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El día a día

Oraciones a Dios

"Pero escucha antes mis supremas y más misteriosas palabras, que a ti ahora te revelaré, porque me eres muy bien amado. Pon tu corazón en mí, en la forma en que te me he declarado, sírveme, ofréceteme solo a mí, e inclínate reverente solo ante mí, y de cierto que vendrás a mí; lo juro, porque me eres muy amado. Renuncia a toda religión y toma refugio solo en mí; no te lamentes, porque te liberaré de todas las transgresiones. " —Krishna

"Lo que sea que hagas Arjuna, ofrécemelo. Ya sea comer, sacrificarte, ayudar a alguien o incluso tu sufrimiento, ofrécemelo". —Krishna

"Solo temo una cosa, no ser digno de mi sufrimiento". —Fiódor Dostoyevski

Tu mundo es una esfera sagrada… En su interior cohabitan las tres partes de ti, idénticas en tamaño, pero diferentes en naturaleza. Cada una de estas partes eres tú mismo y contiene tu evolución y tu alma. —Trisquel Celta. Cada acción que hagas con el corazón tendrá ecos en todo el universo. —Trisquel Celta.

Esta es la más noble misión de la juventud. El mundo no existía antes de haberlo creado Yo; Yo hice surgir el Sol de entre los mares; conmigo la Luna comenzó el curso de sus fases; el día se engalanó entonces a mi paso; cubrióse de verdor la tierra y floreció a mi llegada. Bastó un gesto mío aquella primera noche para que las estrellas desplegaran toda su belleza. ¿Quién, sino yo, los libró de todas sus trabas? ¿de las pedestres ideas que les sujetaban?

Yo, empero, libre, según se me antoja, sigo dichoso y contento mi luz interior, y con paso acelerado marcho teniendo por fin claridad ante mí, y detrás las tinieblas.

—Goethe en su "Fausto".

Oraciones al Eros

No interpretes mal mis palabras, hermosa mía. ¿Quién puede nombrarlo? ¿Y quién puede confesar: “Creo en Él”? ¿Quién, siendo capaz de sentir, puede atreverse a exclamar: “No creo en Él”? Aquel que todo lo abarca, no te sostiene a ti, a mí, a él mismo? ¿No se extiende el cielo formando bóveda allá en lo alto? ¿No está la tierra firme bajo nuestros pies? ¿No se elevan las eternas estrellas mirando con amor? ¿No te contemplo yo clavando mis ojos en los tuyos? Y todo cuanto existe ¿no impresiona tu cabeza y tu corazón y se agita visible e invisible cerca de ti en un eterno misterio? Por grande que sea, llena de esto tu corazón, y cuando, penetrada de tal sentimiento, seas feliz, nómbralo entonces como quieras, llámale Felicidad, Corazón, Amor, Dios. Para ello no tengo nombre; el sentimiento es todo. El nombre no es más que ruido y humo que ofusca la lumbre del cielo. —Goethe en su "Fausto".

“And so I try to be kind to everything I see, and in everything I see, I see him.”

― Hanya Yanagiha

Fecha: 10/05/2025 Estado de ánimo: Todo en orden. Estado: Día de descanso, leyendo.

Meta: Día de descanso

Meta del año: trabajar la paciencia.

15/01/2025: La carta 67 de Séneca es buenísima para esto. Reconoce que la paciencia surge de la fortaleza. La fortaleza es entonces lo que hay que desarrollar.

15/01/2025: Me doy cuenta de que uno de mis grandes problemas es ser débil. Al no tener fortaleza tiendo a intentar aparentarla y mucho de mis esfuerzos y discusiones se van en eso.

10/05/2025: Recientemente he regresado a correr, estoy corriendo hora y media diaria lo más lento que puedo. Es sorprendentemente placentero, el libro del que lo leí la llama "The week of slow". Estoy intentando implementar el mismo método en la comida: solo comer caldo de pollo y naranjas hasta que deje de sentir esta ansiedad por el dulce, pero es más dificíl. Pero excelente breakthrough.

Domingos

Meditar corriendo.

Limpiar.

Bañarse, lavarse los dientes.

Estirar.

Meditación.

Desayunar.

Hacer mandado.

ir a misa.

MTB.

Limpiar: 1. Sacar la basura. 2. Lavar trastes, limpiar cocina. 3. Barrer, desde la cocina hasta el baño. 4. Trapear, desde la cocina hasta el baño. 5. Limpiar el baño.

Flow

IF CHOKING IS A condition of heightened self-consciousness that intensifies perceived effort and hampers endurance performance, then its opposite would be a mental state in which self-consciousness disappears, reducing perceived effort and boosting performance. Does such a thing exist? It does.

The psychologist Mihály Csikszentmihalyi called it “flow” and defined it as a state of complete immersion in a purposeful activity. Endurance athletes describe the flow state as one in which they seem to become the thing they are doing. The part of the mind that normally watches the part that is focused on the task at hand vanishes, leaving the athlete’s consciousness directed externally in a way that feels right and yields exceptional performance. Siri Lindley’s choking problem was essentially an anxious tendency that kept her from racing in a flow state in the most pressure-packed races.

Neuroscientists have observed that several changes in brain function tend to accompany the flow state. The brain’s electrical activity always unfolds in wave patterns. Normal consciousness is associated with a high-frequency beta wave pattern. In the flow state, brain rhythms drop down to the borderline between low-frequency beta and theta waves. Flow is tied also to sharply reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that gives rise to a sense of self and that includes the aforementioned dorsolateral prefrontal cortex—the brain’s internal critic. And at the molecular level, several neurotransmitters, or brain messenger chemicals, are released during flow. Among these are norepinephrine, which enhances mental focus, and endorphins, which are the source of the famous “runner’s high.”

It is not necessary to measure brain waves or neurotransmitter levels to figure out if an athlete is operating in the flow state. You can just ask. Athletes know when they are in flow because the feeling is unmistakable—it’s that sense of absolute unity with one’s effort that Siri Lindley experienced in the 2001 ITU Triathlon World Championship. Perception of effort does not disappear during flow. Hard work still feels hard in this state, but the feeling becomes enjoyable in a way that is difficult to put into words.

