Storybook Plan

 Story Sources:

The main source that I'll be using is theoi.com. This is where I did my starting research to figure out what gods and goddesses I wanted to talk about, and it also has an extensive bibliography for each god/goddess. I also have some other sources I'll be using for each one, helped by feedback Laura gave me!

For Hestia: I am thinking about including some information on Vesta, and the Wikipedia page has a lot of good background. The contrast in how important Vesta was vs. Hestia is incredible. While both played a significant role in daily life, Vesta had temples and priestesses (the Vestal Virgins). But Hestia was also sacrificed to every day. The grand Roman worship of Vesta highlights the importance that Hestia played in people's lives (even though the worship of her wasn't as grand). I don't know exactly how to incorporate this, but I do find the contrast fascinating and think that it can help tell her tale. I was especially struck by the fact that Janus was linked to Hestia in Roman mythology, and so I might find a way to include him in my story.

For Janus, I have started my research using his Wikipedia page. While Janus is not a Greek god, he does fit in well with the stories I am thinking about telling, and it could be interesting to use him as the god of change and transitions.

For Eros: In addition to theoi.com, I want to incorporate parts of the Cupid and Psyche story, summarized on the Wikipedia page and also available in the UN-Textbook. I can see using it to explain his tenderness (if I do the one-story approach described below), or to tell a story of him over time and to show changes in him. I love how it shows his kindness and explains his love of love (as opposed to Aphrodite, who has always struck me as being selfish in her definitions of love).

For Horae: The Britannica has some helpful background on the Horae, but there isn't a lot of information on them. According to the Wikipedia, exactly what they were evolved over time, so I am choosing to focus on them as the manifestations of the seasons.

Story Ideas/Episodes:

For each of these four below, I am thinking of writing a story or episode from the stories I describe and link to above.

1. Hestia

2. Janus (arch together with Hestia, perhaps a two-parter)

3. Eros

4. Horae

Type of Storytelling:

I have two main ideas that I will explore as I figure out what I want to do. The first is an anthology style, telling individual stories about each god and something important that they did in one person or group of people's lives. The second is to follow a person's lifetime and tell a story about each god/goddess in that person's life. For example, falling in love because of Eros, needing Hestia (inspired by Vesta) and Janus to be present at the wedding, Hestia keeping them warm in a difficult time, and the Horae giving weather for a good harvest. I don't know which one I will choose to go with, I think it will probably evolve as I start writing the stories and see which style I prefer. I think I'm leaning towards the "stories throughout a lifetime" angle. 

I also have to decide what perspective I want to tell the story from. I think that, whichever option I go with, I need to figure out if I want to be god-focused or person focused. A human perspective would link well with my goal of telling the story of the average human, but the god/goddess perspective would be a neat way to explore how the minor gods and goddesses felt. My last idea in this area is to tell the story using the Muses. This would work whether I did an anthology or one story. I like that I could then use more minor goddesses, but these are much more well-known, so that does seem a little in contrast to my main theme. Overall, I think that I will figure these things out as a go along and see what feels natural to write.

What I want to convey: 

What I really want to show is the importance of the non-major gods in daily life. From my understanding and my readings, the 12 main Olympians were there to explain big things in life (thunderstorms, earthquakes, the seasons, the sun, etc.), but daily life was really controlled by far more minor gods. The 12 can be thought of as a chapter title, while the minor ones do the writing. I want people to see that. It's a weird thought that these beings were once sacrificed to every day, but have since fallen into obscurity. I know that they are not real, but I almost have an empathy for them, since they were forgotten. 

I also like the idea of talking about ordinary gods for ordinary people. It's fun to read about Hercules and Odysseus, but the things that they did in these legends aren't something that we can really relate to or understand. While we can connect to some of the elements and apply some of the lessons to our lives, I want to talk about the gods and goddesses that the average person (like most of us) would have paid daily attention to. None of us would have spent a year on Circe's Island, but we would have needed Hestia to keep us warm, Eros to help us find a person we wanted to be with, the Horae to give us good weather for our farms, etc. I want to explore the gods that were important to the average person.