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

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