Ganymede: Beauty and Cups

Alright, so today's post was going to be about a totally different topic, but then I had a package show up this morning with this little cutie:

This is Ganymede, a plush version of a bird from Blizzard's video game Overwatch.  Ganymede is the friend of a giant robot named Bastion.  If you feel like having your heartstrings tugged, I'd highly suggest watching the story of their friendship in this video.

Why am I telling you about Overwatch?  Well, Blizzard has a tendency to utilize mythology in their video games.  (So much so that I did an entire series of posts on the myths of World of Warcraft!)  Sometimes they put references to entire myths within their story; at other times, all they draw on is a name.

Ganymede is one such name.

In Greek mythology, Ganymede was a mortal who drew the attention of the mighty god Zeus.  The young lad lived the life of a shepherd.  One day, Zeus looked down from Mount Olympus and happened to see Ganymede.  The human was the most beautiful he had ever seen, and Zeus just had to have him.

Now, Zeus isn't exactly known for his self control.  As soon as he saw Ganymede he transformed himself into an eagle, swooped down, picked the lad up, and carried him off to the home of the gods.

Most of Zeus' conquests come to a tragic end.  The story of Ganymede is quite different, in that the boy was actually granted immortality.  He became the cup bearer of the gods, keeping their glasses full during feasts.

In fact, Zeus is actually at his most compassionate in the story of Ganymede.  Usually the god only thinks of himself, but for some reason he took notice of the grief of Ganymede's father at the kidnapping of his son.  Zeus sent the lad's father a gift of two mighty horses.
(Okay, so horses might not make up for a stolen child - but still, it's more than Zeus normally does for grieving families!)

Two quick facts about Ganymede:

It is said that Zeus made the lad into a constellation - Aquarius.  Aquarius has been associated with drinks in several different mythologies.  The Egyptians viewed it as connected to the Nile River.  The Mesopotamians considered Aquarius to be the constellation of Enki/Ea, holding a vase filled with water.

Usually when Zeus has sex with a character in mythology, it's pretty obvious.  Of course, that's because he usually gets them pregnant.  It's been debated whether or not Zeus' relationship with Ganymede was sexual.  I won't jump into that debate, but I can tell you that 1) Hera, Zeus' wife, was exceptionally jealous of Ganymede and his beauty. 2) Of the four moons that Galileo discovered of the planet Jupiter, three are named after Zeus' mistresses - Io, Callisto, and Europa.  The fourth is named Ganymede.

I hope you guys enjoyed this post!  Any Overwatch players out there?

See you next week!