NYT Crossword, 0817

I have to say that I could not have gotten as close as I did (7 wrong squares) without the help of my wife. I liked the puzzle theme (movie titles minus the last letter), but found some of the puzzle (especially the top right corner) quite difficult. I've noticed that some of the crossword bloggers out there really like clever pop culture clues. I can't stand them. Rappers, TV actors, etc. ought to be banned from good puzzles. Apparently, from what I can tell, I'm part of one faction in the crossword world, but there is an opposing group who love the pop culture crap. I was glad to see that many of the toughies were challenging for Rex Parker as well.

Issues:
Another crossword pet peeve of mine: clues that could never be gotten until you fill in the crosswords - I think a good clue should be gettable just from the clue itself. Hence, I'm always annoyed by clues like "Direction", which could be ENE, ESE, WSW, ESE, NNE, etc... Today's irksome clues: 51A English 8-Down; 8D Latin 51-Across. Ugh!

26A Many a Turk = ANATOLIAN (OK, sure Turkey is mainly based in Anatolia, although Istanbul is not, and there are Turkish peoples scattered across other Central Asian countries, but Anatolian really should be used only for the original inhabitants of Anatolia, like the Hittites; even though they have lived in Anatolia for more than a millennium, I still think of Turks as Central Asian peoples. OK, perhaps the ancient historian is over thinking this one...)

The unknown:

• It surrounds a lens = UVEA (I kept wanting something related to a camera.)
• Oscar and Tony winner Mercedes = RUEHL (I haven't really seen anything that she's done.)
• Movie Adaptation of "L.A. Law"? = CALIFORNIA SUIT (This was one of the theme clues, but I had never even heard of the movie California Suite. Based on the synopsis, it isn't one I'll be seeing either.)
• 2000 title role for Richard Gere = DRT (Dr. T and the Women - another winner it looks like.)
• Former Voice of America Org. = USIA (Apparently the Unites States Information Agency is now defunct. I'm amazed that any bureaucratic office ever gets axed in our government, frankly.)
• Der Blaue Reiter artist = ARP (Herr Arp was not one of the big names of this short-lived artistic group. But he was famous enough in his own right. More interesting to me is that since he was Alsatian, and lived during the time when this area went back and forth between France and Germany, he went by Jean Arp when he spoke French and Hans Arp when he spoke German.)
• ____-jazz (music style) = AVANT (I'm not all that interested in anything related to jazz, and especially not weird breakoff versions of jazz.)
• George who was nicknamed "the man who owned Broadway" = COHAN (Interesting, and probably useful for crossword makers, that his name is not the traditional cohen with an 'e'.)
• 1985 Peter Yates-directed film = ELENI
• Handle, in archaeology = ANSA (I'm embarrassed to not have known this, since I have a read a fair amount of ancient archeology stuff. But honestly, I have never seen this term in any of my reading. The authors probably just use 'handle'.)
• Young salmon = SMOLT (I just couldn't get past the traditional young fish crossword answer: ROE)
• Writer Buchanan and others = EDNAS (Ah, a purveyor of what I call "fluff fiction". That explains all.)
• Strong cart = DRAY
• "Deliver Us from ____" (2003 film) = EVA (LL Cool J. The hip-hop version of The Taming of the Shrew. Enough said.)
• Keats's "The Eve of St. _______" = AGNES (Now, this is the kind of high culture that should be in a crossword. Of course, I didn't know this one, but I knew the movie A Hard Days Night. What can I say? I'm woefully uneducated!)
• Schreiber of "The Manchurian Candidate" = LIEV (Essentially a pop culture question, especially since his version is the remake.)
• Potty = DAFT (Desperately trying to obscure this word, the author went for British colloquialism)

Review: Last of the Jedi Series

Watson, Jude. The Last of the Jedi. Scholastic, 2005-2008.

This series of 10 short novels (about 150 pages each) aimed at a teenage audience is not high literature. My personal complaint about the writing is that the author does not know how to use the pronoun 'whom'. At least once or twice per book I noticed this error, and I'm sure there were many others that didn't strike my attention. Despite the grammar problems, if you're looking for what I call "fluff fiction", you've come to a decent place.

