Persephone
Pronunciation: pərˈsɛfəni
Etymology: Kore – “The Maiden” or “The Girl”, Persephone – pherein phonon, “to bring (or cause) death”, Destroy-Slay
Alternate Spellings & Other Names: Περσεφόνη, Kore, Core, Cora, Nestis, Persephonê, Persephneia (Homeric), Persephoneiê, Periphona, Persephassa, Persephatta, Phersephassa, Pherepaha, Phersephatta, Pherrephatta, Juno Inferna, Auerna, and Stygia
Epithets: Goddess of the Underworld, Queen of the Underworld
Persephone has a number of epithets that show her dual role as a chthonic and vegetation goddess. In other words, a life and death goddess. The poetic names for Persephone display her role as a Queen of the Underworld with the power to bring forth life and to take it away back to the earth. Persephone’s name of Kore, shows her role as a vegetation goddess in Arcadia where she was worshiped as Despoinia, an ancient chthonic goddess.
As an Underworld goddess, Persephone is given euphemistic, friendly names as some people were afraid to draw her attention to them. It’s possible that names are also the names of an original, local goddess. Some of these names are: Despoina (Dems-potnia), “the Mistress” in Arcadia. This name means: “Mistress of the House.”
Other names are: Aristi Cthnia, “the Best Chthonic,” Hagne, “Pure,” this is the original name of a goddess of springs in Messenia. Melinda or Melinoia (from meli “Honey”) in her role as the wife of Hades in Hermione, the names: Melivial and Melitodes. “the Pure One”, “the Maiden,” and “the Venerable One” to give a few others.
The Orphic Hymn to Persephone identifies her as Praxidike, the Subterranean Queen, the Eumenides’ source or mother, fair-haired, whose frame proceeds from Zeus’ ineffable and secret seeds.”
In her role as a vegetation goddess, she was called: Kore, “the Maiden,” Kore Soteira, “the Savior Maiden” in Megalopolis, Neotera, “the Younger” in Eleusis, Kore of Demeter Hagne in Homeric Hymns and Kore Memagmeni, “the Mixed Daughter” or bread.
With her mother Demeter, they were called: The Goddesses, often as “the older” and “the younger” in Eleusis. Demeters in Rhodes and Sparta, The Thesmophoroi or “the legislators” in Thesmophoria, The Great Goddesses, The two Demeters, The two Goddesses and The Mistresses in Arcadia and Karpophoroi or “the bringers of fruit” in Tegea, Arcadia.
Persephone is known as the Queen of the Underworld and wife to Hades. She is best known for the story of her abduction by Hades from her mother Demeter and being brought down to the Underworld to marry him for the Greek explanation and story for the origin of the seasons.
Attributes
Animal: Deer
Element: Earth
Month: January, May
Patron of: the Underworld, Spring, Flowers, Vegetation
Planet: Pluto
Plant: Flowers, Pomegranate, Seeds of Grain
Sphere of Influence: Fertility, New Growth
Symbols: Cornucopia, Torch
Early Greek Depictions
The earliest depictions of a goddess that can be identified with Persephone show her growing up out of the ground. This image is found on a plate from the Old-Palace period in Phaistos. This goddess is plant-like in appearance and she is surrounded by dancing girls and blossoming flowers. In Minoan ring of Isopata, there is a similar image of this plant-like goddess.
In Classical Greek art, Persephone is typically shown wearing a robe and carrying a sheaf of grain. Sometimes she is shown carrying a scepter and a small box. More often though, Persephone is shown being carried off to the Underworld by Hades. When Persephone is shown with her mother, it is Demeter who often carries the scepter and sheaf of grain. Persephone is then shown holding a four-tipped torch, the kind often used for the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Sometimes, Persephone is shown holding a pomegranate or even just a pomegranate seed, thus linking her to her marriage with Hades and the Underworld. Another symbol that Persephone could be shown with is a cornucopia or horn of plenty to represent her role as a fertility deity.
Grecian poet Homer describes Persephone as being a formidable, venerable and majestic princess of the underworld. Persephone would put into effect the curses of men onto the souls of the dead.
What’s In A Name
There are serveral different names that have been given for Persephone. In a Mycenean Greek or Linear B inscription tablet dating from 1400 to 1200 B.C.E., the name Preswa has been identified a Persa, the daughter of Oceanus with speculation that this could be Persephone.
In the Ionic (think Epic) Greek literature, Persephone is the name used to identify her. The Homeric poems uses the spelling of Persephneia. In Plato’s Cratylus, she is known as Pherepaha as “she is wise and touches that which is in motion.” With other Grecian dialects, the names of Periphona, Persephassa, Persephatta, Phersephassa and Kore have been used. All of these variations to spelling and even pronunciation, have suggested the idea that Persephone may originated before Greek culture did.
The name Persephatta has been thoughted to translate to: “female thresher of grain.” With “perso-“ being connected to the Sanskrit word “parsa” meaning: “sheaf of grain.” The second part of the name comes from a Proto-Indo European word meaning: “to strike.”
Nestis – There is a Classical period text attributed to Empedocles, who lived from 490 to 430 B.C.E. In this text, Empedocles is describing the correspondence between four gods and the classical elements of earth, wind, fire and water. The name Nestis, for water, is used as a euphemism as Persephone’s name is taboo.
She who must not be named. That makes sense as Persephone is a Queen of the Dead and you didn’t want to unnecessarily attract her attention. Given the taboo to Persephone’s name, she would also be called Kore or “the maiden.”
Though, given the text: “Now hear the fourfold roots of everything: enlivening Hera, Hades, shining Zeus. And Nestis, moistening mortal springs with tears.” I see that Hades gets mentioned by name. Given Persephone’s much older lineage, she must not have been a goddess whose name was taken lightly.
Eleusinian Mysteries
The Eleusinian mysteries were an annual religious celebration that predates the Olympian pantheon. It is an important life and death ritual with Persephone in her role as a vegetation goddess and Demeter having important roles where they are worshiped together.
Originally, the festival was celebrated in the autumn during the seasonal sowing in the city of Eleusis. The myth was told in three phases of a decent, the search and the ascent, describing Demeter’s sorrow and her joy as she became reunited with Persephone. This celebration also involved dancing in the Rharian field where the first grains were grown. There are inscriptions of “the Goddesses” being accompanied by Triptolemos, an agricultural god and another of the God and Goddess that refer to Persephone and Plouton.
Ancient Sumerian Origin – The idea has been put forward by the renowned scholar, Samuel Noah Kramer that the story of Persephone’s abduction to the Underworld likely sees its origins in the ancient Sumerian story of Ereshkigal, the goddess of the Underworld who was abducted by the dragon Kur and forced to become the ruler of the Underworld against her will.
Agrarian Cults – The cults of Demeter and Persephone of the Eleusinian Mysteries and Thesmophoria are based on some very old agrarian cults. These cults were led by priest as evidenced from an image on a Minoan vase dating to the end of the New Palace Period. This ancient cult held a connection to seasonal practices and tasks.
Daemons & Animal Nature – In Arcadia, the worship of Persephone and Demeter were the first daemons local deities who governed the powers of nature. Such ancient beliefs show a connection to animal nature that saw a belief in nature personified with nymphs and deities with human forms but also possessing animal heads and tails or other features.
Celebrate Good Times, Come On!
The seasonal disappearance and the later return of Persephone were times of festivals during the time of ancient Greece. The Eleusinian Mysteries are the most well-known and even then, the secrets for this festival were closely guarded, that not much is known about them.
Secret Rites & Immortality – Life after death seems to be a very common motif in many religions and beliefs around the world, even anciently. That somehow, life, some sort of existence continues even after death. It was no different for initiates into the Eleusinian Mysteries who closely guarded their initiation rites. After all, the Eleusinian Mysteries wouldn’t be a mystery if everyone knew about them. For the Eleusinian Mystery initiates, these secrets were that of resurrection and there would be some place better than that of dismal depths of Tartarus.
They wouldn’t be the first to have the idea of life after death. It is thought by the experts, that the rites and mysteries held during the Eleusinian mysteries, along with other traditions such as the Orphic tradition and Mithraism all contributed towards the formation of Christianity and its ideas of resurrection, everlasting life and even immortality.
In the Eleusinian Mysteries, Kore’s return from the Underworld conveyed the idea of immortality and a resurrection from death.
Orphic Tradition – This is where the myth of Persephone is identified with other deities such as Isis, Rhea, Ge, Hestia, Pandora, Artemis, and Hecate. It is within this tradition that Persephone, with Zeus becomes the mother of Dionysus Iacchus, Zagreus or Sabazius.
Local Cults & Worship
Each local cult held their own traditions and ideas for where Persephone had been abducted from. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, it is the “plain of Nysa” where Persephone’s is kidnapped. The Corinthian and Megarian colonists, and Sicilians believed her abduction to happen in the fields of Enna. The Cretes believed that Persephone’s abduction occurred on their island. Other versions will place the abduction in places like Attica, near Athens, or even near Eleusis.
Distant localities that lay in the mythical played a part in creating a sense of some mystically, distant chthonic world that normally couldn’t be visited and created more of an air of mystery and prestige to the Eleusinian Mysteries. In the month known as Anthesterion, Persephone was the only one to whom the mysteries were dedicated to in Athens.
Temples dedicated to the Eleusinian Mysteries and the worship of Demeter and Persephone were found throughout all of ancient Greece, Asia Minor, Sicily, Magna Graecia and Libya. Not much is known about the specifics of local rites and worship.
According to Homer, Groves sacred to Persephone were found on the far western edges of the earth, leading to the lower or Underworld. These Groves were known as the House of Persephone.
Minoan Crete
New Year’s Celebration & Divine Child
A near eastern culture with strong ties and connection to the ancient Greeks. The Minoans of Crete held a belief in a fertility goddess whom every year, would give birth to the God of the New Year. That sounds familiar. The New Year’s baby to symbolize the New Year.
This god of the New Year would become the fertility goddess’ lover and of course, the cycle would repeat with the god’s death and his rebirth at the New Year. Similar beliefs and cults are found with those of Adonis, Attis and Osiris.
In Minoan Crete, this fertility goddess is Ariadne and the “divine child” who died every year were part of an aniconic religion whose main deities were female. Every year, an ecstatic sacral dance that involved tree-shaking and the worshiping of stone or stone idols were conducted. The idea and suggestion have been put forward that the worshiping of Persephone may likely be a continuation of the worshiping of a Minoan Great Goddess.
Divine Child – This boy consort to the Great Goddess symbolized the annual dying and renewal of vegetation every year.
Mycenean Greece – Arcadia
While we know the mystery cults existed, not much is known about other than a few inscriptions. In Mycenae, Persephone is thought to have been identified with a local goddess by the name of Despoina, “the Mistress” and chthonic goddess of West-Arcadia. Despoina’s worship is just an example of another deity who would be absorbed into the worship of Greek deities. To the uninitiated of the Arcadian mysteries, the name Despoina was not allowed to be revealed.
The local temples throughout Arcadia were often built near springs and there is evidence of continual fires being kept at some of these. The worship of Demeter and Kore were closely linked to springs and animals.
Thesmophoria
Another mystery cult similar to the Elesusinian Mysteries. Many of the secret rites and traditions are very similar to each other, including an early concept idea of immortality. Thesemophoria were held and celebrated in the city of Athen before coming more wide spread throughout Greece. It was a women-only festival that held strong association to marriage customs. It would be held on the third day of the year in the month of Pyanepsion, marking when Kore was abducted and Dememter neglected her duties as a harvest goddess.
One ceremony involved burying sacrifices of pigs into the earth and then unearthing the decayed remains of pigs buried from the previous year. The remains would be placed on an alter and mixed with seeds before being planted.
Thesmophoria would be celebrated over the course of three days. On the first day is the “way up” to the sacred space. The second day is a day of feasting where pomegranate seeds are eaten. The third and final day, is a meat feast that honors Kalligeneia, goddess of beautiful birth. Hades, under the euphemistic name of Zeus-Eubuleus would attend the feast.
Parentage and Family
Parents
It is generally given and accepted that the parents of Persephone are Zeus and Demeter.
Zeus and Styx – Apollodorus is who lists these two deities as being Persephone’s parents. In the rest of Apollodorus’ accounts, he gives story of Demeter being Persephone’s mother.
In the Arcadian mysteries and worship, Persephone-Kore, known there as Despoina, is the daughter of Poseidon Hippios and Demeter. She is then believed to have been raised by the Titan Anytus.
I would also note that at this time, despite her parentage, Persephone is not considered one of the twelve Olympian gods.
Consort
Hades, god of the Underworld, also her Uncle.
Zeus, In the Orphic tradition, there is a story of Zeus seducing his daughter.
Siblings
The direct siblings of Persephone are: Aeacus, Amphitheus I, Angelos, Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Arion, Artemis, Athena, Chrysothemis, Despoina, Dionysus, Eileithyia, Enyo, Eris, Ersa, Eubuleus, Hebe, Helen of Troy, Hephaestus, Heracles, Hermes, Minos, Pandia, Philomelus, Plutus, Perseus, Rhadamanthus, the Graces, the Horae, the Litae, the Muses and the Moirai
Children
In the Orphic tradition, Persephone with Zeus is the mother of Dionysus, Iacchus, Melinoe and Zagreus.
By Hades, Persephone is also the mother of the Furies or Erinyes.
The Rape Of Persephone
You read that right. Yes, I could have titled this one differently. However, this is the title of the story for Persephone’s abduction by Hades to the Underworld that many are familiar with and the most well-known story regarding Persephone.
It seems prudent that this story gets mentioned first. When Persephone is first known as Kore, the Maiden. As Kore, she lived with her mother Demeter, a harvest Goddess. Kore herself is a fertility goddess who makes or causes everything to grow. Kore’s father is the mighty Zeus himself.
Kore grew up and spent her time playing in the fields with the nymphs, gathering flowers, playing and with her mother. As she grew older, Kore came to attract the attention of the other male Olympian gods. Hephaestus, Ares, Apollo and Hermes all sought her hand in marriage. The young Kore rejected them all for she was still interested in playing with her nymph friends and collecting flowers. Demeter made sure that her daughter’s desires were known.
This didn’t stop Hades, the god and ruler of the Underworld. For Hades, this was love at first sight. As was customary, Hades went to his brother, Zeus (also Kore’s father), to petition for Kore’s hand in marriage, getting permission.
Zeus took the proposal to Demeter who refused. Kore isn’t going to leave her or go anywhere, least of all the Underworld with Hades. Not going to happen!
At first, this sounds as if Demeter is simply being unreasonable. The type of response of a mother fearing the empty nest or mother smothering and won’t let her child go. What we would call now days, Helicopter Parenting.
Zeus likely thinks he’s being reasonable, mentioning that every child grows up and leaves their parents eventually and that Kore is certainly old enough to marry. But Zeus isn’t listening, he thinks he knows better. That Demeter is just making an idle threat that if he marries off Kore to Hades and takes her down to the Underworld, nothing will grow!
Since they can’t get Demeter’s approval for the match, Zeus and Hades take a step back, allowing Demeter to think she’s won this round. Hades comes up with a plan to outright kidnap/abduct Kore while she is out gathering flowers. Zeus is in on this too and plants a narcissus flower to attract Kore’s attention.
While Kore is distracted by this new, unusual flower, behind her, a chasm opens up in the earth and out comes Hades, riding in his chariot to snatch up Kore to carry away with him back to the Underworld.
Of all of Kore’s Nymph friends, only the Naiad, Cyane tried to rescue and stop her abduction. Overpowered by Hades, Cyane in a fit of grief cried herself into a puddle of tears, forming the river Cyane.
Demeter, hearing the nymph’s cry out that something was amiss, came running, only to find that her daughter is missing and none of the nymphs in their crying could tell her what happened. Angry, Demeter cursed the nymphs that they turned into Sirens. Only the river Cyane offered any help with washing ashore, Kore’s belt.
In vain, Demeter wandered the earth, searching for her daughter. Unable to find her, Demeter went and hid herself in sorrow at the loss of her daughter. Once plant life begins to die, the other gods go in search of her. Especially once all their followers begin to cry out there’s no food, help them.
Pan is the one who eventually finds her in a cave. Demeter in her despair, reiterates that without Kore, nothing will grow.
The way this gets told in most retellings, Demeter is threatening to refuse any new life or plant growth. To appease her and prevent people from starving, the gods agree to find Kore so that life can return. It seems that way if you don’t know or forget Kore’s already existing role as a fertility goddess.
Hecate realizes and knows there’s a problem. Hence, she intervenes. All isn’t lost if Kore hasn’t eaten the food of the Underworld, the dead, she can return to the world above.
Down in the Underworld, a frightened and despairing Kore is refusing the advances of Hades and refusing to eat any food. Kore knows that if she eats the food, she won’t be able to return to the living world.
Now at some point, Hecate comes and talks with Kore. At some point, Kore falls in love with Hades or she sees the state of what the Underworld is like. A plot twist comes and Kore does, either willingly or tricked into it, eats some pomegranate seeds. The number of which varies from one to four, Persephone is bound to the Underworld and must spend part of the year there. The rest, she can spend above in the mortal world with her mother Demeter.
This way, Hades doesn’t lose his wife and queen and Persephone can fulfill her role as a fertility goddess, bringing life to the land.
Variations
Overly Simplified – One version of the above story is drastically simplified and glosses over a lot of details to the story of Persephone and Hades. In it, Hades just happens to be out and about in the mortal realm when he spots Persephone. It’s easy enough to say Hades has love and first sight and he simply grabs Persephone and carries her off with him down to the Underworld. Persephone is unhappy at first with her lot, but eventually she grows to love Hades and comes to accept her fate as his wife.
As to Demeter, she is so overcome with grief at the loss of her daughter that she neglects her duties with creating plant growth. It is Zeus who makes a decree that Persephone may be reunited with her mother, but only for part of the year. Zeus sends the god Hermes down to the Underworld to retrieve and bring Persephone back.
Hades held no desire to give up the goddess whom he intended to marry. Coming up with a plan, Hades tricked Persephone into eating some pomegranate seeds. Now because she had eaten the food of the Underworld, Persephone was bound to stay.
Persephone needed to only stay part of the year and the rest, she could be with Demeter. This way too, Hades didn’t lose his bride for she would have to return to him.
Not the best version of the story to give as it removes many details and robs Persephone of any agency or choice in the matter. Stockholm Syndrome at its finest.
Version 2 – Regarding the Narcissus flower, Zeus commands Gaia to create it to distract Persephone when she is out picking flowers. As it is far from any lakes or rivers where her Naiad friends can follow, Persephone is all alone for when Hades comes. Sure enough, when Persephone picks this strange new flower, a chasm opens underneath her, and she falls down into the waiting arms of Hades and the Underworld.
Version 3 – When Demeter becomes distraught over the loss of Persephone, she goes mad and wanders the land disguised as an old woman carrying a pair of torches in her hands. She searches for some nine days and nights.
Eventually Demeter meets Hecate on the tenth day who takes pity on Demeter’s miserable appearance. Hecate tells Demeter to seek out Helios, the sun god who can tell her of what happened. Demeter finds Helios who informs her about Hades abducting Persephone.
Demeter begs Hades to release Persephone and allow her to come back to the living world. Hades consults with Zeus about the matter. Hecate returns and lets Demeter know that Persephone hasn’t eaten four pomegranate seeds and because of that, Persephone will still be able to return to the living world. There is a catch and that is, because Persephone has eaten some of the pomegranate, she will have to return to the Underworld for part of the year.
Both version 2 and 3 retellings go for making it look as if Demeter is responsible for refusing to allow anything to grow and does so out of anger or spite. Or that in her grief, Demeter simply neglects her duties for making things grow. This idea originates in Homer’s “Hymn to Demeter,” that gives the idea that Demeter is in charge of fertility.
Those versions work if you want to ignore that Kore/Persephone is a Fertility goddess, she’s the one who is responsible for new plant growth.
Hades’ Role In The Myth
In the story for the Rape of Persephone, Hades fits into the story as he is an Underworld deity himself. Among the Greeks, it was believed that Hades rode around in his chariot catching the souls of the dead to carry back down to the Underworld.
With Persephone being a chthonic goddess, the Greeks likely came up with the story to better fit the goddess to her role as a Queen of the World. It unfortunately greatly diminishes her role and what her functions were from a much earlier era.
In the myths where Hades is called Pluto or Ploutos, he is not only a god of the Underworld, but wealth where the riches of the earth can be found. Partnering him up with Persephone is meant only to add to his power and domain for now it is the riches of the earth in terms of fertility.
Homeric Hymn – More like a side note, this hymn tells how the shepherd Eumolpus and the swineherd Eubuleus see a girl being carried away to the Underworld in Hades’ chariot. Eubuleus looses his pigs to the Underworld as they fall into the chasm that opens up for Hades on his descent below.
Ascalaphus – In what seems to be padding the story, Ascalaphus, the keeper of Hades’ Orchard is who tells the other gods that Persephone has eaten the pomegranate seeds. Demeter becomes so enraged with this news that she buries him beneath a huge rock in the Underworld.
Altered States of Mind – Most people think of rape as having to be a something violent for it to be valid? I’m sure the in the original Greek tellings of the story, it’s obvious what Hades’ intent is. Never mind later retellings that seem to gloss over and not really make it clear as they want to give you a happy fuzzy feeling that Persephone just accepted her fate and this is how we got the four seasons of the year.
Looking at the older, archaic definition, this is the forcible carrying away of a woman to have sexual intercourse with her. So looking at how the story of Persephone’s Abduction is originally titled and knowing older definitions of a word, I’d say it’s pretty clear.
Stockholm Syndrome – This is when a prisoner or someone being abused comes to identify with their captor, to the point of identifying with them and possibly helping them.
After my research into Persephone, the views of Persephone coming to just accept her fate or where Hades tricks her into eating a pomegranate seed, so she’s forced to come down to the Underworld part of the year don’t sit well with me.
It’s abusive and greatly diminishes Persephone’s agency to have versions of the stories where Zeus and Hades (or just Hades) conspire to have her abducted. That’s forced marriage, no one likes it. Plus, when you compare Persephone’s story to Hebe’s story with coming of age and marrying, they’re inconsistent.
Once Kore has married Hades, she changes her name to Persephone. This is used to signify Kore transitioning to being an adult. If this happened with other gods and goddesses, I’d say this is cultural. Just Kore to Persephone, no one else that I have researched so far in Greek Mythology.
The only other example I have is that of Hebe when she marries Hercules once she’s considered old enough. Unlike Kore/Persephone, Hebe never changes her name. The Eleusinian Mysteries do predate Grecian Culture. So maybe the name change is a remnant of that. Or trying to combine different local deities under one name.
