Edited by Terence P. Ward
Price: $12.99 (paperback) / $4.99 (ebook)
Publication Date: 26 November 2020
Place of Publication: Asheville, North Carolina
ISBN: 9781393544722
Pages: 214 pp
Death.
As mortals we long for those who have been separated from us by the veil of death. We venerate ancestors, known and unknown; we grieve for love ones lost; we ready ourselves for death, or fear it deeply as the ultimate unknown.
In Hellenic tradition, the god who rules beyond the veil is called many things. Most often, He is referred to as Hades, a name also given to His realm. He is a somber god, for the most part, one too aware of the responsibilities He bears. But He has a queen by His side to share the burden, His beloved Persephone; and a host of attendants, such as the Ferryman, the Lord of Dreams, the Lord of Sleep, Mother Night, and His great three-headed guard dog.
In this volume, you will find poems and short stories, essays and rites which honor the God Below, the Lord of Riches, the Bearer of the Helm of Invisibility. For to fail to honor Him, to fail to recognize His inescapability, is to court disaster; even madness. For there is no avoiding death, and someday we shall all find ourselves His subjects.
Xaire, Haides and your host of many! May our inevitable knowledge of you not come too swiftly, or be delayed overlong past when mercy is preferable.
Host of Many can be purchased in paperback from Amazon, and in digital format through Barnes and Noble, Kindle, kobo, Apple/iBooks, Scribd, and Vivlio, with more platforms to follow. All of the proceeds from Host of Many — as well as many of the other volumes in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina series — will be used to help promote the revival of the worship of the Greek and Egyptian Gods, with a portion of the proceeds given to a worthy charitable organization in their name. So, not only will you be getting a wonderful book about the modern worship of the spirits of the underworld, but your money will be going to do good work and help the revival of ancient polytheistic religions.
ATTENTION Librarians, Teachers and Retailers: Host of Many is also available at reduced cost for academic institutions, lending libraries (public and private) and retailers. Email baeditor@gmail.com with any questions.
We are rebuilding the Library of Alexandria one book at a time!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication … 3
Gates of Hades: Memento Mori by Nightshade Purplebroom … 3
Introduction by Terence P. Ward … 8
Poetry
Hypnos … 11
For Melinoe by Jennifer Lawrence … 12
Hymn to Melinoe III by Rebecca Buchanan … 16
Three Weeks in the Underworld — To Cerberus by Nightshade Purplebroom … 18
Hymn to Charon I by Rebecca Buchanan … 22
Library by James B. Nicola … 23
To Hypnos by Ariadni Rainbird … 24
Insomnia by James B. Nicola … 25
Prayer to Hypnos I by Rebecca Buchanan … 26
A Prayer for Life by Anna Schoenbach … 27
Birth Song by Rebecca Buchanan … 28
Hades’ Lament by Jennifer Lawrence … 29
The Flowers Were Dark by James B. Nicola … 32
The Rainbow in the Shadows by Hayley Arrington … 34
To Plouton by Ariadni Rainbird … 35
Pluto by Ashley Dioses … 37
Hymn to Hades V by Rebecca Buchanan … 38
Remains by Anna Schoenbach … 39
Sisyphus Revisited by James B. Nicola … 40
To the Oneiri by Ariadni Rainbird … 41
Rites and Recipes
Cerberus by Nightshade Purplebroom … 43
Honoring Hades as a Household Patron by Jamie Waggoner … 44
Meeting Hades: A Meditation by Rev. Amber Doty … 56
Mint and Stone: How to Create an Indoor Shrine to Hades by Rebecca Buchanan … 59
Pathworking to Face Kerberus by Ariadni Rainbird … 65
Yule: King in the Darkness by Rev. Amber Doty … 67
Myths
Pluto by Jacopo Caraglio … 73
Death’s Argument by J. K. Bywaters … 74
Fortune Teller by Mark Mellon … 94
The Haunting of Vipsania Licinia by Rebecca Buchanan … 114
Essays
Thanatos … 135
The God at the Gate: Charon in The Lightning Thief by Rebecca Buchanan … 136
Hades the Sophist by Edward P. Butler … 144
Meeting the Ferryman by Rebecca Buchanan … 165
Wrestling with Thanatos: A Mythological Study by Iona Miller … 174
Lethe by Nightshade Purplebroom … 199
Appendix A: Publication Credits … 200
Appendix B: Our Contributors … 201
Appendix C: About Bibliotheca Alexandrina — Current Titles — Forthcoming Titles … 208
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