Dione: A Beautiful Affair

This is how I imagined Dione.

Dione has been said to be one of the most important goddesses; but of what? No one knows for sure. Her name literally only meant the Goddess. Yeah, talk about obscure divinities. Even made me think of the song aptly titled Mizu no Akashi or ‘Evidence of Water’ by Rie Tanaka:

Back to the story, I quote from God Checker:

DIONE was one of the early birds in the goddess stakes. In fact she was on the scene so early that no-one else seems to have been around to make notes for posterity.

Because of her disputable nature, I decided to write a special article about her right after the original Titanides. My aims here are to try to paint a clear and unified picture or idea of her; and share what I know about her as obtained from different sources. This article is in no way academic and definitive. So consider yourself warned.

Drenched in Dione

Meet the parents. So, people say that this intriguing lady Dione was a daughter of Uranus and Gaea (making her a principal Titaness) or of Aether and Gaea, sometimes even of the younger Titan Epimetheus and the first woman Pandora. But the most common (and most grounded) belief, which I personally prefer, is that she was one of the eldest daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys.

(I might be worth noting that handful of those two's daughters were also considered second generation Titanides, say Metis, Clymene, Pleione, etc. Thus, the term Titan Oceanides. I might write about them, or the whole class of Oceanides soon.)

Her offices. As an Oceanid, Dione served as a goddess of water and moisture. In particular, she represented the moist soil that marks fertile ground. By extension, she also was a goddess of fertility (there are a bunch of them, actually). However, her powers seem to still remain vague. The Official Guide to the Mythological Universe says:

Dione also has some abilities to tap into and manipulate inherent mystical energies in the universe. While her exact level of power is unknown, it is known that she can move through dimensions, such as through the dimensional barriers between Earth and Olympus. She can send her voice and image over time and space, appear in a gigantic state, control the weather and cast spells upon objects and living things. She has extraordinary precognitive abilities, allowing her to see future events and possible alternate futures, discerning which events are most likely to occur. The full range of her power is unknown, but she may at least be equal to such female gods as Hera and Aphrodite. 

The last part where Dione was said to be almost equally powerful as Hera and Aphrodite suggests that she was a goddess of utmost importance.

In the Pelasgian myth, she was one of the seven principal Titanides whom the goddess Eurynome paired with the a Titan each. According to the myth, she was paired with the god Crius. I personally don't see any connection between them. Eurynome must have just selected them randomly, say a raffle draw. Nevertheless, the two were given the dominion over the planet Mars, and the power of Growth.

I've already said that I don’t believe her to be an original Titaness but her pure awesomeness is just too interesting to ignore. And so, to make ends meet, I will just presume that she made it to the Titan Council, occupying the post that should have been  Mnemosyne's, who did not readily accept the position. Finally, that diva of a goddess decided to make up with her brother Cronus and assume her place, with Dione stepping out for her.

(I probably lost you there so I recommend for you to read my own version of Mnemosyne’s history here.)

Between Zeus and Dione
Several other goddesses were paired with Zeus in different stories. However, it was only Dione was the only one who was considered to be his equal (Even Hera did not quite reach the standards). In fact, her name which means, "The Goddess" was etymologically just a female form of Zeus.

Appropriately so, the two had something going on between them. Paparazzi claimed that she even was Zeus' second girlfriend after the dude ate Metis, his first.

The two had met each other when Zeus needed a 'temple associate' for his new oracle at Dodona. Dione tried out and got the job. With that, she became:

• a goddess of the oak, Zeus's sacred tree; and
• a goddess of divination (like the other major Titanides).

The temple was visited by both Greeks and non-Greeks because of the precision of the prophecies told there. The three old prophetesses of the shrine, known collectively as the Peleiades, were probably her Dione's priestesses. A little trivia, Peleiades meant "Doves," which were Dione and Aphrodite's sacred birds.

In this guise, Dione was also called Dodona, the eponymous goddess of the shrine.

The Love Goddess by the 'Goddess'

Dione was said to be the mother of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty; although the Olympian was more generally received as a goddess born with no mother or father. People said that she just sprung out from the sea foam when Uranus' genitals were thrown to the water.

I personally prefer to believe the more charming and logical version (meaning, not the parent-less)  regarding her birth. (Lik having sex with a sea foam bath is any decent way to produce a daughter. Thanks God Checker! I'm beginning to like you and your punch lines!) 

Botticelli's very famous 'Birth of Venus'

(ALERT: This one is just MY elaboration of the Iliad's version of Aphrodite's parentage. It is also another attempt to reconcile the story of Aphrodite arriving Cyprus aboard a sea shell.)

Zeus and Dione were really into each other since they worked together in Dodona. She even lived with him on Olympus together with Zeus' other girls. Every day may have been ‘awkward day’ back there.

It was all good until Zeus finally decided to marry Hera.

Hera, in her role as Queen of Olympus, however, did not want to be reminded of her husband's extra-marital affairs and banished several of his other wives from Olympus. The then pregnant Dione departed Olympus riding a scallop shell and took refuge on the island of Cythera where her daughter Aphrodite by Zeus was born. Aphrodite was spirited off to the island of Cyprus to hide her from Hera where she was discovered and accepted into the Olympian gods.

