Hermes: Herald and Messenger to the god Zeus
Roman name: Hermes
Translation: Mercurius, Mercury
 
A jack of all trades, Hermes is also known as the god of herds and flocks, travelers and hospitality, roads trade, thievery and cunning, heralds, diplomacy, athletics, astronomy and astrology. He also had a lot to do with art, merchants and commerce.
 
Parents: Zeus and Maia

Consort: The nymph Penelopia

Children: Pan
 
Emblems and articles: Herald’s wand, winged helmet and boots
Animals associated with the god: The ram and the hare
 
Mentioned in: The Odyssey, where he gave the hero a magic herb to protect him from the witch Kirke, and many, many other myths.
 
 
 ˜**Your creepy bit of history** – As a newborn, Hermes crawled out of his crib and stole cattle from the god Apollon (pretty crafty kid). This amused Zeus so much that he decided to make Hermes an Olympian god.
 
Sources: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, theoi.com, greekmthology.com
 
His role in the Tides of Atlantis book series:
Hermes is first introduced in the Tides of Atlantis world in Crystal Tide. He finds Kay (FMC) on Mt. Olympus in Xieran’s home. Check out his big debut scene in the series down below.
 
Excerpt from Crytsal Tide:
 
***
Midway down the hall, steam billowed out of an open door, spilling onto the floor. In the middle of all the haze, a naked man stood. Well, there was a small white towel wrapped low around his hips but that was it. He was big. It seemed like all the men she’d been encountering lately were of the supersized variety. This one was covered head to toe with glistening golden muscle of which she could see nearly every inch, especially as the glorious steam started to dissipate.
The humming stopped, ending in a low, amused kind of growl that made Kay bring her eyes up. She’d been mesmerized by his physique but his face was perfection too ─ boyish good looks meets raw masculinity with two of the bluest eyes that she’d ever seen. His blonde hair was slicked back with moisture and one perfect gold brow lifted over his eye. A slow, one-sided smile shaped his mouth as he shifted his weight. He flung the loose towel he was holding up over his shoulder to rest there, hooked in his forefinger. Woof. This guy had to be a model, maybe for the cover of one of Esmé’s books…or a towel company. Yeah, she’d buy towels from him.
“Hello,” he said, “and who might you be?”
His voice was cultured. His tone low like he was speaking just above a whisper but she had no trouble hearing him. It was very sexy
A giant grin spread across his whole gorgeous mouth as he took a step toward her. Kay backed up, eyes widening but she still hadn’t found the nerve to say anything.
“Are you a friend of Xieran’s little lamb?”
He kept moving closer. She kept backing up. Man he was big! Standing at only five three herself, his size was unnerving. Her feet picked up speed as she scampered back out of the hallway until her heel hit the edge of that recessed floor and she started to fall.
His hands shot out, grabbing her right as she was about to go over, then he pulled her up against his shiny moist torso. Wow, just wow. She almost let a whimper out but restrained herself. After a second, he moved back a step to brush at a chunk of hair that had fallen over her eye. Kay shook her head. She probably looked like a Muppet. It must be her lot in life to be ever bedraggled in front of beautiful men.
Looking up into his eyes, she could have sworn the irises sparkled or glittered or something. She knew she had to get out of there…fast.
“Uh…uh…I-I don’t know how I got here,” she stuttered out finally.
He frowned.
“But I’d really like to go home now so…”
She nodded her head vigorously, making it hurt again and sending her hair back into her eye. A look of concern came over his gorgeous face. His too beautiful mouth opened but didn’t have the chance to speak before a new voice broke in from the other side of the room.
“No chance.”
Kay turned her head to look and nearly fell over again. It was her dream guy’s doppelganger from the fountain, the angry version.
“What are you doing here Hermes?”
 He must have been one of those men who was terminally pissed off because he was just as mad now as before.
Kay’s whole body went on high alert as soon as he walked into the room. He was so fierce and intimidating. Too bad he was also incredibly attractive – like, giving the Adonis in the towel a run for his money attractive. Kay shook her head, awestruck, he looked exactly like the King from her vision except that his hair was cut short and he had a sexy shadow beard. Also, he wore way more designer clothes but that didn’t hide the fact that his body was just as muscled and delicious as the man from her dream.
She realized he was scowling at her and snapped out of her trance. Don’t look at him as anything but an enemy she screamed at herself. He kidnapped you out of thin air!
“Good to see you too Xieran,” the big beautiful giant holding her said. He released her arm as he turned to the newcomer. “Did you have a nice trip?”
The other man stared at him, green eyes sparking. If looks could kill, Kay thought. Maybe she could sneak away while these two were busy shooting face daggers at each other and find her way out of here. She moved just a twitch and “green eyes” speared her with his stare. She froze. Maybe not.
“I just came to use your sauna.” Towel guy said from beside her. “When I came out, I found this little wood sprite wandering around.”
He looked down at Kay, giving her a wink. At least he wasn’t as scary as “green eyes” was.
“You have your own sauna.”
“I know,” Hermes shrugged his great shoulders. “I like yours. Besides, we have matters to discuss. But, first, we should see to your guest.”
“She’s not a guest. I found her hijacking the Tides portal on my way back from Miami. She neglected to tell me who she is but she did admit to being from the Underworld.”
“Huh?” Kay and Hermes both said at the same time.
Hermes cocked his head in her direction.
 
