Tetris God

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Hippos and Pregnant Women

Before I get any more mean looks from my female readers out there, I'm not making the comparison between hippopotami and pregnant women.  I know that pregnant women feel self conscious but I think in reality the only person who looks at a pregnant woman and thinks fat is the pregnant woman herself.  To everyone else she just looks beautiful.

Now with my disclaimer out of the way, let's see if I can stick my foot into my mouth.  Taweret is the Egyptian goddess of pregnancy and childbirth.  Her name means, "the great female one." 

What does she look like?  She is usually shown with the head of a crocodile (although sometimes with the head of a hippo), the body of a hippo with large breasts and bountiful belly, and the feet of a lion.  The crocodile and lion parts are to show her fierceness in protecting pregnant mothers and children.

Why a hippopotamus?  Well it was not because of the insensitivity of the Egyptians.  You need to remember that the Egyptians would have to deal with hippos on a regular basis.  They soon learned that male hippopotami are aggressive (in fact, the hippo bite is considered the deadliest, not because of the number of people killed by the hippos, but rather because when they do bite, it is nearly always fatal).  due to their territorial nature.  Female hippopotami are nicer.  They are usually very calm and do not seem to care about territory.  They are aggressive, however, if anything threatens their children.  So eventually, the female hippo came to be seen as a good mother. The Egyptians then thought it obvious that a motherhood goddess would be a hippopotamus. 

Want to see her?  Well, you can, as long as you live in the Northern hemisphere.  Go outside at night and look north (face the sunset and turn right.  You will probably be able to see the Little Dipper (looks like a spoon with the handle bent backward) with little problem unless your horizon has a lot of trees.  That is Taweret, or at least her back.  The other stars around the Little Dipper are also part of her.  This shows the importance of Taweret to the Egyptians since being this constellation means she will always be in the night sky.  Those of you who live in the southern hemisphere are just out of luck.  Taweret doesn't like you.

Despite this importance, Taweret does not have any temples to her.  She does have a lot of knick-knacks like pillows and bed headboards with her decorations.  It seems that she is best worshipped as a part of the home.

The TV show Lost shows a statue of her in season 5, episode 16.  I have never seen the show, but maybe some of you have.

Without going into details, we all know that a male must be involved with her.  In older myths she liked Apep, but eventually the myths said that she liked to hang out with Bes, a dwarf god of pleasure (oh yeah).

I was drawn to look for goddesses of pregnancy since my wife just let me know that she is, well, to keep with the season, great with child (of course I think she is great all the time).  This will be our third child and I'm pretty excited.  So expect to see a few more baby related posts in the next several months!  Once we know if it will be a girl or a boy, I'll have to have a baby naming contest here on the blog (I'm sure my wife will be pleased to name our child after a great mythological character...).

An all around fun site

Winged Sandals (http://www.wingedsandals.com/) is just a fun site.  If you've never been there, you need to go there.  Yes, the Hermes is annoying (or cute depending on your sensitivities), but he is funny and gives a new spin to the myths.  When you get there, you can go to story time, which tells the stories of Perseus and Medusa, Orpheus and Eurydice, Apollo and the Oracle, or Demeter and Persephone.  When you are done there, head over to the game page and try to lull Cerebus to sleep, fly like Icarus, fight Amazons, or just make some music.  Then, visit the Make and Do page to make some crafts or do some activities, such as take a quiz to figure out which god are you (I'm Apollo, by the way). The crafts are pretty good activities to do with kids.  The Who's Who page is a good basic primer for learning the gods and goddesses.  There is a good history page with all kinds of stuff about Greek history.  Ask the Oracle is like the Magic Eight Ball, but the answers are kooky and vague and you'll need to figure out how to interpret them.  Plus, you'll get to wash a goat and pay the temple before asking the oracle anything.  Finally it has a goodies page to pick up screensavers, desktops, and send e-cards to your friends.

The site is really aimed toward getting kids interested in mythology and should be great for those who are getting into the Percy Jackson series; however, there is enough adult appeal to keep me interested and my high school kids.  If you are a teacher, this is a must site. 

My rating: 5 lightning bolts out of five.  Great site! 

