#syncretism

“Saint Brigid, Goddess of Arts” by Rachel Santel

Inana and Ishtar - Assimilation and Syncretism of a Goddess

r/Sumer - Inana and Ishtar - Assimilation and Syncretism of a Goddess

which is how jack ryan & the redhaired musical warrior doctor & her bold daughter & all their various doppelgangers got tangled into the mythos from the start , incl but not limited to richard sharpe & patrick harper & teresa moreno

but that isnt the all if it by long leagues

bc one of the stars of ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE REVOLUTION was rod steiger

who played the corsican emperor of france in that great russian WATERLOO i sometimes rant abt in the twists of this maze

against none but christopher plummer - & theres the trek connection going far back before it ever happened , b4 gates mcfadden played a redhaired doctor whose place was filled by anne archer as the badass lady fighting her doppelganger in a clash of empires in the sequel to RED OCTOBER

i saw the chain but not its first link -not being a westerns fan nor a film scholar nor critic

but i see how a n 18th c british supernatural novel abt italian nobles FITS into a GUERNICA-referencing story of the spanish civil war by a contemporary mexican dramatist now

EXPLICITLY FRAMED as the exact opposite , as someone who consciously & knowingly & deliberately BC MORALITY rejects a certain model of violent masculinity in a more sophisticated modern style than that of conan , sorry – cohen – the barbarian , but which is @ heart NEARLY the same swaggering machismo ….only w that extra twist of sadism that as howard wld say only civilization can give

& that tension , between versions or models of what is civilization , is as much @ the heart of discworld as the tension btwn models of “manliness’ @ the heart of sam vimes chara , & the watch itself – sir terry playing as equivocally & wickedly & to the same purpose & effect as tolkien even if in mirror image , w the definition of the word w BE A MAN -JOIN THE WATCH = WATCHMEN

( 1 hobbit dude + 1 human princess on 1 horse = 0 "living men’ if yr overliteral enf to rely on prophecy for yr shield of +10 immunity to disintegration ; likewise everyone can be a watchman in ankh morpork whether human or ‘monster’ or machine – YES I SEE WHAT I DID THERE – no matter yr gender … )

so i have another adversary for team wall & the possibility that a LOT of discworld things that seemed like random jokes werent , ever – i realized on reread that FIFTH ELEPHANT leads directly to MONSTROUS REGIMENT in some key ways – and MR has the jeanne d'arc expy , which yeah luc bessons MESSENGER

so now i gotta watch both of em to see if besson is clearly on the side of team elitist vs humanist all the way back then , i cant trust my memory for beans

but anyways

leading into MONSTROUS REGIMENT w its multiplex satires of church & state & nationalism & militarism to the point of bankrupting its citizenry ( sun tzu wld NOT approve borogravia ) but following on the heels of YET ANOTHER restatement of the fact that sam vimes - no matter how tempted - is NOT & never will ( let self ) be

Dirty Harry

there is the moonshot apocalypse-averting via bleedng edge tech of LAST HERO

& now i suspect that its not just a bit of a takethat to ARMAGEDDON

we all remember that captain ironfounderson is very big on civic responsibility & the demand of the "heroes ” of bays film is to avoid all such forever as price of worldsaving

but also of a now forgotten but then splashy & def bellwether film called SPACE COWBOYS

an early entry in the “old action movie heroes clinging to their laurels ’ genre see also THE EXPENDABLES & idek what all else by now

anither thing to check into

but meanwhile i can see very clearly now the OTHER references in SNUFF -vimes as mirrorverse javert , sybil as a nascent class traitor via inept tricoteuse - & , @ the same time the syncretism of vimes-&-vetinari w nick fury

combined w a reference to UNFORGIVEN

following refs to THE ROOKIE & oc the obligate rejection of DIRTY HARRY as a model of manliness

( altho willikins is a kink-positive alfred it turns out tho ankh-morpork is a bit unclear on safe/sane there yet as in so many things )

but yes IMDB confirms that LUTHER is def part of the monomyth

& SOUL MUSIC explains why elba wld take the role of a motorcycling monastic in an otherwise wretched film

