More About Goddesses: Minerva, the Roman Goddess of the Arts

More About Goddesses: Minerva, the Roman Goddess of the Arts by Sir William Smith (Guest Blog Post)

Minerva is called Athena by the Greeks. The Greek goddess is spoken of in a separate article. [Athena]. Minerva was one of the great Roman divinities. Her name seems to be of the same root as mens; and she is accordingly the thinking, calculating, and inventive power personified. Jupiter was the 1st, Juno the 2nd, and Minerva the 3rd in the number of the Capitoline divinities. Tarquin, the son of Demaratus, was believed to have united the 3 divinities in one common temple, and hence, when repasts were prepared for the gods, these 3 always went together.

The Later CapitoLine Dieties:
Juno, Jupiter and Minerva

She was the daughter of Jupiter, and is said to have sometimes wielded the thunderbolts of her father. As Minerva was a virgin divinity, and her father the supreme god, the Romans easily identified her with the Greek Athena, and accordingly all the attributes of Athena were gradually transferred to the Roman Minerva. But we confine ourselves at present to those which were peculiar to the Roman goddess.

Being a maiden goddess, her sacrifices consisted of calves which had not home the yoke. She is said to have invented numbers; and it is added that the law respecting the driving in of the annual nail was for this reason attached to the temple of Minerva. She was worshipped as the patroness of all the arts and trades, and at her festival she was particularly invoked by all who desired to distinguish themselves in any art or craft, such as painting, poetry, the art of teaching, medicine, dyeing, weaving, and the like. This character of the goddess may be perceived also from the proverbs to do a thing skillfully even mindlessly, i. e. to do a thing in an awkward or clumsy manner; and with Minerva's blessing even the efforts of a stupid person may be they who (are) presumed to set right an intelligent one.

Minerva, however, was the patroness, not only of females, on whom she conferred skill in sewing, spinning, weaving, but she also guided men in the dangers of war, where victory is gained by cunning, prudence, courage, and perseverance. Often she was represented with a helmet, shield, and a coat of mail; and the booty made in war was frequently dedicated to her. Minerva was further believed to be the inventor of musical instruments, especially wind instruments, the use of which was very important in religious worship, and which were accordingly subjected to a sort of purification every year on the last day of the festival of Minerva. This festival lasted 5 days, from the 19th to the 23rd of March, and was called QuintArius, because it began on the 5th day after the ides of the month. This number of days was not accidental, for we are told that the number 5 was sacred to Minerva,

Kavita #332 (new poem)

Tim Kavi's Celestial Typists

Kavita #332

by Tim Kavi

the monkey runs around

laughing

his pursuers slip on

banana peels

and peach pits

are left glimmering in the sun

he is Sun Wukong

or Hanuman laughing

playing

tickling the underarms

until sages are almost

annoyed

the place is the jungle

22 celestial typists

type randomly

until all the names of God

are listed

quite by accident

until the paper is expelled

a well meaning sage

wanders by

almost blinded by the whiteness

of the page

he reads with wonder

and nods his head

a cosmic explosion follows

 

an old man buys his young

granddaughter ice cream

she smiles

he remembers when grand papa

did the same for him

he smiles

the nearby crows

hope the cone is dropped

on the way home 

through the park

another child swings

and plays with balloons

life goes on.

From MY Heart to Yours: The Wandering Poet Goes Home

Dear Readers, Friends, and Family:

It is not often that one comes before others without any pretensions, decorum or poetic words; with just a message straight from my heart to yours. Some of you might not have known this, or might be surprised to hear it, but for over two years I have been away from my homeland, my kids, my job, and my family and friends there.  At first, I have traversed foreign lands here in China. Anyway I am happy to report I will be returning home some time in the next three or four months.

I certainly appreciate every one who has stopped by here on this blog since 2008 from all over the world. (Before this blog I wrote poetry for three years on MySpace and there was quite a few of the same readers who used to visit my poetry there that have come here). I appreciate all the comments, and those that have read my words here, or purchased my books.  Thank you so much. While I was gone from home I visited places and abodes of the Goddess in China and elsewhere, (there will be even more More About Goddesses columns about some of those places), I drafted numerous poems here on this blog, and finished five poetry collections, three were published since I have been away from home, and I have had my share of adventures. But to be in a foreign land, is not the heartland of home.

