As a displaced Greek borne within the sound of Bow Bells in London's Charing Cross Hospital I felt drawn, from the earliest age, to the gods and heroes of the ancient Greeks so I have chosen those archetypes as the basis of my  "Olympic" blends - blends arising out of a contemplation of the myths and legends underpinning Greco-Roman cultures  from which Europe was raised - the gods who reside on Mount Olympus.

The ancient Greeks knew they could only "see through a glass dimly" and sought to grasp and express eternal truths of infinite magnitude with the tools afforded them by a wonderful but finite mind. The Greek mind observed all that could be observed and they considered all that they saw to be merely a glimpse, a shadow, a "seeing through a glass dimly", a reflection of something greater and that something greater was given a name and the name was that of a god.

There are great archetypal characters in every culture, every religion and every non-religion. Examples of greatness, heroes and martyrs to the cause - I have simply chosen those most accessible to me but, whatever your belief or non-belief, you need but look around you to find your equivalent archetypes.

Whether your god is science boasting apostles such as Galileo or Edison bringing forth signs and wonders or perhaps something closer to the god of Abraham  - forefather to Jew, Christian and Muslim alike. or maybe, yours is the god of the eastern ebb and flow of energy and chakra and the path to enlightenment.

As you read, feel free to change the names from those I have chosen to names that you are more comfortable with - perhaps Zeus will become Shiva or Buddha or Jesus or Mohamed or Odin or Einstein or someone else from your culture or belief system - it is OK if your god is science for science too has its archetypes - heroes and villains and martyrs.

The Blends

In explaining the blends, I decided to simply retell the story as it unfolded to me.

As I read and contemplated, I would find that a certain character or god or hero would spark an idea for a blend - something to express the object of contemplation. so I have included the blend at the point at which it was conceived in the narrative - I hope it makes sense to you as you read it and I hope you enjoy both the reading and the blends born of the story as it unfolds.

The Narrative

Before the beginning there was a dark and formless void and the name of the void was Chaos.

Over the longest time, in the midst of the void, there emerged a form and that form was the form feminine and the feminine form was the desire to create and that desire to create became the Mother and the Mother was named "Mother Earth" and Mother Earth bore a son and the form of her son was the Sky and the name of her son was Uranus and through the son the creative spirit of the Mother brought forth children.

Mother Earth and Uranus bore many children and the first of their children was named "Rain" from whom came rivers and seas and from the rivers and seas came forth plants and all manner of creatures including the great Titans who had a human form and these great Titans became the first gods.

Amongst the Titans was born the great wheel-eyed Cyclops to whom Uranus was cruel banishing him to the Underworld and Mother Earth was grieved at the cruelty of Uranus for hers was the heart of  a Mother.