Thanks Anny - I've often seen the word "trope" used in relation to painting
in art criticism. I see (via my OED) that it applies specifically to music
as well as rhetoric, but in English it gets applied widely in a casual way
to embrace standard figures of expression in all media. I think my meaning
- that Eros/Cupid, the boy god of love, appears commonly in European
paintings - is perfectly clear.
> And starting from Cranach the Old to Picasso (but way before Christ there
> are plenty of depictions), Eros had different meanings, sometimes of Love
> and sometimes of Eros, which are completely different. And each language I
> mentioned previously has well defined meanings for the two, they might
> interact (erotic love, loving eros) but they are distinct. I cannot speak of
> Greek. This is what I meant.
I'm not sure what you're saying here: Eros is love, just as Agape is. That
these kinds of love might differ doesn't exile Eros from the party. Of
course the meaning of Eros shimmers with contradictions and different
interpretations in Gnostic and pagan mythologies, and yet again in
Renaissance and modern symbology, but generally speaking, Eros' union with
Psyche is a metaphor for the soul's introduction to life, sexual pleasure,
delight, carnality and death. But isn't this what Cavafy is alluding to?
Best
A
Alison Croggon
Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
Editor, Masthead: http://masthead.net.au
Home page: http://alisoncroggon.com
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