Mythology Mondays: Cerberus

Welcome to Mythology Mondays, where I highlight a different Greek myth or an aspect of mythology that has influenced the Turning Creek series. The first two books, Lightning in the Dark and Storm in the Mountains, are out now.

Be honest. I know most of you think of this when you think of Cerberus:

Hagrid, was his hair on fire?

We can all learn a life lesson from Hagrid’s penchant to acquire things in pubs. If a slightly inebriated, shady chap is trying to get you to win a three headed dog or dragon egg, just call it a loss and walk away. Nothing good ever comes from this kind of transaction. Just ask Harry.

Cerberus, thrice the heads, thrice the drool.

Cerberus was another illustrious offspring of Typhon and Echidna. Cerberus was a dog with three heads and was said to have a serpentine tail and a mane of snakes. Remember, Greeks did not think a large three-headed dog was scary enough. They added some other animals parts to make him truly horrifying.

Cerberus guarded the entrance to the Underworld. He allowed shades (souls) to go in but would not let them leave. He was without pity and feasted upon raw flesh.

The last of Hercules’ twelve tasks was to capture Cerberus. Not to be daunted, Hercules made the journey to the underworld and asked Hades for the hound. Hades agreed on two conditions. Hercules could not use any weapon but his own strength and no harm was to come to Cerberus. Hercules agreed.

Hercules wrestled the three-headed hound, managing to wrap his strong arms around all three of Cerberus’ throats. Even though Hercules was bitten by the snakes on Cerberus’ mane, he subdued the beast and carried him out of the Underworld slung over his shoulders.

Hercules presented Cerberus to King Eurystheus at the gates of Tiryns. Eurystheus begged Hercules to let the monster go and not leave him at the gates of his city. Hercules released Cerberus and the hound returned to his duty in the Underworld.

There are various versions of the tale of Hercules and Cerberus, but they all end with Hercules triumphant and Cerberus back at his post.

In Turning Creek, the Remnant of Cerberus has only one head, but he manages to cause quite a bit of havoc.

Mythology Mondays: Ladon

Welcome to Mythology Mondays, where I highlight a different Greek myth or an aspect of mythology that has influenced the Turning Creek series. The first two books, Lightning in the Dark and Storm in the Mountains are out now.

"VarnaDragons" by Grantscharoff - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VarnaDragons.jpg#/media/File:VarnaDragons.jpg
Photo of a statue in Varna, Bulgaria by  Grantscharoff

Today, we are talking about dragons! Who doesn’t love dragons? This girl LOVES them. Every once in awhile, I binge through a dragon shifter series. Because dragons.

The dragon-like monster in Greek mythology was the Ladon. He was said to be the monstrous child of two monsters, Typhon and Echidna. The Ladon was a one hundred headed serpent who guarded the golden apples of Hesperides.

Hesperides, a goddess of the golden light of sunrise and sunset, was frequently given the task of guarding treasures of the other gods and goddesses. The tree which bore the golden apples was a gift of Gaia, the Earth, to Hera on the occasion of her marriage to Zeus. The apples, besides being beautiful, could bestow immortality to whoever ate them. These were the same apples that were used to trick Atalanta into marriage. Hesperides used the Ladon to guard her garden in which the tree of the golden apples grew.

The Ladon frequently tormented the Titan, Atlas, who carried the world on his shoulders. In some tales, the Ladon was said to be able to mimic voices.

Photo by By Nicolas Vollmer from Munich.
Photo by By Nicolas Vollmer from Munich.

Among the twelve labors given to Hercules by the Oracle at Delphi was to collect some of the golden apples. Hercules slay the Ladon who stood sentinel in Hesperides’ garden and took the apples. Zeus placed the slain monster in the stars as the constellation Draco. He is entwined around the North Star.

Mythology Mondays: Charon

Welcome to Mythology Mondays, where I highlight a different Greek myth or an aspect of mythology that has influenced the Turning Creek series. The first two books, Lightning in the Dark and Storm in the Mountains are out now.

