Perseus and Medusa by Benvenuto Cellini, (1554). Perseus with the head of Medusa. Details.

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In Greek Mythology, the Gorgons were three monsters, daughters of Echidna and Typhon. Their names were Stheno (“forceful”), Euryale (“far-roaming”), and the most famous of them, Medusa (“ruler”).  Although the first two were immortal, Medusa was not, and she was slain by the demigod and hero Perseus.

It was said that their  appearance would turn anyone who laid eyes upon it to stone. The name “Gorgon”  is Greek, being derived from “gorgos” and translating as “terrible” or “dreadful”.

Hesiod in his “Theogony” imagines the Gorgons as three sea daemons and makes them the daughters of two sea deities.

Homer speaks only of one Gorgon, whose head is represented in “The Iliad”as fixed in the centre of the aegis (meaning a mirrored shield) of Athena, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom,  and whose counterpart was a device on the shield of Agamemnon.

In Homer´s “Odyssey”, the Gorgon is a monster of the underworld into which the earliest Greek deities were cast.

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Roman mosaic from 4th C. BC found in Palencia, in the year 1869 and currently at the National archaeological Museum of Madrid.

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In most versions of the story, Medusa was killed by Perseus.

According to Ovid (“Metamorphoses”, book IV), the reason for the dispute between Athena and Medusa lay in Poseidon‘s rape of Medusa inside the temple of the virgin goddess.

The goddess of Wisdom was supposed to have punished Medusa by transforming her face, which therefore made Medusa an innocent victim.

As to Perseus, he was  the son of the mortal Danae (the daughter of the King of Argos) and Zeus, the Ruler of Gods.

He would later on become the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Dynasty of Danaans

Perseus had been sent to  fetch Medusa´s head by King Polydectes of Seriphus because Polydectes wanted to marry his mother.

The gods backed up Perseus. Thus, he received a mirrored shield from Athena, gold, winged sandals from Hermes (the messenger of the Gods), a sword from Hephaestus and Hades´helm of invisibility.

Medusa was the only one of the three Gorgons who was mortal, so Perseus was able to slay her while looking at the reflection from the mirrored shield he received from Athena.

Perseus could safely cut off Medusa’s head without turning to stone, by looking only at her reflection in the shield.

During that time, Medusa was pregnant by Poseidon.

When Perseus beheaded Medusa, Medusa and Poseidon´s sons, Pegasus (a winged horse) and Chrysaor (a golden sword-wielding giant), sprang from her body.

According to other accounts, either Perseus or Athena used the head to turn Atlas into stone, transforming him into the Atlas Mountains  that held up both heaven and earth.

Many elements of the myth suggest, through its basic ambiguity, the tragic nature of Medusa.

One of the most revealing of these is the gift from Athena to Asclepius of two drops of the Gorgon’s blood, one of which has the power to cure and even resurrect, while the other is a deadly poison.

In his study “The Mirror of Medusa” (1983), Tobin Siebers has identified the importance of two elements, i.e. the rivalry between Athena and the Gorgon, and the mirror motif.

As to the mirror motif, common features are numerous. For example, snakes are the attribute of Athena, as illustrated by the famous statue of Phidias. 

With regard to symbolisms and equivalents, it is interesting to highlight that in Ancient Greece a Gorgoneion (a stone head, engraving, or drawing of a Gorgon face), frequently was used as a sacred symbol in the hopes of warding off evil.

These symbols were similar to the sometimes grotesque faces on Chinese soldiers’ shields, also used generally as an amulet. Likewise, in Hindu mythology, Kali is often shown with a protruding tongue and snakes around her head. Medusa is, besides, one of the most archaic mythical figures, perhaps an echo of the demon Humbaba who was decapitated by the babylonian hero, Gilgamesh.

David Leeming in his book: “Medusa: In the Mirror of Time” (2013) traces the development of Medusa from her earliest appearances in Archaic art and poetry to her more recent incarnations. Leeming makes reference to Jean Pierre Vernant several times in his book.

Particularly he mentions Vernant´s  essay “In The Mirror of Medusa” (1985), in which he examines Medusa in the context of archaic Greek religious life.

Leeming second Vernant when he states that Medusa is basically “a mask conveying the Ultimate Other”. They both believe that Medusa represented the death power which “wrenches humans away from their lives”. (“To gaze at the Other, which is the Medusa mask is to lose the Self, to be petrified”).

In fact, the function of the Gorgon’s mask was to keep men at a safe distance from the sacred ceremonies and mysteries reserved for women, meaning, those which celebrated the Triple Goddess, the Moon.

Graves reminds us that the Orphic poems referred to the full moon as the “Gorgon’s head”. The mask was also worn by young maidens to ward off male lust.

Consequently, according to Robert Graves, the episode of Perseus’ victory over Medusa represents the end of female ascendancy and the taking over of the temples by men, who had become the masters of the divine which Medusa’s head had concealed from them.

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“La Méduse” by Jean Delville. 1893

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►:Gallery: “The Gorgons”: 

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“Medusa” by Arnold Böcklin (On the Left: 1878. On the Right: 1897).

“The Gorgon Medusa”, by Caravaggio. (1590).

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►Links Post:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorgon

http://www.rwaag.org/medusa

http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2014/2014-08-09.html

https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=vQqIWcgAxhIC&redir_esc=y

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/bogan/medusamyth.htm

https://dearkitty1.wordpress.com/2008/12/25/medusa-inspired-art-on-show/

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  :star: Last but not Least: “Three Awards”  :star:

Thank you very much to bloggers from Time for my Thoughts, Jully´s Blog and Dear Kitty for nominating me for a Blogger Recognition Award, a Creative Blogger Award and a Real Neat Blog Award, respectively.

I will follow these basic rules for these three awards: 

♠Thank the person who nominated you. ♠Add the logo to your post. ♠Nominate ten (10) bloggers of your choice and tell them about the nomination. 

~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~

I. Nominees Blogger Recognition Award: 1. Natascha’s Palace 2. Art Box 3. Way Station 4. Book lover circumspect4 5. WolfBerryKnits 6. Cheryl “Cheffie Cooks” Wiser 7. Blabberwockying 8. Ricettedicasamia 9. Missameliaandsir 10. Keep The Hope.

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II. Nominees Creative Blogger Award: 1. Dreamspinner Extraordinaire 2. La Luna Escarlata 3. Spiritual Dragonfly 4. Trees of Transition 5. Stephanie’s Book Reviews 6. Collage a la intemperie 7. Breathe In My Touch 8.Time for my Thoughts 9. Dear Kitty 10. Of Means and Ends.

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III. Nominees Real Neat Blog Award:  1. Joys of Joel 2. Soul Synchronicity 3. Be Different Buddy 4. Ionic Bond Blog 5. El Mejor Viaje del Mundo 6. Nearly Dear 7. Jully´s Blog 8. Diana Douglas 9. All Nine 10. Imperfect Happiness.

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Bellerophon, Pegasus and Khimaira. Kylix Laconian Black Figure. Ca 570 – 565 BC.

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Pegasus was a Hippoi Athanatoi, meaning an immortal horse of the Gods. he was a winged horse which sprang forth from the neck of the Gorgon Medusa when she was beheaded by the hero Perseus. 

When Perseus struck off the head of Medusa, with whom Poseidon had once had intercourse in the form of a horse or a bird, there sprang forth from her Chrysaor and the horse Pegasus.

Chrysaor (meaning “Golden Sword”) was usually represented as giant, but may also have been conceived of as a winged boar.

As to Pegasus, he obtained that because he was believed to have made his appearance near the sources (pêgai) of Oceanus.

Liz Greene calls the winged horse the bridge between opposites: “An earthy creature which has the power to ascend into the spiritual realm”. [Source: Symbol Reader].

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“The Birth of Pegasus and Chrysaor” by Edward Burne-Jones (1885).

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Pegasus was tamed by Bellerophon, a corinthian hero, who rode him into battle against the Chimera.

On a side note, the Chimera was a creature of Asia Minor, composed of the parts of more than one animal. 

Usually depicted as a lion, with the head of a goat  arising from its back, and a tail that might end with a snake´s head. The Chimera was one of the offspring of Typhon and Echidna and a sibling of such monsters as Cerberus and the Hydra.

After Pegasus had conquered the Chimera, he endeavoured to rise up to heaven with his winged horse, but fell down upon the earth, either from fear or from giddiness, or being thrown off by Pegasus, who was rendered furious by a gad-fly which Zeus had sent. But Pegasus continued his flight.

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“Bellerophon Rides to Kill the Chimera” by Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov 1829.

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The winged horse was also placed amongst the stars as a constellation whose rising marked the arrival of the warmer weather of spring and seasonal rainstorms.

Hence, Pegasus became a constellation in the northern sky, which brightest star is the orange supergiant Epsilon Pegasi. 

Both Hesiod and Plato made reference to this emplacement:

“Pegasus, soaring, left the earth, the mother of sheep flocks, and came to the immortals, and there he lives in the household of Zeus, and carries the thunder and lightning for Zeus of the counsels”. (Hesiod, Theogony).

“A pair of winged horses and a charioteer. Now the winged horses and the charioteers of the gods are all of them noble and of noble descent… Zeus, the mighty lord, holding the reins of a winged chariot, leads the way in heaven, ordering all and taking care of all; and there follows him the array of gods and demigods, marshalled in eleven bands [the twelve Olympians]”.  (Plato, Phaedrus, 246).

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Pegasus with the foal Equuleus next to it, as depicted in Urania’s Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London in 1825. The horses appear upside-down in relation to the constellations around them.

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From a symbolic point, Pegasoi or winged horses occur in ancient art drawing the chariots of various gods and goddesses, including Helios, the sun and Selene, the moon.

The hero Pelops was also given a chariot drawn by winged horses by the god Poseidon.

Furthermore, Pegasus is a Pterippus (pteros in Greek means “winged” and hippos means “horse”).

The symbolic meaning of the horse is pretty intense with themes of power and mobility.

The horse alone also carries archetypal themes of unifying grounded stability (four feet on the ground) with higher ideals (from speed and mobility).

This theme really comes to life when the horse is winged. The Pterippus, or winged horse, is a symbol of aspiring to the greatest heights of accomplishment.

Grounded by the stability of its body, yet in flight by the ephemeral power of its wings, Pegasus offers a great analogy because of the dichotomy it offers. 

