The text emphasizes that the crew's food and drink were consumed "right away," meaning their own resources were exhausted when they sought out the Lotus-Eaters for sustenance. Odysseus sends his men to explore and find new local food. He also makes a point of telling us that the Lotus-Eaters intended… Read more
Absolutely. Taste is a much more visceral sense, isn't it? It has to be done up close and personal, not enjoyed at a remove like sight. That makes it more intimate. The Lotus literally becomes part of the eater, and in the case of the Lotus Eaters raises a sinister… Read more
A great point that the Lotus-Eaters become more like the Lotus-Watchers in Lightning Thief. The temptation is largely visual. Linton's painting is fascinating. His tiny statuette steals the attention from the huge statuary above and the garden as a whole. The distracted group in the back aren't paying attention to… Read more
Greg, thanks so much for sharing! This is terrific. No further comments needed. Read more
The connection between Athen's Eleusinion and the Eleusinian Mysteries is supported, for instance, by another passage of Clement of Alexandria's Protrepticus (3. 45.1), where he tells us that the tomb of Immaradus, son of Eumolpus (the mythical ancestor of the Eleusinian hierophants), was there. There is also epigraphic… Read more
Pausanias's drōmena at Eleusis are at least vaguely reminiscent of the drama mystikon "mystic drama" at Eleusis mentioned by Clement of Alexandria in section 2.12 of his Protrepticus: “[Demeter] and Kore have become by now a mystic drama, and Eleusis holds the torch over the wanderings and the rape and… Read more