For more fun with myths and legends, check out some of my favorite sites: www.theoi.com, mythsbaby.com
 
*Sketch Art by CH Drawing and Painting

Find the Tides of Atlantis series by Amanda V. Shane on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited!

Melinoe : Goddess of Ghosts and Nightmares

Name meaning: Dark Minded
Origin: Greek
Goddess of  Ghosts
Parents: Zeus and Persephone
 
Mentioned in Orphic Hymns (Greek Hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.)
“I call, Melinoe, saffron veiled, terrene, who from Phersephone dread venerable queen, mit with Zeus Kronion, arose, near where Kokytos’ mournful river flows…”
source, https://www.theoi.com
 
Emblems and articles: Nothing specific but skulls, bones, snakes, ravens and ghosts are associated with her in depictions
Sacred Animals: Howling dogs
Siblings: Makaria, Zagreus
 
Melinoe is a Greek goddess of the Underworld who presides over offerings to the ghosts of the dead. She’s described as a two-sided being with black limbs on one side and white on the other to represent  both her heavenly and chthonic origins. Melinoe walks the earth at night, followed by ghosts of the dead, frightening humans with nightmares and terrors while they sleep.
 
˜Your creepy bit of history – Legend has it, that when you here dogs howling and barking at seemingly nothing at night, it is because of Melinoe.
 
His role in the Tides of Atlantis world:
Melinoe first appears to Cindy in Moontide when a water veil is opened to the Underworld by some spelled seashells.
 
***
Scene from Moontide where the goddess is mentioned:
 
“The shell must have been enchanted. It opened a water veil, a gateway into another realm.”
“Who… what was that thing that grabbed me, it looked just like Kay at first, but then it wasn’t.”
All things considered, he thought she was taking this rather well. Her need for answers proved that she had strength, despite how terrifying this all must be for her.
“That wasn’t your friend, cara,” Ronan explained. “She may have been here at some point, but I’m sorry to say that she’s probably long gone by now.”
Cindy started to shake her head at his words, but he went on.
“What you saw was part desire and part underworld evil. You want to find your friend. The creature pulled that desire from you to create half of her likeness while the other half was pure demon. As I said, it was a trick. The one you met in the water veil is called Melinoe, a demoness who lures the hopeful into the underworld, then sends a malevolent spirit in their place.”

