Bmola’s Trials

1a) Bubastis= Egyptian cat goddess, daughter of Isis. Name changed after Greeks came to city and mispronounced. Reason why there are so many names.
Other names= Tell Bastet, Ubasti, Baset

2a) The first name is Balder, son of Norse goddess, Frigg.  Friday refers to Frigg, as that is the name the word was originally derived from. Wednesday is derived from “woden”, the English form of Odin who is Frigg’s husband.
2b) Frigg was married to Odin and they were king and queen of Asgard. They had two twin boys, Balder and Hodur. Balder was the “best loved of Gods” and described as being the God of life and light as well. Frigg was the goddess of fate some though and often wove, symbolizing the strings of fate she could manipulate. One day when Baldur expressed he no longer felt the light that shined through his eyes and felt a “shadow on his heart”, Frigg placed her hand on his heart and gasped as she realized it was the shadow of death on her son.
       Not wasting anytime, Frigg called upon all the materials and animals of the world that could hurt her son and made them promise they would not harm him. It is clear Frigg is highly controlling and focused on everything going her way. Other gods attacked Balder with stones and weapons to test his invincibility, but nothing harmed him. Loki witnessed this and wanted to find a way to stop it. However, she is too trusting of others when it comes to revealing weaknesses. Loki, God of mischief, disguised himself as an innocent old woman and Frigg told him her sons one weakness, mistletoe. This lapse in judgment led to her favorite son’s death and thus, is part of her current state of mind. The second traumatic even leading to her dismay is the death of her husband, Odin, who was killed by Loki’s son, Fenrir. From each of these events, it is clear Frigg feels as though she is alone and shall never be happy again.

3a) Nine Greek daughters of Zeus who ruled over the Arts and Sciences
Calliope was the muse of epic poetry.
Clio was the muse of history.
Erato was the muse of love poetry.
Euterpe was the muse of music.
Melpomene was the muse of tragedy.
Polyhymnia was the muse of sacred poetry.
Terpsichore was the muse of dance.
Thalia was the muse of comedy.
Urania was the muse of astronomy.

3d)
Oh sweet Euterpe!
How I yern for your beautiful music to flow through my ears.
Your flute revives a spirit in all that can never be forgotten.
And your lyric poetry always leaves us wanting more.
Please bring us your beauty and delight and we shall rejoice.
May you shine your musical rays upon us so we can celebrate once more!

4)
 I, Crow, have just watched John White and his men searching everywhere for the group of colonists that I’ve been observing for quite some time. Sir Walter Raleigh dispatched these colonists for the purpose of exploring North America’s East coast in 1584. Sir Richard Grenville led the expedition. After Grenville and his men had established relations with the local natives, the Croatans, Grenville left his men to establish the colony while he went to get more men and fresh supplies, promising to return in 1586. They named the colony Roanoke, after the Algonquian word for “shell money.” (Native American tribes of the area often used shells as their form of currency.) But these colonists disappeared, and only I know what happened! It was quite funny to watch the new group of colonists, led by John White, return in 1587 to find nothing but a skeleton. The disappearance of the Roanoke colonists is what led humans to give it the name of “The Lost Colony.” As a funny joke, I think I will leave them a clue as to what happened to their men. I will carve the word “Croatoan” into the fort, and then maybe the word “Cro” in a tree nearby, to leave my mark as well.

5)

6)

In Herne’s defense, the woman he saw bathing was Aine, the Irish goddess of love and fertility. She was likely taking one of her aliases as Lady of the Lake where she was bathing. Aine is also thought to be goddess of the moon according to some Irish/Celtic mythology.
Herne should not be killed because he is the god of the hunt and protector of the forest animals, as well as the keep of the Windsor Forest. He provides for the people and was not nearly as tasteless as the other men who have thrown themselves at Aine in the past. While this goddess is well known for teaching others about love, she does not always do so in the nicest way. Celtic legend describes one occasion where a human attempted to rape her and she had no choice but to kill him. Another story describes a similar incident when a mortal successfully forced his love upon her, which clearly made her furious, turning him into a goose.
This case is different however, because upon hearing these stories from Aine, Herne decided to make a deal with her. So that no other mortals or Gods alike would harm her again, he summoned several wildlife creatures that would stay close to her at all times. Their heightened sense would detect if danger was near and warn her immediately. Aine appreciated this noble gesture in addition to Herne’s promise to never approach her forcefully again and decided his lesson of respect was learned.

