#Maeander

[someday-dreamlands]

Pronaos del templo de Zeus Sosípolis y estatua de Artemisa Leucofriene, originalmente en Magnesia del Meandro. Actualmente conservados en el Museo de Pérgamo de Berlín

[drconstellation]

Memento mori

If you have the Good Omens book, you have probably seen the little winged hourglasses that act as section separators.

Then if you paid attention during S2, you would have noticed at least two visual representations of hourglasses appear: One on Jimbriel's assistant shopkeeper vest and a large one in Hell itself.

(There are actually two time-related symbols on Jim's vest, but I'll start with the hourglass symbol.)

These are collectively known as the Memento mori, which is usually translated from the Latin into "remember that you die." It is a philosophical reminder about the inevitability of death, one of the major themes in GOmens, which is ironic since we are seeing from the viewpoint of immortal entities who don't have to face it themselves.

Artistically you may see this expressed by a skull and bones, or a skeleton, a coffin, or wilting flowers. Another form of it is the popular saying tempus fugit or "time flees" inscribed on sundials.

We can also hear it - the Danse Macabre, the piece of music the Bentley plays for Aziraphale on the way to Edinburgh, is another example of this theme, as it depicts the Grim Reaper carrying off the rich and poor alike.

Hurry up Aziraphale, you don't have all day!

The other time-related symbol on Jimbriel's vest is the ancient Greek meander pattern, named after the Maeander river in modern day Turkey.

This represents a winding river folding back on itself in big looping oxbow bends. Symbolically it represents both unity and infinity - the undulating flow of human life that continues on and on into eternity through reproduction.

Sounds like something we've heard before:

AZIRAPHALE: Ah. The point. Ah, well, you've heard of Earth? CROWLEY: Ehhh… Not as such? AZIRAPHALE: Ah. Blue-green planet. It'll be over there somewhere when they roll out that quadrant. Now that's where the “people” that we're currently designing are going to be. I've seen the plans. We're going to start out with a breeding pair, and then pretty soon there'll be oodles of them! They'll breed like...um...well, they'll breed like people.

OK, then. That kind of sums up the two competing main themes in Good Omens nicely. Everthing Has An End or Eternity.

The problem is, they both sound equally horrific.

[mapsontheweb]

Disappearance of Miletus Bay

Once a bustling trade node, Miletus Bay slowly disappeared under alluvium silt deposits flowing in through the Maeander River. The planned city Priene, which had been founded originally in around 350 BCE, already stopped being a harbour city in the 1st century BCE. The eponymous city Miletus lost it's harbour some time during the 3rd century CE. Both cities would be abandoned as their economic base fell away.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priene

[ancientoriginses]

La biblioteca de Nysa. Nysa on the Maeander (griego: Νύσα o Νύσσα) fue una antigua ciudad y obispado de Asia Menor, cuyos restos se encuentran en el distrito de Sultanhisar de la provincia de Aydın en Turquía, a 50 kilómetros (31 millas) al este de la ciudad jónica de Éfeso.

[rotten-chasm]

Of pan dulces and meringues, of all things sweet—when your lips are tangled around mine in Amalfi's air and your smell stirred along after it has been plowed by. A sugar on fresh breadcrumbs; ants left me all bitten and raw. All you did was tend the bites with a hand softer than charmeuse and kisses more delicate than chamomile until my hertis rote turned to the taste of Sfogliatelle in the winter sun. / You made me twinge in every single bone / a canged heart praying amidst the tears yet froze as you appeared. Before I knew it—you were my own divine and I was willing to take away my salvation for the love you were to give to me. You had a heart as pristine as the glistering white of snow and a smile that was like the sweet sun breaking through a cloud in summertime. A godly beauty that even Icarus would dare to be harmed by your hymns—[...] in your eyes shone light that could pierce steel, so gleaming were you.

You let me breathe sweet verses made of etched proverbs and woven nectars: "Éros splintered my mere bones into soft stardust", it seemed. I gave my retina on the apricot-velvet solitude amidst fragrant springtime orchards and it allowed me to see an angel, [...] you, in Amyclae's Paradiso with gaillardias in your hair. Your halo radiated like daylight was spilling over you / raindrops that caressed Aphrodite's cheeks—always so delicate and never harsh, it reached on my bare skin and not my pale ivory. You were my desire from the garden at the foot of Thebes' cliffs to the greenhouses along the banks of Maeander—you were all I could dream of when my eyelids fluttered open, each drenched with dew. Your honey glazed over me like a balm; messy touches enveloped my body until I reeked of you and turned me to dust beneath your fingertips.

