The Kinnaree

In Southeast Asian mythology, Kinnaris, the female counterpart of Kinnaras, are depicted as half-bird, half-woman creatures. One of the many creatures that inhabit the mythical Himavanta. Kinnaris have the head, torso, and arms of a woman and the wings, tail and feet of a swan. She is renowned for her dance, song and poetry, and is a traditional symbol of feminine beauty, grace and accomplishment.



"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"
Images are the property of Saryth Chareonpanichkul of Thailand

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

The Necromancer

A necromancer is a person who practices necromancy, a discipline of black magic used to communicate with the dead to foretell the future. Necromancy is a claimed form of magic involving communication with the deceased – either by summoning their spirit as an apparition or raising them bodily – for the purpose of divination, imparting the means to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge. The term may sometimes be used in a more general sense to refer to black magic or witchcraft.
The word "necromancy" is adapted from Late Latin necromantia, itself borrowed from post-Classical Greek νεκρομαντεία (nekromanteía), a compound of Ancient Greek νεκρός (nekrós), "dead body", and μαντεία (manteía), "prophecy or divination"; this compound form was first used by Origen of Alexandria in the 3rd century CE. The Classical Greek term was ἡ νέκυια (nekyia), from the episode of the Odyssey in which Odysseus visits the realm of the dead, νεκυομαντεία in Hellenistic Greek, rendered as necyomantīa in Latin, and as necyomancy in 17th-century English.
In medieval Latin and English texts the variant nigromantia, "nigromancy", is found. This form arose when writers of that era replaced the Greek word element necro- with the better-known Latin nigro-, "black". In Renaissance magic, nigromancy (as necromancy was often called during that period due to its presumed association with black magic) was classified foremost among seven "forbidden arts", all of them methods of divination. Modern day references to Necromancers are often mortals who dabble in the art of necromancy and rely on the use of the dead and their corpses to do their bidding. From video games, to books and even movies, the Necromancer has become a notable figurehead in modern day mythology. In this image, the necromancer looks to be a part of the undead as well. With stitches and cuts resembling centipedes crawling over his body, it's no surprise that necromancers were and still are one of the most feared beings to date.



"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"
Images are the property of Saryth Chareonpanichkul of Thailand

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Sun Wukong: The Great Sage

Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, is a main character in the classical Chinese epic novel Journey to the West written by Wu Cheng'en. In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices. After rebelling against heaven and being imprisoned under a mountain by the Buddha, he later accompanies the monk Xuanzang on a journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from India.
Sun Wukong possesses an immense amount of strength; he is able to lift his 13,500 jīn (8,100 kilograms (17,900 lb)) staff with ease. He is also extremely fast, able to travel 108,000 li (54,000 kilometers) in one somersault. Sun knows 72 transformations, which allows him to transform into various animals and objects; he has trouble, however, transforming into other people, because he is unable to complete the transformation of his tail. He is a skilled fighter, capable of holding his own against the best generals of heaven. Each of his hairs possesses magical properties, and is capable of transforming either into a clone of the Monkey King himself, or various weapons, animals, and other objects. He also knows spells that can command wind, part water, conjure protective circles against demons, and freeze humans, demons, and gods alike.
One of the most enduring Chinese literary characters, Sun Wukong has a varied background and colorful cultural history. For example, Sun Wukong is considered by some American, Chinese, and Indian scholars to be influenced by both the Hindu deity Hanuman from the Ramayana and elements of Chinese folklore.

He has been adopted into many major roles in pop culture as well. Ranging from Son Goku in the Dragon Ball franchise, Wukong in League of Legends, an MMORPG (Mass Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), and into the film and television industry, it's no wonder this mischievous monkey god is a pop culture icon in most Asian, in particular, Chinese media.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"
Images are the property of Saryth Chareonpanichkul of Thailand

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Hanuman: Lord of Monkeys

Hanuman  is a Hindu deity, who was an ardent devotee of Rama according to the Hindu legends. He is a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and its various versions. He also finds mentions in several other texts, including Mahabharata, the various Puranas and some Jain texts. A vanara (ape-like humanoid), Hanuman participated in Rama's war against the demon king Ravana. According to Jain texts, Hanuman is a human of vanara clan whose emblem is monkey. Several texts also present him as an incarnation of Lord Shiva. He is also considered the son of Vayu, who according to several stories, played a role in his birth.

He has been referenced in plenty of cultures all over Asia, from India as a deity to Thailand as a symbol of protection. This image strikes me as the kind of powerful pose that a deity as wild as Hanuman would make, a physical position of suppressed power like a tiger ready to pounce, or maybe I'm just over-thinking things because I don't have enough sleep.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"
Images are the property of Saryth Chareonpanichkul of Thailand

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Ganesha: Remover of Obstacles

The Hindu deity with the elephant head goes by the name of Ganesha. Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honored at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions.

Being the god behind all intellect as well as art, he is revered by many artists and thinkers including myself. But mainly because nothing looks more fearsome and bad-ass than a multiple armed, giant elephant man with a working knowledge of the entire universe along with weapons in his hands.



"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"
Images are the property of Saryth Chareonpanichkul of Thailand

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Ice Queen

Another commissioned piece for the Ragnabreak card game, The Ice Queen is what most people would expect, a scantily clad, sword-wielding, frost-biting warrior princess kind of character, complete with her very own shiny ice tiara. However stagnant the idea ice, sorry -ahem- is, Zi Lei brings a slightly different dimension to this frosty and feisty female, his use of tones and ability to create simple yet voluminous backgrounds brings this ice queen to life as she looks to be in motion, ready to strike at a moments notice.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Zi Lei of Taiwan

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

The Final Battle

Neo-futuristic art seems rare in Zi Lei's portfolio. Most of his work tends to revolve around the fantasy, middle ages kind of imagery with plenty of rock-solid armor and well-muscled creatures battling for supremacy. This piece entitled "The Final Battle" is a refreshing change and features a lot of western and hi-tech images, from the electronic burst of light to the mechanical armor, The Final Battle is a piece which proves that Zi Lei is still capable of progressing and developing his style of art and is not just limited to the standard Dungeons and Dragons theme of work.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Zi Lei of Taiwan

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Qilin Queen

The Kirin, or Qilin is a mythical hooved chimerical creature known throughout various East Asian cultures, said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler. It is a good omen thought to occasion prosperity or serenity . It is often depicted with what looks like fire all over its body. It is sometimes called the "Chinese unicorn" when compared with the Western unicorn.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Zi Lei of Taiwan

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Red Eye

Typical. Another swordsman with a magical hand and a special eye in some crazy-detailed armor. What isn't so typical, however, is the lack of flaws with this picture. The details of the armor are well defined and seem almost planned when they interlink with each other and the color scheme isn't the usual, loud, unrefined and attention-seeking hues of warm tones which already seals the deal for my affections since I personally prefer the darker and more ominous looking characters anyways.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Zi Lei of Taiwan

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

The Sky Wolf

A relatively uncommon creature, this anthropomorphic blend of a wolf and a bird in the night sky. A strange but unique blend of two animals leaves me feeling confused, yet strangely intrigued...


