I think I get most of the allegorical parts. I like how simply you resolved the abandonment of Ariadne on Naxos (you should try to visit temple of Demeter there if you haven't already, but do it between late October and maybe April--the island is mobbed these daze). You're not a stan for the 'black sails' part of the myth and Aigeos hurling himself into the Aegean (so giving it its name)?
Incidentally I refuse to accept the idea that the so-called 'temple of Hephaiston' in Athens is any such thing. It's the temple of Theseus. I don't care what the WE-NOW-KNOW 'experts' say.
In all seriousness (since tone isn't always carried by text) I hope you can find a way to publish physical copies of this. That way I can read about the internet destroying my humanity without the aid of the internet.
It really makes me happy to get such praise. My fiction doesn’t get nearly the traction of my non-fiction works, but I very much enjoy getting the chance to put my theories about myth and art into practice.
I always felt somewhat singular due to my thirst for knowledge and avid reading( still do) , but I recognize a kindred spirit and I’m glad you’re here on substack.
I think you should complile it into one. I would read this to my son once he gets to a certain age like 7 or hopefully he'll want to read it on his own. This was really good and a great entryway into myth for the curious mind. Bravo! 🙂
I now know, having only just recently read Plutarch's Theseus, that there were debooooonkers in the ancient world. One of them, a new atheist rationalist whose name I can't recall, recounts that Theseus never even fought the Minotaur but instead killed Minos's general, Tauros, in single combat. Another says that the Athenians sent to Minos not seven cishetero persons with wombs but a bunch of tr00ns (schooled by Theseus!) and afterwards inaugurated a festival to celebrate their stunning bravery. This latter debooooonker is named...Demon.
PLEASE CALL ALEX JONES
EDIT: At the risk of coming across as a debooonker myself...'a pane of glass'? But ok the craft of Daidalos and anyway a myth is a myth.
Some things I really wanted to convey with the Labyrinth were liminality and instability, while also a kind of forced order and sameness. It has a will imposed upon it, but that will emanates from a consciousness animated solely by materiality, a space conjured into being by a society without imagination or perception of higher things. It represents an intrusion of the profane into the sacred, a pollution personified by the Minotaur.
A wonderful retelling. I like this Theseus much better than the image gained in the original myths. You have presented more of his potential and made his flaws assets. He is a character of hope, and not the gloomy Theseus that we meet in Hades.
I like the device of the "librarian." Such Merlin-like characters can make a story move in the direction of a great story. Good work.
I thought it would be useful to have a break in the main narrative as well as a kind of bridge figure to connect the myth-space with the world of the reader of my own story. Some of the magic of the world of the myth bleeds through into the world of the narrator, who is guiding the reading, so that there’s less a distinct boundary than a blurring between story layers and the real world we inhabit.
It's great.
I think I get most of the allegorical parts. I like how simply you resolved the abandonment of Ariadne on Naxos (you should try to visit temple of Demeter there if you haven't already, but do it between late October and maybe April--the island is mobbed these daze). You're not a stan for the 'black sails' part of the myth and Aigeos hurling himself into the Aegean (so giving it its name)?
Incidentally I refuse to accept the idea that the so-called 'temple of Hephaiston' in Athens is any such thing. It's the temple of Theseus. I don't care what the WE-NOW-KNOW 'experts' say.
*Hephaistos obv (it was autocorrect I swear...)
Bravo, sir!
In all seriousness (since tone isn't always carried by text) I hope you can find a way to publish physical copies of this. That way I can read about the internet destroying my humanity without the aid of the internet.
I suppose I could print it out and bind it myself.
That gave me an image of those comb binders I used for school reports back in the day - I think I still have a few I'd happily donate to the cause!
Thank you, Librarian, for this myth weaving together modern and classic. I enjoyed it very much.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. It means a lot.
This is Glorious in its layers of meaning - and it is a true adventure. Thank you !
It really makes me happy to get such praise. My fiction doesn’t get nearly the traction of my non-fiction works, but I very much enjoy getting the chance to put my theories about myth and art into practice.
I have been hanging on for weeks, waiting for this. It was absolutely thrilling. It hits close to home, too.
Thank you so much, and I’m most happy that it had an impact.
I always felt somewhat singular due to my thirst for knowledge and avid reading( still do) , but I recognize a kindred spirit and I’m glad you’re here on substack.
Thank you and I'm glad you're here as well.
Spellbinding! Thank you.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
I think you should complile it into one. I would read this to my son once he gets to a certain age like 7 or hopefully he'll want to read it on his own. This was really good and a great entryway into myth for the curious mind. Bravo! 🙂
Great idea; I created a single post encompassing all three parts.
Aha I wondered if you'd get back to this one.
I now know, having only just recently read Plutarch's Theseus, that there were debooooonkers in the ancient world. One of them, a new atheist rationalist whose name I can't recall, recounts that Theseus never even fought the Minotaur but instead killed Minos's general, Tauros, in single combat. Another says that the Athenians sent to Minos not seven cishetero persons with wombs but a bunch of tr00ns (schooled by Theseus!) and afterwards inaugurated a festival to celebrate their stunning bravery. This latter debooooonker is named...Demon.
PLEASE CALL ALEX JONES
EDIT: At the risk of coming across as a debooonker myself...'a pane of glass'? But ok the craft of Daidalos and anyway a myth is a myth.
Some things I really wanted to convey with the Labyrinth were liminality and instability, while also a kind of forced order and sameness. It has a will imposed upon it, but that will emanates from a consciousness animated solely by materiality, a space conjured into being by a society without imagination or perception of higher things. It represents an intrusion of the profane into the sacred, a pollution personified by the Minotaur.
A wonderful retelling. I like this Theseus much better than the image gained in the original myths. You have presented more of his potential and made his flaws assets. He is a character of hope, and not the gloomy Theseus that we meet in Hades.
I like the device of the "librarian." Such Merlin-like characters can make a story move in the direction of a great story. Good work.
I thought it would be useful to have a break in the main narrative as well as a kind of bridge figure to connect the myth-space with the world of the reader of my own story. Some of the magic of the world of the myth bleeds through into the world of the narrator, who is guiding the reading, so that there’s less a distinct boundary than a blurring between story layers and the real world we inhabit.