Written in the Stars·Stand — Feast of Human Flesh
On Mount Olympus, Zeus’ male lover poured Ambrosia into the cups of gods. The bastard son of Zeus cooks a feast of human flesh for the gods. Floral preserves accompanied by the aroma of human flesh awaited the gods. All the truth is in black, and this grand banquet is but “the Feast of Nero” to test the foresight of the gods.
Sky Erotica
As we have already told, Plouto (Ancient Greek: Πλουτώ), one of the three thousand Oceanids, was seduced by Zeus and gave birth to Tantalus (Ancient Greek: Τάνταλος Tántalos).
Zeus loved Tantalus so much that he often summoned him to Olympus to dine with the gods. To show off to the mortals, Tantalus stole the food of the gods, Ambrosia, the food (or drink) of immortality — brought to the table by a dove at each gathering and served to the gods by Hebe (Greek: Ἥβη), the goddess of youth or the prime of life. Hebe means “youth, vigour.” Later, Ganymede (or Ganymedes; Ancient Greek: Γανυμήδης Ganymēdēs), Zeus’ lover of the same sex, took on this work.
Ganymede was a young goat herder from Troy (Ancient Greek: Τροία, romanized: Troíā). Zeus, coveting this supreme beauty among mortals, sent an eagle to take him captive to Olympus to become his lover and personal wine-pourer. Ganymede’s father was Tros (Ancient Greek: Τρώς), who was the founder of Troy. To compensate for the loss of his son, Zeus sent Tros the gift of fine horses, “the same that carry the immortals,” delivered by the messenger god Hermes (Greek: Ἑρμῆς).
[Ganymedes] was the loveliest born of the race of mortals, and therefore
the gods caught him away to themselves, to be Zeus’ wine-pourer,
for the sake of his beauty, so he might be among the immortals.— Homer, Iliad, Book XX, lines 233–235.
The ancient Greek philosopher Plato (Greek: Πλάτων) believed that Pederasty or paederasty in Greek mythology originated on the island of Crete (Greek: Κρήτη, Modern: Kríti; Ancient: Krḗtē). The practice influenced Greece and ancient Rome as a socially accepted romantic relationship between adult males (erastes) and young males (eromenos). The influence of pedophilia on Greek culture was so pervasive that it has been called “the principal cultural model for free relationships between citizens.” (Dawson, Cities of the Gods, p. 193) Plato even believed that Pederasty was a superior form of love compared to the love of women.
there is a certain kind of sexual relationship which was considered by many Greeks to be very important for the cohesion of the city: sexual relations between men and youths. Such relationships were taken to play such an important role in fostering cohesion where it mattered — among the male population — that Lycurgus even gave them official recognition in his constitution for Sparta
— Eros in Government: Zeno and the Virtuous City, Classical Quarterly 48 (1998), 168–174:
Tantalus not only stole Ambrosia of the immortals at the banquet of gods. Even worse, he told his people what he had heard of Zeus’ secrets. He also gave Zeus’ favorite golden dog to the thief Pandareus (Ancient Greek: Πανδάρεος). The dog had guarded Zeus during his infancy at Crete by the will of Rhea (Ancient Greek: Ῥέα). Zeus sent his son Hermes to steal the dog back again. Zeus did not punish his spoiled Tantalus, expecting him to correct himself for his mistake.
Tantalus married Dione (Ancient Greek: Διώνη, romanized: Diṓnē), one of the 3,000 Oceanids. Another version said that Dione was the daughter of Atlas. Her name means “She-Zeus.” The two had two sons, Pelops (Greek: Πέλοψ, translit. Pélops) and Broteas (Ancient Greek: Βροτέας), and a daughter, Niobe (Greek: Νιόβη, Nióbē).
Unpunished, Tantalus grew bolder and bolder. He wanted to know if gods were the omniscient. So, he decided to set up a great feast to test the divinity of gods. He killed his son Pelops and cut him into pieces. He cooked his son and served to the gods at a banquet on Olympus. The gods recognized Tantalus’ trick and did not eat the human flesh, except Demeter (Attic: Δημήτηρ Dēmḗtēr; Doric: Δαμάτηρ Dāmā́tēr), who was searching for her daughter Persephone (Greek: Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), kidnapped by Hades (Greek: ᾍδης, Hā́idēs). So, Demeter did not realize that Tantalus was offering her the human flesh and ate a piece of the shoulder of Pelops.
