A poster with a lot of text. And yet the art design stands alone. A poster that lives wherever I live. I love all of it from the border to the major art portion to the print.
Energy? Definitely. Actually, it's about a book I'm sure many here would enjoy. The history of story-telling and how the same story has existed in each culture for hundreds of years. They were told by the grandmothers to teach children right and wrong in the world. It is based on the essence of women. It values stories and art as very therapeutic in psychotherapy. The doing and the telling.
"A healthy woman is much like a wolf - robust, inventive, loyal and fierce." Estes
I have never read the book. I'll get to it eventually.
Interesting topic. I have a theory about a certain type of story. the Greek/Roman gods.
What if... The 'gods' were real people? I don't mean those who became gods in a mythical revision, like Achillies, I mean the ones that were 'born' as gods. Like Venus or Zeus or whatever.
The reason I think they were real is because of their petty and human natures. And if you look at the stories passed down, they come from a time before there was any real kind of 'kings' or leaders of vast amounts of people.
They come from a time when Greeks basically first emerged from the grasses and started building the first settlements and first signs of civilization.
What if, say Venus, was actually literally the daughter of a great family that had a concentrated amount of power? One of the worlds first 'princesses'...?
In those days, any kind of far reaching power, like the ability to mount an army for example, would have seemed 'god like' to the simple minds of peasants.
The stories of 'The gods' are always very specific and detailed, and they are not very 'god-like' at all. They are petty, spiteful, foolish, seduce-able. Killing your 5 kids out of spite for your hubbys new lover... What if that is an actual murder they are describing? One of the first cases of a mass matricide being recorded, committed by a royal or noble woman. The story itself is so real, and very specific, that it does not seem to be a myth at all.
The ones who believed in these gods did believe these things literally happened. What if they did?
The stories more fantastic claims can simply be attributed to metaphores.
Like being concieved from the severed testicles of a god. That is simply a very convienant and dramatic way of avoiding a sex taboo. It is describing sex and conception, but with something more, cough cough, acceptable.
I think the war between the Titans and those on Mount Olympus was a real war between two great ruling families, in a time before the formal recording of history.
Yes. I think all of that is possible. Out of the mire of the battleground rises the one to be revered. There is much that is fiction and it depends who won the most recent war as to who was elevated to God/dess status.
And yes, you wonder how they get to be revered when they are so vengeful. And are full of the same earthy frailties as we are. Perhaps it is the cycle. That first you have to be human in order to become a god to humans.
And I read recently that many saints were granted sainthood by the ruling monarch of the day and saints were royalty when they lived. Gave me a whole different view of saints!
The Greco-Roman Gods... very good points you're making.
They are so human and imperfect, which is why they are so much more endearing and easier to identify with, in a way.
Karl Rove knows this so well - which is why he makes sure the standard bearers of the Republicans are "common" folks like W and Palin. Works wonders in rural America.
Geez rachel - I never thought of that, but you're right. We always like someone who has had to struggle. It's why Australians want to become a republic. We can't stand the British monarchy. Not that we dislike the people themselves. They've been getting down and dirty with the rest of us for hundreds of years. We don't approve of the waste that is associated with them while there's a whole world to feed. Their time has come and they are no longer needed. I doubt they ever were needed really.
In the time before tv, the ruling party or class was the source of pretty much all entertainment.
If Venus was a member of an elite family, she would have been close to what we consider a 'movie star'. A celebrity.
To me, this is how they became gods. People passed on these stories, and before long they were so larger than life they literally seemed god-like.
My mother and I had a very interesting conversation one day about how in those times, before the formal recording of history, any family holding concentrated wealth or knowledge would have seemed 'divine' and 'god like' to any of the lower classes.
It makes it that much more plausible that 'the gods' were actual, real people and the worship of them was literally built on metaphores.
And, even though their petty natures made me first suspect they may have been real, it is really thier stories that makes me sure about it.
For example Jason and the Argonauts. I don't think it is a 'myth' I think it is actually telling us about a real journey that happened. If you take out the metaphores you can actually trace his journey based on real places or events.
It also makes you wonder about the Egyptian gods too, Osiris, Isis, Horus, all of them, they also betray a very human mindset, petty natures. It is quite possible the same thing happened there and they were real people held up as gods.
8 comments:
Aborigini?
