TFBT: Pindar Paean 9

Here, Pindar is lamenting an eclipse; 

 “Sun’s brilliant beam, what are you thinking?—oh! Mother of all our world’s eyes (Nyx), preeminent star high above, stolen away during daytime?”  

Actually, I think it is just a tease to get the audience’s attention, sort of like the start of the evening news when they tell you they will be talking about something really important after the commerical break.  He continues; 

“Oh hallowed driver of swift horses (Helios), to steer this portentous sign shown everywhere, to happy, pain-free prosperity for Thebes.”

He is talking about when; 

"When spangled-robed night (Nyx) shall veil his brightness."  (Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 23)

Pindar is a pretty upbeat positive kind of person, plus he isn’t going to disappoint his Theban patron with a bad prophecy.  Rather I suspect he will follow other poets in a positive impression of the coming of the Night; 

"Sable-vestured Nyx (Night) came floating up o'er the wide firmament, and brought her boon of sleep to sorrowing mortals."  (Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 3. 656)  “bringing men release from toil." (10. 435) “dissolving anxious care, the friend of mirth…Be present, Goddess, to thy suppliant's prayer, desired by all, whom all alike revere, blessed, benevolent, with friendly aid dispel the fears of twilight's dreadful shade."  (Orphic Hymn 3 to Nyx) “and laid to rest the cares of men and the prowlings of wild beasts, and wrapped the heavens in her dusky shroud, coming to all with kindly influence." (Statius, Thebaid 3. 406)  
"O Nox (Night) who castest thy mantle over the toiling earth and heaven, and sendest the fiery stars on their divers roaming courses, gracious refresher of the mind, till the next sun shed blithe upspringing upon faint mortality, thou, kindly Nox . . . Ever shall this house throughout the circling periods of the year hold thee high in honour and in worship; black bulls of chosen beauty shall pay thee sacrifice, O goddess” (Statius, Thebaid 1. 497 ff)

All the benefits of “thrice prayed for, most fair, best beloved Night” listed above seem to correlate with the hinted “pain-free prosperity for Thebes.”

TFBT: Theban Deities vs the Olympians

  Let's talk about Hebe; the eventual wife of the Theban hero turned god – Heracles.   In Greek myth Hebe passes up cups of nectar; which insured youth and beauty  In Norse myth Iduna passed out apples with the same affect.   In Norse myth the Aesir and Vanir exchanged hostages. In some societies, such hostages are brides. Could Hebe be such a hostage? Heracles could have accomplished a lot of damage if he hadn't be treated nicely and welcomed into the family and even adopted by Hera when ascending to Olympus 

We wonder about Ares and Aphrodite's daughter Harmonia. Zeus weds Cadmus' sister Europa and produces three long-lived demi-gods. After helping Zeus slay Typhon, Cadmus weds Zeus granddaughter and they produce two divine daughters and two divine grandsons. Were these cross-marriages an attempt to keep peace between the Theban and Olympian deities?   

The Theban deities were actually offspring from the Cadmus-Harmonia marriage and possibly became the cause for divine vendetta against Cadmus and his descendants. The divine potentiality of the house of Cadmus in combination with Theban land to breed deities does not seem to be apparent until after Harmonia was given to Cadmus (and his sister Europa’s sons came of age.) There must have been much alarm on Olympus, and then peace was kept by allowing Dionysus into the Olympian family.   

Dionysus does not integrate well. We don't know any story of him having a divine friend. In Homer, he seems to be a minor deity who does not dwell on Olympus or even visit it.  However, he returned Hephaestus to Olympus, was rescue by Thetis (like Hephaestus and their mutual father) and in one relief sculpture, Themis drops off Dionysus at the Gigantomachy. You know that some source said that the first incarnation of Dionysus (Zagreus) was scheduled by Zeus to be his heir - maybe this child was "meant by destiny" to be Zeus' heir. 

Oh by the way, Dionysus rescued and wed Adriane, grand-daughter of Europa, sister of Cadmus. Their mom was Telephassa, wife of Agenor. See the Divine Descendants of Telephassa for further information  Telephassa is said to mean "far-shining". The same lady is also called Argiope, "silver-faced" or "silver-eyed". Looks like the Moon. The Greeks assigned very important descendants to minor lunar quasi-deities such as Io and Telephassa. Some sources say Telephassa was a mere mortal, or the daughter of Nile. (It seems that all mythological figures that are even remotely interesting either descend from water deities or marry them or both. You can see the family tree here listed under her brother-in-law’s name.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belus_(Egyptian)

Libya, granddaughter of Zeus and Io, has two sons, Agenor (husband of Telephassa) and Belus. Both have a dose of divine genes, both marry daughters of Nile, both live in far-away countries but their children are lured back to Greece. We all know about the royal house of Thebes and Sarpedon's death at Troy. At the same time, the fate of the sons of Aegyptus is rarely discussed. Whose plan were their deaths? Of Danaus and his daughters, or of Zeus himself? It seems that 50 male and 50 female of divine ancestry were too many, and a drastic reduction was needed.   

Even still two of the Theban gods made it into Olympus; four counting Dionysus’ mother Semele (Thyone) and wife Adriane.

This is part of a continuing series of articles passed on conversations between WilliamMoulton2 and Maya M.Delete