Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Forum administrators, Interface administrators, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
116,443
edits
Classical Mythology/WMG: Difference between revisions
work->useful notes
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (work->useful notes) |
|||
| (5 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{
== The Titans actually represent another pantheon worshipped before the Olympians ==
Line 6:
== Apollo and Dionysus are the same person. ==
This is actually less a WMG than a potential bit of theology that is invoked by some Classical writers (I don't remember who all, could link later). We have two gods who are both gods of destruction (literally in the case of Apollo [Apollwn works best, I think, from Apollumi, "I destroy," given how vengeful and related to "acts of God" his cult is; more figuratively in Dionysus, who destroys as in removes structure) who occupy Delphi and grant prophecies (Dionysus occupies it during the winter months, or so the story goes). As such, both share a prophet/seemingly submissive role with a fertility goddess (Gaia in both instances; Dionysus occasionally when associated with Demeter/Cybele/etc.). Both are renowned for their good looks (Dionysus is a [[Bishounen]] while Apollo is the god of beauty) and are patrons of gays (Dionysus is specifically listed as the patron of what is the Greek equivalent of BLGT matters and would be the patron of such modern things as Mardi Gras; Apollo's most memorable loves are those with his [usually doomed] male lovers). Both have a thing against Thebes (Dionysus: Pentheus as Apollo: Oedipus, but then again everything happens in Thebes). Both are associated with retinues of musical women (Maenads and nymphs, and Muses and other nymphs)...the list goes on, from how the origin myths make the two foreign gods (Dionysus is the alien god who has been with the Greeks since the Minoan era, while Apollo is the native god with contradictory paths of origin and no record in Linear B) to various symbols (snakes, musical instruments) and an association with youth.
** It's a [[Jekyll and Hyde]] arrangement. Dionysus is the god of the wild creative highs that require completely forgetting yourself and setting about to a frenzy of expression; Apollo is the god who helps you out when you realize its faults and carefully craft it into a measured and more perfect art. In other words, when Apollo gets drunk, he turns into Dionysus.
*** Then this really changes the dynamics of character duos based on the two, like Enjolras and Grantaire from [[Les Misérables]]
Line 13:
She wasn't born rising out of the foam; that's just the earliest time in history where she exists. At some point in her personal timeline after she's fully grown and incredibly beautiful, she gets her memory erased and is sent back in time to her "birth".
* Hephaestus also was a time traveler, or more correctly, he created a time machine that sent Aphrodite to the past (accident or not, is another WMG), himself time-travelled as well and helped to give birth to Athena in this form.
* Alternatively, Aphrodite is a [[Doctor Who
== Athena would one day overthrow Zeus ==
The prophecy just stated that the child of Zeus and Metis would overthrow Zeus. Everyone just assumed this would ''only'' apply if it were a guy; because of cultural perceptions. A woman be the King of the Gods? As if.
* She also one-ups Zeus in that even though he ate her the same way Uranus( Um hello here? Uranas is Zeus' GRANDFATHER..not his FATHER Kronos is Zeus's father) ate him and his brethren; she busts out of his body anyways.
** Actually, that is not true. Zeus was never swallowed by his father, and his brothers were swallowed by Cronus. Metis was already pregnant with Athena, but was swallowed before Athena was born, so Athena was born in Zeus, not swallowed by him.
Line 23:
** Her breasts, of course.
*** [[Nightmare Fuel|Or]] [[Groin Attack|her vagina.]]
*** The vagina is an internal structure and can't be "cut off." The closest fitting structure on the outside would probably be the clitoris.
**** You could carve around it, maybe...
** Athena didn't have a Successor. That's why we don't see Greek gods [[Oh Crap|any-morrr... God is a woman.]] [[You Can Panic Now]].
*** So it appears [[
* And considering [[You Can't Fight Fate|the Greek opinion on fighting fate...]]
Line 39:
* possess severe handicaps. Cyclopes have one eye, Hephaestus has no legs.
* lack a motherly character in their life.
* seem to only have one parent.
* are male.
Both seem to serve the same purpose in Greek Mythology: ugly, deformed, brilliant craftsmen hired by the gods to create things.
Line 56:
== Hades really is planning to take over Zeus's throne, but for benevolent reasons. ==
The God of the Underworld, being much more decent than the rest of the gods, is disgusted by their [[Jerkass]] tendencies and hates them all. He became ruler of the Underworld as part of a [[Xanatos Gambit]] to both get some time away from the rest of the gods, and to have [[Elaborate Underground Base|a good secret base]] to plan in secrecy.(His [[Invisibility Cloak|Helm of Darkness]] is handy too.)