Everyone has heard of the ferryman who takes souls to the Underworld, but not everyone knows that his name was Charon. Many cultures have a death ritual which involves laying coins on the eyes or under the tongue of the deceased as Charon’s Obol or coin. This coin or coins paid Charon’s toll for the ferry ride across the River Styx or the Acheron, the lake of pain, depending on which version of the myth you are reading.

An etching of Charon by Dore.
An etching of Charon by Dore.

Charon was the son of Erebus, the primordial god of darkness who existed before the Greek gods came to power. Charon served Hades by captaining the ferry which carried souls across Acheron to the Underworld. The obol placed in the mouth of the deceased when they were buried was his payment. The souls of people who were left unburied or who were without payment were left to wander the land of in-between as ghosts.

Charon does not feature in any stories centered around himself, but he plays a supporting role in the adventures of other gods when they find themselves on the shore of Acheron seeking an audience with Hades.

Charon was often described as a bearded, surly man whose eyes shone with unnatural color or, as in Dante’s Inferno, with fire. I imagine ferrying the dead would make anyone surly. Can you imagine how hacked off some of those people are? Or how sad they would be?

Charon and Psyche (oil on canvas) by Stanhope, John Roddam Spencer (1829-1908) oil on canvas
Charon and Psyche (oil on canvas) by John Roddam Spencer Stanhope

Psyche uses Charon’s service on one of her quests. She was on her way to beg Persephone for a box a beauty ointment because nothing says everlasting youth like cream from the queen of the dead.

In Turning Creek, Charon has not made an appearance, but the characters do refer to him and his services into the Underworld.

Mythology Mondays: Laelaps

Welcome to Mythology Mondays, where I highlight a different Greek myth or an aspect of mythology that has influenced the Turning Creek series. The first two books, Lightning in the Dark and Storm in the Mountains are out now.

 

There are two kinds of people in the world: dog people and cat people. I am a dog person. I married a man who thought he was a cat person owing to the fact that he always had cats growing up. His mother is a cat person. He was a dog person just waiting for a dog to be in his life. We now have two large, ridiculous dogs and everyone is happy about it except my mother-in-law.

This post is not about my crazy dogs. This post is about Laelaps, the hurricane dog of Greek mythology.

Laelaps is a female in some stories and a male in others. I am going to refer to Laelaps as a she because I like imagining a powerful female dog running around causing a bit of panic.

Laelaps chasing the Teumessian Fox.
Laelaps chasing the Teumessian Fox.

Laelaps originally belonged to Zeus. She was a fierce hunting hound who, once set on her prey, never failed to catch it.

Zeus stumbled upon the maiden Europa picking flowers one day and he decided that he must have this woman as his own. To those of you who have been paying attention, this should come as no big shock. Instead of declaring his intentions, like a normal person, Zeus decided on his usual practice of transforming himself into something, this time a white bull, and seducing (or perhaps pestering) Europa until she climbed up on his back and he kidnapped her.

Zeus set Europa up as the Queen of Crete and gave her three gifts. One of the gifts was his beloved hound, Laelaps. Europa named the son that she bore after riding the white bull Minos. Minos inherited not only the kingship of Crete, but also the hound, Laelaps.

I was unable to find exactly how Procris ended up with Laelaps, but at some point Minos gifted the hound to Procris who took it home to please his wife, Kephalos, after they had an argument about being on a “break.”

 

It is possible that Artemis, goddess of the hunt, may have gifted Laelaps to Procris, but accounts differ.

About this time, the Teumessian Fox was terrorizing Thebes. The mythical fox was a monster that could never be caught. To appease it, the people of Thebes fed it a small male child once a month. As you can imagine, the people of Thebes tired of this arrangement very quickly. They appealed to Kephalos who sent Laelaps after the fox.

