The Echo of Greece

From Goodreads

The Echo of Greece
Edith Hamilton

I have enjoyed this book immensely. Hamilton has an exceptionally readable quality to her work. I am sad this book is over. Her interlocking the bits of history into a portrait is done so well that you feel as though you understand the Greeks of 2,000 years ago like you understand a contemporary culture. I can't wait to pick up another of her works sometime soon.

Norse Mythology - Gaiman

From Goodreads

Norse Mythology
Neil Gaiman

Combining Gaiman and Norse Mythology into an incredibly digestible history is like combining chocolate and peanut butter. It's just enhanced by the other.

The Norse myths are fascinating and just different enough to grab your attention. Loki is the obvious choice of the most interesting god, but there are great characters everywhere. Utgarda-Loki, THiazi and his daughter, Baldur and the master builder are fascinating characters in their own right.

I don't want to see things in ancient tales that aren't there, but it's hard not to see similarities that seem so universal that point my head into directions that are probably erroneous and definitely heretical. Apples, why are there always apples? Mass catastrophe with only two survivors left to repopulate the world always seem to come up. Ragnarok is an odd eschatological view, but Baldur plays a bit of a Christlike role and comes back to life at the end of time. The death and the resurrection of a god brings about a rebirth that has a familiarity to it. My question at this juncture is whether Baldur takes on a Christlike flavor because of my personal vantage point, because there is something foundational about the god who dies and his resurrection causing renewal to the religious experience of humanity or because the later writers have woven, consciously or not, Christian motifs into Pagan mythology? The similarities between all of humanity's myths and their variations of each other have always fascinated me.

Bhagavad Gita

From Goodreads

Bhagavad Gita
Translated by Barbara Stoler Miller

I've been on a bit of a mythology kick. This led me to the path of the Mahabharata. While interesting and philosophically impressive, I was expecting something less Scriptural and more action packed. It felt a lot like reading Proverbs when I was expecting Genesis. I understand that this is the fault of the reader and not a reflection of the writer, but had this been a longer text it might have kicked the mythology bug right out of me.

Bulfinch's Mythology

From Goodreads

Greek and Roman Mythology: The Age of Fable
Thomas Bulfinch

While Bulfinch is certainly more thorough in his treatment of mythology I find I personally enjoyed Edith Hamilton more. Don't get me wrong; this book is great. It gets you good and immersed into mythology. I especially enjoyed his Wagner chapter.

Mythology - Edith Hamilton

From Goodreads

Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes
Edith Hamilton

I love mythology and history. Edith Hamilton does a great job of making the myths easily digestible without dumbing it down. Although she's a little too harsh on Ovid in my opinion.

The Mabinogion

From Goodreads

The Mabinogion
Translated by Jefferey Gantz

The last time I read this it was directly after I had gone through a Roman Literature spree and wasn't as impressed as I felt I should have been. It just didn't flow as well as Ovid or Virgil to me. While the language still doesn't dance on my palette the way Metamorphosis does, I do enjoy this classic even more now.

The mythology is just unique enough to be something different than most things out there. It's a must read for anyone interested in Medieval stuff (on a bit of a kick right now for me). It's worthwhile for anyone who enjoys a good story, even if you're not on the aforementioned Dark Ages binge. I prefer Beowulf or the Viking Sagas, but I'm glad this has survived such a long time.

Review of Early Irish Myths and Sagas

(Originally written March 7, 2018)

From my Goodreads review of Early Irish Myths and Sagas by Jeffrey Gantz

Generally I enjoyed this book. As with any collection of short stories there are those that are superior to others; but, anyone that enjoys mythology will enjoy this book. The translator often compared these myths of the Ulster Cycle to the Mabinogion, which is fair. Personally though, I found the Mabinogion to be a better read.

A History of the World in 6 Glasses

A History of the World in 6 Glasses
Tom Standage

This was a really fun little history book that shows the development of human history through six beverages: beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and Coca-Cola. For a history book it really keeps the pages turning and would be a good read for just about anyone. It's not so lofty that only history nerds would like and understand it; but, it isn't so simple that those same nerds would turn their nose up at it.

Here are just some of my highlights from the book.

"To Neolithic drinkers, beer's ability to intoxicate and induce a state of altered consciousness seemed magical" (Standage, 19). - The obvious inference here is that beer is a gift from the gods, which played a central role in many ancient peoples' religions.

An interesting Egyptian myth that would be worth further study and possibly a short story:

"The Egyptians, for example, believed that beer was accidentally discovered by Osiris, the god of agriculture and king of the afterlife. One day he prepared a mixture of water and sprouted grain, but forgot about it and left it in the sun. He later returned to find the gruel had fermented, decided to drink it, and was so pleased with the result that he passed his knowledge on to humankind. (This tale seems to tally closely with the way beer was probably discovered in the stone age)." (Standage, 19).

It is better to be a beer drinker than a non-beer drinker.

"In other words, beer helped to make up for the decline in food quality as people took up farming, provided a safe form of liquid nourishment, and gave groups of beer-drinking farmers a comparative advantage over non-beer drinkers" (Standage, 22).

