The Ancient Greek Celebrations of Artemis and What They Mean To You

As most of you know, the title of my debut novel is Caenus and The Quiver of Artemis. What you may not know is that I LOVE ARTEMIS!!! She's a bold, take-no-prisoners, huntress!! And, I can dig it! Aggressive women are the spice of life. Twin sister of beloved Apollo, and never far from her silver bow and poisoned arrows, she embodies a grab-life-by-the-horns kind of attitude.

So it comes to the ancient Greek months and festivals that celebrate her. Elaphebolian is the ancient Greek month of roughly Mid-February to Mid-March, while Mounykhion stretched from Mid-March to Mid-April. In any case, what we're talking about is Winter's giving way to Spring.

And as with springtime everywhere, festivals abound. In your town, you may attend Spring Fling or Wing Fling... or it might be a Beer Festival or Azalea Festival... My personal favorite is a local tradition called Greek Festival!! Hmmm, I wonder why...? But, I digress.

The festivals in ancient Greece during Elaphebolion and Mounykhion celebrated our dear Artemis, Moon Goddess, Lady of Beasts.  The festivals included processions, holy purifications, sacrifices,  libations, and feasts. Of course, the feasts had some well cooked venison in honor of the deer slayer. Heck yeah! What's not to like about that?

The spring season of Greek Festivals is commencing soon. In my humble opinion, you should look in your area to see if a Greek Festival is coming, and if so GO BUY YOUR TICKETS!! It will be woth it, I promise.

Clash of The Titans: Can You Remake A Classic?

In preparation for your descent upon the theatres on the Second of April, I implore you to re-watch, re-read, and otherwise brush up on your mythology, the Ancient Greek myth of Perseus, in particular. For, Clash of the Titans tells his tale. The myth of Perseus is so riveting that it has bled (no pun intended) into many areas of popular culture.

Here's our boy Perseus, holding the head of Medusa:

I have said it many times… I am unapologetically a mythology fiend. I love anything having to do with mythology. See previous posts on this blog. I am not kidding. So, you know that I am excited about the remake of this classic myth.

Though a superb product of the times in which it was rendered, the cinematography of the original was tired and labored and… horrible really (if I can be blunt. Are we not all friends here?). That fact did not, however, stop the original Clash of the Titans from becoming a cult classic. And, it did so not only with the help of a great story (praise the Greek gods and heroes) but also by some exemplary performances from the likes of Harry Hamlin, Maggie Smith, Ursula Andress, and of course Laurence Olivier as Zeus.

This clip of the original sets up the entire plot.

Here's my favorite theatrical trailer from the original:

I do hope that the actors in the remake can fill the large shoes left for them. Of one thing I can be certain… the cinematography and special effects will undoubtedly move your tush to the edge of the seat. But, as we all know, it’s always the acting that creates the indelible impression.

So, without further ado, rush off to brush up on the myth of Perseus.

 

If you're still on the fence about this one, CHECK OUT THE TRAILER!!


SEE YOU AT THE MOVIES!!