gifts from the gods
TRANSCRIPT
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Gifts from the Gods
Laura Clipson
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Gifts from the Gods
First published in Great Britain in 2013 by Clipson Press
Copyright Laura Clipson 2013
The right of Laura Clipson to be identified as the author of this
work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright,
Design and Patents Act of 1988
All rights reserved
Acknowledgements:
Special thanks to Emj Goodchild for her front cover image design,
and to the Greeks for their many stories and mythological roots.
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Pandora
Punishment disguised; a gift
in the form of a woman, the first
created by the gods. Presented
to the titans for their sin:
sharing the gods fire
with men. Named Pandora,all gifted, with beauty,
cunning, dexterity, mischief
and curiosity.
A final gift; a box she
was never to open.
Curiosity overcame her;
Zeus looked on, gleeful.
The lid was lifted;
from the box spewed
the evils of humanity.
Hope came last, the only light
in a world of darkness.
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Arachne
A beautiful girl,
renowned for her gift;
weaving tapestries
so wonderful,
nymphs gather
to see her spin.
Vanity overcomes;
she believes she
is the best.
Athena, famous for
her own weavings,
challenges her.
Arachne accepts;
the two women
sit at their looms
and spin, as
nymphs and gods
gaze in awe.
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Athena weaves
a magnificent tapestry,
proudly showing the
gods in their glory,
surrounded by
foolish mortals.
Arachne weaves
a stunning tapestry,
defiantly
displaying the
transgressions
of the gods.
Furious and offended
by Arachnesdisrespect, Athena
tears apart the
tapestry, and
slaps the girl.
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Appalled by her
actions, Arachne
hangs herself. A
shocked Athena,
full of guilt,
takes pity.
She gifts Arachne
life, at a price;
her head shrinks,
hair falls out,
and nimble fingers
become long legs.
For your vanity,
says the goddess,You are destined
to hang and
spin forever
as a spider.
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Icarus
Newfound wings, stretched to their fullest extent,
Created to flee, from wax and feathers.
Beating his wings, he begins his ascent,
Releasing him from his earthly tethers.
He soars through the sky, his mind filled with glee,As his previous troubles are undone.
Higher he flies over the rough blue sea,
Getting closer and closer to the sun.
The feathers fall off, the wax dripping slow,
As he struggles to stay up in the sky.
He plummets into the waters below,
Realising his plan has gone awry.
Sinking beneath the waves, a lesson learnt;
Fly too close to the sun, and youll be burnt.
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Lamia
Mistress of a God,
punished by his wife.
Maddened with grief
by her childrens deaths,
relentlessly haunted by
the image of their bodies,lifeless. Zeus took pity,
gifting her the ability
to remove her eyes,
freeing her from the sight.
Transformed by her grief;
part woman, part snake,
a monster, seeking vengeance
on the children of others,
for the loss of her own.
A threat by tired mothers;
Behave, or Lamia shall visit
in the dead of night,
and devour you whole,
while you dream.
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The Fates
Three old crones, loyal to Zeus,
weaving life as they see fit:
one spins, one measures,
one cuts the thread of life.
Feared, not only by mortals,
but by the gods they serve.
The Furies
Emerging from blood, shed
when son castrated father;
three women, eyes dripping red,
waists twined with serpents.
Their duty: avenging crimes
by cursing with insanity.
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Midas
A wish granted
for a job done well;
creation of gold,
with a single touch.
Endless possibilities,
the ability to bericher, greater
than any man.
Start off small,
a twig, a stone;
solid gold.
A feast to celebrate
newfound power;
solid gold.
Loyal servants,
trying to help,
solid gold.
A loving daughter,
offering comfort,
solid gold.
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The perfect wish;
a curse in disguise.
Sitting alone, in his
golden mansion,
unable to eat, drink,
or love.
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Medea
A curse from the gods;
doomed to love one
who cannot, will not love me.
Compelled to perform cruel acts
for this unrequited love.
My sorcery helps him
to procure the golden fleece;
I betray my father, kill my brother,
turn on my family for the man
I am destined to adore.
In Iolcus, his throne awaits,
the usurper seated comfortably.
With witchcraft I trick his daughters
into killing their own father,
so my love may claim his throne.
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In Corinth, two children I bear him,
but he desires another, a princess.
A jealous rage; I send a wedding gift
laced with poison. She burns alive,
and takes her father, the King, with her.
I slaughter our children, to
hurt him, like he hurt me,
and to spare them the shame
of a murderous mother
and a cowardly father.
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Keres
Enticed by bloodshed
they circle like vultures
searching for the dead, or dying.
Hateful spirits of death
tearing soul from body
to banish to Hades.
Sirens
Doomed to wreck upon the rocks
under the spell of the Sirens song
no man can resist their haunting music
and many a ship has been lost
to the beautiful winged maidens lullaby.
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Bellerophontes
The golden bridle
delivered in a dream;
a gift from the gods,
clutched tightly
in shaking hands.
The winged beautygrazing peacefully.
Leaping onto
the horses back,
he slipped the bridle
over his handsome head,
and Pegasus surrendered
to his new Master.
Together they rode,
defeating the
terrible chimera,
becoming heroes,
worshipped by all.
Gifted a wife
and kingdom,
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a perfect life,
but not enough.