The series follows the exploits of Ferus Olin, who had been a Jedi apprentice during the Republic before he left the Jedi temple to strike out on his own. Thus, he knew many of the Jedi masters and padawans of the age of the Clone Wars, including Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. These connections make him the perfect person to seek out any remaining Jedi who may have survived Order 66 - the order which saw the stormtroopers turn on the Jedi, depicted in Episode III of the films. This mission is what drives the overall plotline of the series, although there also many sub-plots to keep our attention, as we follow a nascent empire-wide rebellion against the empire, led by friends and acquaintances of Ferus. By the end, we are setup for a big showdown between Darth Vader and Ferus Olin, who has learned the true identity of Darth Vader.

What makes the series worth reading are the values-based concepts that form the heart of the series. Again this is not high literature, but there are important issues to contemplate, and with 1500 pages total, there is plenty of time to develop these issues. Perhaps what keeps the series at the teenage level is that the author eventually resolves all the issues for the reader. In the end, good is good and evil is evil, but in the meantime, we can explore the meaning of friendship, loyalty, good, and evil.

During the course of the series, Ferus, who spends much of the series trying to get back his force connection and become the Jedi he had failed to become before, is tempted by the dark side. We gain some understanding of how the Dark Side really works, and where some of its weaknesses lie. In this way, we come to understand more deeply Anakin's own path to becoming Vader. We are allowed to contemplate, along with Ferus, whether one can find any virtue in the Dark Side of the force and whether one can use those supposed virtues without completely giving oneself over to evil.

Another significant virtue that is explored in the series is trust and loyalty. By nature, rebel groups must be very careful in whom they place their trust, as it only takes one to betray the entire organization. And yet, for the group to become successful it must grow by bringing in new members and working together with others. So, whom can you trust, and how can you know that your loyalty is not misplaced? Appearances can be deceiving, in both directions (i.e. good appearances can mask evil intentions, and bad appearances can harbor one seeking to do good). In the end, we find that developing trust-based relationships is worthwhile, even if there is some heartache along the way as well - that is mortal life.

Dell Crosswords, October 2005

What's That Up A Head? (p. 40-41) ***

It ain't the NYT, but what the hey. Big puzzle, only missed one square.

• 23A Versatile Coppola = SOFIA (Daughter of Francis Ford Coppola)
• 37A French military hat = KEPI (Oh, that's what those are called!)
• 59A Cofounder of GE = TAE (i.e. Thomas Alva Edison; I think we should get a better hint that they want his initials)
• 63A Capital of Yemen = SANA (I should really know this)
• 73A Composer Satie = ERIK (From his Wikipedia page, he was an artist too - NOT!)
• 98A Connected to the ear = OTIC (I kept wanting a Latin derivate, but it was Greek)
• 126 A Journal end = ESE (In today's world, how do you know if someone is using journalese or just the common bad grammar our society so adores - or whether they even know the difference?)
• 168A Saw = ADAGE (I had no idea there was a definition #3 for 'saw' akin to adage)
• 7D M director = LANG (Ol' Fritz Lang... whatever!)
• 13D Red Bordeaux = MEDOC (The real question was, what is an AOC?)
• 30D Dark-green lettuce = COS (Since Romaine wouldn't fit. These three letters pack a lot of meaning.)
• 35D Journalist Alexander = SHANA (Born in 1925 - I guess she'd be famous to old geezers.)
• 38D Nevada State Tree = PINON (Some one needs to add this precious piece of information to the Wikipedia page. I never could get into this "state" thing - the state bird, the state tree, the state pancake, whatever...)
• 53D Sun helmet = TOPI (I like the sound of 'pith helmet' better)
• 68D Urchin = GAMIN (I've heard this word in French, but it didn't mean 'urchin')
• 105D It comes in yards = ALE (Looks like 'beer' would be a better answer, but my real question is, can I get a yard of Dr. Pepper?)
• 113D Like some skirts = GORED (My first thought was ALINE, a common crossword answer, since I'm thinking 'hole by horn' when I see 'gored', which brings a frightening image when connected to a skirt.)
• 118D Painter Dufy = RAOUL (I sure like the way that name rolls off your tongue, definitely more than I care for his painting style.)
• 154D Diamond of old TV = SELMA (It's sad that the only role of hers I recognize is the old grouchy lady on Night Court)
• 162D ___ Bayou (1997 Film) = EVES (Never heard of it)

Etana

Etana
(Lu-Nanna, 22nd century BC)

Notes

• Etana is quasi-historical in that he does appear on later king lists of Kish.
• An early cylinder (24th century BC) has been discovered which depicts a scene from the story.
  