Philosophy of Religion and History of Religion: An interesting theory on how temples emerged to play a role in society:

"Keeping surplus food in the storehouse was one way to ward off future food shortages; ritual and religious activity, in which the gods were called upon to ensure a good harvest, was another. As these two activities became intertwined, deposits of surplus food came to be seen as offerings to the gods, and the storehouses became temples." (Standage, 22).

"The Mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with beer.
-Egyptian Proverb, c. 2200 BC."(Standage, 23)

The very definition of civilization is beer.

"The Mesopotamians regarded the consumption of bread and beer as one of the things that distinguished them from savages and made them fully human. Interestingly, this belief seems to echo beer's association with a settled, orderly lifestyle, rather than the haphazard existence of hunter-gatherers in prehistoric times" (Standage, 27).

Another Egyptian Myth worth retelling in short story form:

"One Egyptian tale even credits beer with saving humankind from destruction. Ra, the sun god, learned that humankind was plotting against him, and dispatched the goddess Hathor to exact punishment. But such was her ferocity that Ra feared there would soon be nobody left to worship him, and he took pity on humankind. He prepared a vast amount of beer - seven thousand jars of it, in some versions of the story - dyed it red to resemble blood, and spread it over the fields, where it shone like a vast mirror. Hathor paused to admire her reflection and then stooped to drink some of the mixture. She became intoxicated, fell asleep, and forgot about her bloody mission. Humankind was saved, and Hathor became the goddess of beer and brewing. Versions of this story have been found inscribed of Egyptian kings, including Tutankhamen, Seti I, and Ramses the Great" (Standage, 28-29).

"Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever"
-Aristophanes, Greek comic poet (c. 450-385 BCE)." (Standage, 43).

Plato's wine experiment and "fear drink" to test someone's character:

"Wine could be used in everyday life to reveal truth: It could expose the true nature of those drinking it. While he objected to the hedonistic reality of actual symposia, Plato saw no reason why the practice could not, in theory, be put to good use as a test of personality. Speaking through one of the characters in his book Laws, Plato argues that drinking with someone at a symposium is in fact the simplest, fastest, and most reliable test of someone's character" (Standage, 63-64).

"Baths, wine and sex ruin our bodies. But what makes life worth living except baths, wine and sex?
-Corpus Inscriptions VI, 15258" (Standage, 69).

Another short story that would be worth writing - This might be good as a story of disembodied heads relating their final moments on earth at a party in the afterlife:

"It is not often that choosing one wine over another is a matter of life or death. Yet that is what determined the fate of Marcus Antonius, a Roman politician and a renowned orator. In 87 BCE, he found himself on the wrong side of one of Rome's many interminable power struggles. Gains Marius, an elderly general, had seized power and was ruthlessly hunting down supporters of his rival, Sulla. Marcus Antonius sought refuge in the house of an associate of far lower social status, hoping that nobody would think of looking for him in such a poor man's house. His host, however, unwittingly gave him away by sending his servant out to buy wine worthy of such a distinguished guest. The servant went to the neighborhood wine shop and, after tasting what was on offer, asked for a far better and more expensive wine than usual. When the vintner asked why, the servant revealed the identity of his master's guest. The vintner went straight to Marius, who dispatched a handful of soldiers to kill Marcus Antonius. Yet having burst into his room, the soldiers could not bring themselves to kill him, such was the power of his oratory. Eventually, their commanding officer, who was waiting outside, went in to see what was happening. Denouncing his men as cowards, he drew his sword and beheaded Marcus Antonius himself" (Standage, 75).

A funny account of early English settlers to the New World:

"In 1613 a Spanish observer reported that the three hundred colonists had nothing but water to drink, 'which is contrary to the nature of the English - on account of which they all wish to return and would have done so if they had been at liberty'" (Standage, 113-114).

The Early American Drink:

Rum starts out as the colonial and American drink, but it is supplanted by whiskey with even George Washington getting in on the game. Jefferson however laments this as both a statesman, and a wine aficionado - calling wine, the only antidote to the bane of whiskey. "No nation is drunken where wine is cheap, and none sober where the dearness of wine substitutes ardent spirits as the common beverage" (Standage, 127).

A fascinating account of the origin of coffee

"One tells of an Ethiopian goatherd who noticed that is flock became particularly frisky after consuming the brownish purple cherries from a particular tree. He then tried eating them himself, noted their stimulating powers, and passed his discovery on to a local imam. The imam, in turn, devised a new way to prepare the berries, drying them and then boiling them in water to produce a hot drink, which he used to keep himself awake during overnight religious ceremonies. Another story tells of a man named Omar who was condemned to die of starvation in the desert outside Mocha, a city in Yemen, on the southwestern corner of the Arabian peninsula. A vision guided him to a coffee tree, whereupon he ate some of its berries. This gave him sufficient strength to return to Mocha, where his survival was taken as a sign that God had spared him in order to pass along to humankind knowledge of coffee, which then became a popular drink in Mocha" (Standage, 137).

