Yesterday's Twitter: Orpheus and Eurydice

From yesterday's Twitter, I saw this TED-Ed video about the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Here is the TED-Ed webpage, and you can find out more about Orpheus and Eurydice at Wikipedia.

Yesterday's Twitter: Valkyries

From yesterday's Twitter @NorseMythNews, here are the Valkyries over Sweden in a photo by Mia Stålnacke:

You can find out more about the "northern lights" and the Valkyrie here: The Northern Lights. Here is the opening paragraph:

In Norse mythology the Valkyries (immortal, war-like virgins) would come galloping across the night sky upon their horses equipped with helmets, spears and armor that would glow and shimmer in the darkness. These lights, colored red, blue, violet and green, would spread in curtains from horizon to horizon, amazing the mortals below. This is how the Vikings explained a phenomenon we now call the aurora borealis, or the Northern Lights. 

Yesterday's Twitter: I'm Dreaming Of A (Black And Brown And Native And) White Christmas.

From yesterday's Twitter, here is an item from NPR Codeswitch about making new stories instead of just the same old stories again and again: I'm Dreaming Of A (Black And Brown And Native And) White Christmas.

Here's what the folklorist Maria Tatar says about that:

"We all have a nostalgic connection to childhood," Tatar says. "But as we grow up, we start to look at some of the things we read and cherished with a critical eye, and realize that they're not so culturally innocent after all. And to me, that's a good thing. ... It's up to us as adults to reinvent some of our stories, to make them better, make them new, make them more interesting, make them more relevant. There's no reason to tell the same old story again and again."

Re-inventing stories is what this class is all about!

Yesterday's Twitter: Devdutt on Santa Claus

Earlier I shared Devdutt Pattanaik's article on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and from yesterday's Twitter, here are some thoughts from Devdutt on the fat Santa Claus and prosperity from the Mumbai MidDay.com website:

Devdutt Pattanaik: The Prosperity Gospel

In the article, you will see a comparison between Santa and Kubera, king of the yakshas, from the Indian tradition; you can find out more about Kubera and about yakshas at Wikipedia, and here's a Kubera sculpture circa 400 C.E.:

Yesterday's Twitter: Devdutt on Rudolph

From yesterday's Twitter, I learned about this article by India's best-known mythologist, Devdutt Pattanaik (an author prominently featured in the Indian Epics class), and this time he has turned his attention to a European legend: the Christmas legend of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!

Use for Rudolf's Nose by Devdutt Pattanaik

(illustration by the Devdutt Pattanaik)

Yesterday's Twitter: Nina Paley's Solstice video

From yesterday's Twitter, here is a beautiful solstice video from the marvelous Nina Paley. This goddess animation will no doubt be part of her upcoming film; you can find out more about Nina Paley here.

Happy Winter Solstice! pic.twitter.com/ETXkHTMveJ

— Nina Paley (@ninapaley) December 21, 2017

Yesterday's Twitter: Owl Mosaic from Tunisia

Yesterday at Twitter, someone shared this beautiful mosiac from El-Djem (the ancient Thysdrus), in what is now Tunisia. The Latin inscription reads:

Invidia rumpuntur aves neque noctua curat.

The birds burst with envy, and the owl doesn't care.

Notice how there are no breaks between the words. That made reading much more difficult, and people would usually read aloud in order to "hear" where the word breaks were. Having breaks between the words helped to make silent reading more practical.

There are some other gorgeous mosaics at the museum in El-Djem; you can read more about that here: Thysdrus (El Djem): the Museum. I really like this one of a sea nymph riding on a sort of hybrid sea-horse with a sea-serpent's tail and wings!

Yesterday's Twitter: Chthonian Christmas by Edward Gorey

I found this "Chthonian Christmas" by Edward Gorey at Twitter yesterday, a kind of anti-holiday approach to the festive season. It apparently comes from the 1966 Christmas issue of Esquire magazine; you can find out more here: Edward Gorey: A Chthonian Christmas. And for more about Edward Gorey himself: Wikipedia.

For one thousand, nine hundred and sixty-six years it has been your way, what with Christmases merry, bright, and so forth. Now we who are cynical of spirit and weary of soul take our turn. This is the far side of Christmas, for those of us who have tested the near side and found it wanting. Here, maledictus, are some of the devices with which we bitterly pass the holiday hours. Learn, too, of the curious and ancient rites with which we foretell the grim future, for it is our credo that insufficient unto Christmas Day is the evil thereof. Here also you will find the customary parasitic foliage, snow scenes, and family frolics, though it must be understood that we suffer not gladly little children, normany adults either. From most of us to some of you, then: a very, very alienated Christmas, a disenchanted New Year, some degree, if you insist, of peace on earth, and whatever you may find to your advantage in goodwill toward men.

I've included some details below: