Another enlightening point in last night's reading was this idea of women being a "thieving" fire. How women not only have a physical hunger for food, but also an erotic hunger/sexual desire.
--Anjelica
--Anjelica
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Humans and the belly
After class today, I keep on thinking about the human condition. It is fascinating how because Zeus chose the appealing looking meat with the bones underneath, the human race was alloted the belly. The belly being symbolic for work and always having to toil to satisfy our hunger. Had Zeus chosen the other pile, would humans have been immortal? Why is it that we humans are cursed with always wanting and never being satisfied?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I don't think that humans would have become immortal. I believe it was humans' fate to stay mortal no matter what happens in myths. In some way, receiving the bones would have become some sort of symbol for mortality. For example, because humans die, their corpses rot and as a result, we are left with bones. Bones, in another sense, are a constant reminder that all humans die.
ReplyDeleteJust a thought!
Yes, the section on Pandora and fire is really interesting! On women and fire, it's worth noting how neatly the myth works this all out. Hephaestus is the blacksmith god, closely associated with fire, and of course he is the fabricator of Pandora in this myth. He's also notoriously connected with Aphrodite, the goddess of love and desire, as her consort. I wonder, though, whether Vernant has it right: is it really the Promethean fire that is interchangeable (as a sign in this system) with Pandora? Or could it also be the celestial fire of Zeus (who, after all, is the one who devised this "race of women")? If it's celestial fire, then women are connected to a type of fire that is elemental, powerful, and dangerous.
ReplyDelete