"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Zi Lei of Taiwan

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Good and Evil

A clear use of the principles of Juxtaposition, the image represents good and evil with the use of nature and flora as its symbols. On the left side of the human/elf figure are the more innocent and pleasant looking flowers, vines and buds. While on the right side are hard and jagged edges of old trees and their sharp twigs and branches. The vines on the hips almost resemble a net made out of a parasitic plant trying to crawl and clamber over its host.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Zi Lei of Taiwan

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Femme Fatale The Berserker

This image titled "The Berseker" shows a amazonian-proportioned woman holding a large sword over the body of a slain creature. The artist has chosen to go with the theme of a typical barbarian. The use of bones and fur as clothing and the apparent violent nature of the character complement the brutal nature of the picture, even though the level of violence is almost unapparent.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Zi Lei of Taiwan

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Zhao Yun The Dragon Queen

A famous general in Chinese history, Zhao Yun was regarded as one of the strongest and most capable of soldiers during the period of the warring straits. Historically a man, the artist has chosen to have a female version of the character for whatever reason he has. Nicknamed the "Dragon King", Zhao Yun has been featured prominently in Chinese popular culture, literature, art and anecdotes. Zhao Yun was already a relatively well-known hero from the Three Kingdoms period, as folktales about his exploits have been passed down through centuries. He became a household name due to the popularity of the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Recently, Zhao Yun's popularity has moved beyond Asia and into the Western world, through various media, including the Internet and video games.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Zi Lei of Taiwan

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Distance

This image features a very classic theme used through the ages. Emotions of longing, loneliness and being so near yet so far are evoked here. A warrior knight and his female counterpart lie against each other, but yet they do not seem to touch physically, as there is no physical recognition from either party to one another.



"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Zi Lei of Taiwan

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Sorceress Urd

A commissioned piece for the online card game, Ragnabreak, this image features the sorceress, Urd in her natural homeland of a mystical forest. Though seemingly pleasant at first, the sharp jagged lines for her attire and the small miscellaneous items surrounding her tell a different story. She appears to be seated on a throne of skulls and is surrounded by several menacing looking creature, notably, the serpent on her right arm. On closer inspection, the forest seems to resemble a swamp-like wasteland when put under darker lighting.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Zi Lei of Taiwan

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

The Violent King

A barbarian warlord, this creature appears to be a humanoid being with rough skin who wields a weapon similar to a Scimitar made out of organic materials, seemingly flesh. He stands in an almost triumphant manner over the hands in the foreground while holding a skull in his hand. Apparently pleased and gloating.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Zi Lei of Taiwan

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Castle Age- Sephora

With no reference to the cosmetics brand found worldwide, Sephora is an elf warrior who's main abilities rely on stealth and speed rather than brute force, another character in the Castle Age videogame, her appearance and clothes are quite obviously based on Elves of the fantasy middle ages as well as the shaman naturalists of old.

Like all of Genzoman's artworks, this piece is one of the most flawless(arguably) use of digital art that I have seen over the past few years.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Gonzales Ordonez Arias of Chile
Genzoman.Deviantart.Com

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Castle Age- Carmilla

Carmilla, Princess of Darkness.
Her staff is also a harp,  probably reference to Orpheus's harp in the underworld. There really isn't anything better than a beautiful demon lady with a sense of good music.

Like all of Genzoman's artworks, this piece is one of the most flawless(arguably) use of digital art that I have seen over the past few years.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Gonzales Ordonez Arias of Chile
Genzoman.Deviantart.Com

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Castle Age- Alexandra

With an almost Spartan appearance and armour which quite obviously signifies war, Alexandra reminds me of the female version of Alexander the great armed with celestial armour.

Like all of Genzoman's artworks, this piece is one of the most flawless(arguably) use of digital art that I have seen over the past few years.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Gonzales Ordonez Arias of Chile
Genzoman.Deviantart.Com

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Castle Age- Celesta

Another character of the Castle Age franchise, Celesta is a elf mage who relies mainly on nature-based sorcery and control over natural elements, her appearance is typical of a fantasy-style sorceress.

 Like all of Genzoman's artworks, this piece is one of the most flawless(arguably) use of digital art that I have seen over the past few years.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Gonzales Ordonez Arias of Chile
Genzoman.Deviantart.Com

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Castle Age- Keira The Knight

Another commissioned character design and illustration done for the Castle Age game, Keira the Dread Knight. One of the bosses of the videogame, this character seems to almost draw its physical appearance to a mixture of Red Sonja and Loki by way of his armour.

Like all of Genzoman's artworks, this piece is one of the most flawless(arguably) use of digital art that I have seen over the past few years.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Gonzales Ordonez Arias of Chile
Genzoman.Deviantart.Com

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Castle Age- Lotus Ravenmoore

A commissioned Character design and illustration for Castle Age game :)
The main Ideas was do some kind of dark sorceress, with the usual Goth theme, feathered cloths and of course, why a just only a staff, the staff could be that and a weapon at the same time.

Like all of Genzoman's artworks, this piece is one of the most flawless(arguably) use of digital art that I have seen over the past few years.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Gonzales Ordonez Arias of Chile
Genzoman.Deviantart.Com

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Castle Age- Azriel

Another commissioned character from the Castle Age game, Azriel is the angel of death and destruction. Veering away from the cliché, scythe-wielding destroyer, a  rather attractive female is used to be a representation of this angel of the apocalypse.