The hound who always catches its prey chasing after a fox who could never be caught created an unsolvable conundrum. The hound chased the fox for many days. Zeus grew tired of this and turned both animals to stone. He put them in the sky as the constellations Canis Major and Canis Minor where they chase each other forever.

In Storm in the Mountains, Marina meets the Remnant of Laelaps on one of her adventures.

Mythology Mondays: A Feminist Reading of Greek Mythology

Welcome to Mythology Mondays, where I highlight a different Greek myth or an aspect of mythology that has influenced the Turning Creek series. The first two books, Lightning in the Dark and Storm in the Mountains are out now.

Since I started writing about my harpies, I have been doing a lot of mythology research. Before starting the Turning Creek series, my mythology knowledge was about what any good English major picks up over years of reading, a decent bit but not encyclopedic. After over a year of reading and writing about Greek mythology, I have come to a conclusion I should have seen coming.

The gender roles in the ancient world were supported by the rigid and degrading roles women were given in the myths told and retold as religion. In modern times, we read them as classic literature.

"Votes For Women" by Hilda Dallas - Private Collection. Licensed under PD-US via Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Votes_For_Women.jpg#/media/File:Votes_For_Women.jpg
“Votes For Women” by Hilda Dallas – Private Collection

In Greek mythology, women were allowed to be virgins, whores, or something monstrous. They were never allowed to be beautiful and I would argue that any woman who was not a virgin was made a monster because they believed them to be monstrous.

In this discussion there is always one exception: the goddesses. The goddesses of Greece and Rome were allowed to be virgins, sexual beings, beautiful, ugly, or anything in between. The female gods were allowed to do almost anything without punishment, but if a mortal woman was anything but an ugly virgin, she was punished, and punished harshly.

A woman could not possess beauty or skill. – Beauty was prized by the ancients, but it was reserved for those of royal blood or those who were children of the gods. Likewise, a mortal woman could also never excel at anything if they outshone the the gods. Arachne, who had the misfortune of being a very good weaver, was challenged by Minerva, weaver of the gods. When Arachne was found to be equal in skill to Minerva, the goddess beat her until, shamed, the woman hung herself. Minerva felt remorse over her action and changed the woman into a spider.

Scylla was a beautiful woman seduced* by Poseidon. She was turned into a hideous beast both for being beautiful and for being seduced. Medea was a beautiful witch that Jason of the Argonauts seduced, married, then abandoned. Medusa was a beautiful mortal who had the misfortune of being seduced by Poseidon in Athena’s temple.

A woman was allowed to be a virgin, at least until one of the philandering gods noticed you and then they seduced you, making you a whore. In a culture where your ability to bear children was the sum of your value, your maidenhead was your ticket to a better life. Unfortunately, this was a ticket easily ripped apart (pun intended), by any man or god who happened to stroll along. Losing your virginity meant you lost your value in society, but if you lost your virtue to the wrong man or god, you were punished. Scylla and Medusa, from the examples above, were turned into hideous creatures by the goddesses who felt betrayed by the rape of the mortal women. The women were punished for the gods’ infidelity.

A woman was allowed to be a whore or a monster. There are many female monsters in Greek mythology, though monsters are not exclusively female. Feminine monsters, of various origins, included Medusa and Scylla (which I have already mentioned), the Sphinx, the Harpies, the Amazons (women who dared to have power and skill, thus they were monsters), the maenads, the Gorgons, and the list goes on and on.

It makes sense that the stories which people told to explain the world were influenced by and supported the beliefs of that culture. Women were not valued. Women, beyond their ability to bear children, had no value and no place in society. There are always exceptions, but I am speaking about the generally accepted views not the exceptions.

Greek Mythology, and other mythology from the ancient world, reflected the idea that women were virgins until they were desired by a man and then they were taken. After they had been used, they were no longer of value, they were monstrous, both physically and spiritually.