A handful of studies have supplied evidence that the more flow an athlete experiences during an endurance test, the better she performs. One such study was conducted in 2012 by Alan St. Clair Gibson and his colleagues and published in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. Eight trained cyclists were asked to complete a pair of 20-km time trials on stationary bikes on separate occasions. It is exceedingly unlikely that any athlete will ever complete consecutive time trials of the same distance in exactly the same time, and sure enough, none of these athletes did. Some of the cyclists performed slightly better in the first time trial, others in the second. Gibson and his colleagues collected physiological and psychological data during both time trials in an effort to ascertain why the cyclists performed better in whichever one they completed faster. They found no major differences in any of the physiological variables. But what they did find was that the cyclists consistently reported higher levels of positive affect—a sign of flow—in their better ride.

As this study hints, flow is not entirely controllable and hence cannot be regarded as a coping skill in itself. It appears that a number of factors have to line up just right for flow to occur. Insofar as flow is controllable, anything that helps an athlete race less self-consciously promotes the flow state. And flow, in turn, is the ultimate prophylactic against the self-sabotage of choking. Learning how to exploit these flow facilitators, therefore, is a vital coping skill for all endurance athletes.

Physical preparedness is one such factor. Research has demonstrated that people are more likely to experience flow when performing tasks in which they have a high level of mastery. Other investigations have revealed that well-trained athletes exhibit reduced activity in parts of the brain that are related to physical self-consciousness. These things are linked. Well-trained athletes have an easier time achieving flow because they are less physically self-conscious.

Any factor that tends to increase self-consciousness during a race makes flow more difficult to attain. One of these factors is negative thoughts. In a 2014 study that appeared in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, a team of scientists led by Samuele Marcora invited volunteers to pedal stationary bikes to exhaustion at high intensity on two occasions separated by two weeks. Between the tests, half of the subjects were trained in the use of positive self-talk, a coping skill that many athletes use instinctively to neutralize negative thoughts and preserve flow during competition. The remaining subjects received no training in positive self-talk. When the endurance test was repeated, the subjects trained in positive self-talk improved their time to exhaustion by 17 percent. Even though both tests were performed at the same intensity, these subjects reported significantly lower ratings of perceived effort in the second test. The subjects in the other group did not improve between tests and their perceived effort ratings did not change.

Some athletes are especially prone to negative thinking in competition. Athletes who lack self-belief, as Siri Lindley once did, have a harder time tamping down their internal critic in races. Many of the negative thoughts that such athletes experience issue from excessive focus on the desired outcome. All athletes begin their races wanting to achieve their goals, but those lacking self-belief are so anxious about their goal that it pulls their attention away from the task of the moment. They feel that if only they can achieve their goal, then they will have self-belief to carry into the next race. But it doesn’t work like that. The self-belief has to come first.

So where does it come from? It comes from letting go, as illustrated by Siri’s surrender to Brett Sutton’s methodology. Counterintuitive though it may be, caring a little less about the result of a race produces better results. An athlete who believes in herself whether she succeeds or fails is able to put her goal out of mind and race in the moment, and to race in the moment—in flow—is to race better. The athlete who lacks self-belief can gain it by consciously pushing her goals and the worries that surround them out of her mind and teaching herself to stay focused on the task of the moment throughout the training process that leads up to the next big race. The progress that issues from this head-down, “just do it” approach cultivates self-belief in a way that no amount of visualizing the perfect race can.

Siri learned this lesson through her work with Brett Sutton. Self-belief cannot be manufactured through obsessive yearning toward one’s goals or through the elimination of all “distractions.” In fact, it requires the opposite: an empty mind and total immersion in the process that builds the proof of potential that is the only solid foundation for true self-belief.

“Real confidence comes from real results and real training,” Siri told writer Timothy Carlson in 2014. “It must be truthful.”

—Matt Fitzgerald en "How bad do you want it"

#matt Fitzgerald #how bad do you want it #running

Anthony

Anthony was only two and a half when he was referred to our Trauma Center by a child-care center because its employees could not manage his constant biting and pushing, his refusal to take naps, and his intractable crying, head banging, and rocking. He did not feel safe with any staff member and fluctuated between despondent collapse and angry defiance.

When we met with him and his mother, he anxiously clung to her, hiding his face, while she kept saying, “Don’t be such a baby.” He startled when a door banged somewhere down the corridor and then burrowed deeper into his mom’s lap. When she pushed him away, he sat in a corner and started to bang his head. “He just does that to bug me,” his mother remarked. When we asked about her own background, she told us that she’d been abandoned by her parents and raised by a series of relatives who hit her, ignored her, and started to sexually abuse her at age thirteen. She’d become pregnant by a drunken boyfriend who left her when she told him she was carrying his child. Anthony was just like his father, she said—a good-for-nothing. She had had numerous violent rows with subsequent boyfriends, but she was sure that this had happened too late at night for Anthony to notice.

If Anthony were admitted to a hospital, he would likely be diagnosed with a host of different psychiatric disorders: depression, oppositional defiant disorder, anxiety, reactive attachment disorder, ADHD, and PTSD. None of these diagnoses, however, would clarify what was wrong with Anthony: that he was scared to death and fighting for his life, and he did not trust that his mother could help him.

—Bessel van der Kolk en "the body keeps the score"

#Bessel van der Kolk #the body keeps the score

The How of Pooh?

"You see, Pooh," I said, "a lot of people don't seem to know what Taoism is ..."

"Yes?" said Pooh, blinking his eyes.

"So that's what this chapter is for - to explain things a bit."

"Oh, I see," said Pooh.

"And the easiest way to do that would be for us to go to China for a moment."

"What?" said Pooh, his eyes wide open in amazement. "Right now?"

"Of course. All we need to do is lean back, relax, and there we are."

"Oh, I see," said Pooh.