Like all of Genzoman's artworks, this piece is one of the most flawless(arguably) use of digital art that I have seen over the past few years.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Gonzales Ordonez Arias of Chile
Genzoman.Deviantart.Com

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Castle Age- Vampire

Is a vampire, so... Lets wiki-attack!!

Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person. Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures and in spite of speculation by literary historian Brian Frost that the "belief in vampires and bloodsucking demons is as old as man himself", and may go back to "prehistoric times", the term vampire was not popularized until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent. Local variants were also known by different names, such as vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism.

While even folkloric vampires of the Balkans and Eastern Europe had a wide range of appearance ranging from nearly human to bloated rotting corpses, it was the success of John Polidori's 1819 novella The Vampyre that established the archetype of charismatic and sophisticated vampire.

Ancient Babylonia and Assyria had tales of the mythical Lilitu, synonymous with and giving rise to Lilith (Hebrew לילית) and her daughters the Lilu from Hebrew demonology. Lilitu was considered a demon and was often depicted as subsisting on the blood of babies. And Estries, female shape changing, blood drinking demons, were said to roam the night among the population, seeking victims. According to Sefer Hasidim, Estries were creatures created in the twilight hours before God rested. And injured Estrie could be healed by eating bread and salt given her by her attacker. Ancient Greek and Roman mythology described the Empusae, the Lamia, and the striges.

Many of the myths surrounding vampires originated during the medieval period. The 12th century English historians and chroniclers Walter Map and William of Newburgh recorded accounts of revenants, though records in English legends of vampiric beings after this date are scant. These tales are similar to the later folklore widely reported from Eastern Europe in the late 17th and 18th centuries and were the basis of the vampire legend that later entered Germany and England, where they were subsequently embellished and popularised. Several number of serial killers was labeled later as vampire in the popular culture: Elizabeth Báthory, Gilles de Rais and the best known, Vlad the impaler.

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Gonzales Ordonez Arias of Chile
Genzoman.Deviantart.Com

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Castle Age- Slyvana

A commissioned character design and illustration for the Castle Age Video Game

"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Gonzales Ordonez Arias of Chile

Genzoman.Deviantart.Com

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Charybdis

LETS WIKIATTACK!!!

Charybdis or Kharybdis (pron.: /kəˈrɪbdɨs/; Greek: Χάρυβδις) was a sea monster, later rationalised as a whirlpool and considered a shipping hazard in the Strait of Messina.

In Greek mythology, Charybdis (or Kharybdis) was once a beautiful naiad and the daughter of Poseidon and Gaia. She assumes the form of a huge bladder of a creature whose face is all mouth and whose arms and legs are flippers. She swallows a huge amount of water three times a day, before belching it back out again, creating large whirlpools capable of dragging a ship underwater. In some variations of the story, Charybdis is simply a large whirlpool instead of a sea monster. Once a lovely maiden, Charybdis was loyal to her father in his endless feud with Zeus. She rode the hungry tides after Poseidon stirred up a storm, directing them onto beaches, destroying entire villages, submerging fields and drowning forests, claiming all in her path for the sea. She claimed so much land for her father's kingdom that Zeus became enraged and changed her into a monster.

In mythology Charybdis lies on one side of a narrow channel. Opposite her is Scylla, another sea-monster. The sides of the strait are within an arrow shot of each other, and sailors attempting to avoid one of them will come in reach of the other. 'Between Scylla and Charybdis' thus means to having to choose between two dangers, either of which brings harm.

The theoretical size of Charybdis remains unknown, yet in order to consume Greek ships the whirlpool can be estimated to about 75 feet across. Charybdis has been associated with the Strait of Messina, off the coast of Sicily and opposite a rock on the mainland identified with Scylla. Were Charybdis to be located in the Strait of Messina it would in fact have the size to accommodate the whirlpool. A whirlpool does exist there, caused by currents meeting, but it is seldom dangerous.

Throughout the poem, Odysseus is hindered by the efforts of Poseidon and the sea monsters throughout the ocean. Odysseus faced both Charybdis and Scylla in Homer's Odyssey while rowing through a narrow channel. He ordered his men to avoid Charybdis thus forcing them to pass near Scylla, which resulted in the death of six of his men.

Later, stranded on a raft, Odysseus was swept back through the strait to face Scylla and Charybdis once more. This time, Odysseus passed near Charybdis. His raft was sucked into Charybdis' maw, but he survived by clinging to a fig tree growing on a rock over her lair. On the next outflow of water, his raft was expelled. Odysseus recovered it and paddled away safely.





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Images are the property of Gonzales Ordonez Arias of Chile
Genzoman.Deviantart.Com

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Circe

LETS WIKIATTACK!!

In Greek mythology, Circe (Greek Κίρκη Kírkē, pronounced "Keer-keeh" "falcon") is a minor goddess of magic (or sometimes a nymph, witch, enchantress or sorceress), described in Homer's Odyssey as "The loveliest of all immortals". Having murdered her husband, the prince of Colchis, she was expelled by her subjects and placed by her father on the solitary island of Aeaea. Later traditions tell of her leaving or even destroying the island and moving to Italy. In particular she was identified with Cape Circeo there.

By most accounts, Circe was the daughter of Helios, the god of the sun, and Perse, an Oceanid. Her brothers were Aeetes, the keeper of the Golden Fleece and Perses, and her sister was Pasiphaë, the wife of King Minos and mother of the Minotaur. Other accounts make her the daughter of Hecate.Circe was renowned for her vast knowledge of drugs and herbs. Through the use of magical potions and a wand she transformed her enemies, or those who offended her, into animals.

In Homer's Odyssey, Circe is described as living in a mansion that stands in the middle of a clearing in a dense wood. Around the house prowled strangely docile lions and wolves, the drugged victims of her magic; they were not dangerous, and fawned on all newcomers. Circe worked at a huge loom. She invited Odysseus' crew to a feast of familiar food, a pottage of cheese and meal, sweetened with honey and laced with wine, but also laced with one of her magical potions, and she turned them all into swine with a wand after they gorged themselves on it. Only Eurylochus, suspecting treachery from the outset, escaped to warn Odysseus and the others who had stayed behind at the ships. Odysseus set out to rescue his men, but was intercepted by the messenger God, Hermes, who had been sent by Athena. Hermes told Odysseus to use the holy herb moly to protect himself from Circe's potion and, having resisted it, to draw his sword and act as if he were to attack Circe. From there, Circe would ask him to bed, but Hermes advised caution, for even there the goddess would be treacherous. She would take his manhood unless he had her swear by the names of the gods that she would not.

