International Dog Day


 This is a day late, but... here's a story to mark International Dog Day. It's an Armenian myth told about their famous King Ara, given the sobriquet "the Handsome". Such was his charm that the famed Queen Shamiram of Assyria (also called Queen Semiramis) fell obsessively in love with him - the kind of passion that the Greeks used to warn so strongly against.

Ara, for reason not made clear, would have none of it. Maybe he simply did not fancy her (though when it comes to royal alliances, sexual attraction is seldom a consideration), maybe he had eyes only for another, maybe he just didn't want to become part of her ambitious schemes. Who can say? Nonetheless, Shamiram would not take no for an answer and waged a war to capture him and force him to her bed. Which rather takes stalking to a whole new level. 

If you are wondering what any of this has to do with dogs, they do not appear until the end of the story and you will just have to listen to find out quite what the araleznir are. The written accounts leave the end rather vague, so I have employed a bit of licence in what I think should happen next.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intro to Paganism

 The Ipswich Pagan Council is hosting an afternoon seminar/discussion to introduce interested newcomers to the different varieties of paganism that can be found in Suffolk. This will take place on Saturday 4th December, 12.30pm at the EEFA Centre on St Helen's Street, Ipswich. It is free to attend, refreshments will be provided (if you want to bring some lunch with you, feel free). We will look at the different traditions, theology, festivals, and moral codes found within various types of paganism. For further details see  Facebook Event for Intro to Paganism
Read more

Get my Meaning?

The meaning of life is a topic that has taxed the greatest (and the least able) minds since the dawn of human existence. It was brought to mind again recently in a discussion with a friend who suggested that having a meaning to one’s life was vital to good mental health. Numerous psychologists, philosophers and scholars agree both a sense of purpose, and the degree of spiritual reflection that precedes finding a purpose, are highly beneficial. It is better to have a sense of why you are here than to merely trudge from day to day in a largely pointless routine. In fact, many have argued that just having a purpose in itself is actually far more important than the exact nature of the purpose. One of the key questions in the matter of meaning is the source of that meaning and what is actually more than a linguistic nicety ~ do we discover the meaning of our lives, or create it? That is to say, is the meaning already determined (whether by a god, Wyrd, karma or anything  else) and ther
Read more