Synopsis

After the gods design and build the city of Kish, Ishtar seeks a king to rule it and finds Etana. Once he is established on the throne, a poplar tree grows near the palace which soon houses a serpent at its base and an eagle in its top. The serpent and the eagle swear an oath of friendship to each other, and work together to provide food for themselves and their families. After a while, the eagle conspires to devour the children of the serpent, and despite a warning from one of his own sons, does so. The serpent then calls upon Shamash, god over oaths, to help him avenge this act of treachery. Shamash instructs the serpent to crawl inside a dead bull and wait for the eagle to come eat. When the eagle comes, again despite a warning from his son, the snake strikes, and throws the eagle into a pit to die. From the pit, the eagle cries out for help to Shamash, who decides to send Etana to help the eagle get out of the pit. In return for this deed, the eagle helps Etana seek a special plant which will help him produce an heir. At the end of the surviving text, Etana reports on a dream where he ascends into heaven. The eagle encourages him to make another ascension, which they do, and then the text cuts off.

Commentary

The gods, rather than men, are credited with creating the city of Kish, as well as establishing the kingship too. In particular, the Annunaki create the "four quarters of the earth" a general reference implying the entire world, used by later kings to designate "worldwide" rule. Is all this simply a royal legitimation tale, or is it a symbolic nod to a divine nurturing of their civilization?

Mesopotamian royal emblems include a two part crown (reminiscent of Egypt's united crown of Upper and Lower Egypt - any connection?), a sceptre decorated with lapis lazuli, and a raised throne (called a throne-dais). The king is, as in both Hammurabi's Law Code and the Gilgamesh Epic, equated to a shepherd of his people.

The oath between the eagle and the serpent is made "in the presence of Shamash." This suggests an interesting divine aspect to oath making: it is a god, specifically Shamash, who has the power to enforce oaths and punish oath-breakers. Note that the agreement is not a legal/contractual thing, but more of a divinely-based covenant. It recalls to my mind the swearing on relics during the Peace of God movement in medieval Europe. What is perhaps even more striking, though, is that it is not Shamash who actually acts to punish the oath-breaker. The text says that he would deliver the oath-breaker to the Smiter, but in this case, he simply advises the serpent on how to avenge himself. Later, the serpent informs the eagle that were he to relent in exacting the required punishment, he himself would be punished by Shamash. In the end, Shamash has pity on the eagle, sending a human to help him out.

In most other mythology I know, the eagle is a positive symbol. Think of Romulus seeing a flight of eagles (at least in some versions), or the use of the eagle symbol in Byzantine imperial iconography or American republican iconography. Here, the eagle is an oath-breaker, equated with Anzu, who is described as a notorious criminal.

It is striking that the eagle's son is noted for his wisdom, as usually wisdom is associated with maturity. Is this meant to stand out to the reader as odd or different?

One curiosity of the text was that before the eagle partakes of the bull, the text clearly says that the eagle was aware of the danger and would not eat the food like the other birds. But then, we see him heading down there, ignoring the advice of his son who seems to be real one to see the danger. The lines don't seem to fit with what follows.

When the serpent seizes upon the eagle, the latter tries to compensate the serpent for his loss. The offer is, curiously, related to a payment usually made by or to one's betrothed. Is this possibly related to the cutting off of the serpent's heirs? It seems to resemble medieval feuding composition - a payment to avert a vendetta. Hammurabi's Law Code certainly bases much of its punishment schedule on the payment of fines like this.

One gets the sense that Shamash is quite whimsical in his dealings with men. He seems to help the serpent, the eagle, and Etana, suggesting a genuine concern for mortal beings - in fact the very beginning of the poem seems to suggest this, with the creation of cities and kings. However, when we focus on his dealings with the eagle, he first arranges his punishment, and then later seems moved by pity for the creature, and finally, arranges to help Etana by helping the eagle. The question is, how whimsical, or how concerned, is Shamash towards men?

7 is definitely a magic number here. Kish is guarded by 7 warrior-gods. Etana nourishes the eagle for 7 months before he can escape the pit.

