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Judge, attorney. Same thing. In light of all the hubbub over the OGL, for Mythology Monday, let’s dive into Greek titan/goddess of justice, the personification of law, care of our pals at Mythology & Fiction Explained.
She’s my patron.
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I know Christmas is over, but I have the day off because Christmas was on a Sunday, so today still counts. Sort of. So, for Mythology Monday, let’s dive into the legend of Krampus care of our pals at Mythology & Fiction Explained.
He seems fun.
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Today, I fly to Las Vegas for my annual blackjack trip, only this time there will be some major disruptions. I usually go on Columbus Day week, and last year I went in September. This week it was delayed to the Christmas build up week because I had some friends going there. I figured it was about time I do something other than blackjack when I’m there. For example, I’ve always said I was going to see Penn & Teller‘s show at the Rio but never did. Well, I already have tickets for the Friday night show, so that’s finally going to happen (sans Teller, who’s recovering from health issues).
Nevertheless, I’ll still be playing some blackjack. I’m getting there a day before they are so that I’ll have at least one day to game. Overall, I’ll make sure I have two full days to gamble, so it can’t hurt to ask for help from the gods. The luck gods? No, I don’t need them. Blackjack is more a game of skill. I’ve practiced at a local casino over the course of three Sundays and Thanksgiving Day since October 9th. I’ve brought in just over $4,000 in winnings, having started with $800 or less each of those days. (I don’t mind mentioning this because I will be reporting these winnings to the IRS.) At this point, I’ve sharpened my system to so fine a point that it’s like taking candy from babies, only I have no moral qualms with taking this candy from casinos.
That $4,000 pays for my airfare, Penn & Teller, and the resort fee as well as bankrolls my play. As for food, that’s covered through my gambling comps. I’ll be eating at steakhouses all week and won’t have to pay for anything but the tips.
So, with that in mind, here’s a video of Ebisu, the god of luck through hard work . . . sort of. He’s really just a luck god and master fisherman from Japanese mythology, but in Deities & Demigods for 1st Edition Dungeons & Dragons, he was characterized as the god of “luck through hard work.” Considering how rough a childhood Ebisu had, and considering that I’m an RPG nerd, I’m going with that.
But I don’t like fish, so here’s another one. This is a video about Daikokuten, the Japanese god of wealth.
Lugh, the Irish god of skill and law (among other things).
Hey, a divine lawyer? How can I not get behind that?
As for the rest of this week, I’ll be busy, so my posts will be filled with limited content.
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Yesterday, I posted druid-related memes, so you’d think the next day would be a great day to post a video on druidic folklore. The problems is I’ve already done that. Instead, I’m posting a video on Gwyn ap Nudd (sometimes Gwynn ap Nudd), the Welsh figure associated with the traditional “Wild Hunt” (among other things).
There are several figures from mythology and folklore associated with this tradition, but Gwyn ap Nuddm and his supernatural hounds, the Cŵn Annwn, seem to be the one that provided the closest inspiration for the Celtic “Master of the Hunt” from the 1st Edition Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook, Deities & Demigods. This is why I chose him.
The Master is described . . . .
This is my childhood.
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A while back, I shared a video on North American cryptids by Mythology & Fiction Explained. With the recent crash of the cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, I thought I’d revisit cryptids. I think they offer a compromise between those concerned about a lack of regulation on crypto currency and those that want to stick it to Uncle Sam.
Behold! Cryptid Currency!
Okay, obviously this isn’t my idea, but I support it.
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As the holiday season continues, I give you yet another god that embodies the season’s spirit. Depending on who you ask, Baldr represented a lot of different things. The only commonality among these interpretations is that he was clearly the most beloved god. Everyone liked him.
Here’s a video on his tragic end.
Don’t feel sad, though. Baldr “returned” when Christianity spread through Scandanavia.
I hope Baldr’s joy reaches you during this holiday season.
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With the holiday season upon us, it seems appropriate to mention one of the three charities, Euphrosyne. Along with her sisters, she was tasked to fill the world with joy and pleasant times. More specifically, she’s the goddess of good cheer, mirth, and merriment. Like many figures in Greek mythology, NASA has named a heavenly body after her. Euphrosyne is the 7th largest asteroid NASA has catalogued.
I wish you her blessings during this holiday season.
Not really. She’s not real. I just hope you enjoy yourselves.
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This past weekend was Veterans’ Day, so what better subject for the following Mythology Monday than a god of war, justice, and sacrifice?
…..
There is none. That’s the answer.
Tyr was a brave man. Here’s a video describing his great sacrifice as well as his heroic end.
I’m annoyed that most of the imagery online is from a video game.
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Today’s Dictionary.com word of the day is vajra, which is a thunderbolt of Indra. It seemed appropriate to provide you with a video describing Indra, who in the 1st Edition Dungeons & Dragons world is the chief of the Indian pantheon. Here’s a video about him.
I know that a lot of you have short attention spans, so here’s another one that’s only 3 minutes long.
One thing that’s important to note is that there are people that still practice this faith even today. When I was in 7th grade, I had a friend named Shashank. He was Hindu, and I showed him the entries for the Indian pantheon in Deities & Demigods. The only thing I remember him saying from 42 years ago was that Indra’s elephant, Airavata, was known for its trunk, which it wielded as a formidable weapon. The legends of which I’m aware state that Airavata has seven trunks, and he most notably used it to “reach down to the watery underworld, suck up the water, and spray it into the clouds. Indra then caused cool water to rain down, thereby linking the waters of the sky to those of the underworld.” Hinduism is a large religion, which means the stories can easily change from person to person. There’s no right answer, as often legends are essentially fan fiction spanning generations.
In any case, Shashank displayed took pride in the entries, not offense. Not everyone would have the same reaction. To me, mythology is nothing more than an anthropological study, so I take the same approach to Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc. as I do any religion generally considered, “mythology.” If it makes you feel better, I find the “mythologies” far cooler.
Tread lightly when discussing others’ religions.
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A few of weeks ago, I saw The Northman. I loved it but understand that it isn’t for everyone. It’s a Norse tale, which means it doesn’t fit the formula for what sells in Peoria.
The cast was great, but this post isn’t a review. The movie, like several others before it, got me thinking.
I didn’t study mythology because of my interest in 1st Edition D&D (“1e”); it was the other way around. Mythology (and dinosaurs) got me into 1e in the 1970s. I thought, “Wow! I can tell my own stories within these settings and characters?!” However, whether it’s D&D, Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology, or Bulfinch’s Mythology, western literature tends to sanitize the characters and their stories. The “good-aligned” deities are often presented as noble, loving, and helpful. There are certainly some exceptions — Zeus was an asshole — but the sense of right and wrong have been aligned at least to some extent to what the modern audience thinks as “good.” We really do make the gods in our own image. The Northman reminds us that the “good guy” is not someone you’d want to marry your daughter. Life was brutal and uncaring back then, and being that way yourself was an effective survival strategy.
That said, there’s a reasonableness to garnering lessons from these myths. In a very narrow, personal way, I relate rather strongly to the protagonist’s backstory (appropriately discussed today). I would never handle our similar predicament in the same way, but the character’s backstory loosely parallels my own. If you dig through the primitive details of the specific culture at hand, you can find some universal truths, or at least something to which you can relate (no more than vaguely, I hope). After all, people take from stories whatever message they want to hear. We tend to cut out the brutality from these stories, and thus also ignore how those that wrote them applied them to real life.
So no, you wouldn’t want to invite any of these ancient people to dinner.
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