As some of you may know, the school semester has started! I'm taking five classes this semester, but I want to try my best to stay on top of things so I can continue to post here semi-regularly. (I'm actually writing this on Friday - and hopefully I'll have a recipe for you tomorrow, depending on how things go today.)
Warning: This post is spoiler-heavy for those who have never seen the 90s show or read the manga.
Today, we'll be talking about Rei Hino's ravens - Phobos and Deimos.
At Rei's temple, she is often seen with two ravens named Phobos and Deimos. Before discussing the background of these names, let's look at the actual animal.
Ravens are kind of a mixed bird within legends. Because of their dark colour and their attraction to carrion, they are often known as birds of death. But this was not always the case. In Greek mythology, for example, they were often seen as good luck. They were generally seen with Apollo, and were associated with gods and prophecies.
But then again, in the Talmud they aren't seen as being particularly great (they were one of the few creatures on Noah's ark that was punished for um, gettin' down and dirty). In general, it seems as though they weren't completely innocent in the eyes of many religions. In the Qur'an (specifically in its version of Cain and Abel), a raven teaches Cain how to bury the body of his murdered brother. I mean, I wouldn't really call that a good role model, would you?
I'll lastly discuss a Native American tale called How Kah'-kah-loo The Ravens Became People (specifically this comes from the Miwok, but if you know of any other stories please share!). To shorten things, people essentially come from ravens and ravens created humanity.
Now that I've given a quick background on ravens, let's move on.
First we shall discuss Phobos.
According to Wikipedia, Phobos was often seen as the Greek personification of fear. (Have you guys ever seen Disney's 'Hercules'? If so, do you remember Pain and Panic, Hades' henchmen? That's basically who Phobos and Deimos are, if you really wanna simplify it.) Phobos was the son of Venus and Mars (hence his relationship with Rei) and Deimos was his twin brother. His Roman equivalent was known as Timor (or Timorus).
Another fun fact? The word phobia comes from phobos! So, you know. Phobia, fear? Get it?
In general, Phobos and Deimos were never really mentioned in myths. They were just kind of a physical representation of emotions more than anything else (though people made sacrifices to them anyway).
Now, a quick blurb about Deimos!
Deimos, like Phobos, was a Greek personification of terror! His Roman equivalent was known as Formido or Metus. Deimos is shown on the statue of Leonidas in honor of the Battle of Thermopylae (pronounced ther-mop-a-lee). (I remember really liking the film '300', which really goes into this battle so if you've seen that, you should be caught up in the very basics.) I assume the image of Deimos on his shield was meant to strike terror into the hearts of the Persians.
That's it for now, but if you're interested in this sort of thing, you really should read the Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan. (I honestly held off on reading them for a long time because I thought they sounded idiotic, but then I ended up tearing through them and now I recommend them to everyone.)
THANKFULLY we'll have another episode of Sailor Moon next week! Gosh, it kind of feels like it's been forever. For all of you back in school, I hope your semesters are going well. And if you're lucky and you've already graduated, well. I kind of hate you a little, aha!
Take care lovelies!
xo, Kate
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