The Vinegar Tasters

Let's imagine that we have walked down a narrow street in a large Chinese city and have found a small shop that sells scrolls painted in the classic manner. We go inside and ask to be shown something allegorical - something humorous, per haps, but with some sort of Timeless Meaning. The shopkeeper smiles. "I have just the thing," he tells us. "A copy of The Vinegar Tasters!" He leads us to a large table and unrolls the scroll, placing it down for us to examine. "Excuse me - I must attend to something for a moment," he says, and goes into the back of the shop, leaving us alone with the painting.

Although we can see that this is a fairly recent version, we know that the original was painted long ago; just when is uncertain. But by now, the theme of the painting is well known.

We see three men standing around a vat of vinegar. Each has dipped his finger into the vinegar and has tasted it. The expression on each man's face shows his individual reaction. Since the painting is allegorical, we are to understand that these are no ordinary vinegar tasters, but are instead representa tives of the "Three Teachings" of China, and that the vinegar they are sampling represents the Es sence of Life. The three masters are K'ung Fu-tse (Confucius), Buddha, and Lao-tse, author of the oldest existing book of Taoism. The first has a sour look on his face, the second wears a bitter expres sion, but the third man is smiling.

Confucius

To K'ung Fu-tse (kung FOOdsuh), life seemed rather sour. He believed that the present was out of step with the past, and that the government of man on earth was out of harmony with the Way of Heaven, the government of the universe. There fore, he emphasized reverence for the Ancestors, as well as for the ancient rituals and ceremonies in which the emperor, as the Son of Heaven, acted as intermediary between limitless heaven and limited earth. Under Confucianism, the use of precisely measured court music, prescribed steps, actions, and phrases all added up to an extremely complex system of rituals, each used for a particular purpose at a particular time. A saying was recorded about K'ung Fu-tse: "If the mat was not straight, the Master would not sit." This ought to give an indi cation of the extent to which things were carried out under Confucianism.

Buddha

To Buddha, the second figure in the painting, life on earth was bitter, filled with attachments and desires that led to suffering. The world was seen as a setter of traps, a generator of illusions, a revolving wheel of pain for all creatures. In order to find peace, the Buddhist considered it necessary to tran scend "the world of dust" and reach Nirvana, literally a state of "no wind." Although the essentially optimistic attitude of the Chinese altered Bud dhism considerably after it was brought in from its native India, the devout Buddhist often saw the way to Nirvana interrupted all the same by the bit ter wind of everyday existence.

Lao-tse

To Lao-tse (LAOdsuh), the harmony that natu rally existed between heaven and earth from the very beginning could be found by anyone at any time, but not by following the rules of the Confu cianists. As he stated in his Tao Te Ching (DAO DEH JEENG), the "Tao Virtue Book," earth was in essence a reflection of heaven, run by the same laws - not by the laws of men. These laws affected not only the spinning of distant planets, but the ac tivities of the birds in the forest and the fish in the sea. According to Lao-tse, the more man interfered with the natural balance produced and governed by the universal laws, the further away the harmony retreated into the distance. The more forcing, the more trouble. Whether heavy or light, wet or dry, fast or slow, everything had its own nature already within it, which could not be violated without causing difficulties. When abstract and arbitrary rules were imposed from the outside, struggle was inevitable. Only then did life become sour. To Lao-tse, the world was not a setter of traps but a teacher of valuable lessons. Its lessons needed to be learned, just as its laws needed to be followed; then all would go well. Rather than turn away from "the world of dust," Lao-tse advised others to "join the dust of the world." What he saw operating be hind everything in heaven and earth he called Tao (DAO), "the Way." A basic principle of Lao-tse's teaching was that this Way of the Universe could not be adequately described in words, and that it would be insulting both to its unlimited power and to the intelligent human mind to attempt to do so. Still, its nature could be understood, and those who cared the most about it, and the life from which it was inseparable, understood it best.

Over the centuries Lao-tse's classic teachings were developed and divided into philosophical, monastic, and folk religious forms. All of these could be included under the general heading of Taoism. But the basic Taoism that we are con cerned with here is simply a particular way of ap preciating, learning from, and working, with what ever happens in everyday life. From the Taoist point of view, the natural result of this harmonious way of living is happiness. You might say that happy serenity is the most noticeable characteristic of the Taoist personality, and a subtle sense of humor is apparent even in the most profound Taoist writings, such as the twenty-five-hundred year-old Tao Te Ching. In the writings of Taoism's second major writer, Chuang-tse (JUANGdsuh), quiet laughter seems to bubble up like water from a fountain.

"But what does that have to do with vinegar?" asked Pooh.

"I thought I had explained that," I said.

"I don't think so," said Pooh.

"Well, then, I'll explain it now."

'That's good," said Pooh.

In the painting, why is Lao-tse smiling? After all, that vinegar that represents life must certainly have an unpleasant taste, as the expressions on the faces of the other two men indicate. But, through working in harmony with life's circumstances, Taoist understanding changes what others may perceive as negative into something positive. From the Taoist point of view, sourness and bitterness come from the interfering and unappreciative mind. Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet. That is the message of The Vin egar Tasters.

"Sweet? You mean like honey?" asked Pooh.

"Well, maybe not that sweet," I said.

"That would be overdoing it a bit."

"Are we still supposed to be in China?" Pooh asked cautiously.

"No, we're through explaining and now we're back at the writing table."

"Oh."

"Well, we're just in time for a little some thing," he added, wandering over to the kitchen cupboard.

—Benjamin Hoff en "The Tao of Pooh"

#Benjamin Hoff #The tao of pooh #taoism

FUCK THE DSM

Each major diagnosis in the DSM had a workgroup responsible for suggesting revisions for the new edition. I presented the results of the field trial to our DSM-IV PTSD work group, and we voted nineteen to two to create a new trauma diagnosis for victims of interpersonal trauma: “Disorders of Extreme Stress, Not Otherwise Specified” (DESNOS), or “Complex PTSD” for short.12,13 We then eagerly anticipated the publication of the DSM-IV in May 1994. But much to our surprise the diagnosis that our work group had overwhelmingly approved did not appear in the final product. None of us had been consulted.