Both Cythera and Cyprus became subsequently centers of worship for Aphrodite. As for Dione, she returned to her parents' home in the Ocean to once again serve in their court as an Oceanid.

The mother and the daughter still had kept in touch with each other in spite of the long distance. In fact, in the Iliad:

Dione played an important role as the healer of Aphrodite after the goddess was wounded in the fighting during the siege of the city of Troy. The Achaean hero Diomedes was infused with vigor and boldness by the goddess Athena and told to avoid all Immortals on the battlefield except Aphrodite ... Athena told Diomedes that he should attack Aphrodite if he saw her. 

Aphrodite's son Aeneas was in danger of being killed, so Aphrodite swooped into the fighting and shielded Aeneas from harm. At that moment, Diomedes lunged at the goddess and wounded her on the wrist. Ares (god of War) was nearby so Aphrodite mounted his chariot and fled. Once she was safe, Aphrodite went to Dione. 

Dione wiped away the oozing ichor (divine blood) from Aphrodite's wounded wrist and tried to comfort the sobbing goddess. Dione sought to make Aphrodite realize that, even though she was immortal, she was still subject to pain and injury.

Aww, a motherly advice. Thanks to Mythagora for that bit!

As Aphrodite grew more popular in the Near East under the names Astarte and Ishtar, Dione also came to be identified as Asherah and the Lady of Byblos. (Source)

Souce: click here

Scientific Dione: Goddess of the Satellite

Dione was a very vague figure in Greek mythology. In spite of this, she still lived on to this day as one of the many moons of the planet Saturn.

The image on the left is her astronomical symbol. It consists of the Greek letter delta and a representation of Saturn's hook.

Rhea: Queen Supreme

My depiction of Rhea.

Rhea is undoubtedly one of the most important goddesses of the Titan generation. Aside from being known now as the 'Mother of the Gods', she was also Goddess of the Earth and at one time, a Queen of Heaven.

A 'Natural Woman'

One of the best songs by Aretha Franklin. One of the best phrases to describe Rhea, too.

As an original Titaness (the youngest of them), Rhea represented an aspect of her mother, Gaea, like her sisters. However, in contrast to their powers, she was affiliated with the earth and the natural world more than any one of them was.

Rhea was the goddess of fertility and fruitfulness: the unceasing producer of plant life, as well as the sustainer of the vegetable world. She became primarily responsible for the fertility of the soil-- a role which, I think, being the youngest daughter; she got as a favor from her mother.

Furthermore, she was also the goddess of fertility in womanhood. Her name means "flow" and "ease," Theoi Project says. In this guise, she represented the 'flow' of menstrual blood, birth waters (scientifically called Amniotic fluid, geek alert!), and of course, milk. A natural woman all the way!

In the Pelasgian myth, the goddess Eurynome even partnered Rhea with her brother Cronus (I think that became the start of their 'romantic?' relationship) to preside over the seventh day of the week, and the planet Saturn and its Essence, Peace. We will just have to find out later whatever happened to the two.

Aside from being a nature divinity and a keeper of peace, the goddess also did some part-time job during her single and carefree days. According to Paleothea, she:

... sat outside the house of Nyx beating a bronze drum and making sure all humans were paying attention the oracle of the goddess.

Lady Night must've allocated a lot of funds for the marketing of her oracle; having a Titan royalty for an endorser and all. Or, Rhea had just volunteered to help in her aunt's business. One of the perks of the job, though, is Nyx teaching her serious and secret magic.

Source: click here

How Rhea won Mrs. Universe

Rhea had traveled a long and rather 'wrong' road to the crown. Not that she wanted it; but it's what the situations called for. Let's recount the steps on how she became Queen of Heaven.

Her brother's marriage (with her) 

Rhea must have been in love with her youngest Titan brother Cronus for a long time already; but her marriage to him happened only after the infamous castration of Uranus. Back then, Cronus was everyone's hero, who battled for equality, and freed the world from prejudice. 

(That was in reference to Uranus' supposed hatred against his ugly sons--the Hecatonchires and the Cyclopes. If the Titans only knew, Cronus has his personal intentions as well.)

Naturally, all the girls wanted him; but Cronus (who I think was in love with Rhea as well) chose her to be his wife. Rhea thought it was destiny's will, and that dreams do come true. (In the end, it proved to be a nightmare rather than a dream.)

The two begot some beautiful and pretty powerful children:

1. Hestia, fire goddess;
2. Demeter, vegetation goddess;
3. Hades, god of riches;
4. Poseidon, god of earthquakes; and
5. Hera, air goddess.

(NOTE: Those, I believe, were their functions before they became known as the Great Olympians. I've found no reliable reference for this one, though. Just my idea.)

Because of them, Rhea came to be known as Meter Megale and Meter Theon; the Great Mother and the Mother of the Gods.

The family feud

(ANOTHER NOTE: This is my attempt--a rather desperate one--to reconcile conflicting myths about the lordship of the cosmos. Again, no reliable sources found. Be aware.)

The pair did not immediately become king and queen after they deposed Uranus. They still had to get rid of Eurynome, the A-list goddess who assumed the king's role after his 'accident' (it's MY idea. I really have to explain this soon), and her consort, Ophion. Cunning as he had always been, Cronus devised a plan to get the throne--a one on one battle against the couple:

CRONUS vs. OPHION

RHEA vs. EURYNOME

I don't know how Cronus persuaded Rhea to fight beside him against the two. But surely, Rhea had the guts to wrestle with a supreme goddess. Finally, the younger ones defeated the oldies and got hold of their positions as King and Queen of Heaven. As for the losers, they got thrown either to the Ocean or Tartarus.

