#READTHENEW – #BLOGCHATTERA2Z CHALLENGE

 
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Participating in the #BlogchatterA2Z Challenge this year was as exciting as it has been over the past few years. This year, however, I did manage to catch up on reading more blogs than I had done in the previous challenges, maybe because I did it in a more organised fashion this time. Normally, I am all over the place and the process is chaotic. Some blogs made me go back to them repeatedly, while there were others I wish I could have read more of.

I have collated the blogs that I have enjoyed and read below. 

1. Manali Desai:

1. (A)Ftertaste - A Rustic Mind

2. (B)orrowed - A Rustic Mind 

3. (G)oodbye - A Rustic Mind 

4. (J)udgment – A Rustic Mind

5. (P)ause - A Rustic Mind 

6. (U)nsaid - A Rustic Mind

7. (Y)ours - A Rustic Mind 

8. (U)nsaid - A Rustic Mind

2. Srivalli Rekha:

1. And... It's Time for the Divine Union - Srivalli Rekha

2. Birth of the Commander - Srivalli Rekha 

3. A Heavenly Message to Skanda - Srivalli Rekha 

4. Just Call Love, Valli - Srivalli Rekha 

5. Not a Routine Love Story - Srivalli Rekha 

6. Over to the Other Brother - Srivalli Rekha

7. Quest for Love - Srivalli Rekha 

8. Under the Moonlit Sky - Srivalli Rekha 

 

3. talesofsuchita.com:

1. Anyway - talesofsuchita.com

2. You Do Not Need Storytelling Skills, You need Clarity - talesofsuchita.com

3. The Gift by talesofsuchita.com

4. Phantom Hug of Home - talesofsuchita.com

5. Everything Else is just Noise - talesofsuchita.com

6. Little One, little One! talesofsuchita.com

7. A Prayer on the Wind - talesofsuchita.com

8. Zindagi in Small Doses - talesofsuchita.com

9. Rare Flowers - talesbysuchita.com

4. Reubenna Dutta:

1. A for Apathy - Reubenna Dutta

2. C for Cursed - Me Movies More - Reubenna Dutta 

3. H for Humanity - Reubenna Dutta 

4. J for Jealousy - Reubenna Dutta

5. N for Nihilist - MeMoviesMore - Reubenna Dutta 

6. Q for Quaint - Reubenna Dutta

7. T for Talkative - Reubenna Dutta 

 

5. Christopher DSouza:

1. Scripted in Sanity - Hell hath no Fury - Christopher Dsouza

2. The Narration - Christopher DSouza 

3. Once Upon a Voice - Scripted in Sanity - Christopher DSouza 

4. Pic of Theseus - Christopher DSouza 

5. Rage against the Machine - Christopher DSouza 

6. Zigzag Journey - Christopher DSouza 

 

6. Harshita Nanda:

1 The Prehistoric Caves of Bhimbetka - Harshita Nanda – undecidedindubai

2. Rakhigarhi, India's Largest Harappan site - Harshita Nanda - undecidedindubai

3. The Caves of Udayagiri - Harshita Nanda - undecidedindubai

4. Alauddin Khilji, the saviour of Delhi - Harshita Nanda - undecidedindubai

5. Sher Shah Suri and the Rupiya - Harshita Nanda - undecidedindubai

7. pen.books.and.scalpel:

1. The Clay Toy Cart - pen.books.and.scalpel

2. The Bride - pen.books.and.scalpel

3. The Invention of Shoe by Tagore - pen.books.and.scalpel

4. Gulabi Talkies - pen.books.and.scalpel

 

8. Ratna Prabhu:

1. F for Falgu River - Cursed by Sita - Ratna Prabhu

2. H for Hidimba - Ratna Prabhu 

3. O for Oghavati - Bhishma left his mortal body on her banks - Ratna Prabhu 

4. Sachi, Stunningly Gorgeous Wife of Indra - Ratna Prabhu 

5. X for X'mas Legend of Spiders and Tinsel - Ratna Prabhu 

 9. Chinmayee's Creations:

1. The Earthy Smell - Chinmayee's Creations

2. Kitchen Chronicles - Chinmayee's Creations 

3. My Name - Chinmayee's Creations

4. Zodiac Signs - Chinmayee's Creations 

10. Ankita Bhatia Dhawan:

1. Harry Potter: The Stories that Built a World - Life of a Professional - Ankita

2. Jargon: The Stories We Tell to Belong - Life of a Professional – Ankita

3. Questions: The Stories We Ask Instead of Answering - Ankita Bhatia Dhawan 

 

