Troy is not the beginning of the heroic age. It is the point where the heroic age destroys itself. The Greeks understood this. Their myths do not describe a long golden era stretching indefinitely backward into legend. The heroic age is startlingly brief. From the first monster-slayers to the sack of Troy spans only aContinue reading “Troy”
Tag Archives: Orpheus
The Golden Fleece
I am not certain if I read too broadly or not concisely enough. In thinking about the Argonauts, I recall the Golden Fleece, a ram’s skin of radiant gold, and immediately think of the golden calf that Moses cast down, and then to scapegoats, Jesus as the lamb. The narratives form a skein that demandsContinue reading “The Golden Fleece”
Katabasis
Neil Gaiman’s Sandman recasts Orpheus as the son of the Dream King, but otherwise leaves the ancient tragedy intact. In the television adaptation, Orpheus survives as an immortal, severed head, speaking calmly, prophetically, and with the explicit wish for death. He is neither alive nor dead, suspended between worlds. Gaiman uses this image to exploreContinue reading “Katabasis”
Protective Arts 