An enraged Zeus could no longer endure Tantalus’ disobedience and sent Tantalus to the underworld. Tantalus would stand forever in a pool of water under a fruit tree with low branches. Whenever he wants to pick a fruit, the branches will lift, then he never catches a fruit. Whenever he bent down wishing to drink, the water receded before he could get a drink. Above his head loomed a threatening rock, like the one Sisyphus (Ancient Greek: Σίσυφος Sísyphos) was punished for rolling up the mountain.
Hellenes
Prometheus (Ancient Greek: Προμηθεύς), the “forethought” who created the first man in the world, had a son, Deucalion (Greek: Δευκαλίων). Prometheus’ brother, Epimetheus (Greek: Ἐπιμηθεύς), the “afterthought,” as we analyzed earlier, may be the first man who married Pandora, the first woman in the world, and they had a daughter, Pyrrha (Ancient Greek: Πύῤῥα, romanized: Pýrrha). Deucalion and Pyrrha were united. When Zeus decided to end the Bronze Age with a great flood, Deucalion and Pyrrha were the only ones to survive. They raised three men and three women, who became the human ancestors of the new age.
Unlike the Eastern myth of brother and sister making humans, in Greek mythology, two couples who survived the Great Flood actually did not directly copulate and procreate. When the flood waters receded, and the Deucalion and Pyrrha set foot on land again, Themis (Ancient Greek: Θέμις, romanized: Themis), the goddess of justice, instructed them to throw back the bones to their mother. Deucalion and Pyrrha knew that “mother” referred to Gaia, the mother goddess of the earth, and that “bones” referred to stones from lands. They followed the oracle and threw the “bones” backward.
The stones thrown by Deucalion became three sons, Hellen (Ancient Greek: Ἕλλην), Amphictyon (or Amphiktyon; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφικτύων), and Orestheus (Ancient Greek: Ὀρεσθεύς derived from oresteros “mountainous” from όρος oros “mountain, hill”).
The stone thrown by Pyrrha became three daughters, the eldest, Protogeneia (Ancient Greek: Πρωτογένεια), meaning “the firstborn”. The second daughter, Pandora II (Ancient Greek: Πανδώρα). And the youngest daughter, Thyia (Ancient Greek: Θυία), meaning “to sacrifice.”
Hellen is the progenitor of the Hellenes (Greek: Έλληνες), whose name means “land of sun and rock.” Hellen founded Thessaly (Greek: Θεσσαλία, romanized: Thessalía; ancient Thessalian: Πετθαλία, Petthalía). His wife was the nymph Orseïs (Ancient Greek: Ὀρσηΐς), one of the naiads (Greek: ναϊάδες, translit. naïádes), whose name means “to rouse, stir, awaken, excite or arise.”
They had three sons: the eldest son Dorus (Ancient Greek: Δῶρος), whose name means “gift.” He became the ancestor of the Dorians (Greek: Δωριεῖς, Dōrieîs, singular Δωριεύς, Dōrieús). The second son, Xuthus (Ancient Greek: Ξοῦθος Xouthos), meaning “sparrow,” later became king of the Peloponnese and was the ancestor of Achaeans (Greek: Ἀχαιοί, romanized: Akhaioí) and Ionians (Greek: Ἴωνες, Íōnes, singular Ἴων, Íōn). In the 5th century BC, the Dorians and Ionians were the two most politically Hellenes (Greek: Έλληνες), and their eventual conflict led to the Peloponnesian War (Ancient Greek: Πόλεμος τῶν Πελοποννησίων, romanized: Pólemos tō̃n Peloponnēsíōn. 431–404 BC).
The youngest son, Aeolus (or Aiolos; Ancient Greek: Αἴολος), whose name was the same as the god of the winds in Greek myth, succeeded his father’s rule in Thessaly. Aeolus married Enarete (Ancient Greek: Ἐναρέτη), meaning “virtuous.” They had seven sons: Cretheus, Sisyphus, Athamas, Salmoneus, Deion, Magnes, Perieres, and five daughters: Canace, Alcyone, Pisidice, Calyce, and Perimede.
Aeolus also seduced the centaur (Ancient Greek: κένταυρος, romanized: kéntauros; Latin: centaurus) Hippe (Ancient Greek: Ἵππη), meaning “mare (horse),” to have a daughter. Unwilling to be known by her father, Chiron (Ancient Greek: Χείρων, romanized: Kheírōn, lit. ‘hand’), Hippe prayed to Artemis (Greek: Ἄρτεμις) for help, and the goddess transformed her into a mare, which later became the constellation Pegasus, called the Horse originally.