The change of names definitely notes a change to Kore’s function with the Greek interpretation of the myths. She is no longer strictly a fertility goddess, she is now also Queen of the Underworld, ruling alongside Hades. That Kore/Persephone returns part of the year, makes her a goddess of life and death, resurrection deity like other deities such as Attis, Jesus, Osiris, Minoan Crete among others.
Knowing now that Persephone is an ancient chthonic goddess whose worship predates the Greeks, it shows strongly the influence of the Greeks and a more patriarchal religion imposing their views and versions on these stories.
After all, we have how many male dominated stories among the Grecian stories? How many people perceive the Greek pantheon being male dominated? No wonder Demeter is angry and no wonder we have so many stories where Hera takes out her frustrations on Zeus’ children.
Chthonic Goddess
You said earlier that Persephone is a chthonic goddess? Yes, I did, I was getting a bit ahead of myself there.
Now that we got the main story for Persephone out of the way, it’s easier to get into the rest of Persephone’s aspects as an ancient goddess who predates the Greeks and not just merely the daughter of Demeter, who gets married off to Hades against her will.
As said, an ancient chthonic deity worshiped by many agriculture cultures in ancient Greece. In this role, Persephone would receive the souls of the dead down into the earth. In return, Persephone would cause the fertility of the earth for there to be new growth.
Queen Of The Underworld – She Who Must Not Be Named
There is a tradition in Greek beliefs not to speak Persephone’s name. This dates to the Arcadian beliefs where Persephone is equated with another deity, Despoina who’s name could not be spoken except to those who had been initiated. As a goddess of death, Persephone is said to be the daughter of Zeus and Styx. Homer gave description of Persephone as capable of carrying out the curses of men upon the souls of the dead. In the Orphic traditions, Dionysus and Melinoe are said to be the children of Zeus and Persephone.
Goddess Of Fertility & Springtime
One of Persephone’s important roles is that of a fertility goddess. The very myth and story of Persephone’s abduction is the basis for the explanation of the annual growth of vegetation in spring and its subsequent dying in the fall. Her myth is comparable to other, often male gods of life and rebirth myths such as Attis, Adonis and Osiris.
Agriculture is an important aspect of life, for without a bountiful harvest, it can spell disaster come winter time. The Eleusinian mysteries emphasized this importance with Persephone’s return every year, that there would be the promise of new life and growth. A sort of immortality.
It’s unfortunate that this important aspect of Persephone seems to have been forgotten and overlooked, oftentimes simply relegating her to the of Hade’s wife and Queen of the Underworld.
Though perhaps it makes sense that in her dual role of Fertility goddess and Queen of the Underworld, where she is responsible for putting forth new life and growth everything spring and then come fall, it is destroyed with her departure back to the Underworld.
Grain – This crop was of great importance to the ancient Greeks as it was rare and hard to come by in the Grecian country sides. Persephone’s close association with this crop held the promise of renewal, regeneration and possibly immortality, knowing that she would return every spring.
Seasonal Cycles & Changes
The more simplified Greek influences on Persephone’s story greatly diminish her role, reducing her to an almost non-person status who gets no say in what happens to her. She just goes with the flow, unable to change her fate. Ultimately, what we get, a watered-down version that is used by the Greeks to explain the changes of the seasons from Spring to Winter and back.
When you understand Persephone’s role as a fertility goddess, this isn’t Demeter in a mood, sad or angry that her daughter isn’t there and refuses to allow anything to grow. Doing it out of spite because her daughter married Hades and she’s mad with Zeus. As a fertility goddess, nothing can grow on the earth if Persephone isn’t there. Demeter knew this, the other gods, especially Zeus and Hades didn’t listen.
By assigning Persephone’s role as a fertility goddess to her mother Demeter, the story that is then told and passed on, makes it seem as if Demeter is the one acting out of spite and grief towards Zeus to neglect her duties or outright as a means of blackmail, to allow anything to grow on the earth until she gets her way. That is, the return of her daughter Persephone.
With that understanding, Zeus than, by allowing Hades to marry Kore, created the problem of winter. Not because Demeter is depressed and vengeful, refusing to allow anything to grow, but because without Kore, nothing can grow. Sure, Demeter is depressed. Sure, all children grow up and leave home. It would explain Hecate getting involved. The world above needs you as much as the underworld
Remembering Persephone’s dual role as a fertility goddess and a chthonic goddess, now her descent to the underworld and the subsequent winter makes sense. Winter becomes a fallow period in which the earth is asleep and plant life is dormant. It won’t be forever, for come Spring again, when Persephone returns, a new season of growth begins again.
Pomegranates
Nearly all versions of Kore/Persephone’s abduction to the Underworld and her return have being tricked into or choosing to some pomegranate seeds.
Sometimes the number of seeds eaten seems to matter as that represents the number of months in the year that Persephone must return and stay in the Underworld. So, mentioning three to four seeds tend to represent the winter months in which she is with Hades.
In ancient mythology, to eat the food of one’s captor meant that one would have to return to that captor or country, especially anything from the Otherworld, Faerie or the Underworld. Persephone is doomed to return to the Underworld for a part of the year. The other part, she is allowed to remain with her mother, Demeter.
Remember, the seeds themselves are merely symbolic. Persephone in her original role is a chthonic deity and would have returned to the living world and back to the Underworld as part of her seasonal traveling in her role as a fertility goddess.
As a symbol, the pomegranate seeds, under the Greek versions of the myth are looking to explain the seasonal cycle of the year and why it is that Persephone must return for a part of the year to her husband Hades.
Touching back on what I commented earlier about Altered States of Minds and Stockholm Syndrome, continuing a narrative of Persephone being tricked into or choosing to eat the seeds seems to perpetuate an abusive ideal of taking away her agency.
Either an abusive husband who forced himself on her, rape. Or an overbearing mother who doesn’t want to let her little girl go and will throw a tantrum refusing to allow anything to grow if Persephone isn’t with her. Then Persephone, even if she’s but I want to stay with Hades, mom’s willing to starve the entire world for her pettiness. This interpretation just doesn’t work for me.
I have to look at ancient chthonic goddess who’s going to travel back and forth anyways. As she’s a goddess of the Underworld and Hades is also a god of the Underworld, they are a perfect match in heaven…. Well the Underworld and the pomegranates were the food of choice to join in holy matrimony. No forced coercion.
Persephone & Minthe
For being a rather important deity, Persephone doesn’t have too many stories regarding her as she seems to be relegated to being little more than Hades wife. So where Hera often took complaint to Zeus’ many lovers and affairs, Persephone only has one such story.
That would be with the nymph, Minthe who may have been a mistress or lover of Hades before he abducted Persephone. In an act of hubris, Minthe boasts about how she is more beautiful than Persephone and that she would manage to win Hades back.
Persephone took exception to this boast and to prove her power, might and indignation, she turned the nymph into a plant of the same name.
Mmm…. Mint. Gotta love that sweet smell.
Love Affairs
If we go by the Greek legends and stories, Persephone wasn’t always so loyal with Hades. She did take Adonis and Hermes as lovers at different points. Granted nothing came of these affairs.
Would-Be Suitors
Even though Persephone is married to Hades, that doesn’t stop the heroes Pirithous and Theseus from descending down to the Underworld with the aspirations of Pirithous marrying Persephone.
The two had it in their heads that they would marry daughters of Zeus. They clearly didn’t think the plan through. Of course, Theseus had the bright idea of being the one to try kidnapping Helene, Zeus wasn’t happy with that. Some accounts have the mighty Zeus sending a dream to the two with the idea of going off to have Pirithous marrying Persephone.
Hades is there to welcome the pair sure enough. Soon as they are seated, their chairs magically bind and holdfast the would-be suitors. There they would remain prisoners until the hero Hercules comes to the Underworld to free them.
Just let that be a lesson, don’t mess with another man’s wife or daughters if he thinks you’re unworthy of such a thing.
Persephone & Zeus
Sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…. this is a story from the Orphic tradition. Zeus (yes, her father) comes and seduces Persephone in the guise of a serpent. From this union, she bares a son, Zagreus. Zeus put his son up on the throne of heaven only to have him attacked and torn apart by the Titans.
Zagreus’ heart is recovered, and the young god is reborn through Semele to become the god Dionysus or Sabazius. This is to be a second Dionysus and not to be confused with each other.
Another goddess, Melinoe is also reputed to have been born from the union of Persephone and Zeus.
Persephone & Adonis
In this story, both Aphrodite and Persephone fell in love with the same mortal named Adonis. Naturally he is a handsome youth and neither goddess could agree as to who deserved him more. Zeus took the matter into his own hands and divided the year into three parts, saying that Adonis would spend on third with Aphrodite, another third with Persephone and the third part of the year as time to himself.
Having his own agency, Adonis came to love Aphrodite more. When it was time for him to go to the Underworld, Adonis refused. This angered Persephone so that she sent a wild boar to kill Adonis. As Adonis died in Aphrodite’s arms, he was transformed into the anemone flower.
Phoenician Connection – It has been commented that the story of Persephone and Adonis is nothing more than the Greeks adopting the story the Phoenician story of Ashtarte and Adon.
Orpheus & Eurydice
In the story of Orpheus’ descent to the Underworld, wherein he hoped to bring back his wife, Eurydice from the dead. Persephone takes compassion on Orpheus and allows him a chance to try and bring his deceased wife back to the lands of the living.
Persephone & Sisyphus
Ah Sisyphus forced to forever roll that boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down on him. Before dying, Sisyphus had told his wife to just throw his body to be thrown out into a public square where eventually his body made its way to the river Styx. Sisyphus then tricked Persephone into allowing him to return to the living world, so he could scold his wife for not giving him a proper burial.
Naturally, the trick worked and once Sisyphus “told off” his wife, he refused to return to the Underworld. It took the god Hermes to forcibly drag Sisyphus back to the Underworld.
Another version of the story has Sisyphus simply pleading to Persephone that he was taken to Tartarus by mistake and the Queen of the Underworld orders his return.
Some people just don’t want to face the music.
Persephone & Alcestis
Which takes us to Alcestis, married to King Admetos. He didn’t want to die either.
The Fates told Admetos that he could escape his time to die if someone else would take his place. That person ended up being Alcestis. Wise to the shenanigans, Persephone sent Alcestis back to the living world.
Another version has the mighty Hercules coming to fight Hades so Alcestis can be released back to the living world.
Look, when your time comes, it comes.
Creating Humankind!?!
I always thought it was Prometheus who did this. There’s a rather obscure myth in which Persephone is credited with the creation of man or humankind using clay. There was then a dispute among the gods over who should get to claim humans. An agreement came with the god Cronus presiding as judge, that while living, humans would be subjects of Zeus (who initially gave the clay figures life and controls their fate) and Gaia (who provided the clay in the first place) and when they died, they would go to the Underworld to be with Persephone as she came up with the idea to begin with.
The Twelve Labors Of Hercules
In Greek mythology, the hero Hercules was tasked with a series of twelve labors by King Eurystheus that needed to be performed as penance for the killing of Hercules’ family. One of Hercules’ tasks was to descend to the Underworld to retrieve the three-headed hound Cerberus. In some accounts, it is said that Persephone, not Hades is who allowed the hero to take the hell hound. While Hercules was at it, Persephone also allowed the hero to free Theseus from his confinement.
In Pseudo-Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca, Hercules decided it was a good idea to slaughter one of Hades’ cattle in order to give the souls of the dead some fresh blood. Menoetes, Hades’ keeper of cattle challenged the titular hero to a wrestling match. It is only after Hercules breaks the ribs of Menoetes that the hero sets him down at the behest of Persephone.
In the versions told by Diodorus Siculus in his “Library of History” and Pseudo-Hyginus’ Fabulae, Hercules freed both Theseus and Pirithous.
Seven Against Thebes
During this event, Hades and Persephone ended up sending a deadly plague to the city of Thebes when King Creon refused to bury any of the dead warriors. When two maidens Coronides, the daughters of Orion sacrificed themselves to appease Hades and Persephone, they were transformed into a pair of comets.
Well, you’re gonna get a plague and diseases if you leave a bunch of corpses out rotting in the field of battle and don’t bury or clean them up.
Proserpina – Roman Goddess
Among the ancient Romans, Persephone is known as Proserpina. Her mother is said to be the goddess Ceres. The Romans first heard of Persephone from the Aeolian and Dorian cities in Magna Graecia. It’s an error on the part of the Roman’s, believing the name Proserpine to be derived from the Latin word proserpere, meaning: “to shoot or creep forth” and is a verb related to the germination of plants.
In the Roman retellings of the story, Pluto (Hades) is out riding in the mortal realms, inspecting the land to make sure that after the fall of the titans, the borders to his realm in Tartarus are still secure. When Venus and her son Cupid see the lord of the Underworld out riding, the opportunity is too much for them and Venus instructs her son to hit Pluto with an arrow so that when he sees Proserpine, he is stricken with such love and lust that he carries her off to his shadowy realm of Tartarus. The rest of the story is much like the Greek versions where Ceres sets off in search of her missing daughter.
Protector Of Marriage
In Locri, Proserpina is the protector of marriage. This role is usually Hera’s domain. There are votive plaques in Locri that show Persephone’s abduction and her marriage to Hades, serving as a symbol of the marital state. The children of Locri were dedicated to Proserpina and maidens would bring their peplos to be blessed before getting married.
Proserpina And Psyche
This story is from Apuleius’ The Golden Ass, a second century Roman novel. In it, Venus (Aphrodite) forces Psyche to perform a task for her. Psyche is instructed to deliver a box from Venus down to the Underworld, to Proserpina. It seems simple enough that Venus wants some beauty cream from Proserpina, enough for one day so she can dress up for the Deities’ Theatre later that evening. Except this task is just one of many harsh tasks that Venus has Psyche perform.
Off to the Underworld she goes, a talking tower informs Psyche how to gain entrance. First, she has to offer a cake to Cerberus, the three-headed hound who guards the gates of the Underworld. That done, she will be welcomed readily enough by Proserpina who will invite her to sit on a soft cushion and enjoy a feast. This she, Psyche must not do, she must instead sit on the ground and ask for some course bread. If she does that, Psyche can then tell Proserpina what she is there for. Once she has what she seeks, Psyche is to come straight back, giving the last cake to Cerberus so she can leave the Underworld. The final instructions are, that Psyche is not to look within the box. She must retrace her steps back to Venus straight away.
Following the instructions, Psyche is able to get the box filled with beauty cream to bring back to Venus. The return trip back up to the Living World goes smoothly enough. Only now, past the seeming difficult parts of the journey, curiosity gets the better of Psyche and she decides to open the box, reasoning that she can take a drop for herself to look even more beautiful for her lover, Eros.
When you get instructions from the Otherworldly Guides and Deities, it’s best to heed them. As soon as Psyche opened the box, to her surprise it’s filled with the stygian sleep of Pluto. The sleep of death and it at once envelops her. Psyche’s limbs go rigid and she falls to the earth, stiff as a corpse laying there. Luckily for her, Eros finds Psyche and wipes the sleep off her and restores it to the box.
Proserpina And Euphemea
When the nymph Euphemea stopped worshiping Diana, the goddess struck the nymph full of arrows. At the very last, Proserpina snatched her up, still alive to take down to the Underworld.
Mellona
Pronunciation: mel’lo.na
Alternative Names: Mellonia
Etymology: From the Latin “mel” or “mellis” meaning honey
According to St. Augustine, Mellona is an ancient Roman goddess of bees and honey. In Arnobius’ “Adversus Nationes”, Mellona is an important and powerful goddess to call on for taking care of bees, the production and abundance of honey. W.H. Roscher includes Mellona in a list of deities called the ingitamenta maintained by Roman priests to make sure that the correct god would be invoked for different rituals.
Mellona’s importance to bees and honey has been compared to Pomona for her importance with orchards and apples and to Bubona for her importance with cattle.
Attributes
Animal: Bee
Element: Air
Offerings: Honey
Sphere of Influence: Bees, Beekeeping
Symbols: Bees, Honey
There’s not much more regarding Mellona that I found. She seems with the amount of lore that I could find, to be a minor goddess.
Other Bee Deities
There are a handful of other gods whose domain included bees. They are:
Ah-Muzen-Cab, a Mayan, Aristaeus, an ancient Greek, Austeia, a Lithuanian goddess, Bhramari, a Hindu goddess, Bubilas, another Lithuanian god, Colel Cab, a Mayan goddess and Melissa an ancient Greek or Minoan goddess.
You could say all of them are the Bees’ knees.
Quote Time!
“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.”
That’s a quote often attributed to Albert Einstein. Much as I am on board with the idea of being better environmental stewards and caretakers, the quote is incorrect. Checking the quote against Snopes, it’s a comment made for political reasons.
Now I’m not saying we suddenly start going out knocking over beehives and going willy nilly with spraying neonicotinoids in our gardens,
However, I do feel we want to be better Environmental Stewards, taking care of our earth. Yes, the domesticated honey bee is the most hit by the Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD and other problems with diseases and parasites that hit hives. Neonicotinoids are still a concern and a problem.
While there are other pollinators, some natural pollinators like in Southern China and Hawaii have become extinct or rare. Let’s not push our luck.
Those honey bees work very hard for us, being better mindful of our connection to nature would be in order.
Sigmund
Etymology: Sigr- (Old Norse), Sig- “Victory” (Sieg- Germanic, Zege- Dutch) and -mundr (Old Norse) “Protector”
Pronunciation: Zeek-muwnt (German), Seeg-mund (Swedish), Sig-mənd (English)
Also known as: Siegmund
Alternate Spellings: Sigmundr (Old Norse), Sigimund, Sigismund (Ancient Germanic), Sigmundr (Ancient Scandinavian), Zikmund (Czech), Siegmund, Sigismund (German), Zsigmond, Zsiga (Hungarian), Sigismondo (Italian), Zygmunt (Polish), Žigmund (Slovak), Žiga (Slovene), Segismundo (Spanish), Sigge (Swedish)
The hero Sigmund is best known from his exploits in the Völsunga saga. Sigmund’s fame comes from being the one who could pull the sword, Gram from a tree and being the father of another hero, Sigurd.
Parentage and Family
Parents
Father – Völsung, for whom the Völsunga saga is named.
Mother – Ljod, also spelled Hljod, Sigmund’s mother in the Völsunga.
Consort –
Borghild – His first wife.
Sieglind – His wife in the Nibelungenlied.
Sisibe – His wife in the Thiðrekssaga.
Sibling –
Brother – It’s mentioned that Sigmund has nine brothers, though none of them are ever given any names.
Sister – Signý, his twin
Children –
Helgi – Son by way of Borghild.
Sigurd – Son by way of Hljod. A famous dragon-slayer of many Norse, Scandinavian and German sagas.
Sinfjötli – Son by way of incest with his sister Signý.
Hamund and Helgi – Sons by way of Borghild.
Ancient Runes
The oldest source for Sigmund’s legend are found in Sweden on seven runestones. The most notable of these are the Ramsund carving dating from about 1,000 C.E. based on events from the fifth and sixth centuries C.E.
Völsunga Saga
This is a 13th century Icelandic saga from the Völsung clan that follows several generations of Völsung’s lineage. While this saga is best known for the story of Sigurd and Brunhildr and the destruction of the Burgundians, this is the main source for the story regarding Sigmund.
Backing up a little bit, the saga begins with Völsung, known of his great strength and size, who is the king of Hunland. Völsung marries Hljod with whom he fathers ten sons and a daughter, Signý, the twin to Sigmund.
So great is Signý’s beauty, that King Siggeir of Gautland (Västergötland) sends a missive to King Völsung requesting his daughter Signý’s hand in marriage. Now, Siggeir had a reputation for being fierce in battle and Völsung and his sons knew that they couldn’t hope to fend off Siggeir and his men once they saw them. Add to this, Signý doesn’t want to marry Siggeir.
Against her better judgment, Signý marries Siggeir. A wedding feast, one that would last for several days commenced shortly after. At a time when both Völsung and Sigmund are in attendance, the god Odin came, disguised as a beggar and thrust the sword Gram into the a large oak tree known as Barnstock. Völsung’s hall was built around this large oak. The beggar (Odin) announces that the man who is able to pull the sword free may have it as a gift. Of all the men present, only Sigmund succeeded in pulling the sword free.
Signý’s new husband, Siggeir became very envious and greedy for Sigmund’s sword. When Sigmund refused an offer to buy the sword, Siggeir than invites Völsung, Sigmund and his nine other brothers to come visit him and Signý a few months later in Gautland.
When Völsung and the rest of his clan arrived, they are attacked by Siggeir’s men. In the fight that followed, Völsung is killed and his sons captured. Signý pleaded with Siggeir to spare her brothers, to have them placed in stocks instead of killing them outright. Siggeir agreed to Signý’s pleas only because it went along with his ideas of torturing the brothers before killing them.
It turns out that Siggeir has a mother who can shape-shift into a wolf. He lets dear old mother kill one of the Völsung brothers each night. Signý, much as she tries, is unable to save her brothers. One by one they are killed by this she-wolf until finally only Sigmund remains.
With only last chance to save any of her brothers, Signý gets a servant to smear some honey on Sigmund’s face. When Siggeir’s shape-shifted mother arrives that night, the she-wolf licks the honey off Sigmund’s face, causing her tongue to stick to the roof of her mouth. The opportunity allowed Sigmund to bite off the she-wolf’s tongue. The resulting blood loss killed the wolf. Shortly after, he freed himself and Sigmund took off to hide in the forest.
Hidden safely in the woods, Sigmund has everything he needs and what he doesn’t have, Signý would bring to him. Seeking revenge for the death of their father herself, Signý would send her sons out to the forest to be tested by their uncle. As each one failed the test, Sigmund would kill them until he finally had enough of it and refused to kill any more children. A distraught Signý came to Sigmund disguised as a völva (a type of Scandinavian Witch or Shaman). Disguised, Signý gave birth to Sinfjötli, whom, a child of incest is able to pass Sigmund’s test.
Living the life of outlaws, both Sigmund and Sinfjötli lived in the forest. During their time, the two came across some men sleeping in some wolf skins. The two kill the men and on donning the wolf skins for themselves, discover that the skins are cursed. With their new-found abilities or curse, Sigmund and Sinfjötli are able to avenge Völsung when they kill Siggeir by way of setting his place on fire. The only person to escape the blaze was Signý, whom if Sigmund hadn’t known the truth about his nephew/son Sinfjötli, she now came clean to tell him she had tricked Sigmund into sleeping with her. After revealing the truth, Signý walked back into the raging fire to die with Siggeir.
Returning To Hunland
The story doesn’t end there as both Sigmund and Sinfjötli continue their exploits of banditry when they return to Hunland. Sigmund’s plan is to reclaim his lands from the king who took over after Völsung’s death. After reclaiming his rightful throne, Sigmund marries Borghild and they have two sons, Hamund and Helgi.
