Horae

Huh, you're still here? I really didn't expect you to stick around this long. Whatever. I'm glad you did, though, because if you felt out of your depth in the story about Hestia, you really won't know a thing about the goddesses I'm going to tell you about next. The Horae, the goddesses of the seasons, really get overshadowed by Demeter and Persephone. It's nothing against either of them; they're both pretty great, but even their powers have limits. If you want to know who really helps the farmers, you'll sit down and listen up during this story.

There was once a small farming village on the coast of Greece. The people were happy living their lives. Farming is hard, dangerous work, but they were all happy to be living the same simple lives that they had grown up knowing. Happy, that is, until everything began to go wrong.

But, when the spring months were due to begin, they just...didn't. The weather stayed cold and the food supplies were getting lower and lower. The townspeople kept sacrificing to Persephone and Demeter, hoping that the two would have mercy and bring both spring and a good harvest. Finally, the town decided to ask the advice of the local priest. When they discussed their troubles with him, they started with only the long winter. Through careful questioning, however, the priest realized just how far back the problems had started. He knew what was to be done.

"Brothers," he cried out to the town. "Brothers, I have good news, I can help. The goddesses you need to seek help from are not Lady Persephone and Demeter. Rather, you must call upon the Horae. These powerful goddesses can help you with each of your problems."

At first, the townspeople refused to believe that the goddesses could be of any help. If Lady Persephone couldn't help them, who could? But, as time went on, and people began to go hungry, they finally agreed to call upon the Horae. First, they called on the goddess Eirene, bringer of peace and spring, asking for better weather. Next, the goddess Dike, goddess of justice and good farming conditions. Finally, the goddess Eunomia, of order and good pasture. At first, nothing changed, and the people began to despair. However, they did soon notice the weather starting to warm up. After a time, the earth was finally ready to grow new food, and it grew like they had never seen before. Quickly, tall, and strong. Finally, the people realized that they hadn't lost a sheep all season. Even when the careless young boys forgot to lock the gate to the pasture, the sheep stayed. When they understood the power of the Horae, many people in the town adopted the Horae as their household gods. From that day on, they never had another farming woe again.

Janus Note: Yet again, another story of the beautiful goddesses being rejected, only to help people who call on them in despair. Not all the minor godlings have yet learned how to ignore the pain and anguish of humans. Personally, I find it rather beautiful to listen to you all suffering. You make choices, you deal with them. But I hope you're picking up on this theme: These godlings disagree with me. They will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.

Bibliography: Britannica, theoi.com

Author's Note: Again, I had to pull this story out of thin air, so I'm not sure that the plot is the clearest or most coherent. Much like with Hestia, no one wrote grand stories of the Horae. However, that doesn't diminish the important role that they played. For example, Persephone may be the goddess of spring, but as is Eirene. According to the little legends that we have of them, the Horae all work together as the goddesses of the seasons. The thing that I tried to focus most on in the story was that there were unique problems requiring unique solutions. I didn't want to just lump all the Horae together; I wanted to tell their individual stories. My hope is that that came through, and people were able to see the distinct roles of the goddesses. I chose not to directly include them because I couldn't really think of a basis for their personalities. While there are at least some tales of Janus and some modern renditions of Hestia, I didn't really have a good picture in my mind for the Horae, so the hands-off approach seems best. As before, I hope you liked reading my story!