1a. Bastet

-nicknames: Baast, Ubasti and Baset

3a. Calliope-Epic Poetry

Clio-History

Erato-Love Poetry

Euterpe-Song/Elegiac Poetry

Melpomene-Tragedy

Polyhymnia-Hymns

Terpsichore-Dance

Thalia-Comedy

Urania-Astronomy

6a. Please, oh please dear Artemis do not kill me, I do not deserve to die.  I was overcome by passion as I saw the most beautiful creature I have ever seen…you.  Lust pushed me to jump on top of you, unknowing that you were daughter of the noble Zeus or twin to the all powerful Apollo.  You must know what it is like to have a desire pushing you to do things you normally would not have do without it, but it has consumed me.  It makes me crazy with want and desire, open up and let me in.

6b. Artemis

6c. Artemis, as the Hellenic goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity, and protector of young girls, takes her job seriously.  As punishment for seeing her naked, Artemis changed Herne into a stag and sent him back into the woods to be hunted down and killed by his own hounds.

The 7 Trials

1:
a) Bastet, the feline Goddess of Ancient Egypt
b) .jpg

2: Baldur (son), Odin (husband), Frigg (speaker)
a+b) This report hopes to explain the reasoning behind Frigg's recent comment about there being
no Happy Hour this Friday.  In my professional opinion, Frigg recently went through a stressful
and emotional event in her life.  She was under the belief that nothing would be able to harm her
son, Baldur, but her fellow deities found a flaw in his spiritual protection. Using a dart made
of a mistletoe plant, Loki was able to break this barrier by having Hod, Baldur's brother, throw
the dart at him.  This shocked many deities, especially Frigg.  Clearly Frigg was outraged,
especially with Loki, over the death of her son.  Along with the death of her son, Frigg also had
to cope with the sacrifice of her husband, Odin.  At the time that Frigg made her comments about
Happy Hour, she was still having to cope with the loss of her husband and on of her sons.
Because of this, I believe that these comments should be written off as being emotionally-fueled.  I am sure that a normal-thinking Frigg would not want the death of her husband and son to impede on everyone's Happy Hour.
I have spoken to Frigg and she believes to have a plan to get her son back.  I tried to tell her
to wait until things settle a bit until she goes out to retrieve her son, let alone if the plan
will even work.  As a mother, she does not seem to want to change her mind.

3:
a) The 9 Greek Muses
b) Calliope- Muse of Epic Poetry
Clio- Muse of History
Erato- Muse of Love Poetry
Euterpe- Muse of Music
Melpomene- Muse of Tragedy
Polyhymnia- Muse of Sacred Poetry
Terpsichore- Muse of Dance
Thalia- Muse of Comedy
Urania- Muse of Astronomy
c) .jpg
d) Oh great Polyhymnia bestow unto me,
the powers of Sacred Poetry.
Many nights I have spent trying to achieve such greatness
but I have not been able to write on such a level.

I wish to be able to master Sacred Poetry,
so that I may reach a new level of godliness.
So I call upon you, oh great muse, to aid me in my endeavor
to bless me with the art and sacredness of this poetry.

4:
a) Field Report- Shell Money Island
What a peculiar people these are of Shell Money Island.  I have observed many societies, but this
one strikes my interest based on the currency they use.  Many societies, especially in these
days, have been using currencies of gold and other metals.  Instead of these metals, this society
uses beads cut from shells.  They call them Wampum Beads.  These Beads are commonly white or
purple, but I have come across blue beads also.