This was a tragic exclusion. It meant that large numbers of patients could not be accurately diagnosed and that clinicians and researchers would be unable to scientifically develop appropriate treatments for them. You cannot develop a treatment for a condition that does not exist. Not having a diagnosis now confronts therapists with a serious dilemma: How do we treat people who are coping with the fall-out of abuse, betrayal and abandonment when we are forced to diagnose them with depression, panic disorder, bipolar illness, or borderline personality, which do not really address what they are coping with?

The consequences of caretaker abuse and neglect are vastly more common and complex than the impact of hurricanes or motor vehicle accidents. Yet the decision makers who determined the shape of our diagnostic system decided not to recognize this evidence. To this day, after twenty years and four subsequent revisions, the DSM and the entire system based on it fail victims of child abuse and neglect—just as they ignored the plight of veterans before PTSD was introduced back in 1980.

—Bessel van der Kolk en "The body keeps the score"

#bessel van der kolk #the body keeps the score #trauma

Weekly Séneca 97: Crimen y Castigo

Pero con objeto de que sepas que hasta en los ánimos más depravados existe algún sentimiento del bien y que no ignoran lo torpe sino que descuidan evitarlo, considera que todos ocultas sus malas acciones, y aprovechando sus consecuencias atienden a mantenerlas encubiertas. Por el contrario, la buena conciencia se muestra públicamente, busca la luz, mientras que el vicio teme hasta a las tinieblas.

Por eso dice Epicuro, y creo que con mucha razón: «El malvado puede ocultarse, pero nunca se cree bien oculto»; o si te parece mejor para aclarar el sentido: Inútil es que se oculte el malvado, porque no puede hallar tranquilidad. ¡Así es! Los malvados pueden encontrarse seguros, pero no tranquilos.

No creo que esto, explicado de esta manera, sea contrario a la opinión de nuestra escuela. ¿Por qué? Porque el castigo primero y mayor del delito es haberlo cometido; y ninguna maldad, aunque la favorezca la fortuna, aunque la proteja, queda jamás impune, encontrándose el castigo del delito en el delito mismo.

—Séneca en sus cartas a Lucilio

#Séneca #cartas a Lucilio #estoicismo #filosofía

Synthetic Sex

In fact, internet porn looks very much like what scientists call a supernormal stimulus.105 Years ago, Nobel laureate Nikolaas Tinbergen discovered that birds, butterflies, and other animals could be duped into preferring fake eggs and mates. Female birds, for example, struggled to sit on Tinbergen’s larger-than-life, vividly spotted plaster eggs while their own pale, dappled eggs perished untended. Male jewel beetles will ignore real mates in favour of futile efforts to copulate with the dimpled brown bottoms of beer bottles.106To a beetle, a beer bottle looks like the hottest female ever.

In other words, instead of the instinctive response stopping at a ‘sweet spot’ where it doesn’t lure the animal out of the mating game entirely, this innate programming continues to trigger enthusiastic responses to unrealistic, synthetic stimuli. Tinbergen dubbed such deceptions ‘supranormal stimuli,’ now often referred to as ‘supernormal stimuli’. Supernormal stimuli are exaggerated versions of normal stimuli that amplify qualities we find especially compelling (such as sexual novelty). Interestingly, although it’s unlikely a monkey would choose images over real mates, monkeys ‘paid’ (passed up juice rewards) to view images of female monkey bottoms.107 Perhaps it’s not surprising that today’s porn can hijack our instincts.

—Gary Wilson en "your brain on porn"

#social skills #porn #your brain on porn #addiction

How about being an Uber Driver?

Wait. What? I asked why he was driving for Lyft if he’s a programmer. There’s no immediately clear reason why someone with a skillset that lucrative would need to drive for extra money. Isaac explained that he works alone at home—and has been working that way for the majority of the last thirty years. Working alone has its benefits; no one is looking over his shoulder and he gets to make his own hours. But there are two main downsides: it leaves him feeling socially isolated, and it strains his eyes because staring at a computer screen means he is always focusing his eyes on things at a short distance.

A few years ago he started driving for Lyft part time. His voice was beaming with a smile as he explained how and why he loves it so much. He said that driving a morning shift from 7 to 9 a.m. wakes him up and gets him going. He loves to watch the sun come up, and driving lets him get a peek into different neighborhoods that he’d otherwise never see. It gives his eyes a chance to focus at a distance and witness the rest of the world waking up too. When he sits down at his computer at 9 a.m., he’s refreshed and ready to get to work. The best part about driving, he said, is that it gives him a chance to talk to people and really connect with them in a way that his workday could never provide. He later decided to add an evening shift a few times a week. He doesn’t drive for the money; he drives for the human connection.[1]

The ride was smooth, but in the back seat my head was spinning with a major case of deja vú. Isaac is the second computer engineer I’ve spontaneously met who has told me that he’s a part-time driver primarily because it reduces his feelings of social isolation. Both guys said the best thing about driving is that it gives them a chance to connect with people and have great conversations.

The other driver, Aaron, was a participant at one of my Better Than Small Talk gatherings. For Aaron too, the main benefit of being a driver is that his rides with strangers lead to much deeper conversations than what he typically experiences with his coworkers or when socializing with people he knows.[2] In the fleeting container of an 18-minute road trip, these two are courageously reaching for, and finding, the kind of connection that’s missing in other parts of their lives. Isaac, Aaron, and the riders who keep them on the road have turned part-time taxis into intimacy shuttles. They are using the relative anonymity of their temporary proximity to have conversations about what really matters in their lives, despite the moment’s ephemerality, or maybe because of it. It’s like a G-rated emotional intelligence version of Taxicab Confessions.

I’ve heard of some pretty creative ways to combat social isolation, but getting an unnecessary second job might take the cake. There’s something very sweet and sincere about their strategy, though, and I found it hard to stop thinking about their stories. Isaac and Aaron: two programmers driving people around in their free time, using their creative problem-solving skills to engineer human connection into super-connected lives that have failed to deliver it.

