Duplicity. “When Oedipus speaks he sometimes says something other than or even the opposite of what he thinks he is saying.” Yet “the ambiguity of what he says does not reflect a duplicity in his character, which is perfectly consistent, but, more profoundly, the duality of his being. He is double. He is himself a…
Category: Greece
Heraclitus
As we have seen elsewhere, experiencing the gods in Ancient Greece amounted to experiencing the ever-living within the ephemeral, hence the immanence of the sacred, its presence here and now. And we also know that, in this context, the poet is, to paraphrase Hölderlin, the priest of the immortal gods – s/he who sings their…
Of Poetry, Gods, Heroes & Mortal Things
The Greek gods are a matter of poetry. First, we know of them through the verses of various Ancient Greek poets; eventually poet-philosophers, but poets in any event. Secondly, their very presence – ultimately, their very being – makes sense in poetic terms alone. In other words: talking of the gods meant in Ancient Greece…
On Pasolini’s Medea
There are – among others, to be sure – three fascinating things in Pasolini’s Medea, which I recommend you to watch here before reading this post. First, a necessary distinction between meaning and sense. Inevitably, one wanders about the specific meaning of certain issues: which are the phases of the human sacrifice offered in Colchis,…
Plato, Author of a Tukano Myth
Is writing so very useful? A Tukano myth tells that Yepa [Huake, the demiurge] said to Yupuri Bauro, the chief of the Tukano: “In this world, you will have several riches: ritual ceremonies, feathers, arrows, blowguns, benches… Your riches will remain in your homes, the homes of the Tukano – it is there that your…