Odysseus followed Hermes's advice, freeing his men and then remained on the island for one year, feasting and drinking wine. According to Homer, Circe suggested two alternative routes to Odysseus to return to Ithaca: toward the "Wandering Rocks" or passing between the dangerous Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis, conventionally identified with the Strait of Messina. She also advised Odysseus to go to the Underworld and gave him directions

In the Aeneid, Aeneas skirts the Italian island where Circe now dwells, and hears the cries of her many victims, who now number more than the pigs of earlier accounts:

" The roars of lions that refuse the chain,
The grunts of bristled boars, and groans of bears,
And herds of howling wolves that stun the sailors' ears"



"I Claim No Ownership of Images used unless stated otherwise"

Images are the property of Gonzales Ordonez Arias of Chile
Genzoman.Deviantart.Com

Excellent Artist with Excellent Works

Gaia

Gaia (play /ˈɡeɪ.ə/ or /ˈɡaɪ.ə/; from Ancient Greek Γαῖα "land" or "earth;" also Gæa, Gaea, or Gea; Koine Greek: Γῆ) was the primordial Earth-goddess in ancient Greek religion. Gaia was the great mother of all : the heavenly gods and Titans were descended from her union with Uranus (the sky), the sea-gods from her union with Pontus (the sea), the Giants from her mating with Tartarus (the hell-pit) and mortal creatures were sprung or born from her earthy flesh. The earliest reference to her is Mycenaean Greek Linear B ma-ka (transliterated as ma-ga), "Mother Gaia."

Hesiod's Theogony tells how, after Chaos, arose broad-breasted Gaia, the everlasting foundation of the gods of Olympus. She brought forth Uranus, the starry sky, her equal, to cover her, the hills (Ourea), and the fruitless deep of the Sea, Pontus, "without sweet union of love," out of her own self through parthenogenesis. But afterwards, as Hesiod tells it,

she lay with her son, Uranus, and bore the world-ocean god Oceanus, Coeus and Crius and the Titans Hyperion and Iapetus, Theia and Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, and Phoebe of the golden crown, and lovely Tethys. After them was born Cronus the wily, youngest and most terrible of her children, and he hated his lusty sire.

Hesiod mentions Gaia's further offspring conceived with Uranus: first the giant one-eyed Cyclopes: Brontes ("thunderer"), Steropes ("lightning") and the "bright" Arges: "Strength and might and craft were in their works." Then he adds the three terrible hundred-handed sons of Earth and Heaven, the Hecatonchires: Cottus, Briareos and Gyges, each with fifty heads.

Uranus hid the Hecatonchires and the Cyclopes in Tartarus so that they would not see the light, rejoicing in this evil doing. This caused pain to Gaia (Tartarus was her bowels) so she created grey flint (or adamantine) and shaped a great flint sickle, gathering together Cronus and his brothers to ask them to obey her. Only Cronus, the youngest, had the daring to take the flint sickle she made, and castrate his father as he approached Gaia to have intercourse with her. And from the drops of blood and semen, Gaia brought forth still more progeny, the strong Erinyes and the armoured Gigantes and the ash-tree Nymphs called the Meliae.

From the testicles of Uranus in the sea came forth Aphrodite. After Uranus's castration, Gaia, by Tartarus, gave birth to Echidna (by some accounts) and Typhon. By her son Pontus (god of the sea), Gaia birthed the sea-deities Nereus, Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto, and Eurybia. Aergia, a goddess of sloth and laziness, is the daughter of Aether and Gaia.
Tellus Mater, a Roman counterpart of Gaia, steps out of her chariot - detail of a sarcophagus in the Glyptothek, Munich

Zeus hid Elara, one of his lovers, from Hera by hiding her under the earth. His son by Elara, the giant Tityos, is therefore sometimes said to be a son of Gaia, the earth goddess.

Gaia is believed by some sources to be the original deity behind the Oracle at Delphi. Depending on the source, Gaia passed her powers on to Poseidon, Apollo or Themis. Apollo is the best-known as the oracle power behind Delphi, long established by the time of Homer, having killed Gaia's child Python there and usurped the chthonic power. Hera punished Apollo for this by sending him to King Admetus as a shepherd for nine years.

In classical art Gaia was represented in one of two ways. In Athenian vase painting she was shown as a matronly woman only half risen from the earth, often in the act of handing the baby Erichthonius (a future king of Athens) to Athena to foster (see example below). In mosaic representations, she appears as a woman reclining upon the earth surrounded by a host of Carpi, infant gods of the fruits of the earth (see example below under Interpretations).

Gaia also made Aristaeus immortal.

Oaths sworn in the name of Gaia, in ancient Greece, were considered the most binding of all.





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Eris

Eris (Greek Ἔρις, "Strife") is the Greek goddess of strife, her name being translated into Latin as Discordia. Her Greek opposite is Harmonia, whose Latin counterpart is Concordia.

The most famous tale of Eris recounts her initiating the Trojan War. The goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite had been invited along with the rest of Olympus to the forced wedding of Peleus and Thetis, who would become the parents of Achilles, but Eris had been snubbed because of her troublemaking inclinations, tossed into the party the Apple of Discord, a golden apple inscribed Kallisti – "For the most beautiful one", or "To the Fairest One" – provoking the goddesses to begin quarrelling about the appropriate recipient.




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Erinyes

In Greek mythology the Erinnýes (Ἐρινύες, pl. of Ἐρινύς, Erinýs; literally "the angry ones") or Eumenídes (Εὐμενίδες, pl. of Εὐμενίς; literally "the gracious ones" but also translated as "Kind-hearted Ones" or "Kindly Ones"), or Furies or Dirae in Roman mythology, were female chthonic deities of vengeance, or supernatural personifications of the anger of the dead. A formulaic oath in the Iliad invokes them as "those who beneath the earth punish whosoever has sworn a false oath". Burkert suggests they are "an embodiment of the act of self-cursing contained in the oath".

