medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> The boy in this configuration is usually called Triptolemos (as in the
> image caption for the view pointed to by Diana). The image shown
> appears to have been retouched. Here's a fairly recent view of the
> original piece (a stele, BTW, not -- as in the image caption -- a
> frieze) in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens:
> http://tinyurl.com/6ar9b7 And here's a view of a copy in the Eleusis
> Museum at Eleusis: http://tinyurl.com/59o39k Larger view:
> http://tinyurl.com/6g65qb
>
> In both of those, note the wearing of many of the surfaces (e.g.
> Triptolemos's nose, Persephone's/Kore's nose, and her right arm).
John,
Are you saying, or implying, here that the wearing was intentional, as, for example, in those
parts of the image being touched by devotees?
>
> In this particular composition Triptolemus (receiving from Demeter the
> grain with which he will instruct mankind in agriculture) appears to
> me more a young man (kouros) than a small boy.
Well, if the Annaselbdritt did arise out of such a configuration, it certainly wouldn't be the only
grain goddess imagery to characterize Christian iconography. My favourite is the apocryphal
episode on the Flight into Egypt when the Holy Family comes across a farmer who has just
planted his crops. They tell him to inform their pursuers that he had last seen them when the
crops had just been planted, and Christ then miraculously makes the grain grow up to a
harvestable state, so that the pursuers think they must have passed that way months ago,
and of course, give up the chase. This story is also told of several early female European
saints, as well, but was incorporated into Christian mythology, and imagery, from much older
grain goddess legends.
Cheers,
Jim
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