Inner Olympian Council: Male God Archetypes with Cognitive Functions
There is a correlation between the Greco-Roman gods and cognitive functions. My dominant god archetypes are Hades, Hephaestus, and Dionysus with high support of Hermes. Zeus and Ares are my weakest archetypes.
According to Jean Shinoda Bolen, Hades embodies Si and Ni, Hephaestus embodies Si and Fi, and Dionysus embodies Si or Se. Hermes embodies Ne and Te, Poseidon embodies Fi or Fe, and Apollo embodies Te and Ne. Zeus embodies Te, Se, and Ne, and Ares embodies Fe and Se.
As a person, I mainly use Ne, Ni, and Fi and hardly use Se, Te, and Fe. They define my hero’s journey.
My hero’s journey is lead by the counselor/monk, craftsmen/reject, and shaman/divine child. The messenger/guide follows closely. The ruler/father and warrior/lover follow behind all — the anima (or animus). With Jung’s archetypes, by comparison, the journey is lead by the orphan, innocent, creator, destroyer, and seeker. The magician/alchemist is my future hero (my mature self). The animus/anima is the ruler/king and fool/trickster/joker.
These are archetypal narratives.
My narrative is that of the Hephaestus the rejected craftsman who focuses on mastering an art form or some craft. Dionysus is the shamanic divine child (spontaneous mystic or pothead, really) who is a mediator between the dead or unconscious and the living or higher power — possibly through sex and drugs. Hades, the counseling monk, is the leader of these dominant archetypes, yet this narrative is prone to living alone.
Hades serves the same purpose as Persephone in understanding the unconscious and leading to personal transformation.
Hermes has the purpose of guiding others through the expression of words — speech that informs or aids. This supporting archetype is interesting to me because he’s far more charming, open, and accepted by others than my other dominant gods. Still, like Hades, he transforms or aids with transitions in life.
The 3 dominant and 1 heavily supporting god archetypes playing out in my life seem to have much in common.
The underworld or the unconscious is the theme.
Hades is a hermit by choice, Hephaestus is rejected by most, Dionysus is rejected by most men, and Hermes is liked by most. Hades and Hephaestus must follow their passion. Dionysus and Hermes are youthful by nature, and both are prone to consorting with both men and women. When it comes to attraction, archetypal narratives tend to follow the myths, so Hades will mainly attract Persephone women while Hephaestus will attract Aphrodite but repel most other goddess types.
Dionysus, specifically, sexually attracts Demeter but can befriend most goddess archetypes. Dionysus easily befriends Hephaestus. These particular dominant archetypes don’t have any serious conflict with each other.
Guiding, transforming, and mediating are key points to my dominant and supporting archetypes.
Apollo and Hermes are favored by masculine society (favored sons). Ares and Hephaestus are rejected by masculine society (rejected sons). Dionysus is favored by feminine society (ambivalent son). This masculine society is generally lead by Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon men (rulers or fathers), yet Hades is often ignored by other men.
The moderate influence of Poseidon and Apollo means that I sometimes am the emotional ruler (anger and vengeance) or the peaceful sage (objective and balanced reasoning). Of course, they cancel each other out.
I lack the ability to rule over others because Zeus is dormant. Also, the lack of Ares-influence causes me to not fight to the death for what I love as Ares did (physical aggression and murder — symbolic and actual).
Combinations are likely as are 1–3 dominant god archetypes.
Based on feminist tradition and matriarchy, Dionysus-dominant personalities are preferable. Based on traditional patriarchy, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades-dominant personalities are preferable. Based on aggressive or militant patriarchy, Ares-dominant personalities are a necessity. Based on intellectual patriarchy, Apollo-dominant men are preferable.
Hermes can fit in anywhere as a convincing salesman (perfect for capitalistic patriarchy).
Hephaestus finds no favor unless he creates a masterpiece.
Pick your poison or sweetener.
Certain gods attract certain other goddesses and gods for friendship and romance purposes.
All men and women have these god and goddess narratives playing in the background of their psyche because everyone has yin and yang influences.