It seems like even my mind was splintered by you.

[sorryicantquitequeeryou]

I've been doing some light research on the mythological story of Karpos and Kalamos

At first, I was finding the same summary over and over with slightly different wording. Summary in my own words: Karpos was a gorgeous youth who was deeply in love with his boyfriend Kalamos, the child of Maiandros (god of the Maeander river) and Khloris (or Chloris) (spring, or new vegetation). The two decided to have a swimming competition in the river. Karpos drowned causing Kalamos to fall into despair and allowed himself to drown in the river as well. Kalamos was then transformed into a water reed whose songs are said to be sighs of lamentation.

Then I came across a completely different summary from a library that said the two were friends yet decided to include the detail that the water reed is quite phallic-like.

What. How can you call them friends and in the same paragraph make a dick joke?

Anyway- this lead me to look deeper and I found this awesome blog post that explains more in-depth about Karpos and Kalamos. I wanted to share!

Some of the additional information you get to learn in the article is:

Kalamos tries to blame the gods of the four winds for drowning Karpos by creating a wave in the river

Kalamos comes to the conclusion that it must have been his father, god of the river, that created the wave that drowned Karpos

His last words were of how he wanted to have a single grave and headstone for himself and his love Karpos

[steliosagapitos]

   ~ “Woman dressed in a tunic with a Maeander pattern Archaic Greek korai figure style of the 6th century B.C. / bronze Dated between 1st century BC - 1st century AD, found in Verona, Italy. Now in the British Museum.” ~

[kararadaygum]

..

[seagulls-den]

Ode to Karpos

Praise be unto you, son of sweet springtime graced with efflorescence and words stained with sap Your hair is adorned with the flowers of fallen heroes and wasted youths and your skin, sticky with nectar glints in the gentle budding sun If you should sink in the Maeander then let me drown as well, my love may your mother transform my body so I may grieve by your father’s touch Please, lend to me the leaves  of the citrus golden apple; tonight I wish to dream  of fresh starts

[elladastinkardiamou]

On a recent trip to London, I spent a morning wandering the antiquity galleries of the British Museum and was reminded — as I always am — that so many patterns and designs we use today are actually as old as time.

Perhaps there is no motif this is truer of than the Greek key, which is even older than its name suggests. Variations of the design are found on Egyptian tombs, ancient Chinese buildings and sculptures, and Mayan carvings. Still, we most closely associate the linear geometric pattern with the Greeks and their mosaic floors, red and black pots, and masterfully carved marble friezes.

Greek key, also referred to as meander, is in its most basic form a linear pattern. The design is made up of a long, continuous line that repeatedly folds back on itself, mimicking the ancient Maeander River of Asia Minor with its many twists and turns. Homer mentions the river in “The Iliad,” and it is believed that the meander motif symbolizes infinity or the eternal flow of things. (In fact, the word “meander” is derived from the ­250-mile-long snaking Maeander, known today as the Menderes, which flows through southwestern Turkey.) What is most astonishing about the meander motif is that it is found in the architecture, sculpture and decorative arts of many early civilizations — civilizations that could not possibly have known or seen one another’s artifacts. It seems that those cultures, independent of one another, created their own version of the motif.

[amadryades]

What are the best gifts to bring from Greece ? Either as an edible gift or something to keep for a lifetime! Thanks in advance 🦋

It depends on your budget and the area you´re visiting but in general for edible gifts I would suggest a bottle of raki, rakomelo, ouzo and of course wine, traditional "spoon desserts" packed in jars (any fruit and even flower or vegetable you can image, boiled whole in sugar syrup), products based on mastiha (check Mastiha Shop), excellent quality dried figs, loukoumia -turkish delight is a common treat in the Balkans- or lovely almond cookies called amigdalota. oh and different blends of greek herbs like dictamum , crocus or mountain tea make excellent herbal infusions! you´ll find most of them in herb shops or local markets. I really like the aesthetic of this brand.