It’s known that Helgi, at the age of fifteen would go on to fight many battles and win his own kingdom. He earned the name Helgi Hundingsbani when he killed Hunding and his sons after two battles. Helgi wasn’t done yet and would continue on to defeat Hodbrodd and Grannar in order to win the hand of Sigrun, the daughter of King Hogni in marriage. This is a story for another post.
Borghild became jealous of her stepson Sinfjötli’s abilities and when he killed her brother, she plotted Sinfjötli’s demise. Both Sinfjötli and her brother had been competing for the hand of the same woman. Killing Sinfjötli wouldn’t be easy for Borghild as he was immune to all poison. That didn’t stop Borghild from trying. She offered Sinfjötli two cups of poisoned wine that he drank without problem. However, with the third cup, that did Sinfjötli in. For her efforts, Borghild was banished from Hunland.
The narrative continues that Sigmund carried Sinfjötli’s body into the forest where he meets a ferryman at a fjord. The ferryman had only enough room on his boat for one passenger at a time and offered to take Sinfjötli’s body across first and come back for Sigmund. When the boat reached the middle of the fjord, it vanished along with the ferryman and Sinfjötli’s body. This ferryman would be none other than Odin in disguise, come to personally take his descendant to Valhalla despite not meeting the prerequisite to die in battle.
Marrying Hjördís & Sigmund’s Doom
Sigmund goes on to marry again, this time to Hjördís, daughter of King Eylimi. Hjördís had another suitor who sought her hand in marriage, King Lyngi along with other suitors. The would be suitors competed for Hjördís’s hand in marriage and Sigmund won, despite being much older than other kings. Lyngi refused to give up and concede to Sigmund.
After enjoying a brief period of peace, Sigmund’s kingdom is attacked by King Lyngi as he was jealous and wanted revenge on Hjördís for marrying Sigmund.
It is during this battle, Sigmund fought alongside his father-in-law, King Eylimi who is killed. It is this day, that the Norns have decreed will be when Sigmund dies. The god Odin returns in this battle, disguised as a beggar and when he comes face to face with Sigmund, the sword Gram is shattered by his spear Gungnir.
The sword shattered, Sigmund easily falls at the hands of others in battle. As he lays dying, Sigmund tells Hjördís that she is pregnant, and their son will one day receive the broken remains of his sword. That their son will be named Sigurd who would go on to avenge his father’s death and slay the dragon Fafnir.
As to Lyngi, he was thwarted in trying to win Hjördís for she had fled and was found by King Alf who married and took her and her unborn son in.
Other Germanic Sagas
In many of the sagas about the hero Sigurd (Siegfried), Sigmund or Siegmund is often cited as being Sigurd’s father. None of these other sagas have the same level of detail regarding Sigmund that is found within the Völsunga.
Nibelungenlied – In this saga, his wife was Sieglind
Thiðrekssaga – In this saga, Sigmund is the son of Sifjan, the king of Tarlungland. He has a son with Sisibe, the daughter of King Nidung of Spain.
Beowulf
This is an Old English poem. In the story Beowulf, the story of Sigemund is told to the title character and involves the slaying of a dragon, not unlike that of Sigurd slaying a dragon. The child conceived by Signý and Sigemund the Wælsing is known as Fitela, not Sinfjötli.
The Sword In The Tree – Arthurian Legend!?!
The Branstock tree was a massive oak tree that Völsung built his hall around.
For those familiar with Arthurian legend, Sigmund’s pulling the sword Gram from the Branstock tree sounds very familiar to the story of Arthur pulling the sword Excalibur from the stone.
In addition, it’s been noted that the characters of Sinfjötli and Mordred are both nephew and son to the respective figures of Sigmund and Arthur.
Gram – A Gift From Odin
In the Völsunga saga, the name of Sigmund’s sword is Gram. Other Norse sagas will give the name of Balmung for Sigmund’s sword. Gram’s name means: “wrath.”
Being an enchanted sword gifted by the god Odin, Gram holds the magical ability of giving its wielder the power to win all their battles.
As for who forged Gram, the myths and legends say that Volund, or Wayland the Smith is who crafted this blade. In the Nibelungenlied, Gram is known by the name of Balmung and Mimung in Germanic myths. In Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen,” the sword is known as Nothung.
It was said that Volund (or Wayland the Smith) made the sword, and the magic sword was later called Gram (Balmung or Mimung in German myth).
Tolkien Middle Earth Connection – I mentioned in my post for Sigurd that the shattering of Gram served as the inspiration for Aragorn’s shattered sword that he reforges.
Odin’s Role In The Völsunga
It should be noted that Odin is the great grandfather of Völsung who founds the clan of the same name. Effectively making Völsung at least a demigod of sorts and later descendants being more extraordinary in their deeds and destiny.
So, it makes sense at the first, that Odin would appear, favoring the Völsung’s when he impales the sword Gram into the Branstock tree, saying that whoever can pull this sword can have it and it’s Sigmund who succeeds.
However later, Sigmund appears to fall out of favor with Odin when the god shatters Gram and leaves Sigmund to fall at the hands of his enemies.
God of Prophesy
Surely a god of prophesy would know what events would transpire. Which could mean that’s exactly what Odin wanted to have happen. Or he’s trying to change the fates of his kinsmen even though the Norns have told Odin that no, you can’t change fate, no you won’t get your descendant at all. That as punishment, Sigmund won’t die in battle at all.
Even a god can try?
If a person’s fate is truly set and there’s no avoiding destiny or changing one’s stars, even a god of prophesy would know you can’t change the future. Unless predicting the future is nothing more than being able to see what the most likely outcomes and probabilities are. That if you don’t change the variables, X event is the most likely event and course of action to happen.
Battle God
Of course, the other thing to remember, is that Odin is also a god of battle and as such, like many other war gods, he thrives on the conflicts and strife that happen. Even if only for the sake of it.
With the whole impending doom of the gods and Ragnarok among the Norse, Odin is going to try and bolster his forces by recruiting from the various fields of battle, the fallen and slain warriors. Isn’t that what the Valkyries are for? Well sure, so unless there’s a constant steady source of conflicts and battles, the Valkyries aren’t likely to be doing much recruiting. One can see Odin going about instigating some of these conflicts, so he can try to recruit promising warriors for his Einherjar, ya’ know, the slain warriors of Valhalla. And let’s not forget that Freya is going to get half of those warriors for her hall of Folkvangr.
Sigmund! I don’t choose you!
Sigmund also has a date with destiny, for the Norns have decreed that he would die on that day. There is however a hitch to this, so long as Sigmund has the sword Gram, there’s no way he’s going to loose or die. So there’s Odin off to the field of battle to make sure that Sigmund can meet destiny by making sure he doesn’t have the sword.
Now it could be that he has angered Odin when Sigmund tries to interfere with protecting his father-in-law, King Eylimi during the battle against King Lyngi. Odin attacks Sigmund, shattering the sword Gram and leaves him to die.
It might be too how dare a descendant of his defy the mighty Odin and shatter the sword, hoping somehow that Sigmund will die in battle to join his forces in Valhalla. Odin’s efforts to sow contention earlier at a wedding only resulted in nine other of his grandsons getting killed by a wolf while tied up. That’s not exactly the heat of battle there and the loss of nine potential warriors to join him.
So, Odin cuts his losses with Sigmund and gifts a final prophesy to his grandson about the birth of Sigurd and that Gram will be reforged and passed on to another hero.
Medieval Sagas
Lastly, the Völsunga saga was written in the 13th century C.E. several centuries from when the events are to have initially occurred. That’s more than enough time for the skalds to have embellished the stories. To add Odin to the events in an effort to make sense of narrative as well as give a more mythic quality to the tales to explain why events turn out the way they did.
Sigurd
Etymology: Sigr- (Old Norse), Sig- “Victory” (Sieg- Germanic, Zege- Dutch) and vörðr- (-ward Proto-Germanic)“guardian” or “protection” (Old Norse), -fried – “peace”
Also known as: Siegfried, Sigfred, Sifrit, Sîvrît (High German), Sivard (Danish), Sigevrit, Zegevrijt (Middle Dutch), Seyfrid, Seufrid (early modern German)
Alternate Spellings: Sigurðr (Old Norse)
Sigurd is a legendary hero from old Germanic, Norse and Scandinavian mythologies, where he is best known for slaying the dragon Fafnir, rescuing the Valkyrie maiden Brynhildr and the disastrous events that come after with his death.
As I discovered when first doing my article for Brynhildr, there are a number of different stories and various spellings or names for the main character, all of whom and which seem to be the same story and characters. With the differences, we’re likely just seeing different regional and cultural versions. Plus, the addition of Wagner’s famous Opera cycle goes and confuses that matter a bit as he takes from a the Völsunga and Nibelungenlied, mixing them together.
All I can say, is I’ve done my best to keep all of this straight. Also, it’s not like the ancients had access to e-mail and the internet to keep their sources straight, one tribe tells the story one way, another tribe tells it slightly different. The stories also alter and change when you start looking at when one is written and recorded compared to another.
Parentage and Family
Parents
Father – Sigmund, regardless of variant spellings, nearly all sources list him as Sigurd’s father.
It is in the Völsunga that Odin is mentioned as being Sigurd’s real father, making the hero a demigod of sorts and would explain why in some versions of the story, Odin goes out of his way to offer advice and aid him. It’s more accurate that Sigurd is a descendant of Odin’s though.
Mother – Hiordis, Sigmund’s second wife in the Völsunga. In the Þiðrekssaga, it is Sisibe who is Sigurd’s mother. The Nibelungenlied lists Sigelinde as Siegfried’s mother.
Consort –
Brunhildr – The Valkyrie maiden whom Sigurd falls in love with and would have married had outside sources not interfered.
Gudrun – She is who Sigurd marries in the Völsunga. In the Nibelung, her name is Kriemhild.
Children –
Aslaug – Sigurd’s daughter by way of Brynhildr in the Völsunga. Aslaug goes on to marry Ragnar Lodbrok.
Sigmund & Svanhild – Twin sons by way of Gudrun in the Völsunga. Sigmund is named after Sigurd’s father.
What’s In A Name?
At first glance, due to the similarity of their stories, both Sigurd and Siegmund appear to be the same character. Perhaps they are, at the same time, I think it helps to remember regional variations from very similar cultures. Thanks in part to Richard Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen” Opera cycle, there gets to be further confusion to the matter.
It should be noted that what the names of Sigurd and Siegfried mean are different, however they do share the first part of the names do have the same etymology. The second part of the names have very different meanings.
In all cases, the different names all share the commonality of the first part or prefix name of “Sig-“ which means “victory.” The second part of the names have different meanings. “-fried” meaning peace in the name Siegfried and “-vörðr” meaning protection.
Sigurðr – Or Sigurd, is not the same character as the Germanic Siegfried no matter how much the sources seem to want to confuse them. This name translates to Victory-Protection or Protector of Victory.
Siegfried – With this spelling, he is the hero of both the Germanic Nibelungenlied and Richard Wagner’s operas of Siegfried and Götterdämmerung. The Old Norse name for Siegfried would have been Sigfroðr. This name translates to Victory-Peace or Peaceful Victory. The name Siegfried doesn’t appear until towards the end of the seventh century. So it’s possible that Sigurd is the original form of the name.
Sivard Snarensven – This is the name of the hero from several medieval Scandinavian ballads. He’s noted here as his name is known for being a variant spelling to Sigurðr.
Ancient Runes
The oldest source for Sigurd’s legend are found in Sweden on seven runestones. The most notable of these are the Ramsund carving dating from about 1,000 C.E. and the Gok Runestone dating to the 11th century C.E.
Ramsund Carvings – These runes show Sigurd sitting naked before a fire as he prepares to cook the heart taken from the dragon Fafnir. As the heart isn’t fully cooked yet, Sigurd burns himself when he touches it, promptly sticking the burnt finger in his mouth. One he tastes the dragon’s blood, Sigurd is able to understand the birds’ song.
The birds inform Sigurd not to trust his foster-father Regin as he won’t keep his promise. To which, Sigurd chops off Regin’s head. Smithing tools laying around Regin’s head that were used to reforge the sword Gram.
Other carvings show Regin’s horse loaded down with the dragon’s gold, Sigurd slaying Fafnir and Otr, Regin’s brother from the start of the saga.
Hylestad Stave Church – Other carvings and runes can be found on doorways and stones at this church, showing more of Sigurd’s legend.
Völsunga Saga
This is the main source for Sigurd’s story. It is a 13th century Icelandic saga from the Völsung clan that tells the story of Sigurðr and Brynhildr and the subsequent destruction of the Burgundians.
Within this saga, Sigurd is the son of Sigmund and Hiordis, his second wife. So, this is where the story begins, with Sigmund attacking a disguised Odin. Attacking a deity is never a good idea and Odin kills Sigmund while also shattering his sword. As he lays dying, Sigmund hangs on long enough to tell Hiordis about her pregnancy and to bequeath the shattered fragments of his sword to his unborn son.
With Sigmund dead and pregnant, Hiordis then marries King Alf. When Sigurd is old enough, Alf sends the boy to Regin to be fostered. When Sigurd gets older, nearing being an adult, Regin begins to try putting into Sigurd’s head that his station and position isn’t very much.
In a seemingly benign series of questions, Regin asks Sigurd if has any control or say over how Sigmund’s gold, Sigurd’s inheritance by right. Sigurd responds that Alf and his family take care of all of the gold and that he has everything he needs or desires. Regin continues his questioning by asking Sigurd why he accepts such a low position in Alf’s court. Again, Sigurd says he’s treated as an equal and that he has everything he needs or desires.
Not letting up, Regin again asks Sigurd why he settles for being a stable boy to the Kings or have any horse of his own for that matter. That last bit does get to Sigurd who decides he’s going to have his own horse. On the way to the castle to get one, Sigurd is met by an old man (Odin in disguise) who gives some advice to the young man on which horse to choose. This advice does lead Sigurd to getting the horse Grani, a decedent of Odin’s own horse, Sleipnir.
Regin’s Story – Otr’s Gold
When Sigurd returns with a horse of his own, Regin then tells the young man the story of Otter’s Gold. How Regin’s father is Hreidmar, a powerful magician and about his two brothers Otr and Fafnir. How he is a master smith and that Otr himself also held many magical talents. That Otr would go out swimming near a waterfall in one of his favorite forms, that of an otter. That another, a dwarf by the name of Andvari would take the form of a pike and swim too.
Then one day, the Aesir gods came across Otr in his otter form. Not realizing him to be a person and instead, believing the otter to be the real animal, Loki killed Otr and took his pelt. The Aesir then took the pelt to Hreidmar to show off what they caught. Knowing the pelt to belong to their brother, both Fafnir and Regin detain the Aesir; demanding a weregild or restitution be paid for Otr’s death.
Realizing what had happened, the Aesir agreed to pay compensation and fill Otr’s body with gold and cover him with an assortment of treasure. Before Otr’s body is returned to his family, Loki took a net from the sea goddess Ran and used it to catch Andvari in his pike form. In exchange for his freedom, Loki commanded Andvari to give him all of his gold. Grudgingly, Andvari gave up his gold to Loki; except for one ring, that one, Loki had to take by force. Loki took this ring more by force. Unknown to Loki, Andvari cursed this ring with a death curse on it that for whoever wielded the one ring.
Gold in hand now, the Aesir proceed with stuffing Otr’s pelt with it and covering it with treasure, the one ring placed over a whisker and present it to Hreidmar. Greed over coming him, Fafnir killed Hreidmar and took all of the gold, refusing to give Regin his rightful share or inheritance. For this, Regin is looking for someone who can help him seek revenge.
Reforging His Father’s Sword
Caught up by the injustice of it all, Sigurd readily agrees to the plan of killing Fafnir, thereby avenging Hreidmar. As Regin is a master smith, Sigurd requests that a sword be made for him. The first sword made is tested against an anvil, breaking. So, another sword is crafted by Regin, only be broken too.
Third times the charm, Sigurd went to his mother to request the broken pieces of his father’s sword. Sigurd then has Regin take the shattered remains of his father’s sword and reforge those into a sword. This new sword would be known as Gram and it was able to split the anvil in twain. The blade is so sharp, Sigurd can even cut wool with his sword in the river.
First, I Must Avenge My Father
Seeing that Sigurd finally has a sword, Regin tries to get Sigurd to promise to slay the dragon Fafnir to which Sigurd agrees, but not until he has gone to avenge the death of his father.
First, Sigurd set off for his uncle Griper on his mother’s side. It seems dear old uncle Griper can foretell the future and Sigurd wanted to know the Norns had in store for him. Griper refused at first to admit anything to young Sigurd. After much persistence, Griper told Sigurd what would befall him.
Armed with this knowledge, Sigurd went now to King Alf, requesting a fleet of ships and enough men that he could wage war against the Hunding tribe and there by take revenge upon King Lynge for the death of his father Sigmund.
While sailing towards Lynge’s kingdom, a storm broke. A sailor that Sigurd had taken on, by the name of Fjorner sang a runic song that calmed the storm, allowing Sigurd’s fleet to arrive safely. Now Sigurd could lay waste to King Lynge’s kingdom and kill Lynge, thus avenging his father.
Sigurd returned home, having claimed the lands and treasures held by Lynge and earning a lot of prestige and renown as a warrior.
Now I Will Do The Thing!
With Sigurd back, Regin asked him again about slaying the dragon Fafnir. Sigurd was ready now and set off for the task.
Ready, Regin advised Sigurd on a plan to kill Fafnir. He was to dig a pit and wait for Fafnir to come, walking over it. Once the dragon, Fafnir fell in, Sigurd was to stab him.
Sounds like a solid enough plan if you ask me.
Odin added to Regin’s plan, appearing as an old man before Sigurd and told him to dig some trenches to drain Fafnir’s spilled blood. The idea being that Sigurd would bathe in the dragon’s blood after killing Fafnir. It seems the dragon’s blood would bestow invulnerability. When Sigurd does bathe, a leaf is stuck to his back, making a part of him still vulnerable. This point of note is important later on.
Heeding the instructions of both, Sigurd does just that with digging the pit and trenches. He succeeds in killing Fafnir.
Now, Regin had told Sigurd to cut out Fafnir’s heart. Before doing so, Sigurd also ended up drinking some of Fafnir’s blood. This too had the effect of granting Sigurd to understand the language of birds. From them, Sigurd learned that Regin had been corrupted by Andvari’s ring with greed and planned to kill Sigurd as soon as he handed over the heart and gold.
Sigurd instead roasts Fafnir’s heart and eats part of it, gaining yet another benefit, that of wisdom or that of prophecy. If he truly had that, he would know what happens in the next part that comes.
Meeting The Beautiful Brunhildr
After his adventures with slaying the dragon Fafnir, Sigurd meets the Valkyrie and shieldmaiden, Brynhildr. Sigurd pledges himself to her and promises to return. Before leaving, Brynhildr gave Sigurd a prophecy that he would die and marry another, not her.
Eventually, Sigurd travels to Heimar’s court. Heimar it should be noted, is married to Bekkhild, the sister to Brynhildr. From there, Sigurd makes his way to Gjuki’s court. Gjuki’s wife is Grimhild who conspires to have Sigurd marry her daughter, Gudrun. Grimhild wants the magical ring and gold that Sigurd for her own family. Grimhild creates a magical potion, an “Ale of Forgetfulness” that she manages to get the hero to drink. Doing so, Sigurd forgets all about Brynhildr and the promise he’s made to her to be wed. Sigurd now marries Gudrun.
A while later, Gjuki dies and the oldest son, Gunnar becomes king. Gunnar while seeking for a suitable wife, learns about Brynhildr and decides he will court her. The only difficulty is that where Brynhildr is at, she’s surrounded by flames.
Of course, Brynhildr has promised that she will only marry the man brave enough to ride through the flames to her. As Gunnar is not brave enough to ride through the flames and even with trying to use Sigurd’s horse, Grani, still can’t ride through.
Gunnar’s brother, Hogni eventually speaks up and proposes the idea that Sigurd could use magic to shapeshift (by use of his magic helmet) and take Gunnar’s shape. Now now, Sigurd, disguised as Gunnar, ride through on his own horse, Grani to claim the fair Brynhildr.
When Brynhildr sees another man besides her Sigurd enter the flames, she despairs and demands to know who this stranger is.
The disguised Sigurd responds that he is Gunnar, the son of Gjuki of the Nibelungs. Angry at the response, Brynhildr as this isn’t Sigurd, fights him. During the fight, Sigurd manages to pull the ring Andvaranaut of her finger, rendering the Valkyrie powerless. Sigurd would later give the ring Andvaranaut to Gudrun.
Before leaving, both Brynhildr and Sigurd stay in the castle for three nights. Despite this, Sigurd in a symbolic gesture, lays his sword between them to signify that he won’t take Brynhildr’s virginity.
Maybe they meant chastity if you remember Sigurd’s earlier visit. He may not remember, but I know I do.
Eventually, Sigurd and Gunnar switch back places so that Gunnar can marry Brynhildr. Poor Brynhildr believes that Sigurd has forgotten her and keeps the promise she made of marrying the man whom she believes rode through the flames for her.
A Woman Scorned….
We’re not to any sort of happy ending yet, much of this is found under my article for Brynhildr. Later, Brynhildr and Gudrun are out bathing in a nearby river when they get into a heated argument over whose husband is better and braver.
Brynhildr boasts that her husband, Gunnar was brave enough to ride through flames for her. Knowing the truth, Gudrun smugly reveals that it was actually Sigurd who rode through the ring of fire. At this revelation, Brynhildr becomes enraged, making her marriage to Gunnar a sham as she is still in love with Sigurd.
Just remember, Hel hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Due to the trickery and deceits involved, Brynhildr just assumes that Sigurd went back on his word to marry her. It is still unknown to Brynhildr that Sigurd had been given a potion to forget all about her.
In the articles that focus on Sigurd, the notes state Brynhildr is so angry with Grimhild, not Sigurd himself directly. At this time, Brynhildr withdraws and refuses to speak to anyone, to the point that Sigurd is sent by Gunnar to try and talk to her. An angry Brynhildr uses the opportunity to claim that Sigurd has taken advantage of her and was inappropriate with her.
This of course gets Gunnar angry and wanting to kill Sigurd for sleeping with his wife.
It is that ring I tell you. That and Grimhild’s mettling in people’s love lives.
Gunnar and his brother, Hogni were reluctant to kill Sigurd as they had sworn oaths of brotherhood with him. Instead, the two got their younger brother Gutthorm to kill Sigurd after giving him a potion of enragement.
Under the influence of the potion, Gutthorm killed Sigurd in his sleep. As his final act before dying, Sigurd manages to pull his sword and kill Gutthorm in return.
