Myth
Lovardus is the couples god of the Greek mythology, estranged son of the goddess of love, Aphrodite. In the earliest time, Lovardus mediated relationships between partners—as if it was his gift. Everyone in town would go to him for relationship advice and all of their problems would be solved. As a child, Lovardus watched Aphrodite and Hephaestus’ complicated relationship fall apart. Although they were married, Aphrodite was unfaithful to him and was entangled in other relationships.
Lovardus was always observing from afar to learn and understand why his mother could not stay faithful to Hephaestus. As a child, it was not easy to understand why Aphrodite would do such thing, but realized that a human does not live life with only one soulmate. Lovardus preached that we have more than one soulmate in our lifetime, whether it is platonic or romantic, it was impossible to only have one. He believed that with the amount of people living in the world, there is room for multiple. This was an opinion that many did not agree with, but was definitely as eye opener for those having troubles with their relationships.
From then on, it was to his understanding that his mother had so much love to give, that it could be the reason as to why she was caught with the god of war, Ares. Because Ares was the brother of Hephaestus, the two later divorced. Lovardus recognized that all of Aphrodite’s lovers, were her soulmates, making up for all of the siblings that he has. Whenever Lovardus mediates a relationship, the sky becomes clear, bright, and blue. The rain that pours comes to an end and a beautiful rainbow arises. When two people are happy again, the world becomes a happier place. He loves to help others and puts so much effort into their relationships, that he forgets about his own. Lovardus has never met the right person but hopes to in the near future.
Analysis
With all the chaos of relationships, my aetiological myth for this assignment focuses on global warming. Every relationship has their bad days, therefore when couples approach Lovardus for his advice, his mediation is the reasoning for the beautiful days we experience. On days that couples are tired of one another, we experience dark, gloomy days, the ones where all motivation is lost to do anything. When the rain is finally done pouring and the rainbow is out shining, we know that two people have resolved their differences and are happy again. Additionally, the myth emphasizes on his mother’s adultery and it being the reasoning for why Lovardus has blossomed to be who he is. His childhood experiences have created the god people have grown to love.
The main focus of my myth is the conflict between partners that can leave devastating effects on the Earth. Similarly to Hesiod’s Work and Days, as Zeus was able to rain non-stop for three days, Lovardus has the ability to do the same (Hesiod, Work and Days 521). The strength of the emotions of his “patients” per se, were able to cause days or weeks of upsetting days. Lovardus acted as the protector of the Earth, wanting to put a stop to the bad days and turn them into good ones. His upbringing motivates him to settle arguments and bring couples closer than they have ever been to allow light back into the world.
The main philosophy that Lovardus held was that people had more than one soulmate, which was the reasoning for his mother’s multiple lovers. As Aphrodite was seen to be beautiful and flawless, many wondered how Hephaestus caught her eye. Hephaestus was said to be born very ugly and grew up as a bearded middle-aged man with a large physique. With their differences, it is clear that true love goes beyond physical appearances. Aphrodite found interest in different types of men indicating that each soulmate and connection they had was unique. What she found in Hephaestus and Ares are two completely different ideas. Lovardus is glad his mother and Hephaetus divorced as if they were to stay together any longer, it would be unfair to Hephaestus. It takes a great amount of strength to leave a relationship and only shows how strong the two were as individuals.
The divorce allowed Aphrodite to realize that Hephaetus was not her only soulmate, but Ares, Poseidon, Hermes, Dionysus, Adonis, and Zeus too. Aphrodite drew attention from men that could not be ignored, she easily seduced the other gods without trying (Homer, Homeric Hymns 5. 35-39). Lovardus wonders why the gods loved his mother so much that they were never battling one another for her. The endless love that they had for Aphrodite was enough for her to not care about them. She did not pity them and continued to produce offspring with many men (Homer, Homeric Hymns 5. 180-190). Throughout her life, she was able to experience love in multiple ways and as Lovardus witnessed it, it grew his interest in mediating relationships.
The gift that Lovardus holds was so powerful that it changed the weather so closely. Every day, he had couples coming in for advice. On most days, any problems that were resolved resulted in the sky being bright, blue, and clear. Because not every day can be a good day, on those bad days, it would be the total opposite. When couples were not able to mediate their differences and were on the edge of divorce, the rain poured until another couple was happy again. Lovardus felt so good knowing that others were able to see eye-to-eye on his philosophy that people have more than one soulmate. It was eye-opening for some couples as those who felt like they were a second option to their partner, became more understanding when they realized that the “first option” was just another platonic soulmate.
Lovardus was always kind, caring, and hopeful for the best for other individuals. His therapy sessions with couples was free of charge but appreciated tips based on how happy the couples left. Similar to the good days, he would receive many tips, and on the bad days, he would leave empty-handed. Lovardus wanted to help others as he was never able to help his own parents as a kid. This is one of the main reasons why his gift is so powerful that the emotions of the people can change the weather. Nobody else was as selfless as he was in wanting to make other people happy.
When he was younger, he had a dream that he encountered the goddess of the rainbow, Iris. She adored the idea that he wanted to fix relationships so much that she decided to help him out. This is the reasoning behind the rainbows that appear in the sky when couples leave happy. After helping Lovardus, when she leaves Earth, a rainbow arc under the clouds appear (Virgil, Aeneid 5. 655). This led Lovardus to believe that he and Iris have a strong connection. The strength of their connection allows them to work together as weather gods in a beautiful way.
The importance of my myth is that Lovardus is an important god because of the impact he has left on relationships. Many couples would be separated if they had never spoken to him. Other gods do not have the powers that he has in communicating and mediating with individuals. He plays a key role in the happiness of the world and things would not be the same if he did not share what he enjoyed most. His soulmate philosophy is very much agreed on and is the reasoning for goddesses other than Aphrodite. Without men seeing his mother as their muse, he would not be in the position he is in today (Homer, Homeric Hymns 10. 1-6). Unlike today’s world, it was very common for the gods to have multiple lovers—love was shared freely and available to those accepting. Without Lovardus’ philosophy, the actions of his mother could not be explained and others would be less accepting.
Bibliography
Hesiod, Work and Days 521.
Homer, Homeric Hymns 5. 35-39.
Homer, Homeric Hymns 5. 180-190
Homer, Homeric Hymns 10. 1-6
Virgil, Aeneid 5. 655