Rhea must have learned to like the title for herself.

The Golden Age (or not?)

A manga depiction of Cronus and Rhea by Zelda Wang.  Read it here.

The reign of Cronus and Rhea was thereafter known as the GOLDEN AGE, a period of peace and plenty. I have read in Ancient Greek Beliefs by Perry Westmoreland that:

Men of the Golden Age live like gods in tranquility on earth, and they have good relations with the gods and each other...

And more good things were said after that. Blah... blah... blah... However, in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, it is said that:

The Golden Age was described as just propaganda by Kronos (Cronus) as in truth he used humans as either cheap entertainment or as a light snack. It's said it was only after Zeus overthrew Kronos (Cronus) and Prometheus gave man fire that they began to rise into Western Civilization. (Source)

Everyone's got an opinion. How about you? What do you think of the Golden Age?

Why Rhea never loved Cronus anymore

Cronus Devouring One Of His Sons
Goya, oil on canvas, 1820-23
Prado Museum, Madrid

Titan marriages have been proven work really well (say Oceanus and Tethys, Hyperion and Theia, Coeus and Phoebe) but Rhea's was an isolated case. And it involved the fate of the world and her children.

The case. Cronus heard through the grapevine about Themis' prophecy concerning the fall of the Titans. Of course, as the top Titan, he didn't at all like the sound of the word fall. He had nightmares about it; he overthought about it; and it drove him nuts. To have his peace of mind, he finally ordered Rhea to bring all of their children to him to devour their Essences (their life force).

(I opted for a milder version because I am still disgusted with the father-eats his-children thing. Just look at the picture. Yuck.)

After that, all five children became nothing but limp vegetables whose bodies were caged in different parts of the cosmos. Here's what I think:

• Hestia in Othrys (the Titans' palace);
• Demeter on Earth;
• Hades in the Underworld;
• Poseidon in the Sea*; and
• Hera in the Ocean*.

*I pointed out in my Tethys article my invented difference between the realms of the Sea and Ocean; the former being marine and the latter estuarine.

Rhea's resolve. Rhea got really mad with what her husband did to their children. When she became pregnant with Zeus, her sixth child, she must have thought,

"I've had enough! Screw him and his glycerin rich diet"

So, she went to ask her mother Gaea to ask for help. And the two goddesses were on their way to raising the supreme god of Greek mythology.

There are so many variations to this myth and so many characters, too. But here's the gist I got from greekgods.org:

Rhea was very much like her mother and loved her children unconditionally, but unfortunately Cronus was like his father, jealous of his children`s powers and in fear of being overthrown. She became mad when Cronus forced her to give him their children to swallow upon their birth. She started plotting against him and by the time he had swallowed Hestia, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, and Demeter, Rhea decided that enough is enough. She gave birth to her last child Zeus in secrecy and gave Cronus a rock, wrapped in a blanket, to swallow instead. Cronus was pleased, not knowing that Zeus was still out there, and thought he was safe from the prophecy. Zeus however, when grown up, came to Mount Othrys as a cupbearer and mixed a potion into Cronus` drink which made him to vomit all of his children. Later in a ten-year war, Zeus and Olympians defeated Cronus and the Titans. They became the next rulers, just like Cronus and his brothers had overthrown Uranus. Rhea in the end was the main reason that history repeated itself.

It is not mentioned there that Rhea enlisted the Curetes, shield clashing daemons, and the nymphs (whose names greatly differ) to help in the baby sitting. I am also guessing that the youthful Zeus went under the alias Welchanos during his service to Cronus as a cupbearer. (Source)

When Cronus learned of Rhea's trick; he exiled her from the heavenly realms FOREVER and got himself a concubine, the Oceanid Philyra, with whom he begot the wise centaur Chiron.

As events showed, Zeus defeated Cronus in a ten year battle and the top Titan was... (poof!)... gone.

Good goddess gone 'wild'?

As a result of Cronus' curse on her, she can't be with her now bigwig children up on Mount Olympus. With nothing else to do, she wandered the mountains and glens losing her care for the world.  She stayed on caverns, which thereafter became sacred to her, and exercised unbounded sway over all animal creation, especially the lions. It is in this guise that the Phrygians came to know her as the goddess Cybele.

She finally retired to her own fabulous palace at the peak of Mount Dindymene in Phrygia, apart from the gods. The Curetes, who were her son's babysitters, served as her attendants. Clashing their cymbals, they partied every night with the Corybantes, Rhea-Cybele's orgiastic dancers.

Once when she had her house warming party where all the gods were invited, her daughter Hestia ALMOST got raped by the pervy Priapus! But that will be on another article.

A second chance in love? A looooong time after the Titanomachy, Rhea (as Cybele or Agdistis) met the beautiful long-haired godling Attis. The two were quite into each other but the foster parents of Attis sent him to Pessinos, where he was to wed the king's daughter. Just as the marriage-song was being sung, Cybele appeared in her transcendent power, and Attis went mad and cut off his genitals. Attis' father-in-law-to-be, the king who was giving his daughter in marriage, followed suit, prefiguring the self-castrating Corybantes who devoted themselves to Cybele. But Cybele repented and saw to it that the body of Attis should neither rot at all nor decay.

