In the modern world we rarely discuss the validity of ancient polytheistic religions like those of the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and Mesopotamians. We most often think of them as "what people used to think" and "simple myths." But reading Ishmael has opened my eyes to the fact that everything could be called a myth.
So Ishtar, is she real? Is she plausible? Could she have actually had the impact she had and done the things she did? The only thing I do know for sure is that she's symbolic. As the goddess of both fertility and warfare, pretty much life and death, she could also be called ironic, but I don't see her that way. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Ishtar is seen as an evil goddess, one who is cunning and manipulating and can never truly love, only lust. Then in "The Descent of Ishtar" she is seen as almost Innocent and misunderstood. So both extremes are evident in her character, it's not ironic, its real.
Other questions also arise. Like what does it show about Mesopotamian society if their Goddess of Warfare is also the Goddess of Fertility? I think it shows that in ancient life, death and life were intensely intertwined to the point that war meant death and death meant life and life meant war. It doesn't sound like it makes sense but in the ancient world it does. It's all a circle, so no wonder that Ishtar represented both ends of the spectrum. People needed to know that when someone died, no matter if it involved war or not, it was okay because death inevitably meant life, no matter how messed up it sounds. So to me, Ishtar means hope for people. I don't think that she tried to make herself out to be a dirty whiner, maybe its the bias of the author of Gilgamesh. Either way, Ishtar just seems misunderstood to me.
I've had a hard time trying to think about how I relate to Ishtar. I mean the dancer wrote something brilliant, so brilliant that I couldn't completely understand the meaning of her well... meaning. Quite possibly because I'm not a dancer and I'm not her and it's her personal meaning. So then what is my meaning? I'm not sure actually. I usually have a lot to say and ironically I'm silent (even though I'm still babbling on about being silent.) Before I talked about the irony of Ishtar. The irony of life and death. And now the irony of silence. I'm silent because I'm thinking, something most people don't do in depth when discussing Ishtar. She's not simply what she seems on the surface, she's deep. She's scared of vulnerability because she was exposed by the Queen and then by the rejection of Gilgamesh, and she didn't like it. So now she's pretending to be someone else so that she can't be hurt again. But really? She's waiting for someone somewhere to figure out that she's not what she seems. I think she taught me to think, maybe the biggest irony of all.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
York to Windsor
We're supposed to write something interesting and I'm not sure about everyone else but I find this stuff highly interesting (plus I had no clue what else I was going to write.)
Note: Done without any internet/book/human aid (except for the years).
The British Monarchy, 1461-Present
YEdward IV - Built St. George's Chaplel in Windsor
YEdward V - Is believed to have been murdured, along with his younger brother, by his uncle, Richard III
YRichard III - Beheaded during the (2 hour) Battle of Bonsworth, bones were scattered around during the Reformation
THenry VII - By blood, a Lancaster, by marrying Elizabeth of York united the two houses and ended the Wars of the Roses
THenry VII - The legendary king who had six wives (Catherine of Aaragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Katherine Parr) --> (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived)
TEdward VI - Henry VII's beloved son and third child, took the throne at nine, tricked into leaving the throne to Lady Jane Grey instead of his sister Mary by his uncle, Edward Seymour, when he died at age fifteen
TLady Jane Grey - Used by Edward Seymour to keep the Protestants in power and the Catholic Mary Tudor off the throne when Edward died, only reigned for nine days before Mary defeated the Seymour party
TMary I - First child of Henry VIII, the infamous "Bloody Mary," nicknamed for persecuting Protestants. In the nursery rhyme "The Three Blind Mice" is the old farmer's wife (story is about the nine days Lady Jane Grey was queen)
TElizabeth I - Second child of Henry VIII, the Virgin Queen who reigned for forty-five years during the Renaissance, daughter of Anne Boleyn who was beheaded by Henry VIII when Bess was only three
SJames I - Only son of Mary Queen of Scots (a cousin of Elizabeth I), inherited the throne when Elizabeth died, already King James VI of Scotland when he became King James I of England, thus uniting the two crowns for the first time
SCharles I - Had a stutter and was a weak ruler, civil wars broke out in both Scotland and England during his reign, executed by the people to start the Interregnum Period (Cromwell took over)
SCharles II - Son of Charles I, reinstated after eleven years of no monarch, practiced religious tolerance
