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January 15, 2007

of atlas and architecture, and other mythologies

ever since i can remember i've been fascinated by how mythology penetrates our daily lives. the words we use stem from them - chaos, asia, narcissism (narcissus), muse, morphine (morpheus), nemesis, hynoptic (hypnos), fate, aphrodisiac (aphrodite), erotic (eros), echo. famous brands use names of deities - like nike (goddess of victory), pallas (warrior goddess of wisdom). apollo the rocket was named after the greek god of light. titanic was named after the giant god race - titan, famed for their size and strength. we use the stories in mythology as metaphors, and it inspires an endless list of people - poets, playwrights, artists, sculptors, architects.

mythology has transcended the intangible realms of our imaginations. even the architecture around us are wild with mythology: the hindu deities inscribed on the walls of angkor temples, churches engraved with angels, dragons on pagodas, medusas on masonry, gargoyles on roofs, venus on fountains - it goes on and on.

one such example, though not the best, is the myth of atlas that prominently appears in our architecture. he is not to be mistaken with King Atlas - whose name we use synonymously with our book of maps. the atlas i'm referring to (which incidently is more popular and well known compared to King Atlas) is the titan who was cursed by zeus to bear the weight of earth upon his shoulders for eternity.

in architectural terms, atlas or atlantes (plural) means the male statue(s) used as a support column. this redefinition still runs along the veins of the original myth.

i also saw garuda atlantes in angkhor thom at the Terrace of the Elephants.

myths of other cultures have similar atlas-like themes with different creatures bearing the weight of the world (though in these tales they were not cursed to do so). the hindus believe that the world is supported by four elephants, who stands on chukwa - the first and oldest of all turtles.

mongolians tell a tale of how their lands sit upon a golden frog. native americans has a sea turtle with the world and the sky on its back. the aryan thinks their earth rides on a giant serpent with a thousand heads.

[thank you dylan!]

here's a famous anecdote about the nature of our universe found in stephen hawking's A Brief History of Time:

A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the Earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the centre of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy.
At the end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said: "What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise."
The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, "What is the tortoise standing on?"
"You're very clever, young man, very clever," said the old lady. "But it's turtles all the way down!"

posted by nyx at January 15, 2007 10:07 PM

Comments

Posted by: endroo G at January 15, 2007 11:49 PM

Posted by: nyx at January 17, 2007 8:47 PM

Posted by: Ankhorite at November 13, 2007 10:04 PM

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