A still enraged Brynhildr mocks Gudrun’s grief for the death of Sigurd and confesses to Gunnar that she had lied about Sigurd sleeping with her. She then tells Gunnar and Hogni, that her brother Atli will come avenge her death. Poor Brynhildr had always loved Sigurd, even when he betrayed her.
As Gunnar’s wife, Brynhildr then orders that Sigurd‘s three-year old son, Sigmund be killed. In a final act of desperation, Brynhildr kills herself by throwing herself onto Sigurd’s funeral pyre.
If that’s not a Shakespearean Tragedy, the two were then reunited together in Hel’s realm, the realm of the dead.
Þiðrekssaga
Also called the Thidrekssaga, this is another Nordic saga that relates the story of Sigurd, specifically chapters 152-168. It’s mostly similar to the Völsunga with parts very similar to events in the Nibelungenlied.
Mainly that it has Regin who is the dragon, not Fafnir and that the dwarf Mimir is Regin’s brother and who is the foster father to Sigurd.
Starting the story with Sigmund, whom on returning from some extended traveling, hears of some rumor that his wife, Sisibe has been engaged in an affair with a thrall (that’s a fancy term for a slave during Viking era Scandinavia).
Sadly, believing the rumor and lie told to him by his noblemen, Sigmund orders the same nobles to take Sisibe out to the forest and kill her. The nobles had intended to get back at Sisibe for refusing their advances while her husband was away. One of the nobles changed his mind about this turn of events and was just going to let her live while the other noble intended to take on his full petty revenge.
Yes, how dare a woman say no to a man. Really? No means no.
Anyways, the two nobles duke it out in a fight. While that’s happening, (did I forget to mention that Sisibe is pregnant?) she goes into labor and gives birth to a healthy boy. Whose baby, it should be noted is Sigmund’s.
Sisibe places the infant into a crystal vessel, I’m not sure where she got that from. It’s part of the narrative, just go with it… Sisibi kicks this vessel into a river where it floats down the stream. After which, Sisibi dies, whether by blood loss from birthing or the one nobleman out to kill her wins the fight and comes over to finish the job.
As in all stories of lost babies lost and abandoned in the wilderness, the baby is found by a doe, ya’ know, a female deer who nurses and raises the infant as her own. The infant is later found by a smith by the name of Mimir who names the boy, Sigurd (though in some places in the Þiðrekssaga, he is called Sigfred), raising them as his own.
When Sigurd is older and like any adolescent, becomes willful, Mimir asks his brother Regin, who happens to be a dragon to kill the kid. Not quite so, Sigurd turns the table on the two, first killing the dragon and then his traitorous foster-father.
Sigurd’s story from here, picks up again in chapters 225-230 where he marries Gudrun, Gunnar’s sister. Like the Völsunga, Sigurd had promised Brynhild first that he would marry her. Gunnar also marries Brynhild but is unable to consummate the marriage. Why? Because Brynhild is still in love with Sigurd. So, thinking to appease her, it is arranged to have Sigurd sleep with Brynhild and then after, she is compliant and gives into Gunnar. Mainly because Brynhild’s strength came from her being a virgin. So without it, she’s helpless before Gunnar.
That sounds so messed up.
The saga ends commenting how there would be no man now living or after who could equal Sigurd’s strength, courage or character. That Sigurd’s name would live on forever in the German tongue.
Nibelungenlied
The Nibelungenlied is a Germanic epic poem dating to the 1200’s. The events within the poem can be traced to oral traditions from the 5th and 6th century. Siegfried is a prince hailing from a kingdom of Niederland with the seat of power being in the city of Xanten. While some would want to say this is the Netherlands, it’s not the same locality.
In this poem, Brynhildr is known as Brunhild or Prunhilt. With this version of the story, she is a queen or princess of Iceland. Gudrun is known as Kriemhild, Gunnar is known as Gunther and Hogni and known as Hagen.
Siegfried (or Sifrit) is a prince from Xanten who succeeds at killing a dragon and claiming a massive fortune and land from a couple of brothers.
Now Siegfried was very willful and head strong, so much so, that his father, King Siegmund sent the lad to the wonder smith, Mimer for fostering. It was hoped by Siegmund that Mimer would manage to teach discipline and humbleness to the lad.
While under Mimer’s tutelage, Siegfried comes to blows with Wieland, another of the smiths in Mimer’s service. However angry Mimer was with the incident, Siegfried demanded that the master smith forge him a sword worthy of a prince of his strength. Which is what Mimer then proceeded to forge for the young man.
The first sword that Mimer forged didn’t hold up to Siegfried’s might strength as it broke when the prince struck it with a great hammer. Siegfried proceeded to punch Mimer and his assistant before demanding another sword be made for him.
Mimer swore to forge another. Though he was also very angry and went out to the forest where his brother Regin resided, who due to other evil acts, was changed into a dragon. Mimer enlisted his draconic brother to get revenge. Regin agreed and Mimer went back tot his smithy, where he sent Siegfried off to a local charcoal-burner to get fuel hot enough to forge a sword.
Taking up a club, Siegfried sets off on his task. He passed through a forest swamp crawling with numerous venomous snakes, large toads and giant lind-worms. When the lad reached the charcoal-burner’s place, the man informed him that if Siegfried returned the way he came, that the dragon Regin would be awaiting him.
Scoffing at the news, Siegfried picked up a burning brand that he had been sent for and went back into the forest, setting fire to all the trees and underbrush so he could destroy all the loathsome reptiles.
Little fire bug there aren’t we?
Sure enough, the dragon Regin comes and spits out his venom at Siegfried. Undaunted, even as the earth is shaking with the dragon’s approach, Siegfried takes his club and knocks the fearsome dragon upside the head, killing it.
The dragon now dead, Siegfried cuts it up and discovers when the blood pours out, that where it has touched his skin, he’s become hard as horn. In a flash of insight, Siegfried goes and bathes himself in the dragon’s blood, so he can become invulnerable. The only part of him that is still vulnerable is a spot on his back where a leaf had stuck to him.
That done, Siegfried dressed himself again and set about to eat the pieces of dragon meat, looking to take in the dragon’s strength to himself. As the meat cooked, Siegfried took a piece and ate it. Instantly, Siegfried could hear voices and realized it was the birdsong that he was hearing and that he could understand it.
Listening to the birdsong, Siegfried learned from the birds that Mimer had sent him out to his doom with the intention of being killed by the dragon. Angry at what he heard, Siegfried cut off the dragon’s head and took it back with him to the smithy to fling at Mimer’s feet. The assistants took off and fled while Mimer tried to appeal to Siegfried and offered up the horse Grane, a descendant of Odin’s steed Sleipner.
Remembering what the birds said, Siegfried accepted the gift horse and then killed Mimer anyways. The young prince then returned to his father, King Siegmund. When Siegmund hear of what happened, he admonished his son over slaying Mimer, but he was proud of his son for having slain a dragon. Armor was then presented to Siegfried and he was now seen as a warrior and acknowledged as the heir to the Netherlands.
A warrior now, Siegfried set out to further prove himself by traveling to a distant land of Isenland. Despite a storm that threatened to delay Siegfried’s voyage, the young warrior pressed on towards his destination.
There, at Queen Brunhild’s castle, Siegfried found the gates to be locked. Undaunted, Siegfried broke them down and attacked Queen Brunhild’s knights. Finally, Queen Brunhild entered and stopped the melee. She gave the young prince welcome to her castle.
Seeing that Brunhild was very fair to behold, her being a battle maiden of great strength and prowess, was not whom Siegfried wanted to marry. Even though many knights had come to try and prove their skill in combat to court Brunhild, all had been slain.
Even though Siegfried says that Brunhild is not whom he would seek for a wife and that he preferred someone gentler; he does stop to lift up a boulder to fling it as far as he can. Just to show he wasn’t intimidated by Brunhild’s strength or weak.
Siegfried went his way until he came to the land of the Nibelungs. Here, Siegfried found that the king had recently died and that his two sons were fighting over their inheritance. The brothers offered Sigurd payment the sword Balmung, forged by dwarves if he would help divide their father’s wealth and lands.
The brothers then accused Siegfried of withholding part of the treasure for himself. An argument ensued, and the brothers called upon some twelve giants to seize Siegfried and imprison him within a mountain’s treasure cave.
Undaunted yet again, Siegfried fought the giants. Spells were cast, and a thick mist formed around the combatants. Wielding the sword Balmung, Siegfried held his own against the giants while a thunderstorm coursed, and the earth shook.
Eventually all of the giants were slain. The dwarf Alberich now fought Siegfried. This was not an easy match for Siegfried as Alberich wore a cloak of invisibility to aid him. At long last, Siegfried had Alberich at his mercy. Sparing the dwarf’s life, Siegfried claimed the cloak of invisibility for his own.
Siegfried killed the two brothers and placed Alberich in charge of watching the treasure horde. The Nibelung clan proclaimed Siegfried to be their rightful ruler. Though Siegfried didn’t stay long, he still had other places to go and took with him twelve men back to the Netherlands.
Siegfried’s fame began to spread before him as bards and skalds began to spread word of his deeds and accomplishments.
One day, these same bards and skalds would bring word to Siegfried about a beautiful and fair maiden by the name of Kriemhild. Deciding that this is whom he wanted to marry, Siegfried set out for the country of Burgundy to seek her hand in marriage.
Siegfried’s parents, the King and Queen tried to warn him not to go to Burgundy. The Burgundians held a reputation for being very war-like. As if warnings never stopped Siegfried before, he insisted on going, saying if he couldn’t get Kriemhild’s hand by request, he would win her by force of arms.
Siegfried went with a retinue of eleven other knights. Queen Sigelinde made sure the retinue left with rich and lavish apparel to make sure they were taken for being nobles.
How exactly Siegfried did it, I don’t know. Siegfried marries Kriemhild and aids her brother, Gunther who is the king of the Burgundians, to court and marry Brunhild, a queen or princess of Iceland.
As a queen (or princess) and a powerful woman in her own right, Brunhild declared that the man she would marry must be someone able to best her in three contests meant to show strength and courage.
Gunther wanted to marry Brunhild and with the help of his liege man, Siegfried (who has a cloak of invisibility), he is able to overpower Brunhild in her three contests. In the first game, Brunhild manages to lift and throw a spear at Gunther that three men together could barely lift. Siegfried with his cloak of invisibility on, blocks and keeps the spear from hitting Gunther. In the second game, Brunhild throws a boulder that requires the strength of twelve men to heave some twelves fathoms. In the last game, Brunhild leaps over the same boulder.
In an act of cheating and with Siegfried’s aid using the invisibility cloak, Gunther is able to defeat Brunhild and claim her for his wife.
That sounds like dirty pool to me.
Rightfully so, on their wedding night, Brunhild refuses to give up her virginity to Gunther. Instead, she ties up Gunther and leaves him dangling from the ceiling of their chamber. Coming to Gunther’s aid, Siegfried wearing his invisibility cloak, attacks Brunhild, breaking her bones and then taking both her girdle and ring.
It seems both girdle and ring are the source of Brunhild’s supernatural strength and without them, she was forced to be docile and submit to be Gunther’s wife.
At the Worms Cathedral, Brunhild and Kriemhild, Siegfried’s wife gets in a rather heated argument about their husbands. Brunhild takes the stance that Siegfried is nothing more than a lowly vassal beholden to Gunther. Kriemhild reveals the dirty pool and trickery used by Gunther and Siegfried, by showing off the girdle and ring that were stolen from Brunhild.
Unlike the Völsunga, Brunhild’s fate is never mentioned and it’s assumed she out lives Kriemhild and her brothers.
As for Siegfried and Gunther, they make peace with each other despite their wives quarreling. Unfortunately, Gunther’s courtier, Hagen von Tronje had other ideas and plotted to kill the two. Hagen managed to convince Kriemhild to place a cross on Siegfried’s back, covering the vulnerable spot on him. While Hagen and Siegfried are out hunting, Hagen spears him in the back when Siegfried stops to take a drink from a stream.
Supposedly this had been part of a prophecy that whomever Kriemhild ended up marrying would suffer a violent death. Out of spite, Hagen then threw all of Siegfried’s wealth into the Rhine so that his widow, Kriemhild would be unable to raise an army and avenge her husband.
Das Lied Vom Hürnen Seyfrid
“The song of horn-skinned Siegfried” is a late medieval & modern heroic ballad that first appears around 1500 C.E.
This version of the story tells of Siegfried’s youthful adventures. For the most part, it follows the events found in the Nibelungenlied.
By this account, Siegfried had to leave his father Siegmund’s court for his unseemly behavior to live with a smith in the nearby forest. Siegfried is so uncontrollable that the smith deems it fit to try and have the youth killed by a dragon.
Turning the tables, Siegfried is the one who kills the dragon and not just one, but several dragons by trapping them with log traps and setting them on fire! Wow.
Seeing that the dragon skin is hard as horn though it melts in the fire. Siegfried discovers after sticking his fingers in it that his own skin becomes hard as horn too. At which point, Siegfried covers himself in the melted skin of dragon except for one spot on his back.
Not stopping there, Siegfried discovers the tracks of another dragon and discovers it has the princess Kriemhild of Worms held captive. With a little help from the dwarf Eugel, Siegfried defeats a giant by the name of Kuperan who holds the key to the mountain where Kriemhild is held prisoner.
In true heroic fashion, Siegfried slays the dragon and in the process finds the Nibelungen treasure within the mountain cavern. Eugel than prophesies that Siegfried will only have eight years to live. As he won’t be able to make use of the treasure, Siegfried dumps it into the Rhine as he returns to Worms. There, Siegfried rules with Kriemhild’s brother who eventually plot to have him killed.
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Richard Wagner’s famous four opera cycle. Wagner took of the mythology for Siegfried from the Nordic sagas rather than the Nibelungenlied. Siegfried mainly appears in the last three operas of this cycle, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Gotterdammerung where he plays a major role. The legends of Sigurd from the Völsunga form the basis for which the opera Siegfried is based on and thus influences both Die Walküre and Gotterdammerung.
For those who don’t know or may have guessed already, this is the opera cycle that inspires a popular saying of “It isn’t over until fat lady sings.” Especially with Brünnhilde’s famous immolation in the finale of Gotterdammerung. Adding to this, thanks to the costume designer, the idea of Viking helmets having two horns was firmly ingrained in people’s minds after a visit to the museum for ideas and saw the ceremonial two horned helmet on display.
In this opera cycle, Brünnhilde is one of many Valkyries born from the union between Wotan and Erda, the personification of the earth. In the Die Walkurie, Wotan tasks Brünnhilde with protecting the hero Siegmund, his son by a mortal woman. When the goddess Fricka contests this, she forces Wotan to have Siegmund die for his infidelity and incest. Brünnhilde disobeys Wotan’s order and carries away Siegmund’s wife and sister Sieglinde along with the broken pieces of Siegmund’s sword Nothung.
After hiding them away, Brünnhilde then faces the wrath of her father, Wotan who makes her a mortal woman and then places her in an enchanted sleep who can be claimed by any man who comes across her. Brünnhilde argues against this punishment, saying she had obeyed Wotan’s true will and doesn’t deserve this harsh of a punishment. Wotan is persuaded to lessen the punishment to protect her enchanted sleep with a magical circle of fire and that she can only be awakened by a hero who knows no fear.
Brünnhilde doesn’t appear again in the operas until the third act of Siegfried. Here, the title character is the son of Siegmund and Sieglinde. He was born after Siegmund’s death and raised by the dwarf Mime, the brother of Alberich.
It should be noted that Alberich is the one who stole the gold and made the ring from which the entire Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle is based on. If you’re thinking “my precious” and the “one ring” as in Tolkien’s Middle Earth series, you’d be more or less correct as this is where J.R.R. Tolkien got inspired and took his ideas from with Norse mythology.
Back to the main story, Siegfried kills the dragon Fafnir that was once a giant. Siegfried takes the ring and finds himself guided to the rock hiding Brünnhilde by a bird. It seems Fafnir’s blood allowed Siegfried to understand the language of birds. Wotan tries to stop Siegfried who instead breaks the god’s spear. Wotan defeated, Siegfried than awakens the sleeping Brünnhilde.
The two appear again in the last opera, Gotterdammerung. Siegfried gives Brünnhilde the ring, the very ring that Alberich made. The two separate and Wagner goes back to following the Norse story though with notable changes.
Siegfried does go to Gunther’s hall where he is given the magical potion that causes him to forget all about Brünnhilde. That way, Gunther can now marry her. This is all possible thanks to Hagen, Alberich’s son and Gunther’s half-brother. Hagen’s plans are successful as Siegfried leads Gunther to where Brünnhilde is at.
During that time, Brünnhilde had been visited by a sister Valkyrie, Waltraute who warns her of Wotan’s plan for self-immolation and urges her to give up the ring. Brünnhilde refuses to give up the ring.
“My precious!”
However, Brünnhilde is overpowered by Siegfried, who, disguised as Gunther using the Tarnhelm (a helm of invisibility instead of a cloak of invisibility) and takes the ring by force.
The enchanted Siegfried goes on to marry Gutrune, Gunther’s sister. When Brünnhilde sees that Siegfried has the ring taken from her, she denounces and calls him out on his treachery. Brünnhilde then joins with Gunther and Hagen in a plot to murder Siegfried. She informs Hagen that Siegfried can only be attacked from behind.
So, when Gunther and Hagen take Siegfried out on a hunting trip, Hagen takes the opportunity to go ahead and stab Siegfried in the back with his spear.
After the two brothers return, Hagen ends up killing Gunther in a fight over the ring. Brünnhilde ceases the moment to take charge and has a pyre built on which she will sacrifice herself, thereby cleansing the ring of its curse and sending it back to the Rhinemaidens.
Brünnhilde’s pyre becomes the signal by which Valhalla and all the Norse gods perish as Ragnarok is brought about with everyone dying in a fire.
Other Sagas
There a couple of other sources for the story of Sigurd. Seeming minor sources, they do contribute to the overall story of Sigurd and can confuse people if they try to make the numerous sources for Sigurd and Siegfried all match up and be consistent. The story of Sigurd slaying the dragon is combined with another story of two brothers fighting over their inheritance as an example.
Atlakviða – The lay of Atli, this poem is found in the Poetic Edda and has a story similar to the Völsunga. Here, Atli (as in Attila the Hun) sending a message to Gunnar of the Burgundians and his brothers, inviting them to a feast. Suspicious of the message, their sister Gudrun sends a warning not to come. The brothers go anyways and are killed. Later in an act of revenge, Gudrun tricks Atli into eating the flesh of their two sons. After which Gudrun kills Atli and burns down his hall.
One thing this story is noted for is that it lacks any of Sigurd’s involvement with the destruction of the Burgundians that other sources try to connect. It’s the Nibelungenlied that tends to make this connection. As stories grow and change, it does show where Sigurd’s widow Gudrun seeks out revenge for her brothers.
Poetic Edda – One poem tells the story of Sigurd awakening the Valkyrie from an enchanted sleep.
Andyaranaut
This is the name of the magical ring that Brynhildr already possesses or is given to her by Siegfried. In Wagnar’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, it was forged by the dwarf Alberich and has a curse placed on it.
In the Völsunga, the ring is part of the cursed treasure that Siegfried takes after slaying the dragon Fafnir. Either way, it explains all of Brynhildr and Siegfried’s bad luck and subsequent deaths.
The ring had been cursed by its creator, Andvari when Loki tried to force him to give it up. Andvari cursed it that all his treasure and the ring would be the death of those who owns it. Aside from being cursed, Andyaranaut could also make gold.
Dragon’s Blood
1st – Sigurd bathes in it, gaining invulnerability. Except for one spot on his back where a leaf is to have stuck to him. This is important as some versions of Sigurd’s story, once Brynhildr is seeking revenge against him, tells Gunnar that Sigurd’s vulnerable spot is on his back.
Where have we heard this before? Ah yes, Achilles being dipped into the river Styx so he would become invulnerable because his mother feared for her child’s wellbeing. Of course, Achilles has a vulnerable spot of his heel, where his mother held onto him so he wouldn’t fall in.
And if Odin is really Sigurd’s father, not Sigmund… same thing. So Achilles’ Heel for the vulnerable spot… Sigurd’s Back for the vulnerable spot. Achille’s Heel has the better ring to it.
2nd – Sigurd drinks some of the blood, gaining the ability to speak the language of birds.
3rd – Sigurd eats part of Fafnir’s heart, gaining wisdom and prophesy. I’m not so sure how effect that one was as it didn’t stop his demise with Brynhildr’s revenge plan and getting killed.
A Sword For A Hero!
In the Volsunga, the sword that Sigurd wields is called Gram.
In the Nibelungd, the sword that Siegfried wields is called Balmung.
Both are correct, it’s just a matter of which saga and source you’re using or prefer.
Possible Reality Behind The Legends
The legends surrounding Sigurd/Siegfried are considered by scholars and mythographers as coming from a mythic age before any confirmed written history can be verified. There’s a dispute and disagreement about if the figure of Sigurd/Siegfried even existed. If they did, the legends certainly grew around them to make them larger than life.
As far as an actual historical figure goes, it’s been suggested that any one or more of the figures or kings in the Merovingian dynasty among the Franks could have inspired the legend of Sigurd. One notable king is Sigebert I who had been married to Brunhilda of Austrasia. The names are close when you consider the possibility of Brunhildr as a likely historical person. There’s just too much uncertainty for some scholars. Though if it has any truth, the connection comes with Sigebert’s murder at the hands of Brunhilda and Fredegund and not that of Gudrun/Kriemhild and Brunhildr/Brynhild.
Another idea put forth seen in the elements of Sigurd slaying the dragon, is that this could be a mythological retelling of Arminius’ defeat of Publius Quinctilius Varas during the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 C.E. This idea often seen as not very likely or tenuous.
Paderborn – An Icelandic Abbot, Nicholaus of Thvera recorded in his travels through Westphalia how he was shown where Sigurd is to have slain the dragon, Gnita-Heath near two villages in Paderborn.
City of Worms – When Emperor Frederick III visited the city in 1488 C.E., he learned of the legend how the “giant Siegfried” was buried in the cemetery at St. Meinhard and St. Cecilia. One account ordered the graveyard dug up and found nothing. A German chronicle says that a skull and some large bones were found.
Dragons & Dinosaurs
Both the legends of Sigurd and Siegfried feature prominently the titular hero slaying a dragon. Anyone doing a cursory glance at history and paleontology, it’s not hard to imagine our ancestors taking one look at fossilized skeletons of giant creatures and believing them to still be around. A lack of understanding about fossils and just how long ago something lived would have been beyond them.
In 1941 Germany, the German paleontologist H. Kirchner speculated on the idea that two sets of prominent, yet massive dinosaur tracks in Siegfriedsburg, in the Rhine Valley could very well have contributed to the legend of dragons and Siegfried slaying one.
