January 6: Three wise men

The wise men in Greek myths were king Aiakos of Aigina, Minos of Crete and Rhandamanthus of Boiotia. All three were sons of Zeus, and he made them judges of the underworld. A worthy soul would be sent to Elysium, a wicked one to the Tartaros, but most ended up in the Asphodel Fields, as bloodless shadows of their former selves. Aiakos, “holder of the keys”, would judge the Europeans. He was born from the nymph Aigina on her desert island. To give his son something to rule over, Zeus had changed the ants there in people, with Achilles as a proud descendant of these “ant-people” or “myrmidons”. Rhandamanthus, known as “lord of Elysium”, judged the Asian souls. He was a son of Europa, like Minos, who only came in when the others were undecided. Which is just as well, because he had been a cruel king, sacrificing children to his Minotaur-monster. Zeus appointed all three of them to assist Hades, king of the underworld, because he was often distracted. Understandably, with a young bride like Persephone.