Mariage Frères Advent 2021 – Day 2
Aww, Apollo gets a bad rap in modern depictions. Lore Olympus , Rick Riordan, or even Osamu Tezuka’s (graphically disturbing) Apollo’s Song – to name a few, have not been kind in their portrayal of this figure. Although, truthfully some of the source myths and old plays are not endearing either (in Orestes he’s an arse). Back in an undergrad course on Classical Myths, a fellow classmate asked why all the female characters (ex – Daphne) seemed so repulsed by the seemingly attractive, young god. The prof answered that it had to do with Ancient Greek gender/age norms and expectations (ie- male youths should be courting the attention of and “learning from” older men, not women and girls. So Apollo chasing after the nymphs would’ve possibly been viewed as icky and presumptuous). And so ends my tangent.
So the tea – it’s a kind of green oolong (Jin Xuan? Four Seasons? Don’t ask), combined with fruit essence (it’s grapey, but also that hard to place MF “citrus-berry” note). Then, of course, is the decorative butterfly pea flower (never been a fan). The oolong base is very light – with creamy, mineral, and floral notes. It’s also slightly drying. I decided to “free” the oolong from its tea bag so it could expand properly while steeping (oolong doesn’t belong in tiny baggies and these ones are the tiniest). There are almost-whole curled leaves, but also lots of flower petals and broken leaves; it’s not a super fancy looking specimen and not really enough for a full pot, fyi. (Not making an Apollo joke).
I thought this was pretty weak when I first started sipping away, but it’s growing on me as it cools. The fruit is sort of guava-like now. My Mom tells me this is now here favourite tea and I must get more for her. At least one of us is ecstatic.
Steep Count: 3
Flavors: Berries, Citrusy, Creamy, Floral, Fruity, Grapes, Grass, Guava, Milk, Mineral, Vegetal, Violet
Preparation
People who liked this
Comments
IF you’ve ever heard of it, there’s a good podcast called Mythunderstood that takes a lot of time to retell all of the myths source by source. They frame him as an artistic sociopath because of his approach to consent. That’s still a modern lens to look at him from, given that several encounters with Greek Gods consisted of rape anyway.
You’re right about the bad rap though-modern retellings spend too much time on Zeus, Hades, and the heroes, forgetting that Apollo was the a patron deity of several Greek city states and was god of so many things….
I haven’t heard of it, but one of my goals for next year is to listen to podcasts. That’s going at the top of the queue! Mythology retellings are my weakness.
Artistic sociopath is a vibe I get too, but yeah.. the stories are enticing because there’s a lot of nuance(and lost context)to them – often leading to infinite fun interpretations and retellings (hurrah)! Also, Apollo has the corvus association, which is a superficial pro for me. And like the issue of consent – the violent pettiness exhibited in that tale is also not dissimilar to actions of other gods and heroes either.
Looks like a fun podcast thanks for sharing. I like to stargaze and mythology is scattered amongst the stars, so I’d be interested in learning more about the stories that lead to the constellations.
They do ramble a little bit, but it’s fun. I was surprised to learn that my sign Aries had nothing to do with Ares, the god of war, but instead, the magical living ram that would become the golden fleece. They are really goofy and sound drunk half the time, but they both do a really good job finding good translations and sources for the mythology.
I like people who don’t take themselves too seriously :)
“They are really goofy and sound drunk half the time”
This only adds to the appeal :)
YES! It’s the first podcast I’ve actually binge listened to. Most of them, I pause or stop after thirty minutes and then MAYBE get back to.
IF you’ve ever heard of it, there’s a good podcast called Mythunderstood that takes a lot of time to retell all of the myths source by source. They frame him as an artistic sociopath because of his approach to consent. That’s still a modern lens to look at him from, given that several encounters with Greek Gods consisted of rape anyway.
You’re right about the bad rap though-modern retellings spend too much time on Zeus, Hades, and the heroes, forgetting that Apollo was the a patron deity of several Greek city states and was god of so many things….
I haven’t heard of it, but one of my goals for next year is to listen to podcasts. That’s going at the top of the queue! Mythology retellings are my weakness.
Artistic sociopath is a vibe I get too, but yeah.. the stories are enticing because there’s a lot of nuance(and lost context)to them – often leading to infinite fun interpretations and retellings (hurrah)! Also, Apollo has the corvus association, which is a superficial pro for me. And like the issue of consent – the violent pettiness exhibited in that tale is also not dissimilar to actions of other gods and heroes either.
Looks like a fun podcast thanks for sharing. I like to stargaze and mythology is scattered amongst the stars, so I’d be interested in learning more about the stories that lead to the constellations.
They do ramble a little bit, but it’s fun. I was surprised to learn that my sign Aries had nothing to do with Ares, the god of war, but instead, the magical living ram that would become the golden fleece. They are really goofy and sound drunk half the time, but they both do a really good job finding good translations and sources for the mythology.
I like people who don’t take themselves too seriously :)
“They are really goofy and sound drunk half the time”
This only adds to the appeal :)
YES! It’s the first podcast I’ve actually binge listened to. Most of them, I pause or stop after thirty minutes and then MAYBE get back to.