PEITHO
GODDESS OF
PERSUSAION
Mythologically Speaking:
Peitho, also called Suadela (Roman), is the personification of seduction and the goddess thereof, as well as embodying the aspects of persuasion and charming speech. She is oft considered as much daimona (demon) as goddess and has a history of using her gifts to cause the forcible marriage of young women and/or their rape by suitors who appealed to her.
Peitho was closely associated with Aphrodite and her worship, often with statues side-by-side or within the same temple. She was even considered by some myths to be an aspect or manifestation of Aphrodite herself, or perhaps even her daughter.
She was also associated with the Charities, or Graces, at one time; though this affiliation is often contradictory.
She was considered a lover of the hero Theseus who, at one time, held an infatuation with Aphrodite.
The Truth:
Peitho is indeed the personification of seduction and the goddess of such, as well as persuasion, charming speech, and charm in general. Peitho was the daughter of the Titans Tethys and Oceanus, which would make her an Oceanid and therefore sister of such notable goddesses as Dione, Doris, Metis, and Calypso. Zeus, claimed her for the Olympian Court and she became, early on, a priestess of Aphrodite and eventually, her friend and ally.
For a goddess of seduction Peitho was exceptionally persnickety with lovers, taking only the rare immortal or hero into her bed and never engaging in lasting relationships; often satisfying her desires with women rather than men and keeping company with a train of nymphs and naiads. In this way she also avoided the jealousy of Aphrodite, and, always submitting to the capricious and tempestuous Far-Shining one, as well as remaining utterly devoted, remained ever in her good graces.
Peitho spent her youth in the Olympian Court, surrounded by her retinue, and a part of the much greater retinue of Aphrodite and assisting in her various pursuits. She spent a good deal of her time refusing the advances of the Erotes, Ares, and many others who may have wished to share her bed but also, through her, to gain the favor of Aphrodite herself; this resulted in a very delicate game of cat and mouse that often placed Peitho in the cross-hairs of Aph’s wrath.
In one of her rare acceptances of such a complicated request, she took into her bed the hero Theseus. It is unclear whether this was in payment to gain favor from Aphrodite with his various love affairs, or whether they truly enjoyed each other’s company, or perhaps a combination of both, but regardless Theseus became one of her and Aphrodite’s greatest honorees; building temples to them both across Greece, including one in Athens.
Increasingly, as the Court began to disband and scatter across the realms, she found herself spending more and more time alone on Earth and eventually took it upon herself to begin gathering information. Tales and corrections from myth and news at first, then more current stories surrounding the vast inhabitants of the supernatural world, using her gifts of persuasion and charm to garner even the most guarded secrets from any number of sources
Ball of Twine:
The Ball of Twine carried by Peitho could represent the binding of two lovers fates together in a common destiny or could symbolize the binding nature of a negotiated contract. (More on this subject later)
Unflattering mention:
Beware the power of Peitho! As poets might call on the muses for assistance, the rhetorician, the orator, the lawyer, the lover, the politician, the advertiser, and the propagandist might call on perhaps the most subtle and dangerous little daemon of all: the accompanying mistress of all mesmerizing bullshit, Peitho.
The Persuasion Goddess:
Given the centrality of persuasion to human existence, it is surprising that she is not better known. How often would you like other people to think or act differently? Quite often, if you're like most people.
So to whom did pantheistic people pray when they needed help with a negotiation, argument or other persuasion? Often to Zeus or one of the senior gods. Why? Because they did not want to persuade -- they just wanted the other person to submit. They wanted Zeus to make the other person agree or give in. Like asking a parent to 'tell my brother to give it to me', they want a superior force to intercede on their behalf. And we are often like this in our daily lives. We just want the other person to give us what we want. And, if truth be known, many of us pray to our monotheistic god asking that others are changed on our behalf.
This is not persuasion. Persuasion is a skill. It is about what you do to change the other person's mind, which is quite tricky, as they are the only person who can do this. All you can do is get their attention and point the way. But we do not like other people messing with our minds. After all, they may not have our best interests at heart, so we often resist persuasive attempts by others, especially when they are clumsy and unskilled.
Peitho does not get her way by command, magic or asking Zeus to intercede. She does it by communicating with the other person. She starts by being likable, then subtly nudges their thinking towards her thinking. She invokes desire, not concession. It is no coincidence that she is also the god of seduction, which in many ways is an ultimate form of persuasion
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