When the Titan Cronus castrated his father Uranus and threw his genitalia into the sea, the Erinyes emerged from the drops of blood, while Aphrodite was born from the crests of seafoam. According to variant accounts, they emerged from an even more primordial level—from Nyx, "Night". Their number is usually left indeterminate. Virgil, probably working from an Alexandrian source, recognized three: Alecto ("unceasing", who appeared in Virgil's Aeneid), Megaera ("grudging"), and Tisiphone ("avenging murder"). Dante followed Virgil in depicting the same three-charactered triptych of Erinyes; in Canto IX of the Inferno they confront the poets at the gates of the city of Dis. The heads of the Erinyes were wreathed with serpents (compare Gorgon) and their eyes dripped with blood, rendering their appearance rather horrific. Other depictions show them with the wings of a bat or bird and the body of a dog.

THE ERINYES were three netherworld goddesses who avenged crimes against the natural order. They were particularly concerned with homicide, unfilial conduct, crimes against the gods, and perjury. A victim seeking justice could call down the curse of the Erinys upon the criminal. The most powerful of these was the curse of the parent upon the child--for the Erinyes were born of just such a crime, being sprung from the blood of Ouranos, when he was castrated by his son Kronos.

The wrath of the Erinyes manifested itself in a number of ways. The most severe of these was the tormenting madness inflicted upon a patricide or matricide. Murderers might suffer illness or disease; and a nation harbouring such a criminal, could suffer dearth, and with it hunger and disease. The wrath of the Erinyes could only be placated with the rite ritual purification and the completion of some task assigned for atonement.

The goddesses were also servants of Haides and Persephone in the underworld where they oversaw the torture of criminals consigned to the Dungeons of the Damned.

The Erinyes were similar to if not the same as the Poinai (Retaliations), Arai (Curses), Praxidikai (Exacters of Justice) and Maniai (Madnesses).

Enyo

Enyo (Greek: Ἐνυώ, English translation: "warlike" in Greek mythology) was an ancient goddess of war, acting as a counterpart and companion to the war god Ares. She is also identified as his sister, and daughter of Zeus and Hera, in a role closely resembling that of Eris; with Homer in particular representing the two as the same goddess. She is also accredited as the mother of Enyalius, a minor war god, by Ares. However, the name Enyalius can also be used as a title for Ares himself.

As goddess of war, Enyo is responsible for orchestrating the destruction of cities, often accompanying Ares into battle and depicted "as supreme in war". During the fall of Troy, Enyo inflicted horror and bloodshed in the war, along with Eris, and Phobos ("Fear") and Deimos ("Dread"), the two sons of Ares. She, Eris, and the two sons of Ares are depicted on Achilles’s shield.

Enyo was involved in the war of the Seven Against Thebes and Dionysus’s war with the Indians as well. Enyo so delighted in warfare that she even refused to take sides in the battle between Zeus and the monster Typhon:

"Eris (Strife) was Typhon's escort in the mellay, Nike (Victory) led Zeus into battle . . . impartial Enyo held equal balance between the two sides, between Zeus and Typhon, while the thunderbolts with booming shots revel like dancers in the sky."

She was also connected to the Roman goddess of war, Bellona, and the Anatolian goddess Ma.

At Thebes and Orchomenos, a festival called Homolôïa, which was celebrated in honour of Zeus, Demeter, Athena and Enyo, was said to have received the surname of Homoloïus from Homoloïs, a priestess of Enyo. A statue of Enyo, made by the sons of Praxiteles, stood in the temple of Ares at Athens.Among the Graeae in Hesiod there is one called Enyo.



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Echidna

EKHIDNA (or Echidna) was a monstrous she-dragon (drakaina) with the head and breast of a woman. She probably represented or presided over the corruptions of the earth : rot, slime, fetid waters, illness and disease.

She was often equated with Python (the rotting one), a dragon born of the fetid slime left behind by the great Deluge. Others call her the Tartarean lamprey, and assigned her to the dark, swampy pit of Tartaros beneath the earth. Hesiod, makes her a daughter of monstrous sea-gods, and presumably associates her with rotting sea-scum and fetid salt-marshes.
In all cases, she was described as the consort of Typhoeus (Typhon) , a monstrous storm-daemon who challenged Zeus in heaven. Together they spawned a host of terrible monsters to plague the earth.

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Oracle

The Oracle of Delphi


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Cronus

Cronus or Kronos (Ancient Greek Κρόνος, Krónos) was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants of Gaia, the earth, and Uranus, the sky. He overthrew his father and ruled during the mythological Golden Age, until he was overthrown by his own sons, Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon, and imprisoned in Tartarus.

In ancient myth recorded by Hesiod's Theogony, Cronus envied the power of his father, the ruler of the universe, Uranus. Uranus drew the enmity of Cronus' mother, Gaia, when he hid the gigantic youngest children of Gaia, the hundred-armed Hecatonchires and one-eyed Cyclopes, in Tartarus, so that they would not see the light. Gaia created a great stone sickle and gathered together Cronus and his brothers to persuade them to castrate Uranus. Only Cronus was willing to do the deed, so Gaia gave him the sickle and placed him in ambush. When Uranus met with Gaia, Cronus attacked him with the sickle castrating him and casting his testicles into the sea. From the blood (or, by a few accounts, semen) that spilled out from Uranus and fell upon the earth, the Gigantes, Erinyes, and Meliae were produced. The testicles produced a white foam from which Aphrodite emerged. For this, Uranus threatened vengeance and called his sons titenes (according to Hesiod meaning "straining ones," the source of the word "titan", but this etymology is disputed) for overstepping their boundaries and daring to commit such an act.

After dispatching Uranus, Cronus re-imprisoned the Hecatonchires, the Gigantes, and the Cyclopes and set the dragon Campe to guard them. He and his sister Rhea took the throne of the world as king and queen. This period of Cronus' rule was called the Golden Age, as the people of the time had no need for laws or rules; everyone did the right thing, and immorality was absent.

Cronus learned from Gaia and Uranus that he was destined to be overcome by his own son, just as he had overthrown his father. As a result, although he sired the gods Demeter, Hera, Hades, Hestia, and Poseidon by Rhea, he devoured them all as soon as they were born, to preempt the prophecy. When the sixth child, Zeus, was born Rhea sought Gaia to devise a plan to save them and to eventually get retribution on Cronus for his acts against his father and children. Other children Cronus is reputed to have fathered include Chiron, by Philyra.

