My thoughts have made a significant shift toward research over the past week.  Sometimes I have a specific direction and know exactly what problem I am trying to solve or what theory I am trying to support.  Most other times I have an idea buzzing around in my head that started by fragments of various different things accidentally connecting in my mind.  I know there’s something waiting to find me while I’m researching a topic, but I might not know what it is exactly.  It’s like being given a puzzle without the box.  I can see bits, but only once I put all the pieces together can I see the big picture.  That’s the best way I can describe it. 

While working on one of the novels I’ve started and keep returning to, some of those pieces began fitting together.  My research for the novel started with the Moirae, or the Fates, and the Erinyes, or the Furies.  Greek mythology is a passion of mine, and naturally this research led to more questions.  Currently I’m interested in groups of Greek gods/goddesses/demigods, and most specifically in triads.  There are quite a lot more than I originally remembered:

• The Moirae (Fates):  The wierd sisters govern over your fate–when you’re born, how long you live, and when you die.
• The Erinyes (Furies):  The embodiment of female vengence (avenging murder, grudging, and “unceasing”). 
• The Horae: There are actually a number of “generations” of the Horae.  They represent three seasons (Spring, summer, and autumn), Agricultural concepts (prosperity, substance, and abundance), Law and Order (moral justice, peace, and the adherance to “good” laws), and eventually there were 10 to represent each hour.
• The Gratiae (Graces):  Beauty, mirth, and good cheer.
• The Gorgons:  Female monsters often depicted with various animal body parts.  Medusa was the most famous of the three.
• The Harpies:  Typically three female winged monsters who kidnapped men (usually) and punished them on their way to Tartarus (the really bad part of the underworld).  They were vicious and cruel.
• The Graeae: These ancient women were the “grey ladies” or “grey witches” who shared one tooth and one eye between them.  They’re ominious (Alarm, horror, and dread, respectively) but didn’t physically do anything.  They’re often conflated with the Furies and the Fates.
• The Oneiroi: Ominous, black-winged daemons who were the personification of dreams.  Two worked on specific parts of dreams, one worked on the over all dream structure.  Each had their specialty: crafting humans, animals, and objects.  Oh yeah, and they were male. 

I’m certain I missed some of the groups, but these are the most recognizable.  Here’s what’s fascinating me… Only one of those groups are “male.” Most of the triads are female representations of concepts, and most of them aren’t positive.  Of course, you have the triple goddess as well, usually represented in Greek Mythology as Hecate (Maiden, mother, and crone).  What bothers me is that if Hecate represents “all” the aspects of humanity, then why the need for the others?  Why in groups of three?  Why are they almost all female, and nearly all deformed in some way?  The research took my writing to a different place, and that’s just fine, but now I have more questions.  Figures.

Write well,

Dawn

I probably should have been a historian rather than an English lit scholar, but I couldn’t have known that without going down that original path and encountering New Historicism. (How’s that for a Catch 22?) In graduate school, I became obsessed with the intricacies of European history and politics, particularly of monarchies, and specifically, of female monarchs. So here’s a list of my top five favorite English Queens to research:
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