Hey, Percy Jackson fans – while you’re watching The Sea Of Monsters, keep in mind that the deities of Greece were not all Olympians. Take Phthinoporon as an example.
Never heard of Phthinoporon? Few write about her, which is typical for the time that she represents.
Phthinoporon was one of the twelve Horae, the daughters of the sun god Helios who were given the task of marking the progress of the seasons. It is from the Horae that we have derived the word hours. Phthinoporon was the season of early autumn, and was also associated with that time in life when the bloom of youth has passed, but true old age has not yet arrived. She was also present at that lovely time just after dinner has been finished, but it’s not yet time for bed.
Referring to this daughter, Helios said, “Again I make day balanced equally with dark on my homeward course when I bring in the leafshaking course of the autumn Season Phthinoporon, and drive with lesser light to the lower turning-point in the leafshedding month.”
Phthinoporon lives in a sweet spot, where she has gained a wise distance from the impulse to sudden movement that captivates those who are of an age for Camp Half Blood, but retains the vitality to take effective action when it is truly called for.
Now, in the middle of the literal season of summer, it’s a good time to lift an eye to golden, but frost-tinged, times to come.