Sisyphus or Sisyphos (Ancient Greek: Σίσυφος Sísyphos), the second son of Aeolus and Enarete, founded Ephyra, the original name of Corinth (Greek: Κόρινθος, romanized: Kórinthos).
Hard to Love
Sisyphus’ brother Salmoneus (Ancient Greek: Σαλμωνεύς), meaning “the wicked,” founded Salmone (Ancient Greek: Σαλμώνη), one of the eight towns in Pisatis (Ancient Greek: ἡ Πισ ᾶτις). Salmoneus married the princess of Arcadia (Greek: Ἀρκαδία, romanized: Arkadía), daughter of King Aleus (or Aleos; Ancient Greek: Ἀλεός), Alcidice (Ancient Greek: Ἀλκιδίκη). The two had a daughter, Tyro (Ancient Greek: Τυρώ). Tyro’s name comes from the Greek word tyrôs, meaning “like cheese,” her complexion is as fair as white goat cheese.
After Alcidice death, Salmoneus took a second wife, Sidero (Ancient Greek: Σιδηρώ), whose name means “the Iron One.” Like many stepmothers in the world, Sidero often abused the beautiful Tyro.
Tyro fell in love with Enipeus, the river god, but the god lacked a sense of love and rejected her. But unwilling to let go of “like cheese” beauty, Poseidon, disguised as Enipeus, seduced Tyro and gave birth to twin sons, Pelias (Ancient Greek: Πελίας) and Neleus (Ancient Greek: Νηλεύς). Salmoneus and Sidero refused to raise the two illegitimate children. Tyro then left her and Poseidon’s twins on a mountain to die. A herdsman found them and raised the twins as his own. The twins later avenged their motheror by killing Tyro’s stepmother, Sidero.
Tyro first married her uncle, Cretheus (Ancient Greek: Κρηθεύς Krētheus), king of Iolcus (Ancient Greek: Ἰωλκός and Ἰαωλκός; Doric Greek: Ἰαλκός; Greek: Ιωλκός). They had three sons. The first son, Aeson (Ancient Greek: Αἴσων Aísōn), was the father of the Greek hero Jason (Greek: Ἰάσων, translit. Iásōn). The second son, Pheres (Ancient Greek: Φέρης, Phéres), was the founder of Pherae (Greek: Φεραί). The younger son, Amythaon (Ancient Greek: Ἀμυθάων, gen.: Ἀμυθάονος), married Idomene, daughter of Abas (Ancient Greek: Ἄβας), king of Argos (Greek: Άργος; Ancient and Katharevousa: Ἄργος).
Abbas was the twelfth king of Argos. He was the great-grandfather of Perseus (Greek: Περσεύς, translit. Perseús) and the founder of Abae (Ancient Greek: Ἄβαι, Abai) and Argos Pelasgikon (Ancient Greek: Ἄργος Πελασγικόν). Hera loved Abbas and blessed his shield to resist any sharp sword. Pelias, son of Tyro and Poseidon, later sent Jason to fetch the Golden Fleece (Ancient Greek: Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, romanized: Khrysómallon déras). We will tell more about this story later.
Sisyphus and Salmoneus hate each other, and Sisyphus consults the Delphic oracle for advice on how to kill his brother without any dire consequences to himself. The oracle informs Sisyphus that if he marries Tyro, she will bear him children who will kill Salmoneus.
Sisyphus then forced his niece, Tyro, to marry him and had two children. Upon hearing of the Apollo oracle that the children of Sisyphus and her would kill Salmoneus, Tyro’s father, then Tyro killed both sons.
Tyro did not allow Sisyphus’ plot to succeed — a rare case in Greek mythology where the oracle breaks down, and it perhaps illustrates the ultimate weapon to kill fate — “When will the sun perish, I will die with thee.” (The Book of Documents (Chinese: 書經)).
But Salmoneus was so overbearing and impious that he commanded his subjects to worship him under the name of Zeus. He commanded people to build a bridge of brass, and he drove over it at full speed in his chariot, dragging kettles and cauldrons. Imitating the thunder of Zeus, he threw torches into the air to represent lightning. Hubris often makes people think they can be bare-assed gods while wearing “The Emperor’s New Clothes (Danish: Kejserens nye klæder by Hans Christian Andersen(2 April 1805–4 August 1875)).” Zeus eventually struck him down with his thunderbolts and destroyed his city.
