They repeated the weaving every four years, and this new weaving represented a continuation of peace. They liken the way that threads fall into place during weaving to the progress of peace talks. To Scheid and Svenbro, they negotiated peace so well “that only the collective weaving of a cloak for the statue of Hera at Olympia seemed adequate to commemmorate it” (2001: 11). These women also ran the Heraean games and managed the weaving of her robe.Ī statue of Hera at the Louvre Museum
A noble woman was chosen from the sixteen cities in Elis to find a peace to peace. The Pisans decided to abandon his destructive path and make peace with the Eleans. The practice dated to a period when the tyrannical ruler of Pisa died. While the games, called Heraea, took place, women wove a robe for Hera. John Scheid and Jesper Svenbro discuss a form of Olympic Games for “maidens” held at Hera’s temple (2001: 10). Weaving also comes into play around the goddess Hera, celebrated at Olympia. I wonder how Athena felt about such a slight against her great craft. Seeing it as “women’s work”, they take her at her word that she’s still working on it. Her advantage is that she knows the men have no clue about weaving. She manages to keep this going for three years until an idiotic maid betrays her.
Penelope dutifully carried out her weaving by day…and unravelled her work by night, keeping the shroud unfinished. From Gaiman's deft and witty prose emerge the gods with their fiercely competitive natures, their susceptibility to being duped and to duping others, and their tendency to let passion ignite their actions, making these long-ago myths breathe pungent life again.‘Penelope and the Suitors’ by John William Waterhouse (1912)
Gaiman stays true to the myths while vividly reincarnating Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning Thor, Odin's son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods and Loki, the son of a giant, a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator.
In Norse Mythology, Gaiman fashions primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds delves into the exploits of the deities, dwarves, and giants and culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and the rebirth of a new time and people. Now he turns his attention back to the source, presenting a bravura rendition of the great northern tales. Neil Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Introducing an instant classic - master storyteller Neil Gaiman presents a dazzling version of the great Norse myths.
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