#10 What I Learned

While watching other Gods and Goddesses present and tell the rest of the pantheon about themselves, I have learned the following information.

Amentet- how metal bands have named themselves or songs after her.

Anubis- how he is the product of an affair, and Set was not the biological father.

Aprodite- that her symbol is the dove, which beautfy products are named after.

Coyote- that he uses humans to gain power and knowledge.

Dionysus- he was born from the thigh of his father, Zeus.

Freya- cats are a symbol, as they pull her chariot.

Hel- she can see into the future, but will only tell one of it if she knows they will not try to change the destiny.

Isis- she is the goddess of magic and royalty, along with motherhood.

Krishna- his lone weakness is the sole of his left foot.

Lan-Caihe- the gender is unknown, as this god can take form of either a boy or girl.

Loki- he had gotten stitches across his mouth once, and still has the scars from them.

Nokomis- she is considered the grandmother of people; her name means "grandmother"

Nut- a cow symbolizes her arched position over the earth.

Odin- Wednesday is named after one of the other names associated with him, Wodan.

Pangu- he grows six feet every day.

Persephone- she is a guide to new souls in the Underworld when she is with Hades.
Raven- he can be generous, even though he is thought of as a trickster. This shows his unpredictability.

Sun Wukong- he is afraid of death.

Xi-Wangmu- is married to the Jade Emperor.

#9 My story

It was a beautiful sunny day in the land of Thessaly, where a large grove is dedicated to me! Citizens were worshiping and adoring the trees- especially the one that I love the most. This one is an enormous oak tree, standing as tall as the Heavens themselves. People stared in amazement of this astounding, special tree and grove.

Then one day, a man by the name of Erysichthon decided he is better than any god or goddess, and chose to cut down my sacred tree for his own purposes. Rumors suggest he planned to create a banquet table for his feasting hall. Out of my tree! How silly.

At first, the arrogant man did not attempt to cut down the tree on his own. Instead, he ordered his slaves to do the horrible deed. Of course they did not obey, as they realized the tree was dedicated to me and that so many people loved it dearly. Also, they knew a horrible fate would follow closely behind the action...

So Erysichthon decided he must cut it down himself. I disguised myself as a priest when he took the axe to the grove, ready to make the first move and chop down the tree. Attempting to talk him out of the cruel act failed, as he would not compromise. He really wanted that table, apparently. Erysichthon swung the sharp axe towards the oak, piercing its bark and leaving his mark. Sap like blood oozed from the cut. My tree was hurt, just as the evil man was also bound to be.

I threw off the disguise and emerged with all of my glory and anger. Innocent people that had been watching became terrified, so I removed their fears. Then, I sent them away from the scene that was about to unravel.

As punishment for trying to take my tree, I cursed Erysichthon with everlasting hunger. He ate and ate until he could bare his appetite no longer. He soon tried to sell his daughter to a sailor in order to get money for more food. Scared and upset, the daughter, Mestra, cried out for help. My brother and the father of two of my children, Poseidon, heard her cries and quickly used his powers to change her appearance. When the sailor came to pick up the beautiful girl, he could not find her, and went back to the ocean to continue his journey.

Mestra was thrilled that she could still stay on Thessaly with her father. He was also excited, as he realized he could continually sell his daughter, get the money, have Poseidon change her appearance, and keep his daughter.

But unfortunately, the old saying, money doesn't buy happiness, seems to apply here. After longing for food for the extended period of time, Erysichthon could bare it no longer. He began to eat his flesh, and eventually, took himself out of his misery.

Suicide by cannibalism.

Here, we learn not to mess with me or my nature. I can be a very sympathetic and loving person, but once you hurt something I love or myself, I may not be so gentle.

#8 My Story- Resolution

At the last part of the story, Erysichthon's life comes to it's end. His selfish needs got him cursed with everlasting hunger (by yours truly). This hunger could not be satisfied by anything, as he soon found
out. Eating more made him long for even more food. Finally, he ate his own flesh in an attempt to fulfill the appetite. The cannibalism soon took the man, the one who tried to cut down my tree, out of his misery.

