It's been a few weeks since I did Paranormal Romance Friday. It's been all blog hop Friday for a while. This week is all about mythology and vampires. Greek and Roman mythology, to be specific.
While Terek sits in the editing pen and Ramiel hangs out with me as I write his book, one of the favorite Sons, Dante, has been nagging me to talk about him. If you've read the series so far, this won't surprise you.
The youngest of the Sons of Navarus, Dante was turned in the 1980s when he was just 20 years old. His brashness is reflective of the decade when greed was king and hair reached for the heavens (courtesy of Aqua Net!). But his cocky nature isn't just because he's a product of that decadent decade. It's also because he's a clyten.
In the world of the Sons of Navarus, a clyten is a vampire who can walk in the sun. Before you go googling the world, I should tell you it's made up. Like the name Navarus, the term clyten is my creation. So what does this have to do with Greek and Roman mythology?
Clytie was an ocean nympth who was in love with Apollo, the god of the sun. However, her love was unrequited since he fell in love with another. (Side note: Clytie should probably have been happy about this since to be loved by Apollo quite often meant very unhappy times ahead or death. Poor Hyacinthus, Daphne, Sibyl, and Cassandra, to name just a few.) But back to dear Clytie. She watched as Apollo drove his chariot through the sky each day, wishing and praying he would notice her, but he didn't. For days and days, she didn't eat or drink as she waited for him to finally see how much she loved him. The gods saw this and turned her into the sunflower. To this day, she still looks to the sun god each day, still in love with his golden rays.
As an English major in undergrad school, I was in love with mythology. The university I attended didn't have a classics department, or I would have been a classics major and studied the ancients. But I had to settle for the one class I could take and as many books as I could devour on the subject. Naturally, when I began to write, I waited for a chance to include my love of mythology and the Sons series gives me ample opportunities.
So, that's the story behind the name clyten in the Sons of Navarus. When I had to come up with a name for vampires who could walk in the sun, I looked no further than Greek mythology and immediately found lonely Clytie.
Now I can tell Dante the world knows about his kind. :) Knowing him, though, he'll still be bothering me to talk about him. Young vampires are so arrogant. But I'll be talking about Dante and his story more as we get closer to his book, Blood Eclipsed.
Have a great weekend!
While Terek sits in the editing pen and Ramiel hangs out with me as I write his book, one of the favorite Sons, Dante, has been nagging me to talk about him. If you've read the series so far, this won't surprise you.
The youngest of the Sons of Navarus, Dante was turned in the 1980s when he was just 20 years old. His brashness is reflective of the decade when greed was king and hair reached for the heavens (courtesy of Aqua Net!). But his cocky nature isn't just because he's a product of that decadent decade. It's also because he's a clyten.
In the world of the Sons of Navarus, a clyten is a vampire who can walk in the sun. Before you go googling the world, I should tell you it's made up. Like the name Navarus, the term clyten is my creation. So what does this have to do with Greek and Roman mythology?
Clytie was an ocean nympth who was in love with Apollo, the god of the sun. However, her love was unrequited since he fell in love with another. (Side note: Clytie should probably have been happy about this since to be loved by Apollo quite often meant very unhappy times ahead or death. Poor Hyacinthus, Daphne, Sibyl, and Cassandra, to name just a few.) But back to dear Clytie. She watched as Apollo drove his chariot through the sky each day, wishing and praying he would notice her, but he didn't. For days and days, she didn't eat or drink as she waited for him to finally see how much she loved him. The gods saw this and turned her into the sunflower. To this day, she still looks to the sun god each day, still in love with his golden rays.
As an English major in undergrad school, I was in love with mythology. The university I attended didn't have a classics department, or I would have been a classics major and studied the ancients. But I had to settle for the one class I could take and as many books as I could devour on the subject. Naturally, when I began to write, I waited for a chance to include my love of mythology and the Sons series gives me ample opportunities.
So, that's the story behind the name clyten in the Sons of Navarus. When I had to come up with a name for vampires who could walk in the sun, I looked no further than Greek mythology and immediately found lonely Clytie.
Now I can tell Dante the world knows about his kind. :) Knowing him, though, he'll still be bothering me to talk about him. Young vampires are so arrogant. But I'll be talking about Dante and his story more as we get closer to his book, Blood Eclipsed.
Have a great weekend!
1 comments:
enjoyed your blog about why you choose the name clythen for dante daylight. all this mythology is fascinating. its like a sensual romance with a myth and history lesson. i can see hes clammering to get out. i remember the 80 well i lived in germany for most of them and my daughter was born there, shoulder pads, dyed blond hair and mullet style hair,and shell suits. its going to be interesting to read about him, he reminds me of a younger brother
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