From my heart to yours, I appreciate you all so much, but it is time for this poet to go back home.  To my kids, and my family, and my friends  back home, I have missed you all so very much.  You have no idea.  I have daily longed to see the hills of home, and the freedoms my homeland has to offer.  But I want to reassure my readers that my poems will continue just as they happened before I ever left home and will keep on happening after I return.

My sense of dedication to my art and poetic word that burns and flows in my heart cannot ever be stopped or silenced. I struggle, arms linked with those that are downtrodden, oppressed, and remain unfree. I long for women to be treated properly all over the world, and for the world to recognize the folly of unbridled patriarchy. I will not stop writing here and in my future collections.  But it is time to go home.... and that will be happening very soon. Thank you for your prayers and support which makes it all happen.

Namaste, and bless you so much,  THANK YOU SO MUCH, Tim Kavi

Update:  Indeed I was able to return home, and this was accomplished on August 30th, 2013.  What a happy reunion to see family, kids, and homeland again!  Thank you for all the support, prayers, and assistance from everyone who has aided in this big transition.  Namaste! T.K

simple things (new poem)

simple things
by Tim Kavi

simple things
are just a few words
but the words
are full of meaning

simple things
are behaviors that
offered to the masses
lead you to great mission

or maybe
just to love
and be loved?

did you ever see
a smile that lit up your world?
felt a hug that you knew
afterwards no matter what

everything would be ok?
swirls of wind did not
steal your soul
although it took all you had

that you would love again
that you would live again
did you ever see
a glance, no a looking
that said something to you

that besought you?
what is your answer
to the simple things
that show the suffering

in the world?

is it only the humble
open heart
to love back
to give something
to answer a call

the best you could
but with everything you are
these are the simple things
everywhere you go today
needing responses

to walk that way
for it always leads
to Nature
to the human
the human heart


and to compassion.

From glory to Glory (New Poem)

"Lady of the Sea" artwork by Jonathon Earl Bowser

From glory to Glory

by Tim Kavi

there is only

the calling that is

that arises

as sure as any dawning

certain in the uncertainty

that any hope

of tomorrow always brings

the promise of an appearing

to live again!

a stream is ongoing

You cannot step into the same river

twice; Heraclitus said

well spoken

to remember; I am not the same

the river has a name

but it is not the same river

never give up hope

in the wading to a deeper place

in the swimming in a deeper love

in a kiss from galactic orbs

of being

enter the stream

cross the stream

bridge it in Divine love

walk on water in human love

the stream where the bowl

swirls backwards

showing proof of that which is

manifested

in the bridge

of person to person

to the waters of healing

to the tears that feed the stream

to the stream that becomes

a river of self acceptance

self love transcended then to Other love

the basic walk of toddlers

in a mature universe taught by love

until riding the waves

goes to the stream

babies to the river

we are baptized

so that love

teaches it 

becomes an ocean

where we never lose who we are

for who I am is a who WE are

swim on

walk to the side

make way for the journeying

break it up

turn again; find anew

when you come again to the banks

of existing

hope; a reflection in the water

Goddess we are seeing Saraswati

in the water

Shekinah glory

led from glory to glory

the Other side of your godly form

I no longer see my masculine face

washed in your water

I cannot stand in Your temple

I no longer see war and hate

it morphs again

and again

I look again my aged masculine face

renewed by your love

in your Youth I am cleansed

the stream is calling entry

the river is flowing

the ocean nearly overcomes

therein the waters of existence

Shekinah, I am brought 

guided again, to your dove like love

even to Your Goddess face.