Might be a funny short story:

Not everyone in the arabic world was thrilled with discovery of coffee. "Religious leaders invoked this rule in Mecca in June 1511, the earliest known of several attempts to ban the consumption of coffee. The local governor, a man named Kha'ir Beg, who was responsible for maintaining public morality, literally put coffee on trial. He convened a council of legal experts and placed the accused - a large vessel of coffee - before them. After discussion of its intoxicating effects, the council agreed with Kha'ir Beg that the sale and consumption of coffee should be prohibited... Within a few months, however, higher authorities in Cairo overturned Kha'ir Beg's ruling, and coffee was soon being openly consumed again. His authority undermined, Kha'ir Beg was replaced as governor the following year" (Standage, 138).

Another funny short story surrounding coffee, might be one reported in the Spectator (London paper) in 1712. 

"There was a fellow in town some years ago, who used to divert himself by telling a lye at Charing Cross in the morning at eight of the clock, and then following it through all parts of town until eight at night: at which time he came to a club of his friends, and diverted them with an account of what censure it had drawn at Will's in Covent Garden, how dangerous it was believed at Child's and what inference they drew from it with relation to stocks at Jonathon's" (Standage, 154).

This was a well-written and well-researched book that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thales

Early Greek Philosophy
Jonathon Barnes
2001

Chapter 2 - Thales

According to Aristotle, Thales was the founder of natural philosophy and lived sometime between 625 BC  and 545 BC. He is famous for observing or predicting an eclipse on May 28, 585 BC.

Thales may have or may not have written a book. There were no existing texts authored by him by the time of Aristotle so all knowledge we have of him comes from later writers.

"Thales was a man of practical wisdom, one of the so-called Seven Sages of early Greek history, and he was regarded by posterity not only as an original contributor to science and philosophy, but also as an astute statesman" (Barnes, 9).

Herodotus notes that he formed a political system for Ionia and that he engineered an easier crossing point for an army, marking both his ability as a statesmen and an engineer.

Aristotle notes that Thales held that everything was made from water and that water was the material principle of the world. This material principle comes and goes and is born and destroyed, returning to the original principle; thus, the substance remains while its properties change. He also notes that Thales seems to have believed that the soul was the cause of motion and that the soul is mixed with everything in the universe. "Perhaps this is why Thales thought that everything was full of gods" (Barnes, 12).

Proclus, a student of Aristotle, gives Thales credit for numerous geometrical functions that were used in practical matters, like the theorem that states a pair of triangles with one equal side and two equal angles are equal, which Thales used to determine the distance of ships out to sea.

Many ancient writers said Thales was descended from an exiled Phoenician family, but this is doubtful. He is most likely a native of a well-to-do Milesian family.

Various ancient writers have said that he was a great many things, and a great many first of things. He is thought to have been an early astronomer, geometry master, philosopher, scientist and an early proponent of the notion of an immortal soul.

Hermippus quotes Thales giving thanks for three things: "First, that I am a man and not a beast; secondly, that I am male and not female; thirdly, that I am Greek and not foreign" (Barnes, 15).

He was ascribed numerous aphorisms, my favorite of which is when he claimed that life is no different than death. A smart ass then asked, why don't you die? To which, Thales replied, because death is no different than life. In dealing with sin he said that no man can escape the notice of the gods if he does wrong, even if he thinks of doing wrong. When someone who had committed adultery asked him if he should lie about it in court, he told the man perjury is no worse than adultery.

His ethical stance comes from another aphorism in answering the question 'how can we live most justly? To which he replied, by not doing ourselves what we blame others for doing.

A History of Western Philosophy - The Classical Mind
W.T. Jones
1980

Chapter 1 - Pre-Socratic Philosophy

Thales was from Miletus, an Ionian colony on the coast of Asia. According to Aristotle, who lived 250 years later, Thales believed that water is the cause of all things and that all things were filled with gods.

While much of our knowledge of Thales is conjectural and second hand (and third hand and fourth hand, etc.) just those two things show that Thales viewed the world process in natural terms, in breaking with the more mystical earlier elements of Greek thought. His cosmology wasn't quite science yet, but it was no longer a mere genealogy of deities describing natural events.

Thales, being interested in the natural world must have seen water as being able to transform into various things (air through evaporation, earth through witnessing deltas, etc.) and his predisposition to believing that the world was somehow one thing, water seemed like a natural choice.

Thales was a break from the Hesiods of the world. Hesiod was a master poet, but his Theogony was merely a poetic genealogy of gods wrapped into a creation myth. Later poets could improve upon the poetry aspect and be better poets than Hesiod, but they would still be trading in myths. Thales' greatest contribution was his breaking from the myth business and entering the scientist business. Better science and scientists would come along after Thales, but without his break from myth, science could never have started. Thales proposed a theory, something testable. And while water may not be the original substance, it could be falsified, rejected and a new theory could be produced. Hesiod's Theogony cannot be refuted, it can only be written from a different point of view, if the different point of view had a more fluid style of poetry.

