Erotic God to Impish Cherub--The Story of Eros and Cupid

 

"Gods of Love" by Christine Graves via Leonardo AI 

and NightCafe Studio

 

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. Okay, technically it's the day AFTER Valentine's Day, but what's a day when it comes to love? 

One of the most common symbols of Valentine's Day is Cupid. The cute little cherub that flits around on his little wings and shoots arrows into the hearts of lovers who then fall in love and live happily ever after. But here's the thing. That's a more modern conception. 

I've always been a fan of ancient history and knew that Cupid was the Roman god of love. The child of the Goddess of Love, Venus and the God of War, Mars. But that's not where this god originated. In fact, the Greeks had dibs on the God of Love long before Rome was a thing. 

In the earliest depictions, Eros was one of the primordial gods, coming forth from Chaos itself. He was the embodiment of passion and sexual love, hence the term "erotic". Over time, he became an associate of--then the child of--Aphrodite, Goddess of Love. 

Eros was usually depicted as a winged youth, but not a child. Though he was known to shoot his arrows into the hearts of humans and gods alike, he was usually shown with a lyre or symbols of fertility. One of his most famous stories was in the myth of Apollo and Daphne. 

After Apollo had mocked the young god on his archery skills, Eros decided to get his revenge by shooting one of his love arrows into the Olympic god's heart. Apollo fell passionately in love with a nymph named Daphne and began to pursue her relentlessly. 

Daphne had no intention of allowing Apollo to ravage her, so she prayed to her father, a minor river god, for help. The river god transformed his daughter into the Laurel Tree, which would become sacred to Apollo.

It was said that no one was immune to Eros' arrows. Not even himself. In the story of Eros and Psyche, the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, had become angered that a mortal woman (Psyche) was attracting more attention than herself. She sent Eros to force the woman to fall in love with the most vile human alive. However, when he saw the girl, he fell hopelessly in love. Some stories say it was because he'd accidentally pierced himself with one of his arrows, others say it was simply because of her beauty.

Once Rome hit the scene, they shamelessly took over most of the Greek deities, including Eros. However, in Rome, he was called Cupid and was portrayed as the mischievous son of the Roman gods of Love and War, Venus and Mars (or Vulcan, depending on the myth). 

Cupid was a very minor deity in the Roman pantheon and was seen as just a naughty little boy. However, there was still a myth about him and Psyche, which is odd since he was seen as not much more than a baby. 

It wasn't until nearly a thousand years after the Romans had left the British Isles that he came into his own. Artists such as Michaelangelo added depictions of Cupid to their works, giving him a more Christian angelic feel. Which, again, is odd in that he was originally the god of physical love.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Cupid became a symbol for the Valentine's Day holiday. It was around this time that lovers began sending each other cards declaring their love for each other. As a way to cash in on the trend, cardmakers used the symbol of the little winged baby with bow and arrow as their messenger. And it stuck.

Today, most people don't think of him as a Roman deity or a Greek god. He's just a silly little boy who goes around shooting lovers in the heart with his passion-dipped arrows. Because nothing says I love you like getting shot in the chest. 

Stupid Cupid by Connie Francis--

Smurfstools Oldies Music Time Machine

Until next time,
Christine Graves--AKA--The Librarian

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Christine Graves has been writing for more than 30 years. She runs several blogs including Priestess of Words, Collected Keepsakes, and Mystic Realms, all of which are part of her company, Graves Publications. She also writes for a platform called Medium.com, in which she runs a few publications.

Christine is also an avid crafter and multi-media artist. She runs two online stores. Prairied Treasures is where she showcases her handmade greeting cards and other multi-media art, and Pathways through the Past is where she sells her AI art creations on a wide variety of products.

If you'd like to stay up to date with everything she's got going on, you can sign up for her Graves Publications newsletter.

The Sinister Story of Spring-Heeled Jack

 

"Spring-Heeled Jack" by Christine Graves via Leonardo AI

Though I grew up in Rural Nebraska, I loved the stories of Old England. As an ancient history fanatic, I read all I could about characters such as Boudicca, Queen Maeve, King Arthur, Merlin, and many others. However, I also have a fascination with Victorian London. I can't explain it, but I feel as though I was supposed to be there during that time.