More About Goddesses: The Greek Goddess Hera

More about Goddesses: The Greek Goddess Hera

by Tim Kavi

Hera acts as the reigning queen of the gods in Greek mythology due to her role as Zeus’s wife. (Her counterpart is the Roman Goddess Juno). Hera also acts as the goddess of marriage and childbirth. Because Zeus is also the god of philanderers, their natures would frequently clash. This has led to Hera being depicted as a quarrelsome and jealous goddess that can be a force to be reckoned with. In spite of her place as Zeus’s bride, the worship of Hera is actually much older than that of her husband, stemming back to the days when the Greeks believed that any single entity associated with divinity must take the form of a woman. Her role is believed to have changed when the male’s role in procreation became more understood, leading to Hera’s worship as a mother figure rather than an all-encompassing deity.

Much of Hera’s jealousy was directed toward women that Zeus seduced or had affairs with, though one of the most common legends associated with Hera is her jealousy toward the hero Hercules. This jealousy stemmed from the fact that Zeus fathered Hercules with the mortal Alcmene, a mortal. Hera went as far as to send snakes to kill Hercules when he was a baby. She also stirred the Amazons against him while he was on a quest.

Another famous legend associated with Hera has to do with the judgment of Paris. At the wedding between Peleus and Thetis (the later parents of Achilles) many gods and goddesses were invited to the ceremony. Eris, the goddess of discord, threw a golden apple among some of the goddesses, and only the fairest was to own the apple. Since Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite claimed to be the most beautiful goddess, a decision had to be made as to which goddess should own the apple. The goddesses brought the question before Zeus, but Zeus was wise enough to leave the choice of who was the most beautiful up to Paris, a Trojan prince. So the three Goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite came before Paris, but he could not decide. Finally, each of them offered Paris a gift to try to persuade him. It is said that Athena offered him great fame and glory in battle, Hera offered him control over all of Asia and Europe, and Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful mortal woman in the world. Because of this he chose Aphrodite, which absolutely enraged the other two goddesses, especially Hera. Of course, the most beautiful woman in the world at that time was Helen of Troy who was already married to the King of Sparta. So after the abduction of Helen by Paris, there was a great war (partially stirred up by the jealous goddesses); and this was called the Trojan war.

There is some debate surrounding Hera’s familial roles. Some origin stories depict Hera’s parents as the Titans Rhea and Cronos, making her Zeus’s sister. Given these close family ties, there is some debate on whether or not Zeus and Hera produced children together. Hera is known as the lone parent of Hephaestus. Ares and Hebe are often depicted as the children of Zeus and Hera, but in some traditions Ares is seen to have been conceived from a flower in the field of Olenus and Hebe fathered by a lettuce. These tales may have been invented to avoid adding scandal to Hera’s myth.

In any regard, the Greek goddess Hera is a major part of goddess mythologies and motifs. She is not only a fierce mother image, but also that of the fierce, powerful wife, and symbolizes both a wifely devotion towards her husband, and respect for the protection of marriage.

There is Mom (Poem)

There is Mom

by Tim Kavi

so what is this?

across the translucent orb

endless universe so vast

that God in his designs

would seek to make perfect

for sure to last?

but the need for what was created

man or woman

to never be alone?

but the sacredness

of family

of love

and of home?

and in that home

stands a sacred one

sure and true

the fortress of Mom

which every kid

growing up, knew

is true blue

in all she said

and did

until around

every troubled bend

twisted by life's

troubles

and uncertain wind?

there is the love

of God

and the love of Mom

gently guiding

assisting in fate

but always loving

there is Mom

there is Mom.

Poet's Brief Afterword:  Dedicated to all the moms out there.  Happy Mother's Day!  Words (even from poets) cannot describe what is meant by the word and love of 'Mother'! It is no wonder that some of the most nurturing goddess archetypes are of the Great Mother, or mother Goddesses.  But who influenced who? Indeed!  Both influenced each other.  Read about my own dream about a Benevolent Mother encounter with Ma Durga--who was seeking me and loving me even as I was trying to hide ! (Click Here for that Account). The poem here, 'There is Mom" is also a poem about my own Mom,  and was read by me as a memorial tribute to her in 2010.~~TK