Other dinosaur tracks have been found in northern Europe. Some like the ones found in a quarry at Rehburg-Loccum, close to Hannover, Germany or another set in Muenchehagen, Germany.
Another place, Drachenfels (“Dragon Rock”), Konigswinter on the Rhine has a large statue of a dragon near the ruins of a castle. Below this castle, there is a cave that is attributed to having been Fafnir’s lair.
A 2005 production of Wagner’s “Ring of the Neibelung” showed Siegfried battling Fafnir as fossilized dinosaur monster.
Sigurd & Beowulf – Comparison
For those who have read Beowulf’s story, towards the end of Beowulf, the titular hero battles a dragon, thus spelling his doom and the end of all of his adventures. It’s been pointed too that Beowulf and even Thor’s encounters with dragons were more about defending their homelands to keep them safe.
For Sigurd (or Siegfried), slaying the dragon merely marks the beginning of all of the hero’s adventures for more is to come. Where Beowulf and Thor are defending their homelands, Sigurd is all about going out to make a name for himself and gaining wealth. By slaying the dragon, then bathing in and drinking its blood along with eating it’s heart, Sigurd gains super human powers.
Christian Theology
When Christianity became more prominent throughout Europe, many of the dragon symbols came to be associated with the devil or Satan. As a side note to this, dragons too in Western myths tend to represent greed.
So images of Sigurd slaying the dragon Fafnir were often depicted in Scandinavian churches.
Tolkien And The Lord of the Rings!
As I previously mentioned above, J.R.R. Tolkien took his inspiration for his Middle Earth series from Norse mythology and the inspiration for the One Ring from that of Andyaranaut. The inspirations for Aragorn’s sword are clearly seen too in the broken and reforged swords of Gram and Balmung.
A fun note to add is that Tolkien did not like Wagner’s take on the German myths. I can see it too, Taking and combining the Völsunga and Nibelungenlied together can make it a bit harder to figure out which myth and legend is which.
Now, J.R.R. Tolkien did write a version of the Völsunga saga in “The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun” circa 1930. It was published later by his son, Christopher Tolkien in 2009. The book comprises of two narrative poems: “The new lay of the Volsungs” and “The new lay of Gudrun” done in the meter of ancient Scandinavian poetry while using Modern English.
Brynhildr
Etymology: Bright Battle
Also known as: Sigrdrífa (“driver to victory”)
Alternate Spellings: Brunhild, Brünhild, Brunhilde, Brünnhilde, Brunhilda, Brynhild, Brunhilt, Prunhilt
Brynhildr is a famous shieldmaiden and Valkyrie from Germanic and Scandinavian mythology. She is a main character in the Völsunga saga and Poetic Eddic poems. She also appears in the Nibelungenlied and in Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen operas.
There are a few different versions of Brynhildr’s story that can be found along with alternative spellings. It’s likely that these could be about a different Brynhildr and these different versions just reflect different regional differences based on which clan is telling the story.
Parentage and Family
Parents
Budli – Her father as made mention in the Völsunga.
Erda – Her mother in Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen operas.
Wotan – Her father in Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen operas.
Valkyrie – An unnamed Valkyrie is her mother in the Völsunga.
Siblings –
Alti – Her brother in the Eddic poem “Sigurðarkviða Hin Skamma.” Interestingly, Alti could be Attila the Hun.
Heimer – Her brother-inlaw in the Völsunga for the versions of the story that have her up in a tower. He’s married to her sister Bekkhild.
Sisters – According to the Eddic poem “Helreid Brynhildar” with Brynhildr being a Valkyrie, she has eight sisters.
Other siblings are Bekkhild and maybe Oddrun.
Consort
Gunnar – Whom she is tricked into marrying in one fashion or another in different versions of the story.
Children –
Aslaug – Brynhildr’s daughter by way of Sigurðr in the Völsunga. Aslaug goes on to marry Ragnar Lodbrok.
Völsunga Saga
This is the main source for Brynhildr’s story. It is a 13th century Icelandic saga from the Völsung clan that tells the story of Sigurðr and Brynhildr and the subsequent destruction of the Burgundians.
Brynhildr is the daughter to Budli, who grows up to become a shield-maiden and Valkyrie. As a Valkyrie, she was tasked by Odin to determine the outcome of a fight between two kings, Hjalmgunnar and Agnar. Odin favored the older king Hjalmgunnar and in an act of defiance, Brynhildr throws the fight and to favor Agnar as the winner.
Angry, Odin condemns Brynhildr to live out the rest of her life as a mortal woman and has her imprisoned in a remote castle with a wall of shields on top of Mount Hindarfjall. There, Brynhildr slept within a ring of fire until a man without fear could ride through the fires to rescue and marry her.
The hero, Sigurðr Sigmundson, the heir to the clan Volsung and the slayer of the dragon Fafnir, is the one who enters the castle and awakens Brynhildr when he removes her helmet and chain mail armor.
Sigurðr still had some other tasks he needed to go perform and he promised Brynhildr that he would return. As both Brynhildr and Sigurðr have fallen in love with each other, Sigurðr proposes to her with the magic ring known as Andyaranaut. Brynhildr makes an oath that she will marry the man who rides through the flames for her. It’s also here, during their stay in the castle that Aslaug is conceived.
Unknown to Sigurðr, the ring Andyaranaut is cursed and would cause him and Brynhildr a lot of problems later. The ring was part of the cursed treasure that Sigurðr claimed after slaying Fafnir.
Meeting In Hlymdale
This seems to be a slight variation to the story where Sigurðr has taken Brynhildr with him or she was up in a tower this time.
Later, when Brynhildr and Sigurðr are at Hlymdale, the home of Heimer, Brynhildr’s brother-in-law, Sigurðr spots her up in a tower and declares his love. Sigurðr promises that he will return for Brynhildr to wed her.
Sigurðr then heads for Burgundy, to King Gjuki’s court. While Sigurðr is gone, Brynhildr receives a visit from Gudrun, Gjuki’s daughter. Gudrun has come seeking help with interpreting a dream, a dream that seems to foretell Sigurðr’s betrayal to Brynhildr when he marries Gudrun.
Meanwhile….
Over in Burgundy, Grimhild, a sorceress and wife to Gjuki conspires to have Sigurðr marry her daughter Gudrun. Grimhild creates a magic potion that she manages to get Sigurðr to drink so that he will forget all about Brynhildr.
Naturally enough, Sigurðr does marry Gudrun.
As a consolation prize for Brynhildr, if you can call it that, Grimhild, upon learning about Brynhildr being a Valkyrie, decides to have her marry her son, Gunnar.
A slight variation to this story has, that when King Gjuki dies, his son Gunnar becomes King and is a sworn oath brother to Sigurðr. Grimhild desired to see Gunnar wed, but Gunnar had told his mother that he had seen no maiden whom he would want to take as a wife.
Fair enough it seems.
News is brought to Gunnar by his sister Gudrun about a warrior maiden behind a wall of flames. Gunnar decides this maid is the perfect one for him and goes to find out if she is the one.
So off Gunnar, his brother Hogni and Sigurðr ride, towards Hindfell in search of a maid worthy to be Gunnar’s bride. The three come across the high tower with black walls with shields and encircled with flames. Thanks to the potion, Sigurðr has no memory of this place or Brynhildr within, faithfully awaiting his return.
A slight variation to this has Gunnar getting Heimir’s consent to go court Brynhildr, provided he can be the one to show no fear and ride through the flames.
Gunnar decides he’s going to ride through the flames, but his horse, Goti refuses to go near the flames. Then Gunnar gets the idea that he can ride Sigurðr’s horse, Grani through the flames. But Grani being a smart horse, knows that Gunnar is afraid of fire and refuses to ride through.
At a loss, the three sworn brothers brainstormed and considered the matter. Hogni eventually spoke up and proposed the idea that Sigurðr could use magic to shape-shift (by use of his magic helmet) and take Gunnar’s shape.
Sigurðr now disguised, rides through the flames, claiming to be Gunnar and take Brynhildr’s hand in marriage. Of course, Grani, knowing this to be his true rider, gives Sigurðr no problems with riding through the flames.
When Brynhildr saw another man besides her Sigurðr enter the flames, she despaired and demanded to know who this stranger was.
The disguised Sigurðr responded that he was Gunnar, the son of Gjuki of the Nibelungs. Angry at the response, Brynhildr, as this isn’t Sigurðr, fights him. During the fight, Sigurðr manages to pull the ring Andvaranaut off her finger, rendering the Valkyrie powerless. Sigurðr would later give the ring Andvaranaut to Gudrun.
Before leaving, both Brynhildr and Sigurðr stay in the castle for three nights. Despite this, Sigurðr in a symbolic gesture, lays his sword between them to signify that he won’t take Brynhildr’s virginity.
Maybe they meant chastity if you remember Sigurðr’s earlier visit. He may not remember, but I know I do.
Eventually, Sigurðr and Gunnar switch back places so that Gunnar can marry Brynhildr. Poor Brynhildr believes that Sigurðr has forgotten her and keeps the promise she made of marrying the man whom she believes rode through the flames for her.
We’re not to any sort of a happy ending yet. Later, Brynhildr and Gudrun are out bathing in a nearby river when they get into a heated argument over whose husband is better and braver.
Brynhildr boasts that her husband, Gunnar was brave enough to ride through flames for her. Knowing the truth, Gudrun smugly reveals that it was actually Sigurðr who rode through the ring of fire. At this revelation, Brynhildr becomes enraged, making her marriage to Gunnar a sham as she is still in love with Sigurðr.
Due to the trickery and deceits involved, Brynhildr just assumes that Sigurðr went back on his word to marry her. It is still unknown to Brynhildr that Sigurðr had been given a potion to forget all about her.
Just remember, Hel hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Mysteriously at this time (or the potion wearing off), Sigurðr starts to remember what happened. Despite his efforts, Sigurðr is unable to console an enraged Brynhildr. Instead, Brynhildr plotted revenge by persuading Gunnar to kill Sigurðr in a false claim that he had taken her virginity in Hidarfiall. Something that Sigurðr had sworn not to do when he placed his sword between the two.
This of course gets Gunnar angry and wanting to kill Sigurðr for sleeping with his wife.
It is that ring I tell you. That and Grimhild’s mettling in people’s love lives.
Gunnar and his brother, Hogni were reluctant to kill Sigurðr as they had sworn oaths of brotherhood with him. Instead, the two got their younger brother Gutthorm to kill Sigurðr after giving him a potion of enragement.
Under the influence of the potion, Gutthorm killed Sigurðr in his sleep. As his final act before dying, Sigurðr manages to pull his sword and kill Gutthorm in return.
A still enraged Brynhildr mocks Gudrun’s grief for the death of Sigurðr and confesses to Gunnar that she had lied about Sigurðr sleeping with her. She then tells Gunnar and Hogni, that her brother Atli will come avenge her death. Poor Brynhildr had always loved Sigurðr, even when he betrayed her.
As Gunnar’s wife, Brynhildr then orders that Sigurðr ‘s three-year old son, Sigmund be killed. In a final act of desperation, Brynhildr kills herself by throwing herself onto Sigurðr’s funeral pyre.
If that’s not a Shakespearean Tragedy, the two were then reunited together in Hel’s realm, the realm of the dead.
Nibelungenlied
The Nibelungenlied is a Germanic epic poem dating to the 1200’s. The events within the poem can be traced to oral traditions from the 5th and 6th century. In this poem, Brynhildr is known as Brunhild or Prunhilt. With this version of the story, she a queen or princess of Iceland. Gudrun is known as Kriemhild, Gunnar is known as Gunther and Hogni and known as Hagen.
As a queen (or princess) and a powerful woman in her own right, Brunhild declared that the man she would marry must be someone able to best her in three contests meant to show strength and courage.
Gunther wanted to marry Brunhild and with the help of his liege man, Siegfried (who has a cloak of invisibility), he is able to overpower Brunhild in her three contests. In the first game, Brunhild manages to lift and throw a spear at Gunther that three men together could barely lift. Siegfried with his cloak of invisibility on, blocks and keeps the spear from hitting Gunther. In the second game, Brunhild throws a boulder that requires the strength of twelve men to heave some twelves fathoms. In the last game, Brunhild leaps over the same boulder.
In an act of cheating and with Siegfried’s aid using the invisibility cloak, Gunther is able to defeat Brunhild and claim her for his wife.
That sounds like dirty pool to me.
Rightfully so, on their wedding night, Brunhild refuses to give up her virginity to Gunther. Instead, she ties up Gunther and leaves him dangling from the ceiling of their chamber. Coming to Gunther’s aid, Siegfried wearing his invisibility cloak, attacks Brunhild, breaking her bones and then taking both her girdle and ring.
It seems both girdle and ring are the source of Brunhild’s supernatural strength and without them, she was forced to be docile and submit to be Gunther’s wife.
At the Worms Cathedral, Brunhild and Kriemhild, Siegfried’s wife gets in a rather heated argument about their husbands. Brunhild takes the stance that Siegfried is nothing more than a lowly vassal beholden to Gunther. Kriemhild reveals the dirty pool and trickery used by Gunther and Siegfried, by showing off the girdle and ring that were stolen from Brunhild.
Unlike the Völsunga, Brunhild’s fate is never mentioned and it’s assumed she out lives Kriemhild and her brothers.
Sigrdrífumál
In this poem, Brynhildr is known as Sigrdrifa. The Sigrdrífumál does have the story of Sigurd and Brynhildr meeting. The poem is mostly about runic magic and has Brynhildr teaching Sigurd about their use.
Poetic Eddas
For the most part, the Poetic Eddas collaborate the story told in the Volsunga, though with some changes.
In some of the Eddic poems, Gutthorm kills Sigurðr in a forest in Southern Rhine while resting.
In the Edda poems from Iceland, Brunhildr or Brunhilde is a strong, capable princess who is deceived by her lover.
I feel it’s worth noting that in the Eddic poems, Brunhildr is a prominent protagonist, whereas in other sources like the Nibelungenlied, her role and importance are diminished.
Helreið Brynhildar – “Bryndhildr’s Ride To Hel,” on her way down to Hel, the underworld of the dead, Brynhildr meets a giantess who blames her for leading an immoral life. Brynhildr refuted the giantess, saying that all men and women live lives of grief and that she and Sigurðr would live together.
Sigurðarkviða Hin Skamma – In this Eddic poem, Gunnar and Sigurðr laid siege to the castle of Atli, Brynhildr’s brother. Atli had offered Brynhildr’s hand in marriage to Gunnar for a truce. The problem in this poem being, that Brynhildr had sworn she would only marry Sigurðr. She is then tricked into believing that Gunnar is Sigurðr.
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Richard Wagner’s famous four opera cycle. Wagner took of the mythology for Brynhilde or Brünnhilde’s role from the Nordic sagas rather than the Nibelungenlied. Brünnhilde only appears in the last three operas of this cycle, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Gotterdammerung where she plays a major role in the downfall of Wotan.
For those who don’t know or may have guessed already, this is the opera cycle that inspires a popular saying of “It isn’t over until fat lady sings.” Especially with Brünnhilde’s famous immolation in the finale of Gotterdammerung. Adding to this, thanks to the costume designer, the idea of Viking helmets having two horns was firmly ingrained in people’s minds after a visit to the museum for ideas and saw the ceremonial two horned helmet on display.
In this opera cycle, Brünnhilde is one of many Valkyries born from the union between Wotan and Erda, the personification of the earth. In the Die Walkurie, Wotan tasks Brünnhilde with protecting the hero Siegmund, his son by a mortal woman. When the goddess Fricka contests this, she forces Wotan to have Siegmund die for his infidelity and incest. Brünnhilde disobeys Wotan’s order and carries away Siegmund’s wife and sister Sieglinde along with the broken pieces of Siegmund’s sword Nothung.
After hiding them away, Brünnhilde then faces the wrath of her father, Wotan who makes her a mortal woman and then places her in an enchanted sleep who can be claimed by any man who comes across her. Brünnhilde argues against this punishment, saying she had obeyed Wotan’s true will and doesn’t deserve this harsh of a punishment. Wotan is persuaded to lessen the punishment to protect her enchanted sleep with a magical circle of fire and that she can only be awakened by a hero who knows no fear.
Brünnhilde doesn’t appear again in the operas until the third act of Siegfried. Here, the title character is the son of Siegmund and Sieglinde. He was born after Siegmund’s death and raised by the dwarf Mime, the brother of Alberich.
It should be noted that Alberich is the one who stole the gold and made the ring from which the entire Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle is based on. If you’re thinking “my precious” and the “one ring” as in Tolkien’s Middle Earth series, you’d be more or less correct as this is where J.R.R. Tolkien got inspired and took his ideas from with Norse mythology.
Back to the main story, Siegfried kills the dragon Fafnir that was once a giant. Siegfried takes the ring and finds himself guided to the rock hiding Brünnhilde by a bird. It seems Fafnir’s blood allowed Siegfried to understand the language of birds. Wotan tries to stop Siegfried who instead breaks the god’s spear. Wotan defeated, Siegfried than awakens the sleeping Brünnhilde.
The two appear again in the last opera, Gotterdammerung. Siegfried gives Brünnhilde the ring, the very ring that Alberich made. The two separate and Wagner goes back to following the Norse story though with notable changes.
Siegfried does go to Gunther’s hall where he is given the magical potion that causes him to forget all about Brünnhilde. That way, Gunther can now marry her. This is all possible thanks to Hagen, Alberich’s son and Gunther’s half-brother. Hagen’s plans are successful as Siegfried leads Gunther to where Brünnhilde is at.
During that time, Brünnhilde had been visited by a sister Valkyrie, Waltraute who warns her of Wotan’s plan for self-immolation and urges her to give up the ring. Brünnhilde refuses to give up the ring.
“My precious!”
However, Brünnhilde is overpowered by Siegfried, who, disguised as Gunther using the Tarnhelm (a helm of invisibility instead of a cloak of invisibility) and takes the ring by force.
The enchanted Siegfried goes on to marry Gutrune, Gunther’s sister. When Brünnhilde sees that Siegfried has the ring taken from her, she denounces and calls him out on his treachery. Brünnhilde then joins with Gunther and Hagen in a plot to murder Siegfried. She informs Hagen that Siegfried can only be attacked from behind.
So, when Gunther and Hagen take Siegfried out on a hunting trip, Hagen takes the opportunity to go ahead and stab Siegfried in the back with his spear.
After the two brothers return, Hagen ends up killing Gunther in a fight over the ring. Brünnhilde ceases the moment to take charge and has a pyre built on which she will sacrifice herself, thereby cleansing the ring of its curse and sending it back to the Rhinemaidens.
Brünnhilde’s pyre becomes the signal by which Valhalla and all the Norse gods perish as Ragnarok is brought about with everyone dying in a fire.
Andyaranaut
This is the name of the magical ring that Brynhildr already possesses or is given to her by Siegfried. In Wagnar’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, it was forged by the dwarf Alberich and has a curse placed on it.
In the Völsunga, the ring is part of the cursed treasure that Siegfried takes after slaying the dragon Fafnir. Either way, it explains all of Brynhildr and Siegfried’s bad luck and subsequent deaths.
The ring had been cursed by its creator, Andvari when Loki tried to force him to give it up. Andvari cursed it that all his treasure and the ring would be the death of those who owns it. Aside from being cursed, Andyaranaut could also make gold.
Seeress
By the account of the Völsunga, Brynhildr was a prophetess or seeress and able to foretell the future and interpret dreams.
In the Völsunga, Brynhildr tells Gudrun that Sigurðr would love her, Brynhildr but would marry Gudrun. She also told Gudrun that Sigurðr would die at the hands of her brothers. That she would marry Atli and kill him and her children. Brynhildr is also saw someone else, Svanhild get trampled to death. At the funeral for Sigurðr, Brynhildr tells Gunnar and Hogni, that her brother Atli would kill them.
Valkyrie
The Valkyries are found in both Scandinavian and Germanic religions.
Some of the stories and sources for Brynhildr’s story have her as a Valkyrie, a chooser of the slain, the warrior maids who determined who died in battle and would to Valhalla, Odin’s abode where the fallen warriors would await Ragnarok. More properly, half the warriors go to Valhalla and the other half go hang out with Freya in her hall of Folkvangr.
Many scholars have questioned Brynhildr’s authenticity as a Valkyrie as there is a real person of the same name. In addition, the name Brynhildr or Brunhilda has been found as a place name for many places and regions throughout Belgium, France and the Rhine.
Visigothic Princess
It’s possible that Brynhildr’s story is the same inspiration for the Visigothic princess Brunhilda of Austria. She married the Merovingian king Sigebert I in 567 C.E.
This Brunhilda did have a rival with a Fredegunde who was married to King Chilperic I of Neustria. This is a feud that would last several generations resulting in a lot of deaths on both sides among husband and numerous family members.
Plus, many of the Valkyries that appear in the Poetic Edda are often mortal woman who often come of royal blood.
Viking Genealogy
Given that there are multiple sources for Brynhildr’s story along with Wagner’s opera series that combines a couple of them together. It can get a little confusing as to which clan or tribe Brynhildr would belong to.
Budling – In the Volsunga, being a daughter of Budli, would make Brynhildr a Budling.
Skioldung – In the poem fragment of Sigurd from the Poetic Edda, Brynhildr is called a “lady of the Skioldungs.” The Skioldungs were of course, the descendants of Skiod. Brynhildr’s connection to these people comes about as her father would have been one of 18 sons of Halfdan the Old, or Ali in Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda.
Nine of these sons would have gone on to found their own kingdoms and dynasties in the northern, Scandinavian countries. This would have made Brynhildr related to Sigurðr or Sigurd on his mother’s side as well as related to the children of Guiki. Those being Gunnar, Hogni and Gudrun.
Tolkien And The Lord of the Rings!
As I previously mentioned above, J.R.R. Tolkien took his inspiration for his Middle Earth series from Norse mythology and the inspiration for the One Ring from that of Andyaranaut.
A fun note to add is that Tolkien did not like Wagner’s take on the German myths. I can see it too, Taking and combining the Völsunga and Nibelungenlied together can make it a bit harder to figure out which myth and legend is which.