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“Perseus on Pegasus Slaying Medusa “by John Singer Sargent. 20th century.

Perseus and Andromeda, detail of “Pegasus”, by Peter Paul Rubens. 1622.

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►Gallery: “Creatures, Characters and Gods featured in this post”:

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►Gallery: “Pegasus, The Winged Horse”:

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►Anex: A List of More Types of Horses in Greek Mythology (Gallery Below):

•The Centaur, a creature with the head and torso of a man and the lower body of a horse. 

•The Hippocampus, a creature with an upper body that resembles a horse and a dolphin-like lower body.

•The Hippogriff, a beast with a head and front legs of an eagle whilst the rest of its body is that of a horse.

•The Ichthyocentaur, a creature which supposedly was one-third horse, one-third fish, and one-third human. Also known as Sea Centaur.

•The Ipotanes, a being that looked overall human, but had the legs, hindquarters, tail, and ears of a horse.

•The Sileni, bipedal beings that appear human form the waist up and horse the waist down. They were  were rustic spirits in the train of the God of Wine, Dionysus.

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►Links Post:

http://www.theoi.com/Ther/HipposPegasos.html

http://www.theoi.com/Ther/Hippoi.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimera_(mythology)

http://www.space.com/16743-constellation-pegasus.html

http://www.whats-your-sign.com/meaning-of-wings.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseus_and_Andromeda_(Rubens)

http://symbolreader.net/2013/08/11/light-and-matter-the-perseid-meteor-shower/

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“Perseus and Andromeda” by Gustave Moreau. 1869.

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Andromeda was the beautiful daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia of  Joppa in Palestine (called Ethiopia).

Cassiopeia had offended the Nereids by boasting that Andromeda was more beautiful than they, so in revenge Poseidon sent a sea monster called Cetus to ravage Cepheus’ kingdom as divine punishment.

Since only Andromeda’s sacrifice would appease the gods, she was chained to a rock and left to be devoured by the monster.

Meanwhile, Perseus had already killed the fearsome Gorgon Medusa .

As he was riding the winged horse, Pegasus over Africa in his return home, he encountered the Titan Atlas, who challenged him. 

In their confrontation, Perseus used Medusa’s head to turn the Titan into stone. 

Later on, he came across the beautiful chained Andromeda, and as he did, he approached Cetus while being invisible (because he was wearing Hades’s helm, which had that power).

He promptly killed the sea monster Cetus. 

Perseus took Andromeda to her father Cepheus and asked for her hand in marriage. That infuriated Andromeda’s uncle Phineus, to whom the maiden was already promised.

During the ensuing quarrel, Perseus turned Phineus into a stone by showing him the head of the Gorgon Medusa.

Grateful for all his victories, Perseus gave his flying sandal, mirror and magical cap to god Hermes.

He also gave his great trophy, the head of Medusa, to goddess Athena. 

Perseus and Andromeda finally married and had seven sons, as well as two daughters.

After the death of King Acrisius, the Kingdom of Argos naturally passed on to Perseus, who thought himself unworthy of it, since he had caused his grandfather’s death, even by accident, while throwing the discus in a sport competition. 

As to Andromeda, when she died, Athena placed her on the sky as a constellation, nearby her beloved husband Perseus and her mother Cassiopeia.

Located north of the celestial equator, the Andromeda constellation is most prominent during autumn evenings in the Northern Hemisphere, along with several other constellations named for characters in the Perseus myth. Because of its northern declination, Andromeda is visible only north of 40° south latitude. Its brightest star, Alpha Andromedae, is a binary star that has also been counted as a part of Pegasus.

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On the Left: Johannes Hevelius’s depiction of Andromeda, from the 1690 edition of his Uranographia. On the Right: Andromeda as depicted in Urania’s Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London, in 1825.

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►Gallery: “Andromeda and Perseus”:

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“Perseus and Andromeda” by Charles Napier Kennedy. 1890.

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►Poetry: “The confinement Andromeda as an analogy of the thoroughness of Sonnet Structure:

►“On The Sonnet”, by John Keats: 

(written in 1819, published in 1848)

If by dull rhymes our English must be chain’d,

   And, like Andromeda, the Sonnet sweet

Fetter’d, in spite of pained loveliness;

Let us find out, if we must be constrain’d,

   Sandals more interwoven and complete

To fit the naked foot of poesy;

Let us inspect the lyre, and weigh the stress

Of every chord, and see what may be gain’d

   By ear industrious, and attention meet:

Misers of sound and syllable, no less

   Than Midas of his coinage, let us be

   Jealous of dead leaves in the bay wreath crown;

So, if we may not let the Muse be free,

   She will be bound with garlands of her own.

 

 ►Analysis:“On The Sonnet”, by John Keats: 

The poet begins by positing the necessity of “dull rhymes,” which he feels chain “our English” and “fetter” the sonnet. He offers next the image of Andromeda, or “pained loveliness” . Here Keats compares the confinement of the Andromeda with the sweet beauty of poetry being fettered by the demands of rhyme. The poet seems, however, resigned to rhyme’s fetters but insists that rhyme, like an intricate sandal, be more “interwoven and complete/ To fit the naked foot of poesy.”

Keats compares poetry to a foot and the sonnet form to a sandal. A sandal is a shoe that does not fully cover the foot. By suggesting that the sandals should be more interwoven, it is as if he is saying the sonnet form does not fully cover what poetry is.

The poet offers this interweaving as a solution to what Keats in his letters calls “pounding rhymes”.

He wants rhyme to be more subtle and intricate, complementing the content of the poem as a whole and not drawing attention to itself.

Keats believes that if poets follow the specific rhyme scheme of a sonnet, they will be “chained” and not express themselves fully.

He says that poets be “Misers” of “syllable” like King Midas was of gold… he states that they should be “jealous of dead leaves in the bay wreath crown” (as laurel crowns were an emblem of poetic achievement).

Recognition as a traditional value is not what fuly matters, but probably the most important thing is to be original and not to stick to old patterns and formal constrictions

Nevertheless, in the last two verses, Keats says: “if we may not let the Muse be free,/She will be bound with garlands of her own”. And by that he seems to have resigned himself to the fact that for poets are constrained, at least to some extent, by conventional forms. (Source:Brian Register).

Within this rhyme scheme the lines are still written in Iambic Pentameter (*), and the type of sonnet he chose here is known as Petrarchan Sonnet (**). With these means, Keats indicates that he remains within conventions even if he questions them. 

Maybe the ending verses are not just a way to ease up his critique, or just a withdrawal but maybe an opportunity to validate and recognize the merits of the classic poetic form he had chosen to criticize.

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(*) Iambic Pentameter is closely associated with Blank Verse, Iambic is an adjective. Iamb is the noun and is short for Iambus. Iambus is from the Greek and refers to two. Therefore, Iamb refers to a foot, or any two syllable“unit”, referred to as a foot by metrists, consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (or ictus).

(**) The Petrarchan Sonnet is named after Petrarch, a 14th century Italian poet who made the form popular throughout Europe. Like all sonnets, the Petrarchan sonnet has 14 lines.

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John Keats (1795 / 1821).-

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►Links Post:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromeda_(mythology)

http://www.britannica.com/topic/Andromeda-Greek-mythology

http://www.greeka.com/greece-myths/perseus-andromeda.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromeda_(constellation)

https://brianregister.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/meaning-and-form-in-john-keatss-on-the-sonnet/

http://allpoetry.com/Sonnet.-If-By-Dull-Rhymes-Our-English-Must-Be-Chain’d

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►Last but not Least: Blogger Interview Tag: 

•How did you get into blogging?. 🔛It was many years ago… I usually posted reviews on books, films, philosophical subjects, as main topics… I wrote in Spanish by then…
I think I lacked of technical skills… I am not sure if WordPress was so easy to manage or if It was just me… But anyhow, the main purposes were accomplished by then.

•Which advice would you give to a blogger just starting out?.🔛Try to think of your blog as a sort of diary or compilation of archives of your interest…. write, in first place, for yourself. That way the beginning of your journey as a blogger would be loaded with positive expectations, instead of whatever kind of pressures …
Follow along a good amount of blogs… Create an email list with the URLS of the blogs you follow. Leave likes and comments, and you will soon identify bloggers who are reciprocal with you… Cut down your list of bloggers, using the previous criteria. Repeat the same steps for new lists, as many times as you want.
If you are systematic and a quite good blogger… You´ll easily reach a good amount of committed followers who will like your posts and comment in return if you have previously done so…
The number of posts you publish is not directly related to the level of engagement of your followers. It is up to you to find your Golden Mean, so to speak… And that would depend in many circumstances, which might vary according to each one of us. •What would be your dream campaign?.  🔛I will tie in this question to my blogging motto. Which would be this aphorism by Hippocrates: Ars longa vita brevis, i.e Art is long, life is short. Life is rather ephemeral… and there are many things to learn. My aim is to try to approach the classics and particularly Greek Mythology in a quite cohesive way as I believe that many cultural legacies remain there.

•Do you have a plan for your blog?.🔛I plan to keep it up and also would love to dig more deeply into symbolisms of certain myths. And even to consider psychoanalytic, sociological and cultural approaches from a diachronic point of view.

•What do you think about rankings?. 🔛I think there might be valuable if you are planning to upgrade your blog or already did so… Otherwise, numbers of visitors could be considered, not only as a reflection of your level of commitment, but also as a sample of the most appealing topics among your readers.

💥I ´d love to invite these bloggers for The Blogger Interview. Join only if you want or have time: 1. Shehanne Moore 2. The Mockingbird in Me 3. Scattered Thoughts 4. Inesemjphotography 5. Faraday´s Candle 6. Johanna Massey 7. Travels with Choppy.

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So called Wild Orchids blooming. Photographs taken on October 23rd, 2015. ©Amalia Pedemonte.

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According to Plato, Beauty was an idea or Form of which beautiful things were consequence.

Beauty by comparison begins in the domain of intelligible objects, since there is a Form of beauty. The most important question is: what do all of these beautiful things have in common?. To know that is to know Beauty.