"Thales' name is remembered then, because he was the first person whom we know to have answered in natural terms the question, 'Why do things happen as they do?'" (Jones, 9). Much of western philosophy for a long time was shaped by testing Thales' assertion, rejecting or revising it because of the various paradoxes it produced.

Thales' first major assumption was monism. That is to say, that there was one thing that was the cause of everything else. His second major assumption was that this one thing was in fact a thing, not a god. Thirdly, he assumed that the ultimate stuff is active and can change. In his notion that 'everything was full of gods' he was not making a theological statement, rather explicitly denying divine causation. The Greek notion, beginning with Homer, was that the gods were causal agents. By Thales' assertion that everything was full of gods, he was denying the Homeric notion that the gods caused change, but the thing itself was the cause of change.

The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
1972

Chapter II - The Milesian School

Miletus was a flourishing commercial city in Asia Minor when Thales was making his discoveries. But it was a city rife with class struggles between a large slave population and the lower and upper classes. The commercial nature of the Ionian coastal towns brought them into contact with the Kingdom of Lydia and Egypt. These contacts brought them contact with the wider ancient world.

"His science and philosophy were both crude, but they were such as to stimulate both thought and observation" (Russell, 26).

A great story that Russell relates is that Thales was made fun of for being poor. So, Thales purchased all of the olive presses in the town in winter at a low price and rented them out for an exorbitant profit in summer time. He is said to have stated, 'philosophers could be rich if they wanted, but their aims are elsewhere'.

God and Nature in Hesiod

A History of Western Philosophy - The Classical Mind
W.T. Jones
1980

Just like Homer, Hesiod was a man of his times. In Hesiod's age, Greece was suffering from some socioeconomic pressures. Small farmers were being pressured to choose between serfdom and emigration. Hesiod, in his writings, appears to have been such a small farmer, as he railed against the nobles who oppressed the poor.

This conception changed the theology surrounding Zeus. If Zeus was like the capricious kings of the Homeric age that punished human insolence rather than human wrongdoing in Homer, Zeus was a ruler who would eventually punish all human wrongdoing in Hesiod. Homer lived in a warrior class society and thus, hübris (insubordination) was the chief sin. Hesiod lived in a society where oppression was rife and thus, oppression became the chief sin.

Zeus was transformed from a capricious and impulsive god in Homer to a justice-minded ruler in Hesiod. In that way, the cosmos lost its impulsive nature and became much more well ordered in Hesiod's writings.

Hesiod also transformed fate from something indifferent to the plights of men into a force which Zeus used to form the moral law and the enforcement of that moral law.

A typical Greek view is expressed in Hesiod's Works and Days: "Man is different from the rest of nature; he has an obligation to live in a characteristically human way, to do certain acts and to abstain from doing others... Man must live up to his responsibilities as a man" (Jones, 7).

Moderation is a key concept of being a man. Animals are not expected to temper their impulses. But, man is capable of discipline and must live by this principle. For, if they don't live by this unique human aspect, they will pay for their sins.

In spite of the advancements of theology surrounding Zeus and the morality of human beings and gods, Homer and Hesiod both exist in pre-philosophy and the mythic. Hesiod's Theogony reads like a genealogy of anthropomorphizing the natural world.

Notes on Early Greek Philosophy (Precursors)

Early Greek Philosophy
Jonathan Barnes
2001

Thales, though considered the first philosopher, did not operate from an absolute starting point. Instead he drew on two primary sources that influenced his philosophy. The first was his pre-philosophic Greek writers, mainly poets. Two of these were most definitely Homer and Hesiod. Especially in Hesiod's Theogony you see an order forming.

Hesiod claims that the 'race of immortals who exist forever' came from first the Expanse. Expanse bore Darkness and Night. Night bore Ether and Day by joining with Love. Earth and Heaven and Mountains and Sea and Ocean were born as well as other gods. The account of the origins of the earth by Hesiod wasn't scientific, but a scientific story as many of the gods are personifications of naturally occurring phenomena.

What is interesting about Hesiod's origin of the gods poem is that later philosophers used the problem of infinite regress to refute him. Diogenes Laeritus, writing in the 5th century BC basically asks, if Expanse came first How could that be? He had nothing to come from and nowhere to go in the beginning so Expanse couldn't have come first. Therefore, "These things existed always" (Barnes, 5). Likewise Sextus Empiricus (circa 160-210 AD) recounts how Epicurus turned to philosophy. When Epicurus asked the schoolmaster what Expanse came from if it came first, the teacher replied it wasn't his job to explain that, it was the job of the philosopher. From that moment Epicurus took up the mantle of philosophy.

Many of the later ancient Greeks seemed to think think that the early Pre-Socratics got their philosophy going when they visited eastern lands like Assyria and Egypt. In fact there are some resemblances between Hesiod's cosmology and that of the Babylonian Epic the Enuma Elishu and that of the Egyptian Creation Myth.