—Kat Vellos en "We should get together: the Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships"

#Kat Vellos #We should get together #social skills

The art of seduction 10. Use the Demonic Power of Words to Sow Confusion

It is hard to make people listen; they are consumed with their own thoughts and desires, and have little time for yours. The trick to making them listen is to say what they want to hear, to fill their ears with whatever is pleasant to them. This is the essence of seductive language. Inflame people’s emotions with loaded phrases, flatter them, comfort their insecurities, envelop them in fantasies, sweet words, and promises, and not only will they listen to you, they will lose their Will to resist you. Keep your language vague, letting them read into it what they want. Use writing to stir up fantasies and to create an idealized portrait of yourself. After Operation Sedition, we are being treated to Operation Seduction.

—MAURICE KRIEGEL- VALRIMONT ON CHARLES DE GAULLE, SHORTLY AFTER THE GENERAL ASSUMED POWER

[…]

De Gaulle was not trying to express his feelings or speak the truth; he was trying to produce an effect. This is the key to seductive oratory. Whether you are talking to a single individual or to a crowd, try a little experiment: rein in your desire to speak your mind. Before you open your mouth, ask yourself a question: what can I say that will have the most pleasant effect on my listeners? Often this entails flattering their egos, assuaging their insecurities, giving them vague hopes for the future, sympathizing with their travails (“I have understood you”). Start off with something pleasant and everything to come will be easy: people’s defenses will go down. They will grow amenable, open to suggestion. Think of your words as an intoxicating drug that will make people emotional and confused. Keep your language vague and ambiguous, letting your listeners fill in the gaps with their fantasies and imaginings. Instead of tuning you out, getting irritated or defensive, being impatient for you to shut up, they will be pliant, happy with your sweet sounding words.

[…]

Johannes is a most experienced seducer, who specializes in working on his victim’s mind. This is precisely where Cordelia’s previous suitors have failed: they have begun by imposing themselves, a common mistake. We think that by being persistent, by overwhelming our targets with romantic attention, we are convincing them of our affection. Instead we are convincing them of our impatience and insecurity. Aggressive attention is not flattering because it is not personalized. It is unbridled libido at work; the target sees through it. Johannes is too clever to begin so obviously. Instead, he takes a step back, intriguing Cordelia by acting a little cold, and carefully creating the impression of a formal, somewhat secretive man. Only then does he surprise her with his first letter. Obviously there is more to him than she has thought, and once she has come to believe this, her imagination runs rampant. Now he can intoxicate her with his letters, creating a presence that haunts her like a ghost. His words, with their images and poetic references, are constantly in her mind. And this is the ultimate seduction: to possess her mind before moving to conquer her body.

Letters

The story of Johannes shows what a weapon in a seducer’s armory a letter can be. But it is important to learn how to incorporate letters in seduction.

It is best not to begin your correspondence until at least several weeks after your initial contact. Let your victims get an impression of you: you seem intriguing, yet you show no particular interest in them. When you sense that they are thinking about you, that is the time to hit them with your first letter. Any desire you express for them will come as a surprise; their vanity will be tickled and they will want more.

Now make your letters frequent, in fact more frequent than your personal appearances. This will give them the time and space to idealize you, which would be more difficult if you were always in their face.

After they have fallen under your spell, you can always take a step back, making the letters fewer—let them think you are losing interest and they will be hungry for more.

Design your letters as homages to your targets. Make everything you write come back to them, as if they were all you could think about—a delirious effect. If you tell an anecdote, make it somehow relate to them. Your correspondence is a kind of mirror you are holding up to them—they get to see themselves reflected through your desire.

If for some reason they do not like you, write to them as if they did.

Remember: the tone of your letters is what will get under their skin. If your language is elevated, poetic, creative in its praise, it will infect them despite themselves.

Never argue, never defend yourself, never accuse them of being heartless. That would ruin the spell.

A letter can suggest emotion by seeming disordered, rambling from one subject to another. Clearly it is hard for you to think; your love has unhinged you. Disordered thoughts are exciting thoughts. Do not waste time on real information; focus on feelings and sensations, using expressions that are ripe with connotation. Plant ideas by dropping hints, writing suggestively without explaining yourself.

Never lecture, never seem intellectual or superior—you will only make yourself pompous, which is deadly. Far better to speak colloquially, though with a poetic edge to lift the language above the commonplace.

Do not become sentimental—it is tiring, and too direct. Better to suggest the effect your target has on you than to gush about how you feel.

Stay vague and ambiguous, allowing the reader the space to imagine and fantasize.

The goal of your writing is not to express yourself but to create emotion in the reader, spreading confusion and desire.

You will know that your letters are having the proper effect when your targets come to mirror your thoughts, repeating words you wrote, whether in their own letters or in person.

This is the time to move to the more physical and erotic. Use language that quivers with sexual connotation, or, better still, suggest sexuality by making your letters shorter, more frequent, and even more disordered than before. There is nothing more erotic than the short abrupt note. Your thoughts are unfinished; they can only be completed by the other person.

Keys to seduction

We rarely think before we talk. It is human nature to say the first thing that comes into our head—and usually what comes first is something about ourselves. We primarily use words to express our own feelings, ideas, and opinions. (Also to complain and to argue.) This is because we are generally self-absorbed—the person who interests us most is our own self. To a certain extent this is inevitable, and through much of our lives there is nothing much wrong with it; we can function quite well this way. In seduction, however, it limits our potential.

You cannot seduce without an ability to get outside your own skin and inside another person’s, piercing their psychology. The key to seductive language is not the words you utter, or your seductive tone of voice; it is a radical shift in perspective and habit. You have to stop saying the first thing that comes to your mind—you have to control the urge to prattle and vent your opinions. The key is to see words as a tool not for communicating true thoughts and feelings but for confusing, delighting, and intoxicating.

