Chapter Text
Clio, now John Watson
One of the seven Muses, daughters of Zeus, who inspire mortals in creative pursuits. She is the Muse of History. Her name means “make famous”.
Athena, now Sherlock Holmes
The goddess of, in no particular order: cities, civilized life, wisdom, handicrafts, agriculture, justice and law, purity, and strategic battle.
The daughter of Zeus, possibly alone, possibly in conjunction with Metis, Goddess of Wisdom, who Zeus ate after impregnating.
She is one of the three virgin goddesses.
Alternate Names or Titles:
Glaukos: Blue-Green, (possibly silver), in reference to her eyes, though it could also mean sharp, bright, or flashing, still in reference to her eyes, but denoting intelligence rather than color or shine. Often translated Grey-Eyed, for some reason.
Polias: Of the City, signifying her protection of cities and civilization.
Parthenos: (The Parthenon is her temple) The Maiden or Virgin Athena, upholder of purity and civilization.
Pallas: Athena’s title when she dons the mantle of battle-goddess. It could originally refer to a Titan Athena defeated, or a friend she accidently slew whose name she took to honor him. There are other variations, but those are the important ones for this telling.
Promachos: The First Fighter. Her title when she led in battle.
Areia: The title Athena won when she convinced the Furies to stop tormenting Orestes because she proved his crime (matricide) had already been paid for by his suffering.
Demeter, now Martha Hudson
The goddess of the harvest, fertility and the poppy. She’s an extremely important earth goddess. She is also seen as someone connected with natural law (she created the seasons, after all), and therefore, as a potentially wrathful figure.
Alternate Names or Titles:
Sito: Bringer of Grain
Aganippe: The Mare that Destroys Mercifully, or the Night Mare.
Extra Note:
Eleusis was the kingdom Demeter fled to when Hades took Persephone to the Underworld. Demeter, disguised as a human, was hired by the king to be nursemaid to his two sons. She was found to be a goddess when she was interrupted in the middle of a ceremony that would make one of the boys immortal, and was persuaded to leave, and leave the boy mortal, in exchange for a temple.
Hera, now Mycroft Holmes
The queen of the gods, wife of Zeus. Goddess of marriage, childbirth, married women, and civilization. She was incensed over Zeus bearing Athena, and conceived Hephaestus in retaliation.
She is best known for her jealousy, her ability to hold a grudge, and her implacable rage.
I freely admit I made this connection primarily because of that joke about ‘seeing the Queen’ in Scandal. Thinking of Mycroft with a pet peacock and cow-eyes made me giggle. (Hera is often describes as the ‘cow-eyed queen’; as far as I know, it’s her only epithet beyond her title of Queen of Heaven. O_o;)
Eris, now Jim Moriarty
The goddess of chaos and strife. There is an entirely separate goddess, or at least she was entirely separate at one time, who Eris is often conflated with in later texts:
Enyo: Goddess of Battle, but specifically chaotic, brute force, or dishonorable battle. She often accompanies Ares, the God of War of the same style.
Nike, now ‘Anthea’
Goddess of Victory, usually accompanies Athena.
Aphrodite, now Irene Adler
The goddess of love, beauty and passion. She is the lover of Ares, god of dishonorable or chaotic war.
She is sometimes described as ‘laughter-loving’ and as being able to steal the wits of the wise. She may bring beauty to all she touches, or may prove malicious and treacherous, as the mood takes her.
Some claim there are two Aphrodites, the Aphrodite who resides in the heavens and presides over higher forms of love, the love between family, friends, or unconditional love, and the Aphrodite that resides in the human or material war, and presides over baser forms of love, like the carnal passions, particularly between a man and a woman.
Alternate Names or Titles:
Pandemos: The title of Aphrodite when she is in the material world and/or commanding the baser loves.
Dike, now Sally Donovan
The goddess of human or lower justice, as determined by laws and society rather than divine writ. She doesn’t really have a personality in mythology, but is often seen at Zeus’ left hand in artwork.
Themis, now Greg Lestrade
The goddess of divine justice, or higher justice, as opposed to human justice. Her daughter is Dike. She doesn’t really have a personality in mythology, but is often seen at Zeus’ right hand in artwork.
Hecate, now Molly Hooper
An underworld goddess, sometimes considered an aspect of Artemis, virgin Goddess of the Hunt. Hecate is the goddess of the crossroads, magic, and the dark of the moon.
I know that Hecate is an evil or dangerous goddess in charge of terrible things. I’ve always been fascinated by her, despite this, and decided to play around a bit here. I know it’s not really a good fit except on the most superficial level, but Molly is multi-faceted and we’ve only really scratched the surface of all she can be, I think, and that’s what I wanted to convey; I’m not implying, with this pick, that I think she’s dark or evil. I ADORE Molly.
Alternate Names or Titles:
Soteira: Goddess of magic, usually dark arts, like necromancy and the like.
Alecto, now Mary Morstan
One of the three Furies (Erinyes), specifically the avenger of moral crimes, as opposed to murders or jealousy and infidelity. The Furies were called the Eumenides (or Semnai) either in the same way the Fey were called Fair Folk (the way you say ‘good doggie’ to a rabid mongrel, not because it’s true but because you want it to be), or as a title they earned after Athena convinced them to stay their persecution of Orestes during his trial. Athena further offered them a temple, where the people left offerings, in theory curbing them from their rage and making them more benevolent, or at least, more choosy.
Eros, now Jeanine
The god of carnal love, his roman counterpart is Cupid. He’s sometimes the son, sometimes the companion of Aphrodite. When her companion, he is pure and beautiful and kind. When her son, he’s often at best naughty, at worst cruel.
One of the more famous stories involving him is ‘Cupid and Psyche’, which is generally seen as a precursor to ‘Beauty and the Beast’, where Psyche is the beauty.
I don’t feel confident in my read of Jeanine yet. I think she’s interesting, and I’m glad we’re seeing more of her in Season 4 (if Moffat can be believed), but I’m not sure where she falls, morally. I therefor reserve the right to completely reassign her should later canon dictate a necessary change, here.
Styx, now Charles Augustus Magnusson
The Goddess of the River Styx, one of the three rivers of the Underworld. She is vengeful, but very conscious of debts. She was the first to aid Zeus against the Titans because she recognized she owed him fealty, and when oaths sworn in her name are broken, she is vicious in her vengeance. Styx means ‘Hateful’ or ‘Detested’.