Rhea secretly gave birth to Zeus in Crete, and handed Cronus a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, also known as the Omphalos Stone, which he promptly swallowed, thinking that it was his son.

Rhea kept Zeus hidden in a cave on Mount Ida, Crete. According to some versions of the story, he was then raised by a goat named Amalthea, while a company of Kouretes, armored male dancers, shouted and clapped their hands to make enough noise to mask the baby's cries from Cronus. Other versions of the myth have Zeus raised by the nymph Adamanthea, who hid Zeus by dangling him by a rope from a tree so that he was suspended between the earth, the sea, and the sky, all of which were ruled by his father, Cronus. Still other versions of the tale say that Zeus was raised by his grandmother, Gaia.

Once he had grown up, Zeus used a poison given to him by Gaia to force Cronus to disgorge the contents of his stomach in reverse order: first the stone, which was set down at Pytho under the glens of Mount Parnassus to be a sign to mortal men, then the goat, and then his two brothers and three sisters. In other versions of the tale, Metis gave Cronus an emetic to force him to disgorge the children, or Zeus cut Cronus' stomach open. After freeing his siblings, Zeus released the Gigantes, the Hecatonchires, and the Cyclopes, who forged for him his thunderbolts. In a vast war called the Titanomachy, Zeus and his brothers and sisters, with the help of the Gigantes, Hecatonchires, and Cyclopes, overthrew Cronus and the other Titans. Afterwards, many of the Titans were confined in Tartarus. Some Titans were not banished to Tartarus. Atlas, Epimetheus, Menoetius, Oceanus and Prometheus are examples of Titans who were not imprisoned in Tartarus following the Titanomachy. Gaia bore the monster Typhon to claim revenge for the imprisoned Titans, though Zeus was victorious. Accounts of the fate of Cronus after the Titanomachy differ. In Homeric and other texts he is imprisoned with the other Titans in Tartarus. In Orphic poems, he is imprisoned for eternity in the cave of Nyx. Pindar describes his release from Tartarus, where he is made King of Elysium by Zeus. In another version, the Titans released the Cyclopes from Tartarus, and Cronus was awarded the kingship among them, beginning a Golden Age.




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Chaos

KHAOS (or Chaos) was the first of the Protogenoi (primeval gods) on greek mythology to emerge at the creation of the universe. She was followed in quick succession by Gaia (Earth), Tartaros (the Underworld) and Eros (Love the life-bringer).

Khaos was the lower atmosphere which surrounded the earth - invisible air and gloomy mist. Her name khaos literally means the gap, the space between heaven and earth. Khaos was the mother or grandmother of the other substances of air: Nyx (Night), Erebos (Darkness), Aither (Light) and Hemera (Day), as well as the various emotion-affecting Daimones which drifted through it. She was also a goddess of fate like her daughter Nyx and grand-daughters the Moirai.

Later authors defined Khaos as the chaotic mix of elements that existed in the primeval universe, confusing it with the primeval Mud of the Orphic cosmogonies, but this was not the original meaning. Chaos, the vacant and infinite space which existed according to the ancient cosmogonies previous to the creation of the world, and out of which the gods, men, and all things arose. A different definition of Chaos is given by Ovid, who describes it as the confused mass containing the elements of all things that were formed out of it. According to Hesiod, Chaos was the mother of Erebos and Nyx. Some of the later poets use the word Chaos in the general sense of the airy realms, of darkness, or the lower world.



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Cerberus

Cerberus or Kerberos, (Greek form: Κέρβερος, kerberos) in Greek and Roman mythology, is a multi-headed hound (usually three-headed) which guards the gates of The Underworld, to prevent those who have crossed the river Styx from ever escaping. Cerberus featured in many works of ancient Greek and Roman literature and in works of both ancient and modern art and architecture, although, the depiction and background surrounding Cerberus often differed across various works by different authors of the era. The most notable difference is the number of its heads: Most sources describe or depict three heads; others show it with two or even just one; a smaller number of sources show a variable number, sometimes as many as 50.

Cerberus is said to be the sibling of the Lernaean Hydra, the Nemean Lion, the Sphinx, the Ladon, and the Chimera.

Cerberus was the offspring of Echidna, a hybrid half-woman and half-serpent, and Typhon, a fire-breathing giant whom even the Olympian gods feared. Its brother is Orthrus, always depicted as a two-headed hellhound. The three-heads can respectively see and represent the past, the present, and the future, while other sources suggest the heads represent birth, youth, and old age. Each of Cerberus' heads is said to have an appetite only for live meat and thus allow the spirits of the dead to freely enter the underworld, but allow none to leave. Cerberus was always employed as Hades' loyal watchdog, and guarded the gates that granted access and exit to the underworld (also called Hades).

Capturing Cerberus alive, without using weapons, was the final labour assigned to Heracles (Hercules) by King Eurystheus, in recompense for the killing of his own children by Megara after he was driven insane by Hera, and therefore was the most dangerous and difficult. In the traditional version, Heracles would not have been required to capture Cerberus, however Eurystheus discounted the completion of two of the tasks as Heracles had received assistance.

After having been given the task, Heracles went to Eleusis to be initiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries so that he could learn how to enter and exit the underworld alive, and in passing absolve himself for killing centaurs. He found the entrance to the underworld at Tanaerum, and Athena and Hermes helped him to traverse the entrance in each direction. He passed Charon with Hestia's assistance and his own heavy and fierce frowning.

Whilst in the underworld, Heracles met Theseus and Pirithous. The two companions had been imprisoned by Hades for attempting to kidnap Persephone. One tradition tells of snakes coiling around their legs then turning into stone; another that Hades feigned hospitality and prepared a feast inviting them to sit. They unknowingly sat in chairs of forgetfulness and were permanently ensnared. When Heracles had pulled Theseus first from his chair, some of his thigh stuck to it (this explains the supposedly lean thighs of Athenians), but the earth shook at the attempt to liberate Pirithous, whose desire to have the wife of a god for himself was so insulting he was doomed to stay behind.