Etana is in search of secret knowledge: the knowledge of where to find the plant that will provide him with an heir - in a dream, he has seen the consequences of not providing Kish with an heir (presumably civil war). When the eagle cannot find the plant, he takes Etana to heaven. This suggests the Etana seeks knowledge directly from the source: the gods. Etana debates within himself, as he looks down on earth like a god in heaven, whether it is appropriate for a human to ascend to heaven. In a dream Etana is shown how he must act in order to pass the gate into heaven.

Reflection

At first, this seems to be a story about political legitimacy. The gods create the city and the kingship. Etana's great concern is to provide a legitimate heir to the kingship. However, most of the story has little to do with Etana, and focuses instead on the eagle and his friend/adversary the serpent.

So, what are to make of this eagle? He is an oath-breaker, but also a source of pity and aid. Are we to see the eagle and the serpent as stand-ins for humans? Is this a metaphor for two peoples or families living in a symbiotic relationship, strengthened by official ties of alliance?

For me, the real point of this story is the active role of the gods in mortal life. The gods are the source of civilization and order. The gods act to preserve that order, in the form of oaths. If the gods do not organize all this, humans will be forced to eke out an existence without these benefits. But these are not clockmaker gods who set up the world and then let it go. Shamash can and must act to enforce the oaths - the oath-makers have brought the god into this essentially mortal agreement. Likewise, when Etana cannot produce an heir, he must turn to the gods for help, or to be enlightened. Only through their intervention can he hope to find the plant that will enable his wife to get pregnant. In the end, he must ascend to heaven, or seek direct revelation, in order to procure what he needs. I find this story to be much more positive than some of the others I've read towards the gods' relationship with men.

NYT Crossword, 0810

Even I had to agree with some of the other crossword bloggers out there that this puzzle was relatively easy, and that the theme was a little weak. But, hey, for a 98-pound crossword weakling like me, a win is a win! And there were a few things to learn:

Gilberto's partner on "The Girl from Ipanema," 1964 = GETZ (As in Stan Getz. The guy's name sounds even more familiar than this vaguely familiar title, but I've never seen it - oh, it's not a movie or a show, but a song. Doh!)

"Vissi d'arte" singer = TOSCA (I've never seen this opera, but I got it when I got enough letters because I have heard of it. And now I've read about it too!)

"New York State of Mind" rapper = NAS (You know how much I love rap.)

Cut made by a saw = KERF (OK, whatever. On a related note, I used my chainsaw this weekend. It's almost as much work as the axe!)

Ringo's drummer son = ZAK (Interestingly, he goes by Zak Starkey, since Ringo Starr's name was Richard Starkey).

Woes, to a Yiddish speaker = TSURIS (Not being a Yiddish speaker myself...)

Brightly colored fish = OPAH (Do scientists make up animal names so that crossword makers will be able to finish making their puzzles?)

Issues:
Cicero or Publius = SENATOR (No! Cicero, both the famous guy and his brother, was a senator, and really only refers to a single individual, but Publius was a first name, and there were plenty of Publii who were not senators. This is like saying Clay or Harry: Sure, the only Clay (Henry Clay) that most people know was a senator, although maybe that's not a good one since Clay could be Cassius Clay, but just because Harry Reid is a senator does not mean his first name is synonymous with the office. I'd think of Dirty Harry before I'd think of Harry Reid. Sorry for the rant.)

Breakfast spot, briefly = HOJO (Umm, isn't HOJO short for Howard Johnson's, a hotel chain. Who thinks of this place when they say, let's go out for breakfast? I'm thinking IHOP, which would have been a much better answer to the clue, except that it wouldn't have fit in the puzzle.)

Pet cat, in British lingo = MOG (OK, sure, it is from a British book series, but do people in Britain really call their pet cats 'Mog'? We don't call our pet cats 'Garfield', do we? Some people might name their orange pet cat Garfield, but that is not the same thing as genericizing the name into a term for pet cats.)

TTFN!

Adapa

Adapa (Amarna, 15th century BC;
Assur, late second millenium BC)

Notes

• Adapa is the first of the ancient seven sages.
• Adapa is also known as Uan or Oannes.
• Eridu is usually considered to be the first of the Sumerian cities.
  

