L is for Lamia

Herbert James Draper [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Lamia was the queen of Libya, and mistress of Zeus. Hera, Zeus' jealous wife, killed all of Lamia's children (except for Scylla, who was cursed already). She made it so that Lamia couldn't close her eyes, and so couldn't hide from the image of her murdered children. Zeus felt pity for her, and gave her the ability to remove her eyes.
Lamia went mad with grief, and took her revenge by devouring the children of others. Some versions of the tale suggest that Lamia was turned into a monster because of this, with a serpents tale below the waist.
Lamia eventually became the Lamiae, monsters similar to vampires; beautiful women who seduced men and then drank their blood.

Comments

  1. Rob Z Tobor13 April 2013 at 11:16

    One thing I will take heart from after reading of the Greek Gods in your A to Z, is that even when I am having a bad bad I know it could be worse.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rob Z Tobor14 April 2013 at 15:12

      'bad bad' is bad day, my keyboard has been having problems with Greek Gods. Apparently they say they dont like my type . . . . . .

      HAH HAHAH HAH HAHH AH AHHAH HAH AHhaah hahah ahah haha h ha haha

      Delete
  2. Jeff Hargett13 April 2013 at 13:21

    How is it that this is new to me? Interesting tale though.

    ReplyDelete
  3. M.J. Fifield13 April 2013 at 13:36

    Yikes. I love and agree with Rob's comment.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Timothy S. Brannan13 April 2013 at 16:31

    That is awesome. This is one of my favorite A to Z blogs!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Robin13 April 2013 at 16:35

    I'm new to this story. Hera is one jealous god, but then Zeus should have kept his pants on. To kill all her children and make it so her eyes could never close is quite the punishment.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Outcast13 April 2013 at 16:38

    This story is absolutely incredible Laura, seriously tragic stuff that'd even turn your head nowadays.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Alex J. Cavanaugh13 April 2013 at 22:28

    Similar to vampires? Didn't know that.
    Amazing painting. Studied art of that age in college.

    ReplyDelete
  8. S. L. Hennessy13 April 2013 at 22:31

    I forgot that Skylla was her daughter. The cursed Skylla is one of my favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Gina Gao14 April 2013 at 05:48

    I really liked this post! Because I've always liked mythology, I found your posts very interesting.

    www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous14 April 2013 at 15:55

    If Zeus had kept his zipper zipped (yeah, I know, no zippers)and that goes for the other gods and goddess Greek mythology would be so dull.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Unknown14 April 2013 at 20:26

    Wow, another sad tale are created because of a woman's jealousy. This seems to be a common theme in Greek Mythology.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Rachel Schieffelbein15 April 2013 at 19:58

    Very interesting theme for A to Z! I didn't know this story.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WEP August - Change of Heart

Image
So I actually wrote this piece for April's WEP, but I was ill so didn't get to post it in the end. I'm quite glad, as it suits this month's theme so much more. Change of Heart ‘Are you ready for this?’ Paul asked. Brian nodded, trying to steady his shaking hands. ‘You’re the only one who can defeat him,’ Molly said. ‘We believe in you.’ She stepped back to join Paul. Brian balled his fists as he looked at the huge stone doors before him. He took a deep breath and pushed them open. Before the doors closed, Brian glimpsed Paul and Molly turn and begin to walk away. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness inside. With a whispered word he created light in the palm of his hand, raising it so it would light up the room. It was empty apart from another doorway, much smaller than the first, hidden away in the corner. Brian marched through it and found himself in a large chamber, lit by many flickering candles mounted along the walls. Someone stoo
Read more

IWSG

Image
The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. It's such an amazing group, it even has its own website now, which you can visit here . This week I'm a co-host! Be sure to go to Alex's page and visit the other people who are co-hosting.  I had such great plans for my writing this month, but not one of them came through. There were three short stories I wanted to get written, and I also wanted to get back to my NaNo edits, but none of that happened. I still have a little time for one of the short stories, though; it's for Kyra Lennon's cat anthology , and it's due Friday! Not much time to do it, but I made a commitment and I will follow through with it!  Even though I haven't got much writing done in the last month (or the couple before that!) I'm not going to let it get me down. I'
Read more

A is for Arachne and Arlee!

Before I get to my Greek Mythology part of this post, at the request of Alex J. Cavanaugh  (great idea by the way, Alex!), I'd first like to thank Arlee Bird for coming up with the challenge in the first place. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be taking part in this amazing experience every year. Thanks, Arlee! This is one of my favourite tales from Greek mythology, so naturally I chose it for my first letter. Arachne was the daughter of a shepherd, and was famous for the beautiful tapestries she weaved. Nymphs would travel from all over to see her work, and to watch her weave. One day, a nymph asked her if her talent was a gift from the goddess Athena. Arachne protested, saying her skill was all her own, and that her weaving was better than Athena's. Athena heard of this, and challenged the girl to a weaving contest. Both sat at their looms and began to weave, nymphs gathering round to watch. Athena weaved a tapestry based on the glories of the gods, showing the
Read more