11. Disha Dave:

1. Binge watching - Disha Dave

2. Work, work and work - Disha Dave 

3. V: Validation - Disha Dave 

 

12. Fabida Abdulla:

1. Decor inspired by movies - N for New Girl - Fabida Abdulla

2. Decor ideas inspired by The Queen's Gambit - Fabida Abdulla 

3. Decor ideas inspired by the Royal Tenenbaums - Fabida Abdulla

 

13. ChaiandChatterChronicles:

1. Zeal to Write - Chai and ChatterChronicles  

 2. Just one more chapter - Chai and Chatter Chronicles 

 

14. Tomichan Matheikal:

1. Joker: Charlie Chaplin - Tomichan Matheikal

2. Quixotism - PB Shelley - Tomichan Matheikal 1

 

15. Neerja Bhatnagar:

1. B for Balance - Neerja Bhatnagar - Neerja's Musings

2. G for Gratitude - Neerja Bhatnagar - Neerja's Musings

 

16. Marietta Pereira:

1. Keys: A Bridge between Worlds - Marietta Pereira

2. Rumour: Nowhere Near the Truth - Marietta Pereira

 

17. Swarnali Nath:

1. Green Magic - Swarnali Nath - the blissful storyteller

2. Moon Forest - Swarnali Nath - the blissful storyteller 

 

18. Pallabi Ghoshal:

1. Kintsugi Characters - Broken and Beautiful - Pallabi Ghoshal

2. Unfinished Closures - Pallabi Ghoshal 

 

19. Kavita Singh:

1. Healthy Tiffin Ideas for Kids - Kavita Singh 

2. Zero Waste Lunch Packing - Kavita Singh

 

20. Aging Well - Wordsmith Kaur

21. Letter to My Younger Self - InklingsInsight Tanvi Agarwal 

22. Around the World in 80 Books - Doonwriter's World - Asfiya Rahman

23. Cuddle - the Vagabond - Ruchi Nasa

24. British Fortress - Pandian Ramaiah 

25. Veiled Night at Meadow Brook - Sangeetha Kamath

26. Knowing the Difficulties of Remote Work - Jayanthi Manikandan

27. Rebirth - Cabbages and Onions - Sunayana Roychaudhury

28. Just Kidding - Ankita Bhatia Dewan

29. All Roads Lead Here Review - Neha Parmar

30. I is for the Othello Orchestration - Kirti S

31. Jo jeeta wohi Joyful - Malvika Singh

32. Chapters that Connect Book Club - Caroline DCruz

33. The Sacred Survival Spirit - Sreedhar Bhattaram

34. Normalize - Nilshree 

35. R for Rituals - Book Food Language  

36. Exchange - Mysticaanjali 

37. Xerses and the Sea - Pinki Balaji 

38. Xanthippe Kaikeyi - sowmyanarayanan dr v 

39. T is for Thugs - Writa Bhattarjee

40. Yielding - No Winners or Losers here - Nnenna D 

41. Y - You Don't have to Enjoy Every Moment of Motherhood - K's Train of Thought   

My aim was to read a hundred posts and go beyond the twenty blogs that had been stipulated. It was an amazing experience because there were so many different topics. It was like savouring a buffet with several delicious dishes. 

A huge 'Thank You' to Team #Blogchatter for the wonderful experience!

                                        

Dreamstimes.com

 

ZAGREUS, DISMEMBERED AND REBORN! BLOGCHATTERA2Z

 

                                                                          Zagreus - Greek God - Instagram

Zagreus is a prince of the Underworld, whose origin is complicated. He was believed to be the god of blood, rebirth and hunting. According to Aeschylus, Zagreus was the son of Hades and Persephone, and sometimes he suggests that he was Hades himself.

Another myth goes that Zagreus was the son of Zeus in the form of a serpent, and Persephone. After the infant was born, Hera, the wife of Zeus was so jealous that she incited the mighty Titans to kidnap and kill Zagreus. Zeus was proud of his son who was born with horns and desired to make him his successor. He sent him to Mt. Ida along with his protective thunderbolts to be protected by the dancing Curetes.