For Barnes though, "Both the Babylonian and the Egyptian stories bear comparison with Hesiod as examples of mythical cosmogony. Many scholars compare stories more directly with Greek philosophy, suggesting (for example) that Thales' ideas about the importance of water may derive from the primordial significance of Mummu-Tiamat and Nun. To me Thales seems to live in a different and a more luminous world" (Barnes, 8). In other words, while there are superficial resemblances to the precursors to the Pre-Socratics and the creation myths of the Ancient Near East, Thales seems to be a break from those in a more philosophical/scientific way of thinking than the much earlier mythical cosmologies.

Notes on Jason & Medea

Once again I've finished a Penguin 80p book. I love these because they're usually excerpts of good books, but since they are contained within their own binding I can count them as a book on my yearly goal. Maybe that's cheating; maybe it isn't. But, I only set the goal in June, so I needed to get a boost to hit 50 by the end of the year. So, these classics are helping out a bit.

This story of Jason and Medea comes from Apollonius of Rhodes in the form of his epic poem The Voyage of Argo. As stated in previous posts, I love ancient history and have since an early age. Much of that is because my parents made me read a lot as a young child and much of that is because of classic epic movies from the fifties and sixties (and earlier). This myth was no exception.

I had some abridged version for young readers in my recent memory when I first saw the 1963 film, Jason and the Argonauts. The story was good; the acting was hammy and perfect; but, the film came alive to me because of the claymation. Oddly enough, the stop-animation director, Ray Harryhausen retired after making my favorite 'epic' movie of my childhood, the 1981 Clash of the Titans. The modern remake of Jason and the Argonauts was everything that the old film was not. Good graphics and terrible. I actually enjoyed the remake of Clash of the Titans, but missed the claymation owl. That is neither here nor there, however.

This excerpt from the longer epic poem deals with Jason arriving at Colchis and the goddesses conspiring to help him attain the Golden Fleece. Jason does his bit with the fire breathing bulls plough and teeth seeds and proceeds to slaughter the crop much to the chagrin of King Aetes and the delight/agony of his daughter Medea. The story is well known, but there were a couple of things that stuck out to me on this reading.

First, was the interesting death ritual of the Colchians. "They never bury them or raise a mound above them, but wrap them in untanned oxhide and hang them up on trees at a distance from the town. Thus, since it is their custom to bury women, earth and air play equal parts in the disposal of their dead" (Apollonius, 8-9). I happen to be doing a preliminary study on Pre-Socratic at the moment I think this statement stuck out because of that little study and because the imagery of the dead being hung in trees as ritual, not punitive was an interesting image in my head. But, because of the Greek sense of justice being balance the fact that earth and air play equal parts in their death ritual makes sense, so that neither air nor earth would overstep its bounds.

Another interesting point came to me in the inequality and equality given to male and female characters. Medea is a rock star in the book, but the male characters aren't super keen on giving her that status. The author has no problem with it, but Jason states, "But oh, how bleak the prospect is, with our one hope of seeing home again in women's hands" (Apollonius, 18).

Mopsus reads a sign and declares, "May all turn out as I foresee, reading the omens with my inward eye" (Apollonius, 21). I like the imagery of a mystical reading using the 'inward eye'.

I also enjoyed the description of Medea and her pains and love for Jason. "Tears of pity ran down her cheeks and her whole body was possessed by agony, a searing pain which shot along her nerves and deep into the nape of her neck, that vulnerable spot where the relentless archery of Love causes the keenest pangs" (Apollonius, 28). I'm not really sure why I liked it so much, but the description stuck with me.

Notes on Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales

After finishing the last book I read, I figured that it would be alright if I took an easier challenge. I picked up the Penguin Popular Classics' Scottish Folk & Fairy Tales edited by Gordon Jarvie. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, somewhere between an Arthurian legend or The Mabinogion or even something like a Grimm's. It was nothing like the Mabinogion and had an element of Grimm folk tale to it, but it was a lot lighter. In the moments it was a bit sinister, it was done almost at a Classic Disney level - enough to frighten younger readers, but not enough to offend the sensibilities of said young readers' parents. That said, the book was a pretty good read. I think it should be something read to children to get them interested in good literature and plan on making a note of that for the future. Some of this criticism is probably unfair because it really felt like a children's book in the beginning and that sort of dissipated the further into the book you got. It was an anthology and the tone was set by the first seven little folk tales written by the same author. It was her stories that really made it feel younger reader oriented.

But, as is the case with all anthologies, a couple of the stories really stood out to me. The story of Tam Lin, the first traditional folk tale in the order, was the salvation that kept me going through as it was relatively close to the beginning of the book. Which I am glad because there were a couple of really good stories later on. Assipattle and the Mester Stoorworm was another one I enjoyed. Ever since I read the Orkneyinga Saga, I have found myself fascinated by Orkney and lo and behold, one of my favorite Scottish fairy tale comes from the Orkney Island. Plus, it was a genesis story of sorts and I always find those enthralling. The last big chunk of the Book was The Gold of Fairnilee, 'a classic victorian fairy tale'. Given that it was written by Andrew Lang, a specialist in Scottish folklore, it was probably the best story outside of Assipattle.