& yes my suspicion that he was playing a captain carrot expy in THE OFFICE as "charles miner” are abt 100 per confirmed now

bc for reasons indelicate but which ive already dealt w back when in my “RECESSIONAL” posts on my then suspicions of PR as a complex takethat to the raj

terry pratchett has yes indeed & in a not insignificant way coded captain ironfounderson as black even before he showed up on the page or in the city eternal

“You know what they say about dwarves…”

–in THE LAST HERO , sir terry set up the PETER PAN syncretism whose deducted presence in PANS LABYRINTH he then confirmed in SNUFF - bc there is the crocodile , on the banks of the alt mississippi , not to mention the counter to vidals seeking personal / familial immortality by begetting a son who will “carry on his legacy” as he was forced to

but ghengiz cohen rejects that too in LAST HERO - what matters is how yr remembered in stories & he hopes his kids live for themselves not for him - agn STRAIGHT DIOTIMA , STRAIGHT OUTTA PLATO

but in SNUFF pratchett sets that out plain , w old sam happy that young sam looks like he is going to be a scientist aka wizard when he grows up & nurturing that

instead of taking it as a rejection

but also that he HAS kids following in his footsteps careerwise

oodles of em

& the most recent a mixed-race rookie who has a lot to learn from him

but also teaching him a thing or 2

including karate

& as importantly reminding him that he can never ever slip & become dirty harry

even when he is disobeying orders bc the orders were wrong ones or bad ones

or being a vigilante bc there ARE no laws to appeal to then

but most important to not do evil in the name of the good cause

ppl carelessly call discworld satire & dont think WHAT OF? let alone remember that good satire famously punches up

& i note again that sah ridley coyly told idris elba to read MOBY DICK to prepare for his role in PROMETHEUS

remembering that 1 ) gregory peck played both captains ahab & hornblower 2 ) there are i think strong & deliberate parodic swipes from the HORNBLOWER movie in PROMETHEUS along w swipes @ HOGFATHER & the watch books along w the swipes @ HELLBOY & BLADE 2 & CRONOS ive pointed out

& 3 ) in NIGHT WATCH pratchett moved the eastwood /leone plot themes from the US civil war to the post waterloo civil unrest in england following the napoleonic war

just as del toro moved them to the spanish civil war

& 4 ) put an ahab-expy as a salvific figure & manifestation of his hekate-avatars lasting power in the world , in THE WEE FREE MEN

& in SNUFF both the witches & the feegles are present as are the decadent sparkly aristocratic louche young vampires -& thus the old count of the legends , who was hornblowrers doppelganger in the old movie recall –by the law of magic & lit called Synechdoche

bc it is rev oates & his doubleheaded cretan style ax of liberation who sets the plot in motion there

but he was first set in motion by granny weatherwax

& the witch books & the watch books came tog in I SHALL WEAR MIDNIGHT

& “own goal’ scott didnt realize what he had done , by mocking BLADE 2 & HELLBOY 2 in his ROBIN HOOD

& then w his arch little janek-vickers charade

but sir terry set up sam vimes as a fisher king without it being clear to any not looking for patterns of strata

that it was an answer to the MUMMY 3 makers / mockers ( reread of LAST HERO adds a bit of knifetwist to millar & goughs scavenging bc the barbarian heroes code is no grave robbing – temples & palaces & wealthy merchants - but never the dead )

& so the first kaiju drift flashback scene falls into place in the long game that isnt poker but might be football AM style , & the role of dogs in the mythos comes into sharper focus bc DOGS = OUR FIRST FRANKENSTEIN MONSTERS for real which pratchett explores repeatedly in the werewolf context

& in CRONOS the first ppl we see are guillermo & his wife walking their own dog as a bystander cameo , so that parallel was always there in their multiverse , whenever they synched them up

but there is something fitting in the first key for me starting to unlock it all bein the fact that idris elba was channeling gregory peck so perfectly that i got it right off , even if i didnt realize which movie was foremost in importance bein distracted by chronological trappings ( but TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH is part of the weave so it wasnt wrong exactly … )

& then agn i despair –bc what good does it do , me or anyone , figuring it all out ?

