Fiction: Serving the Queen (Hera / Iris)
Hello my lovelies,
a little late but here it is, Iris sleeping with her boss 😉
I'm confident that I will be able to post Ares / Alektryon in a few days too, so I'll be all caught up with the fiction prompts. I'm immensely grateful that you stayed with me through the months where there was little to no activity from me and I hope to show it with some fun extras in the near future.
In other news, I finally registered my own website! If everything goes according to plan, I will post my stories and articles there which will give me more freedom in reader-friendly formatting and (hopefully) easier navigation. Maybe we could do away with the glossary altogether if it's possible to add an explanation directly to the word. In the ancient past when I built websites from scratch, there was the command "on mouse over" but it doesn't work with touch screens. We shall see. In any case, I chose an adult hosting provider in Europe, so I can post all the erotic visuals I want, even flat-out pornography. If there's anything you think would be cool to have on the new site, comment here or on Discord. I'm quite excited to find out what y'all think 🥰
This month's illustration was created by Sinita and I must say she captured the vibe of the story perfectly, at least how I envisioned it. I sent her this GIF to explain what I was going for and she absolutely nailed it! You can see a smouldering Hera as a teaser below. Find the illustrated version of the story here.
Glossary
andreia: the ancient Greek word for manliness that is synonymous with courage
breast band: the ancient ancestor of the bra, a piece of cloth wrapped around the breasts to provide support. In art, Aphrodite is sometimes shown with it.
Chandra: the Hindu moon god who, according to one myth, has 27 wives.
chiton: an ancient Greek garment worn by both men and women. It looks simila to a Roman tunic. Women wore it like this.
cow hide baby: Orion was allegedly conceived by Zeus, Poseidon, and Hermes all urinating (or ejaculating) on a cow hide that was then buried in the earth (Gaia). This is only one of several versions of Orion's birth but it is the most dramatic and fun.
depilation: ancient Greek women removed their pubic hair by burning it off with an oil lamp. The vulva is often likened to a pig or piglet in ancient Greek slang because of the bristly pubic hair growing back.
dog: In ancient Greek, "dog" is slang for the penis, but also if someone is "dog-eyed" they're not looking respectfully but lecherously.
Graces of Aphrodite: a poetic way to refer to seduction, inducing desire
kleitoris: where we get "clitoris", an ancient Greek word used by the Greek physicians Soranus and Rufus of Ephesus in the first or second century CE: "[the labia] end at what is called the clitoris (kleitoris) or myrton or nymph."
Kypria: another name for Aphrodite, related to the island of Cyprus where she first set foot after her birth from the sea.
Moirai: the three Fates, daughters of Nyx and the incarnations of destiny in Greek mythology. They ensure that every being, mortal and divine, lives out their destiny as assigned to them. So their power even extends over other gods, including Zeus, though Zeus is sometimes able to command them.
myrtle lips: the labia majora are called myrtle lips (myrtocheïla) in ancient Greek and myrton, the myrtle berry, was slang for the vulva. When you see a picture you'll know why.
papyrus: a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times to write on. It is most associated with ancient Egypt, where papyrus was most likely invented as the papyrus plant was once abundant across the Nile Delta and the first archaeological evidence of papyrus as a writing surface was found in Egypt. Also the name of a vaguely ethnic font.
peplos: an ancient Greek garment worn by women. Iris wears one here and Hera wears one underneath a himation here.
soutzoukos: a Cypriot sweet made from grape must jelly that was dried in the sun and mixed with almonds. The name means "sausage" due to its shape. I don't have any evidence for this treat in ancient times but the ingredients would all have been available and grape must syrup was a common sweetener in ancient Greek and Roman cuisine.
symposion: a drinking party that often featured entertainers like professional flutists, dancers, and acrobats.
