asexual gods and goddesses asexual gods and goddesses

While Homer never explicitly states a gay relationship between Achilles and sidekick Patroclus, many scholars read a romantic connection between the two, as only Patroclus ever drew out a compassionate side to the famously arrogant warrior. October 11, 2016 in Romantic and Aromantic Orientations, So, who's interested in talking about the sexuality of mythological greek gods, here are some statements, pls correct me if i'm wrong: :). Twin sister to Apollo, the goddess was by differing accounts a nearly asexual virgin or a lesbian with many nymph lovers, including Cyrene, Atalanta, and Anticleia as well as moon goddess. - Zeus, god of the thunder, was bisexual. A myth traced in origin to the Boeotia region mentions a relationship between Narcissus and the smitten Ameinias, whom Narcissus would eventually grow tired of before sending him a sword as a kiss-off. While Homer never explicitly states a gay relationship between Achilles and sidekick Patroclus, many scholars read a romantic connection between the two, as only Patroclus ever drew out a compassionate side to the famously arrogant warrior. As noted on Owlcation, this may have been a heterosexual ending, but the love story was laced with LGBT themes. I like this answer - I really do - but I think I'm going to abstain from voting, because I'm not sure it's a strong enough case for her representation of asexuality. There's some discussion about whether Artemis was lesbian, but either way, not asexual. Athena, goddess of wisdom, warfare and craftsmanship. Size queen. Hestia, goddess of the hearth, the fireside, architecture, domesticity, the family, the home, and the state. id love to hear more on this topic from people with bigger brains than I. Above: John Macallan Swan, Orpheus (1896), HermaphroditusPerhaps the earliest literary reference to an intersex person concerns this child of Hermes and love goddess Aphrodite who as a youth encountered the nymph Salmacis, who attempted to seduce the youth and asked the gods that their forms be permanently joined. She was primarily known the Goddess of the . Despite being married, C Chulainn is also known for his many affairs including with Aife, with whom he has a son and the Scandinavian Princess,Derbforgaill who turned into a swan to be with him. Spurned, Ciconian women would eventually tear Orpheus apart during a Bacchic orgy. Some myths suggest a romantic relationship between Hermes and the hero Perseus. The creature of both sexes was frequently depicted in classical art as a figure with womanly breasts and form but with male genitalia. A few more things that I find interesting about Athena and her asexuality is that she really does seem sexless in the way that she acts. There is just something about her that is comforting. The crow symbol is thought to connect with Badb (meaning crow in Irish). Bisexual. Literature Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for scholars and enthusiasts of literature. - Dionysus, god of the parties, was bisexual. Clodhna, was the daughter of the sea god Manannan and like him, also has a special connection to the Celtic Otherworld., In Irish folklore,Snann was responsible for the overflowing of a well that led to creation of the River Shannon, the longest river in Ireland. During his female years, Teiresias became a priestess of Hera, married, and even had children, according to Hesiod. - Zeus, god of the thunder, was bisexual. Tonatiuh was also the patron of warriors. He prays to his parents in turn: O my father, and my mother, grant this prayer to your son, who owes his name to you both: if any man enter this pool, may he depart hence no more than half a man, may he suddenly grow weak and effeminate at the touch of these waters. So what happened the rest of the year? Since Victorian times, it has been suggested that he is the god of sun and light, due to his name which means light or brightin Irish. ine is sometimes referred to as the Irish goddess of Love or as the Faery Queen. At birth, Plato was given the name Aristocles, after his grandfather, according to the 3rd century Greek historian Diogenes Laertius. In nearly every work of Greek literature that is tangentially related to sexuality (which, we've got to admit, is quite nearly most of the well-known ones), sex is treated as universally desirable, and is a locus of control and power. Goddess of Running Water, Xipe Totec, God of Fertility and Sacrifice, Ph.D., Anthropology, University of California Riverside, M.A., Anthropology, University of California Riverside. After a series of failed attempts to seek revenge on him, she ultimately correctly prophesied his death in battle.. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. While many of the other greek gods - men and women alike - were promiscous, Athena was completely asexual, and not because she was a "pure" goddess of chasity or something. Half man. Bisexual. Above: Johann Georg Platzer, The Amazon Queen Thalestris in the Camp of Alexander the Great, TeiresiasThe blind prophet of Apollo was most famous in Greek myth for being transformed from a man into a woman for seven years. - Hermaphrodite, god(dess) of androgyny, was intersex, androgynous and nonbinary. Often, the origins of the Aztec gods can be traced back to those from earlier Mesoamerican religionsor shared by other societies of the day. Chalchiuhtlicue (pronounced Tchal-chee-uh-tlee-ku-eh) was the goddess of running water and all aquatic elements. Wolfgang Sauber/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0. Despite being married, C Chulainn is also known for his many affairs including with, In addition to his abilities as a warrior, C Chulainn terrified his enemies by flying into a. He is also connected with life and death. Due to his extensive power and influence, the early Christain church tried to demonize Cernunnos. Above: Enrique Simonet, El Juicio de Paris (1904), ErosWhile the best-known myths of Eros depict the son of Aphrodite as a fertility god -- the version that proved inspirational to the popularized Roman god Cupid -- later Greek myths portrayed Eros as one of several winged erotes, and the one regarded as a protector of homosexual culture, according to research in the scholarly book Among Women: From the Homosocial to the Homoerotic in the Ancient World. Before the wedding, Iphis prayed in the Temple of Isis for a solution, and voila! By 1st century C.E.) ArtemisTwin sister to Apollo, the goddess was by differing accounts a nearly asexual virgin or a lesbian with many nymph lovers, including Cyrene, Atalanta, and Anticleia as well as moon goddess Dictynna. His name means Hummingbird of the Left and he was the patron of war and sacrifice. Nicoletta Maestri holds a Ph.D. in Mesoamerican archaeology with fieldwork experience in Italy, the Near East, and throughout Mesoamerica. There are four Cycles or groupings in Irish mythology: Most of the legends of the deities come from the Mythological Cycles and the later Ulster Cycles (ca. Also, we're talking about beings that had not exclusively sex with humans, meaning not only mythical creatures but animals, or being themselves in animal form and having sex. Above: Hans Sebald Beham, Heracles and Iolaus dispatching the hydra with club and fire, PoseidonAccording to Pindar's First Olympian Ode, Pelops, the king of Pisa, once shared "Aphrodite's sweet gifts" with the ocean god himself. The frenzy of battle is connected with the aspect of Nemian. Among them: Abderos, who kept the mares of Diomedes for Heracles but was eaten by the beasts; Hylas, Heracles' companion when he sailed on the Argo, who was eventually kidnapped by nymphs in Mysia; and Iolaus, who help cauterize the necks of the hydra when Heracles famously chopped off the beast's many heads. ingls. He is also connected with life and death. Size queen. ThoughtCo. Male lovers in the Trojan War? (Just in case you were wondering, it is not completely clear whether the god Lir was the same individual named Lir in the Children of Lir.). earliest literary reference to an intersex person. Salmacis hides until he strips to bathe in her lake. Antique fresco from Pompeii. Well, many scholars suggest the idea of a lesbian culture is just modern fantasy, though there is art from the time that depicts Amazonian Queen Penthesilia accepting a love gift from a Thracian huntress. In one myth, she she fell in love with the hunter Orion, but only after being friends for a while. I think so, yes. The three sisters are known as the three Charities or Graces. Thanks! According to some stories he was the husband, or perhaps the father of the goddess ine and foster father of the god Lugh. Saint Brigid founded a monastery in County Kildare on the site of a sacred place dedicated to the goddess Brigid. Researcher Johanna Hypatia-Cybelaia writes that lesbian and gay devotees worshipped her as Artemis Orthia, and that lesbian port Pamphilia referred to the goddess in hymn as Artemis Pergaea. Artemis didn't want to get married or have sex with men because in those days a woman attaching herself to a man would mean giving up her autonomy and independence. Forseti - God of justice, peace and truth. She is also sometimes equated with the Welsh literary figure, Dn. (2021, July 29). She was one of three virgin goddesses in the Greek pantheon, and I don't really believe that they had these three virgin goddesses because they believed that sex was a sin, because to their society, it most certainly wasn't. Deals with the adventures and challenges of the warriors, kings and queens around the 1st century C.E. Offerings to ine have also been made at Lough Gur in County Limerick. Should I clarify that with an edit? There is one story in which the god [Hephaestus] was told by Ares that Athena wanted to make love to him, so when she asked him to make her some new weapons, he said that the only payment he would need was her love. This post contains affiliate links. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. If so, is there both asexuality in the Pantheon and asexuality outside of it, or is it just one of the two? First is the daughter of Zeus who holds the aegis, bright-eyed Athena; for she has no pleasure in the deeds of golden Aphrodite, but delights in wars and in the work of Ares, in strifes and battles and in preparing famous crafts. Nor yet does the pure maiden Hestia love Aphrodite's works. Nor does laughter-loving Aphrodite ever tame in love Artemis, the huntress with shafts of gold; for she loves archery and the slaying of wild beasts in the mountains, the lyre also and dancing and thrilling cries and shady woods and the cities of upright men. And maybe re-check your parenthetical about Dionysian asexuality; by my understanding you've got your "former" and "latter" mixed up. But when Zeus disguised himself as Artemis, she was lured into the goddess's embrace. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Both the gods of Lugh and the Dagda are supposedly buried in the sacred center of the island of Ireland, Uisneach. What sort of strategies would a medieval military use against a fantasy giant? Brigid (also sometimes known as Brighid or Brigit) is another descendant of the Tuatha d Danann (her father being the god Dagda). In greek culture heterosexual males would engage in sexual activities with each other. Ultimately, Iphis fell in love with Ianthe, a woman, and was betrothed to her. Live worksheets > ingls > Social Science > Ancient History > Greek gods and goddesses. The hunt especially was important to them, and if they didn't have her blessing, then the hunt would not turn out very well. Like her son Enki/Ea she is also associated with magic. Are there any recorded discrepancies between The Odyssey as oral tradition and The Odyssey as Homer transcribed it? Among them: Abderos, who kept the mares of Diomedes for Heracles but was eaten by the beasts; Hylas, Heracles' companion when he sailed on the Argo, who was eventually kidnapped by nymphs in Mysia; and Iolaus, who help cauterize the necks of the hydra when Heracles famously chopped off the beast's many heads. Half goat. she became a he. Interested in more Irish Celtic mythology? Macha is more usually connected with the land and its fertility and is seen as a protector. She is the mother of Fand, the goddess of the sea and of the lover of Fergus mac Rich, who apparently needed seven women or just Flidas to satisfy his sexual appitite., While there are many different Celtic deities, they can be sometimes grouped together according to certain aspects. In addition to the connection of the holy wells, Brigid and Catholic Saint Brigid are also connected by the, For a long time she was associated as being a, Lugh, is one of the most important of all the gods of the Celts. and . Well I choose them by two things, the first is if they are known virgins or restrain from relationships, the second is if they're influenced by Aphrodites magic. Most of the evidence supporting the worship of Cernunnos was found in Gaul (the name given to France by the Romans) and Britain, with less influence in Ireland. He covered the mounds in mist so as to make them invisible to outsiders. Above: Athena, center, in a mural by John Singer Sargent, AphroditeWhile the goddess of love is not identified prominently as lesbian herself, the Greek poet Sappho (as in sapphic) of Lesbos (yes, as in lesbian) told many homoerotic tales and named Aphrodite as the greatest patron and ally of lesbians and homosexuals within the Greek pantheon of gods. Yes, I think Athena (and possibly Artemis) were virgins. As a mother goddess figure, she is most usually associated with fertility and wisdom and is sometimes thought of as the Celtic goddess of nature. This marks Imbolc, the pagan festival that celebrates the first day of spring and now is also the feast day of the Christian Saint Brigid. I forgot about Orion! Artemis, Goddess of the hunt, the moon, and the protector of girls and animals. He is usually portrayed wearing a flayed human skin representing the death of the old and the growth of the new vegetation. Each group supervises one aspect of the universe: the heaven or the sky; the rain, fertility and agriculture; and, finally, war and sacrifice. Artemis is the Greek goddess of the hunt, wilderness, moon and archery. Watch. His name means Maize cob Lord. There are many holy wells scattered across Ireland dedicated to Saint Brigid some of which may have previously been connected with Brigid, the Celtic goddess of healing. Eir - Goddess of healing. You can find the links to the blogs here. On the other hand, she was the goddess of the crafts, many of which (such as weaving) are more associated with women. So this is more an avenue for research than a definitive answer. Above: Caravaggio, Amor Vincet Omnia. Size queen. One story exists of how the Dagda when assigning land to his children, he forgot to leave land for Aengus. He represented the positive counterpart of Tezcatlipoca. The Dagda Celtic god is believed to be the father of the gods and is thought of as a strong, manly figure with the knowledge and wisdom of the druids.