J.C. Martin's Blog, page 37

Mythology 101: IN THE SPRINGTIME by Elizabeth Thorne

Welcome to Mythology 101, a new feature to promote the recent release of the anthology, Seducing the Myth: Myths & Legends with an Erotic Twist. Edited by Lucy Felthouse, this is a collection of 24 tantalising tales (one of which is mine!) that lead you on a decadent journey through mythologies the world over. As well as stories from the popular Greek and Roman periods, this anthology will also delight you with Arabian, Arthurian, Hindu, Jewish, Norse, Slavic, Sumerian and Welsh myths and legends. Add in a delicious sprinkling of fairies, mermaids and ancient fertility rituals and you have a recipe for a wickedly erotic read!

So what inspired the contributing authors to write their respective steamy stories? Mythology 101 will take you behind the scenes to the myth behind the story.

Today's mythology:

Story: In the Springtime

Author: Elizabeth Thorne

Myth: Persephone

Origin: Greek

Elizabeth's story is based on a wonderful song about Persephone that she used to sing at the Renaissance Festival. The lyrics are below:

PERSEPHONE

THE RETURN OF PERSEPHONE, oil on canvas by Frederic Leighton (Picture source: Wikipedia)

Picking flowers in the field

In the springtime of the year,

I heard the sound of chariot wheels

and was afraid with nothing to fear.

And there he stood with his eyes like fire,

His hair as dark as a night in hell,

And there he stood with his eyes like coals,

and said, 'Dear Lady, I wish you well.'

They say he forced me but that's not true –

Of my own will I followed him down

to his dark place beneath the hill,

to his dark palace below the ground.

And there he loved me and I loved him

though all the world there was icy dark

We never noticed the light was dim

With the bright flame we kindled in our hearts.

They say above us the world grew cold,

the leaves and flowers began to die.

The fruit trees withered and grew old,

and dark'ning clouds covered all the sky.

My mother searched hard and tried to find

a pathway leading down from the sun,

and long she travelled with troubled mind

until she walked where we once had run.

I still remember the dreadful hour

she stood before us and bade me leave

Her dress of sunlight, her face a flower,

his eyes behind me so full of grief.

We made a bargain and made it sure,

we made a contract and made it sound –

that I would stay with her for half the year,

the other half come below the ground.

It was so good at first to see the sky,

to walk in sunlight and hear the lark;

but not so good at last to say goodbye

to my sweet love down there in the dark.

Oh yes, it's true then that life is good,

and I've learned the lesson it can teach:

that you can never have all you want,

and you never want what's within reach.

The sweetest flower that ever grows

grows far deep inside a bush of thorns

And happiness then is like the rose,

for without pain nothing good is born.

To know the daylight you must know dark,

to know the flowers you must know weeds;

you cannot meet again unless you part,

or eat a pomegranate without seeds.

Oh yes, it's true then that life is good,

and I've learned the lesson it can teach:

that you can never have all you want,

and you never want what's within reach.

—

Don't forget: Seducing the Myth is in the running for a Bookie Award in the Anthology of the Year category! Vote for your favourite books and writers now. Polls are HERE, and will close October 1st.

And, I'm over at Elaine Stock's Blog, Everyone's Story, where my MC Detective Kurt Lancer interrogates me on the influence of martial arts in my writing. Head on over HERE and join the fun!