Clash of the Titans

I just saw the trailer for the remake of the Clash of the Titans and I think that it will be pretty good, so long as you approach it in the manner that you need to enjoy the first one.  It is loosely based on mythology so if you want to see accuracy, well, this would not be the movie for you.  However, if you look at mythology in the terms of stories and you want a neat story with mythic characters, then this movie is for you.  I'll be there watching it.  Later I'll do more study on this movie (this is Bubo's Blog, after all) and I'll do a post on it.  I'll do that all important question: is Bubo in it?  He better be, that's all I'm saying!  Click on the link to watch it yourself.

http://clash-of-the-titans.warnerbros.com/

Goddess of Small Pox

If you are used to classical mythology, then you are used to goddesses or beauty and wisdom, marriage and childbirth, the moon and the hearth.  However, the rest of the world was a bit more creative in their goddesses.  Take for example the many goddesses of smallpox.  That's right, you heard me, smallpox!

Sitala - a Hindu goddess that possesses people.  During her possession, you'd better feed her cooling food and cool liquids or her heat could really do some damage.  When she left you, you would be stronger than before . . . or dead.

T'ou-Shen Niang Niang - a Chinese goddess.  Her whole family got into the act.  each of her boys had a special part of smallpox that they looked after.  She especially liked to give smallpox to young children - beautiful young children, that is.  Some parents went as far to as to have their children wear paper masks at night while sleeping to keep her away from them.







These weren't the only ones.  You have Hoso-No-Kami of Japan, Sakpata of West Africa or Obaluaiye of a different part of West Africa.  It just amazes me that a disease gets its own goddesss.  The male chauvinist part of me also thinks it is funny that all cultures (that I found anyway) thought of woman when they thought of this horrible disease.  All joking aside, it just goes to show you how devastating this disease could be.  Today we pretty much have the thing licked and can worry about something as mundane as swine flu, but back then must have been a nightmare.

Science vs. Norse Mythology

The Debate Between Science and Norse Mythology is finally settled by Thor...

Mythbusters

Three things I really like are mythology (duh), Mythbusters, and The Onion.  So I was pleased to find this old article on The Onion combines the three.  There are no pictures, so I'll reprint the entire article here:

Mythbusters Team Struck Down by Zeus

SAN FRANCISCO—MythBusters hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who dared challenge the sacred explanations of the order of the universe, were destroyed by Zeus Monday. "I soared ascending to the ethereal sky, and by merest nod massed a fearsome storm, and with mine lightnings struck down the naysayers Adam and Jamie," Zeus said in a press conference called to warn all doubters of his thunderous might. The MythBusters producers have issued a statement apologizing to the entire Olympian community and declared that, from now on, the program will focus only on myths unrelated to the Greek, Egyptian, or Norse pantheons. 

A Two for One Deal!

Back to the Treasures of Britain - today we get a two for one deal.  The Crock and Dish of Rhygenydd the Cleric are treasures number 10 and 11.  Thankfully this has no stipulation of, "only a worthy man may eat of this dish."  Instead, it is just a plain treasure and doles out its gifts to one and all.  The just and the unjust (hope for me!).

If you find yourself in possession of these tresures, all you have to do is to wish for a particular food, say pepperoni pizza, and it would appear.  It is unclear whether or not you have to use these things together or if all you need is one.  It is also unclear if these things are dishwasher safe. 

This dish and/or crock has been suggested by some as being a possible origin for the Holy Grail.  It seems that the grail had similar abilities in the early story Perceval.  I also found one source that suggested that this dish had the ability to create medicine for healing.

Wheras some of these treasures have true life owners, I cannot find anything on this cleric except that he owned these things.  A bit disappointing.  This whole quest to detail out the thirteen treasures has been mildly disappointing since most books and web sites I find just list the treasures.  It is like reading some of my students' papers.  I see the same words over and over again.  There is some pretty heavy duty plagiarizing being done out there.

11 Mythology Gifts

Well it is that time of year again. Stuck on what to get? Have no fear. Here is the list of 10 stranger mythology themed gifts to give this year. Of course, I'll help you decide on whom to give it to as well. Just one of the many holiday services we offer here at Bubo's Blog. Merry Christmas!


Cyclops Action Figure (with rock throwing action!)

