The Return of Hephaestus

 Hephaestus 
also spelt Hephaistos
is usually depicted  as a mature man garbed as a smith as in this vase painting.

There is however another theme used in Greek art called the Return of Hephaestus in which Dionysos is persuading a very young Hephaestus to  return to Olympus.

Some scholars believe the prescence of satyrs in these paintings means that there may have been a reactment of the return as part of Dionysiac rituals and that it was a theme for Satyr plays that are now missing.

i am inclined to believe both explanations are plausible.

In an era when there were no photography or print making I can see merchants and other people bringing home from Athens ceramics as gifts and saying ... and the procession looked like this ... while rotating their prize souvenir to show the images.

These elaborate ceramics may have functioned as a memory or educational aid?

 Theta Words Two

θείνω strike dash

θεία aunt and θεῖος uncle Note the accent and that this refers to to a relative on either side of the side unlike Latin which has separate words to indicate if the relative is on the father's or mother's side of a family.

θέλγω enchant charm use magic spell bind cheat

θελκτήρ or θέλκτωρ charmer enchanter θέλκτρον θελκτήριον spell enchantment charm

θέμις the goddess of Justice and Law Note θεσμός

- θεν suffix added to nouns to show Motion FROM a Place

Θερμός heat warmth hot warm boiling

θέτις Sea goddess Nereid mother of Achilles wife of Peleus daughter of Oceanus

θέω run race fly and of things circular like a rim

θεωρέω look AT view behold observe be a spectator contemplate consider

Theta Words One

 Theta Words One

θᾶκος ὁ seat chair θᾱκέω to sit take a seat but θάσσω is to sit but to sit idly lounge about?

θάλαμος inner chamber bedroom dwelling lair den θαλάμιος belonging to the chamber

θάλασσα the sea Attic θάλαττα

θάλλω bloom flourish shoot grow sell be rich abundant prosper

so Θάλεια the Muse of Comedy

θάμνος a bush or shrub

θαρσέω Attic θαρρέω be courageous confident positive note also verb θαρσύνω

θάρσος or θράσος Attic θάρρος τό courage boldness confidence

θάσος an island

θάσσων however is the COMPARATIVE form of ταχύς to be quicker faster swifter

θαῦμα wonder marvel surprise astonishment note also Ionic θῶμα Verb θαυμάζω

Note the similar Verbs θάομαι wonder at admire gaze upon look at see and θεάομαι

so θέᾱτρον a theatre is a place for viewing

Half Humans Centaurs and Satyrs

Half Humans Centaurs and Satyrs

The Centaurs disrupting the Lapith wedding feast is a story depicting the Centaurs as strange hybrids of human and horse, man and beast, with the Centaurs having equine ears and lower torsos.

Satyrs however are also depicted as having horse tails and ears.

The idea that Satyrs are part goat dates to the Roman era.

The Romans seem to have thought Satyrs and Fauns were the same.

So what underlies these images.

Animal features as symbols of lust?

Depictions of nature spirits possessing male cultists during Dionysiac rituals?

Old  stories about mountain tribes so primitive they wore fur rather than wool ?

Perhaps a sly dig at randy aristocrats behaviour during parties since horse ownership was a luxury for the wealthy?

Given the antiquity of these myths perhaps all the explanations are equally valid?

Bear in mind when you're looking at art featuring myths that the original artist's intentions may differ from your interpretations.

Centaurs

CENTAURS

One theory about the origin of Centaurs is that the legends are based on the

 (mis) behaviour of mountain tribes living in remote areas.

Another is that they were the last Neanderthals?

However the earliest Archaic art often shows a very human torso.

530 B.C.

Note the carefully combed beard and hair

Vase painting Note how the centaurs have ears and snub noses like Satyrs.

One of the oldest images of a Centaur.

Certainly different from this famous Renaissance painting.

So why so many different ways of depicting these legendary beings?

Part of  the reason is the tendency of later artists to decide to use monsters and non humans as symbols of lust or drunkness and violence in the case of Centaurs.

The main stories we have in the literature however depict Centaurs as living in remote mountainous and forested areas and only misbehaving when exposed to alcohol as in the Tale of the Weddings of the Lapiths. 

The other main story is that of Chiron the Wise and his daughter depicted as healers.

So what's going on?

A  minority group demonized for the sake of a moral lesson?

The earliest Satyrs are often shown with horse tails.

A topic for another blog.

Greek Prepositions One

Here's a simple list of Greek prepositions you can save and edit and then add your own notes.

ἀμφί

ἀνά

ἀντί

ἀπό

διά

εἰς ἐς

ἐκ ἐξ

ἐν

ἐπί

κατά

μετά

παρά

περί

πρό

πρός

σύν

ὑπέρ

ὑπό

I will be discussing these prepositions individually in later posts.

A Very Feminine Adjective

ΘΗΛΥΣ

A Very Feminine Adjective

θῆλυς θῆλεια θῆλυ

Some adjectives combine the features of the First and Third Declension particularly those with u stems like this one θῆλυς θῆλεια θῆλυ which means female, of female sex, feminine, belonging to women, tender, delicate, nourishing, and sometimes effeminate.

The Masculine and Neuter are declined like ἄστυ but the feminine is declined like a First Declension adjective ending in α.

So Masculine and Neuter Singular

Nominative θῆλυς Accusative θῆλυν Genitive θῆλέος Dative θηλεῖ

The Classics example is the declension of γλυκύς which you can see in Goodwin's Grammar Pages 67-8 or in whichever Grammar you are using as a reference for further details.

There are however some minus differences between θῆλυς θῆλεια θῆλυ and γλυκύς.

Note how the genitive singular ends in - ος and the – έα Neuter Plural with both Adjectives.

θῆλεια has more differences in the accusative forms. The Epic and Ionic forms end in α instead of ια so that θήλεα θεός is a goddess.

The original feminine ending of this adjective and possibly of the other genders may have been – eu or ewo changing and contracting to u in one gender and eu then e in the other.

It seems off that there would be a masculine and neuter at all but there exists such phrases as θήλειαι ἵπποι meaning mares or female horses and τὸ θῆλυ the female (gender).

Some other u- stem adjectives that follow the γλυκύς pattern are:

βραχύς short brief εὐρύς broad wide ἡδύς sweet pleasant pleasing

ἥμισυς half ὀξύς pointed sharp ταχύς swift fast