The Theory of Forms maintains that two distinct levels of reality exist: the visible world of sights and sounds that we inhabit and the intelligible world of Forms that stands above the visible world and gives it being. For example, Plato maintains that in addition to being able to identify a beautiful person or a beautiful painting, we also have a general conception of Beauty itself, and we are able to identify the beauty in a person or a painting only because we have this conception of Beauty in the abstract. In other words, the beautiful things we can see are beautiful only because they participate in the more general Form of Beauty. This Form of Beauty is itself invisible, eternal, and unchanging, unlike the things in the visible world that can grow old and lose their beauty.

Plato’s account in the Symposium connects beauty to a response of love and desire, but locate beauty itself in the realm of the Forms, and the beauty of particular objects in their participation in the Form. 

Beauty’s distinctive pedagogical effects show why Plato talks about its goodness and good consequences, sometimes even its identity with “the good” (Laws 841c; Philebus 66a–b; Republic, 401c; Symposium 201c, 205e).

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In Plato´ Symposium, Socrates claims to be quoting his teacher Diotima on the subject of love, and in her lesson she calls beauty the object of every love’s yearning.

She spells out the soul’s progress toward ever-purer beauty, from one body to all, then through all beautiful souls, laws, and kinds of knowledge, to arrive at beauty itself.

By going through these stages, one will ascend from loving particular kinds of beauty to loving Beauty itself, from which all beautiful things derive their nature.

Diotima suggests that a life gazing upon and pursuing this Beauty is the best life one can lead.

In the Symposium, the Form of Beauty is the final stage in the lover of knowledge’s ascent toward Beauty.

He begins by loving particular bodies, moving from there to bodies in general, to particular minds, to minds in general, to laws and practices, to knowledge, and finally to the knowledge of the Form of Beauty. The ascent is one of increasing generalization where one’s love of beauty comes to embrace more and more things.

Ultimately, however, one’s love of beauty will embrace only one thing, the Form of Beauty, but one will recognize in this Form all that is beautiful. 

There is, besides, a sense of what Beauty may be: the signs of measure and proportion signal its presence and it is linked with goodness and justice.

Beauty here is conceived as perfect unity, or indeed as the principle of unity itself. 

Plato´s Beauty Theory, as it appears in the Symposium, holds that the Beautiful is an objective quality which is more or less intensified in and exemplified by beautiful or less beautiful objects respectively. Beauty itself exists independently of the object’s relationship to a perceiver or of its being a means to some end.

The Beautiful, then, regardless of what it is, exists as a thing in itself, separate from and supreme in relation to the beautiful objects which are beautiful by somehow sharing in its being. 

There is something innate and yet external to a beautiful object. Its beauty is there independently of a perceiver, and its being beautiful or not does not depend upon personal evaluations

Plato´s ideas could be considered as a sample of the prevailing classical conception.

According to it, Beauty consists of an arrangement of integral parts into a coherent whole, according to order, proportion and symmetry.

The ancient Roman architect Vitruvius gives as good a characterization of the classical conception in its underlying unity:

Order is the balanced adjustment of the details of the work separately, and as to the whole, the arrangement of the proportion with a view to a symmetrical result.

Proportion implies a graceful semblance: the suitable display of details in their context, when everything has a symmetrical correspondence.

Symmetry also is the appropriate harmony arising out of the details of the work itself: the correspondence of each given detail to the form of the design as a whole.  (Vitruvius, 26–27)

Plato regarded beauty as objective in the sense that it was not localized in the response of the beholder.  

In spite of Plato´s theories, we should now wonder if Beauty is an Universal Quality recognizable per se …  

In other words… Is Beauty a relative assessment, which lies in the eye of the beholder…

If we believe so, then we should conclude that Beauty is created by a subjective judgment, in which each person determines whether something is beautiful or not. 

If we agree with Plato, and therefore state that Beauty is pattern or form from which all beautiful things are derived, then we are assuming that Beauty is an objective feature.

By that our postulate would be that most perceivers would agree when it comes to determine whether something or someone is beautiful or not.

Without needing to take a side, we can say that it is both things…

Beauty couldn´t be entirely subjective—that is, if anything that anyone holds to be or experiences as beautiful is beautiful then it seems that the word has no meaning, or that we are not communicating anything when we call something beautiful except perhaps an approving personal attitude. 

In addition, though different persons can of course differ in particular judgments, it is also obvious that our judgments coincide to a certain extent.

Either way, what we can certainly state is that our attraction to another person’s body increases if that body is symmetrical and in proportion.

In this sense, there are certain aesthetical features which might entail Beauty.

Scientists believe that we perceive proportional bodies to be more healthy. This is suggested in the following famous image showing an idealized human body within a square and a circle.

Leonardo da Vinci‘s drawings of the human body emphasized its proportion. The ratio of the following distances in the above Vitruvian Man image is approximately the Golden Ratio (Φ = 1.618033…).

With the math behind it, the symmetry of your face can be measured. The closer this number is to 1.618, the more beautiful it is…

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The Golden Ratio (Φ = 1.618033…).

The Vitruvian Man, drawing by Leonardo Da Vinci, showing the body dimensiones, according to the Golden Ratio.

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Following up with the previous philosophical introduction, I would like to bring to the spotlight a few greek mythological myths and certain thoughts, with regard to the idea of Beauty.

Firstly, the most well known case of the Judgement of Paris and the story of the Golden Apple of Discord.

The Judgement of Paris was a contest between the three most beautiful goddesses of Olympus–Aphrodite, Hera and Athena–for the prize of a golden apple addressed to “the fairest”.

While Paris inspected them, each of the goddess attempted with her powers to bribe him; Hera offered to make him king of Europe and Asia, Athena offered wisdom and skill in war, and Aphrodite, offered the world’s most beautiful woman.

On a side note, It is worth noting how mant times “Beauty” appears in this myth.

At the end, Paris chose Aphrodite, who was the Goddess of Love and Beauty, and Helen of Troy, who was considered the most beautiful woman, was bestowed on him, in exchange.

As to the beautiful Helen of Troy, she was also known as the face that launched a thousand ships, therefore somehow associated with features such as discord and betrayal.

The reason behind such reputation is that Helen of Troy was married by the time of the deal among the Prince of Troy and Aphrodite.

Hence Paris decided to abduct her, event which would eventually lead to the Trojan War…

In this sense, the Golden Apple was the biggest but also the most controversial prize. Besides and presumably, in the mythology surrounding “the Judgement of Paris”, the goddess of Discord Eris managed to enter The Garden of the Hesperides, which was Hera´s orchard, and plucked one of the fruits . We can therefore see why that golden apple go was also known as the Apple of Discord.

As to other quarrels originated due to similar smug assumptions involving Beauty, I would like to mention two cases, which are very similar when it comes to events and their consequences.

The first one features Myrrha, who was Adonis biological mother.

Myrrha’s mother had said that her daughter was even more beautiful than Aphrodite which angered the Goddess of Love, who cursed Myrrha to fall in love and lust after her father.

Thus, Myrrha became pregnant and gave birth to Adonis, who was raised by Aphrodite. 

Adonis was very handsome, so, further on, Persephone was taken by his beauty, reason which brought a new quarrel among goddesses. In this case, between Aphrodite and Persephone.

Secondly, we have the well known myth of Perseus´beloved, Andromeda.

Her mother, Cassiopeia had offended the Nereids by boasting that Andromeda was more beautiful than they, so in revenge Poseidon sent a sea monster to ravage Andromeda´s father kingdom.

In all cases, Beauty causes troubles. We could say that it puts in the seeds of conflict.

Its counterpoint and collateral effect is jealousy. But also a sense of unnecessary pride and vanity seems to be present here.

Beauty claims to be defined in an extended way beyond itself… It needs to be recognized.

We could say that Beauty is defined by and to the Other.

Thus, in this order of ideas, we could think that Beauty seems to be an existentialist way to experience the Beautiful. 

Intersubjectivity defines Beauty and the Other’s look constitutes the world and the beautiful as objective. This is because the Look tends to objectify what it sees.

Undoubtedly, there are subjective elements which help us define Beauty… But those ones, as Social Constructivists would state, are not necessarily individual but colective and cultural.

On the other hand, one can not deny that certain general and universal features, are linked to the idea of Beauty. 

Therefore and figuratively speaking, I believe that  Beauty would be a sui generis concept, constituted mainly by objective and intersubjective variables, which may vary according to time and contexts.

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►Gallery: “Some Greek Myths based on Beauty”:

(Click on the images for further details)

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►Playtime!:Is your face geometrically beautiful?:

Supposedly, when it comes to Beauty, the simplest measurement is the length of your face divided by the widest part of your face.

As previously mentioned above, the closer this number is to 1.618, i.e Golden Ratio, the more beautiful the person is…

There are countless ratios that can be measured, but the website Anaface will generate a computer calculation online of a few of these ratios, from your uploaded photo for free.

An important detail is that you ought to use the photograph URL. It didn’t work for me when I tried upload he image from my computer…

For that purpose, send yourself an email with the photograph and then copy paste its URL, as shown in the gallery.

Furthermore. keep in mind that the more horizontally your face is placed, the more reliable the results will be.

Use as a model the photograph provided in order to locate the points, especially if your ears don´t show up in the photograph due to your hair… 

Follow up the instructions and you´ll soon get your score. Click on the images in the gallery below for further details …

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►Last but not Least: Quote Challenge: Beauty:

Paul from Pal Fitness has nominated me for a so called 3-Day Quote Challenge. Please Check out Paul´s blog. He is a personal trainer and coach, who loves blogging and writing. 

The rules of this challenge are: ♠Post your favorite quotes or your own quotes for three (3) posts in a row. ♠Thank the person who nominated you. ♠Pass it on to three (3) other bloggers per quote, each time you post them. Or pass it to nine (9) bloggers if you choose to post all the quotes together, in the same post.
⚠ Note: I will post the three (3) quotes together. Thus I will nominate nine (9) Bloggers.
Also, I thought It would be pertinent to choose quotes on Beauty, alongside photographs taken by me, which you will be able to see in my Instagram account... All this aims to keep it on with the topic of this post… So that’s how I will do it :D. If you have been nominated, feel free to join the challenge if you feel it is worth it, want to and/or have time to do so. You can to pick out whichever creative license regarding this feature. 