Along with having just the beads, they also make things out of the beads.  I have seen many
people with belts made out of these beads.  Since the shells the beads are made out of are so
plentiful, I have noticed that items with more practical uses seem to have more value over just
the beads.  It also seems that the white beads are worth less than the purple beads, which are
worth less than the blue ones.
These beads are made from one of two shells.  The first is a larger spiraling show, in which the
white beads come from (drawing below).  The second is a clam-shell, which the purple beads are made from.  I have also learned that the white beads are called Wampi, and the darker purple or blue beads are called Saki.

I can't wait to find out more about this society.











5:
a) Scattered throughout the arctic are massive fields of ice boulders.  These simply aren't small
boulders here and there, but chunks of ice the same size as the igloo I built for myself.  I can
not think of a time that a creature has successfully gotten through these fields.  That was up
until a few years ago when a group of mortals crossed a field with their noisy machinery and
strange transporters.  I watched as they spent hours getting stuck in this field.  Then after 4
settings of the sun they made it through.  I watched in disbelief as the mortals broke through
the other side.  However, I knew I could do better and without their machinery.
b) So by following Ganesh, I was going to overcome the obstacle of the ice field and more
effectively than the mortals did with their machinery.  I had always known about these boulder
fields, but have never had a reason to cross them.  As I entered the boulder field, I truly
realized my task at hand.  Before me lay miles and miles of huge ice boulders.  But I knew that
if the mortals made it through the boulder field, I could do it.

It took me a bit of time, but I got into a good groove of crossing the boulder field.  Much of
the time I was able to be on top of the boulders, instead of weaving among the like the mortals
did.  I was able to watch my progress, and I knew that I was going through the field faster than
the mortals had.  So much faster, that what had taken the mortals 4 settings of the sun, I had
done in one.

6:

7:

b)

c) For myself, all polar bears, and those who may choose to follow my word, I claimed this land
beyond the Green and Gold Bridge.  There are a few essential reasons why I chose this land.
Firstly, it is a bit back from the gate.  This means that should someone not invited stumble
beyond the Green and Gold Bridge, they might not see my territory right off.  Secondly, from this
post I can see most of the land beyond the bridge.  Again, this is important for safety but I
also enjoy being able to see what is all around me.  Lastly, should I ever need it, the land that
I claimed comes with a parking lot.  I certainly have no use for these automobiles, but maybe my
followers will.

The Se7en Trials of Apollo

1. RA

2.
a.
Baldur, Wooden, Freya
b. Frigg mother of Baldur
c.
Frigg is all torn up because her favorite and beautiful son Baldur, was killed by her useless and blind son Hoder. As if this wasn't bad enough, she saw it coming in her nightmares, and even took steps to prevent it from happening. Frigg makes Baldur invulnurable to all the common weapons, but she leaves out mistletoe and Loki tricks Hoder into killing Baldur with it.  Don't tell me you wouldn't be going crazy if you had nightmares about losing your son, then your less-liked son screws up and kills him anyway.

3.
A&B.
9 Daughters of Zues.
Calliope Muse of Epic Song - Wax Tablet
Clio: Muse of HIstory - Scroll
Euterpe: Muse of Song lyric - Double Flute
Melpomene: tragedy - Tragic Mask
Terpsichore: Muse of Dance - Lyre
Erateo: Muse of Erotic Poetry
Polyhymnia: Sacred Song - Veiled
Urania: Astronomy - Celestial Globe
Thalia: Comedy bucolic Poetry - Comic mask, shepherds staph, wreath,
C.

This photo shows 9 descendants of the 9 daughters of Zeus celebrating their reunion at a halloween party on UVM campus.
LR: Thalia (Red Wreath, Shepherd) Clio (Blue scarf mocking Thalia [muse of history]), Urania (Star Crown [Astronomy]), Euterpe (red shirt [lyrical song]), Terpsichore (Girl desperately trying to get her head in the picture[muse of dance]), Melpomene (skeleton [tragedy]), Erato  (Cat [erotic poetry]), Polyhymnia (Man singing a [sacred song] with a toast, veiled in feathers), Calliope (Girl bellowing an [epic song] with mouth agape).