Craving adventure,
he rode Pegasus
to Mount Olympus,
home of the gods.
Furious at the arrogance
of this mortal,
Zeus sent a gadfly.
Stung, Pegasus bucked;
his rider was lost.
Crippled and alone,
forsaken by the gods,
he wandered the Earth
for the rest of his days,
searching for his steed.
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Cronus
Child of Earth and Sky;
Time, youngest of the titans
consumed by envy and greed,
castrated his father, using a sickle,
the desired power obtained.
Into the sea the jewels were discarded;
the furies born from the blood,
while the goddess of love sprang forth from the foam.
Powerful, wed to his sister, Rhea
paranoia overcame, and fear;
of betrayal by those he spawned,
of a cycle of sons versus fathers.
Devoured as infants, no chance for treachery,
the mother, horrified, protected the youngest.
Deceived by a boulder wrapped in swaddling clothes,
he swallowed, believing himself safe.
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Hidden from the father,
until the time came to realise his fears;
son versus father, Zeus conquered Time,
his siblings disgorged from their dark prison.
They divided the world between them;
Poseidon ruled the seas,
Hades ruled the underworld
and Zeus, the saviour, ruled the skies and the gods.
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Scylla and Charybdis
Scylla, stunning nymph loved by a sea god,
but he was loved by sorceress Circe.
She poisoned the water Scylla bathed in,
creating a beast with her jealousy.
Charybdis, nymph daughter of Poseidon,punished by Zeus for the theft of his land,
drowning it with water from the ocean
causing her fathers Kingdom to expand.
Scylla, with her six heads and shark like teeth,
placed along a narrow strait of water
Charybdis, the whirlpool placed alongside
anyone that approached would be slaughtered.
A choice between these two monsters of doom,
either could send you to your waiting tomb.
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Orpheus
A gifted minstrel, taught by Apollo
his music enthralling to all who heard,
superior to the song of the sirens,
who were known for their destructive powers.
Besotted with Eurydice, a beautiful nymph,
they married, living together in bliss for a time.One day glimpsed by Aristaeus,
who desired her for his own.
He pursued her, and in her haste to flee;
stepped on a deadly snake, and lived no more.
Distraught, Orpheus resolved to bring her back
and ventured to the gates of the underworld.
Enchanted by his music, Hades agreed
to bestow life upon Eurydice,
though there was one condition:
Orpheus could not look upon her,
until she left the shadows of the underworld.
He led her through the dark, twisting tunnels
tormented by her footsteps behind him.
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In his eagerness to see his beloved wife,
he turned to her the moment he left the shadows,
but because she had not yet reached the light,
she was taken back to the underworld, eternally.
Heartbroken, he swore never to love again;
resentful women dismembered him,
his remains strewn into a river,
the head still singing mournfully.
Finally, in death, reunited with his beloved.
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Persephone
Beloved daughter of Demeter,
goddess of spring growth
snatched from a meadow,
taken to the underworld
as bride of Hades.
A mother in despair
searched the earth
for her beloved daughter,
discovered the betrayal
of Hades and Zeus.
Enraged, she
spurned her duties,
let the earth decline
until the return
of Persephone.
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Zeus succumbed,
however Persephone
had tasted the fruit
of Hades, so could
not leave forever.
A compromise:
six months on Earth
with her mother,
six months in the underworld
with her husband.
Spring and summer
spent with Demeter,her happiness
marked by growth
of flowers and grain.
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Autumn and winter
spent with Hades,
while the earth declined
as growth halted
until next spring.
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The Underworld
Hermes, the messenger god, stands before me,
ready to perform his duty: to deliver my soul.
He grasps my hand and we launch into the skies,
and I understand, now, his swift reputation.
We soar through the air, light as a feather;
I do not look back at the body I leave behind.
We travel through the inky black, above lands
unknown to the living, until we reach the place
that leads to the eternal home of the dead.
We land in front of the mouth of the cave,
waiting to swallow me whole.
Deeper we travel through the earth;
our footsteps echo deafeningly off the
menacing stone that surrounds us.
I hear the sound of surging water
and know I am close to my goal.
The messenger god gestures me forward
before flitting back, his task complete.
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There stands the fearsome ferryman,
hook-nosed and bearded, palm outstretched.
I hand him my coin, he turns to the boat
drifting on the water. I climb aboard;
the boat cuts swiftly through the river
heading for a far bank on the other side.
Once we reach land, I leave the boat;
he sails back, to wait for his next crossing.
The gates of the underworld tower before me,
with Cerberus the hell hound to guard them.
Three pairs of eyes watch me fiercely as I pass
through the gate, barred to all but the dead.
I walk through the cavernous tunnel
and encounter a great meadow,
in which thousands of souls arewandering aimlessly, empty shells
with no memory of their former lives.
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I leave the meadow and follow the path,
eventually reaching a fork in the road.
One path is brightly lit, and I hear
the faint sounds of celebration.
The other is in darkness, and I hear
the distant sounds of screaming and pain.
Three men appear in front of me; the judges,
ready to sentence me to my fate.
Their faces grim, my heart fills with fear;
am I condemned to reside in the darkest
of dark places, punished and alone?
Their faces lift, and they joyfully gesture
towards the light passageway.
Relief floods through me, and I follow
the path until I reach my paradise.