Oya
Pronunciation: Oh-Yah
Etymology: “She Tore”
Other Names and Epithets: Aido-Wedo, Ayaba Nikua (“Queen of Death”), Ayi Lo Da (“She Who Turns and Changes”), Ollá, Oya-Ajere (“Carrier of the Container of Fire”), Iya Yansan, Ọya-Iyansan (“Mother of Nine”), Oyá, Oiá, Yansá, Yansã, Yansan, lyá Mésàn, Iansá or Iansã, Lady of the Wind, Goddess of the Nine Skirts, Lady of War, Bearded Amazon, Thunder Maiden, Ayi Lo Da “She Who Turns & Changes”
Attributes
Animal: Antelope, Bats, Birds, especially Sparrows and Purple Martins, Deer, Insects, especially Dragonflies and Fireflies, Water Buffalo
Colors: Burgundy, Brown (Candomble), Orange, Pink (Candomble), Purple, Rainbow, Red (Candomble), White (Candomble), No Black
Day of the Week: Wednesday (Candomble), Friday
Elements: Air, Fire , Water
Feast Day: February 2nd and November 25th
Gemstones: Amethyst, Black opals, Bloodstone, Garnets, Labradorite, Red Stones, Tourmaline, Smokey Quartz
Herbs: Caimito, Chickweed, Comfrey, Cypress, Elecampane, Flamboyan, Grains of Paradise, Horehound, Peony, Pleurisy Roots, Royal Poinciana, Star Apple, Yucca
Incense: Geranium, Patchouli, Sandalwood
Metal: Copper
Month: February
Number: 9
Patron of: Change, Feminism
Sphere of Influence: Athletics, Businesses, Cemeteries, Change, Death, Lightning, Market Places, Rebirth, Storms, Tornadoes, Wind, Witchcraft
Symbols: axe, brightly colored cloth, balloons, broom, buffalo horns, copper, hoe, lightning, kites, graves, mattock, rake, shovel, spear, tornadoes, the sword or machete, masks, scythe, the flywhisk, weather vanes, whip, wind instruments, anything associated with the wind,
Taboo (Candomble): Palm Kernal Oil, Pork, Pumpkin, Ram, Smoke, Stingray, Mutton
Oya is a mother goddess and Orisha from Yoruban mythology found in Africa regions of Benin and Nigeria and in Latin America. In brief, she is the goddess or Orisha of many things such as: winds, lightnings, violent storms, death, cemeteries, rebirth and the market place.
Depictions Of Oya
Oya is often described as being a tall, regal and very beautiful, yet fierce warrior woman. She wears a skirt of nine different colors representing her nine children as she dances. When going into battle, Oya will wield two machetes. Sometimes Oya is shown with a beard or being bare from the waist up.
Modern Day Worship
What’s interesting, is that Oya is a goddess or Orisha whose worship is still very much so active. There are several traditions that honor, venerate and worship Oya that include: Candomble, Folk Catholicism, Haitian Vodou, Oyotunji, Santeria, Trinidad Orisha and Umbanda to name a few.
Oya’s feast day is on February 2nd and another I found listed November 25th.
Offerings To Oya
Specifically, food offerings, Oya is said to enjoy sweet and dark colored foods and anything spicy. Such foods include the following: fish, fruit, plums, eggplant, figs, kola nuts, legumes, porridge, gin, grape wine, red wine, rum, chocolate pudding, purple grapes, rice, black beans, rain water, starfruit, shea or coconut butter, yams, black she goat, black hens, pigeons, rooster and guinea hens.
Such offerings can be left at the corner of an outdoor market or at the gates to a cemetery, particularly one marked by use of divination. Yes, do place the offerings in a trashcan with a prayer to Oya in thanks. She’ll know your intentions and you’ll keep from littering.
Non-food offerings can include coins, cloth and tobacco.
Orisha
Oya is a member of the Orisha, who are either a spirit or deity. In the Yoruban religion, a nature-based tradition, it is believed that the source of everything is called Olorun or Olodumare. The Orisha themselves are regarded as being different aspects of the main deity, Olorun-Olodumare.
With the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, the worship of Oya was brought with the slaves and is now found throughout much of the southern U.S., Latin America and South America.
Parentage and Family
Father
Obatala is said to be Oya’s father.
Mother
Yemaya – The Great Sea Mother
Yemu – Or Yembo, with Obatala, she is the mother of Oya.
Consort
Shango – (Also spelled Chango), Orisha of Thunder, her second husband. Oya is sometime considered one of three of Shango’s wives along with Oshun and Oba.
Ogun – A powerful warrior and Orisha of metal working, rum and rum making. Oya was married to him first before leaving Ogun for Shango.
Siblings
Shango – Depending on the stories or tradition, Oya and Shango are brother and sister, not husband and wife.
Yemaya and Ochun are held to be Oya’s sisters.
Children
The nine tributaries of the Nile River that represent her stillborn children. These children are Egungun and four sets of twins.
The Ibeji – Twins whom Oya took in after their mother rejected them.
Ọya-Iyansan – “Mother Of Nine”
This is in reference to the Niger River known in Yoruba as Odo-Oya and its nine tributaries. Oya in her role as a Storm Goddess is seen as the queen and source of the Niger River. This connection of Oya with the Niger River comes from a story where Oya gave birth to nine stillborn children. As a result of this, Oya holds a lot of sadness from this, medical term would be Post-Partum Depression. Oya wears nine different colored scarves or skirts around her waist in honor and memory of these children.
Later, when Oshun (or Yemaya) rejects the twins, the Ibeji from her home, it is Oya who takes them in and raise the twins as her own children.
In Brazil, where Oya’s worship has traveled, she is the goddess of the Amazon River.
Storm & Wind Goddess
One of the main things that Oya is known for is that of a Storm Goddess, including winds and lightning. Oya can manifest winds from a gentle breeze up to hurricane force level winds and tornadoes.
Harmattan – This is the name of the Dry Season in the West African subcontinent that happens towards the end of November and up to the middle of March. The Harmattan is characterized by a dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind that blows in from the Sahara Desert towards the Gulf of Guinea. Depending upon where one is at, is if the Harmattan wind is cold or hot. The amount of dust that can happen can create a haze and has been known to be the cause of flight cancellations in West Africa.
Oya & Shango – It should be noted that Shango is a god of thunder and that Oya stole or learned the secret of throwing lightning from him. Additionally, Oya would use Shango’s fear of the dead to keep in his place. During thunderstorms, both Oya and Shango ride out, destroying buildings and tearing up the landscape. Often the two are described as Oya being the lightning with Shango being the thunder that follows soon after.
Goddess Of Change & Fire
Closely related to her aspect as a Storm goddess, Oya is also the goddess of change as seen in both nature and life; which may or may not always be comfortable or pleasant to go through. Such changes that Oya is known to bring are not slow and gradual, they are fierce, quick and often seemingly destructive. This change and the ensuing chaos as seen in the tornadoes associated with Oya are needed for new growth and preventing stagnation.
Fire comes into play as it is often a trans-formative force of change and can be a result of lightning strikes.
As a goddess of change, Oya is not seen as being held by tradition, conventions or boundaries. As a boundary breaker, Oya is known for going hunting, something that had been forbidden to women in West Africa where she was first worshiped.
Goddess Of Cemeteries
As previously mentioned, Oya guarded the gates to cemeteries, most notably, she protected those graves marked with a cross.
Iku – Oya, along with Orunmila, are the only two Orisha who have defeated Iku, the force of death.
Psychopomp – Oya will escort the spirits of the dead to the cemetery’s threshold, though she does not reside within them herself. Other Orishas, Obba and Yewá are the ones who reside within a cemetery or graveyard’s boundaries.
Oya is regarded as holding the secrets and mysteries of death and rebirth, helping the newly deceased with their transitions from the living world to the world of the spirit. In worship, Oya represents the first and last breaths of life taken.
Ancestors – as a goddess of cemeteries, Oya also holds a connection with the ancestors.
Ira – The underworld, Oya entered into the lower realm of Ira in search of her husband Shango when she heard he had died.
Guardian of Stillborn/Unborn Children – As a mother who was unable to keep her own children as they were stillborn, Oya guards and protects the spirit of the unborn or stillborn children, taking them to herself as she guides them to the afterlife.
Illnesses – Oya is called up and invoked during times of a serious illness. Curiously, one source mentioned that Oya protects the lungs and nasal passages. Which makes sense as she is representative of the first and last breath that a person takes.
Goddess Of Markets
This is where Oya can be found, in the market places where businesses are conducted. Whether that place is in a Boardroom Meeting or on the street level, open market, Oya deals in the changing flow of fortunes made and lost. She is noted for being a very shrewd business woman who is also good with horses.
Warrior Queen
Oya did live many centuries ago where she was a princess of the Oyo clan and consort to Shango, the then ruling king. She was known then as an unbeatable warrior whose skills were unequaled. After her death, she became deified as an Orisha.
Oya’s favored weapons are a pair of machetes forged by her first husband, Ogun.
After becoming deified, Oya employs the wind, storms and tornadoes as her weapons along with raising the egun or spirits of the dead to fight as soldiers.
Feminism – As a goddess of female empowerment and a champion of women, Oya will mete justice on their behalf
Women often ask Oya to give them the ability to choose their words so that they speak persuasively and powerfully.
Huntress – Hunters and Chiefs will seek out Oya’s blessing when hunting or when selecting new, strong leaders.
Justice – Oya’s machetes represent the sword of truth, cutting quickly to the truth of the matter and dealing out matters of equality and custom. As an agent of change, Oya will cut through all injustices, deceits and dishonesty that’s in her path. She will speak only truths, even when they are hard to hear.
Protector Of Women – In her role as a warrior, Oya is known to be a strong and fierce protector of women. Oya also protects children and spouses. The newly deceased are often said to be her children whom she cares for as her own were stillborn.
Water Buffalo
The main animal that I found mentioned repeated as being sacred to Oya is the Water Buffalo. Such an animal is often her avatar or representative or it is Oya herself, having transformed or shape-shifted into this form.
Buffalo Horns – A set of buffalo horns rubbed with cam wood to make them red are placed on alters and shrines dedicated to Oya.
Antelope
Antelope Skin – This story reads a lot like the Celtic or Irish stories of selkies and seal maidens.
One story about Oya mentions that she had originally been an antelope who could take off her skin to transform into a beautiful woman. She would do this every five days when she came to the market in town; hiding her skin in the forest or under some bushes.
One day, Shango meets Oya in the market place and is immediately taken in by her beauty. So enamored of her was he, that Shango followed back to the forest where he saw Oya take her skin and transform back into an antelope.
The next time that Oya returned to market, Shango was hiding, watching for her to change into a woman and hide her skin. As soon as Oya went into the market, Shango came out of hiding to take the skin home where he hid it up in the roof rafters.
With out her skin, Oya became Shango’s wive and went home with him. It should be noted, that Shango has two other wives who became jealous of Oya and the attentions that Shango gave her. She had become his favorite after all.
When Oya bore twins, the other wives, Oshun and Oba told Oya where to find her antelope skin up in the rafters.
Just like the Irish stories, as soon as Oya regained her skin and donned it, turning into an antelope, she took off for the forest.
Spousal Conflict – Not every couple are always going to get along, so its not surprising to find a story of Oya and Shango getting into it and having a fight. Oya changed into an antelope and charged at Shango with her horns. Thinking quickly, Shango made a peace offering of Oya’s favorite food of akara, bean cakes, placing those before her. Pleased with the offering, Oya accepted Shango’s apology and peace offering by giving him her two horns. From then on, whenever he needed her help, Shango needed only to beat the two horns together and Oya would come.
A Stormy Affair – Oya, Shango & Ogun
Oya was first married to Ogun, an Orisha of War and Smithing. The two lived out in the forests together. Ogun was often away working in his smithy or at war, frequently leaving Oya alone.
This provided an opportunity for Shango who wanted to avenge his adopted father Obatala. It seems that Ogun had created some offense towards Obatala and was thus banished to the forest. The banishment wasn’t enough for Shango and he decided to go seduce Oya.
If you want to keep a fight going, this is one way to do it. With the affair and Oya leaving Ogun for Shango, a war broke out between the two.
These wars and fights are often seen in the thunderstorms and the two Orishas, Shango and Ogun continue to be at odds with each other. Obatala often has to come play moderator and impose a peace on them, that is, until the next storm breaks out.
To The Rescue – Saving Shango
Shango got himself into a lot of trouble and made more than a few enemies with his numerous affairs and seducing the wives of the other Orisha.
One night, when Shango was out dancing at a party, some Shango’s enemies managed to capture him and toss him into a jail. Going so far as to throw away the key too.
Later, when Oya is wondering why Shango didn’t return home, she had a vision in which she saw that Shango was being held captive. Oya called down a fierce storm and summoned a bolt of lightning to break the bars of the jail cell holding Shango.
Since then, Shango has always respected Oya’s abilities and skill as a warrior. However, it still doesn’t stop him always remaining faithful as a husband. He is however, careful not to ever make Oya mad.
Betrayal By A Ram
The story goes that Oya and the ram were once best friends. When the ram found out that there was a bounty on Oya’s head, it betrayed her.
When Olofi discovered this, he demanded that the ram be sacrificed. Hurt by her friend’s betrayal, Oya has since been unable to bear the sight of the ram. At the same time, Oya is unable to be in the same room with him being sacrificed as she still cares for him.
In ceremonies, when Oya is being consecrated, the ritual items for Shango, Inle and Yemaya are removed from the room. Likewise, when Shango, Inle or Yemaya are being consecrated, Oya’ ritual items are removed from the room. All of this is to pay respect to the fact that Shango, Inle and Yemaya’s favorite food is ram and they thus bear his scent on them. So the four not ever being in the same room during consecrations is out of respect and remembrance of the ram’s betrayal to Oya.
Oshun’s Fading
There is a story told, how Oshun’s essence or life was fading as people were beginning to concern themselves with other things instead of worshiping her.
As it was, Oya insisted to her husband Shango, to consult with the diloggun (a form of divination) for the first time in order to mark an ebo or sacrifice to Oshun, thereby, saving her. This sacrifice bonded the two in friendship.
Maman Brigitte – Haitian Goddess
Oya has been connected to Maman Brigitte as a syno-deity. Maman Brigitte is a Voodoo goddess or Loa who protects those graves within a cemetery marked with a cross. She is the wife to Ghede or Baron Samedi. Like Oya, she has been connected to the Catholic Saint Brigit.
Catholic Saints
There are a few different Saints that Oya has been equated to and it varies by the religion revering Oya.
Saint Barbara – The Saint whom Oya is equated to in the Candomble tradition. She is the patron saint of armourers, artillerymen, military engineers, miners and others who work with explosives. She has an old legend that connects her to lightning and mathematicians.
Saint Brigit – Not just the saint, the Celtic goddess Bridget of the same name. She is the patron saint of Ireland and babies, blacksmiths, boatmen, brewers, cattle, chicken farmers, children whose parents are not married, children with abusive fathers, children born into abusive unions, Clan Douglas, dairy workers, Florida, fugitives, Leinster, mariners, midwives, milk maids, nuns, poets, poor, poultry farmers, poultry raisers, printing presses, sailors, scholars, travelers, and watermen. That is quiet a lot if you ask me.
Saint Teresa – There’s like five or six different Saint Teresas, so I’m not sure which was meant with mentioning her. With the mention of a feast day of October 15th, Saint Teresa of Avila seems to have been who they were mentioning. She is the patron saint of Bodily illnesses, headaches, chess, lacemakers, laceworkers, loss of parents, people in need of grace, people in religious orders, people ridiculed for their piety, Požega, Croatia, sick people, sickness, Spain, and Talisay City, Cebu.
Virgin Mary – “Our Lady of La Candelaria” and “Virgin of Candelaria” as in the Virgin Mary of the Canary Islands, Spain and sometime connected with the Black Madonna.
Syrinx
Alternate Spellings: Σύριγξ
A nymph known in Greek myths for turning into some water reeds to escape the unwanted advances of Pan. Like Pan, Syrinx hailed from Arcadia in ancient Greece.
Parentage & Family
Parents
Father – Ladon, a river god
Siblings
As a nymph, all of the other nymphs would be counted as Syrinx’s sisters.
Daphne – A fellow naiad who shares the same father Ladon.
Consorts
Silenus – Only if you count Thomas Woolner’s poem.
Follower Of Artemis
Being a Nymph, Syrinx was a virgin like many of her sisters whom were all favorites and followers of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. Like her patron goddess, Syrinx was also a hunter and desired to remain a virgin.
Naiad
The Naiads are water nymphs in Greek mythology, minor deities or spirits. Specifically, Naiads were associated with fresh water.
While there are a few sources that will call Syrinx a wood-nymph or just a nymph in general. With her parentage of Ladon as her father, she is most likely a naiad.
Pan & Syrinx
This is the main and only story involving Syrinx. It’s generally used to explain the origins of Pan’s famous syrinx or pan pipes. Plus, this story is one of Pan’s more famous and well-known myths.
Syrinx was just one of many nymphs that Pan would endlessly pursue. She was a water-nymph and the daughter of the river-god Ladon. One day, as Syrinx returned from hunting, she encountered Pan who became infatuated with her. To escape his unwanted advances, Syrinx fled from Mount Lycaeum down to the Ladon river. There she pleaded with her sisters (or sometimes the gods in general, her father Ladon or Zeus) to change her into a bed of water reeds.
When Pan narrowly missed grabbing Syrinx, he discovered that when he blew air through the reeds, they made a noise. A forlorn Pan, mourning the loss of Syrinx, took the reeds and crafted his famous reed pipes or syrinx from them.
Thomas Woolner’s Silenus
A Victorian artist and poet, Thomas Woolner wrote a long narrative poem about the myth of Syrinx. He embellishes his tale by having Syrinx become the lover of Silenus. She ends up drowning while trying to escape from Pan’s attempted rape. As a result, Pan turns into a demonic figure while Silenus becomes a drunkard.
Given the Victorian age and when Christianity started associating Pan with the Devil, this makes sense.
Pan Pipes – Syrinx
An instrument played by the Greek god Pan. It consists of seven reeds all cut to different lengths all tied together and sealed with wax on one end. These reed pipes were synonymous with rustic music and were relatively cheap and easy to make.
Pan would of course use the syrinx in a music competition against the god Apollo. Some sources will credit Cybele or Hermes with having invented the syrinx.
La Flute De Pan
For those who play the flute, the composer Claude Debussy wrote a flute solo entitled “Syrinx” or “La Flute De Pan” in the 20th century. This musical piece is based on Pan’s sadness at having lost his love, Syrinx. It seems to be a popular piece that flautists will learn and add to their repertoire of music.
If you play the saxophone, ” La Flute De Pan” has also been transcribed so it can be played on this instrument too.
Narcissus
Pronunciation: nahr-sis’-uhs
Etymology: Uncertain, the name Narcissus has come to be associated with a species of daffodil. Pliny the Elder wrote that the flower is named for its fragrance. There’s a connection to “narko” meaning “I grow numb” and not for mythological figure.
Alternate Spellings: Nárkissos
Narcissus hailed from Thespiae in Boeotia and was very well known for his beauty. He was so proud of his beauty that he held disdain and scorn for those who professed their love for him. This of course, attracted the attention of Nemesis, the goddess of retribution who sought to punish Narcissus for his arrogance.
Parentage
Father – Cephissus, a river god or Endymion by Nonnus in his Dionysiaca
Mother – Liriope, a nymph or Selene by by Nonnus in his Dionysiaca
There are several variations to the story of Narcissus.
For one, with Narcissus’ parentage of a minor river god and nymph, Narcissus himself is a minor god. This makes it a little more likely for why other gods, albeit minor take an interest in him.
Conon’s Narrations
Conon was a contemporary of Ovid. Unlike Ovid’s telling of the story, in this one, there is a young man by the name of Ameinias who falls in love with Narcissus. Now, Narcissus had already spurned the love and advances of several other male suitors already. So Ameinias is just merely the latest of who’s been turned down.
What makes Ameinias different from the others is that Narcissus gives him a sword. Ameinias prays to the gods, specifically Nemesis, that Narcissus would get his comeuppance and feel all the pain that he has caused others. The prayer said, Ameinias takes his own life on the steps to Narcissus’ home with the sword given to him.
In answer, when Narcissus walks by a pool of water, he sees his own reflection after stopping to get a drink. Falling in love with his own reflection, Narcissus kills himself as he’s unable to have what he wants, his reflection.
Or, when Narcissus realizes that he is cursed for the humiliation he inflicted on Ameinias, he kills himself. From Narcissus’ blood, a flower springs up, bearing his name.
Sometimes it is the goddess Artemis who answers Ameinias’ call for vengeance.
By Conon’s account, Narcissus is still in the Underworld, gazing at his reflection in the waters of the Styx river.
Edith Hamilton’s Mythology
One story mentioned in this volume is that Zeus had created the narcissus flower in order to help Hades with kidnapping Kore (Persephone), the daughter of Demeter down to the Underworld while she was out with friends gathering flowers and playing. When Kore went to pick the strange, new flower, that is when a chasm leading to the Underworld opened up and Hades carried her away to become his wife.
Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Ovid’s Metamorphoses has the version of Narcissus’ story that most people are familiar with.
The son of Cephissus, the river god of the Boeotian river and the nymph Liriope, Narcissus was born in Thespiae, Boetia. Liriope was worried about the fate of her baby boy and took him to a blind seer by the name of Tiresias. The seer told Narcissus’ mother that the baby would enjoy a long life so long as: “he didn’t get to know himself.” In some accounts, in response to this prophecy, Liriope removed all mirrors to try and prevent Narcissus from ever catching sight of his reflection.
When Narcissus reached sixteen years of age, he spurned the love and advances of all those, men and women alike, who showed any interest in him. Yes, the ancient Grecian heart-throb leaving a trail of broken hearts behind him without any second thoughts.
Narcissus is out wandering the forests one day with some friends hunting deer when Echo, a mountain nymph or Oread sees and instantly falls in love with him.
What’s not told when starting off with just Narcissus’ side of the story is that Echo had been cursed by Juno, Jupiter’s wife after finding out that Echo was only running distraction to keep her from finding out about her husband’s affairs. Angry, Juno curses Echo that she can only repeat what someone else has said.
With that context in mind, when Narcissus gets separated from his friends and calls out: “Is anyone there?” That Echo can only repeat back what he says with: “Is anyone there?”
This startled Narcissus who then asked: “Come here.”
Because of the curse, Echo could only respond with the same “come here” reply.
When no one came out into the glade he was standing in, Narcissus figured that the other person must be moving away from him. So, he called out again: “This way, we must come together.”
Echo, taking this to heart as confirmation for her love, called back: “We must come together!” As she came running out, ready to throw her arms around Narcissus.
On seeing the nymph running towards him, Narcissus became affronted and pushed Echo away exclaiming: “Hands off! May I die before you enjoy my body!”
Hurt, all Echo could respond with was: “Enjoy my body.” Before she turned to flee back into the woods, rejected and humiliated by Narcissus. By this account, Echo wasted away, her body becoming stone until only her voice remained.
Narcissus would have his own comeuppance coming, for he continued to spurn the advances and loves of others. Including the previously mentioned Ameinias, who in his love-sickness, called out: “O may he love himself alone and fail un that great love.”