And thus ends her short-lived second love story.

Oops, her name is Ops. Sorry for the bad pun. Hehe. Rhea still remained one of the top gods in spite of her not joining the others' company. In Rome, she was known as Ops, the goddess of plenty and fertility. In this guise, she was attended to by the very Roman god Consus (because he has no definite Greek counterpart, that is).

Finally, Rhea in Saturn

Source: click here

Of all the possible means and mediums, it was modern science that finally got to reunite the original couple.

Rhea became the name of Saturn's (Cronus) second largest moon, discovered by Cassini. Read more about it here.

(And should I also mention that rhea also became the name of a bird, a frog and a plant? Makes so much sense for an earth goddess.)

Themis: Justice Will Prevail

Themis by me.

In one of my previous posts, I have mentioned that only two of the six original Titanides never left for mankind's benefit after the Titanomachy: one was Mnemosyne, and the other was Themis. Themis, I must say, is one enduring goddess--being one of a few who have actually met Uranus; ruled a part of the cosmos under Cronus; survived the Titanomachy; and served during the reign of Zeus. Aside from that of the Olympians, representations of her are also still quite popular up to the present times.

Themis was the eldest daughter of Uranus and Gaea, according to many ancient writers. (I am having hints from various sources that Oceanus was the eldest Titan, Hyperion the second, Themis the third... Cronus the youngest, I'll update you when I'm done with my interpolation.^^)

An early bride of Zeus (again?), she was the mother of the Horae or Seasons, and, according to many sources (although I don't particularly agree) the Moirae or Fates.

(I'll discuss the reason on why I differ with the Moirae's parentage in their own article. Soon.) 

The Daily Prophet (non-HP edition)

To Themis
- Fumigation from Frankincense -

Illustrious Themis, celestial born flower of Earth,
I invoke the Virgin with beautiful eyes.

You were first to grant the gift of prophesy to man,
and in the deep recesses of sacred Pytho,
You ruled alone and renowned.

From Your power flows the inspiration
that You gave to Apollo and the oracles.
Light formed, divine Majestic Virgin,
You taught mortals the rites of Initiation,
And in Your wanderings in the night
the Choirs of Dionysus are Your joy.

You reveal the holy honors of Powers Divine,
Be present, Goddess, hear our prayer,
and visit these mystic rites with Your favor.

 -Orphic hymn to Themis, from Sybilline Order 

As the firstborn daughter of the Universe's power couple, Themis received quite a lot of favors. First off, she inherited her mother's ability to ACCURATELY tell the future. Yes, her sisters were also prophetic goddesses; but she had a lot more talent when it comes to that. She was at first THE goddess of prophecy; in contrast with the other prophetic deities. She presided over the most ancient earthly oracles, including Olympia and Dodona. To add to that, she had also received the Oracle of Delphi, 'homerically' called Pytho, from Gaea herself. (Mother Earth used to own the oracle herself.)

Themis used to be 'The Voice'
of Delphi. No copyright infringement
intended here babies. I got the logo here.

From there, she became 'The Voice' who, as Theoi Project says:

first instructed mankind in the primal laws of justice and morality, such as the precepts of piety, the rules of hospitality, good governance, conduct of assembly, and pious offerings to the gods.

 (The show is such a hit here in our country; I can't help putting--and modifying-- it here. Teehee. Peace!)

So yeah, Themis did a really cool job as the oracular voice of the earth. In fact, she uttered several of the most famous prophecies involved in the sagas of the gods in Greek mythology. These included:

• the prophecy of the fall of the Titans;
• the prophecy of the son of Thetis;
• the prophecy of the liberation of Prometheus;
• the prophecy of the theft of the Golden Apples;
• the prophecy of Deucalion's stone-born men;
• the prophecy of the sons of Callirhoe (I didn't know this); and
• the prophecy of the death of the Gigantes

(Source: http://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanisThemis.html. It's basically the same link as above. Hehe.)

Themis grew very famous because of her rather 'sensational' visions. People flocked around her oracles especially in Delphi that she decided to employ her sister Phoebe to handle some of her clients, and become her temple associate. Having prophesied the loss of her brothers, she chose to bet on the winning side. Eventually, she was promoted to become the new king Zeus' personal adviser. Themis then left Phoebe the Delphic Oracle who in turn handed it down to her grandson, Apollo.

Sitting by Zeus' throne, Themis still continued to become a goddess of foresight in Olympus.

Bringing order in the court

The Titaness Themis was more popularly known as the steadfast goddess of divine justice, law and order. The origin of this power may have been Eurynome the Creatrix. According to the myth where she created the seven planetary powers, Themis was paired with an obscure Titan named Eurymedon. Both of them were given the dominion over the planet Jupiter and the power over law.

According to Wikipedia, Themis means "divine law", those rules of conduct long established by custom, rather than human ordinance. As such, Journeying to the Goddess says that she regulated the karmic order in the cosmos and presided over matters of moral judgment (a role very similar to that of the earlier Egyptian Goddess Ma'at, based on what I've read here).

