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THE DISASTROUS LOVE AFFAIR OF MOON AND MARS

by Alfred de Grazia

PART THREE:
THERAPY FOR GROUP FEAR

APPENDIX


CHARACTERS OF THE BOOK

(Italic-faced ones have a direct part in the plot and action in THE LOVE AFFAIR)


GODS


Athena (also Athene, Pallas Athene):

Greek Goddess of wisdom, war, and the arts and sciences, "officially" declared to be the same as the Roman goddess, Minerva; identifiable in her planetary aspect with the planet Venus. In other cultures, she carries many names, including Ishtar (Babylonia), Quetzalcohuatl (Mexico), Lucifer (Rome), Helel (Judea), Aten (? Egypt), Subari (India). Protector of Odysseus.


Hephaestus (Hephaistos):

Husband of Aphrodite. Greek god of fire and of the crafts and sciences, comparable to many smith-gods, also a solar deity; called Vulcan by the Romans and probably is Tuchulcha of the Etruscans. Identifiable with Athena and planet Venus.


Ares: Lover of Aphrodite.

Greek god of war, called Mars by the Romans, Nergal by the Babylonians. Identifiable with the planet Mars.


Aphrodite: Lover of Ares.

Greek goddess of the Moon and of love. Also, Greeks called the Moon "Selene" and partially transferred Aphrodite from the Moon to planet Venus and called the planet Aphrodite; meanwhile, the later Romans transported the name of the Italian goddess, Venus, to the Goddess Aphrodite and named the planet Venus. The Roman "Selene" was "Luna".


Hermes:

Messenger god and god of luck. Identified with the Planet Mercury.


Apollo:

God of Far-Distances and music. Personifies detached Wisdom. May represent a destroyed planet, now the meteoroid belt. Was later identified with the Sun.


Zeus:

Son of Kronos and called the Father of the Olympian Gods in Homer. Identifiable with the Planet Jupiter.


Poseidon:

God of the Sea, of Earthquakes, and ultimately of the Earth. Brother of Zeus. Enemy of Odysseus.


Helios (Helius):

God of the Sun.



HUMANS
Demodocus (Demodokos):
Great singer and harpist of Phaeacia, who recites the story of The Love Affair, and may be a self-portrait of Homer.

Odysseus:
Hero of Homer's Odyssey. Epic poem of wanderings after the Trojan War. Known in Western Europe also as Ulysses. Guest of King Alcinous. His name, in American vernacular, would be "the born trouble-maker."


Penelope:
Wife of Odysseus.


Alcinous (Alkinous):
King of Phaeacia.


Nausicaa:
Daughter of Alcinous.


Halius:
Son of Alcinous. Dancer.


Laodamas:
Son of Alcinous . Dancer.


PLACE AND TIME

The ancient Mediterranean and the ancient skies above, possibly 687 B. C.

Phaeacia:

Realm of King Alcinous, probably based on real places in the Western Mediterranean, but fictionalized by Homer.

Scheria:

The larger land of which Phaeacia formed part.

Troy:
Fabled site of the Trojan War, identified by most archaeologists and classicists on the site of the town of Hisarlik in Turkey, near the Dardanelles Straits.

Lemnos:
Island in the upper Aegean Sea where the Sintians lived, favorites of Hephaestus.

End of The Disastrous Love Affair of Moon and Mars




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