Arianrhod:  Goddess of the Moon – Celtic (Welsh)
Aranrhod, Arianrod
 
Name meaning: Silver wheel
 
Origin: Celtic / Welsh
 
Goddess of the moon, time and fate, fertility and rebirth (reincarnation) in Welsh Celtic Mythology. She rules the northern land of Caer Sidi (revolving kingdom).
 
Parents: Don (Danu / Irish) and Beli Mawr
 
Emblems and articles: Silver Wheel of Time, the moon, the Corona Borealis and weaving implements. She is also sometimes associated with owls and with spiders as she is considered a weaver of fate.
 
Consort: Nwyvre
 
Children: Dylon and Lleu Llaw Gyffes
 
Arianrhod is the keeper of The Silver Wheel or Silver Wheel of Time. On the oar whee, Arianrhod carries the dead to Emania, a heavenly realm also known as the Corona Borealis. In Welsh tradition it was while in Emania that Arianrhod would decide the fate of the dead before their being reincarnated.
 
˜*Your creepy bit of history – When the god Math attempts to test Arianrhod’s virginity before appointing her the honorary virgin tho holds his feet in her lap (wait, what?) he makes her step over his magician’s rod (quit with the snickering). As she does this, she spontaneously gives birth to twin boys (talk about a surprise!) - the sea spirit, Dylan who flees into the ocean and Lleu who was raised by Arianrhod’s brother, Gwydion.

  Sources: For more interesting facts about the moon goddess, Arianrhod, check out these great sites: www.goddess-guide.com www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk and www.nancylankston.com

Role in the Tides of Atlantis world: Arianrhod is mentioned in Moontide, book 1 in the Tides of Atlantis series and even shares familial ties with a main character. Ronan tells Cindy an entertaining tale that features the moon goddess and her ship of souls that is on its way to Emania.
 
Excerpt from Moontide: (This is from  the tale that Ronan tells Cindy)

***
“According to the old sailor, one night when leaving a pub, the lunatic captain was making his way back to his ship, but the fog was so thick that he couldn’t see past his face and he stumbled aboard the wrong vessel. It was a grave mistake to make, because the ship he boarded belonged to a fairy queen.”
“Fairy queen?”
“Mmm, a goddess, to hear the old sailor tell it. On her silver ship she’d come to Earth to take the souls of the dead to Emania.
“Emania,” Cindy repeated the name, her interest growing, “what is that?”
Ronan shrugged.
“I asked the very same question. The codger said it meant, ‘moon land,’ but the story goes on.
When the Captain finally realized that he was surrounded by the faces of the dead travelling to a land of enchantment, he let out a bellow of fear, crying out that he was there by mistake. This ruckus caught the fairy queen’s attention and she had him brought to her. When it was discovered that he’d made his way onto her ship by accident, she considered what to do with him. Being a fair queen and the goddess of time and order, she didn’t wish to send him to Emania before his time. She decided to return him to his own ship on the provision that he seek out and obtain a specific stone of enchantment for her. It belonged to the people of Emania she said and had long ago been lost. Supposedly, it found its way into a sea cave off the coast of the Mediterranean. The captain agreed to find the stone for her and she released him to his ship.
Blissful was the captain because he knew that the gem the fairy queen had sent him to find was none other than the same stone of everlasting life that he himself sought. He wasted no time in setting course for warm waters. When he arrived, he followed the queen’s instructions and found the stone just where she said it would be. But the captain never had any intention of relinquishing it to her, instead, thinking to keep the stone and its magic for himself.
The queen learned of the captain’s treachery and caused a great storm to rise up, sinking his ship and drowning him and his crew. All except for one mate,” here, Ronan slipped back into his portrayal of the drunken old sailor, “and I be he—Davy Tackett, the sly dog that swam away from the wreckage with nothing save his own scurvy neck and this trinket, sir. I had it from me cap’n that night before the sea took him to his final restin’ place. I’m willin’ to give it ta you, sir, for a price—the gemstone of a moon goddess and fairy queen herself.”

