Walter Lindrum's funerary monument.

Now this is a very cute gravestone ensemble, wouldn't you agree? It belongs to billiards champion Walter Lindrum who, to quote Don Chambers in "The Melbourne General Cemetery" (p.72) says Lindrum's "prowess with the cue once overawed competitors around the globe. So dominant was Lindrum in the international world of billiards, that the rules of the game were amended to give his opponents a sporting chance." This tombstone reminds me of the African (I can't remember right now what part of Africa) wooden coffins, brightly coloured and made in the shape of one's trade, or favourite thing ie/ a fish, a shoe, a Mercedes Benz.

Skull Parade

Here are some more rather interesting skulls to look at. Do you think I am morbid? I probably am. But I wouldn't say that I was obsessed with, or romanticise, death. I'm not impressed with death particularly, can't say I find it particularly nice, or am in any way looking forward to it myself - despite religious ideas about what death entails, such as Aleister Crowley's suggestion in 'The Book of the Law' that death is - to paraphrase I'm sure - rest and ecstacy in the bosom of Nu. That may be so, but until that time I can't be sure. Plus, I also like the idea of living the best and most interesting life possible here on planet earth, and trying to do something that will outlast my own demise. The ancient Greek heroes strove for 'Kleos Aphthiton' - imperishable glory - that sounds good to me. To gain imperishable glory, one has to do something really outstanding. Whether one actually ever does that, at least it is a good aim to have in life, I think.

Journey to the Afterlife

Well I spent 6 hours at the Art Gallery of South Australia looking at the Egyptian antiquities, I also looked at the Edward Burne-Jones tapestry and other Arts and Crafts movement objects, which were very nice. The Egyptian antiquities needed to be looked at several times each, so I went through the exhibit 3 times, each time seeing things I hadn't before. It was very worthwhile, but one really needs time to look properly, which I made myself do. It paid off because I eventually discovered some very important little images on papyrus, relevant to my studies, depicting the hieroglyphs and drawings that make up The Book of Going Forth By Day (a.k.a. The Egyptian Book of the Dead). I could have easily missed them because they were so tiny. The catalogue of the exhibition is good, and inexpensive for its quality. Do I recommend this exhibition? Sure do.

Canidia, the graveyard witch.

Her unkempt hirsute poll
all tangled with little vipers,
Canidia orders funereal cypress,
wild fig-trees dug out from tombs,
a nocturnal screech-owl’s feathers, eggs
smeared with the blood of a nasty toad,
herbs supplied by poisonous-
fertile Iolcos and Spain,
bones snatched from a starving bitch –
to be scorched in the Colchian flames.

- Horace. 'At, o deorum'. Epodes 5.

Egyptian Antiquities from the Louvre

I'm going to see the exhibition "Journey to the Afterlife" at the Art gallery of South Australia on Tuesday. Maddeningly it is not coming to Melbourne - it went to Canberra, Adelaide and then it's going to Perth. Hello !?! Why couldn't it come to Melbourne? Apparently is consists of 200 specially chosen artefacts from the Louvre, and hey, while it is a bit extravagant to go interstate to seen an exhibition, its cheaper than going all the way to France.

Who says skinny is best?

I'm so sick of the cult of the anorexic. It is unfortunate that modern girls don't realise that the corpse look hasn't always been the model of beauty that is is thought to be, as pumped by trash magazines. Who says you have to be a stick? The craftsperson who made this image of the Goddess Ishtar obviously liked a more fecund female form.

Altar of Pergamon

You've seen the little Hecate altar a few posts back. It was used for private magic by someone living in Pergamon. Well, here's what might be thought of as its direct opposite: the Great Altar of Zeus at Pergamon (now in Berlin's State Museum). Originally built in the 2nd cent BCE, this altar is decorated with images from the myth of the Battle of the Gods and the Giants. (Hecate also features on it, see the second shot). The magazine "Biblical Archaeology Review" has a very interesting article by Adela Yarbro Collins on this altar entitled "Satan's Throne" (Vol # 32, No.3 May/June 2006). Apparently the prophet John, in the Book of Revelations from the Christian Bible, conveys a message from the risen Christ to the seven congregations in Asia Minor. The message to the Christians in Pergamon declares "I know where you dwell, where the throne of Satan is, and you hold fast to my name and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas, my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells." The article goes on to say that Revelation refers to a specific structure when it speaks of Satan's throne - The Pergamon Altar. This is a fascinating article and I encourage those interested to look it up. Just like the author of Revelation people today, in 2007, still mistake the plethora of individual Pagan gods, with their own names and personalities, for one particular god called Satan. I hope one day they will bother to do some actual research before they bang on about whose who in the world pantheon.