New Greek Mythology Site - The Garden of the Hesperides

I've been away for a while - in the meantime, I've continued writing for Hubpages which generates a small but steady revenue per month. I've also returned to a plan I've nurtured for some time of building up a multi-page website on Greek mythology. It is still at the early stages of development but you can see its beginnings here.
I'm enjoying doing more in-depth research into the subject, developing an interest in the shadowy Minoan-Mycenean history lurking behind the myth and of course it's always good to delve in Ovid's Metamorphoses.

In the longer term, I'm aiming to write some accompanying ebooks to be sold on the site, so I'll update when I'm further forward on that.

 It's a nice feeling of independance to be focused on creating ones own content at will in contrast to the restrictions of writing for bigger sites, though they have their own obvious advantages.

The Gardens of Lucullus, a site I set up some time ago has not been altogether forgotten. Once the Greek mythology project is well established, it will possibly also be transferred to Weebly and developed as a horticultural sister-site with the Hesperides.

I'm finding Weebly quite easy and enjoyable to work with so far, though it's early days. It's easy to design a multipage, monetised site with them but we shall see in the fullness of time what fruits the Garden bears.

New Article on Athene and Pay-Per-Click Sites

I've put up a new article on  the Goddess Athene on Hubpages. Hubpages actually seems to be doing fairly well at the moment, with pageviews looking healthy and the Hubpages Earning Program delivering small but visible results rather quickly (speaking only of my own recent revisiting of the site).

Suite 101 seems to be looking a mite happier over the past couple of days or so, but it is  too early to tell if this prefigures a significant reversal of its current languishment.

On the fora of such sites, one is frequently advised that the key to these pay-per-click gigs is persistence, that eventually you will find your niche or somehow get lucky. No doubt there is an element of truth in that and the saying of it always makes me feel that I should pull my socks up and try harder. On the other hand, if someone were to say to you 'come into work every day and one day, maybe, you'll get paid,'  that would seem an unreasonable proposition.

Actually, thinking about it,  that is how rather a lot of the more interesting creative occupations work these days; you are expected to have put in a substantial amount of volunteering before they will consider you for a paid post. People must be bribed or cajoled to do routine and unpleasant work, but if the job inspires passion like writing, people will queue to do it for free.

Izanagi and Izunami

I've just published a new article on Hubpages Izunagi and Izunami A Japanese Creation Myth.
As I am most familiar with Greek mythology, I was particularly interested to notice the striking parallels between this  story and the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Like Orpheus, Izunagi goes in quest of his beloved dead wife, to the very land of the dead. Like Orpheus, Izunagi is told that he may get his beloved back as long as he does not look at her. When he does so, he loses all hope of their being reunited and she is condemned to remain in the land of the dead.

There are also correspondances with the story of Persephone, as, at first, Izunami says she will not be able to return because she has tasted food in Yomi, the House of the Dead. Later, Izunami is transformed into Yomotsu-o-kami, a goddess of the dead.

Another interesting correspondance that struck me, this time from the book of Genesis, is that Izunami, the primal mother is, like Eve held responsible for things going wrong because she spoke out of turn and took the initiative. Both stories contain elements seemingly intended to justify male dominance as the rightful norm, although of course throughout the centuries, some readers and listeners must have been provoked to read 'against the grain' and ponder the fairness of the tale being told. By appearing to offer answers, myth can prompt us to ask questions.

Romulus and Remus

I've just published a new article on Romulus and Remus, basically giving an account of Livy's version of the story and briefly exploring the relevance it would have had to Livy, who had seen Rome suffer through years of civil war.

It's an interesting story that I might like to explore in more depth, at some point - why would a civilisation have, as their founding myth, the story of one brother killing another? It is remniscient of the story of Cain and Abel of course but also of the Romans' relish of the idea of their own nastiness. Their early history is full of stories of heroic men who put loyalty to the city above family ties, such as the Horatii, who killed their sister because she loved an enemy of Rome. By killing Remus, as he disrespected the walls of the city, in essence invading, Romulus was setting a precedent of protecting the city's boundariesat all costs.

I wonder if the killing of Remus could also be interpreted as a sacrifice to propitiate the gods at the founding of the city, or so that his spirit would be embedded as protector  - an idea that seems to lie deep in many ancient belief systems (or else I've been reading too much Peter Ackroyd on London or Alan Moore on Northampton.

I've started to read a book on the myth by T. P Wiseman Remus: A Roman Myth and I'll come back with a review.