And also, NEVER EVER confuse Divine Justice with these:

(Sorry. I know that was a bad joke.)

On a more serious note, Maya del Mar on her Daykeeper Journal says that:

In later Greek mythology, transferred to Mount Olympus, she personified the social order of law and custom, a reminder that social order is ultimately dependent on the natural order of the earth. Themis is a grounded, earthly goddess who is also comfortable moving through the shifting, mantic world of dreams. She is deep wisdom familiar with both the depths of earth and the heights of sky: a guide into the soul.

Themis 2.0 - Up in Olympus

As a goddess of the old order, it is an impressive feat for Themis to survive the transition and even gain her spot among the younger and fresher goddesses of the heavens. Let's see what has become of her after the Titan War.

Themis, Hermes, Zeus, Nike,
and Athena (source)

A higher office. From the earthly oracles, Themis was promoted to become one of Zeus' staff when the top god assumed the throne of lordship. She served as his first personal counselor (Athena became the second later on) and was the one who convened and dissolved the assemblies of the gods.

(Rumor has it that Themis helped Zeus plot the Trojan War to remedy the problems on overpopulation! O.o)

What's more? She was... ssshhh... his lover. They even had children! But that was before his marriage to Hera, so yeah, no worries. Themis is in a safe place.

God Checker wittily describes what happened just before Zeus' marriage to Hera:

A peaceful separation settlement seems to have been arrived at and she and ZEUS remained good friends.

Being a wise woman herself, Themis did just the soundest decision.

A lower office. Themis as Divine Justice represented justice not only on heaven and earth, but also in the Underworld. I've read from the Goddess Guide that she sat in judgment of the recently deceased and decided whether they were sent to Tartarus or the Elysian Fields. But as Themis always takes office in Olympus, she had the Three Judges of the Underwold (Minos, Aeacus and Rhadamanthys) fill in the position for her.

Among the A-list. Themis was one of the oldest and most revered goddesses in Olympus. Her epithet Eugenes ("High Born") suggests her high status. Also, as revealed by her title Hiera (meaning "reverend"), she was one of the only few goddesses whom the prima donna queen Hera revered. Even the High Ladies of Olympus, Hestia and Demeter, call her their Lady.

A goddess in Rome. Only a few Titans successfully made it to the Classic Roman Pantheon. One of them was Themis, where she was known as JUSTITIA (hence, justice... duh). As such, she was the embodiment of the divine rightness of law; and the personification of the moral force in judicial systems. She could have logically been the world's (and beyond's) first lawyer.

The name Justitia was also used by one of Themis’ daughter, Dike, in her office as the Roman goddess of Human Justice – implying that she looked up to her mother as her role model. Not a bad choice, actually.

***********************************************************************

Justice and order, up to this day, are of extreme importance to humanity. Without them, the world would once again plunge in chaos and confusion. This could be the reason why, unlike the other Titanides, Themis never left.

Phoebe: The Woman in the Moon

Phoebe. Drawn by me.

Sad to say, there aren't a lot of sources giving a hoot about Phoebe's awesomeness as a goddess. People almost always put her in the background. Not too good a publicity for a personage who could have easily been the original Sailor Moon.

Just another woman of light? From a woman whose name means "bright" and "radiant," she might as well have been a Titan goddess of light, alongside Theia.  According to some reliable sources, those two sisters were actually the best of friends (And, I find it so sweet!). 

I am guessing that their bonding moments could have included sun bathing, moon gazing, reading beauty magazines, and test driving the Sun and Moon chariots which they actually built! (I got that last bit from here.)

Moony-Eyed Over Phoebe

True enough, this goddess was a lot of wonders. Phoebe was a top Titanide, a daughter of Heaven and Earth; making her a princess. She was married to Coeus, the Titan of Intellect, and had the hotties Leto and Asteria for children. Now hers is another uber-BRIGHT family.

(Source: click here)

Her Lunar Legacy. One site says that Phoebe was never actually a moon goddess. But I beg to disagree. According to Pelasgian Myth (I got this one from Paleothea), the Supreme Goddess Eurynome gave Phoebe and the Titan Atlas (I'm really curious about this pairing. Since Phoebe was not partnered with Coeus this time, it could have been that they were not yet married during the distribution of powers), the dominion over the Moon and its Essence, Enchantment.

No wonder, many witches (both ancient and modern) draw seriously poppin' powers from the Moon.

According to the Official Guide to the Mythological Universe, some of the perks that Phoebe enjoyed as moon goddess included: the mystical powers to fly, the ability to conjure a silver light, and the ability to attract and repel objects (perhaps in reference to the moon's gravitational pull).

Like Grandmother, Like Granddaughters. Yeah, so Phoebe was the grandma of two of the most powerful goddesses of Ancient Greece:

• Hecate, goddess of witchcraft and sorcery, daughter of Asteria; and
• Artemis, goddess of hunting and chastity, daughter of Leto (don't worry, I'll be discussing Apollo later).

In addition to that, she also served as Selene's foster mother after her biological mother, Theia, had gone all nuts and vanished (you might want to read her full story here).

(ALERT: I just made up the Selene thingie. No reliable sources found. Beware.)