SJames II - Roman-Catholic, grew up in exile in France at the court of Louis XIV, became king at 51 fifty-one, a hated ruler, abdicated his throne to his daughter and her husband, died in France
SWilliam III and Mary II - Protestants, Mary was the daughter of James II and William (of Orange) her husband, invaded James's kingdom together and forced him to abdicate, ruled together, Mary died without children and William ruled afterwards, put down the law that England and Scotland could never be ruled by a Catholic
SAnne - Sister of Mary II, reigned during the time that party politics were becoming very popular in England and the time when England and Scotland began their process of uniting
HGeorge I - Elector of Hanover, 52nd in line and only succeded to throne because he was the closest Protestant, ruled both kingdoms at the same time, dislike between him and his son the future George II
HGeorge II - The last British Monarch to fight alongside his soldiers (in France, 1743), reign plagued by threats of the Scotish Jacobites for much of the time but finally defeated them
HGeorge III - Grandson of George II, remembered for being the hated King Geoge who lost the American Colonies and going mad, widely believed to be a result of lead poisoning
HGeorge IV - Ruled as Prince Regent for the last ten years of his father's reign because he was unfit to do so himself, extravagent art collector
HWilliam IV - Brother of George IV, forced to sign the Reform Act which he highly opposed
HVictoria - Had the longest reign in British history, married her first cousin Albert of Saxe-Coburg, had nine children who married into all of the most important houses in Europe and are indirectly responsible for World War I, bought and renovated Buckingham Palace for her large family
SCGEdward VII - Eldest son of Queen Victoria, heir apparent for the longest time in British history, known as the "Uncle of Europe" because he was related to very nearly, every other ruler on the continent
WGeorge V - Reigned during World War I, was the one who changed the family's name from the very German Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor
WEdward VIII - Met and fell inlove with an American actress, Wallis Simpson, while he was Prince of Wales, abdicated after an eleven month reign because he wasn't allowed to marry Ms. Simpson, given the title HRH Duke of Windsor by his brother George VI, lived in Paris until his death in 1972
WGeorge VI - Born Albert, second son of George V, took the throne after his brother's abdication, beloved for his charm and innocence during World War I, worked closely with Winston Churchill
WElizabeth II - The current ruler, asceded at age twenty-six, has ruled during an age of great political change
KEY
Y = York
T = Tudor
S = Stuart
H = Hanover
SCG = Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
W = Windsor
Note: Done without any internet/book/human aid (except for the years).
The British Monarchy, 1461-Present
YEdward IV - Built St. George's Chaplel in Windsor
YEdward V - Is believed to have been murdured, along with his younger brother, by his uncle, Richard III
YRichard III - Beheaded during the (2 hour) Battle of Bonsworth, bones were scattered around during the Reformation
THenry VII - By blood, a Lancaster, by marrying Elizabeth of York united the two houses and ended the Wars of the Roses
THenry VII - The legendary king who had six wives (Catherine of Aaragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Katherine Parr) --> (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived)
TEdward VI - Henry VII's beloved son and third child, took the throne at nine, tricked into leaving the throne to Lady Jane Grey instead of his sister Mary by his uncle, Edward Seymour, when he died at age fifteen
TLady Jane Grey - Used by Edward Seymour to keep the Protestants in power and the Catholic Mary Tudor off the throne when Edward died, only reigned for nine days before Mary defeated the Seymour party
TMary I - First child of Henry VIII, the infamous "Bloody Mary," nicknamed for persecuting Protestants. In the nursery rhyme "The Three Blind Mice" is the old farmer's wife (story is about the nine days Lady Jane Grey was queen)
TElizabeth I - Second child of Henry VIII, the Virgin Queen who reigned for forty-five years during the Renaissance, daughter of Anne Boleyn who was beheaded by Henry VIII when Bess was only three
SJames I - Only son of Mary Queen of Scots (a cousin of Elizabeth I), inherited the throne when Elizabeth died, already King James VI of Scotland when he became King James I of England, thus uniting the two crowns for the first time
SCharles I - Had a stutter and was a weak ruler, civil wars broke out in both Scotland and England during his reign, executed by the people to start the Interregnum Period (Cromwell took over)
SCharles II - Son of Charles I, reinstated after eleven years of no monarch, practiced religious tolerance
SJames II - Roman-Catholic, grew up in exile in France at the court of Louis XIV, became king at 51 fifty-one, a hated ruler, abdicated his throne to his daughter and her husband, died in France
SWilliam III and Mary II - Protestants, Mary was the daughter of James II and William (of Orange) her husband, invaded James's kingdom together and forced him to abdicate, ruled together, Mary died without children and William ruled afterwards, put down the law that England and Scotland could never be ruled by a Catholic