D.Hymn to Urania
Twinkle twinkle shining star
How I've admired you from afar
Born of Zeus, God of might
Tis no surprise you bear such light
For you, any man I would fight
When I lay eyes on you, courage emerges from fright
However, despite how your shine is quite bright
You are not the brightest star in the night
It would be you I would forever follow
But you could never outshine the almighty Apollo

4.
A.

I, Crow, devoted servant of Apollo, came to Roanoke Colony in 1587 to protect the Europeans against the threat of the Native American Croatoan Indians.  Apollo entrusted me to keep a watchful eye on the Europeans and report to him if there was any trouble.  When I arrived, I saw the European settlers trading sea shells for bear skins and corn.  However, the Native Americans were laughing as they walked away because the corn was stale.  I did not like this, the Europeans were having a hard enough time in this new space. However, around noon, from the North I saw a man with the head of a moose and the wings of an eagle approaching with a cold chill, he bellowed from the nearest peak “I am Bmola, I have traveled afar to test the white man who set foot on our virgin territory.”  Naturally, I knew that I was not the bird for this job, and I called up the big boss, Apollo, and told him he better come down to Earth and address the problem.  Just then, Apollo appeared on earth riding the wave of a solar flare, startled and partially blinded Bmola attacked the one I serve.  Apollo was fearless in his fight damaging Bmola with blow after blow with his bow and arrow.  The battle raged on for hours until the sun began to set in the West, just as the sun was about to vanish over the horizon, Apollo struck Bmola in the antler with a mighty blow, breaking off 3 points of Bmola’s mighty rack.  As the sun set, Apollo vanished, in his embarrassed rage, Bmola killed all the European settlers of the Roanoke Colony.

B. 

After he was finished with the settlers, Bmola turned his attention to myself, Crow, the loyal servant of the Apollo who maimed Bmola forever.  Although Apollo was unable to appear on Earth, his power from the heavens was still mighty.  To protect me, he turned the light off from all the stars in the universe, and the world went completely dark.  it was at this point that I lost my journal and the record of the Roanoke colony was lost from history.  The Roanoke colony remains one of the great mysteries of history, unfortunately without the journal, no first hand evidence exists about the fate of the colonists at the hands of Bmola.  

5.

As the former god of wine, parties, ecstasy, and a student at the University of Vermont, I’ve been known to neglect my academics for extracurricular activities - many of them irresponsible.  My first semester at UVM was filled with enough smoke to make Wiz Khalifa turn his head and enough liquor to make Winston Churchill seem like he had his finger on his drinking problem.  It was right about this time of year last year when within a week I received news that I was failing four out of five of my classes.  Needless to say, Dionysus had dug himself into a hole that seemed insurmountable.  With only finals remaining, I went into Thanksgiving break a defeated god.  The week with my family and friends from back home gave me a chance to collect myself, but I still needed more strength. On the last night of Thanksgiving, I felt great. I was well-rested, I had eaten some fantastic home cooked meals, and I had seen my good friends that remind me that school isn’t the only thing in life that is important.  However, I still lacked the necessary confidence that would motivate me to get my act together and would motivate me to put in the effort to earn better grades.  I feared that if I didn’t do a 180 degree turn away from partying and towards academics, my parents would force me to withdraw from the school that I loved.  Just when I thought all hope was gone, Apollo appeared to me to show me the light.  Apollo took my hand and pulled me into a light tunnel, where he showed me that if I truly tuned out all distractions, if I stopped smoking weed and drinking for the three weeks of finals, and made a concerted effort in all my classes, I could earn decent marks in my classes.  