The difference between normal language and seductive language is like the difference between noise and music. Noise is a constant in modern life, something irritating we tune out if we can. Our normal language is like noise —people may half-listen to us as we go on about ourselves, but just as often their thoughts are a million miles away. Every now and then their ears prick up when something we say touches on them, but this lasts only until we return to yet another story about ourselves. As early as childhood we learn to tune out this kind of noise (particularly when it comes from our parents). Music, on the other hand, is seductive, and gets under our skin. It is intended for pleasure. A melody or rhythm stays in our blood for days after we have heard it, altering our moods and emotions, relaxing or exciting us. To make music instead of noise, you must say things that please—things that relate to people’s lives, that touch their vanity. If they have many problems, you can produce the same effect by distracting them, focusing their attention away from themselves by saying things that are witty and entertaining, or that make the future seem bright and hopeful. Promises and flattery are music to anyone’s ears. This is language designed to move people and lower their resistance. It is language designed for them, not directed at them.

The Italian writer Gabriele D’Annunzio was physically unattractive, yet women could not resist him. Even those who knew of his Don Juan reputation and disliked him for it (the actress Eleanora Duse and the dancer Isadora Duncan, for instance) fell under his spell. The secret was the flow of words in which he enveloped a woman. His voice was musical, his language poetic, and most devastating of all, he knew how to flatter. His flattery was aimed precisely at a woman’s weaknesses, the areas where she needed validation. A woman was beautiful, yet lacked confidence in her own wit and intelligence? He made sure to say that he was bewitched not by her beauty but by her mind. He might compare her to a heroine of literature, or to a carefully chosen mythological figure. Talking to him, her ego would double in size. Flattery is seductive language in its purest form. Its purpose is not to express a truth or a real feeling, but only to create an effect on the recipient.

Like D’Annunzio, learn to aim your flattery directly at a person’s insecurities. For instance, if a man is a fine actor and feels confident about his professional skills, to flatter him about his acting will have little effect, and may even accomplish the opposite—he could feel that he is above the need to have his ego stroked, and your flattery will seem to say otherwise. But let us say that this actor is an amateur musician or painter. He does this work on his own, without professional support or publicity, and he is well aware that others make their living at it. Flattery of his artistic pretensions will go straight to his head and earn you double points. Learn to sniff out the parts of a person’s ego that need validation. Make it a surprise, something no one else has thought to flatter before—something you can describe as a talent or positive quality that others have not noticed. Speak with a little tremor, as if your target’s charms had overwhelmed you and made you emotional. Flattery can be a kind of verbal foreplay.

Aphrodite’s powers of seduction, which were said to come from the magnificent girdle she wore, involved a sweetness of language—a skill with the soft, flattering words that prepare the way for erotic thoughts. Insecurities and nagging self-doubts have a dampening effect on the libido. Make your targets feel secure and alluring through your flattering words and their resistance will melt away.

Sometimes the most pleasant thing to hear is the promise of something wonderful, a vague but rosy future that is just around the corner. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his public speeches, talked little about specific programs for dealing with the Depression; instead he used rousing rhetoric to paint a picture of America’s glorious future. In the various legends of Don Juan, the great seducer would immediately focus women’s attention on the future, a fantastic world to which he promised to whisk them off. Tailor your sweet words to your targets’ particular problems and fantasies. Promise something realizable, something possible, but do not make it too specific; you are inviting them to dream. If they are mired in dull routine, talk of adventure, preferably with you. Do not discuss how it will be accomplished; speak as if it magically already existed, somewhere in the future. Lift people’s thoughts into the clouds and they will relax, their defenses will come down, and it will be that much easier to maneuver and lead them astray. Your words become a kind of elevating drug.

The most anti-seductive form of language is argument. How many silent enemies do we create by arguing? There is a superior way to get people to listen and be persuaded: humor and a light touch. The nineteenth-century English politician Benjamin Disraeli was a master at this game. In Parliament, to fail to reply to an accusation or slanderous comment was a deadly mistake: silence meant the accuser was right. Yet to respond angrily, to get into an argument, was to look ugly and defensive. Disraeli used a different tactic: he stayed calm. When the time came to reply to an attack, he would slowly make his way to the speaker’s table, pause, then utter a humorous or sarcastic retort. Everyone would laugh. Now that he had warmed people up, he would proceed to refute his enemy, still mixing in amusing comments; or perhaps he would simply move on to another subject, as if he were above it all. His humor took out the sting of any attack on him. Laughter and applause have a domino effect: once your listeners have laughed, they are more likely to laugh again. In this lighthearted mood they are also more apt to listen. A subtle touch and a bit of irony give you room to persuade them, move them to your side, mock your enemies. That is the seductive form of argument.

About Julius Caesar Murder

Shortly after the murder of Julius Caesar, the head of the band of conspirators who had killed him, Brutus, addressed an angry mob. He tried to reason with the crowd, explaining that he had wanted to save the Roman Republic from dictatorship. The people were momentarily convinced—yes, Brutus seemed a decent man. Then Mark Antony took the stage, and he in turn delivered a eulogy for Caesar. He seemed overwhelmed with emotion. He talked of his love for Caesar, and of Caesar’s love for the Roman people. He mentioned Caesar’s will; the crowd clamored to hear it, but Antony said no, for if he read it they would know how deeply Caesar had loved them, and how dastardly this murder was. The crowd again insisted he read the will; instead he held up Caesar’s bloodstained cloak, noting its rents and tears. This was where Brutus had stabbed the great general, he said; Cassius had stabbed him here. Then finally he read the will, which told how much wealth Caesar had left to the Roman people. This was the coup de grâce—the crowd turned against the conspirators and went off to lynch them.

Antony was a clever man, who knew how to stir a crowd. According to the Greek historian Plutarch, “When he saw that his oratory had cast a spell over the people and that they were deeply stirred by his words, he began to introduce into his praises [of Caesar] a note of pity and of indignation at Caesar’s fate.” Seductive language aims at people’s emotions, for emotional people are easier to deceive. Antony used various devices to stir the crowd: a tremor in his voice, a distraught and then an angry tone. An emotional voice has an immediate, contagious effect on the listener. Antony also teased the crowd with the will, holding off the reading of it to the end, knowing it would push people over the edge. Holding up the cloak, he made his imagery visceral.