Lastly, the most intriguing story was by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. His Through the Veil was excellent. The writing was good and its colloquial, phonetic writing of the Scottish dialogue was nice, but what set the story apart was the intriguing subject matter. After finishing that one, I thought it would be a good idea to appropriate the concept and turn it into a different short story of my own.

Notes on The Mabinogion (D)

(Originally Written September 14, 2009 in the Journal)

Culwch Won Olwen

Culwch, Arthur's first cousin, was the son of Kilydd, ruler of Kelyddon. Culwch's mother was dying and went to her husband giving him her blessing to remarry but only after a double sided thorn appeared on her grave. She went to her confessor and asked him to prune her grave so nothing grew there, which he did until he neglected it after seven years.

Kilydd then went for advice on a new wife. They killed Doged, stole his lands and Kilydd took his wife as his own. This woman had a daughter, Olwan. Olwan swore that Culwch had to win her as his bride.

The Dream of Rhonabwy

I want to use Kei as a character.

The Mabinogion was interesting for what it was. I enjoyed the classical prose much more however, but the characters of the Mabinogion will match more with my story.

Notes on The Mabinogion (C)

(Originally written September 13, 2009 in the Journal)

Notes on The Mabinogion

Math, Son of Mathonwy

Math was a lord of Northern Wales and used to rest his feet in virgin's laps except when he was at war. His virgin was named Goewin. Math had two nephews, Gilvaethwy and Gwydyon, who were sons of the goddess Don.

Gilvaethwy fell in love with Goewin and became sick in his love for her. When Gwydyon learned of this he devised a plan for Gilvaethwy to sleep with Goewin.

Gwydyon went to Math to get his permission to obtain Pyderi's pigs. Math gave his consent so Gwydyon headed south, disguised as a bard. After entertaining Pyderi, Gwydyon asked for a pig. Pyderi refused because he had sworn an oath not to give or sell a pig until the herd had doubled in size.

Gwydyon then devised a plan to transform objects into twelve horses with golden bits and saddles and twelve greyhounds to trade for the pigs. After council Pyderi accepted the offer. Gwydyon fled with the pigs and traveled from town to town, heading northwards. After a day the horses and greyhounds transformed back and Pyderi gave chase to Gwydyon. Gwydyon traveled slowly so that Pyderi could muster a large army so that Math would have to set out for war.

When Math gathered his forces and went to battle Gilvaethwy raped Goewin. When Math learned of this he made Goewin his wife to protect her honor. To punish Gilvaethwy and Gwydyon (he could not kill them as they were his sister's sons) he transformed them into deer, one male and one female. He gave them the nature of deer and told them to reproduce and come back one year later. They came back with a sow and were transformed into pigs and told to go out again. They came back with another son and were transformed into wolves and sent back out with the same task. They came back with a third son and were restored to their original state. Thus, Gilvaethwy and Gwydyon were punished for their crimes and gave birth to three sons; Bleiddwn, Hyddwn, and Hychdwn the Tall.

After they were restored Math asked them to advise him on choosing a new virgin. They offered Aranrhod, their sister, daughter of Don. Math asked Aronrhod if she was a virgin, to which she lied and said yes. Math tested her with his magic wand. A boy fell out of her and she ran away, but before she got out of the door another boy fell out.

Math named the first boy Dylan and had him baptized. He grew strong and became a master of the sea. He was killed by his uncle Govannon, the blacksmith of the gods.

Gwydyon found the other boy in a chest at the foot of his bed. The boy grew strong and tall. One day when he was four he went with Gwydyon to see Aranrhod, his mother. When Aronrhod learned that Gwydyon had saved the child and prolonged her shame she became enraged and cursed the child to be nameless until she gave him a name.

Gwydyon then made a ship out of seaweed with his magic and began to make shoes. He also had disguised himself and the boy. When Aronrhod learned that a cobbler of skill had landed on her shore she had herself measured and sent the measurements to have a shoe made. Gwydyon made a beautiful shoe that was too large. Aronrhod paid for it but asked for a smaller size. This time Gwydyon made it too small. Gwydyon then refused to make a shoe for her without measuring the foot himself.

Aranrhod went down to the ship to see the cobbler. When she came down the boy hit a wren and Aranrhod laughed saying, "God knows, the light haired one hit it with a skillful hand". Gwydyon agreed and cursed Aranrhod and revealed the deception because unwittingly Aranrhod had named the boy, Lleu (shining) Skillful Hand.

Aranrhod became angry and cursed the boy again stating the he shall have no weapons unless she herself armed him. Lleu and Gwydyon returned back to the estate of Math where Gwydyon taught Lleu how to become a skillful rider.

Gwydyon then took Lleu back to Aranrhod as they were both disguised as bards. They entertained Aranrhod and were given a room to sleep. When dawn was braking Gwydyon used his magic to make it seem as if Aranrhod's castle was being attacked. Aranrhod came to them for advise and Gwydon said to arm all the men. Gwydyon received help from two young girls while Aranrhod armed Lleu herself. Thus, Gwydyon had tricked Aranrhod yet again. Aranrhod cursed the boy, denying him a wife of this world.

