A (Condensed) Dictionary of Mythological Characters

by Rachel Rodman

Adonis-Argus

He was a beautiful youth, possessed of 100 eyes. But he scorned women, preferring cows.

Oedipus-Orpheus

He consigned his mother to Hell. But then he looked back, as he exited the pit, and perceived that he desired her.

Pandora-Phaeton

From the box, while her father slept, she released the sun, which burned all the world.

Priapus-Procrustes

To humanity, he gave the gift of penis standardization. He cut penises that were too long and stretched penises that were too short. After that, all men were the same.

Saturn-The Sirens

To his sons, he sang haunting lullabies. Then he devoured them.

Rachel Rodman’s fiction has appeared in Daily Science Fiction, Grievous Angel, On the Premises, and other places. You can link to more of her published fiction (and equally weird non-fiction) here: rachelrodman.com.

Check out the write-up of the journal in The Writer.

Matter Press recently released titles from Meg Boscov, Abby Frucht, Robert McBrearty, Tori Bond, Kathy Fish, and Christopher Allen. Click here.

Matter Press is now offering private flash fiction workshops and critiques of flash fiction collections here.

Submissions

Poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction/prose poetry submissions are now open. The reading period for standard submissions closes again December 15, 2022. Submit here.

Upcoming

01/23 • Pedro Ponce
01/30 • Paul Hostovsky
02/06 • Maria Elena Gigante
02/13 • Sarah Dunphy-Lelii
02/20 • Lauren Fath
02/27 • Sudha Balagopal
03/06 • Susan L. Leary
03/13 • Amy Goldmacher
03/20 • Claire Polders
03/27 • Beth Cleary
04/03 • Gargi Mehra
04/10 • Tina Wang
04/17 • Juliana Rappaport
04/24 • TBD