John Tzetzes (Greek: Ἰωάννης Τζέτζης, translit. Iōánnēs Tzétzēs; c. 1110, Constantinople — 1180, Constantinople) was a 12th-century Byzantine poet and grammarian who lived in Constantinople. He is known for his significant contributions in preserving valuable information from ancient Greek literature and scholarship. His most important work is the Book of Histories, called Chiliades, meaning “Thousands.” Two other important works of his are the Allegoriai on the Iliad and the Odyssey.
And he [i.e. Salmoneus] acted profanely, by casting torches (in the air) as if they were lightnings,
And dragging dried hides with kettles at his chariot,
Pretending to make thunder, so he was thunderstruck by Zeus.— John Tzetzes, Chiliades 7.9
Cycle of Fate
Sisyphus was a cunning tyrant who violated the traditions of hospitality by often killing guests and travelers in his palace to show off his power. Zeus, the king of the gods, was also a patron of hospitality (xenia) and guests, and he also avenged wrongs done to strangers. So Zeus ordered Thanatos (Ancient Greek: Θάνατος) to lock up Sisyphus in Tartarus (Ancient Greek: Τάρταρος, romanized: Tártaros).
Thanatos means “die, am dying,” the son of Nyx (Ancient Greek: Νύξ Nýx), the goddess and personification of the night. Sisyphus wonders why the Chiron, whose duty is to guide souls into the underworld, has not come. Sisyphus slyly asks Thanatos to demonstrate how his death chains work. As Thanatos demonstrates how the chains work, Sisyphus seizes the opportunity and chains Thanatos. Death could not return to work, and no one would die in the world.
It would have been an ending that everyone would have rejoiced in. And have been a matter of indifference even for the gods. But Ares (Ancient Greek: Ἄρης, Árēs), the god of war, was infuriated because the immortality of his opponent had taken the fun out of fighting and slaughtering for his bloodthirsty nature. Infuriated, Ares intervened, freed Thanatos, and handed Sisyphus to death. In this way, death once again came to the world of men. Thanatos immediately took Sisyphus’ soul.
Another brother of Prometheus, Atlas (Greek: Ἄτλας, Átlas), married Pleione (Ancient Greek: Πληιόνη or Πλειόνη), one of the 3,000 water nymphs Oceanids, and had seven daughters: Maia, Electra, Taygete, Alcyone, Celaeno, Sterope, and Merope. The youngest, Merope (Greek: Μερόπη), married Sisyphus after Tyro.
Before his death, Sisyphus told his wife, Merope, not to make a sacrifice to Hades (Greek: ᾍδης, translit. Hā́idēs), the king of the underworld, and Hades and the queen of the underworld, Persephone (Greek: Περσεφόνη, romanized: Persephónē), never waited for the sacrifice. Sisyphus then pleaded with Hades to let himself go back to earth and return after telling his wife to make the sacrifice. Of course, Sisyphus could not return to the underworld again. Hades was enraged. Wanting “have his cake and eat it too,” Hades is insatiable and claims both the human soul and the human sacrifice. So, he sent Thanatos to take Sisyphus to the underworld again.
As a punishment for his crime, Hades forced Sisyphus to roll a boulder endlessly up a steep hill in Tartarus. Hades demonstrated his ingenuity accordingly, casting a spell to make the boulder roll down before Sisyphus reached the peak. Sisyphus spends eternity doing useless work and suffering endless frustration.
Tantalus, Sisyphus, and the 49 husband-killing daughters of Danaus (Ancient Greek: Δαναός Danaós), like Prometheus, are all trapped in the endless cycle of the wheel of fate from which they can never escape. Nobel Prize winner Albert Camus (7 November 1913–4 January 1960) concludes, “One must imagine Sisyphus happy” as “The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart.”
The gods give humans hope, and hope becomes the illusion of life that drives humans to struggle; gods also arrange the destiny of humans, and destiny constantly destroys one illusion after another. The gods put people into the wheel of destiny, and the gods who drive the wheel while enjoying the destiny to crush humans are just like a donkey pulling the mill into the cycle of Sisyphus.
Arno Will, December 19, 2023, revised May 21, June 1, 2024
Ideas and Myths·Awakening
Ideas and Myths·Purpose For Man
Ideas and Myths·Written in the Stars
Written in the Stars·Predestined Fate
Written in the Stars·Destinies
Written in the Stars·Stand
Stand — Thunderbolt
Stand — Truth in Black
Stand — Feast of Human Flesh
Stand — Wonder Wheel
Stand — Blood Sword
Written in the Stars·Curses
Ideas and Myths·Liberation
