26 Feb 2023, 4:14 pm
DeathFlowerKing wrote:
Honey69 wrote:
In times more ancient than the Roman Empire, women had the important function of temple harlots, which you can see in the Epic of Gilgamesh
Oh yes like the priestesses of Inanna aka Ishtar (The Mesopotamian Fertility Goddess of Love & War who inspired the Greco-Roman Aphrodite aka Venus).
For Gods and Goddesses of fertility the priestesses and even male priests would engage in sacred orgies for various things like bringing rain to crops etc.
I know this was true for Inanna and Venus, and I imagine the same might have been true for Bacchus as he was the God of Wine, Theater, and "Ritual Madness" and was also a fertility God. So was Pan the God of Fertility who had the horn and legs of a goat.
There were probably countless "Fertility Gods".
worshippers of Bacchus overdid it at one point, so the roman senate had to ban them
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senatus_c ... chanalibus
But your examples remind me of Isis vs virgin Mary too - another case of religious syncretism so typical of those times:
http://www.columbia.edu/~sf2220/Thing/w ... /meg2.html
Last edited by Chuckster on 26 Feb 2023, 6:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.
26 Feb 2023, 4:46 pm
26 Feb 2023, 5:57 pm
DeathFlowerKing wrote:
And speaking of the Vestal Virgins, Hestia is probably one of my favorite goddesses in Greek Mythology (in Rome she was known as Vesta but was essentially the same deity).
Oddly enough she wasnt an important part of mythology itself and there are very few stories involving her, and yet she was a very important figure in the religions of both the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The Greeks dedicated every hearth in the home as a shrine to her as she was the Goddess of the Hearth and the protector of the Home and Family. And the Romans had temples dedicated to her that kept a fire burning at all times and believed that keeping the fire alive and her priestesses virginity preserved was essential to keeping the Roman State strong and stable.
In many ways the goddess herself was like a nun of sorts. She willingly chose to reject marriage to keep the peace between the other gods to prevent another war from breaking out and spent her days tending the hearth and making the home a comfortable and welcoming place for relatives and guests. The virtues she taught were about being hospitable and charitable basically (much like Christian nuns )
And honestly compared to the other pantheons she was probably one of the few that wasn't cruel and selfish in the way she treated mortals. In some ways she reminded me of Prometheous, the God who gave the gift of fire to mankind out of pity (and was sadly punished for it by the gods).
Both Hestia and Prometheous were linked to the divine fire that humans could not survive without as it warms our homes and cooks our meals.
Here's a cool video about Hestia aka Vesta.
https://youtu.be/3XlLTbsF6iM
Oddly enough she wasnt an important part of mythology itself and there are very few stories involving her, and yet she was a very important figure in the religions of both the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The Greeks dedicated every hearth in the home as a shrine to her as she was the Goddess of the Hearth and the protector of the Home and Family. And the Romans had temples dedicated to her that kept a fire burning at all times and believed that keeping the fire alive and her priestesses virginity preserved was essential to keeping the Roman State strong and stable.
In many ways the goddess herself was like a nun of sorts. She willingly chose to reject marriage to keep the peace between the other gods to prevent another war from breaking out and spent her days tending the hearth and making the home a comfortable and welcoming place for relatives and guests. The virtues she taught were about being hospitable and charitable basically (much like Christian nuns
)And honestly compared to the other pantheons she was probably one of the few that wasn't cruel and selfish in the way she treated mortals. In some ways she reminded me of Prometheous, the God who gave the gift of fire to mankind out of pity (and was sadly punished for it by the gods).
Both Hestia and Prometheous were linked to the divine fire that humans could not survive without as it warms our homes and cooks our meals.
Here's a cool video about Hestia aka Vesta.
https://youtu.be/3XlLTbsF6iM
I am glad you found a goddess who is...nice! Lol!
Prometheus wasnt a god. Far from it.
He was a mortal man who stole fire FROM the gods. And the gods punished him by chaining him to a rock, and having crows peck him for eternity.
On the other side of the planet Alaskan natives have a myth to explain the domestication of the dog. According to the story :Originally the dog lived deep in the forest with the wolf. Then one day, during the long arctic nights the wolf ordered the dog to sneak into the village of man, to steal fire, and to bring the fire back to the forest so that the pack could keep warm.
The dog obeyed, sneaked into the village, but had to hide, but the humans discovered the dog. But instead of punishing the dog they fed it salmon and petted it. And the dog switched allegiance, never returned to the woods, and has stayed with man ever since.
Simple but fascinating tale for two reasons. A) It makes more sense as an explanation for why dogs took up with humans than any 'scientific' theory Ive ever heard. B) Despite the fact that the two cultures couldnt have had any contact with each other the Alaskan myth oddly resonates with the Greek myth of Prometheus. Humans stole fire from the Gods, and then...an animal tried to steal fire from US. Lol!
26 Feb 2023, 6:41 pm
26 Feb 2023, 6:45 pm
naturalplastic wrote:
DeathFlowerKing wrote:
And speaking of the Vestal Virgins, Hestia is probably one of my favorite goddesses in Greek Mythology (in Rome she was known as Vesta but was essentially the same deity).
Oddly enough she wasnt an important part of mythology itself and there are very few stories involving her, and yet she was a very important figure in the religions of both the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The Greeks dedicated every hearth in the home as a shrine to her as she was the Goddess of the Hearth and the protector of the Home and Family. And the Romans had temples dedicated to her that kept a fire burning at all times and believed that keeping the fire alive and her priestesses virginity preserved was essential to keeping the Roman State strong and stable.
