Since I am pretty up to date on blog reading and nothing new on the quilting front, I thought I would take a break to write a bit about what I'm presently working on school wise. I am writing a critique on Alone of all her Sex - The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary by Marina Warner.
The chapter I am presently dealing with is regarding the virgin birth, a phenomenon that was culturally prevalent during the Hellenistic period. Divine paternity was often used to clarify the mysteries surrounding the birth of heroes and sages (such as Pythagoras, Plato, Alexander etc). More specifically, I got a chuckle out of the following quote from Ovid Metamorphoses regarding the conception of Bacchus, a child of Semele, a mortal, and the god Jupiter. In an attempt to obtain information regarding Semele's divine impregnation, Juno in a fit says:
"..... The whole business disturbs me: many a man has made his way into an honest girl's bedroom by calling himself a god" (p 81)
Now, Ovid is from 32 B.C.E. to 17 C.E. Despite it's antiquity, it could still be applied today. It's a definite keeper in my memory bank! ROFL
I do hope you got a chuckle from this blast from the past as much as I did!
Back to your regular schedule programming!
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2 comments:
I'm sure you've read Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces. I've never actually READ the book, but I've taken a couple classes where Campbell's ideas were discussed. Your post reminded me how many of our--I hesitate to say "myths" or "stories" because I don't want to offend anyone and I don't mean it that way!--anyway, they all follow similar patterns. Sometimes I miss taking classes!
I love your quote - I must share it with my husband!! He would so totally agree! ROFL!!!!
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