This has implications for us today as we consider how the ancients myths have woven their way into the vernacular of our modern culture. Using an example above, we remember Medea as a witch who killed her children and Jason as a virtuous hero. We do not remember this couple as they were in the myths: Medea as a desperate and abandoned woman and Jason as a narcissistic adulterer.

As I learn more about ancient myths, I have been reminded to look at the stories critically with a modern lens that is sensitive to the culture which created them. They are stories of greed, betrayal, jealousy, desire, love, anguish, and life. We are all capable of any or all of these emotions. Perhaps the thing we should learn most from the ancient myths is temperance.

*Seduced in the ancient writings is a gentle way of saying the god didn’t take no for an answer and raped her.

Of Eggs, Pregnancies, and Book Clubs

Last night, I was the guest at a book club that had gathered to discuss Lightning in the Dark. The night was filled with great questions, laughter, and, of course, wine.

wine

Some of the questions were very thought provoking: The harpies pass down violence from generation to generation. What do we take with us from our parents and how does this effect our lives?

Some of them were hilarious: Do harpies lay eggs? Do they have pregnancies that only last nine months? No and yes, respectively. I had not actually considered changing the harpies’ gestation period. Imagining them laying eggs made me crack up.

We had some of the usual discussions about mythology, what did I make up verses what is present in the actual myths. The ladies talked about what they thought the harpies looked like in harpy form. It was interesting to note that the women who had previous knowledge of what a harpy was tended to see them as more monstrous and ugly. The women with no prior knowledge of the harpy myth tended to see them as I imagined them to be, strong and fiercely beautiful as only true predators can be.

It was an absolute honor to be there. I am humbled by the people that read my books and connect with the characters that I love.

If you read one of my books in a book club, I would love to be there when you discuss it, to answer questions, talk, and laugh with you. And drink wine. Or beer. Or scotch.

One more thing: tomorrow, I am doing my monthly ebook giveaway to a newsletter subscriber. This month the giveaway is from one of my favorite authors, Sandra Schwab. The book is The Lily Brand and it will keep you up late reading, but you will not mind in the slightest. You can subscribe by clicking the handy button below.

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Mythology Mondays: Scylla

Welcome to Mythology Mondays, where I highlight a different Greek myth or an aspect of mythology that has influenced the Turning Creek series. The first two books, Lightning in the Dark and Storm in the Mountains are out now.

Today, we are going to talk about Scylla, a ferocious sea monster, who along with her sister, Charybdis, swallowed sailors and whole ships with abandon.

scylla rock

This story starts ordinarily enough, with a beautiful maiden and a god who could not keep his hands or, ahem, other things to himself. Well, maybe it starts earlier with dubious parentage.

The story of Scylla’s parentage is varied. Her parents could have been a god-shark, a river, Echidna and Typhon, or Phorcys and Hekate. In some versions, Scylla is born a monster, in others she is made one.

Scylla was a beautiful maiden and she caught the eye of the marine god Glaucus or maybe it was Poseidon. Both fell instantly in lust with the damsel in question. Neither was fortunate enough to have her return their affections and both were annoyed at having their attentions rebuffed. I mean, who would not want to have a romp with a god? It always turned out so well for the woman once a god turned her way.

In the version with Glaucus as the hero, he applied to Circe, a witch renowned for her knowledge of herbs, to help make Scylla fall in love with him. Once, Circe saw the lovely Scylla, she was so overcome with jealousy she put herbs in Scylla’s bath causing her to turn into a horrible monster.

In the version with Poseidon, his wife, Amphitrite, was displeased at her husband’s wayward attentions and turned the maiden Scylla into a monster.

Regardless of the cause, Scylla became a ferocious sea creature sporting six heads which had mouths with three rows of jagged teeth. In some versions, she retained her human form from the torso up and had three dog heads sprouting from her belly. The Greeks were fond of putting random animals heads in places where they did not belong. Scylla barked like a dog and lay in wait for sailors to pass through the straight she guarded with Charybdis.

scylla vase

The Straight of Messina is a particularly dangerous place for ships between Sicily and Italy. In the straight were two rocks, one haunted by each monster, Scylla and Charybdis. Ships that failed to navigate the rough seas around the rocks and their monsters, were swallowed and lost to an icy death.