After Apollo showed me the light, I arrived at UVM that Monday and hit the ground running.  I barricaded myself in the study room and did not come up for air except to go to classes, review sessions, and (rarely) for food.  My friends missed me, but I was clear with them. If they were truly my friends and wanted to spend the next four years with me, it was necessary for me to devote myself to studying for this three week period - they understood.  It cost me three weeks of fun, 8 packs of cigarettes, a loss of 10 pounds, and more throbbing headaches than I care to remember, but I got the marks that I wanted.  I finished the semester with 2 B’s, 2 B-’s and a C-.  My parents were proud of my efforts to pull my grades up, but most importantly, I was proud of myself.  It was the first time in my life I had fully invested myself in anything without holding back in the least.  Without Apollo to show me the light none of this would have been possible. However, the lesson of this story doesn’t end with a last ditch effort to save  my enrollment at UVM, once I knew what I was capable of achieving when I didn’t hold back, I set the bar higher for myself the next semester.  By focussing on my school and enjoying substances when the work was done, I made Deans List second semester.  The moral of the story is, sometimes when our backs are against the wall, we feel hopeless and lost.  Sometimes these feelings alone can stop us from achieving what we are capable of.  If any one of you find yourself in a similar situation this semester, my advice to you is this: Relax over the break, give thanks for those you love and tell them how much they mean to you, let them lean on you while you lean on them in return.  And finally, above all other things, pray Apollo to show you the light, because in the darkest places even the smallest ray of light can give you the hope you need to succeed.  

6.

a) Herne was walking around in his oak grove looking for an animal to hunt, but he saw a blindingly beautiful woman bathing naked.  If she dared to bathe naked on his land that he considered her to be fair game.  So he made a pass at her.  The land was his, he believed that everything on it was his for the taking.

b) The “other” beautiful bathing babe, is none other than Apollo’s Twin Sister Artemis the Goddess of Wilderness and Fertility.

`c) When Artemis felt threatened, she turned Herne into a stag and set the dogs on him to chase him away. 

7.

The top of Williams Fire Escape.  As the God of light, Apollo only has time to grace UVM's campus with his full presence once a day. This is the highest place on campus, and certainly the best view.  Apollo comes to the fire escape in his green and gold Vermont sweatshirt to watch his mastery in action every evening at dusk when the sun sets over the mountains and Lake Champlain. At this time, as the god of foresight, Apollo sees into the future and creates an image of the next sunset which will grace the eyes of mortals the next day.


How the trials took place:
The almighty Apollo is a god who desires collaboration with his constituents.  For this project, Apollo did the legwork for the research and got to the bottom of most of the clues. He also compiled the information and gave it to me (his avatar) when we met.  With most of the legwork done, he gave the floor to me to bounce ideas off of him, as he did the same, finally we had a rough draft of the project done.  As a devoted servant to my god, I was more than willing to finalize the information, as he was the one who did most of the preliminary work.  Apollo does a fantastic job as a deity because he provides the mortals with the divine inspiration without forcing the hand of constituents.  A firm believer in free-will Apollo simply gives mortals and avatars his guidance and allows them to sink or swim with it.  However, he recognizes that mortals are flawed and is more than willing to answer prayers of those who have strayed from the path of light.  For example, last night I needed some guidance about trial number five and he provided some insight via text message - his response was prompt (as expected).  If you want a god who will give you the information you need to succeed, but leave you to your own devices and allow you to do what you will with that information, Apollo is the deity for you.

Shine on Apollo god of light!

Apollo Saves Kavouras

I, unlike my father, have always done my best to refrain from smiting the earth dwellers.

I am not a god of domination, or intimidation.  I am a god of spiritual liberation.  I don’t seek to be feared, I seek to be celebrated.  I seek to celebrate.

I am also a god of foresight.  I have seen visions of the future—plagued with warfare, enslavement, and boredom. 

Those who put their trust in me will reap benefits of a new civilization unlike any that have thrived or will thrive again: rich with music, health, sunshine, and fertility.

My father chooses to  rule  with fear, by summoning storms and throwing down lightning bolts.

I rule with care, using my healing powers to keep the land and people healthy. 

Mortals have but one chance to live.  It is my mission to ensure that everyone gets the most out of their time on earth. 