                                                              Zeus and Zagreus - World History Encylopedia

The Titans distracted the child and induced him to put down the thunderbolts. They dismembered him, boiled and roasted his body parts and ate them. Luckily, goddess Athena could save his heart, which made it possible for him to be reborn.

                                                                                          The Titans - Wikipedia

An irate Zeus destroyed the Titans with his thunderbolts. He then made a mixture of Zagreus’ heart and gave it to his mortal love, Semele, to drink. She was impregnated and she gave birth to Zagreus, who was now known as Dionysus, who later became the god of Wine. Thus, Zagreus, the hunter god turned into Dionysus, the wine god.

                                                                    Semele: Greek Mythology Princess - Cedric Ferris

The earliest reference to Zagreus comes from the 6^th century epic Alcmeonis:

“Mistress Earth (Gaiea) and Zagreus highest of all.” This suggests that Zagreus was the highest god of the underworld.

In fact, the dismembering of Zagreus is the central myth of Orphism named after the divine musician Orpheus. When Zeus threw his thunderbolt at the Titans, they were decimated and they turned into ash. It is said that out of this ash humanity was born. This might also suggest that humanity developed a dual nature in which their body was derived from the Titans and a divine spark or soul came from Dionysus.

There is also another theory that after Zeus used his thunderbolt on the Titans, he incarcerated them in Tartarus as a punishment.

Several references to Zagreus are seen in texts over the centuries. Plutarch (2^nd Century BC) and Nonnos (5th Century BC) wrote about him. Callimachus was one of the first to mention Zagreus Dionysus.  

Trivia:

 Classic Greek Literature that mentions Zagreus:

The Orphic Hymns (3rd century CE)

Library of History by Diodorus Siculus (1^st Century CE)

Description of Greece by Pausanias (2^nd Century CE)

Exhortation to the Greeks by Clement (2^nd Century CE)

Fabulae (2^nd Century CE)

Zagreus, Dionysus - Betascript Publishing

Video game:

Hades (2020) - Zagreus is the fictional and the main character of the video game named Hades. 

Zagreus in the video game Hades

This post is a part of Blogchatter A2Z Challenge 2026. 

YAGA, DARK GODDESS OR WEIRD OLD WOMAN? #BLOGCHATTERA2Z

 

                                                                                         The Paganista

The letter Y or the equivalent of it did not exist in the Greek alphabet, and so, there are no names starting with it. Hence, I am writing about Yaga, the Slavic Goddess who is supposed to be the counterpart of Persephone, the Greek Goddess of the Underworld as she was married to Hades, and hence, known as the Dark Goddess.

There were thirteen dark goddesses across the mythology of the world. They were

Hecate, Lilith, Baba Yaga, Persephone, Nyx, Kali, The Morrigan, Oya, Sekhmet, Freya, Morgan le Fay, Erishkigal and Circe.

The very names of some of these dark goddesses can send a chill down our spines. However, as in everything in life, the dark and light align to create a balance. Similarly, these goddesses offer a foil to the light that the other goddesses manifest.

                                                                                      Etsy

The shadow can often make the light appear brighter. Likewise, these dark goddesses can guide humans to integrate shadow into light and make life more challenging and fulfilling.

Yaga, or Baba Yaga, is a supernatural figure in Slavic mythology. She is not really a goddess, and yet, she has her own powers, and she is depicted as an old hag, which may be what the word ‘Baba’ stands for. ‘Yaga’ could mean ‘horrid, evil or mean’. She is associated with the shadowy aspects of nature and could be described as moody or enigmatic.

Baba Yaga is depicted as an old woman living in a hut that stands on chicken legs in the woods. She could very well be the fairy tale version of pagan goddesses who initiated children into adulthood. One myth speaks of her catching children and tying to force them into an oven so that she can bake them. The children outwit her and push her into the oven instead, a close parallel to the ‘Hansel and Gretel’ story. There is an undertone of a long-forgotten rite of ‘baking’ a child to make him an adult, especially as both bread and the woods are significant in Slavic literature. This goes to prove that similar parallels exist in mythologies across the world.

                                                                                        Baba Yaga - Reddit

Baba Yaga is often seen as an old woman with a hooked nose who flies on a wooden mortar, often paddling with a magic broom. She lives in a living hut which has legs that can walk, run and even dance. She is often portrayed as more mischievous than evil, at times a minor antihero who cannot be a truly dark villain who wreaks havoc. After all, it is difficult to imagine an old woman as evil, especially when she looks more like a benevolent grandmother. It is believed that she hates intruders and chases after them, but there are instances when people have gone to her for advice and been helped by her.