In Turning Creek, Katherine Johnson, the first woman to go missing in Storm in the Mountains is a Remnant of Scylla.

The Harpies go on a #LOLHop

During this wonderful Labor Day holiday, the harpies and I (and 27 other authors) are going on a Labor of Love Blog Hop (#LOLHop). From sweet to dark, divas of romance work their fingers to the bone for your reading pleasure in the Labor of Love Blog hop from 9/4-9/6. Come join me and enter to win a Kindle with new, heart-pounding titles just for you!

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Happily ever afters only come after heart-breaking work, and this Labor Day weekend, we are celebrating our written labors of love by giving our readers a chance to win a brand-spankin’ new Kindle with our personal bests. That’s right, you could win all of our books! Aren’t you excited? We are! So here’s your chance, just click the link below to enter our giveaway:
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The Turning Creek series, set in a small mountain town in Colorado in 1858, is full of the descendants of Greek half-myths and monsters. From the moment I started writing about Turning Creek and the harpies, I fell in love, with the mountains, with the people, and with the harpies themselves. What is life and adventure without a little love?

The scene I have chosen is from Storm in the Mountains, which is on the Kindle we are giving away. It features Marina, a sword wielding, whiskey slinging harpy, and Reed, an honest sheriff trying to hold peace in a valley full of monsters. Reed has heard rumors of a chimera in the area and has asked Marina on the hunt as back-up.

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000039_00071]

From the Back Cover: Marina Ocypete is a harpy, a Remnant of the Greek myth living in a small town in the Colorado Territory. She would rather start a decent fight than sit around idle. The local sheriff offers her a job as a deputy which seems like a better choice than suffering from boredom, but Reed Brant has a way of getting under her skin. With the influx of Remnants in his town, Reed needs Marina’s skills as a harpy to keep the peace. His head knows she is not the get married and settled down type he wants, but she might be just the thing his heart desires. When women start disappearing in Turning Creek, it will be up to Marina and Reed to find the cause behind the fear gripping their town. Marina will have to choose between a fate she never questioned and the man who makes her believe even a harpy can have a heart.

eBook available from Amazon, Google Play, Nook, AllRomance, and Kobo.

Print available from , CreateSpace and Amazon


Excerpt of Storm in the Mountains

Marina looked around the creek. They had been walking upstream long enough. “There are no signs of an exit here. Let’s go back and move downstream.”

They passed the spot where they had turned north and kept going. The sun was arcing towards the mountain peaks, and the decent light would be gone soon. Pressure to find some trace of the chimera, if that was actually what they were looking for, ate at Marina.

“What was your mother like?” Reed asked.

Marina tried not to think of her mother often. “I think she cared for me in her own way. Harpies are not the best of mothers. She taught me what she thought I needed to know to survive.”

Reed paused on his side of the creek and moved his gaze from the gravel to Marina’s face. “And what does a harpy need to know?”

“How to fight in my mortal form. How to use a knife and a sword. She was an old-fashioned sort, so I had to teach myself how to use a firearm. She taught me how to use my harpy skill of speed, how to be a weapon, and to love what I am.” Marina felt her harpy preen with pride at the list.

Reed chuckled and walked on. “I can see your pride shining from here. I’ll admit you’re the fastest thing I’ve ever seen. Don’t get too full of yourself.”

Marina grinned in delight. “That’s the best compliment I’ve had all day, Sheriff.”

The sun sunk lower until the bottom of the orange orb touched the peaks to the west. If they were going to find something, it needed to be now. It would soon be too dark to do any tracking.

Marina listened to Reed’s measured steps on the other bank. “What are we going to do if we find the chimera or whatever it is?”