My nominees for the Quote Challenge are: 1. D.G.Kaye Writer 2. Parlor of Horror 3. Course of Mirrors 4. Living the Dream 5. Solveig Werner 6. Scribble and Scrawl  7. Round World and Me 8. The Lonely Author 9. Aidyl93

► Three Quotes on Beauty by John Keats, and some Photographs:

~ Click on the images to read ~

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►Links Post:

http://www.iep.utm.edu/plato/

http://www.anaface.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Other

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/beauty/#ClaCon

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-aesthetics/

http://www.intmath.com/blog/mathematics/is-she-beautiful-the-new-golden-ratio-4149

http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/plato/themes.html

http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/symposium/section11.rhtml

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“Mercury” by Evelyn De Morgan. 1873.

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(Roman name: Mercury) was the messenger of the Gods.

It was Hermes´duty to guide the souls of the dead down to the underworld, which is known as a psycho pomp.

Carl Jung often speaks of Hermes as psycho pomp, spiritual friend, or personal guide.

He says: “From the earliest times, Hermes was the psycho pomp of the alchemists, their friend and counselor, who leads them to the goal of their work. He is like a teacher mediating between the stone and the disciple… To others the friend appears in the shape of Christ or Khidr or a visible or invisible guru, or some other personal guide or leader figure”. (Carl Jung, Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. 1934–1954. Vol.9 Part 1. CW 9I, para. 283).

One of his most famous regular roles was as as God of Crossroads, leader of souls to the river Styx in the underworld, where the boatman Charon would take them to Hades.

He was also portrayed as an emissary and messenger of the gods: an intercessor between mortals and the divine, and conductor of souls into the afterlife. He has been viewed as the protector and patron of herdsmen, thieves, oratory and wit, literature and poetry, athletics and sports, invention and trade for being cunning and full of tricks.

He was also the patron of of luck and revered by gamblers and merchants undertaking new enterprises.

Hermes was son of Zeus and one of the Pleiades, Maia. 

He was born in a cave on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. Zeus had impregnated Maia at the dead of night while all other gods slept. When dawn broke amazingly he was born.

Maia wrapped him in swaddling bands, then resting herself, fell fast asleep. Hermes, however, squirmed free and ran off to Thessaly.

This is where Apollo, his brother, grazed his cattle. Hermes stole a number of the herd and drove them back to Greece. He hid them in a small grotto near to the city of Pylos and covered their tracks.

Before returning to the cave he caught a tortoise, killed it and removed its entrails. Using the intestines from a cow stolen from Apollo and the hollow tortoise shell, he made the first lyre.

When he reached the cave he wrapped himself back into the swaddling bands.

When Apollo realized he had been robbed he protested to Maia that it had been Hermes who had taken his cattle. Maia looked to Hermes and said it could not be, as he is still wrapped in swaddling bands. Zeus the all powerful intervened saying he had been watching and Hermes should return the cattle to Apollo. As the argument went on, Hermes began to play his lyre.

The sweet music enchanted Apollo, and he offered Hermes to keep the cattle in exchange for the lyre. Apollo later became the grand master of the instrument, and it also became one of his symbols.

Hermes was also known as something of a trickster, stealing at one time or another Poseidon’s trident, Artemis’ arrows, and Aphrodite’s girdle.

Hermes appears in Homer´s  Iliad. He is most often described by Homer as ‘Hermes the guide, slayer of Argos’ and ‘Hermes the kindly’.

In Homer´s Odyssey, Hermes helps Odysseus, especially on his long return voyage to Ithaca. 

Another hero helped by the god was Perseus. Hermes gave him an unbreakable sword and guided him to were the Gorgon Medusa was.

Hermes is usually depicted with a broad-brimmed hat or a winged cap, winged sandals and the heralds staff (kerykeion in Greek, or Caduceus in Latin).

He was often shown as a shaft with two white ribbons, although later they were represented by serpents intertwined in a figure of eight shape, and the shaft often had wings attached.

Symbols of Hermes were the turtle, the stork, the rooster, the goat, the number four.

Originally Hermes was a phallic god, being attached to fertility and good fortune, and also a patron of roads and boundaries.  It is also possible that since the beginning he has been a deity with shamanic attributes linked to divination, reconciliation,magic, sacrifices, and initiation and contact with other planes of existence, a role of mediator between the worlds of the visible and invisible.

As to Hermes Trismegistus, he may be a representation of the syncretic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. 

In Hellenistic Egypt, the Greeks recognised the congruence of their god Hermes with Thoth, egyptian God of Knowledge. 

Hence, the two gods were worshipped as one in what had been the Temple of Thoth in Khemnu, which the Greeks called Hermopolis.

There is still another Egyptian parallel, specifically, in the figure of Anubis. In classical mythology, Hermanubis was a god who combined Hermes with Anubis. Hermes and Anubis’s similar responsibilities (they were both conductors of souls) led to the god Hermanubis.

Icons of Hermes were displayed in front of houses and where roads intersect. He was seen as guiding people in transition.

Hermes was worshiped throughout Greece, especially in Arcadia, and festivals in his honor were called Hermoea. 

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On the Left: “Parnaso” by Andrea Mantegna, 1497. On the Right: Detail Hermes and Pegasus.

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►Galleries: “Hermes, the Messenger of Gods”:

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►Links Post:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermes

http://www.ancient.eu/Hermes/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermes_Trismegistus

http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/entries/hermes.html

http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hermes

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Click above to visit the blog / Click en el logo para ingresar al blog.~

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► “My Poem Tempus Fugit at La Poesía no Muerde” 

[December 10th, 2015].~

I am very glad to tell my readers that my poem “Tempus Fugit” has been featured at “La Poesía no Muerde”. I initially wrote the poem in Spanish, based in an image called “Il tempo che passa e il tempo che resiste”, provided by Angela Caporaso (Caserta – Italy) so I am attaching the image, the poem in Spanish and its translation to English…

“La Poesía no Muerde” is a blog hosted by Hélène Laurent. It is a collective blog in spanish which prompts are usually triggered by images that might lead to poems or poems that once published are waiting to be illustrated with photographs or creative images, such as collages or digital creations… With that being said, I hope that you take a peek and subscribe if you enjoy it, which I am sure you will…

As to the poem I was making reference to, you can check out the original post here. It is also included in La Poesía no Muerde, fourth literary magazine, page 42.

•~~~• :star: •~~~ • :star: •~~~• :star: •~~~• :star: •~~~•  :star: •~~~•

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►La Poesía no Muerde / Poetry doesn´t Bite 

~ Poem~“Tempus Fugit”:

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►Last but not Least: Four Awards:

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Thank you very much to Millie Thom from the namesake blog, Irena from Books and Hot Tea,  Yemie from Straight from the Heart and Luis López from ByLuis7 for nominating me for an Epic Awesomeness Award, a Dragon’s Loyalty Award a Sisterhood Of The World Bloggers Award and a Bloguera con Buen Rollo Award, respectively… Please make sure to check out these blogs and follow them, if you haven´t already done so… 

*Note*: If you have been nominated, check out the four awards which are displayed at the end. Click on the respective logo to save it.

♠Rules for the Epic Awesomeness Award:

•Display the award on your blog.
•Announce your win with a post and link the blogger who nominated you.
•Present at least 7 deserving bloggers with the award.
•Link your awardees in the post.
•Write about the indirect questions above… just let it flow… 

Question 1→You are awesome; tell us why… what does awesome mean to you?… 

Awesome… I guess it means extremely good… But, on the other hand, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as and adjective, which implies that something or someone causes feelings of fear and wonder: causing feelings of awe. 

I was think of Immanuel Kant… In his book, “Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime” (1764),  Immanuel Kant describes the feeling of the sublime and the feeling of the beautiful.

Some of his examples of feelings of the beautiful are the sight of flower beds, grazing flocks, and daylight.  

As to Kant, they “occasion a pleasant sensation but one that is joyous and smiling”. 

Feelings of the sublime are the result of seeing mountain peaks, raging storms, and night. These ones, according to Kant, “arouse enjoyment but with horror”. Kant said that Beauty and the Sublime can be joined or alternated…

So, I am that “awesomeness” could be a sort of dual feeling at times… Isn’t idealization or admiration a sort of sublimation?. … Don´t we experience a sort of shivering dizziness when we come across something/someone awesome after all?.

Question 2→You are my friend; tell us about other blogger friends …

I have met extraordinary bloggers and I felt a sort of deep connection with many of them… Even when Virtuality would seem a veiled reality, at times… I´d rather call it an alternative Reality, at least, using as measurement parameter, our Reality … I find so many beautiful posts, I learn every single day something new due to my blogger friends… For the record, I am now thinking that Twitter is also a great tool. I believe that it is a very efficient way to catch up with blogs you really like and to do so almost daily…

My seven nominees for the Epic Awesomeness Award are: 1. Jeri Walker #Editor 2. Life as we See It 3. Straight from the Heart 4. House of Heart 5. A Chaos Fairy Realm 6 Books and Hot Tea 7. A Writer’s Path.

★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~

♠Rules for the Dragon’s Loyalty Award:

•Display the award on your blog.
•Announce your win with a post and link the blogger who nominated you.
•Present 6 deserving bloggers with the award.
•Link your awardees in the post.
•Write 7 things about you.

→The 7 facts about me are… 

 1. I am a scorpion in the horoscope and was born one day before my mom, but, needless to say, a few decades after her… 2. I’m very superstitious. 3. I am extremely cynical when arguing with someone… I usually know how to leave my opponent speechless… 4. I love cats, I not only speak to them, but I speak with them 5. I hate ignorance by conviction 6. Once I´ve started a series on Netflix I enjoy, I seldom set it aside before having completely finished it. 7.  I believe in God, despite my rational faith in the Theory of Evolution.

My six nominees for the Dragon’s Loyalty Award are: 1. Shehanne Moore 2. ByLuis7 3. Scribble and Scrawl  4. Millie Thom 5. Micheline’s Blog 6. Scattered Thoughts

~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~

♠Rules for the Sisterhood Of The World Bloggers Award: 

•Display the award on your blog.
•Announce your win with a post and link the blogger who nominated you.
•Present at least 7 deserving bloggers with the award.
•Link your awardees in the post.
•Answer to the following questions below. 

1.What’s your life’s philosophy? I will mention three principles, concerning this question. a. Be tolerant… your opinion is just a personal, thus relative, standpoint. b. Be Patient. Try to get the whole picture, before jumping in… c. Give people the benefit of the doubt, until all doubts are vanished. 

2.One word that best describes you would be?… Steadfast. 