Eros: The God of Love

Name meaning: Love, sexual desire

Roman name: Cupid

Parents: Aphrodite and Eros – Stesiichorus, Fragment 575 (trans. Campbel, Vol. Greek Lyric III) (C5th BC)

“[Eros] You cruel child of guileful Aphrodite, whom she bore to Ares.”
                (–source, https://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/Eros.html )
 
Emblems and articles: Bow and Arrow, wings, sometimes a flaming torch

Consort: Psyche

Children: Hedone by Psyche

Friends (in the Tides world): Pan & Dionysis
 
Eros is traditionally thought of as the mischievous god of love. His particular myth being that he was responsible for lighting the flames of love in the hearts men and gods alike. He was loyal to Aphrodite and his birth myth sometimes portrays him as being born  of Aphrodite immediately upon her own birth alongside Himeros (Desire).
 
**Your creepy bit of history – Eros is first mentioned by Greek poet, Hesiod, as a primordial deity who emerges self-born at the beginning of time to spur procreation. (fix)

Sources: For more great info and fun facts about the God of Love, be sure to check out some of my favorite sites - theoi.com, letstalkaboutmythsbaby.com/podcast, greekmythology.com, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biology and Mythology
 
Role in the Tides of Atlantis world:

The god of love is slated to first appear in the Tides world in the prequel novelette, Midsummer Lover, where he is goaded into attending a Solstice celebration on Earth by Pan to mingle with the fae and humans while the veil between the spirit world and the human word is thin. While there, he sets his sights on beautiful co-ed, Eden O’Laurie (keefe). Their brief meeting is the precursor to a spinoff trilogy from the Tides of Atlantis series involving the Daughters of Eros and the Cerberan warriors that is currently in the planning stages.

Excerpt from Midsummer Lover:

     Eros grabbed the cool glass, brought it under his nose for a cautious sniff then sipped at the liquid inside. Ah, nectar of the gods! Well actually it was more of a tonic that Dion had concocted eons ago to cure the ill effects from his wine, but it was a life saver nonetheless. He drained the whole glass in one long gulp then set the tumbler aside.
     “Here, I brought you a present.” Pan held out a small silver pendant on a chain. It was shaped like one of Eros’s bows with an arrow nocked at its center. “Thought you might like it for a souvenir since you’re out of the business now, or so you say.”
     Eros rolled his eyes. The last thing he wanted to do right now was talk about how Psyche’s leaving him a hundred years ago had stolen his mojo, so to speak, and he’d washed his hands of anything to do with the ‘L’ word. He turned the pendant in the light.

Panacea: The Goddess of Healing
Panakeia

Name meaning: cure all or panacea

Roman name: Panacea

Parents: Asklepios and Epione
 
Panacea, the minor Greek goddess of healing, was worshipped as the goddess who cured illness and injury. She attended her father, Asklepios (Aesculapius), the god of medicine, in healing sick and injured patients and is known for her use of medicines, salves, potions, elixirs  and mystical cures.

 
Mentioned in: The Hippicratic Oath by Hippocrates (Greek physician 5 B.C. to 4 B.C.), The Comedy of Aristophanes “Plutus”
 
**Your creepy bit of history: Panacea’s father, Aesculapius, is often depicted among serpents, more notably, holding a staff with a serpent wrapping itself around it. This is most likely due to the tale of the medicine god and the serpents in the house of Glaucus where a serpent brought him an herb to heal the dying man.
 Also: In ancient times, the knowledge of medicine was thought of as a sacred secret. Priests (practitioners) of these sacred secrets were made to take an oath in regards to these medical secrets. It is said to have survived to this day in the form of the Hippocratic Oath
 
Sources: (For more info on the Greek goddess of healing, try some of my favorite sites) theoi.com, godchecker.com, greekmythology.com / Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biology and Mythology
 
Role in the Tides of Atlantis world:
Panacea is one of the minor Olympian goddesses found in the Tides of Atlantis books and is seen as a wary ally of the sea god, Poseidon, in the fight against the insurrection of demons from the Underworld. She is first introduced in the book Moontide, Tides of Atlantis book 1 and is aided by her loyal companion, the sea demon Krav, who works as a sort of double agent for both the goddess and Poseidon.
Panacea makes her home in the hidden Aster realm in the Tides world where she tries to maintain a secret existence due to the fact that she is hunted by many in the spirit world for her healing abilities.
 