Reed looked at the coming sunset then turned to Marina. “I know how you like to swing first and maybe ask questions at a later date. I’d like to talk to it first and see if he means harm. Most of the people around here don’t know a thing about Remnants, and I think we’d all like to keep it that way for now. So we talk first.”

Marina put her hands on her hips. “I’m the model of peace and patience. I’d never start a fight unprovoked.”

Reed snorted. “Unless you were restless.”

Marina laughed and kept walking. “Best way to shake out the boredom of a day. Followed by a stiff drink.”

The sound of Reed’s footsteps slowed, and Marina turned to ask him if he had found something. The hair on her neck rose seconds before a tan and black blur bounded from the trees and knocked Reed from his feet and into the water of the creek.

The change exploded over her in a flurry of feathers. Her harpy screamed in outrage as she dove for the chimera holding Reed under the water in the stream as he struggled. That slinking piece of filth is not going to drown him, she thought. Reed was hers to protect. Hers.


I hope the idea of Greek myths flying around the mountains and getting into shenanigans sounds as much fun to you as it does to me. The first book in the series, Lightning in the Dark is also available. The third book, Letters in the Snow, will be out early 2016.

Need something to read? Comment on this post for a chance to win an ecopy of Lightning in the Dark in the format of your choice. Answer the question: What is your current labor of love? I will announce the winner on 9/8.

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Thank you for join joining our Labors of Love Blog Hop. To read more fabulous stories, click the link below and work your way through our participating authors:


Creative License

My engineering husband questioned me about the liberties I take with Greek Mythology in my Turning Creek series. I told him it was creative license. He did not approve. The problem with engineers is that they want, nay need, things to fit into formulas. If you can turn the plot points into a color coded graph, even better.

His main complaint was that Thomas, the orphan Iris takes in after Lightning in the Dark, has the ability of speed and delivers messages. The Greek myth that these two traits fit best is Hermes.

Hermes was a god of Olympus, son of Zeus and Maia (one of the many women who fell for Zeus). Hermes was the herald and servant of Zeus.

In the world I created for Turning Creek, there are no Remnants of gods (that we know of). The gods, who reigned on Mount Olympus, required adoration and were accustomed to a certain level of power. They did not adjust to life in the mortal world after the Fall of Olympus and they faded from existence. In the world I have created, Thomas could not be the Remnant of Hermes because Hermes faded long ago, thus I borrowed Achilles for Thomas.

Achilles was a famous warrior in the Trojan War. I did a Mythology Mondays profile of Achilles with more detail. In the original myth, he was slain with an arrow to his heel.

I gave Thomas speed because it was a convenient power for him to have and assist Iris. I gave him Achilles’ weakness because I wanted him to have one.

Creative License. I wield it.

One of the fabulous things about mythology, and Greek mythology in particular, is that every tale has multiple versions. Thanks to the warring nature of the Greeks, Romans, and their many neighbors, Greek myths were adopted and adapted by different peoples and regions. Even the ancients had their own version of creative license.

If, like my husband, my liberties with the original myths make you roll your eyes and wonder if I did any research at all, I assure you, I did research. Sometimes, I apply creative license to whatever facts I find.

Mythology Mondays: Medea

Let us all pause and jump for joy as we relish this beautiful, glorious day. That’s right, my friends. School is back in session and all is right with the world again.

Please enjoy your regularly scheduled mythology post now.

Welcome to Mythology Mondays, where I highlight a different Greek myth or an aspect of mythology that has influenced the Turning Creek series. The first two books, Lightning in the Dark and Storm in the Mountains are out now.

Poor Medea. Like most Greek myths, her story does not end well.

Medea mixes a poison to save her love, Jason. Painting by John William Waterhouse.
Medea mixes a poison to save her love, Jason, who turns out to be a jerk. Painting by John William Waterhouse.

Medea’s story starts with the tale of not one but two young boys who were denied their rightful thrones and sent into exile. One boy’s story, Phrixus, yields the golden fleece. The other boy, Jason, comes out of exile to claim his throne. Pelias, who held Jason’s throne, says he will give up the throne he usurped if Jason brings him the Golden Fleece.