3.What’s the one best thing for you about being female, or if being the case male?… Honestly, I believe that women are more gracious and gorgeous, and our sexuality is an endless driving loop … Plus we don´t have to shave our faces each morning.

4.Who’s that one person, (could be your regular boy/girl next door or a celebrity crush or a pet or even a stuffed toy) you’d really fancy being marooned with for three whole days and nights on a deserted island and why?... I won´t put down details here regarding my personal life… To avoid awkwardness, I´ll carry the stuffed toy… *Successful deterrent maneuver*. 

5.What would you say was the craziest, nuttiest thing you’ve ever found yourself doing?… Any of the stuff I might do if I ever get more than I can take… *Free interpretation*.

My seven nominees for the Sisterhood Of The World Bloggers Award are:  1. Brittney Sahin 2. People Forward 3. Claudia Moss 4. Course of Mirrors 5. Tails Around the Ranch 6. Souldier Girl  7. The Genealogy of Style

~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~

♠Rules for the Bloguera con Buen Rollo Award: 

•Display the award on your blog.
•Announce your win with a post and link the blogger who nominated you.
•Present at least 6 deserving bloggers with the award.
•Link your awardees in the post.
•Answer to the following questions below.

1.How frequently do you post on your blog?. Once in three weeks or once a month… 

2. Was it hard for you to choose the name of your blog?. Not that much… I knew I wanted to include Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom and then the hero Achilles popped up… Aquileana is a sort of Hybrid resulting of their juxtaposition.

3. Please, recommend me a book to read and review. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. 

4. Please, recommend me a song. This Is The Life –and many others- by Amy Macdonald.

5. Which would be your recommendation regarding your blog?. Read it slowly and click on the red links, i.e trackbacks.

6. Do you share your posts on Social Media?. Yes, I do. On Twitter, Google Plus and Pinterest.

7. Which one would you say is your favorite character whether from movies, series or books… I would say that Lady Mary Crawley from the series Downtown Abbey. At least, lately…

My six nominees for the Bloguera con Buen Rollo Award are: 1. My Space in the Immense Universe 2. Postcards from Kerry 3. Travels with Choppy 4. Fatima Saysell 5. Sherrie Miranda 6. Lorna´s Voice.

~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~

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Merry Christmas, for all those who celebrate them, and Happy New Year, everyone 💛☀️. My next post will be exclusively a Guest Post… 

See you Soon, in 2016 💛. Much Joy and Love. Aquileana ☺️

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Hélène Laurent.-

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►About  Hélène Laurent:

Word Lover inhabited by images. Specialist in Arts Performance. Founder and manager of “La Poesía no muerde”/”Poetry does not bite,” art community that promotes  collective poetry and the creative exchange from, different aesthetic approaches and sensibilities. Amateur photographer. She took part in the collective publications “Poetry in the distance” (“At your encounter” and “In the end, poetry) alongside other spanish poets. She was second runner-up in the Social Poetry Award of León, and runner-up in the contestant “On what happens between verses” and “A poem in eighty days”, during 2015.

►Sobre Hélène Laurent:

Amante de la palabra habitada por imágenes. Especialista en Artes Escénicas. Fundadora y administradora de “La Poesía no muerde”, comunidad artística que promueve la creación conjunta y el intercambio creativo desde especialidades, estéticas y sensibilidades distintas. Aficionada a la fotografía. Participó en las publicaciones colectivas “Poesía en la distancia” (“A tu encuentro” y “Al final, poesía), con poetas del panorama nacional. Segunda finalista del premio de poesía social de León, finalista de los concursos “De lo que pasa entre versos” y “Un poema en ochenta días”, durante 2015.

~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~

 •Hélène Laurent dixit:

Before calling myself an artist I´d rather say that I have certain weakness towards people… I can not avoid watching and analysing from the distance, trying to put myself in someone else´s shoes to make this stranger appear as a new world, ready to explore, or, even to invent. A world of thoughts, feelings and experiences, which-whether shared or not- might end giving birth to a poem, an image, a calligram, or even a theatrical character. I feel that Art is a never-ending and bidirectional trip between the individual and the universal… That Beauty is placed both in what puts us and in what pulls us apart. And, that, at times, while traveling the path, a “You” is needed in order to teach out a deeper “I”.

 •Hélène Laurent dixit:

Antes que artista me considero “Apasionada por la humanidad”, tengo cierta debilidad por las personas, no puedo evitar observar y analizar en la distancia, intentar situarme un instante bajo la piel de otro y que este anónimo se convierta en un nuevo mundo que explorar o inventar, un mundo de pensamientos, sentimientos y vivencias, compartidas o no, que puede acabar cobrando vida a través de un poema, una imagen, un caligrama, o incluso un personaje teatral. Siento que el Arte no deja de ser un viaje constante y bidireccional entre el individuo y lo universal… Que la belleza se sitúa tanto en lo que nos une, como en lo que nos separa y que, a veces, hace falta un “tú” en el camino para llegar a un “yo” más profundo.

~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~

►About “La Poesía no Muerde”:

“La Poesía no Muerde” is a poetry blog hosted by Hélène Laurent. It is a collective blog in spanish which prompts are usually triggered by images that might lead to poems, or poems that -once published- are waiting to be illustrated with photographs or creative images, such as collages or digital artworks, provided by readers.

Feel free to follow and connect with “La Poesía no Muerde” on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google Plus.

NOTE. If you would like to be part of “La Poesía no Muerde” and collaborate by writing a poem, triggered by an image... And/or if you are just curious about how your poem in English might look in Spanish, you can contact me over here… I will do my best to help you with a good translation. 

►Sobre “La Poesía no Muerde”:

Es un blog dirigido por coordinado por Hélène. Es un sitio colectivo en castellano, cuyas consignas son generalmente llegar a poemas a través de imágenes disparadoras o ilustrar poemas que, unas vez publicados, esperan ser ilustrados con fotografías u otras variantes creativas, como ser collages o creaciones digitales, provistas siempre  por los lectores.

Puedes conectar con “La Poesía no Muerde” en Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google Plus.

~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~

►About the book “DESenREdo”:

Desenredo is the latest book by  Hélène Laurent y Julia Moral. It could be defined as a fusion of poetry, photography and drawing.  A peculiar way of honoring the comic.

The book is an invitation to return to the essences, to play with words and images, both through love and humour… It calls us to seize everything, to enjoy both the knots and the disentanglements.

★ My opinion: I have had the chance to read the book and truly enjoyed it. The poems reflect emotions with which we may immediately relate to. Besides, the illustrations, in comic-shape, give the poems an interesting interpretative twist. I recommend it.

“DESenREdo” is available in Spanish, Spanish/English and Spanish/French. The available formats are Hard Copy and PDF. You can purchase the book here.

You can also visit the namesake blog here. Finally, you can check out the virtual Store here.

►Sobre el libro“DESenREdo”, por Hélène Laurent and Julia Moral:

Es el reciente libro de Fusión de poesía, fotografía y dibujo en un peculiar homenaje al cómic. DESenREdo es una invitación a volver a la esencia, a jugar con la palabra y la imagen con mucho amor o mucho humor… a no desperdiciar nada y a disfrutar tanto de los nudos, como de los DESnudos. El libro cuenta con imágenes e ilustraciones de Julia Moral, alias Desmoral.

★ Mi opinión: He tenido la oportunidad de leer el libro y realmente me ha gustado. Los poemas reflejan emociones con las cuales inmediatamente nos identificamos. Además, las ilustraciones en formato comic le dan a los poemas un interesante giro interpretativo. Lo recomiendo. 

“DESenREdo” está disponible en tres idiomas, a saber Castellano, Inglés y Francés. Puedes adquirir el libro aquí.

También puedes visitar el blog homónimo aquí. E incluso la tienda DESenREdo aquí…

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DESenREdo, Book/Libro. Click above to check it out / Click en el logo para consultar.~

DESenREdo, Blog. Click above to visit/ Click en el logo para ingresar.~

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Hélène Laurent.-

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►“France Aches”  / “Me Duele la Francia” / “Mal à la France” :

►My insights on “France Aches”:

This poem, “France Aches”, by Hélène Laurent absolutely reached me.

It depicts with an existentialist tone, the succeeding feelings raised by the terrorist attacks which took place in Paris, France, during November 2015.  These sad events threw down at least 128 killed in gunfire and blasts.
Given this background, Hélène describes her feelings, which seem to set up in oddness and absorbed incomprehension.
The second and third stanzas come up with National characters, such as the French Enlightenment philosophers, from the 18th century and `Marianne´, a name which alludes to the French right wing, conservative politician Marine Le Pen. Not to mention other icons, such as the cock, which is France’s National emblema.

Hélène also makes reference to a flag with a single colour, which we assume would be black, representing grief following the awful incidents.

The poem is presented written in English and Spanish. And in video shape, in English, Spanish and French.

As to the videos, the versions in Spanish and French are both read by Hélène. The reading for the English version is mine. 

~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~ ★ ~

►Mis reflexiones Sobre “Me Duele la Francia”:

Este poema “Me Duele la Francia” realmente me conmovió. 

Retrata, con un tono existencialista, los sentimientos  siguientes suscitados tras los los ataques terroristas que tuvieron lugar en París, Francia, durante Noviembre de 2015. Estos tristes incidentes arrojaron como saldo al menos 128 muertos en tiroteos y explosiones.

Dado este contexto Hélène describe sus sentimientos, que parecen situarse  en la incomprensión.

En la segunda y la tercera estrofa del poema aparecen personajes nacionales, como los Filósofos de la Ilustración del siglo XVIII Y `Marianne´, nombre que alude a la política francesa de derecha Marine Le Pen. Sin mencionar otros íconos, como el gallo, que es el Emblema Nacional Francés. 

Hélène también hace referencia a una bandera con un solo color, el cual asumimos sería el negro, representando el duelo que sobreviene a los terribles incidentes.

El poema es presentado en forma escrita, en Inglés y Castellano. Y, en formato de video, en Inglés, Castellano y Francés.

Respecto a los videos, las versiones en Castellano y Francés son ambas leídas por Hélène. La lectura para la versión en Inglés es mía.

►“France Aches”. English 🇬🇧.

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►“Me duele la Francia”. Castellano 🇪🇸.

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Me Duele la Francia, screenshot. DesenRedo

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►“Mal à la France”. Français 🇫🇷.

