Mythological Studies

Through a close reading of passages describing dying warriors in the Iliad, this essay explores how Homer uses poetic juxtapositions and simile to arouse pathos in his listeners (or readers), and to contextualize war and death as part of the larger cycles of nature. (2022)

Image credit: Sarpedon Krater, Greek, ca. 515 BCE

The Lady of the Lake is an eternally enigmatic figure in Arthurian mythology. This essay explores her explicit connections to death, water, sound, and goddess energy through a close reading of two Arthurian-inspired texts: Alfred Lord Tennyson's Idylls of the King and John Heath-Stubb's Artorius. (2022)

Image credit: Merlin and Vivien, Edward Burne-Jones, 1874

Explore how three contemporary performers--Heilung, Ghost, and Twin Temple--amplify and evoke the idea of ritual in their music and mythos. (2023)

Image credit: Ghost

Explore the iconography and potential mythic meanings around a selection of small, portable sculptures of animals carved out of mammoth ivory during the Paleolithic period. (2023)

Image credit: Horse of Lourdes, 15,000 BP

Dive deeper into the sea god's essence, including his volatile emotions, his connection with bulls, horses, Pegasos, and the Cyclopes, and how to pay him proper respect. (2023)

Image credit: Roman mosaic depicting Neptue, Sousse, Tunisia, 3rd century CE

Carl Jung's concepts of archetypes and the collective unconscious offer a bridge between the psyche and the natural world.  Explore how Jung's love of nature -- especially stones -- informed his psychological theories. (2023)

Image credit: River Stones with White Heart, Garry Gay

Explore the Hebrew goddesses Asherah, Astarte, Anath, and other goddesses of the Ancient Near East and the symbolism of female horned deities. (2023)

Image credit: Hathor, Hatshepshut's Mortuary Temple, Valley of the Kings

The archetype of the Horned God--of which Pan is a primary and enduring example--can be understood as a manifestation of Western society's ambivalent relationship with the natural world. (2023)

Image credit: Pan Applique, 100 BCE

"“One should always be open to the regenerative influences," Lord Summerisle. (2024)

Image credit: The Wicker Man