There are many brands with great skincare products, lotions, bars of soap etc (Korres and Apivita are the pillars but there many pop up brands like Apeiranthos). For something more long lasting I can´t recommend enough handmade sandals, jewelry -from more minimal brands like Prigipo to more tradition/antiquity inspired like Lalaounis, and my personal favourite Sophia Papacosta. There are also excellent ceramics esp. in the islands of Cyclades and dozens of pop up ceramics stores in the centre of Athens. Another nice gift could be a kompoloi -a string of worry beads typically made of amber and silver- or folk carved wooden furniture, if you have enough space in yuor luggage. And I cannot not mention museum shops, they typically sell a little but of all I mentioned and for me, none tops the Museum of Cycladic Art shop.

[ltwilliammowett]

Visit to the Indian Archipelago, in H.M.S. Mæander 1849, with portions of the private journal of Sir James Brooke ... with illustrations by O. W. Brierly 1853 (c) British Library

[lionofchaeronea]

Roman bronze figurine of a woman in a tunic with a Maeander pattern, modeled after Archaic Greek korai. Artist unknown; 1st cent. BCE/CE. Found at Verona, Italy; now in the British Museum. Photo credit: Mary Harrsch/Wikimedia Commons.

[classicalmonuments]

I was asked about “epiphany windows” in the temple of Artemis in Magnesia. The ask was lost to Tumblr’s bad web design, but the answer I was able to find:

“Some Hellenistic temples in Asia Minor had “epiphany windows” in their pediments (e.g., Temple of Artemis at Magnesia-on-the-Maeander; Temple of Artemis at Ephesus), possibly used for staging dramas for a populace gathered below (on epiphanies, see Platt 2011). These would not have admitted light to the interiors but rather to the attic spaces behind the pediment (Figure15.3, 31.2)“

source

source

Hope that helped :)

[onenicebugperday]

hung out with this dude for a while today!! gorgeous

I think it's some kind of carabus but I'm not sure of the exact species

(eastern ontario)

Yes it’s certainly a carabus beetle! I think, based on the size and shape of the pronotum, it’s probably the granulated ground beetle, Carabus granulatus, rather than Carabus maeander but honestly they’re very hard for me to tell apart unless you have them side by side. The granulated ground beetle is also more common in your area, though, which also makes me lean in that direction. Very beautiful beetle, though, and great pictures! Thanks for sharing!

[forbidden-sorcery]

But the splendor of the god, to whom all of the treasure rooms of the world have been opened, is overcast suddenly by a pro-found darkness. Behind the enraptured truth there looms an-other truth which brings on horror and catches up the dancers in a madness which is no longer sweet but somber. This is represented in the myth, first of all, by the motif of severe persecution. The first account which Greek poetry gives us of the plight of the women of Dionysus speaks of their horror-stricken flight from Lycurgus, who beats them unmercifully. In their fear they drop the holy objects and think only of saving themselves. They have reason for their despair. Dionysus, himself, is beaten and in his fright has to take refuge in the depths of the sea. 'What this myth relates was cult practice at the festival of the Agrionia. There the priest of Dionysus in Orchomenus pursued a band of women with the sword and struck down all whom he could reach. Thus death encroaches upon the realm of the god, who is extolled as "the joyful one", and the "giver of riches". In fact, his realm actually becomes the realm of death, for the Agrionia festival, like the Anthesteria, the spring festival of Dionysus, was a festival of the dead. Dionysus, himself, is a suffering, dying god who must succumb to the violence of terrible enemies in the midst of the glory of his youthful greatness. His grave was in Delphi, in the Holy of Holies. Like him, the women who had raised him and had played his ecstatic games with him all met violent deaths as well. It was said that the "women of the sea" whom he had brought along with him from the Islands, lay buried in Argos, where Perseus had confronted him.  And there, too, it was believed, were found the graves of the three Theban maenads who were supposed to have established the cult of Dionysus in Magnesia on the Maeander. Ariadne, the symbol of womanhood which gave itself up to Dionysus in love, is at the same time the symbol of the suffering and death of all those who are associated with him. Her grave was exhibited in several places. She, too, was sup-posed to have hanged herself like the daughter of Icarius, the murdered friend of Dionysus, Erigone, who was commemorated on the day of the dead of the Feast of the Pots. In her cult not only days of joy were celebrated but also days of sorrow, and it is highly significant that the corpse of the murdered Hesiod was said to have been washed up on the shore by the waves of the sea on the day of an Ariadne festival in Locris.

Walter F. Otto - Dionysus: Myth and Cult