‘Gossip Girl‘ pays tribute to a nymph renowned for her beauty named Larunda. Larunda was also known for another trait. She talked a lot. Her parents, try as they might, could not curb this trait and her love of gossip.
Jupiter would provide an answer to solve this dilemma.
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As seen at my art exhibit ‘The Myth of Family’
During one of her many gossip sessions, Larunda could not hang onto a very juicy tidbit of information: she ended up revealing Jupiter’s affair with fellow nymph Juturna to Jupiter’s wife Juno. She could not keep such a juicy tidbit of information to herself. So much for the girl code.
That proved to be a very bad idea.
Jupiter was king of the gods in Rome. You mess with Jupiter, you better don’t mess with Jupiter.
His answer? Cut out her tongue and order her escorted by Mercury to Avernus, the gateway to the underworld.
Extreme perhaps, but effective.
You can see more images of the raku pottery vase ‘Gossip Girl’ here.
Our story does not end here.
You know the pretty people who can talk their way out of a speeding ticket? Even without her tongue Larunda managed to weasel her way out of the trip to the Underworld. Mercury fell in love with her and she had two babies.
It was a real labour for her to avoid the Underworld. Literally!
To keep herself safe, she had to remain hidden in a cottage in the woods. That combined without having a tongue, may have been a worse punishment than a trip to the Underworld.
It’s a good thing there was no Facebook or WIFI back then! Larunda might have lost her fingers too!
Let me know what you thought of my vase ‘Gossip Girl’? Have you ever known someone like Larunda? What do you do when confronted with gossip?
You can check out more of my raku vases here, and their stories!
Ah, here we have our answer of why Hera and Juno tended to take out their anger on the women targeted by Zeus/Jupiter rather than messing with him directly. 😉