September 8th

"sparkling with desire, laden with aromas, glorious, but stupefying, something that must be shaken off." page 79

This quote is in referance to woman as seen through the eyes of the Greek men. Calasso suggests that as punishment for killing their husbands, the woman of Lemnos picked up a smell . I found the quote very interesting because it it telling you to always look past the cover. It's basically saying that one must learn to look past the first impression and see something for what it really is. Calasso explains how the smell is at first very appealing and attracting, but the more and more you take it in, it becomes overwhelming, controlling. He refers to it as a sort of trance that must be shaken off and relates it to someone climbing out of bed and immediately wanting to jump into cold water. This quote along with all its counterparts gives me the impression that greek men just don't trust woman and are very weery of them. Calasso explains how on one hand they fear the women without makeup, yet on the other hand they see makeup as a weapon for deceit. Calasso quotes it generates a softness that bewitches and exhausts.
The reading in the Magus is starting to become very interesting. After getting past the beginning, you are now able to see a very thick plot taking place. Or as Urfe suggests, the mysteries began. I left off with Urfe taking note of a new presence in his usually secluded retreat. He finds a book and towel and other belongings in the rocks and has the feeling someone is watching him. I left off with him trying to push answers out of Demetriade about the new neighbors.

Today in class we talked about how etiology means the explanation of how something came to be, and that it usually consists of two levels: simple and complex. We also talked about how mythologies is a system that answers questions. We brushed up on homeric, hesiod, homeric hymns, and classic dramas. I was told that the trojan war and the exodus were about the same time period. The greeks are obsessed with the trojan war and the hebrews are obsessed with the exodus. We finished the class by talking about how apocalypse doesn't only mean the end of the world, but rather suggests a veil is being lifted and now we are being exposed to the world that really exists.