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►“En la Puerta del Cielo” / “At Heaven´s Door”:

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►“Otros Poemas” / “Other Poems” :

(Spanish/English. Castellano/Inglés)

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►Gallería/ Gallery: 

►Aforismos, por Hélène Laurent / Aphorisms by Hélène Laurent:

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►Links Post:

http://lapoesianomuerde.com/category/el-rincon-de-helene/

http://lapoesianomuerde.com/2015/09/21/presentacion-de-desenredo-libro/

http://lapoesianomuerde.com/2015/12/10/la-mordida-de-susana-resena-desenredo/

https://desenredopoesia.wordpress.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_2015_Paris_attacks

http://lapoesianomuerde.com/2013/09/11/en-la-puerta-del-cielo/

https://desenredopoesia.wordpress.com/2015/12/07/me-duele-la-francia-mal-a-la-france-videopoemas/

https://desenredopoesia.wordpress.com/2015/10/19/marionetamarionette-desenredo/

http://lapoesianomuerde.com/2015/12/19/aforismos/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDfBf2uWEqmzMKLoKb6oSEg

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“Mnemosyne” by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1881) .-

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Mnemosyne/ Μνημοσύνη (Roman equivalent: Moneta(0)) was a Titaness, goddess of Memory (1) and the inventor of Words (2). 

Mnemosyne was also a goddess of time. She represented the rote memorisation required, before the introduction of writing, to preserve the stories of history and sagas of myth. She was the daughter of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth). Uranus and Gaia were the parents of the first generation of Titans, consisting of twelve elder gods/goddesses, being Mnemosyne included among them.

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Genealogy of the Olympians in Greek mythology, Mnemosyne among them.-

“Apollo and the Muses” by Simon Vouet. 1640.

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Mnemosyne’s name derives from Mene, Moon, and mosune, ‘wooden house’ or ‘tower’, so literally means ‘the House of the Moon’.

 

The goddess Mnemosyne is sometimes credited with being the first philosopher, as her gift was the power of reason.

She was given responsibility for the naming of all objects, and by doing so gave humans the means to dialog and to converse with each other. 

The powers to place things in memory an that of remembrance were also attributed to this goddess.

 

The name Mnemosyne was also used for a river in the Underworld, Hades, which flowed parallel to the river of Lethe (4).  

Lethe was one of the five rivers of the underworld of Hades, around the cave of Hypnos, the greek god of Sleep, and through the Underworld, where all those who drank from it experienced complete forgetfulness. 

In chant XXXI of Dante’s “Divina Commedia”, at the very top of Purgatory, Dante is dipped into the River Lethe, which will cause amnesia. The chant of Asperges me (purge me) accompanies his immersion, and he then forgets his past sins and his atonement for them is complete.

Lethe was also the personification of oblivion, daughter of Eris, the goddess of discord who was directly involved with the golden appple and the Judgement of Paris.

Furthermore, the words Lethe or Elysium are often used as metaphors for the underworld or Hades in general.

Charon was the ferryman of the dead, in the service of the underworld domains of Hades. He received the shades of the dead from Hermes, who gathered them from the upper world and guided them through the underworld. Charon transported them in his boat to a final resting place in Hades, the land of the dead, on the other side.

The fee for his service were two coins which were placed on the eyelids of the dead person or just one coin, which was put in the mouth of the dead as a Greek burial custom .

It was believed that those who had not received due burial and were unable to pay his fee, would be left to wander the earthly side of the river Acheron, haunting the upper world as ghosts, being also unable to reincarnate.

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“Mnemosyne, The Mother of the Muses” by Frederic Leighton. (19th century).

 ► Notes:

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Study of Jane Morris for ‘Mnemosyne’ (detail), 1876.-

(0) Moneta. In Roman mythology, Moneta was a title given to two separate goddesses: the goddess of memory (identified with the Greek goddess Mnemosyne) and an epithet of Juno/Hera, called Juno Moneta. Moneta is also a central figure in  John Keats‘ poem “The Fall of Hyperion: A Dream”. (See Excerp below)

‘Is Saturn’s; I Moneta, left supreme
‘Sole priestess of this desolation.’
I had no words to answer, for my tongue,
Useless, could find about its roofed home
No syllable of a fit majesty
To make rejoinder to Moneta‘s mourn.

(1)Mnemosyne, Goddess of Memory.  Socrates: “Let us, then, say that this is the gift of Mnemosyne (Memory), the mother of the Mousai (Muses), and that whenever we wish to remember anything we see or hear or think of in our own minds, we hold this wax under the perceptions and thoughts and imprint them upon it, just as we make impressions from seal rings; and whatever is imprinted we remember and know as long as its image lasts, but whatever is rubbed out or cannot be imprinted we forget and do not know”. Plato, Theaetetus 191c (trans. Fowler).-

(2) Mnemosyne, inventor of Words. “Of the female Titanes they say that Mnemosyne discovered the uses of the power of reason, and that she gave a designation to every object about us by means of the names which we use to express whatever we would and to hold conversation one with another; though there are those who attribute these discoveries to Hermes. And to this goddess is also attributed the power to call things to memory and to remembrance (mneme) which men possess, and it is this power which gave her the name she received”. Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 5. 67. 3 (trans. Oldfather) (C1st B.C.).-

(3) Mnemosyne and Zeus, parents of  the nine Muses. “And again, he [Zeus, after lying with Demeter] loved Mnemosyne with the beautiful hair: and of her the nine gold-crowned Moisai (Muses) were born”. Hesiod, Theogony 915 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (C8th or C7th B.C.) 

(4) Mnemosyne, a river which flowed parallel to the river of Lethe. “He [Aithalides, son of Hermes, gifted with unfailing memory] has long since been lost in the inexorable waters of the Acheron, yet even so, Lethe (Forgetfulness) has not overwhelmed his soul [ie unlike the other dead he remembers his past lives and retains his memory in the underworld]”. Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 1. 642 ff (trans. Rieu) (Greek epic C3rd B.C.).-

►Gallery: “Mnemosyne, Goddess of Memory ”:

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“To Mnemosyne (Memory). The consort I invoke of Zeus divine; source of the holy, sweetly speaking Mousai nine; free from the oblivion of the fallen mind, by whom the soul with intellect is joined. Reason’s increase and thought to thee belong, all-powerful, pleasant, vigilant, and strong. ‘Tis thine to waken from lethargic rest all thoughts deposited within the breast; and nought neglecting, vigorous to excite the mental eye from dark oblivion’s night. Come, blessed power, thy mystics’ memory wake to holy rites, and Lethe’s (Forgetfulness) fetters break”. Orphic Hymn 77 to Mnemosyne (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.).-

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Goddess Mnemosyne. Artgown by © Resa McConaghy. 2016.-

Goddess Mnemosyne. Artgown by Resa McConaghy.

 ►About Resa McConaghy:

Resa is a canadian artist, costume designer and author.

Art Gowns: http://artgowns.com/ Graffiti Lux and Murals: http://graffitiluxandmurals.com/

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Christy has written a beautiful poetic ode to Mnemosyne. The title is so clever, I like the fact that she has chosen a gerund and that Mnemosyne, the Goddess of Memory is being remembered.

The first stanza delves into the temporal dialectic of memories (second and third verses), alluding to Mnemosyne´s daughters and developing that idea in the second stanza, in which Zeus is also mentioned as the father of the Muses.

The third stanza entails a great twist as it places Mnemosyne´s influence among us, hic et nunc (here and now). Christy highlights how Mnemosyne is being acknowledged in the collaboration that beckons her spirit to birth again.

You can check out more Christy´s poems on her blog Poetic Parfait.

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Remembering Mnemosyne

She is one with memory,
Closer to the past than the present,
With a future that pops forth nine muses who
Walk with mythically-lined toes full of
Musicality, poetic verse, and
Laughter for miles.
~~~
The talented Muses are born as
Presents to the mind –
They are gifts from Zeus and Mnemosyne,
Whose passionate harvest spread over evenings that
Would later inspire three creative women afar.
~~~
Her magical wonder ignites poetic words that
Mix with design and descriptions into a
Collaboration that beckons her spirit to birth again,
This time with dialogue, syllables and an exquisite
Red fabric that cloaks us all in comfort.

© Christy Birmingham. 2016 .-

©Poetic Parfait 2016. Artwork for Christy Birmingham´s Poem.

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►About Christy Birmingham:

Christy is a canadian freelance writer, poet and author. She is the author of two books. The poetry collection “Pathways to Illumination”(2013), available  at Redmund Productions. And another poetry book,  “Versions of the Self” (2015), which you can find on Amazon.  She also hosts two blogs: Poetic Parfait and When Women Inspire. You can connect with Christy on Twitter too. 

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Poetic Parfait: http://poeticparfait.com/ When Women Inspire: http://whenwomeninspire.com/

“Pathways to Illumination”: http://redmundpro.com/book-store/pi/ “Versions of the Self”: http://www.amazon.com/Versions-Self-Christy-Birmingham/dp/0994094906

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►Links Post:

http://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanisMnemosyne.html

http://greekmythology.wikia.com/wiki/Mnemosyne

http://www.theoi.com/Khthonios/PotamosLethe.html

https://lpsmythologywiki.wikispaces.com/Greek+Myths–The+River+of+Styx

http://symbolreader.net/2014/02/16/the-secrets-of-the-odyssey-2/

http://www.britannica.com/topic/Lethe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aletheia

http://artgowns.com/2016/02/01/goddess-mnemosyne/

http://poeticparfait.com/2015/05/16/versions-of-the-self-poetry-book-kindle-and-hard-copy/

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“Apollo and the Muses” by
Baldassarre Peruzzi. 1523.

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The Muses were the Greek goddesses of inspiration in literature, science and the arts.

Before the Classical idea of the nine Muses, Pausanias tells us of three Muses, different altogether from the nine we know. They were: Melete, or Practice. Mneme, or Memory and Aeode, or Song

It was only later, with Hesiod that the idea of Nine Muses showed up.

According to it, they were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. Zeus and Mnemosyne slept together for nine consecutive nights, thus birthing the nine Muses.

Μnemosyne gave the babies to Nymph Eufime and Apollo (God of Light, Eloquence, Poetry and Fine Arts). When they grew up they showed their tendency to the arts, taught by God Apollo himself.
Apollo brought them to the big and beautiful Mount Elikonas, where the older Temple of Zeus used to be. Ever since, the Muses supported and encouraged creation, enhancing imagination and inspiration of the artists.