In many ways the goddess herself was like a nun of sorts. She willingly chose to reject marriage to keep the peace between the other gods to prevent another war from breaking out and spent her days tending the hearth and making the home a comfortable and welcoming place for relatives and guests. The virtues she taught were about being hospitable and charitable basically (much like Christian nuns )
And honestly compared to the other pantheons she was probably one of the few that wasn't cruel and selfish in the way she treated mortals. In some ways she reminded me of Prometheous, the God who gave the gift of fire to mankind out of pity (and was sadly punished for it by the gods).
Both Hestia and Prometheous were linked to the divine fire that humans could not survive without as it warms our homes and cooks our meals.
Here's a cool video about Hestia aka Vesta.
https://youtu.be/3XlLTbsF6iM
Oddly enough she wasnt an important part of mythology itself and there are very few stories involving her, and yet she was a very important figure in the religions of both the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The Greeks dedicated every hearth in the home as a shrine to her as she was the Goddess of the Hearth and the protector of the Home and Family. And the Romans had temples dedicated to her that kept a fire burning at all times and believed that keeping the fire alive and her priestesses virginity preserved was essential to keeping the Roman State strong and stable.
In many ways the goddess herself was like a nun of sorts. She willingly chose to reject marriage to keep the peace between the other gods to prevent another war from breaking out and spent her days tending the hearth and making the home a comfortable and welcoming place for relatives and guests. The virtues she taught were about being hospitable and charitable basically (much like Christian nuns
)And honestly compared to the other pantheons she was probably one of the few that wasn't cruel and selfish in the way she treated mortals. In some ways she reminded me of Prometheous, the God who gave the gift of fire to mankind out of pity (and was sadly punished for it by the gods).
Both Hestia and Prometheous were linked to the divine fire that humans could not survive without as it warms our homes and cooks our meals.
Here's a cool video about Hestia aka Vesta.
https://youtu.be/3XlLTbsF6iM
I am glad you found a goddess who is...nice! Lol!
Prometheus wasnt a god. Far from it.
He was a mortal man who stole fire FROM the gods. And the gods punished him by chaining him to a rock, and having crows peck him for eternity.
On the other side of the planet Alaskan natives have a myth to explain the domestication of the dog. According to the story :Originally the dog lived deep in the forest with the wolf. Then one day, during the long arctic nights the wolf ordered the dog to sneak into the village of man, to steal fire, and to bring the fire back to the forest so that the pack could keep warm.
The dog obeyed, sneaked into the village, but had to hide, but the humans discovered the dog. But instead of punishing the dog they fed it salmon and petted it. And the dog switched allegiance, never returned to the woods, and has stayed with man ever since.
Simple but fascinating tale for two reasons. A) It makes more sense as an explanation for why dogs took up with humans than any 'scientific' theory Ive ever heard. B) Despite the fact that the two cultures couldnt have had any contact with each other the Alaskan myth oddly resonates with the Greek myth of Prometheus. Humans stole fire from the Gods, and then...an animal tried to steal fire from US. Lol!
Very interesting!
And yes Hestia is one of the nicer Goddesses in Greek Mythology. She made a point to avoid all the drama that the other Gods and Goddesses were creating for mortals and she was described as wholesome and kindly.
But I think those same traits that made her so kind also made her an unpopular figure in their mythology. Seems that the Ancient Greeks preferred stories of Gods who were trouble makers.
Reminds me of our Hollywood celebrities.
26 Feb 2023, 7:36 pm
Here's another interesting nun fact (well sorta... more about a legendery woman who disguised as the Pope).
In the older tarot decks the card that is most commonly recognized as "The High Priestess" today was originally known as "The Paupess" or "The Popess". This was based on either the myth about a nun who disguised as a man and became known as Pope Joan only to be discovered when she died ij childbirth and the Catholic Church supposedly covered her existence up, but other sources claim she was based on an actual woman who tried to become the first female Pope but was burned as a heretic by the church.
Either way it's very interesting stuff.
https://tarot-heritage.com/from-trionfi ... -in-tarot/
26 Feb 2023, 9:11 pm
26 Feb 2023, 9:30 pm
Ohhh ok, I guess there was a misunderstanding on my part. 
But regardless I think we can all agree that different forms of abuse is something that tends to happen with religious leaders because any position of power tends to draw unscrupulous individuals.
That's how we end up with cults or theocratic states which is why I'm always in favor of seperation of church and state.
I don't want to wind up living in a world like The Handmaid's Tale.
28 Feb 2023, 3:59 pm
You know? All this talk of nuns gives me a creative idea!
In the video game Fallout 3 there is an actual religious cult that worships an undetonated atomic bomb and they named their god "Atom" and refer to themselves as "The Children of Atom" or "The Church of Atom".
I shall roleplay as a female member of this bizarre cult! I'll make her a nun who serves the Church of Atom and helps spread the word of Atom's Glow. I'll dress her in a dirty brown dress and headcloth and will set her up with a mini shrine to Atom made with a mini nuke as a center idol decorated with cow skulls, mutated fruit gathered from the wasteland, ruined books, and other offering.
I shall name my cult nun character "Sister Chery Noble". Get it? 
funeralxempire
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28 Feb 2023, 4:00 pm
DeathFlowerKing wrote:
I shall name my cult nun character "Sister Chery Noble". Get it?
I didn't realize you had kids.
28 Feb 2023, 4:08 pm
funeralxempire wrote:
DeathFlowerKing wrote:
I shall name my cult nun character "Sister Chery Noble". Get it?
I didn't realize you had kids.
No but I do have a niece and nephew, so I tell "Uncle Jokes" which are close enough hehe.
