CFS reminders

Bibliotheca Alexandrina is the non-profit publishing arm of Neos Alexandria.  (In the interests of disclosure I am on the Board of Directors for BA) They have several devotionals that are seeking submissions.  Check them out or forward them to your writer peeps.

Hera Devotional

Call for submissions! We are interested in a wide variety of pieces, including (but not limited to) scholarly articles, short fiction, poetry, original translations of ancient texts, hymns, rituals, recipes, and artwork that pertains to Hera, her Roman counterpart Iuno (Juno), and her Etruscan counterpart Uni.

Demeter Devotional

We strongly encourage those interested in submitting to explore the many facets of the goddess Demeter in their work, including but not limited to: Demeter as a Mystery Goddess (Eleusis being the most obvious of these); a goddess of Women; of Motherhood; of human and Earthly fertility; as a dark and wrathful goddess; as a goddess of a blessed afterlife; as the consort of Zeus, Poseidon and Iason; the Mother of Persephone, Despoina or any of her many other children; expositions on her mythology and symbolism; her roles as goddess of agriculture, wheat/bread/cereals/grains, the harvest/fruits and vegetables, and law; and her synchronizations/identifications with various goddesses such as Isis, Rhea-Demeter, Ceres, Cybele and others.

Crossing the River: An Anthology in Honor of Sacred Journeys

Both deities and mortals have undertaken sacred journeys:  the Deities Baldr, Inanna, Obatala, Persephone and Pwyll travel to their different underworlds, as do the heroes Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Orpheus and Psyche; other heroes and heroines such as Adam and Eve, Aeneas, Cu Chulainn, Dido, Heracles, Moses, Sigurd, and Theseus undertake sacred tasks or quests; and everyday people face transitions both literal and figurative. How is the person or power changed by the experience? Contributors are encouraged to concentrate on the theme of change.

Hephaistos Devotional

In your submissions, please consider Hephaestus’ many different cult titles and roles, both ancient and modern, such as:   Hephaestus as a Blue-Collar God, as a Working Man’s God; the God as the Friend of Humanity; Hephaestus as the God of Results and Workmanship; Hephaestus as the Creator of Women, per the myth of Pandora; the God as the Olympic Rebel who speaks Truth to Power and spends his time with other Rebels; Hephaestus as the son of Hera, and their relationship; Hephaestus as the husband of Aphrodite and/or Aglaia; Hephaestus as the father of Eukleia, Eupheme, Euthenia, and Philophrosyne; Hephaestus as the brother, compatriot, and rival of Athena; the relationship between Hephaestus and Hestia as Deities of fire; compare/contrast Hephaestus and the Roman Volcanus; compare/contrast Hephaestus and other smith and fire Deities such as Brigid, Goibhniu, Ilmarinen, Ptah, Tvastor, and Weyland Smith; the relationship between Hephaestus, who crafts the weapons of war, and Ares, who wields those same weapons (but who is also a lover of Aphrodite); his exile from and eventual return to Olympus; the many creations of Hephaestus, such as Pandora, the Necklace of Harmonia, the armor of Achilles, the chains which bind Prometheus, and the Handmaids of Gold which assist him in his forge; the many symbols associated with Hephaestus, such as anvil, hammer, forge, fire, quail, donkey, guard dog, and crane; the connections between the Mysteries of Samothrace, the Kabeiroi, Hephaestus, and Hera; Hephaestus as the “ugly” or “lame” God.