Phoebe loved her granddaughters so much that decided to give up her being the moon goddess for the girls. She separated her Moon Power into three, and gave each one to them. And so, the moon has got three forms. As Edith Hamilton (I'm quite sure everybody has read her in school) puts it:

Selene in the sky, Artemis on earth, Hecate in the lower world and in the world above when it is wrapped in darkness. 

Mythology, p 32

Yeah, talk about awesome family heirlooms.

In the Navel (Pun Intended)

Ruins of the Oracle at Delphi, the so-called 'navel of the earth' (Source)

Aside from being the original goddess of the moon, Phoebe was also a prophetic goddess of the famous Delphic Oracle, which was called the 'navel of the earth'. In this case, she was the 'temple associate' of Themis, the oracle's main goddess during the reign of Cronus. The ever reliable Theoi Project relates that Phoebe in the Oracle of Delphi:

... probably spoke with the prophetic voice of her mother Earth, while her husband Koios or Polos (literally "axis of heaven"), was the Titan who uttered the prophecies of his father the Sky. The daughters of the pair--Asteria and Leto--may have represented the oracles of darkness and light.

 As a really bright goddess, Phoebe opted not to take part in the gruesome Titanomachy. You could just imagine her chillin' at Delphi with Themis (who quietly supported the younger gods, BTW). After Zeus' victory against the Titans, Themis got hired to be King Zeus' personal adviser and was transferred to work in Olympus. Phoebe thereafter became the principal goddess of the Delphic Oracle. She was even made the goddess of all earth-based prophecies. Checking from God Checker, I also found out that Phoebe became a:

Goddess of Wise Counsel, Thoughtful Replies and Snappy Answers.

(Nice employment benefits for Phoebe, actually.) 

When her daughter Leto gave birth to the twins Apollo and Artemis, the proud grandmother Phoebe was so delighted that she decided to give her only grandson Apollo her Oracle as a birthday present.

What's left of her

Phoebe was such a generous goddess that she gave away all her powers and offices to her grandchildren (and one of her nieces). You might think that all that's left of her is her NAME.

Uhhh... just so you know, she gave that one away, too:

• Apollo became popularly known as Phoebus Apollo (Some people even say that it was his full name.); and
• Artemis as the goddess of the moon also became called Phoebe.

After that, we can only guess that Phoebe (like Theia) also just vanished; her Essence, which continued to exist within the three younger goddesses, became the light that makes the moon shine. Sweet.

***********************************************************************

Meanwhile, let us get nostalgic about the good old days of Phoebe (and our own) with this little known (but very pleasing, I say) instrumental made by a project called Windsor Airlift:

Mnemosyne: Remembering the Titan Muse

My own version of Mnemosyne.

"Mnemosyne I call, the Queen, consort of Zeus, Mother of the sacred, holy and sweet-voiced Muses. Ever alien to her is evil oblivion that harms the mind, she holds all things together in the same dwelling place, in the mind and soul of mortals, she strengthens the powerful ability of humans to think. 

Most sweet, vigilant, she reminds us of all the thoughts that each one of us is for ever storing in our hearts, overlooking nothing, rousing everyone to consciousness. But, blessed goddess, awaken for the initiates the memory of the sacred rite, and ward off forgetfulness from them."

- Orphic Hymn to Mnemosyne

People nowadays only recall Mnemosyne as the mother of the more famous Muses. Or perhaps as the root word of the word mnemonics. But there's more to her than that. She was a Titan princess, an ancient diva and a really foxy lady.

'In Loving Memory' of Mnemosyne

Please don't be misled by the title, Mnemosyne did not just die. In fact, she was one of only a few Titans whose blessing stayed with mankind the longest. Why so? Because Mnemosyne is MEMORY, that one gift that distinguishes us, humans, from other creatures in the world.

A little information about her family, she was a principal Titaness, daughter of Father Uranus and Mother Gaea. She had no legal husband, but was 'god-fondled' by Zeus from whom she became the mother of the NINE muses, patronesses of the arts. If you're curious about this affair, just read on. I'm gonna tell their story later.

Also, aside from her hall in Othrys (the home of the Titans), Mnemosyne used to own a villa on the hills of Eleuther. It was where she conceived her nine lovely daughters (Source).

Memoirs of a Diva. Once upon a time, Mnemosyne was a member of the divine trio (at one time a quartet, even a quintet) known as the TITAN MUSES. As daughters of King Uranus and the goddesses of music, they were like the most famous superstars of that time. The band was composed of:

• Melete, the Muse of Practice;
• Aoide, the Muse of Song; and
• Mneme (Mnemosyne's 'nickname'), the Muse of Memory

(Fans back then must have realized that just saying her name can be a real pain in the ass so they had to call her something shorter and easier to remember. Orz)

The other two former members of the group were:

• Arche, the Muse of Beginning; and
• Thelxinoe, the Muse of Charm.

As a diva goddess, Mnemosyne possessed great powers in the strength of her voice, enabling her to create sonic effects to shatter glass or to hypnotize others with a word (Source). Just imagine modern rock concerts  having the same effect.

On a more serious note, Mnemosyne used this gift to give kings and poets their powers of authoritative speech. In Rome, the name Moneta served as her cognate derived from Latin monēre (which means to remind, warn, or instruct).

Being her Uranus' favorite daughter, Mnemosyne was so affected by her father's ousting that she did not readily accept the position in the Titan Council offered to her by Cronus. Her office was filled in by the Oceanid Dione until the time Mnemosyne was ready. 