 
Words from the goddess, Panacea (quote):
 “Don’t scoff at the power of true love,” Panacea admonished, “we need more of these unions in the universe and the gods are all too immune to making any on their own. The humans may be our only hope to fight the darkness that threatens all. What with the majority of the higher gods in self-induced comas or just not giving a damn, we need all the help we can get. The sea god’s realm is our last real stronghold and Poseidon knows it.”  ~Panacea, Moontide

Welcome to this new segment I'm adding to blog! I wanted to share a little bit of background about some of the mythical characters and legends that inspire my writing. I've done quite a lot of research over the years for both the Tides of Atlantis series as well as the Enchanted Lands romances and thought it would be fun to catalogue some of it here. I promise to not get too long winded and boring about all of this history stuff (you do not want to get stuck in conversation with me at a cocktail party - nerd alert! Lol), but I think readers will find it interesting to learn a little bit about the origins of some of the characters, places and legends that pop up in my books, especially since, in the Tides books, a whole slew of them are found running around in the modern era a lot of the time.

Seeing as how the Tides of Atlantis series revolves around Poseidon, I'll start with him.

Poseidon: God of the Sea
Name meaning: The God of the Sea’s name is so old that its true translation is lost to us. It has been said to mean “husband to the earth” or “lord of the waters,” but nowadays he’s known primarily as the god of the sea.
 
Roman name: Neptune
 
Poseidon is also considered the god of earthquakes (talk about a god with a temper!), floods, drought, horses and was even thought to be responsible for epileptic seizures.
 
Parents: Chronos and Rhea (grandson of Ouranos)
 
Emblems and articles: Trident, sometimes a boulder with various creatures of the sea encrusted on it, a cloak or himation, wreath of celery leaves.
 
Animals associated with the god: horses, the Cretan Bull (sire of the Minotaur) and dolphins, also the mythical creature the Hippocamp which is half horse, half fish
 
Consorts: Amphitrite, Kleto of Atlantis and a whole bunch of nymphs (like a lot of them *eye roll*)
 
Mentioned in: The Odyssey, The Homeric Hymns and lots of other classical writings
 
Children: Triton by Amphtrite, the giants Antaios, the Cyclops Polyphemos, Theseus and Bellerphontos, not to mention ten sons, five sets of twins by Kleto of Atlantis.
 
 ˜*˜Your creepy bit of history – At the time of his birth, Poseidon was swallowed by his father, Cronus, along with his brother Hades (aaand the father of the year award goes to… not that guy! Geez!)  and was later rescued by his other brother, Zeus.
 
Sources: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, theoi.com, greekmthology.com
 
His role in the Tides of Atlantis book series:
He is one of only a few of the greater gods out of all the pantheons that remains active and has not entered a state of stasis in the Tides series. Poseidon’s goal in the series is to find all ten of the lost kings of Atlantis that were cursed by the gods at the fall of Atlantis eleven thousand years ago and dispersed throughout the realms. He needs to reunite them with their individual pieces of the Fire Stone Crystal to reform the stone and seal off the sea realm’s Tides portals between the Underworld and the Earth realm before all of Hell’s demons are released into the world of humans.
 
For more fun with myths and legends, check out some of my favorite sites: www.theoi.com, www.mythsbaby.com

Start the Atlantis adventure for FREE by joining the Amanda V Shane mailing list and receiving an ebook copy of Pearl of the Moon, A Kingdoms of Atlantis Fantasy novella.