When Lleu and Gwydyon returned to Math's estate Math and Gwydyon fashioned a wife for Lleu out of flowers and named her Blodeuedd. Lleu and Blodeuedd were married and Math gave Lleu the Contrev of Dinoding to lord over.

One day Lleu left Dinoding to visit Math when a hunting party passed by Lleu's fortress. When Blodeuedd learned that it was Goronwy, Lord of Penllyn she invited him in to stay for the night. Goronwy and Blodeuedd were overcome by passion for one another and slept together. They devised a plan to have Lleu tell Blodeuedd how he may die so that the two lovers could married.

When Lleu returned Blodeuedd enticed her husband to tell how he could be killed by proclaiming her worries over it. Lleu explained that he could only be killed by a spear crafted over a year's time and thrown at him while he was standing with one foot on the edge of a bath and one foot on a goat. After a year, Goronwy had crafted the spear.

Blodeuedd came to Lleu and tricked him into getting into the position he could be killed. Goronwy threw the spear and pierced Lleu in the side. Lleu transformed himself into an eagle and flew away. Goronwy took Blodeuedd as his wife and stole Lleu's lands.

Math and Gwydyon mourned the loss of Lleu and Gwydyon went out to search for him. He found an eagle being eaten by a pig so he transformed it back into Lleu's human form. Gwydyon took Lleu back to the castle where he recovered from his wound.

After healing Lleu sought out his revenge. He went after Goronwy while Gwydyon went after Blodeuedd. Gwydyon cursed Blodeuedd and turned her into an owl. Lleu refused any payment or bribe and took out his revenge on Goronwy. Lleu threw a spear at Goronwy and killed him, turning him into stone.

The four branches of the Mabinogi are Pwyll, Lord of Dyved; Branwen, Daughter of Llyr; Manawydan, Son of Llyr; and Math, son of Mathonwy.

The Dream of Maxen & Llud and Llevelys were fairly uneventful except for maybe the plagues in Llevelys. But, I should purchase Geoffrey's Historia.

Notes on The Mabinogion (B)

(Originally Written September 12, 2009 in the Journal)

Notes on The Mabinogion

Manawydan was grieved that his uncle had stolen the throne of England after Manawydan's brother Bran had died. Pryderi offered his friendship by offering his mother Rhiannon as wife for Manawydan.

Manawydan and Rhiannon were married. The newlyweds and Pryderi and his wife, Kigva went and set on a mound. A mist came over them and when it lifted the four were alone. They spent two years like this and then left for England.

They settled in Hereford and became saddle makers. Soons everyone bought their saddles from these four. The other saddle makers plotted to kill them so they set out for another city where they took up shield making. The same thing happened again and they went to another town where they took up shoemaking. They again became so successful that their lives became endangered. Then they returned home to Dyved.

In Dyved they went hunting again. On a hunt they spotted a white boar which ran into a strange fortress. Pryderi went after it to retrieve his dogs against the advice of Manawydan. In the fortress there was neither the boar nor his dogs but a marble fountain with a golden bowl. He walked up to it and touched it, becoming stuck to it and mute. After waiting Manawydan returned home and broke the news to Rhiannon. Rhiannon then went out to find her son. She entered the fortress and also became stuck to the fountain. A mist fell and the fortress disappeared.

Manawydan and Kigua, Pryderi's wife left for England where Manawydan took up shoemaking again. After a year's time Manawydan became so successful that all the other shoemakers became envious and plotted against his life. They left England to go back to Dyved but this time with wheat to plant.

Manawydan sowed three crofts of wheat. When it was time to harves the first two crofts appeared naked, only stalks. The third one Manawydan then guarded. A hoard of mice came upon the croft and made off with the wheat but Manawydan managed to catch one.

Manawydan set out to hang the mouse he had caught. A scholar came to the spot where Manawydan was to hang the mouse. This was the first person he had seen in Dyved in seven years other than his three companions, two of which were lost. The scholar attempted to buy the mouse to spare its life. Manawydan refused the offer. Then a priest came upon Manawydan. The priest tried to buy the mouse but was again rebuffed. Next a bishop came. The bishop offered to buy the mouse but was refused. Finally a deal was struck because the bishop was actually Llywd who was a friend to Wawl, who had been mistreated by Pwyll, the father of Pryderi. Eventually the mouse, who was actually Llywd's wife was released to Llywd in exchange for Pryderi and Rhiannon and no more mischief from Llywd.

Notes on the Mabinogion (A)

(Originally Written September 11, 2009 in the Journal)

I think it might have been a mistake to move from the language rich work of Virgil to a compiling of Welsh folklore in The Mabinogion. Jeffery Gantz, the translator, even mentions the rough around the edges stuff in the introduction. But, as it is mythology and of a pseudohistorical nature I'm sure I'll enjoy it - though maybe not as much as The Aeneid.

Pwyll Lord of Dyved

Further Reading for Comparison : The Wasting Sickness of Cu Chulaind

Pwyll, a king, is asked by Arawn, a king of the otherworld, to defeat another otherworld king in battle to secure friendship. He does so and forms an alliance.

