gods2

G O D S 2

'Whose blush doth than the consecrated snow That lies on Diana’s lap!' Timon, Timons of Athens

Diana (Roman)
Goddess of the hunt. In Roman art Diana usually appears as a huntress with bow and arrow, along with a hunting dog or a stag. She is also goddess of the moon, forests, animals, and women in childbirth. Both a virgin goddess and an earth goddess, she was identified with the Greek Artemis. She is praised for her strength, athletic grace, beauty and her hunting skills. With two other deities she made up a trinity: Egeria the water nymph (her servant and assistant midwife), and Virbius (the woodland god).
There was an old, distinguished family that had fallen on hard times, and although they were able to maintain their elegant villa, they were often short of food. In their gardens was a statue of Diana, dressed in a short tunic and accompanied by a hound. Once, when the children of the family, a boy and a girl, had collected a bouquet of spring flowers, they thought that the Goddess should have some of them, so they placed an offering at the feet of the statue and wove a garland for its head. Vergilius, who was passing by at the time, was very pleased by their piety, and taught them how to pray to Diana before he went on his way. After Vergilius left, the children told their parents of the prayer they had learned. The next morning, the family found a freshly killed deer at the foot of the statue, and thereafter never lacked for food. For many generations the family was well provided in this way, for they never forgot to honor Diana when appropriate.

'If I live to be as Sibylla. I will die as chaste as Diana' Portia, Merchant of Venice

'And never did the cyclop’s hammer Fall on the Mars’ armour.' First Player, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark Mars
The son of Jupiter and Juno, he was the god of war. Mars was regarded as the father of the Roman people because he was the father of Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome, and husband to Bellona. He was the most prominent of the military gods that were worshipped by the Roman legions. The martial Romans considered him second in importance only to Jupiter. His festivals were held in March (named for him) and October. Mars was identified with the Greek Ares.

'‘Twixt natural son and sire! thou bright defiler

of Hymen’s purest bed! thou valiant Mars!' Timon, Timon of Athens

'In such a night Medea gather’d the enchanted herbs That did renew old Aeson' Jessica, Merchant of Venice

Medea
A princess and sorceress. She fell in love with Jason and helped him obtain the Golden Fleece. She married Jason and bore him two children. Years later, when Jason wished to marry Creusa, the vengeful Medea sent her an enchanted gown, which burned Creusa to death. Then Medea killed the children that she bore by Jason.

'In such a night Did Thisbe fearfully o’ertrip the dew, And saw the lion’s shadow ere himself' Jessica, Merchant of Venice

Pyramus and Thisbe
This is a tale of Babylon's handsomest youth, Pyramus, and most beautiful girl, Thisbe. They were madly in love, each with the other, but although they were next-door neighbors they could not get together as their parents (both sets) objected to the courtship. In order to talk to each other they had to whisper through a chink in the wall that separated their homes. Tired of this subterfuge, they agreed to meet one night outside the city to elope. Thisbe arrived at the meeting place first, but was frightened off by a lion with bloody jaws fresh from a kill. She dropped her scarf in her hurry to flee. The lion found her scarf
and ripped it apart, thereby staining it with blood from his jaws. When Pyramus got to the meeting place all he could find was the bloody scarf and the tracks of the lion. Thinking Thisbe a victim of a lion, he took his sword and plunged it into his body to commit suicide. Thisbe returned then and found her lover dying. She took up his sword and took her life too.

'With all the abhored births below crisp heaven Whereon Hyperion’s quickening fire doth shine;' Timon, Timon of Athens

Titans
    Hyperion was the Titan god of light, he was the father of the sun, the moon and the dawn.
    Titans, in Greek mythology, 12 children of Uranus and Gaea, Heaven and Earth, and some of the children of the 12. Often called the Elder Gods, they were for many ages the supreme rulers of the universe and were of enormous size and incredibly strong. Cronus, the most important of the Titans, ruled the universe until he was dethroned by his son Zeus, who seized power for himself. The other important Titans were Oceanus, the river that flowed around the earth; Tethys, his wife; Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory; Themis, the goddess of divine justice; Hyperion, the father of the sun, the moon, and the dawn; Iapetus, the father of Prometheus, who created mortals; and Atlas, who carried the world on his shoulders. Of all the Titans only Prometheus and Oceanus sided with Zeus against Cronus. As a result, they were honored and the others were bound in Tartarus. Eventually, however, Zeus was reconciled with the Titans, and Cronus was made ruler of the Golden Age. Hyperion, in Greek mythology, one of the Titans. He was the father of Helios, god of the sun, Selene, goddess of the moon, and Eos, goddess of the dawn.
    Helios, in Greek mythology, the ancient sun god, son of the Titans Hyperion and Thea, and brother of Selene, goddess of the moon, and Eos, goddess of the dawn. Helios was believed to ride his golden chariot across the heavens daily, giving light to gods and mortals. At evening he sank into the western ocean, from which he was carried in a golden cup back to his palace in the east. Helios alone could control the fierce horses that drew his fiery chariot. When his son Phaëthon persuaded Helios to let him drive the chariot across the sky, Phaëthon was killed.
    Helios was widely worshiped throughout the Greek world, but his principal cult was at Rhodes. One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Colossus of Rhodes was a representation of Helios. He is often identified with Apollo, the later Greek god of the sun.

