Myth of the Month: Psyche

Psyche, whose name means Soul, was a beautiful mortal princess of exceptional aesthetics, beyond those of normal women. Psyche as well knew of Her grand charm and sexual appeal, for male suitors from all across the kingdom came.

However, She did not recognize Her pleasing appeal as a gift from heaven, for She knew men started to neglect the worship of Aphrodite, and instead stood in awe of Her, and She said and did nothing to restore the rightful and proper worship of the Goddess. Aphrodite's temples and altars began to experience wide desertion.

So Aphrodite called on Her son Eros, that mankind should once again be reminded of who the Gods are, and that they are far more beautiful than mortals. She ordered Eros to make Psyche fall in love with the worst of men, and She fell into a deep depression and loneliness as men began to turn away from Her. But on this mission, even Eros Himself fell in love with the beauty.

Psyche visited the Oracle of Delphi for guidance. The Oracle sent Her to a beautiful palace where Her appropriate husband would await. But She would only be able to lay with him at night, unable to see his face.

One morning, Psyche decided to look upon the face anyway before the husband was able to awaken and leave. Using a lamp, She saw that it was Eros Himself, who awoke and saw that Psyche had betrayed His trust. The marriage was ended.

Psyche was devastated, but also now humble enough to beg Aphrodite to allow Her to see Eros again. Aphrodite bestowed upon Her great labours, one of which being that in order to see Eros again, She would have to visit Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, and bring back a portion of Persephone's beauty.

Psyche eventually reached both Haides and Persephone. The Queen took favor upon Her and gave a small fragment of Her beauty in a small box. But as Psyche made Her way back, She could not help but look inside, and it caused Her to fall into a coma.

Eros, moved by Her devotion to Him, came to Earth and shot an arrow, jolting Her from the sleep. The union that the two then shared moved Zeus to wed them and grant Psyche the gift of Goddesshood. Together, Eros and Psyche gave birth to Hedone, the Goddess of pleasure and enjoyment.

Myth of the Month: Pandora

A child born to Zeus and Hera was Hephaistos, the God of fire, forge and universal creation. Zeus asked Him to create a perfect companion for man, and to give beauty from Aphrodite, curiosity from Zeus, and speech from Hermes, and it was this God who gave the woman her name, Pandora (meaning all gifts). In addition, Apollon taught her to sing, and Demeter taught her to garden; Poseidon gave her pearls from the sea.

She was so named, obviously, because the highest Gods had each given her something of immense value. Thus, women have all the gifts of the Gods. The final one, however, was a box which held all of the world's ills, that had been gathered up and imprisoned. She was told to never open it. Pandora would give birth to a daughter named Pyrrha, by the brother of Prometheus, whom they both loved dearly.

For many years, she had many suitors, and lived a wonderful life. But she could never take her mind off the box the Gods had given her, eventually losing her battle with resistance and opening it. All of its contents were released into the world, but there was one occupant that came out harboring good, and She was Elpis, the Hope of the world. And because man would always have Hope, they could weather all ills.

Myth of the Month - Arachne

Athena, the Goddess of Athens, wisdom, war and Heroism, is also the Goddess of domestic art, among them weaving and tapestry.

In Lybia lived a beautiful young woman named Arachne, who was also a master weaver. Her skills surpassed that of all other mortals. Eventually she boasted that she was better at the art than even Athena. Athena heard and came to accept the challenge. She told Arachne to realize who She was or pay the price. Arachne refused and instead challenged the Goddess to a weaving contest. While Arachne was able to create wondrous scenes of human life, Athena was able to show the gorgeousness of the heavens that no human had ever before seen. Arachne lost.

The punishment Athena inflicted was to turn her into an insect, but still making sure that the woman's exceptional skills would not go to waste. And so, Arachne was turned into a spider, to weave beautiful webs for the rest of eternity.

Myth Of The Month: Narcissus

A great many women were sexually attracted to the beautiful and handsome man named Narcissus, a simple hunter from Thespiae in Boeotia. He was so aesthetically appealing that men also lusted after him. Both sexes desired to have him in their beds. He was blessed in unique and immeasurable ways, something that many other humans will never experience.

But he was unable to recognize and appreciate those blessings because of his own selfish and self-righteous vanity. Instead of loving the Gods for his gifts, he began to basically worship himself. Furthermore, no one was good enough for him in his eyes, and so he rejected all advances

In the end, he fell in love with himself, always gazing lovingly at his own reflection. Because of his arrogance, he not only worshiped himself, but believed he would never find anyone worthy of his love. His vanity eventually drove him to suicide, stabbing himself through the heart.

The blood that fell from his self-inflicted wound created the flower narcissus. They are also modernly called daffodils. 

Myth Of The Month: Io

Beautiful Io, a renowned Priestess of Hera, was beloved of Zeus who desired deeply to make her His own, but knew His wife Hera would not approve. However, His love was far too reaching. Hera found out about the affair and Zeus transformed Io into a cow in order to give her protection and concealment. But the Queen of the Gods knew and demanded the bull as a gift of reconciliation. Zeus consented but did not put her out of mind.

Io was taken by Hera and placed under the guard of Argus, a monstrous being that had 100 eyes. This was so that he would never lose watch, as half his eyes could sleep while the other half remained open. Both portions of each day, therefore, would pass under guard.

After a long passing of time, Zeus sent His messenger Hermes to liberate Io. The God took along His flute and made friends with Argus, eventually sending the guardsman into a complete sleep for the first time with His music and songs only known in the heavens, Divine power in all the notes. Finally, with all of his eyes closed, Hermes drew His sword and killed him. Io was finally free, and thus, Hermes was known as the Slayer of Argus.

Hera relinquished Her hold on Io, but still felt the need to honor Argus for his loyalty. Taking all of his eyes, She put them on the tail of the peacock, which became Her sacred bird. Still today, the gorgeous animal possesses 100 to 130 "eyes" on its feathers.

Io continued her journey, now as the life of a cow. To mark the course of her land travels, the Ionian Sea took her name, and also the Bosphorus, which means Ford The Cow. Io eventually reached the Nile River where Zeus restored her to human form. Together they had a child named Epaphus.