Looking for info

Xexman

New Member
Hi Let me say first off I am new to this site . I join here to get info on myths for story lines for books, table top games and other stuff I will be doing . Now with that said .If any of you know If their is a god of fail, failure,ect and/or hero .I also was wondering if their was any myths on a gaint pure flame bird (not the phoenix something that doesn't come back form the dead . unless it is a god) .Any info is helpful please and thanks.
 

Myrddin

Well-Known Member
I don't believe there is such a god in any mythology. However there is Eris, the goddess of chaos, strife and discord, in Greek mythology. She is the one who left the golden apple on which was inscribed "To the fairest" which Hera, Aphrodite and Athena fought over - and ultimately began the Trojan War. There is, however, the Greek hero, Orpheus who failed at his attempt to bring his dead wife back to surface world when he could not help but look over his shoulder at her at the last moment - something Hades had already cautioned him not to do. Orpheus and Eurydice (his wife) both had to be in the surface world before he was allowed to look at her. Well Orpheus was, Eurydice was not. She then vanished back to Hades the moment Orpheus glanced at her.

In Slavic folklore, there seems to be something called a Firebird. I don't know if it's qute what you're looking for, but here is a link to a wikipedia article about it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firebird_(Slavic_folklore)

No birds from mythology spring to mind, but I will continue to look into it.

E. M.
 

Alejandro

Active Member
The closest I can think of to a deity of failure is the few gods and goddesses of bad luck or misfortune from different mythologies around the world. In Hinduism there is Jyeṣṭhā, the goddess of inauspicious things and misfortune, who is identified with Alakṣmī (Bad Luck; Misfortune), Śītalā (the goddess of smallpox) and Dhūmāvatī. In Hindu custom the performance of certain tasks during inauspicious occasions, such as during the rising of certain constellations considered to signal bad luck, guarantees the failure of certain endeavours connected with those tasks, often involving the death of a close relative. Jyeṣṭhā is the personification of all the things and places connected with this bad luck, failure and death. In Aztec mythology Xólotl, the personification and god of death, was also the god of lightning, fire and bad luck. Laima, the Latvian goddess of childbirth, was the personification and goddess of fate, who manifested herself as both good and bad luck. Vammatar was a Finnish goddess associated with misfortune.

There is also a bunch of entities in Greco-Roman mythology who are not deities and were never worshipped as such but personified certain human vices, evils and conditions connected with failure. These are the evil daimones [spirits] which were trapped in the jar which the first human woman Pandora opened and unleashed into the world and which thus cause all the suffering endured by humankind. They include Aergia (Laziness, called Socordia by the Romans), Amekhania (Helplessness or Lack of Means), Aporia (Powerlessness or Difficulty, called Egestas by the Romans), Penia (Poverty), Ptokheia (Beggary) and Koalemos (Stupidity or Foolishness). There is also a group of daimones mentioned in a fragment of Homer's Epigrams which are described as causing craftsmen's work to fail, and they personify different aspects of ceramic-work emerging flawed. Their names are Syntribos (Crush), Smaragos (Smash), Asbetos (Char or Scorch), Sabaktes (Shatter) and Omodamos (Crude-Bake).

If you're looking for a gigantic bird composed entirely of fire, it seems that Myrddin has found the closest thing to what you're asking about in the Slavic Firebird, as above.
 
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Caburus

Active Member
Not a god or hero, but the first person who came to mind was St.Jude - Patron Saint of lost causes; patron of the hopeless, the despaired, and children with terminal illnesses.
 

Nadai

Active Member
The Nosoi (like Pestilence and ) was born from either Nyx (Night) or Eris (Strife). Eris is responsible for all types of discord, which I suppose, could include failure. As Alejandro said, the daimones (the Nosoi), as well as Elpis (Hope) were locked away in the box and escaped when Pandora opened it up. Every ill that is a part of this world belonged inside of Pandora's box. Sadness, Fear, Anger, Jealousy, and probably Failure as well.

I agree with Myrddin about the Firebird. As far as the Greek version of the Phoenix, it wasn't exactly brought back to life. Once it died, a new bird would be born from the ashes, not the same one. There were two Phoenix birds, if I'm not mistaken. The first bird lived for several hundred years roaming through Greece and Egypt and feeding on frankincense. When the bird finally did die a new bird was born. Its parent reverted to an egg and was carried by its offspring to some temple (I don't know where) where it was given to the sun god Helios.... If I'm remembering the myth correctly.
 
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