A Goddess to Remember. Mnemosyne’s work was not all glitz and glam – as, in actuality, she was one on the geeky side. She was at first the inventress of language and words. According to Goddess Gift:

She was given responsibility for the naming of all objects, and by doing so gave humans the means to dialog and to converse with each other. 

In addition to that, she was also the goddess of memory and remembrance. Her role was very important, so to speak, especially in the ancient times when writing and literacy had not yet been invented. She represented the rote memorization required to preserve the stories of history and sagas of myth. As such, she became the owner of all the tales (Even though, there are not much stories about herself).

Mnemosyne embodied an oral culture that communicated the soul through their stories and metaphors. Back then, it was critical to the well-being of an individual or a society who had to rely solely on the lessons passed on in an oral history. However, as Maicar’s Greek Mythology Link puts it:

Mnemosyne is a great goddess, not only in the illiterate era when minstrels sang relying on what they found printed in their hearts, but at all times. For the mere act of being could not be apprehended without her; and man, in order to be, must be able to remember that he is, lest his very identity vanishes behind the clouds of inexplicable confusion. And once he remembers who he is, he still needs Memory in order to acquire and practise any science, art, or skill. For also knowledge is inseparable from Memory, by which all things that are and have been may be learned and recalled.

And that was how crucial her role was. Phew. Big responsibilities.

Mnemosyne lays Nonuplets

(Trivia: Nonuplets - Nine Twins, say... the Muses) 

This must have made the headlines back then. But, yeah, anything could be a headline when you're living in a world of gods. But how did this tale come to be? I found a nice story set after the Titanomachy regarding the birth of the nine Muses at Goddess Gift (I'm using this site quite a lot these days). It goes like this:

After Zeus led the war against the Titans and established himself as the leader of the Olympians, he feared that, even though he might be immortal, his great victories and decisions might soon be forgotten.

Longing for a way to preserve the memory of his many great feats, he dressed as a shepherd and went to find Mnemosyne. They slept together for nine nights before he returned to his home on Mount Olympus. (By the way, Zeus was still single so this was not one of his famous extramarital affairs.)

Zeus got his wish. Nine months later Mnemosyne gave birth for nine days, each day delivering a daughter. Collectively they were known as the Muses and were described as "having one mind, their hearts set upon song and their spirit free from care".

No banquet on Mount Olympus was complete without them. Seated near the throne of their father, they entertained the guests, singing not only of the greatness of Zeus, but about the marvelous feats of the Greek heroes and the creation of the heavens and the earth and all its wondrous creatures. 

And thus, Mnemosyne became the Mistress of the Arts, and the number 9 became her sacred number. The convenience that is Greek mythology. Tsk. Tsk.

... And the goddess lies LOW

After so many things that had happened in her divine life and her daughters having become full blown celebrities themselves, Mnemosyne decided to step out of the lime light. She became a minor oracular goddess in the oracle of Trophonius at Lebadeia; just like her sisters. 

Also, in her decision to lie low, she got really low like Underworld low. Mnemosyne presided over the Pool of Memory in Hades, counterpart to the River of Oblivion, Lethe. The ancients believed that when one died and crossed into the Underworld one would be given a choice . . . whether to drink from the river Lethe where you would forget all the pains and terrors of your previous life (and with them, the lessons they brought), or whether to drink from the Mnemosyne, the spring of memory. Those who chose to forget had to be reborn, to return to earth to learn the lessons they needed.  Those who had chosen to remember were admitted to the Elysian Fields where they would spend eternity in comfort and peace.

Sacred springs and fountains thereafter became sacred to her.

What a nice retirement for a nice goddess.

Remember not to forget. Even so, Mnemosyne stayed in our memory… to literally help our memory. From her name (or she was named after it… either way is fine by me) came our modern word Mnemonics. According to the FREE Dictionary (Hallelujah, it’s free):

mne·mon·ic (n-mnk)

adj. Relating to, assisting, or intended to assist the memory.

n. A device, such as a formula or rhyme, used as an aid in remembering.

And that’s Mnemosyne for us all.

Theia: Tracks of the Tracing Goddess

Theia, made by me.

Theia is one of my favorite goddesses belonging to the Titan generation. She was the divinity from which all light proceeded. She was the mother of sight. And above all, her name simply means "Sight" or Prophecy." Awesome.

Goddess of 'All Things BRIGHT and Beautiful' 

"Mother of the Sun, Theia of many names,

for your sake men honor gold as more powerful than anything else;

and through the value you bestow on them, o queen,

ships contending on the sea and yoked teams of horses

in swift-whirling contests become marvels"

  

- Pindar, Fifth Isthmian Ode

We may well be aware that Theia was one of the principal Titanides (whom I discussed in my previous post), a daughter of Father Uranus of the sky and Mother Gaea of the earth. She was the wife her brother Hyperion, another kingly Titan, and the mother of three BRIGHT children: Helios (the Sun), Eos (the Dawn), and Selene (the Moon); but not necessarily in that order.

Theia's realm was the clear blue sky.

