Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Jan 1992
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1992phdt........82c&link_type=abstract
Thesis (PH.D.)--HARVARD UNIVERSITY, 1992.Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-11, Section: A, page: 3891.
Mathematics
Logic
Myths, Warrior Traditions
Scientific paper
The Dog Star, Sirius, appears in many important works of classical poetry. It also appears in numerous myths and several religious rituals. A complex body of folklore surrounds it and it had a paramount importance in agriculture. Yet no one has attempted a systematic analysis of Sirius' place in Greco-Roman art and thought. This thesis begins that analysis. The introductory chapter discusses the methodology and approach that the thesis takes to the evidence, and supplies essential background information on Sirius' place among the constellations and its relation to the physical environment of the Mediterranean. Chapter one explores Sirius' role in ancient warrior traditions. Sirius embodied the principle of cosmic heat, and through heat it was thought to cause rabies in dogs. The Greek word for rabies is lussa. But lussa also named the madness of warriors such as Achilles in the Iliad. Etymologically, lussa meant "wolfishness." Rabid dogs, wolves, and raging warriors all exhibit fiery heat as an integral part of their natures. It is argued that raging warriors, wolves, and rabid dogs were largely interchangeable entities for the Greeks. Thus when Hector and Achilles in their raging are compared to Sirius, the comparison reflects more than the likeness of their surface brilliance. Chapter two explores Sirius' connection to erotic themes in ancient poetry. Because erotic experience could be represented as a conflagration that might burn the lover into a frenzy, the fiery raging Dog Star was an appropriate symbolic accompaniment. Sirius itself experienced erotic frenzy when it became passionate for Opora (the ripe fruits of summer). Chapter three turns to Sirius' involvement in viticulture. Sirius was said to ripen the grapes, but was also conceived to have once been the faithful dog of Icarius, who first introduced wine-drinking among humans. The chapter explores Sirius' role in the myth of Icarius, and the relation of that myth to the erotic and martial sides of Sirius.
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