Realms Of Gold The Novel: The Mixoparthenos

The Mixoparthenos

The mixoparthenos is a mythical creature whose image, to this day, is seen in the coastal areas around the Greek colonies of the Black Sea, where wheat has been a major crop since ancient times.

Herodotus writes that the horses of Heracles was stolen by the mixoparthenos, who promised to return them if he mated with her. How could Hercules resist! From their union came three sons, the youngest, Scythes, the only son who could bend the bow of Hercules. He became king of the people who would be called Scythian. There were many Scythian wheat growers around the Black Sea.

Limestone sculpture, 1st-2nc. AD, from the Black Sea.”
From the land of the wheat growing Scythians along the Black Sea, Olbia.

Terry Stanfill, born in West Haven, Connecticut, is a first generation American of Italian descent. She received a degree in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Connecticut.

For her efforts in raising funds for the restoration of San Pietro di Castello, the ancient cathedral of Venice, the President of Italy honored her with the Ordine al Merito, Cavaliere della Repubblica Italiana, and Commendatore. She is Vice President Emerita of Save Venice, Inc, and was founder of The California Chapter of Save Venice, Inc.

Terry Stanfill is a founding director and Life Trustee of Los Angeles Opera. She is a Governor Emerita of the board of The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California as well as a Reader, her subject of research, the Normans in Southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries inspired her to write her first novel, The Blood Remembers.

Terry is married to Dennis Stanfill, former CEO of Twentieth Century Fox, and MGM.

Their daughter Francesca Stanfill Nye, is a novelist and journalist.

Their son, Dennis, is partner and managing director of HBDesign, Singapore.

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The images you'll see as you scroll down to the current text are all part of the story telling in my novel, Realms of Gold:Ritual to Romance.

Bianca Caldwell, pen name, Bianca Fiore, is a writer for an art magazine. In each of her monthly stories she describes an object used in ancient ritual.

The Mixoparthenos