Jason is so excited about the idea of an adventure, he gets many young men of Greece to follow him in this dangerous pursuit. Thus begins the story of Jason and the Argonauts. They run into quite a bit of trouble. Harpies. Amazons. One gets the feeling that Greeks found all forms of women frightening.

Eventually, the adventurers find themselves on the borders of Colchis where the Golden Fleece was held by the King. This king has, of course, a daughter, named Medea, who was said to be a skillful witch.

The gods had watched Jason’s journey up to this point and, now that he was on the cusp of the real trial, Hera becomes worried for him. Hera goes to Aphrodite, who could best be described as a frenemy, and begs for help. She agrees to help. Aphrodite pays Cupid a shiny ball of gold to make Medea fall hopelessly in love with Jason.

Jason appears before the King of Colchis and, after a night of feasting, asks the king for the Golden Fleece. The king is incensed and agrees to give the Fleece up if Jason yokes two bulls who breathe fire, plow a field with them, plant dragon teeth in the furrows, and then kill the warriors who spring from the seeds.

Sounds easy.

Medea sees Jason at the feast and falls utterly in love. Knowing her father has condemned Jason to certain death, she meets him the night before his trial and gives him a special poison for his weapons. She weeps and admits her love for him and asks him to remember her fondly.

Jason defeats the dragon-teeth men, but the king plans to kill him anyway. Medea again goes to Jason in the middle of the night to warn him. She promises to guide them to the Fleece and bespell the serpent that guards the treasure, if Jason will but take her away to Greece. Jason agrees and says if she does this thing, he will take her back to Greece as his wife.

Medea puts the serpent to sleep and Jason gets the Fleece.

Medea’s brother, under the king’s orders, follows Jason and Medea to retrieve the Fleece for his father. Medea, once again, saves Jason’s quest. She kills her brother and his army scatters. She also rescues the Argonauts from the bronze men of Crete by calling upon the hounds of Hades before they finally reach Greece.

Sadly, Greece will be Medea’s undoing. Jason uses Medea’s power to murder the uncle who had taken his throne. One has to wonder why he went to get the Fleece in the first place when a little avunculicide would do.

Medea and Jason have two sons and all was well, for a time.

Jason was an ambitious and selfish man. To further his quest for power, he agrees to marry the daughter of Corinth, though he already has a wife. The King of Corinth threatens to have Medea removed from the country if she does not allow the wedding.

Medea is desperate. She threatens Jason’s new bride which earns her a stern talking to from her husband, who tells her she is unbalanced and he never loved her. Medea remembers all the betrayals she committed for this man who now wants to put her aside and she burns in anger.

But on me hath fallen this unforeseen disaster, and sapped my life; ruined I am, and long to resign the boon of existence, kind friends, and die. For he who was all the world to me, as well thou knowest, hath turned out the worst of men, my own husband. Of all things that have life and sense we women are the most hapless creatures; first must we buy a husband at a great price, and o’er ourselves a tyrant set which is an evil worse than the first; and herein lies the most important issue, whether our choice be good or bad. For divorce is not honourable to women, nor can we disown our lords. -from Medea By Euripides

Medea kills Jason’s intended bride with a poisoned robe. She knows that she and her sons will be exiled with no home, family, or man to guard them. They might as well be dead, she thinks. She kills her two sons and escapes in a chariot pulled by dragons.

If she could escape in a chariot, why not her sons? And if she could command dragons, could the woman not find a loaf of bread for them to eat?

Just pointing out the obvious.

The point is we mostly still remember Jason as a hero and Medea as a crazy witch. The more Greek mythology I read, the more I remember misogyny is as old as time.

In Turning Creek, Medea shows up eventually in Storm in the Mountains. Don’t worry. She does not kill anyone or send them poisoned robes.