The Shoe Tree is dead. Long live the Shoe Tree. I learned about Nevada’s Shoe Tree on the “Loneliest Road in the World” from a touching article in the Los Angeles Times. In December 2010, this modern-day sacred tree was cut down by vandals with a chainsaw, after serving as a curious and cryptic symbol in […]
Mythphile
all the myth that’s fit to print
Browsing the archives for the Greek tag
15 Jan 11
World Flood Myths: Giants, Stones & New Life
Within the last year, devastating floods have hit Pakistan, Vietnam, Brazil, Queensland, Sri Lanka and elsewhere, such that the Christmas flooding in the southwestern U.S. seems like a single drop of water by comparison. Floods are epic events that claim or change lives, fundamentally altering landscapes and leaving traumatic memories in their wake. Unless you have […]
24 Nov 10
The Cornucopia (Horn of Plenty) in Greek Myth
The Cornucopia, or Horn of Plenty, is actually the horn of the goat Amalthea, the nurse of baby Zeus in Greek mythology. Zeus, ruler of the Greek pantheon, had a rough upbringing. His father Cronos knew that a son was destined to depose him, just as he had deposed (and castrated!) his father Ouranos. Cronos, […]
1 Nov 10
The Myth of Arion and the Dolphin
My retelling; based mostly on accounts by Ovid and Herodotus, with a few original additions. There was a youth in ancient Corinth who played the lyre with such skill that many said he was taught by the legendary musician Orpheus, for he had the power to charm beasts with his songs. Once upon a time, […]
29 Oct 10
The Goddess Athena: Feminist or Misogynist?
Applying modern standards to ancient symbols, myths, and civilizations is as anachronistic as a Shakespearean production of Antony and Cleopatra in Elizabethan garb. Nevertheless, when we hail these ancient gods and goddesses, we must remember whom we are calling. As a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, which regards Athena as a muse of the mind, […]