Synopsis

Adapa is the priest of the Temple of Ea at Eridu. In this capacity, it is his responsibility to prepare the food and drink offerings for Ea. One way he does is through fishing. While out on a fishing trip, Adapa is caught in a storm and breaks the wing of the South Wind, causing it to stop blowing. Anu, king of the gods, then gets involved, wanting to know who has caused the South Wind to stop blowing. Knowing that Adapa will be summoned before Anu, Ea tries to prepare him by instructing him how to get the guards, Dumuzi and Gizzida, on his side and what to expect from Anu. In particular, Ea warns him not to eat or drink what is offered him, but to clothe and anoint himself with the clothing and oil that is offered him. Before Anu, Adapa reveals that he was about to be drowned by the storm when he cursed the South Wind, and the guards of heaven speak on his behalf. Anu becomes favorably disposed towards him, and offers him food and drink which will make him immortal, but Adapa refuses them, while accepting the clothing and oil. In the end Anu wonders aloud why Adapa has refused immortality and makes a wry comment about mortals. Adapa tries to explain, but is kicked out back to earth. We are then left to wonder whether Ea tricked Adapa out of immortality, or whether Anu's gift was unexpected.

Commentary

• Ea is credited with creating Adapa and granting him wisdom, but not eternal life. Adapa has a special connection to Ea, a recipient of revelation from his god, perhaps? Later in the poem, Anu laments that Ea had "disclosed the ways of heaven and earth to mankind", perhaps comparable to Prometheus and the gift of fire.
• Adapa is called "extra-wise", which is atra-hasis in Akkadian. Is this a possible connection with the Noah figure?
• Adapa is depicted as a very capable priest - holy, pure, dedicated to providing offerings to Ea. His duties include baking, fishing, and setting up the offering table.
• The mythopoeism of this story is portrayal of the wind and storm as a god or goddess.
• There may be an interesting parallel here with Odysseus, whose defiance of a god leads to shipwreck.
• I'm inclined to think of Dumuzi and Gizzida as "angels who stand as sentinels" at the gates of heaven.
• Should we think of the food and drink offered by Anu as 'nectar and ambrosia'?
• In the divine presence, Adapa is instructed to accept a special garment and an anointing by oil, an interesting comparison with the Israelite priests of the tabernacle and temple.
  

Reflection

To me, the central message of Adapa is that men must recognize and be satisfied with their lot in life - something akin to the lesson that Namtar learns in Nergal and Ereshkigal. Adapa gets himself in trouble through his defiance of a goddess, cursing the South Wind. It may be that Adapa has learned how to curse the gods from Ea, who "disclosed the ways of heaven and earth to mankind". Anu comments that such divine knowledge makes men sad, probably because they have learned about things that are beyond their access or control. Adapa has a special connection to Ea, and as such is more blessed than other mortals, but even though he seems to have a chance at immortality - ascending from a mortal to an immortal existence, the lesson here is humans should not aim at such gifts.

This brings up the big issue of the poem: Ea's trickery. Is Ea tricking Adapa, or is Anu essentially tricking Ea? On the one hand, Ea seems to be favorably disposed towards Adapa, and Adapa seems to give him faithful service. So, why would Ea want to trick him? It is possible that Ea likes Adapa, appreciates his faithful service, and just does not want to lose him, or simply does not think that a mortal should rise that high. Keep in mind that Adapa's "sin" is not against Ea, but the South Wind. Ea wants to bless Adapa to a point, but he doesn't want to give away the store. Of course, the other option is that Anu is unpredictably generous, which Ea could not foresee. Anu certainly appears quite angry at first, and from the other poems I've read, he never seems to be too kind towards men. Is it possible that Ea simply miscalculated? Thinking that he knows Anu, Ea tries to protect Adapa from eating or drinking instant death, but Anu decides upon a positive boon almost as whim - Mesopotamian gods are known to be whimsical. Of course, we shouldn't assume that even if Ea was mistaken that he is overly distraught about Adapa - man must know his place visa-vis the gods.

Review: Sailing from Byzantium

Colin Wells, Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World (Delacourt Press, 2006).

Wells offers us three different tales emanating from a central source point: Byzantium. The issue that unites all three stories is the role Byzantium played in the civilizations of Renaissance Italy, Islam, and the Slavic lands.

The book begins with the Byzantine Greek influence upon the Renaissance humanists who wanted to learn Greek. The central conflict is the religious schism between the Catholic west and the Orthodox east. By the 14th century, Byzantium was in such a desperate situation that some were willing to accept western stipulations for re-union in an effort to secure help against the Turks. The envoys and diplomats sent back and forth between Italy and Constantinople over this issue played a key role in the reacquisition of Greek and Greek texts in the west.

