God of the week: Hades

Hades in Greek mythology is the son of Cronus and Rhea. He is brother to Zeus and rules over the underworld. Hades tricked and kidnapped his niece Persephone and made her his bride, causing Demeter to curse the Earth part of the year giving rise to winter. Hades is known as Pluto to the Romans. The name is the Latin derivative of the name the Greeks began to call Hades,Pluton. Guarding the entryways into Hades underworld realm Erebus, is the three headed dog Cerberus.(Although Homer refers to Cerberus as a dog it is closer to a serpent as its is the child of a half-human half serpent hybrid Echidna) Cerberus is later defeated by Heracles(Hercules) in “the twelfth labor of Heracles” where Hades agrees to let Heracles take Cerberus to the surface if he can subdue him unarmed.

 Hades is the ruler of the underworld, and is often feared by mortals. The realm of Hades is the place where all of the dead go when they die rather than simply a separate place of punishment. Erebus was one of the three realms divided up by drawing of lots, whereas Zeus(Jupiter) rules the skies, Poseidon(Neptune) rules the sea, and Hades(Pluto) rules the underworld. If you were judged to go to Tartarus it was there Hades would decide how you would be punished, according to whatever crimes you committed. Although hated and feared, Hades was more of “supervisor” of the underworld.  

God of the week : Persephone

God of the week : Persephone

Persephone was the Greek goddess of the harvest. She was the Daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Persephone is sometimes referred to as the princesses of the underworld. The Homeric hymn to Demeter tells the story of how Hades carried her away to the underworld to make her his bride. Upon hearing what had happened her mother ,Demeter, caused all of the vegetation on the earth to stop growing. The cries of the people and the other gods persuaded Zeus to send word to Hades to release Persephone. Hades agreed to release her, but before doing so he tricked her into tasting the pomegranate fruit. In doing this, he had cursed her into being bound to him in the underworld for half the year. The story of the abduction of Persephone is often called the rape of Persephone as she was forced to to be the bride of Hades, and then later to bound to him half the year.

Ovid gives her Roman name Proserpine. In the version told in the Metamorphoses it was Jupiter that decided she would spend half the year in the underworld. He did this to console Ceres (the name given to Demeter by Ovid). This was because Jupiter had said he would only rescue Proserpine provided she hadn't eaten anything in the underworld. So when Ceres had learned that Proserpine had eaten the pomegranate she was devastated at the loss, and Jupiter offered consolation by allowing her to return for six months out of the year.    

God of the week : Dionysus

God of the week : Dionysus

Dionysus was the son of Zeus and the mortal Semele(daughter of Cadmus of Boeotia) Often referred to as the god of vegetation and wine. The jealousy of Hera led to the deception of Zeus ,tricking him into showing his true self to Semele. The true form of Zeus incinerated Semele. In some accounts, Zeus took the unborn Dionysus into his thigh were he was taken to Olympus to be born.

The adult life of Dionysus was filled with spreading his teachings in human form across the land. He would madden those who didn't believe or worship his divinity, and he would bring wine and happiness to those who did. We see in the tragedy of Euripides, The Bacchae, Dionysus is arrested and brought before Pentheus. Pentheus interrogates Dionysus for his crimes of corrupting Thebes. After the brief interrogation period Dionysus is placed in the dungeon , where he escapes by conjuring earthquakes and fire from his mothers tomb. Dionysus proceeds to madden and trick Pentheus into adorning a costume and walking up the mountain to be torn apart by his own mother. The method of slaughter was indicative of the ritual madness the worship of Dionysus involved.

In The Metamorphoses of Ovid we see Dionysus by the name preferred by the Romans, Bacchus. This is the story were we get the fable of king Midas. Dionysus grants king Midas any gift he wants for returning Silenus, the foster father of Dionysus. Midas foolishly asks that whatever he touches turns to gold. Finding he can no longer eat or drink because of the impetuous “gift” he asked for, Midas begged Dionysus to free him. Midas was instructed to the river to release his "gift" into the waters, where the riverbed became lined with gold.

God of the week, Inti

In the pre-Columbian era of the Americas lived a relatively vast civilization. It's center rested in what is now known as Peru. This civilization was called the Inca empire. The empire was known for human sacrifice and cranial deformation rituals. The Capacocha ritual involved selecting children of the greatest health to sacrifice to appease their gods. Sometimes this would be in response to famine, major events, or the death of the Sapa Inca(ruler or emperor). Their rulers were believed to be of divine right to rule.

Inti their sun god was the patron deity of their polytheistic traditions. Inti is the brother of the moon and was the patron deity of the Cuzco their holy city. Also known as home of the sun. The Incas worshiped Inti in three forms as they represent the different stages of the sun during the year. A festival was held each year to celebrate Inti, during the winter solstice. Inti is attributed with building the Inca capital. This action involved a golden disc, said to represent Inti.

The worship of Inti, and their festival of Inti Raymi, involved sacrifices, fasting, and banquets of food. As part of this festival, the people would fast for three days and celebrate for nine days, presumably to represent the three aspects of Inti. The three parts of the deity are Apu-Inti, Churi-Inti, and Guauqui-Inti. Apu Inti, is the father and often is associated with the summer solstice. As the father, he is lord of the sun and acts as an overseer or guardian. Churi-Inti, is the son and is associated with the day or daylight. Because of this connection, the deity is associated with the winter solstice, as it is a time when the days are at their shortest. Guauqui-Inti is the brother. The brother is a representative of the sun and the practices associated with Inti and his followers, most importantly rulers or priests.

The brother may have been a figure that was included to represent the rulers as a means to justify their divinity. The Inca rulers were decedents of the gods and thereby entitled to ruler over others. This was incorporated as a method of maintaining their hold on power within their own society and over captured citizens of other cities. Inti became a symbol of the Inca empire and their victory over other peoples. Natural disasters, primarily issues regarding the sun, were taken as a sign of Inti's anger toward the people. Sacrifices to the god to please him in times of drought or during an eclipse. The god provided the Inca people with a motivation to conquer other nations and to remain dedicated to their divine rulers without question. Providing the people with this purpose, has proven effective in motivating citizens to rely on those in power and to follow without question.