Nemesis, the goddess of revenge heard Ameinias’ cure and decided to respond. She cursed Narcissus, attracted him to a pool where he fell in love with his own reflection. Not realizing it was merely an image and unable to leave the beauty of his reflection, Narcissus lost his will to live. He stared at his reflection until he died.
Echo, her own love unrequited and unable to do anything, watched on as Narcissus pined away for his reflection.
It is said, that just before he died, Narcissus told his reflection: “Oh darling boy, I loved you in vain, good-bye.”
Echo repeated the words: “Good-bye.” As she was now completely stone and unable to do anything else.
When the nymphs came to gather up Narcissus’ body for funeral, it was gone and in its place was a flower.
Nemesis – It should be noted that she is sometimes seen as an aspect of Aphrodite and not a separate entity.
Another note, Ovid connecting Echo to Narcissus’ myth seems to have been his own invention. However, its now the official one.
Pausanias’s Guide To Greece
In a Greek travelogue, Pausanias retells Narcissus’ story in which he ends up falling in love with a twin sister, not his own reflection. When his sister died, Narcissus would go to a spring and look at his reflection, imagining that it was his own sister that he saw. Narcissus eventually dies, pinning away for the loss of his sister.
Pausanias doesn’t think the story of Narcissus falling in love with is reflection and not being able to recognize it as such is unlikely.
Mirror, Mirror On The Wall….
One idea I came across says that Narcissus’ story may originate in an ancient Greek superstition that it is unlucky, possibly even fatal, to see one’s reflection.
Drowning
Other sources to Narcissus’ story have him drowning in the pool as he tries reaching for his reflection.
Suicide
That’s a bit heavy and deep to take. Ovid, Parthenius of Nicaea and Conon all have versions of Narcissus’ story where he commits suicide as he’s unable to what he desires, that being his reflection give love back.
Narcissus Flower
After Narcissus’ death, a flower sprang up in the very place that he died. This flower of course bears Narcissus’ name and is a genus of daffodil.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Or Narcissism. Obviously, Narcissus’ story is the basis for a personality disorder in which a person is very self-absorbed, vain and everything is always about them whether that is their own physical appearance or public perception. Psychologist have studied this disorder for years.
A little bit of self-care and self-love is good. We should care about ourselves and want to do good as well as look good. When taken to the extremes and a narcissus is that self-absorbed with themselves that they don’t care about others or make everything about them, then you get a problem.
Echo
Pronunciation: ek’o
Etymology: Sound
Alternate Spellings: Εχω, Ekho
Echo is an Oread or Mountain Nymph found in Greek mythology. She resided on Mount Cithaeron located in Boeotia. The main story of Echo is often used in Greek and later Roman mythology to explain the repetitive or echoing sounds that one hears in mountains and valleys or other places that carry acoustics.
Attributes
Animal: Skunk
Element: Air
Plant: Crabgrass, Hemlock
Greek Depictions
There is an ancient Greek vase depicting Echo as a winged nymph with her face covered by a veil.
Parentage & Family
Parents
Most sources don’t list any parentage for Echo, it stands to reason it is likely Ouranos.
In Longus’ story of Daphne & Chloe, Echo’s parentage is given a that of a nymph and a mortal man, making Echo a demigoddess.
Siblings
As a nymph, all of the other nymphs would be counted as Echo’s sisters.
Consorts
Pan and Narcissus are listed among the lovers for Echo.
Children
Iynx and Iambe – With Pan, Echo is their mother.
There a few main stories involving Echo. Most websites and books tend to focus on the Roman stories and narrative, adding the Greek story later or last. I feel it’s important to reverse the order to how they’re told.
Follower Of Artemis
Being an Oread or Mountain nymph, Echo was a virgin like many of her sisters whom were all favorites and followers of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.
Porticoes Of Echo
While not exactly worshiped, there were a few places in Greece with porticoes that were dedicated to Echo due to the repeating or echoing sounds they made. One was located at Hermione, Argos known to echo three times and another at Olympia that would echo seven times. Even a statue to Menon in Egypt was known to echo and noted as being connected to Echo for her namesake.
Daphnis & Chloe
This 2nd century C.E. romance is a story within a story told by the Greek writer Longus.
There comes a point within the story when Daphnis and Chloe are looking out at the boats on the sea. Chloe becomes confused when she hears a fisherman’s song repeated in a nearby valley. Daphnis then promises to tell Chloe the story of Echo in return for ten kisses.
The kisses exchanged, Daphnis proceeds to tell the story of Echo, the daughter of a nymph and a mortal man. Thus, making Echo a demigod of sorts. Raised among the nymphs, Echo learned their dances and learned to sing from the Muses who taught her to play a number of different musical instruments.
By this account, Pan grew jealous and angry for Echo’s musical abilities. Pan grew further enraged, for Echo, like many of the nymphs who are followers of Artemis, goddess of the Hunt was also a virgin, for this, Echo spurned Pan’s advances as she rejected not only him, but other gods and mortals. For this, Pan incited a panic among his shepherd followers who descended upon the helpless Echo, tearing her apart to pieces and scattering her upon the earth.
Gaia, who favored the nymphs gathered up and hid the scattered remains of Echo within herself. At the command of the Muses, Echo’s voice still sings, repeating back the sound of any earthly thing that she hears.
In a sly bit of revenge upon Pan by Gaia, whenever Pan hears his own pipes echoed in the mountains, he goes chasing after the sound, seeking in vain for a student that he can never find.
Homeric And Orphic Hymns – Both of these hymns retell Longus’ story of Pan chasing after Echo’s voice in the mountains.
Echo & Pan
Of Greek origins, this story tells how Echo, being a rather beautiful nymph and musically inclined; being able to sing and play several different instruments. Like all her nymph sisters, Echo lived deep within the forests, spurning the love of mortals and immortals alike.
Before this, there had been an Achilles, the son of Zeus and the Lamia. Now Achilles was incredibly handsome and along with several others, entered a beauty contest with Aphrodite. Acting as judge was Pan who was the most fairest of them all. Aphrodite grew angry with Pan and she cursed Pan with an unrequited love for Echo, whom he pursued relentlessly.
To try and reconcile this version of the story with the above one in Daphnis & Chloe, it makes sense that in his madness, that Pan would incite his shepherd followers to descend upon Echo to tear her apart.
That afterword, Gaia taking pity and having favored Echo, gathers up the pieces of her broken, scattered body to the earth and that all that remained was Echo’s voice. It really makes sense that in mourning, that Echo is chasing after the sound of Echo’s voice every time he hears her repetitive call. It makes sense for Pan to be mentioned as forever chasing after his student that he can never find.
Apuleius, The Golden Ass – A 2nd century C.E. Roman novel, the author Apuleius describes Pan as sitting by the banks of a stream with Echo in his arms as he teaches her his music and songs.
Suda – In this fragments of poetry and story, Echo is described as bearing the children Iambe and Iynx to Pan.
There must have been a real relation between Echo and Pan and not just the lusty, rutting of a goat-god. It’s unfortunate as it does seem the ire of Aphrodite cause Pan to go into madness and kill his one real love. Given the lusty reputation of Pan for chasing nymphs, Echo’s demise being caused by Aphrodite seems to have been over looked and lumped in as just another failed conquest.
The Great Deluge
More as a side note, in Nonnus’ Dionysiaca, he makes a number of references to Echo. According to Nonnus’ version of the stories, Pan chased after Echo much like he would chase after the other nymphs, yet never gained her affections. In his Book VI, when Nonnus begins to recount the story of the Great Deluge, he tells how as the waters rose up above the hills, that Echo was forced to swim. Just as she had escaped the ravages of Pan, Echo feared the advances of Poseidon should he catch her.
Echo & Juno
This story originates out of Roman mythology from Ovid’s Metamorphosis. As it’s Roman, the Roman names for the gods are Jupiter or Jove (Zeus in Greece) and Juno (Hera in Greece). Anyone familiar with Greco-Roman mythologies knows of Jupiter’s reputation and his numerous affairs among mortals and gods alike; much to his wife, Juno’s displeasure.
This is the main story about Echo that most everyone knows, it explains the origin of echoes or repeating sounds in mountains and valleys or anywhere an echo can be heard.
On one occasion, as Jupiter was pursuing of one of his latest affairs with a nymph. Juno came among the nymphs looking for her husband as she hoped to catch him in the act. As the case was, Echo had been tasked by Jupiter himself to keep Juno distracted with a lot of idle chatter while Jupiter engaged in his latest tryst. Juno wasn’t happy with the overly talkative nymph and when she discovered that Echo was merely distracting her; Juno punished Echo that she would always be able to have the last word, but she would only be able to repeat the last thing said.
Echo & Narcissus
Another Roman story from Ovid’s Metamorphosis, this picks up from the previous story with Juno’s wrath towards Echo.
Shortly after being cursed by Juno, Echo came across the youth Narcissus while he was out hunting deer with some friends. Echo fell in love with him and followed quietly after Narcissus, for the more she watched him, the more in love she became. Unfortunately, as much as Echo wanted to call out to the young man, Juno’s curse prevented her.
After a time, Narcissus became separated from his friends and he called out: “Is anyone there?” In answer, Echo responded back with: “Is anyone there?”
This started Narcissus who then asked: “Come here.”
Because of the curse, Echo could only respond with the same “come here” reply.
When no one came out into the glade he was standing in, Narcissus figured that the other person must be moving away from him. So, he called out again: “This way, we must come together.”
Echo, taking this to heart as confirmation for her love, called back: “We must come together!” As she came running out, ready to throw her arms around Narcissus.
On seeing the nymph running towards him, Narcissus became affronted and pushed Echo away exclaiming: “Hands off! May I die before you enjoy my body!”
Hurt, all Echo could respond with was: “Enjoy my body.” Before she turned to flee back into the woods, rejected and humiliated by Narcissus.
Narcissus would have his own comeuppance coming and he fell in love with his own reflection in a pool. Her love unrequited, Echo watched on as Narcissus pined away for his reflection and eventually died.
It is said, that just before he died, Narcissus told his reflection: “Oh darling boy, I loved you in vain, good-bye.”
Echo repeated the words: “Good-bye.” As she herself began to fade away, her body turning to stone and all that remained of her was the sound of her voice.
Mythological Confusion
The Romans were famous for subsuming many deities in their conquest across Europe, particularly the Mediterranean area, and identifying their gods with those of a conquered culture. The most famous being the Greeks, where many deities were renamed to those of Roman gods. Prominent examples like Zeus and Jupiter, Hera and Juno, Ares and Mars and so on down the line. Echo is one figure from Greek mythology who maintained and kept her name. Changing the names of the deities from the Roman to their Greek counterparts in other retellings can make it hard to keep track of which story is the right version. Assuming you want to go that route.
Of course, there would be confusion over the myths and stories pertaining to Echo. It all comes down to remembering which are the Greek stories and which are the Roman stories. When you go by Ovid’s accounts in The Metamorphoses, you get the Roman names Jupiter and Juno. Then you go to another source such as Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, the story of Echo & Narcissus uses the Greek names of Zeus and Hera when retelling the story of Echo’s curse placed on her by an angry goddess.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with that. Most people knowledgeable with the Greco-Roman mythologies tend to want to use the Greek names. It just seems to be a disservice in the long run as no matter how similar the Greek gods are to their Roman counterparts and however much the myths often overlap, there are differences.
For Echo, I think it’s important to know the difference as when I started this thread of study into her stories, there’s confusion in her story and her involvement with Pan and the later Roman stories. The Greek stories came first before the Roman ones. So, I feel it’s important to take note of this, especially as Echo seems to be one of Pan’s real loves and not a momentary infatuation that sees him endlessly chasing after the nymphs.
Pan
Etymology: From the Greek word “pantes” meaning: All, everything, rustic
Other Spellings: Πάν
Other Names and Epithets: Aegocerus (“Goat-Horned”), Agreus (the Hunter), Faunus, Haliplanktos (Sea-Roaming), Innus, Kronios, Nomios (the Shepherd), Sinoeis
Pan is a familiar, half-goat, half-man or satyr deity in Greek mythology. As a god of forests and wilderness, he’s known too for inhabiting grottoes too. In his ancient Arcadian home, Pan is said to have wandered the mountain sides playing his reed pipes, aiding or hindering hunters, guarding shepherds and their flocks and his never-ending pursuit and dancing with nymphs.
Attributes
Animal: Goat, Tortoise
Patron of: Shepherds
Plant: Pine, Mountain Beech, Water-Reed
Season: Spring
Sphere of Influence: Fertility, Flocks, Rustic Music, Wilderness
Symbols: Reed Pipe, Phallus, Lagobolon (Hare Trap)
Pan is the Greek half-man, half-goat god of shepherds and flocks. A god of fertility and the wilds.
What’s In A Name?
The Latin words of the verb paô and pasco connect Pan’s name to mean “all” or the universe. The Arcadians used the word pan meaning rustic, for anything out in the country, wild and untamed.
The idea of the Greek word pan for “all” comes from Homeric Hymn where Pan is described as delighting all the gods. This word ends up being used in word play in Plato’s Cratylus where he describes Pan as a dual-natured god, a personification of the cosmos.
The Greek word: “pa” is a more likely source for Pan’s name as it translates into “Guardian of the flocks,” certainly one of the things he is known for. Interestingly “pa-on” meaning: “herdsman” is a closely related word and where the Latin pastor and the modern English word “pasture” come from.
Another source says that Pan’s name comes from the Greek word: “paein” meaning “to pasture.” Furthering the ideas, Edwin L. Brown puts forward the idea that Pan is likely a cognate to the Greek word: ὀπάων, meaning “companion.”
Early Greek Depictions
It is around 500 B.C.E. that Pan appears in Greek art. These early depictions of Pan show him as a black goat standing upright on hind legs.
Later red-figure pottery shows Pan’s image change to that of a satyr. Some might even say the father of all satyrs. He is often shown having a wrinkled face with a prominent, bearded chin, snub nose, pointed ears, goat-like horns with hairy legs and cloven hooves like a goat. playing a reed pipe. Sometimes he is shown with a shepherd’s crook and a pine branch or a crown made of pine. Often times he’s in the company of fellow satyrs and Maenads.
Coinage – In 4th century B.C.E., Pan’s image is found on coinage in Pantikapaion, for the Arcadian League.
Dual Nature – Plato’s Cratylus
This one’s interesting. Socrates discusses how Pan is a duel-nature son of Hermes. That makes sense as Pan is half man, half goat after all. Socrates goes on to explain how Hermes’ name comes from the word for “speech.” That Pan, the all things known, both true and false. The true part of Pan is the part that is smooth and divine and that he lives with the gods. The false part is the lower part that is goat, representing the baser, common man who are rough and like the tragic goat. I presume this comes from the origin for the word tragedy or tragikos, goat-song and is in reference to early, primitive performances where people wore goat-skins. A roundabout way of saying that life is nasty, short and brutish. It is among mankind that tales and falsehoods can be found.
Goat-Song!
While we’re at it, Pan was also the god of theatrical criticism.
Arcadia
Considered a pastoral paradise in Ancient Greece, the land “that existed before the moon,” this is the place where Pan is said to have been born, specifically on Mount Lycaeum.
Arcadia is mountainous and fertile area located in central Peloponnessus. This place is found to the south of modern-day Greece. This is the location where the seat of the ancient Greek empire once lay.
For the ancient Greeks of their day, they viewed Arcadia and those who lived there as being backwards and primitive. They weren’t held in the same light as more civilized Greeks. Outside of Greece, Pan’s worship spread as far as Egypt and other local, neighboring countries.
Athens – Around the fifth century B.C.E., after the Battle of Marathon, Pan’s worshipped arrived in this City-State.
The story goes that Pheidippides, an Athenian was to Sparta to enlist their aid against the Persians, Pan appeared before him and promised that he would terrify or panic the invaders. In return, the Athenians would begin honoring and worshipping Pan.
Shrines & Temples
Even after the Greeks began worshiping other gods and adding them to their pantheon, Pan still had shrines built, honoring and venerating him. Many of these shrines and sacred places to Pan were often in caves and grottos. There were many sanctuaries and temples dedicated to Pan throughout Arcadia, including some in places like Athens, Heraea, Homala in Turkey, Megalopolis, Mount Parthenius, Oropus, the island of Psyttaleia, and Troezene to name a few. The Korkykeion cave found on Mount Parnassos and the Vari cave in Attica are a couple of the places dedicated to Pan.
According to the ancient Greek historian, Diodorus Siculus, the Egyptians had a good number of statues of Pan in many of their temples. In Thebes, the city of Chemmis was also known as the city of Pan or Panopolis.
Caves & Grottos
Many of Pan’s sacred places were found in caves and grottos. Pan’s sacred shrines and grottos weren’t solely dedicated to him, sometimes he shared it with a local deity or nymph in the region. Sacrifices offered up to Pan included cows, rams, lambs, milk and lamb. These sacrifices would also be offered up to Pan in conjunction with Dionysus and the nymphs. Other sacrifices to Pan included statues of herdsmen, vases, lamps and gold grasshoppers. Goat sacrifices and torch races were also part of Pan’s worship at Delphi and Athens.
A few other locations for Pan’s shrines or temples are:
Acacesium – A perpetual fire was kept burning here in this time. Also at this time, there was an oracle where the nymph Erato was Pan’s priestess.
Acropolis – This shrine to Pan is hidden away in a shallow cave beneath the Acropolis in a place still wild and untamed.
Apollonopolis Magna, Egypt – A Temple of Pan is found here.
Corycian Grotto – Located near Mount Parnassus.
Nomian Hill – A shrine was located here near Lycosura.
Peloponnese – A Temple of Pan was located here on the Neda River gorge.
Well of Eresinus – Located between Argos and Tegea
Mystery Cults – During the Hellenistic era, Pan becomes a cognate to the Phanes/Protogonos, Eros, Dionysus and Zeus.
Youngest To Oldest
In the Greek pantheon, Pan is considered the youngest of the gods. That makes sense if Hermes is Pan’s father. Making Zeus his great grandfather and Apollo his grandfather. At the same time, Pan is also considered the oldest god as records of his worship date to the 6th century B.C.E. in Arcadia. Mythical evidence seems to back this with Pan being the one who gives Artemis her hunting dogs and teaches Apollo the secrets to prophecy.
This likely makes sense too that for all that Pan being a rustic, rural god, was seen by the Greeks as representing the connection between the wildernesses and civilization. In Arcadia he would enjoy being a major god, but else where he was reduced to a minor god and not counted among the twelve major Olympian gods. So how ever minor his role seemed to have taken on, his influence and importance were not denied or forgotten.
Parentage and Family
Grandfather or Great Grandfather
As the grandson or great grandson of Cronos, Pan is known as Kronios.
Parents
The parentage for Pan is greatly varied and murky. Depending on the source that one uses, a different set of parents will be mentioned. That kind of makes sense when seeing Pan as a nature god, that he could be older than the other Olympian deities. Depending on which one you read, will be which one you decide to go with.
Father – Hermes, nearly every myth concerning Pan’s birth agrees on this. Sometimes another deity, Aegipan is given as Pan’s father. Even the gods Apollo, Cronus, Dionysus, Uranus, or Zeus could be mentioned as Pan’s father. Others like Amphinomos, Antinoos and Odysseseus are mentioned as Pan’s father.
According to Euhemerus, a 4th century B.C.E. mythographer, Aegipan (or Pan) was married to Aex and when she had an affair with Zeus, she bore the god Pan to him. In this instance, Pan was called Aegipan.
Mother – There are many different myths regarding who Pan’s mother is.
In no particular order, they are: Dryope the daughter of Dryopos, Thymbris, Penelope (There are two Penelopes of note here. The first one, Hermes visited in the form of a ram. The second Penelope is of Odysseus fame as she proved to be unfaithful while she waited for Odysseus to return home). Nonnus’ Dionysiacs is where Penelope of Mantineia in Arcadia, a nymph. This Penelope is later confused or combined with the Penelope, the wife of Odysseus. Oeneios, some random Nereid, Sose, and Callisto. Even the goddesses Aprodite and Hecate are sometimes mentioned as being Pan’s mother.
Sometimes Pan’s parentage is given as being Uranus and Ge or that of Aether and Oeneios.
Consorts
That seems a little odd to think of Pan as having any spouse. Given Pan’s later reputation for chasing around after all the Nymphs and seducing anyone who’s female…. There’s actually a few that Pan actually truly loved.
Aix – Also spelled Aex, she is a goat or a nymph who took the shape of a goat. Her connection to Pan seems more sure if you count Aegipan and Pan as being one and the same person.
Echo – This one is rather tragic, the story is given in full later.
Pitys – A nymph who turned herself into a pine in order to elude Pan’s advances.
Syrinx – A more well known Syrinx who changed herself into a bed of reeds to escape from Pan’s unwanted advances.
Siblings
The satyrs in general were all considered kin to Pan, if not his sons, Laertes, Circe and the Maenads.
Agreus – A half-brother by way of Hermes, part of a “Pan Triad.”
Arcas – the twin brother to Pan, when Zeus is seen as the father. That is, if you accept the source of Kerenyi’s work of Aeschylus in Rheus noting there being two Pans.
Daphnis – A half-brother by way of Hermes.
Nomios – A half-brother by way of Hermes, part of a “Pan Triad.”
Children
Akis – Also spelled Acis, he is the son of Pan (or rather Faunus) and the nymph Symaethis.
Eurymedon – Of the Seven Against Thebes fame, he said to be the son of Pan given how he fought fiercely in battle, causing others to panic.
Iambe – With Echo, Pan is the father of Iambe, a minor goddess of verse.
Iynx – With Echo, Pan is the father of Iynx, a girl who took the form of a bird.
Krenaios – Also spelled Crenaeus, he is the son of Pan (or rather Faunus) and the nymph (more accurately a Nereid) Ismenis. Crenaeus fought fiercely in the Seven Against Thebes, even more so in the river Ismenis of his mother’s name sake.
Krotos – With Eupheme, Pan fathered Krotos, a minor god who invented the hunting bow and rhythmic beats or clapping in music.
Silenus – This one is a bit dubious, as he is sometimes considered older than all of the satyrs and sometimes his parentage is given as being the son of Hermes and Gaia.
The Panes – All the satyr and local woodland deities including the fauns. According to Nonnus’ Dionysiaca, there are twelve Panes who lived in caves and claimed Pan as their father. They are known for having accompanied Dionysus in his War with India. These Panes were:
Aigikoros, Argennon, Argos, Daphoineus, Eugeneios, Glaukos, Kelaineus, Omester, Philamnos, Phobos, Phorbas, and Xanthos
What A Pane
Nearly every region of Ancient Greece had a regional woodland deity, many of them local satyr deities that all came to be identified as just different aspects of Pan. These multiple Pans or Panes were also known as Paniskoi or “little Pans.”