There were nine Muses according to Hesiod, protecting a different art and being symbolised with a different element; Calliope (epic poetry – symbol: writing tablet), Clio (history – symbol: scroll. The myth tells that she introduced the Phoenician alphabet to Greece), Erato (love poetry – symbol: cithara, a Greek type of lyre), Euterpe (lyric poetry – symbol: aulos, a Greek flute), Melpomene (tragedy – symbol: tragic mask), Polyhymnia (sacred poetry – symbol: veil), Terpsichore (dance – symbol: lyre), Thalia (comedy and pastoral poetry – symbol: comic mask), and Urania (astronomy – symbols: globe and compass). 

All the Hesiodic names are significant; thus Calliope means “She of the Beautiful Voice”, Clio the “Proclaimer”, Erato the “Lovely”, Euterpe the “Well Pleasing”, Melpomene the “Songstress”, Polymnia “She of the Many Hymns”,  Thalia the “Blooming”, Terpsichore “Delighting in the Dance”, and Urania the “Heavenly”.

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Hesiod also states that the Muses were created as an aid to forgetfulness and relief from troubles, perhaps as a balance to their mother, who personified memory.

“Mnemosyne (Memory), who reigns over the hills of Eleuther, bear of union with the father, the son of Cronos, a forgetting of ills and a rest from sorrow. For nine nights did wise Zeus lie with her, entering her holy bed remote from the immortals. And when a year was passed and the seasons came round as the months waned, and many days were accomplished, she bare nine daughters, all of one mind, whose hearts are set upon song and their spirit free from care, a little way from the topmost peak of snowy Olympus”. Hesiod´s Theogony. (ll. 53-74).

The Muses probably were originally the patron goddesses of poets, although later their range was extended to include all liberal arts and sciences—hence, their connection with such institutions as the Museum.

Although bringers of festivity and joy, the Muses were not to be trifled with when it came to the superiority of their artistic talents. The nine daughters of Pierus foolishly tried to compete musically with the Muses on Mt. Helicon and were all turned into birds for their impertinence. The Thracian musician Thamyres (son of the Nymph Agriope) was another who challenged the Muses in music and after inevitably coming second best to the goddesses was punished with blindness, the loss of his musical talent, and his singing voice.

►Further appearances of certain Muses:

Calliope was called on by Zeus to arbitrate the dispute between Aphrodite, the goddess of Love and Beauty, and Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, when both fell in love with the handsome Adonis. As a result of her decision, Adonis was to spend one-third of every year with each goddess and the last third wherever he chose. Thus he decided to spend two-thirds of the year with Aphrodite.

When Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom rescued Pegasus, the winged horse, shortly after his birth, the goddess entrusted the Muses with his care.

The young colt, excited to meet the lovely Muses, kicked the side of the Mountain, causing springs to gush out of the side of the mountain. Springs and wells both became sacred symbols of the Muses, representing the fountains of inspiration that they provided.

 Urania took the major responsibility for caring for Pegasus, and prophesied his future heroism as well as his eventual place amongst the stars in the heavens.  She also suffered a lot when Bellerophontes, a mythical hero, took Pegasus away.

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►Gallery: “The Muses”:

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►“Erato, the Greco-Muse of Love Poetry”:

Human-seraph hybrid embodiment

of love poetry plucking your cithara

under Grecian golden globe.

~~~

Sea salted air beckons all who catch

a wisp, a glimpse of your grand

pulchritude pulsating with scents

of slight oregano and plentiful jasmine.

~~~

The lightly brisked

breezes tease your deep

mahogany tresses making

them dance a slow motion susta.

~~~

Your irises possess

emeralds—the green this land

lacks. A black ink-tipped quill

rests behind your left ear.

~~~

With a sharp-edged stone

you carve into a tablet

in archaic Greek:

