Athena, take care of me.

Here she is, steady, wearing a simple tunic, in front of a stela. Her right hand is on her hip while the left one hold a spear against her forehead. A helmet with a crest covers her head. One of her foot, probably the right one, is entirely on the floor, but the other one, with the held up heel, is only supported by the extremity of her foot.

It seems like she is reading something written on the stela or thinking and meditating. If we weren't sure it was Athena - but her helmet and spear leave no doubts - we could see an Athenian woman meditating at some parent's grave. We are not sure, as her position is so natural, whether the dominating feeling is melancholy or lassitude. She looks like absorbed by her thoughts and, on the contrary to the numerous other representations, virgin warrior or Olympian sovereign, she appears here surprisingly human.
This is not the kind of representation that is given in books about mythology. We prefer picturing her as the glorious Athena, born from the head of Zeus, holding the great Aegis with the head of Medusa, given by Perseus after he killed her. But this more simple Athena, this mourning Athena is the way I prefer picturing the Goddess. I've grown up under her shadow during my high school years, reading every book I could find about her and the Olympian Gods. She sometimes whispered me lots of secrets about the difficult art of charming humans thanks to the light of wisdom and not by the attraction of the body.

There is always something moving about seeing the Gods during their hours of weakness and doubts. I know that I'm saying things that haven't crossed the artist's mind. He has surely only though to his contemporaries, to his own desire to represent the Goddess. But the hand on the hip, the help up heel, the finder on the forehead, testify an unusual vision of Athena, fragile and familiar silhouette.
Let's think about it : the Goddess has come here from the sky to us, taking the appearance of a simple mortal. Is it about this question that she is thinking? About death, this end ignored by the Gods? Yes, is it this question that astonish or worry her? This mystery that the Gods will never know and that is, I could say, the privilege of humans?

I'm travelling to Kythira.

It is often told to young Greeks that the ionian islands are one of the most mysterious places in the world and are known in greek folklore and mythology to be the landmarks where the mythologian Gods enjoyed their immortal lives, escaping from the Olympus Mount.

Therefore, these places are rich of legends and myths about Gods and their endeavours to get closer to the humans. Before the reign of Zeus over the Greece and the Sky, there were Titans. Zeus defeated them with his brothers.

The beginning of the mythology in Greece begins with the birth of Titan and Cronus. Titan was the eldest child of the union of Ouranos (the Sky) and Gaia (mother Earth). Titan was the master of the world to be, but Gaia decided to promote her last born child, Cronus over Titan. Titan eventually decided to give his place of master of the world to his younger brother but under one condition : he had to kill all his children he would have with his spouse Rhea. At his death, the world would go to the sons of Titan. Cronus agreed and his reign began. But Rhea wasn't that kind of mother : she concealed the birth of Zeus, Poseidon and Hades to her husband : she gave him big rocks instead of the babies (Here is one of the most interesting metaphor of the Time : Cronus is the greek word for "time" and therefore the God Cronus is the allegory of the relentless Time, devouring everything in its everlasting march, the source of Eternity). The babies were sent to Crete with the Korybantes where their father could not see them (In some versions, Poseidon is eaten alive by Cronus and saved later by Zeus).

But Titan eventually discovered the deception. He declared the war to his brother Cronus and took him prisoner. But Zeus was now strong and powerful and thanks to the help of the Giants he triumped over Titan and his family. Cronus was from now on the master of the world but his was distrustful towards his son, the almighty Zeus. He decided to kill him to reign safely. Zeus called to arms his brothers Hades and Poseidon. The Cyclopes forged the lightning-bolts for Zeus. The three brothers defeated their father who exiled in Italy to Janus house.

This is how begins all the greek mythology: with a strong brotherhood. Cronus escaped to Italy to find Janus, King of the Latium. Here began the Golden Age with the reign of Cronus and Janus. No more hard work, no masters, no slaves and total liberty. To thank Janus for sharing the throne with him, Cronus gave him the skill to see the future and the past. This is why Janus is represented double faced.

Zeus and his brothers decided to settle their kindgom in the Olympus. Zeus divided the world into three major parts: Poseidon was given the Seas, Hades obtained the Hell kindgom, Zeus took the Sky and became the master of the Olympus. But the Giants decided to attack Zeus. These horrific creatures tried to break into the Olympus Palace. Thanks to the Cyclopes' gift, Zeus won once again the battle for the Olympus. He destroyed the Giants and the Titans and buried them under the Earth. But the Titans were not completely defeated: crippled, they continue to scream and show their anger. Therefore in the greek mythology, the volcanos were considered as the mouths of the buried titans.
From this event, the pantheon of greek Gods grew larger and larger to rule the world.



Let's get back to the ionian islands. Most of them have a peculiar history related to greek Gods. But I'm pretty sure you never heard about the small island of Kythira. Heaven of tranquility and beauty, this small island is located right in the South of the continental Greece.


One of the most beautiful goddess of the olympic pantheon was Aphrodite. She was the incarnation of beauty, seduction, love and pleasure. In the Illiad, the masterpiece of Homer, this poet tells more about this goddess. It appears that Aphrodite is the daughter of the Zeus and Dione (one of the several daughters of Atlas). But nobody's sure about that version of the story. Ask a Greek who looked into mythology and he will tell you that Aphrodite was in no way the daughter of Zeus but came into life from the the oldest god : Ouranos, the Father Sky. She was born when Cronus cut off Ouranos' genitals and threw them into the sea. From the sea foam (aphros in greek), Aphrodite came into life. This birth is worldwide known thanks to the work of Boticelli and its Birth of the Venus (latin name for Aphrodite).


And the story tells that she was born from a crashing wave on the shores of that small isle of Kythira.

Nowadays, our language is mostly inspired by these kinds of stories and myths. Here is one example with the birth of Aphrodite: as she was born on the shores of Kythira, this island became a kind of peculiar landmark for lovers. And in heritage, there is one phrase that is used to express love: I'm travelling to Kythira. This metaphor is used in poems and essays to say that someone is ready to sink into love and its delights.

Maybe I'm getting ready for that delicate journey and I'm about to travel to that mysterious island...
EDIT: Actually I do think I have arrived.


Yeah, mythology is one of my greatest passion along with music. And here is the first article of a long serie I guess.