Pyramus and Thisbe

I really liked this story. I think Shakespeare also enjoyed this tale because it seems to have been the inspiration for his Romeo and Juliet. This story was very captivating. Sometimes i think it is hard to get into stories that are in prose form (especially when they are so long), but something about this story really captured my attention and i couldn't help but let my thoughts be taken away with this story.

This photo is of mulberries and if you read this myth then you know why they are red. Originally this fruit was the color of snow, a pure white. The blood of Pyramus changed them red when he killed himself because he thought the love of his life was eaten by a lion. When Thisbe came out from hiding from the lion she found her beloved Pyramus dead, killed by his own dagger. She, from grief of losing her lover, also decided to kill herself with his dagger, but not before she begged the Gods to keep this fruit the color of their blood to show and remind everyone of their tragic love.

"And may you mulberry, whose boughts now shade one wretched body and will soon shade two, forever bear these darkly colored fruits as sign of our sad end, that men remember the death we met together" (115).

After she pleaded these words she also used Pyramus dagger to take her life. Although it was a very tragic story it was still very captivating and worth taking a look at.

Modern Day Lysistrata

It looks like in 2006 Aristophanes Lysistrata was put to life when these women in the story that follows decided to use her idea of withholding sex from their husbands and boyfriends in order to have them give up their guns.

This article was copied right off of the news.com site. The link is at the bottom if you are interested.

Gang wives call sex strike against crime
From correspondents in Bogota
September 13, 2006 12:00

THEY are calling it the "crossed legs" strike.

Fretting over crime and violence, girlfriends and wives of gang members in the Colombian city of Pereira have called a ban on sex to persuade their menfolk to give up the gun.
After meeting with the mayor's office to discuss a disarmament program, a group of women decided to deny their partners their conjugal rights and recorded a song for local radio to urge others to follow their example.

"We met with the wives and girlfriends of gang members and they were worried some were not handing over their guns and that is where they came up with the idea of a vigil or a sex strike," mayor's office representative Julio Cesar Gomez said.
"The message they are giving them is disarm or if not then they will decide how, when, where and at what time," he said by telephone.


I copied this page from this link if you want to check it out. I thought it was very funny and worth sharing

Surprising my Expectations

Dr. Sexson has said a few times that the perception of old greek mythology is that it is old and boring and i hate to say that i was influenced by this perception prior to this class. However, i am glad to say that i have learned that ancient greek mythology can be very very funny and very very touching.

The Homeric Hymn to Hermes is the first time that i removed the lens from my mind and completely let my guard down to enjoy the humor. Lysistrata is also one that just floored me. I still have a hard time believing that such an old work is so contemporary for today.

This class has really removed the prior expectations of me struggling to not fall asleep during each class and each time i picked up a book instead i love going to class to hear and learn of all the traditions and myths from back in the day and so far i have really enjoyed reading all of the works.