Pwyll then meets a woman in a vision named Rhiannon. Rhiannon requests that Pwyll marry her so that she does not have to wed a man she does not wish to. During a feast Pwyll gives his word to Gwawl, son of Clud to grant him his wish. Unfortunately, Gwawl is the man Rhiannon is to marry and because of chivalry Pwyll agrees to the terms. Meanwhile Pwyll and Rhiannon devise a plan to trick Gwawl out of his marriage rite, which succeeds.

Pwyll and Rhiannon are married but produce no heir. Pwyll's friends call Pwyll to take another wife but he asks for one more year's time. Rhiannon bears a son within the year but the child mysteriously disappears. The maidens to Rhiannon devise a scheme to kill a foal and put it in the room and blame Rhiannon for killing her own son. Rhiannon is punished. Meanwhile, Teirnon, a former man of Pwyll, has a great horse. But every time the horse gives birth its foal disappears. This time Teirnon watches over the foal and a giant eagle claw comes and smothers it up.

Tiernon cuts off the claw and saves the foal. Tiernon then finds a boy and gives it to his wife. They name the boy Gwri Golden Hair. They raise him and he grows up to be supernaturally strong. One day Tiernon hears of the punishment of Rhiannon and looks at Gwri and realizes it is the son of his friend Pwyll. They take Gwri to Pwyll and Rhiannon where they rename him Pryderi. Pwyll dies and Pryderi becomes king and rules justly and expands the territory.

Branwen, Daughter of Llyr

Lord Mallolwch, King of Ireland, came to Wales to seek an alliance with Bran, King of the Island of the Mighty. Mallolwch sought the hand of Branwen, daughter of Llyr. Bran agreed and there was a feast.

Evnissyens, the brother of Branwen was outraged at his sister being married off without his permission so he disfigured Mallolwch's horses, thus insulting him. Mallolwch set out for vengeance but Bran appeased him with gifts, including a magic cauldron. This magic cauldron was a gift from a giant to Bran. When a man died he could be placed in the cauldron and boiled. The next day he would be alive again, but could not speak.

Mallolwch left with his bride for Ireland. She bore him a son named Gwern. After a year Mallolwch's men mocked him for the insult on the horses until he could take no more and disgraced Branwen, sister of Evnissyen. Branwen trained a bird to carry a letter to her other brother Bran, the king of the Island of the Mighty telling of her disgrace.

Bran armed his men and went to Ireland. Bran was a giant and laid across a river so his men could pass. When the Irish saw this they tried to appease the army.

The built Bran a house, which because of his size, he had never had a house big enough for him. In the house hid 200 Irish warriors, but Evnissyen squeezed their heads until they died. There was a feast where Gwern, son of Mallolwch and Branwen met Bran. Bran received the boy well, but Evnissyen through the boy in the fire.

A battle began and the Irish kept respawning every night until Evnissyen, saddened by the grief he caused sacrificed himself and destroyed the cauldron. At the end of the battle all the Irish had been killed except for five pregnant women. Only seven of the Island of the Mighty survived.

Bran, as he was dying, prophesied to his men, ordering them to cut off his head and bury it in London. When the men returned to England, Branwen died of a broken heart at the grief she had caused both islands. The men eventually came to London where they learned another king had taken rule. They buried the head of Bran and so long as it was buried there, there were no plagues in England.

Notes on The Aeneid

(Originally Written September 10, 2009 in the Journal)

This was my first time reading The Aeneid. I loved this book. I found the story incredibly fascinating. The use of the term godhead in the David West translation struck me as interesting because I had never seen it outside of a Trinitarian Christian context. I wonder if the Latin word is the same.

Book 1 - Storm and Banquet

Compare Aeneas & Job?
Aeneas suffers at the hands of Juno despite having committed no sin.

Book 2 - The Fall of Troy

This was one of my favorite parts of the book.

The chief virtue of Aeneas, a man known for his piety, is his courage, which he had to forsake for the destiny of the will of the gods.

Book 3 - The Wanderings

Book 4 - Dido

An interesting myth on the origin of enmity between Rome & Carthage.

Book 5 - Funeral Games

The origin of the rites of Parentalia - the festival of the dead. This was a major part of the Roman Religion.

Compare Aeneas to Solomon in diffusing the squabble between Nisus and Salius - wisdom.

Book 6 - The Underworld

This has philosophical and political undertones. It gives the origin of life explanation and praises the Julian family.

Book 7 - War in Latium

A good read for battle scenes.

Book 8 - Aeneas in Rome

The prophetic shield of Vulcan is made for Aeneas in this book. In this book Virgil ties Hercules to Aeneas and Aeneas to Caesar Augustus. This is the legitimization of Aeneas and thus, of Rome and Augustus.

Book 9 - Nisus and Euryalus

War scenes

Book 10 - Pallas and Mezeutius

War scenes, the use of dueling

Book 11 - Drances and Camilla

Camilla the Amazon - write a myth of Camilla

Book 12 - Truce and Duel

Great ending in the death of Turnus