I would like to invoke the story of Eris and her Golden Apple.

It is recounted that Zeus held a banquet in celebration of the marriage of Peleus and Thetis (parents of Achilles). However, Eris, goddess of discord, was uninvited. Angered by this snub, Eris arrived at the celebration, where she threw a golden apple (the Apple of Discord) into the proceedings, upon which was the inscription καλλίστῃ ("for the fairest one").

Three goddesses claimed the apple: Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. They asked Zeus to judge which of them was fairest, and eventually Zeus, reluctant to favour any claim himself, declared that Paris, a Phrygian mortal, would judge their cases, for he had recently shown his exemplary fairness in a contest in which Ares in bull form had bested Paris's own prize bull, and the shepherd-prince had unhesitatingly awarded the prize to the god.

Thus it happened that, with Hermes as their guide, all three of the candidates appeared to Paris on Mount Ida, in the climactic moment that is the crux of the tale. After bathing in the spring of Ida, each attempted with her powers to bribe Paris; Hera offered to make him king of Europe and Asia, Athena offered wisdom and skill in war, and Aphrodite, who had the Charites and the Horai to enhance her charms with flowers and song, offered the love of the world's most beautiful woman. This was Helen of Sparta, wife of the Greek king Menelaus. Paris accepted Aphrodite's gift and awarded the apple to her, receiving Helen as well as the enmity of the Greeks and especially of Hera. The Greeks' expedition to retrieve Helen from Paris in Troy is the mythological basis of the Trojan War.

What lessons can we gain from this episode in time? Can we say vanity and beauty destroy mankind or was it just Paris' own stupidity in giving the apple to Aphrodite.

Why would Aphrodite not tell him that Helen was already married?

Why did the other gods and goddesses not stop Hera when she started the Trojan War?

Was Eris aware that she was going to start a war that wiped out an entire people?

Finally, was Eris just pissed off at being uninvited or is she a jealous, dark goddess to be avoided?

This are all questions that must be answered.

Thankyou everyone for reading

Blessed be

In actuality, when working with the Greek Immortals, I have never found ANY of them to be petty.
My view on this is that once again, just as with the re-writes of the Bible, the Greek Myths are told from an ignorant perspective of a few humans that were trying to explain how the world worked around them, via word of mouth & passed down until the stories were finally written & gods only know how much was changed.
Are there morals to the myths? yes/no/maybe--it depends on what your beliefs are.
In actuality, Do the Greek Immortals bicker like children? No, and I think the stories are offensive and misleading in that respect.
The last time I read this story wondering which one it would be, I distinctly heard a voice, presumably Zeus, say "Wisdom wins." and that was enough for me.
I think this story is more about a testiment of human pettiness than anything else & does not accurately portray the gods...respect is lacking and that's what annoys me about the myths. 2cents
No matter what Immortal it is that you are working with RESPECT is a must! 2cents

Bella Paradisio wrote:In actuality, when working with the Greek Immortals, I have never found ANY of them to be petty.
My view on this is that once again, just as with the re-writes of the Bible, the Greek Myths are told from an ignorant perspective of a few humans that were trying to explain how the world worked around them, via word of mouth & passed down until the stories were finally written & gods only know how much was changed.
Are there morals to the myths? yes/no/maybe--it depends on what your beliefs are.
In actuality, Do the Greek Immortals bicker like children? No, and I think the stories are offensive and misleading in that respect.
The last time I read this story wondering which one it would be, I distinctly heard a voice, presumably Zeus, say "Wisdom wins." and that was enough for me.
I think this story is more about a testiment of human pettiness than anything else & does not accurately portray the gods...respect is lacking and that's what annoys me about the myths. 2cents
No matter what Immortal it is that you are working with RESPECT is a must! 2cents

That is another interesting topic, the validity of the mythology.
To clarify, I wanted to say that my explanation of things is based on the story which was presented in this thread. I am open to all possibilities, but in addressing the known myth and information I would say what I gather would be an adequate explanation - as you pointed out yourself. It certainly is about pettiness to a large degree, and I feel it is something that humanity should reflect on.

There are obvious other meanings to be gathered from this.. I believe the basic aspects of nature involved are truthful. Speaking from an erisian perspective I would say the focus could be more on the meaning of discord - the aspects that Eris encompasses, above much else. She is known to be associated with warfare (largely due to this story, but it was part of her initial nature), and the prominent result of this myth is the trojan war.

In stating all of that, I wouldn't want to think that immortals in reality could be petty or ignorant in such an extreme way - *however* if they exist to represent very specific qualities then they may be controlled to an extent by those qualities. Not every immortal will have a wide variety of viewpoints and powers. If you are a goddess of beauty, then in many ways beauty will factor into things above much else - you see things from the perspective of what you represent. Looking at things that way, every immortal could have "faults" in someone's eyes depending on their viewpoint of the world.
Immortals are grey/DA just like humans and you could conclude that therefore, they have the potential to act like humans. They can be moody - they can come across as nurturing, or picky, or angry... something to consider.