Heracles found Hades and asked permission to bring Cerberus to the surface, which Hades agreed to if Heracles could overpower the beast without using weapons. Heracles was able to overpower Cerberus and proceeded to sling the beast over his back, dragging it out of the underworld through a cavern entrance in the Peloponnese and bringing it to Eurystheus. The king was so frightened of the beast that he jumped into a pithos, and asked Heracles to return it to the underworld in return for releasing him from his labors.



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Centaur

In Greek mythology, a centaur (from Ancient Greek: Κένταυροι, Kéntauroi) or hippocentaur is a member of a composite race of creatures, part human and part horse. In early Attic and Boeotian vase-paintings (see below), they are depicted with the hindquarters of a horse attached to them; in later renderings centaurs are given the torso of a human joined at the waist to the horse's withers, where the horse's neck would be.

This half-human and half-animal composition has led many writers to treat them as liminal beings, caught between the two natures, embodied in contrasted myths, both as the embodiment of untamed nature, as in their battle with the Lapiths, or conversely as teachers, like Chiron.

The centaurs were usually said to have been born of Ixion and Nephele (the cloud made in the image of Hera). Another version, however, makes them children of a certain Centaurus, who mated with the Magnesian mares. This Centaurus was either himself the son of Ixion and Nephele (inserting an additional generation) or of Apollo and Stilbe, daughter of the river god Peneus. In the later version of the story his twin brother was Lapithes, ancestor of the Lapiths, thus making the two warring peoples cousins.

Centaurs were said to have inhabited the region of Magnesia and Mount Pelion in Thessaly, the Foloi oak forest in Elis, and the Malean peninsula in southern Laconia.

Centaurs continued to figure in literary forms of Roman mythology. A pair of them draw the chariot of Constantine the Great and his family in the Great Cameo of Constantine, which embodies wholly pagan imagery.




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Atlantis

Atlantis (in Greek, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, "island of Atlas") is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias.

According to Critias, the Hellenic gods of old divided the land so that each god might own a lot; Poseidon was appropriately, and to his liking, bequeathed the island of Atlantis. The island was larger than Ancient Libya and Asia Minor combined, but it afterwards was sunk by an earthquake and became an impassable mud shoal, inhibiting travel to any part of the ocean. The Egyptians, Plato asserted, described Atlantis as an island comprising mostly mountains in the northern portions and along the shore, and encompassing a great plain of an oblong shape in the south.

In Plato's myth, Poseidon fell in love with Cleito, the daughter of Evenor and Leucippe, who bore him five pairs of male twins. The eldest of these, Atlas, was made rightful king of the entire island and the ocean (called the Atlantic Ocean in his honor), and was given the mountain of his birth and the surrounding area as his fiefdom.

Poseidon carved the mountain where his love dwelt into a palace and enclosed it with three circular moats of increasing width. The Atlanteans then built bridges northward from the mountain, making a route to the rest of the island. They dug a great canal to the sea, and alongside the bridges carved tunnels into the rings of rock so that ships could pass into the city around the mountain; they carved docks from the rock walls of the moats. Every passage to the city was guarded by gates and towers, and a wall surrounded each of the city's rings. The walls were constructed of red, white and black rock quarried from the moats, and were covered with brass, tin and the precious metal orichalcum, respectively.

According to Critias, 9,000 years before his lifetime a war took place between those outside the Pillars of Hercules at the Strait of Gibraltar and those who dwelt within them. But at a later time there occurred portentous earthquakes and floods, and one grievous day and night befell them, when the whole body of your warriors was swallowed up by the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner was swallowed up by the sea and vanished; wherefore also the ocean at that spot has now become impassable and unsearchable, being blocked up by the shoal mud which the island created as it settled down.




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Athena

 Athena was remade as the favorite daughter of Zeus, born fully armed from his forehead The story of her birth comes in several versions. In the one most commonly cited, Zeus lay with Metis, the goddess of crafty thought and wisdom, but he immediately feared the consequences. It had been prophesied that Metis would bear children more powerful than the sire,[18] even Zeus himself. In order to forestall these dire consequences, after lying with Metis, Zeus "put her away inside his own belly;" he "swallowed her down all of a sudden."[19] He was too late: Metis had already conceived.
Eventually Zeus experienced an enormous headache; Prometheus, Hephaestus, Hermes, Ares, or Palaemon (depending on the sources examined) cleaved Zeus's head with the double-headed Minoan axe, the labrys. Athena leaped from Zeus's head, fully grown and armed, with a shout— "and pealed to the broad sky her clarion cry of war. And Ouranos trembled to hear, and Mother Gaia..." (Pindar, Seventh Olympian Ode). Plato, in the Laws, attributes the cult of Athena to the culture of Crete, introduced, he thought, from Libya during the dawn of Greek culture.
Classical myths thereafter note that Hera was so annoyed at Zeus for having produced a child that she conceived and bore Hephaestus by herself.
Plato, in Cratylus (407B) gave the etymology of her name as signifying "the mind of god", theou noesis. The Christian apologist of the 2nd century Justin Martyr takes issue with those pagans who erect at springs images of Kore, whom he interprets as Athena:
"They said that Athena was the daughter of Zeus not from intercourse, but when the god had in mind the making of a world through a word (logos) his first thought was Athena".






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Ares

In Greek mythology, Ares (Ancient Greek: Ἄρης [árɛːs], Μodern Greek: Άρης [ˈaris]) is the son of Zeus and Hera. Though often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, he is more accurately the god of bloodlust, or slaughter personified: "Ares is apparently an ancient abstract noun meaning throng of battle, war."

He is also know under this titles:

* Brotoloigos (Βροτολοιγός, ‘Destroyer of men’ );
* Androfontes (Ανδρειφοντης, ‘Killer or men’ );
* Miaiphonos (Μιαιφόνος, ‘Bloodstained’ );
* Teikhesiplêtês (Τειχεσιπλήτης, ‘assailant of walls’ );
* Maleros (Μαλερός, ‘brutal’ );
* Teritas (Θηρίτας, ‘beast" ), by Tero.


He is an important Olympian god in the epic tradition represented by the Iliad. The reading of his character remains ambiguous, in a late 6th-century funerary inscription from Attica: "Stay and mourn at the tomb of dead Kroisos/ Whom raging Ares destroyed one day, fighting in the foremost ranks".