Perhaps you are not trying to whip a crowd into a frenzy; you just want to bring people over to your side. Choose your strategy and words carefully. You might think it is better to reason with people, explain your ideas. But it is hard for an audience to decide whether an argument is reasonable as they listen to you talk. They have to concentrate and listen closely, which requires great effort. People are easily distracted by other stimuli, and if they miss a part of your argument, they will feel confused, intellectually inferior, and vaguely insecure. It is more persuasive to appeal to people’s hearts than their heads. Everyone shares emotions, and no one feels inferior to a speaker who stirs up their feelings. The crowd bonds together, everyone contagiously experiencing the same emotions. Antony talked of Caesar as if he and the listeners were experiencing the murder from Caesar’s point of view. What could be more provocative? Use such changes of perspective to make your listeners feel what you are saying. Orchestrate your effects. It is more effective to move from one emotion to another than to just hit one note. The contrast between Antony’s affection for Caesar and his indignation at the murderers was much more powerful than if he had stayed with one feeling or the other.

The emotions you are trying to arouse should be strong ones. Do not speak of friendship and disagreement; speak of love and hate. And it is crucial to try to feel something of the emotions you are trying to elicit. You will be more believable that way. This should not be difficult: imagine the reasons for loving or hating before you speak. If necessary, think of something from your past that fills you with rage. Emotions are contagious; it is easier to make someone cry if you are crying yourself. Make your voice an instrument, and train it to communicate emotion. Learn to seem sincere. Napoleon studied the greatest actors of his time, and when he was alone he would practice putting emotion into his voice.

The goal of seductive speech is often to create a kind of hypnosis: you are distracting people, lowering their defenses, making them more vulnerable to suggestion. Learn the hypnotist’s lessons of repetition and affirmation, key elements in putting a subject to sleep. Repetition involves using the same words over and over, preferably a word with emotional content: “taxes,” “liberals,” “bigots.” The effect is mesmerizing—ideas can be permanently implanted in people’s unconscious simply by being repeated often enough. Affirmation is simply the making of strong positive statements, like the hypnotist’s commands. Seductive language should have a kind of boldness, which will cover up a multitude of sins. Your audience will be so caught up in your bold language that they won’t have time to reflect on whether or not it is true. Never say “I don’t think the other side made a wise decision”; say “We deserve better,” or “They have made a mess of things.” Affirmative language is active language, full of verbs, imperatives, and short sentences. Cut out “I believe,” “Perhaps,” “In my opinion.” Head straight for the heart.

You are learning to speak a different kind of language. Most people employ symbolic language—their words stand for something real, the feelings, ideas, and beliefs they really have. Or they stand for concrete things in the real world. (The origin of the word “symbolic” lies in a Greek word meaning “to bring things together”—in this case, a word and something real.) As a seducer you are using the opposite: diabolic language. Your words do not stand for anything real; their sound, and the feelings they evoke, are more important than what they are supposed to stand for. (The word “diabolic” ultimately means to separate, to throw things apart—here, words and reality.) The more you make people focus on your sweet-sounding language, and on the illusions and fantasies it conjures, the more you diminish their contact with reality. You lead them into the clouds, where it is hard to distinguish truth from untruth, real from unreal. Keep your words vague and ambiguous, so people are never quite sure what you mean. Envelop them in demonic, diabolical language and they will not be able to focus on your maneuvers, on the possible consequences of your seduction. And the more they lose themselves in illusion, the easier it will be to lead them astray and seduce them.

Symbol: The Clouds. In the clouds it is hard to see the exact forms of things. Everything seems vague; the imagination runs wild, seeing things that are not there. Your words must lift people into the clouds, where it is easy for them to lose their way.

Reversal

Do not confuse flowery language with seduction: in using flowery language you run the risk of wearing on people’s nerves, of seeming pretentious. Excess verbiage is a sign of selfishness, of your inability to rein in your natural tendencies. Often with language, less is more; the elusive, vague, ambiguous phrase leaves the listener more room for imagination than does a sentence full of bombast and self-indulgence.

You must always think first of your targets, and of what will be pleasant to their ears. There will be many times when silence is best. What you do not say can be suggestive and eloquent, making you seem mysterious.

In the eleventh-century Japanese court diary The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon, the counselor Yoshichika is intrigued by a lady he sees in a carriage, silent and beautiful. He sends her a note, and she sends one back; he is the only one to read it, but by his reaction everyone can tell it is in bad taste, or badly written. It spoils the effect of her beauty. Shonagon writes, “I have heard people suggest that no reply at all is better than a bad one.” If you are not eloquent, if you cannot master seductive language, at least learn to curb your tongue—use silence to cultivate an enigmatic presence.

Finally, seduction has a pace and rhythm. In phase one, you are cautious and indirect. It is often best to disguise your intentions, to put your target at ease with deliberately neutral words. Your conversation should be harmless, even a bit bland. In this second phase, you turn more to the attack; this is the time for seductive language. Now when you envelop them in your seductive words and letters, it comes as a pleasant surprise. It gives them the immensely pleasing feeling that they are the ones to suddenly inspire you with such poetry and intoxicating words.

—Robert Greene en "The art of seduction"

#Robert Greene #The art of seduction #social skills

FORM, NOT SUBSTANCE, THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT

The situation is rather disconcerting. You will ask: What are these particles then, if they are not individuals ? And you may point to another kind of gradual transition, namely that between an ultimate particle and a palpable body in our environment, to which we do attribute individual sameness. A number of particles constitute an atom. Several atoms go to compose a molecule. Molecules there are of various sizes, small ones and big ones, but without there being any limit beyond wrhich we call it a big mole cule. In fact there is no upper limit to the size of a molecule, it may contain hundreds of thousands of atoms. It may be a virus or a gene, visible under the microscope. Finally we may observe that any pal pable object in our environment is composed of molecules, which are composed of atoms, which are composed of ultimate particles . . . and if the latter lack individuality, how does, say, my wrist-watch come by individuality? Where is the limit? How does individuality arise at all in objects composed of non-individuals ?