SAnne - Sister of Mary II, reigned during the time that party politics were becoming very popular in England and the time when England and Scotland began their process of uniting
HGeorge I - Elector of Hanover, 52nd in line and only succeded to throne because he was the closest Protestant, ruled both kingdoms at the same time, dislike between him and his son the future George II
HGeorge II - The last British Monarch to fight alongside his soldiers (in France, 1743), reign plagued by threats of the Scotish Jacobites for much of the time but finally defeated them
HGeorge III - Grandson of George II, remembered for being the hated King Geoge who lost the American Colonies and going mad, widely believed to be a result of lead poisoning
HGeorge IV - Ruled as Prince Regent for the last ten years of his father's reign because he was unfit to do so himself, extravagent art collector
HWilliam IV - Brother of George IV, forced to sign the Reform Act which he highly opposed
HVictoria - Had the longest reign in British history, married her first cousin Albert of Saxe-Coburg, had nine children who married into all of the most important houses in Europe and are indirectly responsible for World War I, bought and renovated Buckingham Palace for her large family
SCGEdward VII - Eldest son of Queen Victoria, heir apparent for the longest time in British history, known as the "Uncle of Europe" because he was related to very nearly, every other ruler on the continent
WGeorge V - Reigned during World War I, was the one who changed the family's name from the very German Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor
WEdward VIII - Met and fell inlove with an American actress, Wallis Simpson, while he was Prince of Wales, abdicated after an eleven month reign because he wasn't allowed to marry Ms. Simpson, given the title HRH Duke of Windsor by his brother George VI, lived in Paris until his death in 1972
WGeorge VI - Born Albert, second son of George V, took the throne after his brother's abdication, beloved for his charm and innocence during World War I, worked closely with Winston Churchill
WElizabeth II - The current ruler, asceded at age twenty-six, has ruled during an age of great political change
KEY
Y = York
T = Tudor
S = Stuart
H = Hanover
SCG = Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
W = Windsor
Sunday, September 7, 2008
First Day Poem
A cry, a scream, a shriek
The new life- bare, infantile, and fragile
Surrounded by people who gently massage the caches of red atop her tiny head
and piously sit, eyes closed, hands clasped, thanking God for this day-
For her first day.
Another cry, scream, shriek
The flaming red of a young girl's braids whipping about
Her hands and legs violently clutching onto the body of her young mother
Tears thundering down her round, little cheeks
with ominous fog rolling off the blacktop beyond her
While her mother just hopes that they'll get through this first day.
An internal cry, scream, shriek reverberate under the shield of perfectly straightened, scarlet hair
Other insecurities and uncertainties plaguing the adolescent's mind as she journeys
down the road,
towards unknown territory.
Walking through the halls seemed strange, foreign
And as the bell rings for the first time-
the girl takes her seat and realizes how much she is dreading her first day.
Years later there are no more tears to cry, shrieks to bellow, or screams to shout-
only silence.
The muted confidence of the ginger-haired girl follows her around as she-
Wanders the current corridors,
Meeting new faces,
Enjoying her learning of new lessons,
Becoming immersed in her new community
And crafting the start of a unique identity
A newly found excitement for her first day tingling about inside.
The new life- bare, infantile, and fragile
Surrounded by people who gently massage the caches of red atop her tiny head
and piously sit, eyes closed, hands clasped, thanking God for this day-
For her first day.
Another cry, scream, shriek
The flaming red of a young girl's braids whipping about
Her hands and legs violently clutching onto the body of her young mother
Tears thundering down her round, little cheeks
with ominous fog rolling off the blacktop beyond her
While her mother just hopes that they'll get through this first day.
An internal cry, scream, shriek reverberate under the shield of perfectly straightened, scarlet hair
Other insecurities and uncertainties plaguing the adolescent's mind as she journeys
down the road,
towards unknown territory.
Walking through the halls seemed strange, foreign
And as the bell rings for the first time-
the girl takes her seat and realizes how much she is dreading her first day.
Years later there are no more tears to cry, shrieks to bellow, or screams to shout-
only silence.
The muted confidence of the ginger-haired girl follows her around as she-
Wanders the current corridors,
Meeting new faces,
Enjoying her learning of new lessons,
Becoming immersed in her new community
And crafting the start of a unique identity
A newly found excitement for her first day tingling about inside.
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