Theia was the goddess of the shining light of the clear blue sky. I am guessing that she received this power as a birthday gift from the Protogenos Aether, one of her supposed 'uncles' or cousins (?). It's really hard to tell with them. Anyway, she was thereafter called Aithre for that! (Yeah, I seriously believe that the gods can gift some of their powers to other gods, much like in the video games. Hehe). Appropriately so, she was tied in love with the most compatible mate for her, Hyperion, the Titan god of light. The pair, according to Pelasgian myth, was given by Eurynome the dominion over the Sun and its Essence... Illumination (Surprise!). 

'Eye' see you. Many sources described Theia as 'mild-eyed', perhaps in reference to her also being the goddess of sight. I even got from one source (which I lost) that her emblem was the eyes. Anyway, according to Theoi.com:

"The ancient Greeks believed that the eyes emitted a beam of light, much like a lamp, which allowed one to see whatever it fell upon. Hence Theia the mother of sight (thea), was also the mother of light-beaming sun, moon and dawn."

Symbol of Future Sight
from Magic: The Gathering

Modern Neopagans believe (source) that she was the beautiful and kind 'all-seeing' goddess (Well, being the goddess of eyesight and all) although sometimes her gifts are to be feared. As the eyes were considered to sources of power for many, Theia also became considered as a Titaness of sorcery. I've also read in another blog that some sects believe that Theia can grant the ability to see ghosts and spirits, as well as other forms of clairvoyance. Eerie.

(All her power about 'Sight' had been handed down to her son Helios, as he was later given the epithet 'Panoptes', meaning all-seeing.)

Also under this office, Theia was worshipped as Ichnaea, 'the tracing goddess' and possessed an oracle at Phthiotis (how do you even read this?!), Thessaly. There, she gave ENLIGHTENMENT to the seekers and 'shed light to the future' (Oh my, big words). Or her oracle was like an ancient version of a lost and found (just my opinion). 

Shining, shimmering, splendid. In addition to the functions mentioned above, Theia was also a goddess of glittering in particular, and of glory in general. Aside from the vast expanse of the sky and sight, Theia also had dominion over precious metals and gems. Theoi again says that she endowed gold, silver and gems with their brilliance and value. One of her titles, Theia Euryphaessa overtones a lot of brightness, a 'wide-shining' goddess all the way. Seriously, this function of hers makes me think of this:

Now, excuse me for that.

Theia In Science: The Giant Impact Hypothesis

This part is a totally quoted from our favorite Wikipedia:

The giant impact hypothesis states that the Moon was formed out of the debris left over from a collision between the Earth and a body the size of Mars, approximately 4.5 Gya (four and a half billion years ago). The colliding body is sometimes called Theia, for the mythical Greek Titan who was the mother of Selene, the goddess of the Moon.

The giant impact hypothesis is the currently-favoured scientific hypothesis for the formation of the Moon. Supporting evidence includes: the Earth's spin and Moon's orbit having similar orientations, Moon samples indicating the surface of the Moon was once molten, the Moon's relatively small iron core, lower density compared to the Earth, evidence of similar collisions in other star systems (that result in debris disks), and that giant collisions are consistent with the leading theories of the formation of the solar system. Finally, the stable isotope ratios of lunar and terrestrial rock are identical, implying a common origin.

Whatever happened to Theia?

*****WARNING BEFORE YOU CONTINUE: I got the gist of this story from Diodorus Siculus (found here) where Theia was the mortal queen called Basileia, but I absolutely MADE THIS ONE UP so as to reconcile conflicting ideas... and to suit my preferences as well. This is what I was talking about when I said not suitable for academic researches. Just sayin'.*****

So, Theia was one of the Titan princesses during the reign of King Uranus. She was the 'queenly' type of girl joined in wedlock with Hyperion, a 'kingly' type of boy who also happened to be a really wise god. Their father Uranus thought that the pair would be the most perfect candidates to his throne (Uranus never really wanted to rule forever... at least, I thought). He also chose the pair of Eurynome, a goddess almost of equal importance as him, and Ophion, her mate, to be contenders.

However, their little brother Cronus wanted the power for himself so he devised a rather wicked plan. He secretly kidnapped Hyperion and Theia's children Helios, Selene and Eos and drowned them on River Eridanus. He further deceived the couple into believing him by saying that Uranus did the deed in fear of their children's power. Hyperion then swore upon the Gaea's name (also a binding oath aside from the River Styx who was not yet given the honor back then) that he will support Cronus against his enemies ALL THE WAY without knowing what the consequences of this rash action could be. Tsk tsk. Not very wise on his part.

What happened next was the infamous Castration of Uranus.

Vasari's Castration of Uranus (source)

And the less infamous deposition of Eurynome.

As events showed, Cronus got what he wanted, and became King of the Universe (bwahaha!), but then Zeus and a group of younger gods led a rebellion against him. Hyperion and Theia was, again, ready to fight beside him; until they saw their supposedly drowned children fighting side by side with the Olympians. Hyperion was so horrified but had no choice than to act upon his words and fight the war with his traitor brother. On the other hand, Theia was equally flabbergasted that she plunged into depression, and took no part in the war.

Just before the Titanomachy ended, Theia lost all her remaining sanity; wandered through the land and just like... poof!... vanished after a thunderstorm. Her Essence from Aether was retrieved by Zeus for Helios (in memory of his mother) and himself (Oh, c'mon!).

(I am open to suggestions on how this story can be improved. Just get in touch with me.)