bc SONS OF ANARCHY duh

likewise his many shirtless scenes & shoulder “scars”

so we have

a “reincarnated princess” from another world

who like Lu Tze is a janitor

& like Esme & Magrat & Tiffany is associated w bees

the other world is supposedly science fictional but in fact is pure fairyland w animal-people

incl a werewolf supersoldier “legionary” played by the lead of that whitewashed travesty of EAGLE OF THE NINTH not fassbender the other one

who self-identifies as a dog

& his mentor Richard Sharpe / Eddard Stark / Stinger Apini a bee-man

get it - BE(EM)AN

a pune or play on words

but BEE + WOLF = BEOWULF aka BEAR

so yah i said the disarming of Leatherback signalled PACIFIC RIM as BEOWULF fixfic

i wasnt the only one to catch that

but then theres the fact that her evil rivals are all IMMORTAL VAMPIRE ARISTOCRATS FROM SPACE im not the only one to catch that w early reviews invoking Countess Bathory even

& their decor isnt just SPACE MEDIEVAL GOTHIC (right out of the Daz Poser models catalog) its lighted & set to look like EL LABERINTO DEL FAUNO

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-tv-spots-images-for-jupiter-ascending-reveal-weird-creatures-sci-fi-spectacle-first-look-at-terry-gilliam-20150127

which makes the reviewers comments about tatum as resembling a muscular mister tumnus super funny

but while the OZ connection is right out there w the wachowskis talkin it up - & mila kunis playin one of the Wicked Witches across from the 1st SPIDERMAN movies Green Goblin Jr aka Harry Osbourne (get it-OSbourne = OZ another pune or play on words for director raimi tryin the name magic thing this time)

it doesnt make sense bc unlike what the wachowskis say its DOROTHY who learns & grows in her quest to fill the shoes of accidental heroic savior w deliberate actions out of her early “meekness” ALSO CALLED BACK TO IN THE OPENING OF ESPINAZO DEL DIABLO by facing a powerful tyrant & fighting to save her friends then insisting on true answers and honest dealing from another powerful leader

Ulysses on the other hand is only older & sadder when he gets home after losing all his crew to Poseidons revenge over them defeatin his son the cyclops -but still the same person when he left Ithaca

but it does confirm my belief that PACIFIC RIM is also TROY fixfic

as much as it like LABERINTO was VENDETTA & STAR WARS saga fixfic

bc the rly critical prior role for kunis

even more than as a witch misguided into villainy & greenness
by her evil sister

is as natalie portmans doppelganger in BLACK SWAN

if the direct ripoffs of multiple of Queen Amidalas costumes wasnt clue enf

still im glad to see im not the only one who saw the swan imagery in PACIFIC RIM & tied it all tog

even if the wachowskis are just mockin it all by makin THEIR princess a ttl helpless Damsel to be rescued by rugged white guys in a/ biology=destiny Chosen One pure Disneyfied fairy tale

theres a clincher in the use of the name Abrasax for the vampire royal family

if all the other stuff (plus more i havent even touched like celtic knot & neck tattoos & an Anglo-Russian lost princess w the name of the All-father NOT anastasia which = natasha & MEANS “reborn”, lost wings = ALLEGORY OF THE CHARIOT) wasnt enf

bc thats an old mediterranean gnostic name of the deity and-or an archangelic chimera guardian spirit

& ive been sayin for a long time that the del toro monomyth is Discworld AU or rather multiverse fanfic

but ive been sayin even longer that its neoplatonic gnostic heretical syncretist mystery-miracle plays w a slew of populist /humanist principles as grounding

vs the whole “born elite” destiny thing

which is true of pratchett as well

& its nice to have that confirmed w another salvo that also confirms my Wizards War w visual mirrors theory

guardian angels that are insect ppl lol sad thing is this COULD have been good if they hadnt tried to impose a reactionary narrative on it WE WANT OUR PRINCESSES TO BE THE HEROES TOO NOWDAYS!!!

cannot WAIT for CRIMSON PEAK to see the retort to this & 50 SHADES

This is the ceremonial version of the flag used for the Waxeroi people. The Waxeroi people are a mixed Heronoi-Arnadjanai people, gifted with the beauty of the former and the strength of the latter, but exiled from their homeland to escape a purge where they were blamed for the Thralondian invasion.

