by Mary Winter Though the exact first day of summer in the ancient Roman realms is subject to some dispute (May 7 by the current calendar or June 27 according to Silvius), Aestas is commonly considered to be the Roman goddess of summer. She's depicted naked with a garland of grain or wheat-sheaves in her hair. When she's depicted, it's standing beside the Sun God's emerald throne with the personifications for day, time, hours, and the other seasons around her. She's first mentioned by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, and his depiction may owe something to the Greek depiction of the Horai, the goddesses of the seasons. (1)

While I'm not advocating running around naked with just a wreath of grain in your hair (think of the SPF factor you'd need), I do think there's much the modern woman (or man) can learn from such deity depictions.

Let's take Aestas for example. Her name means summer, or summer heat. So many of us sit in our air conditioned buildings be moaning how hot and sticky it is outside. And though I've never experienced a south Texas or south Florida summer, I know here in the upper Midwest, it gets to be 90 degrees in the shade with 90% humidity. Not fun at all. However, the Road to Italy website (http://www.roadtoitaly.com/info/weather.htm) states that while May is the month of roses, and early-mid June is good for sightseeing that cities should be avoided in July and August. And that sounds very similar to the weather we experience here. Aestas might not have known about air conditioning, but I'm sure she retired to the country to laze around and enjoy the slower pace that life in the heat brings.

I can easily imagine her on a lounge chair, surrounded by her servants, and maybe a consort, being fanned by palm fronds and sipping cool water or fruity, delicate drinks. Perhaps their meals are breads and pastries with some fruit or fresh grown vegetables. Sounds like a great Saturday afternoon to me!

Instead of hiding inside our air conditioned buildings this summer, maybe we should be like Aestas and embrace the heat. Spend some time outdoors. Turn the air up, or maybe off. Not only will we save some energy and money at the same time, but we'll also find our inner goddess.

At least for the summer...

1. http://www.thaliatook.com/OGOD/aestas.html

Bio

Mary Winter lives with a split creative personality. As Mary Winter she writes erotic romance. Her latest work for Changeling Press, her Last Action Hero series, started when she purchased "wounded" action figures off of ebay with the hopes of repairing them. You can read more about Mary Winter at her website, http://www.marywinter.com.