Greek Mythology Revisited!

As one who was NEVER interested in the sad and torrid affairs of the ancient Greeks, it came as a shock to me when my first novel—which I had imagined would be a modern day romance, became a trilogy steeped in the mysteries of Greek mythology. But those of us that live and listen to our muses know that it is not for us to dictate what inspiration may drop onto our laps—or our heads—only to capture it and be grateful...and grateful I am!

The Sibylline Trilogy is a modern story of soul mates, Alex and Cassandra, created by the god Apollo, who were destined to be together forever. But something went wrong and now Alex’s beloved reincarnates and is cursed to always die by her twenty-seventh birthday...with no memory of Alex.

As I began my research on Greek Sibyls and Oracles, I became particularly interested in the varied and opposing stories from mythology. Most interesting is the famous story of the Trojan Princess, Cassandra, who was originally described as having the gift of visions from her youth. In 560 BC, her story was retold. In the newer version, Cassandra betrayed the god, Apollo and so he spit in her mouth, thereby cursing her; she would have visions, but no one would believe her.

After much research, I discovered that the epic poems, which provided our insight into ancient times, including Cassandra and the Trojan War, were extensively edited from 560-528 BC to instill fear in the Roman’s of crossing the Greek gods.

Another story that I found interesting and borrowed was the explanation of the evil eye. Many Mediterranean cultures believe that it is bad luck to have someone look upon you with envy in their heart. They call it “the evil eye.”

In order to remedy the evil eye, Greeks and others, wear a marble that bears a blue eye ball to protect themselves from the envy of others. There are even tests to see if you’ve been affected by the evil eye, involving water and olive oil.

In The Last Oracle, the evil eye is one of the weapons of choice for the villainess; the seductive, sculptress Kristiana, aka Circe.

Blue eyes were evidently rare in ancient Greece. This makes me wonder if the "evil eye" was a demonstration of man's (and women's) propensity to fear things that he are different or not understood.

Because Kristiana (my fictional character) is blue eyed, I have filled in the missing history of the “evil eye” and linked it to a source: Kristiana.

I do consider filling the gaps in history, just part of the fun of writing fiction. But that does make me wonder just how much “fun” Homer and others had in retelling history.

Perhaps thousands of years from now, there will be those that believe that the evil eye was named for a woman named Kristiana.
The Last Oracle Delia J. Colvin