Dark blue represents hope, white represents faith in the Gods.

The flag incorporates elements from three different cultures: Heronoi, Norse, and Arnadjanai.

The full Moon and white fern are symbols of the Heronoi, showing that the Waxeroi consider themselves just as Heronoi as their mainstream kin.

The unicorn in the right is a symbol beloved by both Arnadjanai and Heronoi, suggesting that the Waxeroi are the best of both worlds.

The elaborate design in the middle mixes Norse symbolism and Rakolan traditional art. It incorporates two or three runes:

* ᛝ - yngvar (Rannarisk) or yquowara (Heronoi), for Freyr and his blessing

* ᛒ - bjarkan (Rannarisk) or bajarikan (Heronoi), for Baldr and his courage

* ᛟ - udhal (Rannarisk) or jothoru (Heronoi), for Odin, a god of knowledge feared by the Heronoi as a bringer of doom. Because he welcomes them as outcasts into his arms, and they are ready to face every challenge and overcome them.

The lines branching from the curve’s right represent paths, and the Waxeroi’s painful descent to freedom and happiness. The stars along the paths, numbered nine to the sacred number of the Norse, represent their rise from being outcasts into being the inspiration to many people.

isa-writes:

Listen, this is a very specific topic to be iffy about, but for your knowledge, the Roman gods are notthe Greek gods.

The Romans were big on syncretism (the combination of different forms of belief or intellectual thought) and the adoption of foreign gods. The Greek deities were known since very early periods via the Etruscan culture, which was heavily influenced by Greece since the middle of the 8th century BC because of trade routes as well as the Greek cultural potential and would come to be completely engulfed around the third century BC with the Roman-Etruscan wars, but just like you’d see the Romans claiming the Germanic tribes worshipped their own gods under different names (the Germania by Roman historian Tacitus, written around 98 AD), the same happened here, and the fusion wasn’t 100% accurate.

While in the case of Zeus and Jupiter, for example, it worked well, Venus is far more motherly and political than Aphrodite (as Mars is the Father of Rome via the myth of Romulus and Remus, Venus is Venus Genetrix, Venus the Mother, and the only time you’ll see Aphrodite being motherly is in… the Aeneid, a distinctively Roman piece), Mars is an agricultural god as well as the god of war and has way more political connotations than Ares (he was a member of the archaic Capitoline Triad), Mercury is far more linked with commerce than the more pastoral Hermes, and the list goes on. Apollo was imported directly and very early (a temple for him, the Temple of Apollo Sosianus, was erected in the city of Rome as early as 431 BC), thus keeping the name but undergoing a very distinct Romanization of his attributes and worship. Janus, Quirinus and Terminus were very important Roman gods which had no Greek equivalent.

Isis, for example, was worshipped as herself, equated with a number of deities in both the Greek and the Roman worlds and some of her methods of worship and symbolism were associated with the Virgin Mary. It’s a far more complicated scenario, babes, especially when you consider Alexander’s conquests and the expansion of Hellenistic culture as well as its contact with many other cultures.

Syncretism is way more complicated than “the Romans just stole the Greek gods and gave them different names, the uncreative fucks”. The traditional date for Rome’s foundation is 753 BC and the WesternRoman Empire would last until 436 AD. That’s over a thousand years of conquest, trade and growing and shrinking territories, and none of these factors are likely to leave a religion unaltered.

Besides, the practice of religious syncretism is way older and more common than you’d expect. The Akkadians did it to Summerian deities a few thousand years before this especially after the conquest of Sargon of Akkad in 2340 BC (“Mesopotamia: the Sumerians”. Washington State University). The Greeks were doing much the same with the Roman pantheon itself (Dionysus of Halicarnassus and Plutarch use Greek names for Roman cult), with the Egyptian pantheon and with the Scythian pantheon (Herodotus in both cases, though the associations would outlive him, such as the case of Zeus/Amon).

So,nothe Roman gods aren’t the plagiarized versions of the Greek gods, and I could defend this in front of a jury.