We learn to respect nature for what it is, and to not be arrogant. Erysichthon believed he was better than my grove and the people worshipping it, and figured he could cut down my magical and special oak tree for his own purposes. This behavior is what caused him to get cursed, and eventually killed him.

#7 My Story- Climax

Back to story time! Which details did we leave off at? Ahh yess.. the climax...

 

In my story, the climax occurs after Erysichthon attempts to cut my grove of trees. In fact, it occurs right after that, when I reveal my true identity to him; I place a fairly harsh curse over him and it begins to affect the arrogant fellow. His starvation brought him to the point where it drove him crazy. Erysichthon's hunger made him sell off his daughter for money to get more food (his daughter didn't end up getting taken away as expected, but the sailors' money was still handed over. Those details can wait until later, though). Erysichthon eventually began to eat his own flesh in order to satisfy his never ending appetite. He does this until he finally dies.

Ultimately, the climax of the uncommon and indirect suicide method of Erysichthon shows that one cannot just cut down my trees and get away with it. Consequences will follow, and I can assure you of that.

#6 My Story- Conflict

Erysichthon was caught attempting to chop down my special tree, as you may have heard. And even if you didn't figure that out quite yet, you should realize that caused a lot of conflict. That oak tree was my favorite. Also, the people of Thessaly worshiped it, along with yours truly. I was extremely upset when Erysichthon hurt it by putting a blade to its strong bark. Nobody harms the nature of Demeter! Nobody! After all, that is what I am the goddess of. It's my passion.'

And yeah, my anger went towards putting a curse on the evil King. But what is worse? He tried to sell his daughter to a sailor in order to overcome the curse. How pathetic! At least he had gotten the chance to have his own daughter.. (that was for you, Hades). Associated with this is somewhat of another conflict. When Mestra was crying out in hope that she would not be taken away from her hometown and father when the sailor arrives to the shore, Poseidon heard her. He was angry with Erysichthon's decision, and turned Mestra into numerous other characters every time her father attempted to sell her.

Ultimately, just appreciate nature for what it is, and you won't end up making your daughter and a couple of gods upset with you.

#5 My Story- Character Development

Erysichthon is the boastful king that tried to cut down my sacred grove. His attitude is very cocky, and it did not work out well for him. He is also not one to pay much attention to people aside from himself, including gods and his own daughter. He tried selling her off in order to get the money.

The servants of Erysichthon where those who refused to obey his orders. They were loyal to myself, Demeter. They did not want to harm the grove in any way.

I am also in this story, obviously. As for my appearance, you can refer to post one. My attitude towards Erysichthon was angry, which is understandable. Still not as angry as I am towards Hades.

Mestra was another person involved in the situation. She is daughter of Erysichthon- poor girl. Her father was more concerned about his hunger rather than her well being. But I have to cut him a tiny bit of slack, I guess he was pretty hungry...

Poseidon is another god that is mentioned when Mestra is in trouble. He is angered by her fathers actions and chooses to help her change form when the buyer comes to pick her up.

#4 My Story- the setting

Back in the day, there was a breath taking grove dedicated to me. This grove was located in Thessaly, and the people living there were just amazed by it. A tall oak stood near the center of it, but it was much taller than you are imagining. This tree reached up so incredibly high, that it could reach the heavens.

The rest of the area smelled of rain on a calm spring day, which is one of the most beautiful, soothing smells one could experience. The sounds and sights were those of birds chirping and other harmless creatures wondering leisurely among the grove of wonderful trees. The grove felt comforting and accepting, welcoming visitors into its strong arms of beauty.

Once, when a man decided to attempt to cut down the gigantic oak tree that soared high into the sky, it began to ooze sap like blood. It was quite unusual to those who observed.