My attention turns to the small Greek  island of Kavouras.  The people there have the purest of intentions but are poorly misguided—using all of their resources to build shrines and statues for Zues, for fear that if they don’t he will smite them.  They sacrifice animals, and even human beings to honor my father.  And Zues encourages this cycle of worship.  It had gotten to the point where the land was so depleted from building shrines that they couldn’t harvest enough crops to sustain the civilization.  And as I saw into the future, the society was headed for doom.  That is where I stepped in. I couldn’t let the people of Kavouras continue down this path of depression and self-destruction.  I rode my chariot to the island, and revealed myself to the people of the island.  They could not see me, but I made my voice heard by all.  This is what I said.  “Kavourians, look around.  Your community is downtrodden with depression and hunger, yet you still build shrines and make sacrifices to honor Zues.  You are so loyal, but what has he done for you?  He is leading you down a path towards the demise of your civilization.  Put your faith in solely me, Apollo, and I will rescue you from the depths of depression and bring you to a future rich with music, health, sunshine, and fertility.  In return I ask not for sacrifices and shrines, but celebration and merriment.  I, Apollo, the god of sunlight and prophecy will lead you to a brighter future, physically and spiritually.”

The community responded wisely.  They ceased worshipping Zues, and put their faith in me. 

 I summoned my twin sister Artemis, the God of Wilderness and Fertility to help in reviving the island community.  

First I shined sunlight down to jump start the crop cycle.  Artemis worked her magic with the soil making it full of life and nutrients to enrich the crops. 

Once stability in sustenance was established.  I gave them the tools necessary to celebrate life in my honor.  I gave them music.   And the community thrived in peace and celebration. 

What I was able to accomplish for the Kavourians is just a taste of what I have to offer the greater world.  Someday I will replace my father as supreme deity, as he replaced his.  And when my time comes the world will be transformed into one of health, truth, peace, and music. 

Lightning

My ability in slow motion.  If you look closely enough, you can see me in the clouds.

Boom!

Fenrir's Victory Over the Goddess Mut

How I defeated the Egyptian Goddess Mut...

            As I researched any gains Mut might have over my unmatchable strength I came up with wisdom, strength, and fertility. All of these powers are respectable, yes, but are no match for my true strength, agility, and pure instinct to hunt and KILL. On the other hand, Mut's weaknesses included impulsive, decision-making, and fire. As I thought for a moment, I figured I would have the best bet of destroying this god if I played on her poor decision making skills (in battle) and the fact that she makes impulsive choices. I was already aware that my strength and size was unparalleled to hers, and that I could crush her with my toe if it was timed correctly.

            Upon entering the arena, I gave the crowd something to fear and let out my monstrous growl. Then I allowed Mut take her first hit, following the old rule "losers first". As she struck me, she did so with poise. I started to question whether goddesses possess an advantage at being so nimble. Nevertheless, I gave her another hearty growl to catch her off her guard, and it worked. I could sense her bit of unease at the size of my jaws, and knew it was time for the attack. I struck her with my claws and scratched her from hip to breast, ripping her dress. This startled and angered her, and she came back with brute force, knocking me off my feet.

            At this point in the battle, I couldn't afford any more slip-ups, so I played as though I was very hurt. Now, Mut is no fool, for she is the wise mother goddess. She approached me with great caution, as I lie on the ground pretending to writhe in pain, whimpering like a little wolf cub that lost his pack. My back was to hers, so I knew my timing had to be just right. I gauged her distance based on the soft sounds of her footsteps, and when I heard her about a foot from my back, I jumped up and snatched her with my claws. Now she was in my mighty clutches with no way to escape my strength. Without haste I dug my gigantic fangs into her neck, and tore the flesh from her neck right off, decapitating her head. I shook her head back in forth in my muzzle for a minute, to celebrate my victory as the audience cheered for Fenrir - the mighty wolf! I spat her head onto the ground, stepped on her lifeless body with my monstrous paws, and let out a victory howl informing all that I had beaten the mother goddess, Mut.

Here is the winning photo of my defeat: