Do you ever look up at the sky and wonder about the origins of mythology? Here, we will be discussing stars in a new work of Greek mythology literature titled Pharmakides. In this novel, the sky is still young.
This is a deeper look into the celestial happenings in Alice Abyss' debut novel Pharmakides.
On Pharmakides...
Imagine a book set in a time when legends were still being born. The sky was young, and full of blank spaces, and opportunities for new stories.
But, in this fantasy world, stars don't appear out of thin air. And, they're not reflections of the legends below. The stars are carefully chosen. They are selected. The pharmakides (witches) of the era choose who makes it into the stars. Constellations are burned into the sky by a duo of star-weaving witches. Hera and Hekate are responsible for burning the stars.
That was, until, Medousa emerged from the ocean. Her very existence seems to rewrite the rules of the stars...
88 constellations...
Greek astronomers recognized 88 constellations in the sky, as documented by Ptolemy. These constellations were adapted, split, and refined into a collection of over 200 stars in Chinese astronomy.
But what if, in the ancient world, the sky was still young, and stars were waiting to be born? Pharmakides is set in an imaginative, fantasy world between ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. It is a world rich with magic, creatures, and haunted lands.
Legends are still unfolding...
Aside from a handful of constellations, there are a few additional stars in the sky. This is based on the medieval concept of behenian stars. These were fifteen stars used in magic rituals, named after the word for 'root'. The two notable behenian stars in Pharmakides are Algol and Alpheratz.
These stars, unclaimed by constellations, wait for Hera, Hekate, or the new star-weaver Medousa, to create their stories. Discover a new twist on the Pegasos, Perseus, Orion, and Scorpion constellations in the pages of Pharmakides.
Wishing you magic-filled days ahead,
Alice Abyss
Author