Vestal Virgins

Vestal Virgin by Morin 1791 Terracotta

Originally uploaded by mharrsch

Vestal Virgins

A priesthood of virgin women in ancient Rome probably of patrician class.

The Vestals apparently were instituted by the Roman King Numa and were thought to be the symbolic or perhaps spiritual daughters of the earliest Roman Kings.

They served for a minimum of 30 years (with a maximum of a lifetime), answered to the pontifex maximus (the head priest), lived in a building near the Forum called the Atrium Vestae, and were maintained at public expense.

Chosen by lots among pure-looking girls aged 6-10 years, they guarded the sacred flame at the temple of Vesta, also located near the Forum.

Their ongoing purity was essential. If found unchaste, a priestess could be buried alive as punishment.

In 83 CE, for instance, Domitian executed three Vestal Virgins on charges of immorality.

In 90 CE the chief Vestal, Cornelia, was buried alive.

» Romulus and Remus
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Abel

Abel In the biblical book of Genesis (4: 2-16), Abel is the second son of Adam and Eve who was killed by his brother Cain.

Cain’s motives were most likely jealousy and anger.

Abel was a shepherd and Cain a farmer. Cain and Abel had made sacrificial offerings to God but only Abel’s was acceptable to the Lord. After Cain murdered Abel the Lord cast him out of the land, placing a special mark on his forehead.

This mark protects Cain from those who might harm him out of resentment for murdering Abel.

Cain goes on to establish a city. He becomes materially prosperous but is forever alienated from God. 

It seems, broadly speaking, that Cain represents the abrasive, worldly-minded person while Abel symbolizes the gentle, spiritually-minded person.

Although God punishes the murderer, Cain, with a life of alienation, he does not utterly destroy him and indeed allows him to prosper materially. Some see this as a sign of God’s inherent injustice, others, as evidence of God’s great mercy.

Since Cain and Abel are the only two children of Adam and Eve, many believe the Bible does not explain how other people came into existence.

Image source:

• Cain Leadeth Abel to Death by James Tissot (1836-1902)

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Achilles

Achilles Slays Hector

Originally uploaded by litmuse

Achilles The ancient Greek warrior and hero who, in Homer‘s Iliad, fought in the Trojan wars. 

The son of Peleus and Thetis, at birth Achilles’ mother held him by the heel and dipped him in the fiery river Styx to obtain magical protection from his enemies. 

Achilles’ heel remained dry, becoming his vulnerable spot. 

Often savage, Achilles killed Hector and mangled his body. Achilles also offered human sacrifices. 

The violent aspect of the Achilles legend brings to mind historical killers who find temporary satisfaction by expressing turbulent psychological forces. 

Achilles could also be seen as a brilliant, if undisciplined, military commander. 

Antonio Balestra’s (1666-1740) oil on canvass depicts Thetis dipping Achilles, head-first, into a cauldron of water, presumably drawn from the river Styx.

More recently Brad Pitt played a convincing Achilles in the film, Troy. 

Achilles was eventually killed by Paris‘ poisoned arrow to the heel. » Balder, Olympus, Shadow, Wotan, Zeno

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Ares

Ares The Greek god of war. Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera.

He’s often depicted as brutal, violent and merciless, as war often is.

Ares and Aphrodite had three offspring, one of whom being Eros.

The Roman parallel to Ares is Mars.

Image Source:

• Marie-Lan Nguyen/Wikimedia Commons

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Arjuna

Arjuna Renowned hero in Indian culture and Krishna‘s charioteer in the Bhagavad Gita.

Arjuna arguably has the status of a demigod among of much the Hindu-Indian populace.

In the Gita he is prodded by Krishna to fight kith and kin.

Despite his initial reluctance, he overcomes the chronic procrastination which Shakespeare‘s Hamlet cannot–that is, a crippling fear, self-doubt and over-thinking that leads to inaction.

Krishna instructs Arjuna that the body dies but the soul is immortal. Arjuna’s kshatriya caste demands as sacred duty (dharma) that he fight.

According to a literal interpretation of the Gita, it is far better to do one’s dharma – even if this entails killing – than to ignore it.

Today the Gita is cherished for its psychological and spiritual value. Arjuna’s “killing” is usually understood as the death of negative attitudes which otherwise would bind the eternal soul (atman) to worldly pleasures and desires.

On the political level, however, the Gita may be interpreted as roughly paralleling the Christian notion of the just war and the Moslem idea of Jihad.

Image Source:

• Cropped from original by Raji.srinivas, GNU Free Documentation License

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