Part II looks at how the Muslims embraced the Greek philosophical, scientific, and medical texts which had been preserved in Byzantium, and then further preserved them by translating them into Arabic. Once they had mastered ancient Greek knowledge, they were then able to expand upon that knowledge, making great advances, particularly in medicine, before a movement to reject reason and Aristotle in favor of faith and the Qu'ran. Throughout this story, the Byzantines make regular appearances, even though most of the history of Islamic-Byzantine relations amounts to steady warfare and conquest, although it took until 1453 and the rise of the Turks to finally bring down Constantinople.

In the last section, we see the passing of the Orthodox torch from Byzantium to Moscow, the Third Rome. A long narrative describes the Byzantine emperor's attempts to deal with the rising Slavic peoples in Bulgaria, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Russia. In eastern Europe, Byzantium's main role was as political legitimizer for the various Slavic states that arose. This role was expanded as the Slavs become Christians, and their metropolitans were subordinate to the Patriarch in Constantinople.

The three sections are tied together thematically, Byzantium serving to unite all three sections. Wells wants to clarify the central role that the Byzantine Empire played in three regions which remain significant today. The idea is that Byzantium passed the torch of the ancient world, as the remnant of the Roman Empire, on to the modern world, embodied in the states that developed out of Renaissance Europe, the Islamic Middle east, and Eastern Europe.

A sub-theme that makes the book particularly interesting is the regular conflict between faith and reason. The Byzantines themselves had to wrestle with this issue, particularly with the rise of Hesychasm, as did the Muslims, the Italians, and the Slavs. Of these latter, Islam retreated away from reason, the Europeans embraced it more and more, while the Slavs essentially ignored it, focusing more on political expediency. And in this way, Wells makes an interesting commentary on the bequest of the Byzantines to the modern world.

Note: I listened to the audiobook, rather than reading the paper version.

Nergal and Ereshkigal

Nergal and Ereshkigal
(Uruk, 7th century BC; Amarna, 15th century BC)

Notes

• Nergal may be etymologically related to Heracles, since his name is also pronounced Erakal.
• The Underworld goes by several different names: Erkalla (Great City), Kurnugi (Land of No Return), and most interestingly, Ersetum (Earth).
• The throne that Nergal takes down to the Underworld may be connected with the "ghost chair" of Mesopotamian death ritual.
  

Synopsis

The gods have a great banquet in heaven, to which Erershkigal, queen of the underworld, cannot come. She sends her vizier, Namtar, to bring her down her portion from the feast. While fetching the meal, Namtar is not treated with respect by Nergal. Nergal then plans to visit the underworld, bringing a throne down with him. He is warned by Ea, his father, not to participate in the underworld, i.e. he is not to eat or drink, bathe or engage in sexual activity. Namtar tries to keep Nergal out, but Ereshkigal reminds him that each god has his own domain, and one should not try to usurp the role of another. With this rebuke, she allows Nergal to enter. He withstands all the invitations to eat, drink and bathe, but he ultimately gives in to his lust and lies with Ereshkigal for a week. On the seventh day, Nergal extrictaes himself from Ereshkigal and returns to heaven. He then disguises himself so that when Namtar returns, seeking to bring him back to the underworld, he cannot at first find him. Ereshkigal appeals to her father, Anu, the king of the gods, to send Nergal back to her, threatening to unleash the more populous dead upon the living. Nergal returns on his own terms, defeating the guardians of the seven gates into the underworld, seizing Ereshkigal, taking her to bed for another week, and then ruling the underworld as her husband.

Commentary

Perhaps the most challenging aspect to this text are the constant gaps in the text. It seems to blank out right at crucial moments, making it difficult to always know what is actually happening. The regular repetition in the text does help the reconstruction, though.

The obvious parallel here is the Greek myth of Persephone who must stay, at least part time, in the underworld because she ate the pomegranate seed. There are also some connections with the Descent of Ishtar: the passing of 7 gates, although this time without the symbolic stripping of the world but with a conquest of the guardians of the gates on Nergal's second descent.

