Neptunalia/Poseidon and Antinous

It’s been an interesting day, certainly–not only have I continued in my previous experiments, and am finding the Ephesia Grammata as equally useful as a daily lorica, of sorts, but I’ve also been working some Serpent Path matters, and have had some interesting results. The subject for today’s post is involved in the latter, certainly, but I won’t elaborate further on that at this stage. I also tried out a new technique for dream incubation (a new chant, really…and quite unexpectedly!), which ended up working–but, I didn’t have a dream of Antinous, I had a dream of the Tetrad, and it was spectacular…and also, totally not what I was expecting. Hopefully, more of that in the near future!

Today is the Neptunalia, the Roman festival of Neptune, on which we hold the syncretism festival for Antinous and Poseidon (and on which I was a few days late last year). But, having mentioned the Tetrad, and the Serpent Path, I can also say that today’s syncretism festival for Poseidon and Antinous is intimately involved with both of those things–indeed, Poseidon is showing up an awful lot more in my recent Serpent Path work, and he’s one of the parents of the first two members of the Tetrad, so it’s rather apt to have a festival for him today.

I have to say, though we are blessed with a relative abundance of images of Poseidon from the ancient world, I rather like this one, and thus would like to use it again. As both Poseidon and Neptune have etymological links to the Indo-European words for “nephew” and “grandson,” I prefer to think of him in a younger fashion rather than as an “Old Man of the Sea” sort of figure. (Thus, the choice of Kevin McKidd for Poseidon in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief wasn’t a bad one–he’s only three years older than I am!)

Though I wrote a poem for Poseidon last year, and also have a poem for Neptune in The Phillupic Hymns, I think he deserves another one this year, don’t you? (Don’t they all, every year…and every day, for that matter!?!) So, here’s my humble efforts today, with which I hope the god is pleased and honored!

Earth-Shaker

The great seas of Okeanos and Tethys
have been bequeathed to the fortunate nephew,
Poseidon, the fire beneath the water.

The daughters of Nereus received you
as their worthy king, rich in horses,
under the waves in their gold-shining arms.

Proteus of the many forms
and Thetis the fair mother of heroes
are your vassals amongst the deities.

It was you who made reciprocal love possible,
it was you that made love of youths permissible,
it was you who fathered heroes and horses.

Races were held for slain and restored Pelops,
and games convened at Corinth for Palaimon,
with chariots rolling, surging like thundering crest-lines…

In love, in power, in remembrance
every thing about you, Poseidon,
rocks the very pillars of the earth.

*****

Khaire Poseidon! Ave Neptune! Ave, Khaire Antinoe!