Therefore, is Baba Yaga a dark goddess or a weird old woman? In ancient times, the word ‘weird’ had the additional meaning of ‘having the power to control fate’ which came from the old English word ‘wyrd’ for ‘chance, fortune, Destiny and The Fates’.

“Beyond the thrice-nine kingdoms, in the thirtieth realm, beyond the fiery river, lives the Baba Yaga’. 

Alexander Afanasyev 

Baba Yaga is sometimes believed to live in the Faraway or the Thrice-Ninth Tsardom. 

In the tale ‘The Maiden Tsar’ by the Russian writer Alexander Afanasyev, a merchant’s son, the handsome Ivan, visits the home of one of the Baba Yagas. The whole story is encapsulated in the following link.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Maiden_Tsar

Baba Yaga appears in many of the Afanasyev’s stories.  (The Russian Fairy Tales). She is described as “one of the most memorable and distinctive figures in Eastern folklore” by Andreas Johns, who goes on to further dub her as ‘enigmatic’, exhibiting ‘striking ambiguity’. He calls her multi-faceted, as different people see in her images of a totemic ancestress, a goddess of Nature (the Cloud, Moon, Snake, Bird), which is why she remains an enigma to this day.

 Trivia:

Books: Russian Fairy Tales by Alexander Afanasyev:

 The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson:

Baba Yaga's Book of Witchcraft by Madame Pamita:

 

Movies/ Series:

Baba Yaga: A Goddess in Exile: YouTube

The Vanquishing of Baba Yaga: Jessica Oreck: Once Upon a Blog:

 This post is a part of Blogchatter A2Z Challenge 2026. 

XUTHUS – THE PROGENITOR OF THE GREEK KINGDOMS! #BLOGCHATTERA2Z

 

                                                                       Xuthus - Deviant Art by Tedosaur

Xuthus was the son of Hellen, the ancestor of the Greek people, and Orseis, a water nymph. He was a Phythian king who later became the king of Peloponneses. His wife was Creusa, the princess of Athens.

Xuthus was the progenitor of the Greek kingdoms through his sons, Dorus, Ion and Acheus. According to Hesiod’s ‘Catalogue of Women’, the three sons started the Dorian, the Ionian and the Achaean kingdoms.

After his father Hellen, died, Xuthus was exiled from Thessaly by his brothers who claimed that he was greedy and wanted more than his share of his father’s property. He went to Athens, where he married Creusa, the daughter of King Erechtheus. He became father to three sons, Dorus, Ion and Acheus.

There is an interesting story about Ion, which was brought out in the tragic play by Euripides by the same name.

 Apollo once visited Creusa in a cave and violated her, because of which Ion was conceived. Devastated by the outrage, Creusa abandoned her son, leaving him in a cradle in the cave. Apollo requested Hermes, his winged messenger, to rescue the baby, who was later adopted and raised by a priestess of the Delphic Oracle.

Much later in life, Xuthus and Creusa went to the Delphic Oracle to pray for an heir. The priestess told them that they already had a son and that the first person they met when they left the temple would be him.

                                                                         The Priestess of Delphi - HubPages

Xuthus accepted the boy they met outside as his son. However, Creusa, who had put the trauma of bearing a child out of her mind, believed that the boy, Ion, was an illegitimate son of her husband. She tried to kill him by offering him a cup of poisonous dragon blood. Luckily for him, Ion discovered the plot because he gave some of the liquid to a pigeon as an offering. He was furious and dragged Creusa from her hiding place to kill her. The priestess of Delphi appeared at the opportune moment and revealed that he was, in fact, Creusa’s son from Apollo. Mother and son were reconciled. Xuthus too accepted Ion as his son, along with his other two sons.

Ion by Euripedes - Greek Mythology

Trivia: Phonetic pronunciation: Xuthus - ˈzuːθəs/

Books: 

Trojan Women by Euripides (a mention has been made of Xuthus):

Surprisingly there are not many accounts, books or movies on Xuthus.

Euripides: Ion by Laura Swift

Bloomsbury Publishing

Euripides: Ion, Helen, Orestes translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien

 This post is a part of Blogchatter A2Z Challenge 2026.