'For it they would, Cupid himself would blush to see me thus transformed to a bag.' Jessica, Merchant of Venice

Cupid
Means desire (Lat. cupido). The son of Venus, goddess of love. His Greek mythology counterpart was Eros, god of love. The most famous myth about Cupid is the one that documents his romance with Psyche: Psyche was a beautiful princess. Venus, jealous of Psyche's beauty, ordered her son Cupid, god of love, to make Psyche fall in love with the ugliest man in the world. Instead, he fell in love with her, and spirited her away to a secluded palace where he visited her only at night, unseen and unrecognized by her. He forbade her to ever look upon his face, but one night while he was asleep she lit a lamp and looked at him. Cupid then abandoned her and she was left to wander the world, in misery, searching for him. Finally Cupid repented and had Jupiter make her immortal so they could be together forever.

'Come, come, Narissa, for I long to see Quick Cupid’s post that comes mannerly' Portia, Merchant of Venice

'‘Twixt natural son and sire! thou bright defiler of Hymen’s purest bed! thou valiant Mars!' Timon, Timon of Athens Hymen
Son of Aphrodite and Dionysus. The god of marriage. He was represented as a young man carrying a torch and veil, a mature version of Eros.

'I, as Aeneas, our great anchestor, Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder, The old Anchises bear...' Cassius, Julius Caesar

Aeneas
    Aeneas in Roman mythology, the son of Anchises, a Trojan prince, and Venus, goddess of love. After the capture of Troy by the Greeks, Aeneas escaped from the fallen city with the help of his mother. Carrying his aged father on his back and leading his little son by the hand, Aeneas made his way to the seacoast. In the confusion of flight, his wife was left behind.
A long, adventure-filled voyage took Aeneas to Thrace, Delos, Crete, and Sicily, where his father died. The goddess Juno, who had always hated Aeneas and wanted to prevent him from founding Rome, which she knew to be his destiny, tried to drown him in a violent storm. He and his crew were cast up on the African coast, where they were welcomed by Dido, the beautiful queen of Carthage. Dido fell in love with Aeneas and begged him to remain. When he refused and set sail, she took her own life in despair.
    After several years of wandering, Aeneas reached Italy and the mouth of the Tiber. There he was hospitably received by Latinus, king of Latium. He became betrothed to Lavinia, the daughter of Latinus, but before he could marry her, Juno caused Turnus, king of the Rutuli and a rejected suitor of Lavinia, to make war against Aeneas and Latinus. The war was resolved by hand-to-hand combat, in which Turnus was defeated and slain by Aeneas. Aeneas then ruled for several years in Latium and, by marrying Lavinia, accomplished the union of Trojans and Latins that would one day produce the Roman people.
The great Roman epic the Aeneid, by Virgil, tells the story of Aeneas's perilous wanderings in detail and ends with the death of Turnus.

'As huge as high Olympus'     Brutus, Julius Caesar
Mount Olympus
    Mount Olympus is a mountain in northern Greece, 2917 m (9570 ft) high, the loftiest point in Greece, on the boundary between Thessaly and Macedonia, near the Aegean Sea. In early Greek mythology it was believed to have been the home of the gods. On its summit were the palaces of the gods, which had been built by Hephaestus, god of metalwork. The entrance to Olympus was through a gate of clouds, protected by the goddesses known as the Seasons. Zeus had his throne on Olympus, and the gods feasted on nectar and ambrosia and were serenaded by the Muses.
    The 12 major Olympian deities were Zeus and his wife Hera; his brothers Poseidon, god of the sea, and Hades, god of the underworld; his sister Hestia, goddess of the hearth; and his children: Athena, goddess of wisdom; Ares, god of war; Apollo, god of the sun; Artemis, goddess of the moon and of the hunt; Aphrodite, goddess of love; Hermes, messenger of the gods; and Hephaestus. Later Greek writers transferred the home of these deities to a heavenly region free from snow and storm and filled with light.

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