I've probably read every story about Jack the Ripper produced up to the mid-1980s. I was obsessed. As I read a few of those tales, I came across a legend about an individual called Spring-Heeled Jack. He wasn't as popular as Jack the Ripper, but he was a lot more mysterious. 

A few of the things I read claimed that they were one and the same. I find that difficult to believe as the events happened 50 years apart. However, if you subscribe to the theory that he was more than just a man, I guess it could happen.

I hadn't thought of this story for quite some time, then he suddenly leapt into my brain. I decided that I'd let Spring-Heeled Jack lead the way for my first real post. So, here's what I've learned.

The Legend of Spring-Heeled Jack

In the autumn of 1837, a London businessman claimed to have been confronted by a sinister individual dressed in a long cloak with malicious intent. It was said the individual had the ability to leap great distances, had glowing red eyes, and claws for hands. 

Within only a few months, several incidents were to be attributed to Spring-Heeled Jack. Young women were beginning to report that he had attacked them in the night, tearing at their clothes and clawing at their bellies. There were even some reports that claimed he would spray a blue liquid from his mouth onto his victims. 

In early 1838, the mayor of London formally recognized the growing concern in his city. Though he may not have believed every story that came across his desk, he did read a letter during a public session that claimed to have known the possible identity of the individual known as Spring-Heeled Jack. 

The letter described a group of friends who were virtually daring their most adventurous member, to create as much havoc as possible. He was said to have dressed as a bear, a ghost, and even the devil himself. However, from there, the legend grew.

Stories of Spring-Heeled Jack grew more and more exaggerated as time went by. He was said to have been seen throughout the British Isles, including Scotland. There was even some speculation that the gentleman may have been an Irish nobleman who was known for his drunken escapades. 

Though the actual events took place in the early 19th century, stories of Spring-Heeled Jack continued well into the 20th century. He was thought to be everything from a demon to an alien, and even possibly one of the fae folk. He became the monster parents would tell their children about when trying to get them to behave.

As I read through some of the stories of Spring-Heeled Jack, I couldn't help but wonder if Robert Louis Stevenson got the idea of Mr. Hyde from some of these stories. Maybe that's just my more modern outlook and the fact that I thought The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen had the best Mr. Hyde, EVER!!!

"Mr. Hyde" by Christine Graves via Leonardo AI

Though I've always been a lover of ancient tales, there's something to be said for modern mythologies. They remind us that we still believe in dark forces, we still fear monsters, and we still get scared at the things that go bump in the night. 

Now that's something to sleep on. 

Until next time,
Christine Graves--AKA--The Librarian

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Christine Graves has been writing for more than 30 years. She runs several blogs including Priestess of Words, Collected Keepsakes, and Mystic Realms, all of which are part of her company, Graves Publications. She also writes for a platform called Medium.com, in which she runs a few publications.

Christine is also an avid crafter and multi-media artist. She runs two online stores. Prairied Treasures is where she showcases her handmade greeting cards and other multi-media art, and Pathways through the Past is where she sells her AI art creations on a wide variety of products.

If you'd like to stay up to date with everything she's got going on, you can sign up for her Graves Publications newsletter.

Digging a Treasure Out of the Trash

 

Hello everyone. I'd like to introduce myself once again. My name is Christine Graves and I've been writing for more than 30 years. I started this little blog as a place to blow off steam during the Covid lockdown. As you can see, I didn't get a lot done on this site. 

However, I could never bring myself to shut it down. Something told me to just leave it alone as it might come in handy in the future. Well, the future has arrived. 

I've always had a fascination with histories, mysteries, and mythologies. I know more about the ancient world than I do with what's going on in the world today. I love the old stories and the tales from civilizations that no longer exist. The further back in time I can go, the better. 

As such, I've spent decades learning all I can about the ancient world, ancient mysteries, and the paranormal. I won't say I'm totally open-minded to everything I read and/or hear, but I am one of those "why not" type of people.

A few years back, I wrote for a multi-blogging site and compiled tons of information on everything from vampires and werewolves, to gods and aliens. I wanted to compile a library of information that would allow readers to find just about anything they could want to find. I've decided to use this site to do just that.

Now, with that being said, it's not going to happen overnight. I have a bad habit of jumping into these endeavors with both feet only to find out I can't swim. This time, I need to take things slowly and pay attention to details. 