NoctemAeternus wrote:I made a thread on Eris appreciation a while back, but it didn't get too much response. It makes me wonder how many are aware of Eris and what their opinion is of this goddess as well as the stories surrounding her.

Eris was probably a little pissed off that she wasn't invited, but she is certainly a dark goddess. I wouldn't call her a "jealous" goddess because in my opinion she didn't act in the way she did out of jealousy but rather out of feeling disrespected.
At the same time, her nature is "change", she has a need to kickstart things into action so that what needs to be will be. I think Eris was very aware that she would start a war, whether she realised how big it could potentially be or not..her intention was to shake things up. She wanted to bring the true nature of certain gods and ways of the greek cosmos out into the open so that the faults could be seen for what they were. In a way, her actions give us insight into the underlying problems of the greek pantheon and show that just the right thing will bring them out - they aren't as safe in their practices as they may have expected. It was important for them to be aware of this.
She had always been considered a goddess of discord and strife, so what she did was merely part of who she was. It was her place to bring discord, strife, and warfare upon them all as nobody else would in such a way - and balance is an important aspect of any reality. She has often been demonized due to what she represents, but although her aspects are typically associated with what is "negative", I believe they are more neutral and often necessary.

I have been in the presence of Eris for some years now, I think she's amazing but she does hold darker qualities than most and her ways will not be appreciated by all.

To answer the interesting questions you pose...
I would say the lessons we could gain are more to do with realising the nature of the universe and of humanity. As well as how "fate" dictates humanity.
Vanity as well as stupidity destroyed things...there are many faults to be seen and they all work into destructive results that can be had.
Fighting over a golden apple when there were many of them out there somewhere is certainly silly to me, I think it just reveals the overall ignorance that can exist - and the destructive results were meant as a wake-up call to these ignorant actions. When it is so common for you to focus on petty issues rather than the bigger picture, you aren't getting what life is all about and you aren't acting very wisely. It was pitiful of the gods and goddesses to be manipulated so easily by this event, but in this way these immortals are very much alike to humankind and we can learn something about ourselves from this story.

I would say Aphrodite wanted to make her offer as appealing as possible, and overlooked the obvious as she felt confident of her abilities to manipulate certain matters of love rather easily. She may have not considered the outcome. Or, she may have known how bad things could get and just ignored it as she wanted so badly to be the "fairest"..it was in her nature to care so much about beauty.

The other gods and goddesses might not have stopped Hera for a number of reasons, they may have merely realised it was a fate they could not escape and that it was time to accept it.

Bravo Noctem. Your post is inspired and a joy to read. Thankyou very much!

I like everything you said. It all rings true to me. I believe it all.

I'd like to hear more about your experiences with Eris and what she has taught you. The Dark Gods are some most people shy away from but I like some of them. I like the Egyptian god Set a lot and he's been regarded as the devil of Ancient Egypt. He's not evil though, he changes the world for the better. Have you worked with him?

Also, can you believe Eris is featured in the Disney movie 'Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas'? What the heck does Eris have to do with Sinbad? lol. They're from two different cultures!

Many blessings

Bella Paradisio wrote:In actuality, when working with the Greek Immortals, I have never found ANY of them to be petty.
My view on this is that once again, just as with the re-writes of the Bible, the Greek Myths are told from an ignorant perspective of a few humans that were trying to explain how the world worked around them, via word of mouth & passed down until the stories were finally written & gods only know how much was changed.
Are there morals to the myths? yes/no/maybe--it depends on what your beliefs are.
In actuality, Do the Greek Immortals bicker like children? No, and I think the stories are offensive and misleading in that respect.
The last time I read this story wondering which one it would be, I distinctly heard a voice, presumably Zeus, say "Wisdom wins." and that was enough for me.
I think this story is more about a testiment of human pettiness than anything else & does not accurately portray the gods...respect is lacking and that's what annoys me about the myths. 2cents
No matter what Immortal it is that you are working with RESPECT is a must! 2cents

In saying all of that, I just wanted to point out that just because a human writes a story that reflects or projects a certain characteristic of said human onto an entity, does not necessarily make it the behavioral pattern of said entity...in a way it is like starting rumors or making assumptions.
It is important to have reverence, respect, and an open mind when working with deities.
I would not just talk to Zeus saying something like, "Hey, so you're that guy that throws lightning bolts at people? So, what else do you do?"
Know what I mean?
I feel as though it is disrespectful to trivialize them by regarding only one mythical aspect of them, especially when their personality could be multi-faceted & completely different in actuality. (Not sure if I phrased that the right way in English, but hopefully you get my meaning.)