The Romans identified him as Mars, the god of war and agriculture, whom they had inherited from the Etruscans; but, among them, Mars stood in much higher esteem. (See also Athena.)

Among the Hellenes, Ares was always distrusted. Although Ares' half-sister Athena was also considered a war deity, her stance was that of strategic warfare, whereas Ares's tended to be one of unpredictable violence. Athena and Ares were enemies. His birthplace and true home was placed far off, among the barbarous and warlike Thracians, to whom he withdrew after his affair with Aphrodite was revealed.

"Ares" remained an adjective and epithet in Classical times, which could be applied to the war-like aspects of other gods: Zeus Areios, Athena Areia, even Aphrodite.

In Mycenaean times, inscriptions attest to Enyalios, a name that survived into Classical times as an epithet of Ares. Vultures and dogs, both of which prey upon carrion in the battlefield, are sacred to him.




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Arachne

Arachne was a great mortal weaver. She boasted that her skill was greater than that of Athena the goddess of crafts, which resulted in a contest between her and the goddess. In the end the mortal weaver won and the goddess turned Arachne into a spider.

Arachne simply means "spider" ( ἀράχνη ) in classical Greek.

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Aello

The Strofades, a islands on the Jonic sea, acording to the story, was the home of The Harpies: The cruel Celeno, Ocypete and Aello until the arrival or Aeneas and the trojans.

Aello (Ἀελλώ "she of the whirlwind") also know as nicotoe or Aellopoda. is one of the Greek Harpies who was employed by the gods to make peace and carry out punishments for crimes. Aello was described as a beautiful, winged maiden. Later other writers described her as a winged monster with the face of an ugly old woman, with crooked and sharp talons and claws. She was the one of the Harpy sisters who would abduct people to the underworld, Tartarus and torturing them. Aello is known as the Storm Swift of the three..

Hesiod calls them "lovely-haired" creatures, and pottery art depicting the harpies featured beautiful women with wings. Harpies as ugly winged bird-women, in Aeschylus' The Eumenides are a late development, due to a confusion with the Sirens. Roman and Byzantine writers detailed their ugliness.



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Hera

Hera (pronounced /ˈhɪərə/; Greek Ήρα, Hēra, equivalently Ήρη, Hērē, in Ionic and Homer) was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of classical Greek Mythology. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. In Roman mythology, Juno was the equivalent mythical character. The cow, and later, the peacock were sacred to her. Hera's mother was Rhea and her father, Cronus.

Portrayed as majestic and solemn, often enthroned, and crowned with the polos (a high cylindrical crown worn by several of the Great Goddesses), Hera may bear a pomegranate in her hand, emblem of fertile blood and death and a substitute for the narcotic capsule of the opium poppy. A scholar of Greek mythology Walter Burkert writes in Greek Religion, "Nevertheless, there are memories of an earlier aniconic representation, as a pillar in Argos and as a plank in Samos."

Hera was known for her jealous and vengeful nature, most notably against Zeus's paramours and offspring, but also against mortals who crossed her, such as Pelias. Paris offended her by choosing Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddess, earning Hera's hatred.



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Helen

Helen of Troy and the Trojan War were central to the early history of ancient Greece.

Helen is the object of one of the most dramatic love stories of all time and one of the main reasons for a ten-year war between the Greeks and Trojans, known as the Trojan War. Hers was the face that launched a thousand ships because of the vast number of warships the Greeks sailed to Troy to retrieve Helen. The poems known as the Trojan War Cycle were the culmination of many myths about the ancient Greek warriors and heroes who fought and died at Troy.

The Trojan War Cycle is based on a story from the legendary period of ancient Greece, a time when it was common to trace lineage to the gods. Helen is said to have been a daughter of the king of the gods, Zeus. Her mother was generally considered to have been Leda, the mortal wife of the king of Sparta, Tyndareus. In some versions, Nemesis, in bird form, is named mother. The Helen-egg was then given to Leda to raise. Clytemnestra was the sister of Helen, but her father wasn't Zeus, but Tyndareus. Helen had two (twin) brothers, Castor and Pollux (Polydeuces). Pollux shared a father with Helen, and Castor with Clytemnestra. The two brothers are called the Dioscuri. There were various stories about this helpful pair of brothers, including one about how they saved the Romans at the Battle of Regillus.

The legendary beauty of Helen attracted men from afar and also those close to home who saw her as a means to the Spartan throne. The first likely mate of Helen was Theseus, hero of Athens, who kidnapped Helen when she was still young. Later Menelaus, brother of the Mycenaean King Agamemnon, married Helen. Agamemnon and Menelaus were sons of King Atreus of Mycenae, and were therefore referred to as Atrides. Agamemnon married the sister of Helen, Clytemnestra, and became king of Mycenae after expelling his uncle. In this way, Menelaus and Agamemnon were not only brothers but brothers-in-law, just as Helen and Clytemnestra were not only sisters, but sisters-in-law.

Of course the most famous mate of Helen was Paris of Troy.Paris (aka Alexander or Alexandros) was the son of King Priam of Troy and his queen, Hecuba, but he was rejected at birth, and raised as a shepherd on Mt. Ida. While living the life of a shepherd, the three goddesses, Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena, appeared to him asking him to award the "fairest" of them the golden apple that Discord had promised one of them. Each goddess offered Paris a bribe, but the bribe offered by Aphrodite appealed to Paris most, so Paris awarded the apple to Aphrodite. It was a beauty contest, so it was appropriate that the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, had offered Paris the most beautiful woman on earth for his bride. This woman was Helen. Unfortunately, Helen was taken. She was the bride of Menelaus.

Whether or not there was love between Menelaus and Helen is unclear. In the end, they may have been reconciled, but meanwhile, when Paris came to the Spartan court of Menelaus as a guest, he may have aroused unaccustomed desire in Helen, since in the Iliad, Helen takes some responsibility for her abduction. Menelaus received and extended hospitality to Paris. Then, when Menelaus discovered that Paris had taken off for Troy with Helen and other prized possessions Helen may have considered part of her dowry, he was enraged at this violation of the laws of hospitality. Paris offered to return the stolen possessions in the course of the Iliad, even when he is unwilling to return Helen, but Menelaus wanted Helen, too... And the trojan war begins.


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