This is also going to be more like an old-school blog. Yes, there will be a lot of my own beliefs in these passages, but I won't expect anyone to change their opinion based on mine. I'll simply state the facts as I find them. Or at least what's deemed as fact right now. 

I invite you to come along as we add new volumes to the library and build minds in the Mystic Realms.

Until next time,
Miss Chris!!!

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Christine Graves has been writing for more than 30 years. She runs several blogs including Priestess of Words, Collected Keepsakes, and Mystic Realms, all of which are part of her company, Graves Publications. She also writes for a platform called Medium.com, in which she runs a few publications.

Christine is also an avid crafter and multi-media artist. She runs two online stores. Prairied Treasures is where she showcases her handmade greeting cards and other multi-media art, and Pathways through the Past is where she sells her AI art creations on a wide variety of products.

If you'd like to stay up to date with everything she's got going on, you can sign up for her Graves Publications newsletter.

The Possibility that Giants Actually Existed

Photo by Jez Timms on Unsplash

Is it possible that giants may have actually roamed the Earth? I believe so, but not the 50-foot tall beasts that we read about in the books. I think it may have more to do with ancient peoples encountering other tribes/clans. 

Many ancient tales of giants seem to have originated from seafarers. As these sailors would go from one port to another, they'd encounter peoples they'd never seen before. Those people from around the Mediterranean were shorter in the ancient world than they are today. The average height of a Roman soldier seems to have been between 5' 5" and 5' 7". 

As ancient seafarers and warriors moved into the Balkan Regions and around the Black Sea, the inhabitants must have seemed enormous. The Thracians, from around modern Bulgaria, were said to be wild and savage warriors of large stature. 

The Roman Emporer Maximinus was said to be of Thracian blood, or at least partially. Some accounts have him standing more than 8-foot tall and having a thumb so large as to wear his wife's bracelet as a ring. Though there's no real proof of this, the Greek historian, Herodian, provided a description of the man. He said in his History of the Roman Empire (7:1:12) that "his appearance was frightening and his body was huge".

The Bible tells stories of giants throughout Mesopotamia. Probably the most famous is that of David and Goliath. The Philistine was portrayed as a giant 9-foot tall, and to the smaller Judean tribe, it probably seemed true. 

There are many stories from various Native American tribes that recount a race of giants that roamed the lands. Many were said to be of white skin and had red hair. They were quite large and very war-like. Ironically, there is a theory (The Solutrean Hypothesis) that says Western Europeans crossed the Atlantic some 3,000 years before the Clovis culture crossed the Bering Strait. Could this be the giants told of in the stories?

I can't say that I believe that there was an actual "race of giants" that populated the world. However, I do think that many of the stories about extremely large people were based in fact. And you? What do you believe? Is it possible that giants actually existed?

*~~~*~~~*~~~*

© Christine Graves 2020

Welcome to Mystic Realms

Image by DarkWorkX from Pixabay

Hello and welcome to Mystic Realms. Allow me to introduce myself (to those of you who may not know me). My name is Christine Graves and I am an avid writer. I'm not a great writer. I'm not a well-known writer. But I do like to write in a wide variety of genres. 

Mystic Realms is going to be a space filled with stories of the unknown. I'm a huge fan of ancient history, mysteries, and mythologies. I love a good "Who Dunnit?" and I'm one of those weirdos who think they can solve mysteries that have baffled the experts for eons. If you're going to dream, dream big.

My goal for the site is to take a look at the "other" side of life. I'll write about odd disappearances, possible truths behind ancient myths and legends, and anything else that might fall into these categories. I'll be discussing historical moments that have a bit of a strange twist to them. If it seems weird, odd, or even completely impossible, I'll be talking about it.

I'll also be reviewing various books and websites throughout the cyber-verse that have to do with this genre. I have a lot of writing friends who dabble in this sort of thing and can't wait to tell you all about them. They're an awesome lot.

If you have any topics you'd like to see listed here, let me know. I'm always up for hearing what the readers are interested in. According to my husband, I'm the only person on the planet who has an interest in this type of thing, but I know that not true. Please help me prove him wrong. 

So come along and let's see if we can't find the truth in the world of unknown. We'll right the wrongs, prove the improbable, and maybe have a few laughs along the way. So here we go, kids. Let's journey into the Mystic Realms.