Writing this essay made me think about Helen and beauty as status in mimetic desire. I will probably write an essay someday about why Helen is the perfect AI girlfriend.
Agamemnon reminded me of another failed hero, Jason. Both carry this feeling that only if you do the impossible, you are going to have any value as a person. It is a choking lack that turns into the wish to improve, but the growth itself starts to choke any connection to reality. I also need to explore this failed hero again in the future. :))
Empathy is absolutely one of the aspects. I would go further and talk about inner integrity. He goes for big goals in his life, but his actual power is very fragile. He constantly needs to perform by collecting trophies. But neither Achilles nor Odysseus really looks up to this King of Kings. And his homecoming, where he is not really welcomed, shows that performing strength does not build real bonds between people.
If I remember the Illiad correctly it was his arrogance and emotional insensitivity that largely drove the chaos. Mind you i read it many years ago, its wonderful to see it again with fresh eyes!
You have such a beautiful way of thinking, there's so much insight in this!! Do you often write pieces like this? The cost of beauty - that's what my latest poem circles around, maybe you'll like it?
Glad you enjoyed reading. I write one essay every week. It gives me enough time to think more deeply about something, and I learn a lot by writing and researching. Not every essay gets to be perfect or gets a lot of attention, but the repetitions of writing give a lot back to me.:)
Glad you enjoyed reading :). It gave me a lot personally to take time and think about Agamemnon and Odysseus for a while. In a culture obsessed with success, we rarely talk about the boundaries that should not be crossed.
Writing this essay made me think about Helen and beauty as status in mimetic desire. I will probably write an essay someday about why Helen is the perfect AI girlfriend.
Agamemnon reminded me of another failed hero, Jason. Both carry this feeling that only if you do the impossible, you are going to have any value as a person. It is a choking lack that turns into the wish to improve, but the growth itself starts to choke any connection to reality. I also need to explore this failed hero again in the future. :))
I particularly liked how you described Agamenons loss of... is it empathy in a way? Perfect reminder before watching the new Troy film.
Empathy is absolutely one of the aspects. I would go further and talk about inner integrity. He goes for big goals in his life, but his actual power is very fragile. He constantly needs to perform by collecting trophies. But neither Achilles nor Odysseus really looks up to this King of Kings. And his homecoming, where he is not really welcomed, shows that performing strength does not build real bonds between people.
If I remember the Illiad correctly it was his arrogance and emotional insensitivity that largely drove the chaos. Mind you i read it many years ago, its wonderful to see it again with fresh eyes!
You have such a beautiful way of thinking, there's so much insight in this!! Do you often write pieces like this? The cost of beauty - that's what my latest poem circles around, maybe you'll like it?
Glad you enjoyed reading. I write one essay every week. It gives me enough time to think more deeply about something, and I learn a lot by writing and researching. Not every essay gets to be perfect or gets a lot of attention, but the repetitions of writing give a lot back to me.:)
I enjoyed this one. I hadn't looked at it that way before. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed reading :). It gave me a lot personally to take time and think about Agamemnon and Odysseus for a while. In a culture obsessed with success, we rarely talk about the boundaries that should not be crossed.