Building on this interpretation, Hades generally leaves man alone because he wants to avoid bad publicity with them, so one day when they get tired of the rest of the [[Jerkass Gods]] of the pantheon, Hades will suddenly be much more beloved and be in a good position to take over. He's building an army in the Underworld in secret from all the souls of the dead who come into his domain, hence why he is so harsh on anyone who dares try to cheat death or bring someone [[Back
However, one of the other gods(or perhaps a mortal) found out about the plan, but wasn't believed by the other gods. So, they launched a campaign of [[Malicious Slander]] in an attempt to make Hades look like a [[God of Evil]], which is why [[Everybody Hates Hades]].
However, the backlash against this slander will cause the intelligent fans of [[Classical Mythology]] to try to improve Hades's reputation. Phase one is his positive portrayal in The Percy Jackson Books. All of the above is part of Hades's plan.
* So Hades is really [[Norse Mythology|Odin]], and Valhalla is where he's training his ghost army, and the Olympians are the Jotuns?
== Caeneus asked for that gender flip not simply so that no man would victimize her, but to get revenge on Poseidon. ==
== Tartarus was a [[Lovable Traitor]] ==
One of the lesser known facts about Tartarus was that in addition to being the closest thing the greeks had to Hell, he was also a diety like Gaia(and shacked up with her a few times, as well). He was also the go-to guy for the head god whenever they needed to imprison someone or something, first Uranus, then Cronos, then Zeus all had enemies to lock up in Tartarus. There's no record of Tartarus ever rebelling or fighting against the most recent usurpers, where-as Gaia rebelled against the reigns of each of them, and the fact that Tartarus was powerful enough to hold each of the beings that were imprisioned within him suggests that he probably could have put up a fight if he wanted to. None of the new God-Kings ever start to question Tartarus' loyalty, either; they all just seem to accept that he'll willingly act as a jailor for them. Anyway, end result of this theory; Tartarus is mentioned a few times in the New Testament, interchangably with Hell, which suggests to me that Tartarus was simply a go with the flow type of guy who was perhaps biding his time, surviving the downfall of the greek pantheon by being adopted into Christian lore as Hell.
== The Greek gods [[Hoist
[[Fate Worse Than Death|Considering]] [[Jerkass Gods|what]] [[Double Standard Rape (Divine
** Funnily enough, this is actually considered to be one of the reasons that Christianity eventually became so popular in Europe: the Greeks and Romans were tired of what they perceived as their gods' antics and weren't spiritually fulfilled.
*** So this is semi-confirmed?
Line 77:
== Hephaestus was destined to overthrow his father. ==
Something of the [[Spear Counterpart]] to the Athena WMG. The prophecy that Prometheus was said to know, concerning Zeus's fall from grace in the future? That history would repeat itself: Zeus's last "true" heir (i.e. a child born within his wedlock) would devise the means to destroy him, and take his place on the throne. Chronologically, Hephaestus- lame, blind, [[Hollywood Homely|arguably hideous]], industrious, and technologically ingenious- is Zeus's and Hera's last son. Hera locked her ugly little son in a volcano out of disgust, but Zeus enforced this because of the prophecy.
* Minor thing, but I heard it that Hera is actually very fond of Hephaestus, and Zeus threw him out of Olympus in the middle of a temper tantrum.
* In some versions of the story of Hephaestus's birth, Hera conceived him on her own out of jealousy of Zeus's birthing of Athena without a female, with the implication that he's the only imperfect god because he doesn't have a father. But, obviously, this is [[Depending
== The stone that Cronus ate so long ago has some deep connection with Zeus. ==
Besides it being an Omphalos stone (used to denote the "navel" of the world), why else would the oracle at Delphi had found it and saved it?
* The fact that it sat in the stomach of the Titan King for quite some time would have to give it some powers. Dionysus gained divinity by simply being half-god and finishing up his gestation in Zeus' leg.
== Hepheastus isn't actually ugly. ==
Line 87:
== Heracles had stomach cancer. ==
In the Roman version of the 12 Labors myth, Hercules was attacked by a crab that distracted him from his tasks. Under the premise of the guess, the Romans heard "Heracles' task was made difficult by a bout with cancer" and thought that "[[Giant Enemy Crab]]" was a [[Rule of Cool|better]] translation than "[[What Do You Mean
* [[And Knowing Is Half the Battle|FYI]], the Latin word for crab is cancer.
** Aye, based from the Greek for crab which was used to describe cancers. [[Sincerity Mode|Thanks]] for bringing that up, in case [[Fan Myopia|someone happened to not know the etymology]].
| |||