For me, I feel as though I embody the wisdom, warrior, and justice aspects of Athena, as a warrior for truth.
I wish I could say for peace...but...I am not willing to give up my values for the sake of quiet or apathy.

Regarding your questions, Antinous, sometimes Truth is brought about through war which sheds light on the governing systems & thoughts of the people that need things to change for the better.
(Change has often been labeled a demon, but sometimes it is both necessary & beneficial...So maybe Eris did what was needed by the story teller to teach a lesson here.)
No one society has ever been perfect.
As much as the Immortals are said to be grey and moody, they could just as easily be a positive force in someone's life, as I know that they have been in mine.

Blessings,
I.S.

Bella Paradisio wrote: In saying all of that, I just wanted to point out that just because a human writes a story that reflects or projects a certain characteristic of said human onto an entity, does not necessarily make it the behavioral pattern of said entity...in a way it is like starting rumors or making assumptions.
It is important to have reverence, respect, and an open mind when working with deities.
I would not just talk to Zeus saying something like, "Hey, so you're that guy that throws lightning bolts at people? So, what else do you do?"
Know what I mean?

I just posted this huge response and then was logged out and have to rewrite, LOL. Hate it when that happens.

I completely agree with you. For clarification, I never meant to imply that the immortals are one-sided. Many times I have told people to remember the complexity of immortals, and to be aware of the many facets of them rather than to judge them or take them in based on traits they popularly encompass. Many seek immortals for their known area of "expertise" or how they are commonly presented, but it is much more rewarding to accept the entirety of their nature.
Any immortal I have chosen to work with I have not brought into my life based on what they can do for me according to their well known traits and abilities, but due to the fact that our energies match well and I want to fully understand them. They have so much to offer and much of what they encompass goes overlooked. I have found it very rewarding to really get to know them and how they truly are. It is wise to be aware of all sides they bring forth.

What I was getting at is that although they are complex, they are still representations of a specific force which distinguishes them from eachother. This force is unique to them and is what separates their personality from others, and they may often be dictated by it in situations. As many aspects as they can embody, their primary essence is based on a specific force and this may often factor into how they deal with things.
Many of the immortals are known primarily to be personifications of a very specific trait of nature. We have a goddess of retribution, a god of criticism, a goddess of madness. There is certainly more to all of them, but when it comes down to how they address situations there are times that what they embody comes out full force - and coming from such a specific viewpoint allows for conflict, some just won't be able to understand where they are coming from.
Their base nature can be the great aspect that separates them and makes them so unique, but I can see how it would also potentially become a fault of their's depending on the circumstances.

Antinous -

If you scroll down some in this section, you will see a topic titled "Eris keeps poking me" lol, I briefly mentioned a teaching of her's there.
Eris has taught me that discord is often an important and positive aspect of existence. In many ways she has simply solidified a lot of beliefs I have always had, revealing to me deeper truths which strengthen my view of the universe. Much like Kali, she can encompass the power of drastic change and all it offers us.
She encourages us to set aside fear, to speak up and be heard so that we may cause a shift in the ways of the world and create much needed change. I find her to be very much an outspoken rebel, she also has a very supportive and understanding nature.

One noteworthy interaction I have had with her is when I meditated on her energy, and asked her to fill me with her presence. Not long after, I vividly saw a lavender haze all around me. Like a lavender mist and light descending upon me and surrounding me entirely, aligning me with my higher self. Following this she filled my head with visions of both natural and man-made disasters, which was admittedly a little shocking but gave me better insight into some things. It was her gift to me, and I appreciate all that she allows me to see and feel.

I have been working with Seth. Although his actions in mythology have been commonly regarded as villainous, it is not until later that he had been associated with complete "evil"..and I would not agree that he is evil in any way. Much like Eris, he brings balance. Without the darkness and storms brought by Seth, there would be no growth and sunshine.. he is an extremely important factor of the egyptian pantheon and his background is quite interesting.
My experiences with him so far have been intense. He presents himself to me in visions at the center of a wild sandstorm, his power is obvious and overwhelming in the best way. For those that seek his guidance and accept what he stands for, he has much knowledge to share - although what I have been shown by him has taken me a bit of work to desipher.

Lol, I have heard of the Eris character in the Sinbad film. It seems they mixed mythologies in that particular movie, apparently that has been criticized a bit. I have never watched the film but it would be interesting to see how the greek immortals react to what they did with that :crazy:

I am bumping a very old thread here. I was looking for info on Hera without much luck, but this story is good and also I appreciate some of the things said here about how we think of immortals based on their mythology.

Very interesting thread. I stumbled upon this when I was trying to find some experiences of working with Seth.

I requested a binding of Eris from CH about a week ago. I'll update when I get her.