Tag Archives: Aphrodite

Chloris and the Greek Myth of the Rose

21 May

 

The Greek myth of the rose is one of my favorites.

Chloris, the goddess of the flowers, was in the forest one day when she tripped over a beautiful nymph lying lifeless.  Chloris was so overcome by the nymph’s fate that she reached out to the other gods to transform her into a flower.

Aphrodite gave her beauty.

Dionysus, the god of wine, gave her nectar for a sweet-smelling fragrance.

The three Graces—the Charites known as Thalia, Euphrosyne, and Aglaea—gave her charm, joy, and brilliance or splendor.

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Mighty Aphrodite: Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial

10 May

I’m in love with all the flowers that are blooming around the city right now.  Seeing delicate flowers push out of the ground and bloom in spite of in this concrete jungle inspires me.  It shows that even here in New York City, where you have to push for a spot on the subway and climb five flights of stairs to your overpriced, walk-up apartment, you can be tough and beautiful.  It’s like wearing a flower-print dress and a leather jacket.  Or like dark chocolate with rose hips.  It’s like having a fancy picnic in the shadow of skyscrapers in Central Park.  It’s like a wild rose.

Writing and editing around the clock, I haven’t exactly been getting a lot of sleep lately.   That’s the plight of a modern New York woman, though, isn’t it?  Sacrificing sleep to follow one’s passion.  I’m finally stepping out from behind my computer screen, to give a reading, though, and I don’t want to actually look like I’ve been burning the midnight oil.  I want to look picture-ready for my reading and graduation.  This is a time to celebrate!

I was so excited to discover Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial.  It uses wild rose oil to give a natural, healthy glow to skin.  It’s facial in a jar!  That means saving the time of actually going to the dermatologist or beautician to get a facial.  Just put it on before you go to sleep and wake up the next morning moisturized and radiant.  When Korres offered to send me the Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial, I was so happy because they’re one of my favorite Greek beauty companies.  Founded out of Athens’ oldest homeopathic pharmacies, Korres creates products that are natural and certified organic.  The Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial doesn’t contain parabens, synthetic dye, or animal by-products and is not tested on animals.  Korres’ Greek homeopathic roots and the company’s commitment to both beauty and environmentalism make Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial is indulgence one can feel good about!

After a long day of editing, a dinner meeting, and attending a reading, I was more than ready for bed by the time I got home the other night.  I felt so indulgent as I applied The Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial for the first time.  It smelled heavenly.  The facial is made with a fragrance, but it doesn’t smell overwhelmingly of rose.  More so, it has the intoxicating fragrance of beauty and sophistication.  It’s a bit powdery and old-fashioned, a luxurious aroma that drifted me off to sweet dreams.  Even though I have sensitive skin, the perfume did not irritate my skin.  Wild rose extract (Rose canina) is a natural source of Vitamin C, and so it actually soothes skin.

The Korres sleeping facial is made from a traditional recipe of Vitamin E, soybean oil, rosemary leaf extract, rose hip oil, and jojoba oil.  A clinical study showed that 100% of subjects who used Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial had “improvements in skin’s moisture levels and texture” and “visible reduction in appearance of expression lines.”  Meanwhile, 84% saw “improved skin radiance” and 78% “had visibly improved skin smoothness.”  If you ever read the fine print of beauty and skincare products, you know that those are pretty astounding statistics.

In Greek mythology, roses were actually white until the goddess Aphrodite was pricked by a rose when she was hurrying to save her protege, Adonis, and her blood stained the white rose petals red.  Women have been rushing about since ancient times.  Hey, we’ve got proteges to look after!  But sometimes we need to slow down, indulge in an impromptu picnic in the park, and take care of ourselves.

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Gripster: Portlandia, Hipsters, and Greek Myth

21 Jan

The new IFC series Portlandia has been getting major press.  My eyes have been rattling around in my head, they rolled back so far.  Are hipsters still in?

But, after seeing this clip about how in Portland the dream of the nineties is still alive, I’m amused.  Plus, I love Fred Armisen.

Portlandia is also the name of a sculpture located at the entrance of the Portland Building (1120 SW 5th Avenue, in Portland, Oregon).  Sculpted by Raymond Kaskey, it’s based on Portland’s city seal, which features a woman, the Queen of Commerce, in Classical garb, brandishing a trident.  Wikipedia quotes The Morning Oregonian as stating on March 22, 1878, that the lower portion of the seal contains a wreath of myrtle.

Sound familiar?

The Greek muse Erato was often portrayed wearing a wreath of myrtle and roses.  Interesting, since Portland is none other than the City of Roses.  Erato, the muse of lyric poetry, is often depicted carrying a lyre; however, Portlandia carries a trident, which is the traditional symbol of the Greek god Poseidon.  The irony here is that with its sheaf of grain, the city seal was supposed to recognize Portland’s agrarian, which a pitchfork would have symbolized.  The similar-looking trident symbolizes fishing, and Poseidon used it to wreck havoc on the land by creating earthquakes.  Of course, the Queen of Commerce is standing by a body of water so perhaps she is also Queen of the lower Columbia River.

Another possibility is that Portlandia is based on the Greek goddess of love and beauty Aphrodite.  Aphrodite is often depicted with myrtle and roses.  She is often positioned by the sea, but she holds a scepter instead of a trident.  Aphrodite is the Greek incarnation of the Phoenician goddess Astarte, whose symbol is the star.  In the seal of Portland, a star hovers above the Queen of Commerce.

It’s interesting the way Greek mythology resurges, insinuating itself in pop culture.  Does this mean we might be seeing Greek hipsters—Gripsters—in Portlandia?

Portlandia airs tonight at 10:30 on IFC.

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