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.

Pyramus and Thisbe

Pyramus and Thisbe is my latest offering on Hubpages. This tragic love story intrigues me. Found in Book 4 of Ovid's Metamorphoses, it does not actually appear to be a myth as such but rather a popular tale emanating from the Near East ( it is set in Babylon). It doesn't deal with gods or heroes but with  the love of an ordinary boy and  girl who live next door to each other, in a terraced street. This essentially familiar urban setting reminds us that the kind of crowded civic life we associate with modernity was already ancient by Ovid's time.

Very much part of the same sentimental tradition as Romeo and Juliet, or the Greek Romance novels, popular in the Roman Empire, it invites the reader or listener to sympathetically weigh the powerful emotions of lovelorn adolescents against the rights of parents (especially fathers) to make decisions about their children's marriages.

How did the mostly patriarchal Romans feel about these stories privileging sentiment over prudence? How did they feel about their sons and daughters immersing themselves in such tales? It is tempting to wonder whether they ever played a role in softening the attitude of a stern parent or strengthening the resolve of a stubborn teenager. Of course, there is no word of blame in Ovid, for the parents of Pyramus and Thisbe. The couple are perhaps only tragic because the gods cursed them with a love that was not fated to be fulfilled in marriage; the Metamorphoses is littered with many other such unlucky loves.

In writing news, Suite 101 seems to be picking up a little after months in the post-Panda doldrums. For some I believe the improvements have been dramatic; so far for me they have been modest but notable. I feel motivated to started getting more articles in and have one in the pipeline on ancient pantomime, which I hope to have out in the next few days.

Ehow, I'm finding less lucrative at the moment, with a preponderance of titles demanding very specific and technical knowledge to write successfully, however I check back hopefully now and then.