Again, I enjoyed the poetic characterization of death as "the house which those who enter cannot leave, On the road where traveling is one way only." In fact, the lines that follow seem to suggest, in keeping with one name for the Underworld, that death is close to the earthly experience: "Where dust is their food, clay their bread. They are clothed, like birds, with feathers."

Interestingly, at one point in the text, Nergal is referred to by a plural noun -- "gods" instead of "god", which the translator connects with a possible Phoenician (i.e. western Semitic) influence. She compares this with the use of Elohim in the Old Testament.

The Amarna version contains an interesting play on words, since the words for 'death' and 'husband' look quite similar. Thus, instead of bringing Nergal to Ereshkigal for death because of his insult, he will end up coming to be her husband.

Reflection

Even though, as is typical with Mesopotamian literature, the actors are all gods, they are portrayed essentially as human, or at least human-like in their daily life and interests. Nergal is to be a judge in the underworld, not of men but of gods, for example. Thus, there is something of value here in seeking to understand human nature. The text may serve some mythopoeic function (the translator suggests that it either explains the replacement of a queen with a king of the underworld, or it may serve to reconcile two separate mythical traditions that had come down), but it also explores human weakness.

Nergal is undone by his lust for a woman. He can withstand the temptations of food, drink, and comfort, but ultimately, not of sex. After his "sin", he is forced to sneak away and to try to disguise himself from her vizier. This is all a very human-like reaction to such a situation - perhaps even to the extreme of seeing the man trying to escape unwanted commitment (Ereshkigal claims to be pregnant by him later in the story).

Another typical human weakness is the desire for power. Namtar, the vizier, tries to overstep his bounds of authority to punish Nergal, while Nergal wants to get away with an improper deed - visiting the underworld and then leaving again. Both are eventually put in their place - they are to have power or authority, but only within a specific domain.

NYT Crossword, 0803

I really enjoyed this week's puzzle, even though I was stymied in the end. I got the top two-thirds, whose clues were at what I felt was just the right level of difficulty. But, the bottom third had a couple of proper names crossing each other, which got me. Oh well.


Washington State airport: SEATAC. (or Sea-Tac (Seattle/Tacoma) - makes sense, but I've never flown there, so how could I know?)

Teacher: Var.: PEDAGOG. (Come on - you have to spell stuff right to give us a chance! The word is pedagogue!!)

Any ship: SHE (Huh? - The puzzle authors must have read this poem: "Why is a ship a 'she'?")

Mushroom variety: ENOKI. (Not a big fan of rubbery fungi.)

Potato pancake: LATKE (Why don't I know this?)

Al's is almost 27: ATWT (I like chemistry; I was a short-lived major, in fact, but all I could think of here was, who the heck is Al, and why does he have something that is 26.98154? Another thought was Al Gore = A twit?)

Japanese-born Hall of Fame golfer: ISAOAOKI. (This guy is a crossword puzzler's dream come true - all vowels, all the time. Sheesh!)

Fess Parker TV role: BOONE (As in Daniel Boone. 1960s TV show. Before my time. Frankly, I though Fess would be a girl's name.)

Related to on the mother's side: ENATE (OK, my dissertation was on medieval kinship, and I've never heard of this word! Agnate and cognate I know.)

Jazz cornetist Adderley: NAT (I don't like Jazz!)

NYT Crossword, 0727

As a relative newcomer to these NYT crosswords, this one totally threw me. The theme involved a whole word (in this case a direction word like up, down, right, or left) fitting into a single space. I had a couple of them, except I couldn't figure out why there seemed to be a extra space. That probably contributed (although I can't say it completely explains it) to my inability to even get close to solving this one. There were some very obscure words in there though, and I will mention them at least.

portrays = LIMNS ??? (It even comes from Latin, but sheesh!!)

genus of poisonous mushrooms = AMANITA

pasta used in soups = ORZO

sphagnous = MOSSY


And of course the infamous proper names that probably few have heard of outside of crossword-dom or locals to the name:

City that overlooks a bay of the same name = HILO

old musical high notes = ELAS (The fact that I could only find this on a crossword explanation web page tells you that it is hokey.)

Tasmania's highest peak = OSSA

Construction porject that gave rise to the Ted Williams Tunnel = BIGDIG


Some crossword bloggers seemed to like the little self-referential plays on words, but I don't think they belong in a crossword puzzle. So no more trickery like "Hollow center?" = DOUBLEL, or Building component = SILENTU. Ugh!!