Satyrs weren’t necessarily gods in themselves, but nature spirits known for all sorts of carousing and chasing after nymphs, eating and drinking. The Romans would know these nature spirits by the name of fauns or incubi, the Celts believed in Dusios or dusii for plural. Much like the plural of Pan being Panes, the plural of satyr is Satyri.
This association with these local deities, gave rise to Pan being known by many names and seen as a universal god. Some of these local deities are as follows:
Aegipan – A goat-fish god connected to the constellation Capricorn.
Aristaeus – God of flocks, agriculture, bee-keeping, viticulture in Northern Greece. Like Pan, Aristaeus also held the title of Agreus (the Hunter) and Nomios (the Shepherd).
Marsyas – A Phrygian satyr also known for playing the pan pipes.
Priapus – A local god whose images have been found at Pompeii
Silenus – Knowledge and viticulture
Sybarios – An Italian version of Pan who was worshiped in the Greek colony found at Sybaris, Italy. This Sybarite Pan is the son of a Krathis, a sheperd and a she-goat.
Pan Triad
As a triad, Pan was known as Agreus, Nomios, and Phorbas. Each seen as a separate entity and not just as a title of Pan’s.
In Nonnus’ Dionysiaca, two of the Panes, Agreus (Hunter) and Nomios (Shepherd) are merely different aspects of Pan. By the same account, they are the sons of Hermes with two Nymphs. The first is Sose, a prophetess who bore Agreus who inherited Sose’s gift for prophecy and would become a god of the hunt. The second is a nymph by the name of Penelope (not to be confused with the one of Odysseus fame) who bore Nomios known for playing the reed shepherd’s pipes or syrinx, shepherd, and seducing Nymphs. It has been said that many of the stories about Pan are actually about Nomios.
Agreus and Nomios are often taken to be two different aspects of Pan, indicating a dual nature to the half-goat god as both wise prophet and a lusty, amorous beast.
Phorbas would later join these two. Phorbas’ name means “giver of grazing” and has been noted as a play on the word phobos for “fear.”
The Birth Of Pan
Regardless of who is considered Pan’s mother, it’s generally agreed that she ran away at the sight of this already fully developed infant sporting horns, covered in hair, complete with beard, goat tail and legs with cloven hooves. Hermes however, took his son up to Olympus where the other gods were immediately delighted with him, especially Dionysus. The nymphs would raise Pan.
One of the nymphs to raise the infant Pan was Sinoe. From her, Pan received the epitaph of Sinoeis.
As a side note, the Homeric Hymn has the nurse being the one frightened by the sight of Pan and running away.
Where Penelope, the wife of Odysseus is listed as Pan’s mother, she was seduced by Antinous. When Odysseus returned Penelope to her father Ikarios, she gave birth to Pan when she arrived at Mantineia in Arcadia. With Penelope as Pan’s mother, he is clearly a demigod who became fully immortal.
Fertility God
A fertility deity, Pan is known for being very lusty as a symbol of male sexuality and carnal desire. Spring is the time for fertility, so it makes sense that Pan what he’s known for doing best, sex. There’s just no way around it.
Pan is very famous for his stories of endlessly chasing after nymphs who, to elude the lusty, rutting god, would turn into trees and rocks. These same stories were also used by the ancient Greeks to explain the many varieties of plants and natural features with how they came to be.
Erotica
Nudity was a common thing among the Greeks, seen as being very natural and not holding any of the stigmas against it that are found with later cultural, especially religious taboos. It just is, nothing sexual about it.
Pan on the other hand… Part and parcel to Pan’s sexual prowess, one of his symbols is a phallus. Meant in joking tones, Diogenes of Sinope tells how Pan learned masturbation form his father, Hermes and then went on to teach it to shepherds. As such, it’s not uncommon to find ancient Greek art depicting Pan having an erection, he was just that sexually active.
Panic Sex
Sex for the sake of it. That is part of who Pan is, bringing out the wild, untamed natural man to give into primal desires to satisfy momentary, carnal lust. If you want a love god for someone to fall in love with for a life partner, Pan is not your deity. Try Aphrodite or Eros for better results. For the ancient Greeks and Pan especially, he held many sexual partners and would move from one to the next with ease.
Rest assured, the ancient Greeks did see a need for having a main partner and a need to have someone you were with to create a better sense of family and unity. But engaging with a new partner from time to time could lead to something new and a change of pace.
When in Rome, only this was Greece.
Pan & The Nymphs
Pan is often mentioned as a companion to the nymphs of the woods, mountains and rivers. As a god of fertility, Pan also has a reputation that may or may not be deserved as being very lusty and constantly chasing after the nymphs as they flee from his unwanted advances. It all starts off well and good, he would join their dances and play his reed pipes, then soon enough comes the rutting and the chasing after. The nymphs would very likely be the original #MeToo crowd. They do manage to get their revenge on him at one point where they set upon Pan while he’s asleep to tie him up and shaved off his beard.
This part comes from Philostratus the Elder in his Imagines 2 where he describes a painting of the Bucolic Nymphs having tied up Pan and shaved off his beard as they say they will persuade Echo to no longer respond to him.
Even Artemis, the goddess of the Hunt and Moon got fed up with Pan’s behavior as her retinue of virgin followers and nymphs would grow smaller every time Pan or any of the satyrs came around.
Maenads – Aside from the Nymphs, Pan also got on well with the Maenads, the female followers of Dionysus rather well too. Now, either did this one by one or would multiply into a host of Panes to satisfy them all.
Pity – This poor nymph eluded Pan’s advances by turning into a Mountain Fir.
Pan Girls – With Pan’s rather lusty nature, Greek girls back then were known as Pan Girls when they displayed the same behavior.
Where The Wild Things Roam
A nature god, Pan’s domains were all of wildernesses. Grottoes, meadows, forests, beasts and even human nature itself. All of it is Pan’s domain. During the heat of the day, Pan would sleep and didn’t take kindly to anyone who disturbed him. Pan is described too as a god heard, but not seen.
Bees – As a god of nature and wild things, it stands to reason that among many of the things that Pan cared and watched over would include bees too. Like was previously stated, all of wilderness.
Fishing – Coastal areas and the success of local fishermen were also under Pan’s province.
God Of The Hunt – As a god of the wild places, Pan is also a god of the hunt, hunting dogs and he could decide a hunter’s success or not. In Arcadia, hunters would whip or scourge statues of Pan if their hunting failed.
God Of Shepherds And Flocks – In Pan’s homeland of Arcadia, there were many shepherding groups, most of whom herded goats and sheep. Pan protected the herds and flocks both wild and domestic. Pan would even help shepherds find their way back to the towns and cities. This role clearly placed Pan as the guardian of the wilds and civilization.
Panic At The Parthenon!
Pan’s name is the basis by which the word “panic” originates. It is one of the things that Pan is known for, causing a sudden or great fear in people. There are a couple myths given as an explanation for this.
Afternoon Naps – Sleep is good. The afternoons are when Pan is known to take his naps and woe to anyone who disturbed him from his sleep. But hey, who wouldn’t be cranky when woken up from their sleep. That’s right, run for the hills.
Music – Pan’s music that he played on his reed pipes could inspire panic in anyone who heard it. With it, Pan’s music could lower people’s inhibitions, an ecstasy brought on by listening to the music and dancing. A lowered inhibition that could either inspire or bring on a madness.
Panolepsia – During the Hellenistic era, Pan’s popularity increased and it is at this time he became associated with the word panic, an emotion known to overcome soldiers on the battle field. This violent emotion, known as panolepsia could overcome any individual person, inside and outside of battle.
Titanomachy – The first myth given is that Pan was present when Zeus defeated the Titans during the great Titanomachy. The claim then is that Pan’s yelling caused the Titans to flee.
Battle Of Marathon – The Athenians began worshiping Pan after he helped them out with causing panic among the invading Persians.
Nighttime Pranks – The second myth given is that Pan would make noises to scare away travelers in his protected forests.
God Of Rustic Music
When he wasn’t busy chasing nymphs, Pan could be found playing his famous reed pipes and dancing with the wood nymphs. Pan’s skill with music was such that he could cause inspiration, promiscuity or panic depending on what he wanted. The reed pipes were synonymous with rustic music as they were relatively cheap and easy to make with cutting reeds to different lengths and stopping them up with something like wax.
One of Pan’s more famous and well-known myths. Syrinx was just one of many nymphs that Pan would endlessly pursue. She was a water-nymph and the daughter of the river-god Landon. One day, as Syrinx returned from hunting, she encountered Pan who became infatuated with her. To escape his unwanted advances, Syrinx fled from Mount Lycaeum down to the Ladon river, there she pleaded with her sisters (or sometimes Zeus) to change her into a bed of water reeds. When Pan narrowly missed grabbing Syrinx, he discovered that when he blew air through the reeds, they made a noise. A forlorn Pan, mourning the loss of Syrinx, took the reeds and crafted his famous reed pipes or Syrinx from them.
Daphnis – The son of Hermes and a nymph, a shepherd, he invented pastoral poetry. He is one of many whom Pan taught how to play the pan pipes or syrinx.
Pindar – A poet said to be loved by Pan for singing and dancing to his music. Pindar built a sanctuary dedicated to Pan outside his house.
Olympus’ Got Talent!
In the original version of this story, Pan is equated with the Phrygian satyr, Marsyas. In the original telling of events, Marsyas is punished for having challenged the god Apollo.
However, other versions of this story have Pan and Apollo having a music contest with a local deity, Timolus set to be the judge. King Midas (as in the one with the golden touch) was there by happen stance as at this time, he was now a follower of Pan and followed him around.
When Apollo and Pan completed their different musical scores, Timolus was all set to call Apollo the winner. Midas spoke up and said that it should be Pan who was the winner. This angered Apollo and in retribution, he changed Midas’ ears into those of an ass.
You just can’t win.
One version of this story has it that both Apollo and Pan were tied, so they held a second round. This time around, Apollo said that they should play their instruments upside-down. Apollo was unaffected with playing upside-down, Pan however, was unable to play his reed pipes. Thus Apollo won the contest.
The Mother Goddess
In Pindar’ Pythian Ode, Pan is mentioned as a being either a follower or consort to the mother goddess. This is very likely either Cybele or Rhea whom is seen as a synonymous with Cybele.
Pindar makes mention of virgins worshiping Cybele and Pan near his home in Boetia.
Pan and Rhea alike are deities of the mountains and wild places. In a fragment of Pindar’s Maiden Songs, Pan is mentioned as the companion to Rhea and the warder or guardian of holy shrines.
There’s an episode in Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica where Rhea becomes angry with the king of Kyzican for killing one of her sacred lions and Pan descending on the city of Kyzikos at night yelling loudly to disturb the flocks to panic and stampede and bring terror to the city in revenge at Rhea’s command.
Another source I found for this, replaced Rhea’s name with that of Cybele’s. This isn’t too surprising, when you see Rhea and Cybele as the same deity, just different names from different Greek and Roman cultures. It almost seems like a matter of preference when someone retelling the Greco-Roman stories flip-flops back and forth with the names used.
Follower Dionysus
Pan is known to be part of Dionysus’ retinue accompanying many other prominent paniskoi, satyrs and rustic deities, causing a lot of rowdy behavior and riots characteristics of such bacchanalias.
Dionysus’ Indian War – When Dionysus went to war with the country of India, Pan was among the many satyroi and panes who accompanied him.
God Of Prophesy
Being the grandson to Apollo, that makes sense that Pan would have inherited some of the family tendency to foretell the future. According to some accounts, Pan is to have taught Apollo the prophetic arts. In the sanctuary of Despoine in Arcadia, the nymph Erato served as one of Pan’s prophetess’. Similarly, the Korykian cave, another Oracular site was held sacred to the nymph Korkykiai and Pan.
Pan & Typhon – Capricorn
In Greek mythology, the constellation, Capricorn is known as Pan and he is usually portrayed as the son of Hermes. He had the upper half of a man and the legs of a goat. How Pan becomes associated with the constellation of Capricorn is that one day when Pan and the other Gods were down by the Nile River, they were attacked by the monster Typhon. The Gods all changed themselves into various animals and forms in order to escape. In the confusion and panic, Pan jumped into the Nile River, intending to change into a fish, but only his lower half changed while his upper half turned into a goat. When the other Gods saw this half-goat, half-fish form of Pans, they laughed so much and decided to place an image of it up among the stars where it becomes the Capricornus or Capricorn constellation.
Aegipan
In a more elaborate retelling of the story of the Greek Gods versus Typhon, while the Gods did change into various animal forms, Zeus changed into the form of the ram, Aries and remained in this form for a while. Other gods like Aphrodite and Eros became a pair of fish that form the constellation of Pisces. Now Aegipan had also transformed himself into an animal to escape Typhon, but he was already halfway submerged in the Nile River when he finally decided what animal form he would be. He had decided to be a goat, but only from the waist up and a fish from the waist down. And its this result of indecision during panic and trying to escape that results in the familiar half-goat, half-fish from of Capricorn.
Zeus finally reappears back in his own form and battles against Typhon, but he was however defeated. Typhon proceeds then to cut out the tendons of Zeus’ hands and feet and therefore unable and helpless to move. Typhon hid the tendons in a cave in the land of Cilicia. The draconic being known as Delphyne, a half-serpent, half-woman creature was tasked by Typhon to guard Zeus’ tendons.
Between the gods Hermes and Aegipan, they were able to steal back Zeus’ tendons and return them, so Zeus could become whole again. With his strength restored, Zeus was now able to battle Typhon again and this time, defeated him hurling thunderbolts at him. For Aegipan’s role in this battle the Titan, Zeus set the Capricorn constellation up in the stars to honor him.
Aegipan or Pan?
Well now that all depends… some scholars will say that Aegipan is a separate deity from Pan like Nomios and Phorbas who are collectively called the Panes. Other scholars will say that the Panes are merely different aspects of the same god, in this case, Pan.
Additionally, Aegipan is sometimes said to be the father of Pan and not Hermes. It can create for a lot of confusion. Which is what Pan is good at and hence the origin of the word panic. There is also a 5th century B.C.E. Greek vase depicting both Pan and Aegipan as separate beings.
Pan And Demeter
In this story, Demeter and Poseidon are married. After a falling out with Poseidon and the abduction of her daughter Persephone by Hades, Demeter became very distraught, clothing herself in black and hiding away in a cave. Because of this, with Demeter being an agricultural and fertility goddess, nothing grew and there came a famine upon the land. None of the gods knew where Demeter had gone. Pan returned to his home of Arcadia and began wandering the country side and mountains. Eventually, Pan made his way to Mount Elaios where he found Demeter hiding in her cave. Pan reported back to Zeus that he had found Demeter and the Moirai was sent to Demeter and negotiated a peace between her and Hades that resulted in the familiar cycle of seasons.
Pan And Echo
Another nymph (a minor mountain deity) by the name of Echo. Most stories have her spurning Pan’s advances and eventually she fades away, leaving behind only her voice to answer or echo Pan’s calls to her.
Beauty Contest – This story tells how Echo, being a rather beautiful nymph and musically inclined; being able to sing and play several different instruments. Like all her nymph sisters, Echo lived deep within the forests, spurning the love of mortals and immortals alike.
Before this, there had been an Achilles, the son of Zeus and the Lamia. Now Achilles was incredibly handsome and along with several others, entered a beauty contest with Aphrodite. Acting as judge was Pan who was the most fairest of them all. Aphrodite grew angry with Pan and she cursed Pan with an unrequited love for Echo, whom he pursued relentlessly.
To try and reconcile this version of the story with the below one in Daphnis & Chloe, it makes sense that in his madness, that Pan would incite his shepherd followers to descend upon Echo to tear her apart.
That afterword, Gaia taking pity and having favored Echo, gathers up the pieces of her broken, scattered body to the earth and that all that remained was Echo’s voice. It really makes sense that in mourning, that Echo is chasing after the sound of Echo’s voice every time he hears her repetitive call. It makes sense for Pan to be mentioned as forever chasing after his student that he can never find.
Daphne & Chloe – This story has Echo getting torn to pieces by shepherds after Pan incites them to riot and Gaia then gathering up the broken pieces of Echo’s body to hide within the earth. That only thing to remain was Echo’s repeating voice.
Thebes, Egypt – Here, there was a cave that was shaped like a shepherd’s pipe and a marble statue of a satyr. Pan visited this cave and was delighted by the music of the flute, yet held firmly to Echo in fear so she wouldn’t echo a response to the marble statue.
Apuleius, The Golden Ass – A 2nd century C.E. Roman novel, the author Apuleius describes Pan as sitting by the banks of a stream with Echo in his arms as he teaches her his music and songs.
Suda – In this fragments of poetry and story, Echo is described as bearing the children Iambe and Iynx to Pan.
There must have been a real relation between Echo and Pan and not just the lusty, rutting of a goat-god. It’s unfortunate as it does seem the ire of Aphrodite cause Pan to go into madness and kill his one real love. Given the lusty reputation of Pan for chasing nymphs, Echo’s demise being caused by Aphrodite seems to have been over looked and lumped in as just another failed conquest.
Pursuing Omphale
In this story, Pan is in a rut, chasing after the Queen of Lydia, Omphale. On the night that Pan was to arrive, Omphale persuaded Hercules to switch clothes with her. So when an amorous Pan showed up and slipped into Omphale’s bed, he’s promptly kicked across the room by Hercules.
After that, Pan banned the wearing of any clothes at his religious rites and rumors began spreading about Hercules being a transvestite.
Pan And Selene
Selene is considered perhaps the greatest of Pan’s sexual conquests. He managed to woo and seduce the moon goddess Selene by wearing a sheep skin in order to hide his black goat features. Seeing her reflection in the white sheep skin, Selene came down from the night sky and Pan was able to woo and seduce her. By one account, this is how “The Man in the Moon” came to be.
Pan And Psyche
Thankfully, we can see that Pan isn’t all lusty goat-god out to ravage everyone he sees. After Psyche lost her lover, Eros, she went wandering in great despair. When Psyche’s wandering brought her the banks of a river, she intended to throw herself in it to drown.
Luckily for Psyche, both Pan and Echo were nearby as Pan was teaching Echo his songs. Seeing Psyche in her despair, Pan called her to him. Seeing how love-sick she was, Pan told Psyche not to kill herself but instead to make prayers and seek out the attention of Eros so she could eventually draw him back to her. After receiving the advice, Psyche went on her way.
Universal God
The idea of Pan’s name becoming associated with the meaning of “all” and Pan being a god of all, a universal deity comes about during Roman times. Over a period as the meanings of a word or words change or become confused.
It makes sense, Pan being a god of the wild places and all of nature, even human nature.
Pan Is Dead!?!
In Plutarch’s “The Obsolescence of Oracle,” he mentions that Pan is the only Greek god who is dead. According to this account, during the reign of Tiberius (between 14-37 C.E.) there had come news of Pan’s death to a sailor by the name of Thamus. The ship that Thamus was one was headed for Italy and when they passed by the Echinades islands, specifically, the island of Paxi, a divine called out to Thamus asking: “Thamus, are you there? When you reach Palodes, take care to proclaim that the great god Pan is dead.” The voice is to have called out three time to Thamus and when they reached their destination, Thamus spread the word of Pan’s passing much to others dismay.
The Rumors Of Pan’s Demise….
Now, it has been put forward by others such as Robert Graves, Salomon Reinach and James S. Van Teslaar, that Thamus and those onboard the ship may have misheard what was said. That it was: “the all-great Tammuz is dead” and not “Thamus, Great Pan is dead.” As the phrase spoken, “Thamus Panmegas tethneke” that is to have been said could easily have been misunderstood by those who didn’t speak the language.
When Pausanias traveled through Greece a century later after Plutarch, he discovered that a good many of Pan’s shrines and sacred places were still very much so in use. Jump forward to the 18th century C.E. and Christians have taken Plutarch’s words for gospel truth and have repeated it for history and allegorical truths with the passing of older, ancient orders and for a new age. Poets like John Milton have used the cry of: “Great Pan is dead!” taken to using this line in their poetry.
Are Greatly Exaggerated
To complicate this, even if Pan were dead, he wouldn’t have been the first deity or immortal to die. There’s Chiron, who died of a poisoned arrow and then you have Dionysus who was killed by the Titans. You could count the gorgon Medusa among this number for Greek immortals, only the stories will say she was really just mortal as the Greeks cling to the idea that an immortal can’t really, truly die. That’s only the Greek mythology without touching any other mythologies.
Seeing as this looks like it all stems from a misunderstanding or mistranslation that once the 18th century arrived, took off in people’s imaginations. When looking among the Neopagan, New Age and Wiccan crowd, the veneration and honoring of Pan as an aspect of the Horned God is still very active.
Margaret Murray, in 1933 wrote in her book “The God of the Witches” a theory how Pan was worshiped in Europe by a witch cult. This book is what has contributed to many modern Pagan and Wiccan religions using the Horned God as a symbol of male sexuality and prowess.
The important thing to remember with the 18th century is that this when Pan also makes a come back in literature. He makes an appearance in “The Wind and the Willows.” James Barrie’s famous character of Peter Pan is in part based off of Pan. Not just the last name of Pan, but a strong connection is made in “Peter Pan in Kensington’s Garden” where a young Peter is seen riding a goat.
That’s just a few of the works of literature or poetry to be inspired by and use Pan.
The Devil You Know…
One thing that seems so obvious, when looking at most Christian versions of the devil is the similarity of imagery with Pan, the horns and the cloven hooves. Much of medieval and even post-medieval Christian imagery in literature and art depicts a dark caricature of Pan as the devil or Satan. It really seems unmistakable. Ronald Hutton has noted that this imagery tends to be more modern and is influenced by Pan’s popularity during the Victorian and Edwardian eras.
Pushan – Hindu God
A Vedic solar god and guardian of flocks and herds. This is more of a modern idea as scholars see Pushan’s name as originating from a Proto-Indo-European god: Péhusōn, an important pastoral deity. It is thought that Péhusōn shares a root word with the English word “pasture.” As a result, the idea then comes that Pushan is a cognate of Pan. The German scholar, Hermann Colitz proposed the idea in 1924 of connecting Pan with Pushan.
Faunus – Roman God
The ancient Romans identified Pan with their own woodland deity of Faunus or Inuus.
Faunus is a vegetation deity as well as a god of prophecy and shepherds, so it’s easy to see how the Romans would come to equate the two gods as being one and the same. It is noteworthy to mention that only after the Faunus’ association with Pan did his depiction in art begin to change and become more like Pan’s with the goat hooves and horns. Some Roman accounts have Faunus as the son of the god Mars (Greek Ares) instead of Mercury (Greek Hermes). Faunus is known as the father of Bona Dea or Fauna.
Inuus being a fertility god and a god of shepherds was often used more as an epitaph of Faunus rather than a separate deity.
