Last week I talked about a Holiday that only vaguely could be related to Feb 14th. This time we’re going to have a little on mortals falling in love with gods, gods falling in love with mortals, and how that works out for them. Spolier: Not well.
The most famous and positive of these has to be the story of Cupid/Eros and Psyche. Sorta. I mean living in a castle with invisible servants, where your husband only comes to see you in the dark… Once she broke his trust she had to complete a set of impossible tasks for Aphrodite. Then nearly dies, before being successful and rejoining husband, and becoming a goddess. So happy ending! Yay! Don’t get used to it. Seriously.
That’s not so bad, lets’ stay with the Greeks for a while. Apollo and Daphne, sun god and wood nymph that should go well right? Yeah, about that, she gets shot with a lead arrow (hate) and he with a golden arrow (love). Good job there Cupid. So Apollo is wholly infatuated with her and all she can feel is hatred, while being chased by a god. What’s a nymph to do but permanently turn into a tree. The end right? Mostly, Apollo charmed the tree to never wither, hence the bay laurel, and the tree became one of Apollo’s symbols.
Well you’re thinking now well if one is a love god everything will work out. Well then, Aphrodite and Adonis. That went well right? Not so much. When you get gored to death, by the jealous, sometimes bed partner, and full time war god Ares. You aren’t long for your romance with the goddess of love.
One last Greek god. Zeus. I sometimes feel Zeus was the cat-caller of mythology, for the number of times he got with women who were not his wife, plans he had in place for distracting Hera (hello Echo), and the like. Bull transformation? Swan? Pillar of light? All of the above for the ladies.
Leaving the Greek’s behind we get to the story of Aengus Og and Caer Ibormeith. It starts out with Aengus (Irish god of love among other things) dreaming of a woman every night for a year, the most beautiful woman in all of Ireland, but he can not find her. And after the year the dreams stop and he becomes love sick for want of her. His father goes forth to search for the girl, and they learn she is under an enchantment where she spends a year as a swan and then a year as herself. If Aengus can identify her as a swan he can have her. There will just be 149 other swans there at the same time. He does it, and he takes on the form of swan and they fly off together singing beautiful music, that puts all who hear it to sleep for three days. Jigggggggllllllly Puuuuffffffffff. *sorry*
Let’s end this on a high note eh? Til next week, same bat time. Same bat channel.
Marsha can usually be found, roaming twitter as @1geek2craftall or blogging at One Geek To Craft Them All. While she has no interest in gods, she would be partial to a wedding by bowtie, Hello Sweetie!
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