“A love star-crossed is merely a love

out of this world, of outer space,

blessed by the Gods,

that society is envious of”.

~~~

Urania tends to disagree

for the stars and planets see all.

Both seize the fates of all.

©Eva Xanthopoulos (Eva PoeteX). 2016 .-

*Previously published in Harbinger Asylum Poetry Magazine.

“Erato”. Detail, “Apollo and his muses” by Charles Meynier. 1800.

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►About Eva Xanthopoulos (Eva PoeteX):

Eva Xanthopoulos (pen-name Eva PoeteX) is a prolific Greco-American Author, Poet, and Artist who creates and dwells in the Greater Cleveland area. To date, hundreds of her writings have been featured in various publications, including The Golden Lantern, Mystic Living Today, Journey of the Heart, The Journey Magazine, and more. Eva has also collaborated with a multitude of musicians worldwide like Grant Wish, Audiosapian, Electrosurrogate, and Replicant Core.

Currently, Eva is the Founding Editor of Poehemian Press and the Co-Creator of the self-development website Etheric Archives.  Additionally, she is the author of several books, including Esoterra and the Sought After Blood Lines Fantasy Series. Eva has a B.A. in Creative Writing from Cleveland State University.

When she’s not writing, Eva loves to read her weight in books (while sipping rooibos chai tea), go on epic adventures with her bike, and practice Yoga Nidra. To find out more, visit her website.

You can also  follow Eva on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

~   ~Thanks so much for being here as a guest author/ poet, dear Eva~   ~

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Eva Xanthopoulos ( Eva PoeteX).

“The Escapist” (“Sought After Blood Lines” Book 1). Click on the cover to purchase it.

►Blurb:”The Escapist” (“Sought After Blood Lines”).

Book by Eva Xanthopoulos:

“While the town´s people of Eternicca find Vyvianna’s heart of gold to be both endearing and noble, she deems it to be her ultimate curse and is determined to rid herself of it no matter what the cost. Hailing from a lineage touched by a rare form of magick in a barricaded kingdom where all-things magickal are met with torment and wrath, she must keep her secret tucked away forevermore. Will she be able to mask her inner glisten or will it inevitably shine through and expose her to the cunning, ever-ruthless King Zollamedes? And no matter how many challenges transpire, will Vyvianna’s heart keep its golden reputation or will her ribcage soon become the home of an obsidian core, succumbing to a ruthlessness only tyrants should wield?”…

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►Links Post:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muse

http://goodlucksymbols.com/nine-muses/

http://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/Mousai.html

http://www.paleothea.com/SortaSingles/Muses.html

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I.♠Introduction:

In my previous post, I made reference to the Muses. 

Back to the most common typology, I found interesting that Tragedy and Comedy were represented among the Nine Muses. I am specifically pointing out to Melpomene and Thalia. Melpomene was the muse of Tragedy and her symbol was the tragic mask. On the other hand, Thalia was the muse of Comedy while her symbol was the comic mask.

Furthermore, as I read about them, I couldn´t avoid thinking of the well known symbol of the two masks, depicting Tragedy and Comedy.

→Now, let´s see which were the masks´purposes when it comes to The Ancient Greek drama.

The Ancient Greek term for a mask is Prosopon (literally meaning,”face”).

The classical masks had an important function in plays of tragedies and comedies as they were able to create a sense of dread in the audience creating large scale panic, since they had intensely exaggerated facial features and expressions. They also enabled an actor to appear and reappear in several different roles, in addition to revealing a change in a particular character’s appearance. Finally, they facilitated the playing of women’s roles by men, as women were not allowed to perform Greek dramas.

As to the costumes, actors who played tragic roles wore boots called Cothurneses, that elevated them above other actors. When playing female roles, the male actors wore a Prosterneda which was a wooden structure infront of the chest to imitate breasts.

Common clothes were the Chiton and the Hemateon. The Chiton was made of linen or silk and it was worn long. The Hemateon was an exterior cloth, made of wool, which was worn over the shoulders.

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Greek Sculptures, 500 BCE approx. On the Left: Thalia, Muse of Comedy. On the Right: Melpomene, Muse of Tragedy.

Greek Masks. (Late 500 BC),

On the Left: Greek theatre at Ephesus (now in Turkey). Built in the 10th century BC. On the Right: Ancient Greek theatre of Epidauros. Date of Construction: ca. 300-340 BC.

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→Before getting into the specif subject of this post (Aristotle´s theory of Tragedy as shown in his book “Poetics”), I would like to overall present the main differences between Tragedy and Comedy.

•By and large, we can say that a Comedy is a story that illustrates idiosyncrasies of ordinary people, has a happy ending where protagonist achieves his goal at the end.

The word “comedy” in Ancient Greek, means “village revel”. It is derived from the Classical Greek κωμῳδία, kōmōidía, which is a compound either of kômos (revel) or κώμη (village) and ᾠδή (singing).

The Greeks confined their use of the word “Comedy” to descriptions of stage-plays with happy endings. Aristotle defined comedy as an imitation of men worse than the average.

The most famous ancient greek playwrights of the genre Comedy were: Aristophanes, Menander and Philemon.

•In general terms, a Tragedy is a story with a sad  ending. A tragedy always deals with an extraordinary person who is led to downfall through his own weakness. Besides, a successful tragedy may have the ability to evoke pity and fear in the audience.

Ancient Greek tragedy was a popular and influential form of drama performed in theatres across ancient Greece from the late 6th century BCE. According to Aristotle, tragedy evolved from the satyr dithyramb, an Ancient Greek hymn, which was sung along with dancing in honor of Dionysus. 

The most famous ancient greek playwrights of the genre Tragedy were: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides and many of their works were still performed centuries after their initial premiere.

For a more detailed comparison between Tragedy and Comedy, I suggest you to read this list by John Morreall, which  thoroughly presents their prototypical characteristics, while comparing these genres as well.

Also, you can read more about Greek Theatres, staging and Structure of Comedy and Tragedy in the gallery below.

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:Gallery: Ancient Greek Theatres. Staging. Comedy and Tragedy (Characteristics ):

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II.♠Aristotle’s “Poetics”: “Theory of Tragedy”:

•Tragedy. Definition and Aim:

Aristotle thoroughly analyzes the subject of Tragedy in Poetics. Section 1. Part VI.

He says: “Tragedy, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its Catharsis of such emotions. . . . 

To Aristotle, Tragedy is the “imitation of an action” (mimesis) according to a certain “law of probability or necessity”.

The end of the tragedy is a Catharsis (purgation, cleansing) of the tragic emotions of pity and fear.

•The three Unities of Tragic Drama:

According to Aristotle these are the unities of time, place and action.
1→Unity of action: the play should have one main action that it follows, with no or few subplots.
2→Unity of place: the play should cover a single physical space and should not attempt to compress geography, nor should the stage represent more than one place.
3→Unity of time: the action in a play should take place over no more than  twenty-four (24)hours.

•The Six Parts of Tragedy:

Aristotles held that every Tragedy must have six parts, namely, Plot, Character. Thought, Diction, Spectacle, Song or Melody.

1→Plot (mythos): It refers to the structure of the incidents.  According to Aristotle `Dramatic action is not with a view to the representation of character… character comes in as subsidiary to the actions´. 

The plot must be “a whole,” with a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning (Protasis) is called by modern critics the incentive moment. The middle or climax  (Epitasis) must be caused by earlier incidents and itself cause the incidents that follow it. The end, or resolution (Catastrophe) must be caused by the preceding events and should therefore solvethe problem created during the incentive moment. The end  comprises events from the end of the falling action to the actual ending scene of the drama or narrative. Conflicts are resolved, creating normality for the characters and a sense of catharsis, or release of tension and anxiety, for the reader. 

2→Character (Ethos): The characters are the agents mainly with a view to the action, as Tragedy is defined as he imitation of an action.

In a tipical Tragedy, the protagonist should be renowned and prosperous, so his change of fortune can be from good to bad. This change “should come about as the result, not of vice, but of some great error or frailty in a character.” Such a plot is most likely to generate pity and fear in the audience, for “pity is aroused by unmerited misfortune, fear by the misfortune of a man like ourselves.” The term Aristotle uses here, Hamartia, often translated “tragic flaw”.

In the ideal tragedy, claims Aristotle, the protagonist will mistakenly bring about his own downfall—not because he is sinful or morally weak, but because he does not know enough. The role of the Hamartia (tragic flaw) in tragedy comes not from its moral status but from the inevitability of its consequences. 

In this way, the Peripeteia, meaning a “reversal of intention” entrains a crucial action from/on the protagonis tthat changes the situation from seemingly secure to vulnerable. This leads to results diametrically opposed to those that were intended (often termed tragic irony), and the Anagnorisis, which means “recognition” and leads to the gaining of the essential knowledge that was previously lacking

3→Thought (Dianoia): It is, the faculty of `saying´what is possible and pertinent in given circumstances. Thought, on the other hand, is found where something is proved to be or not to be, or a general maxim is enunciated. 

4→Diction (Lexis): It refers to the quality of speech in tragedy. Speeches should reflect character, the moral qualities of those on the stage. The expression of the meaning of the words.

5→Spectacle (Opsis): It is related to the representation and actors. Spectacle, for Aristotle, is what happens to the text of a play when it is performed. It is created by the actors and “stage machinist” who through their work give physical form and expression to the words of the poet. It is what an audience sees and hears when they witness the performance of a play.

6→Song or Melody (Melos): It holds the chief place among the embellishments. It is is the musical element of the chorus. Aristotle argues that the Chorus should be fully integrated into the play like an actor. It should be an integral part of the whole, and share in the action.

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Tragedy. Terms in Greek.

Freytag´s Triangle on the Plot Structure of the Tragedy.

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►Links Post:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_ancient_Greece

http://pediaa.com/difference-between-comedy-and-tragedy/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramatic_structure

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetics_(Aristotle)

https://greektheatre.wordpress.com/home/

https://www.whitman.edu/theatre/theatretour/ephesus/commentary/Ephesus.commentary.htm

http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/aristotle/section11.rhtml

https://aquileana.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/platos-ion-and-aristotles-poetics-on-the-concepts-of-mimesis-and-catharsis/

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/a/agamemnon-the-choephori-and-the-eumenides/critical-essay/aristotle-on-tragedy

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♠Two Quote Challenges and Several Awards:

► Quote Challenge: “Memory”, as a atribute to Mnemosyne and “Inspiration”, as tribute to The Muses  :

Inese, from Making Memories, firstly and then Heena, from Heena Rathore P. have nominated me for a so called 3-Day Quote Challenge.

I had already joined this challenge once, with regard to the subject of Beauty, and was invited by Paul in that occasion.

I thought in that moment that it would be a good idea to take the challenge in order to illustrate the subject of that particular post, from a different perspective, of course… 

Hence I will do the same now. I will use as a pretext my posts on Mnemosyne, in which Resa McConaghy and Christy Birmingham took part and my post on The Muses, which include a poem by Eva Xanthopoulos.

Lastly, I will add photographs from my Instagram account, alongside the quotes, as I had previously done the first time I was nominated to join this Challenge.

The rules of this challenge are: ♠Post your favorite quotes or your own quotes for three (3) posts in a row. ♠Thank the person who nominated, by linking to the blog. ♠Pass it on to three (3) other bloggers per quote, each time you post them. Or pass it to nine (9) bloggers per challenge if you choose to post all the quotes together, in the same post.
Note: I will post the six (6) quotes together. Three for each of the two (2) Challenges I was invited to. Thus I will nominate eighteen (18) Bloggers. 

If you have been nominated for a Challenge, and decide to keep it up -no pressure, just If you want, of course- then, you will only have to choose three (3) bloggers per quote, meaning nine (9) bloggers in total.

You can decide whether to post the three (3) quotes altogether hitting two targets with one shot. Or you can post one quote at a time. That´s up to you.

Also, you can choose whichever subject fits you and you may you present the Quote Challenge however you want. You can go for any of the topics I have used as well (i.e Beauty, Memory-remembrances, or Inspiration).

So, well then, without further ado, my nominees for the Quotes Challenges are: 1. Arresting Imagery 2. Coffee Fuels my Photography 3. Tails Around the Ranch 4. Living the Dream 5. While there is life, there is hope 6. D.G.Kaye Writer  7. Have We Had Help? 8. Ted Giffin 9. Lens and Pens by Sally 10. The Muscleheaded Blog 11. Ringana- Paterakis 12. Georges 2679 13. 14. Les rêves d’Eugénie 15. Qhapaq 16. Living with my Ancestors 17. T Ibara Photo 18. The Bonny Blog.

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► Three Quotes and photographs on Memory-Remembrances, as a tribute to Goddess Mnemosyne:

~ Click on the images to read ~

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►Three Quotes and pics on Inspiration, as tribute to The Nine Muses:

~ Click on the images to read ~

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⭐ Last but not Least: “Several Awards”⭐

I am quite behind with awards and challenges… I was going to make this blog an `award free blog´, but I have always liked to receive awards and enjoyed passing them to other bloggers… Besides, there is something about the gesture of giving itself which I believe is clearly intertwined with process of recognizing or being recognized.

I will keep it up with awards and similar stuff. But I just run off time at times in order to post, visit blogs and reply to comments here. Hence, when it comes to the amount of bloggers to nominate and the rules to follow, I might take certain licenses, usually nominating less bloggers than required. I might as well homogenize rules for all the awards and change their logos as well.

I really can not otherwise, not only because of lack of time but mostly because I find hard to nominate as many bloggers as sometimes is stipulated. 

Thanks for reading my attempt of `disclaimer´…  And thanks so much to all the Bloggers who have nominated me for different awards, which I will make reference to below.

I suggest you to check out these blogs and follow them, if you haven’t still done so…

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•Rules for all these Awards.

♠Thank the person who nominated you. ♠Add the logo to your post. ♠Nominate five (5) to ten (10) bloggers of your choice and tell them about the nomination. 

1.Best Blogger Award: Nominated by Loli Lopesino from “Comienzo de Cero”.-

Nominees for this Award: a. Shehanne Moore b. Course of Mirrors c. Making Memories d. An Unexpected Life Chosen. e. Eva Marks. 

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2.Best Blogger Award: Nomination coming from “Quimoji”.-

Nominees for this Award: a. Heena Rathore P.  b. Debi Riley c. Smile Calm. d. Kate McClelland e. Sacred Touches.

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3.Versatile Blogger Award: Nominated by Leire from “Leire´s “Room”.–

Nominees for this Award: a. A Russian Affair b. Inside The Life of Moi c. Pisces Rising d. Made of Sticks and Stones e. The Hardest Science.

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4. Sunshine Blogger Award: Nomination coming from “Pintowski’s Blog”.-

Nominees for this Award: a. An Unexpected Muse b. Anna Belfrage c. The Coastal Crone. d. Geokult Travel e. From Bluerock.

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5.Blogger Recognition Award: Nominated by “Robert M. Goldstein”.-

Nominees for this Award: a. Eva Poetex. b. Between Two Tides. c. Quimoji d. Luna Quebrada e. Sarah

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6.One Lovely Blog Award: Nominated by “Claudia Moss”.-

Nominees for this Award: a. D. Wallace Peach. b. House of Hearts. c. Comienzo de Cero d. Leire´s Room e. Cecile´s Writers.

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7.Liebster Award: Nominated by “Sarah”.-

Nominees for this Award: a. Almeno Tu b. Between Scarlett & Guest c. Pintowski’s Blog d. BrewNSpew e. Robert M. Goldstein

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8.Versatile Blogger Award: Nomination coming from “BrewNSpew”.-

Nominees for this Award: a. Millie Thom b. Jilanne Hoffmann c. “Claudia Moss” d. Carly Watters e. No Wasted Ink. 

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9.Versatile Blogger Award: Nomination coming from “Luna Quebrada”.-

Nominees for this Award: a. Sloppy Buddhist b. The Half- Eaten Mind c. A Wing and Away. d. Loujen Haxm’Yor e. Create Art Everyday.

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10.Blogger Recognition Award: Nomination coming from “The Half- Eaten Mind”.-

Nominees for this Award: a. Reality through Fiction b. Quando la mente si Sveste c. Stealing Quiet Time In Noisy Disorder d. Inspiration Import e. Oana Roses.

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11.  One Lovely Blog Award coming from “Stealing Quiet Time In Noisy Disorder”.-

Nominees for this Award: a.The Little Mermaid b. Araoimi c. Dolls Global d. Kyrosmagica e. Becoming Cliche.

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•Note:

-If you have been nominated and want to follow the Nomination Process, just look for the award down here, in the slideshare. Once you did, click on it and save it. 

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