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I liked how they introduced her, like "her mother died in an insane asylum thinking she was Queen Victoria" and my thought was, I like where I think this is going. I was not disappointed.

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The Portland Vase

Started by Mesozoic Mister Nigel, October 27, 2012, 05:17:11 PM

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Mesozoic Mister Nigel

I was reading about glass artifacts and encountered this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Vase

I don't have a lot to say about it at the moment but something I've noticed repeatedly is that Greeks and Romans, or perhaps the scholars of Greek and Roman mythology, seem to "talk around" Eris even in scenes intimately involving her. Her absence from this vase, or at least the absence of her mention, seems like a glaring omission. Reflective of the Original Snub, perhaps? Is her absence from this wedding-themed vase depicting the origins of the Trojan War, in itself, a deliberate mention?
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


Epimetheus

Seems like a stretch to me. There's a marriage-related image and a Trojan War -related image or two, but the ambiguity and the variety of imagery seems to preclude a relation to Eris' particular involvement. In other words it's not depicting the scene Eris was involved in, so why would it be strange that it doesn't depict her?
I'm going by the Wikipedia description, here.
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Mesozoic Mister Nigel

Quote from: chimes on November 08, 2012, 07:07:15 AM
Seems like a stretch to me. There's a marriage-related image and a Trojan War -related image or two, but the ambiguity and the variety of imagery seems to preclude a relation to Eris' particular involvement. In other words it's not depicting the scene Eris was involved in, so why would it be strange that it doesn't depict her?
I'm going by the Wikipedia description, here.

It was a combination of the subject matter of the vase (Trojan war, wedding imagery), the fact that it does not include any references to Eris (key to the Trojan war) and the general lack of Eris imagery or references in classical art and mythology that all comes together to seem like a glaring omission to me, making me wonder if the omission is a deliberate reference to the snub.
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


Cain

In terms of the Greeks, I suspect the omission has to do with Eris being potentially associated with the Athenian Eupatridae who supported the traditional landowners there.  Eris was intimiately associated with the marketplace, and I have found evidence of historical worship of some kind in Attica...but not after the 6th century BC.

Most other Greeks had a very low opinion of commerce for various cultural reasons, and I suspect that had a lot to do with their dismissal.

As for the Romans, they repackaged Eris as Bellona, based off her aspect as Enyo, the sacker of cities.  Apart from that, for the Romans, Eris was just another degenerate Greek goddess.  During most of the Republic period, interest in anything from Greece was generally the preserve of a small intellectual elite...apart from poets, historians and philosophers, there was nothing there of interest to anyone, for the average Roman.

Besides all that, she was a very minor goddess with a small following, which then degenerated into an entirely mythological role.  Great houses and patrons would normally associate themselves with one of the more powerful and well known Gods, and artists were of course dependent on such people for their living.

Mesozoic Mister Nigel

"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


LMNO

I'm starting to wonder if there's anything Cain doesn't know.

Mesozoic Mister Nigel

Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 12, 2012, 12:52:48 PM
I'm starting to wonder if there's anything Cain doesn't know.

I think "no" is the safest bet.
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: CAKE on November 12, 2012, 08:03:23 PM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 12, 2012, 12:52:48 PM
I'm starting to wonder if there's anything Cain doesn't know.

I think "no" is the safest bet.

Cain doesn't know about my tomohawks.  That's about it.
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Mesozoic Mister Nigel

"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


Mesozoic Mister Nigel

I still think we should, as Discordians, work the angle that Eris was being ignored on purpose.
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


hooplala

Quote from: CAKE on November 12, 2012, 08:06:56 PM
I still think we should, as Discordians, work the angle that Eris was being ignored on purpose.

I whole-heartedly agree with the above.
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Mesozoic Mister Nigel

Quote from: Hoopla on November 13, 2012, 09:18:58 PM
Quote from: CAKE on November 12, 2012, 08:06:56 PM
I still think we should, as Discordians, work the angle that Eris was being ignored on purpose.

I whole-heartedly agree with the above.

:awesome:
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."