Every kid has a Transformer. But what kid has Polyphemus? And what kid wouldn't be thrilled to get one? At only $19.99, it's a steal! Your nephew will think you're the greatest.

Chinese Mythology End Table

The perfect gift for your parents. Style up their home with the elegant end table painted with Chinese mythology scene. The best thing? You can make up the stories about what the mythological scenes mean since no one else knows the Chinese myths! Think of how smart you can make yourself seem. With that in mind, $449 seems a small price to pay.


Eye of Ra Bottle Cap Necklace

Nothing says, "I Love You" more than bottle caps - especially one that you can wear and reminds you that death is only the beginning. Guys, trust me. She'll go wild for one of these and at only $5.94, you'll have plenty of cash to get that Double Doozie cookie at the mall.

Gods of Mythology Chess Set

This set features Zeus as king and Aphrodite as queen (why not Hera?). Asklepios (god of healing and medicine) is the bishop and the knight is a centaur. A Corinthian column serves as rook and to wrap things up, Pan is the pawn figure. The pieces are made of stone and can be yours for $229. Of course, you could just ship this gift directly to me.


Egyptian Thoth Candleholder

Think of all the romantic candle light dinners you can share with that special love one. What could make those nights better, why an Egyptian god candle holder of course. Let Thoth, inventer of writing and recorder of the deeds of the dead light your night to romantic bliss. At only $34.99, you could take two! Plus it will go well with the bottle cap necklace.

Mythology - An Epic Adventure for the Bravest of Heroes : The Board Game

O.K., enter the labyrinth and save the day.  Got it.  Certainly to beat Monopoly any day.  The box says you can be one of the famous heroes of Greek mythology.  Who did they pick?  Theseus, Perseus, Odysseus, Heracles, Fason, and Achilles.

Wait!  Fason?  Fason?  Who the heck would have made a Fason character over a, say, Hector?  What about Atalanta for the female players?  FASON????  (Who the heck is Fason anyway? - My best guess is that it was just a typo on the web site and that it really is Jason. I'd still rather be Hector, though.

Anyway, I'm as much nerd as the next guy, but $99 seems a bit steep for a board game.  Especially one without any electronics.  Still, the box seems pretty thick. Maybe there is more than meets the eye.

Mars Cufflinks

Give your dad that power aura as he walks into the next board meeting with these Mars, god of war, cufflinks.  At only $9.99, you'll have enough money to get that board game for yourself.

Atlas Book Ends

Perfect for Grandma.  Sure, she can't see the words on her favorite book anymore, but she still wants to display them, and what better way than with Atlas?  Want to be real clever?  Buy a bunch of atlases to go inbetween the Atlas bookends.  How much would you pay for them?  $10?  $50?  $100?  Good.  They are $100 and worth every cent.  Warning, the picture only guarentees that they are heavy enough to hold up one book.  Bubo's Blog is not held responsible for any damages resulting for dangerous acts like trying to use these bookends on two or more books.

Medusa Shower Curtain

If you have a college student or some newlyweds, you can help them out with practical gift.  The Medusa shower curtain is not only practical, but also emotionally helpful.  Think of all those mornings where some woman stresses over a bad hair day.  If you had this in the background, it would put bad hair day in perspective!  It is a little pricey at $59.99, but you can't put a price tag on peace of mind.  Also comes in Eye of Horus fashions (for that "sometimes I feel like someone is watching me" feeling).

Kitchen Tile Mural

What says, "I love you, Mom" better than a "Feast of the Gods" kitchen mural?  It is practical too.  When you get this beautiful kitchen tile mural for mom, she will love being in the kitchen so much that she'll stay in there and cook more homemade goodies!  Who wouldn't pay $240 for more homemade goodies?

Excalibur

A life size replica of the sword of kings.  Perfect for your boss and not as much as you would think.  Only $49.99.  Your boss is a female?  No worries, this gift idea comes from a web site titled, Something for Her. Obviously females love replica swords (not being one, I can't say for sure, but they couldn't put stuff like that on the Internet if it wasn't true).

So there you go.  Eleven gifts that any mythology nerd can give this holiday season.  And you thought that you could only give books if you wanted to give the gift of mythology this Christmas.  The best part is that I found all of these online so I didn't have to go to the mall (unless I wanted one of those cookies or something)!

Merry Christmas!