It is very nice. enegertic.
No - Mexican/Spanish I think. The author of the book is Hungarian-Mexican. I think.
Energy? Definitely. Actually, it's about a book I'm sure many here would enjoy. The history of story-telling and how the same story has existed in each culture for hundreds of years. They were told by the grandmothers to teach children right and wrong in the world. It is based on the essence of women. It values stories and art as very therapeutic in psychotherapy. The doing and the telling.
"A healthy woman is much like a wolf - robust, inventive, loyal and fierce." Estes
I have never read the book. I'll get to it eventually.
Interesting topic. I have a theory about a certain type of story. the Greek/Roman gods.
What if... The 'gods' were real people? I don't mean those who became gods in a mythical revision, like Achillies, I mean the ones that were 'born' as gods. Like Venus or Zeus or whatever.
The reason I think they were real is because of their petty and human natures. And if you look at the stories passed down, they come from a time before there was any real kind of 'kings' or leaders of vast amounts of people.
They come from a time when Greeks basically first emerged from the grasses and started building the first settlements and first signs of civilization.
What if, say Venus, was actually literally the daughter of a great family that had a concentrated amount of power? One of the worlds first 'princesses'...?
In those days, any kind of far reaching power, like the ability to mount an army for example, would have seemed 'god like' to the simple minds of peasants.
The stories of 'The gods' are always very specific and detailed, and they are not very 'god-like' at all. They are petty, spiteful, foolish, seduce-able. Killing your 5 kids out of spite for your hubbys new lover... What if that is an actual murder they are describing? One of the first cases of a mass matricide being recorded, committed by a royal or noble woman. The story itself is so real, and very specific, that it does not seem to be a myth at all.
The ones who believed in these gods did believe these things literally happened. What if they did?
The stories more fantastic claims can simply be attributed to metaphores.
Like being concieved from the severed testicles of a god. That is simply a very convienant and dramatic way of avoiding a sex taboo. It is describing sex and conception, but with something more, cough cough, acceptable.
I think the war between the Titans and those on Mount Olympus was a real war between two great ruling families, in a time before the formal recording of history.
Anyways, that is my theory.
Yes. I think all of that is possible. Out of the mire of the battleground rises the one to be revered. There is much that is fiction and it depends who won the most recent war as to who was elevated to God/dess status.
And yes, you wonder how they get to be revered when they are so vengeful. And are full of the same earthy frailties as we are. Perhaps it is the cycle. That first you have to be human in order to become a god to humans.
And I read recently that many saints were granted sainthood by the ruling monarch of the day and saints were royalty when they lived. Gave me a whole different view of saints!
Christy
The Greco-Roman Gods... very good points you're making.
They are so human and imperfect, which is why they are so much more endearing and easier to identify with, in a way.
Karl Rove knows this so well - which is why he makes sure the standard bearers of the Republicans are "common" folks like W and Palin. Works wonders in rural America.
Ally McRepuke
Geez rachel - I never thought of that, but you're right. We always like someone who has had to struggle. It's why Australians want to become a republic. We can't stand the British monarchy. Not that we dislike the people themselves. They've been getting down and dirty with the rest of us for hundreds of years. We don't approve of the waste that is associated with them while there's a whole world to feed. Their time has come and they are no longer needed. I doubt they ever were needed really.
In the time before tv, the ruling party or class was the source of pretty much all entertainment.
If Venus was a member of an elite family, she would have been close to what we consider a 'movie star'. A celebrity.
To me, this is how they became gods. People passed on these stories, and before long they were so larger than life they literally seemed god-like.
My mother and I had a very interesting conversation one day about how in those times, before the formal recording of history, any family holding concentrated wealth or knowledge would have seemed 'divine' and 'god like' to any of the lower classes.
It makes it that much more plausible that 'the gods' were actual, real people and the worship of them was literally built on metaphores.
And, even though their petty natures made me first suspect they may have been real, it is really thier stories that makes me sure about it.
For example Jason and the Argonauts. I don't think it is a 'myth' I think it is actually telling us about a real journey that happened. If you take out the metaphores you can actually trace his journey based on real places or events.
It also makes you wonder about the Egyptian gods too, Osiris, Isis, Horus, all of them, they also betray a very human mindset, petty natures. It is quite possible the same thing happened there and they were real people held up as gods.
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