It is useful to consider this question in some detail, for it will give us the clue to what a particle or an atom really is—what there is permanent in it in spite of its lack of individuality. On my writing table at home I have an iron letter-weight in the shape of a Great Dane, lying with his paws crossed in front of him. I have known it for many years. I saw it on my father's writing-desk when my nose would hardly reach up to it. Many years later, when my father died, I took the Great Dane, because I liked it, and I used it. It accompanied me to many places, until it stayed behind in Graz in 1938, when I had to leave in something of a hurry. But a friend of mine knew that I liked it so she took it and kept it for me. And three years ago, when my wife visited Austria, she brought it to me, and there it is again on my desk.

I am quite sure it is the same dog, the dog that I first saw more than fifty years ago on my father's desk. But why am I sure of it ? That is quite obvious. It is clearly the peculiar for m or shape (German: Gestalt) that raises the identity beyond doubt, not the material content. Had the material been melted and cast into the shape of a man, the identity would be much more difficult to establish. And what is more : even if the material identity were established beyond doubt, it would be of very restricted interest. I should probably not care very much about the identity or not of that mass of iron, and should declare that my souvenir had been destroyed.

I consider this a good analogy, and perhaps more than an analogy, for pointing out what the particles or atoms really are. For we can see in this example as in many others how in palpable bodies, composed of many atoms, individuality arises out of the struc ture of their composition, out of shape or form, or organization, as we might call it in other cases. The identity of the material, if there is any, plays a subordinate role. You may see this particularly well in cases when you speak of 'sameness' though the material has definitely changed. A man returns after twenty years of absence to the cottage where he spent his childhood. He is profoundly moved by finding the place unchanged. The same little stream flows through the same meadows, with the corn flowers and poppies and willow trees he knew so well, the white-and-brown cows and the ducks on the pond, as before, and the collie dog coming forth with a friendly bark and wagging his tail to him. And so on. The shape and the organization of the whole place have remained the same, in spite of the entire 'change of material' in many of the items mentioned, including, by the way, our traveller's own bodily self! Indeed, the body he wore as a child has in the most literal sense 'gone with the wind'. Gone, and yet not gone. For, if I am allowed to continue my novelistic snapshot, our traveller will now settle down, marry, and have a small son, who is the very image of his father as old photographs show him at the same tender age.

Let us now return to our ultimate particles and to small organisations of particles as atoms or small molecules. The old idea about them was that their individuality was based on the identity of matter in them. This seems to be a gratuitous and almost mystical addition that is in sharp contrast to what we have just found to constitute the individuality of macroscopic bodies, which is quite independent of such a crude materialistic hypothesis and does not need its support. The new idea is that what is perma nent in these ultimate particles or small aggregates is their shape and organization. The habit of everyday language deceives us and seems to require, when ever we hear the word 'shape' or 'form' pronounced, that it must be the shape or form of something, that a material substratum is required to take on a shape. Scientifically this habit goes back to Aristotle, his causa materialis and causa formalis. But when you come to the ultimate particles constituting matter, there seems to be no point in thinking of them again as consisting of some material. They are, as it were, pure shape, nothing but shape ; what turns up again and again in successive observations is this shape, not an individual speck of material.

—Erwin Schrödinger en "Science and Humanism"

#Erwin Schrödinger #Science and humanism

El ascenso de Zeus 8. Prometeo y Pandora

Prometeo, hijo del titán Jápeto (cf. p. 90), se rebeló contra la autoridad de su primo Zeus, no con la esperanza de conseguir el poder para sí mismo, a la manera de Tifón y los Gigantes, sino para conceder beneficios y justicia a la raza humana.

Al utilizar la estrategia en vez de la fuerza, tuvo un éxito considerable en su empresa, aunque después pagó un alto precio por ello. El mito de Prometeo se alteró y desarrolló significativamente con el paso del tiempo. En los poemas de Hesíodo, antepuso los intereses de los mortales en dos puntos específicos y sufrió por ello para siempre, mientras que en la tradición posterior, a partir de Esquilo, fue un benefactor general (y a veces el creador y salvador) de la raza humana.

The Titans Atlas and Prometheus suffer torments. Atlas bears the rock of heaven upon his shoulders and is tormented by the Hesperian dragon. Prometheus is tied to a post and has his heart pecked by the Caucasian eagle.

Finalmente fue liberado de su castigo y se reconcilió con Zeus.

Heracles freeing Prometheus from his torment by the eagle (Attic black-figure cup, c. 500 BC)

Comenzaremos con el relato de esta historia tal como aparece en la Teogonia de Hesíodo.

Cuando los dioses y los mortales dejaron de tener un contacto directo y de comer juntos, se estableció una nueva relación en la que los mortales sacrifica ban animales a los dioses y compartían a la víctima con ellos sin encontrarse cara a cara. Según la costumbre griega, la carne y los despojos de las víctimas ser vían de comida después del sacrificio, mientras que los huesos se envolvían en grasa y se quemaban en el altar para los dioses. Para explicar este acuerdo, que parece ir en desventaja para los dioses, Hesíodo presenta la siguiente historia. Cuando los dioses y los mortales discutieron en Mecone (posteriormente Sición) sobre este asunto en los tiempos más remotos, Prometeo, por alguna inexplica ble razón, hizo que los mortales ganaran la disputa por medio de un engaño pre parado para Zeus. Mató un buey, lo despiezó y separó la carne y las entrañas de los huesos. Después cubrió la carne y las entrañas con el estómago del buey para hacer que esa porción fuera poco apetitosa, y luego ocultó los huesos bajo una capa de grasa brillante. Aunque el poeta intenta salvaguardar la sabiduría de Zeus y señala que no lo engañó por completo, se nos dice que Zeus, en todo caso, eligió la parte más vistosa, condenando a los dioses a recibir la peor parte en los sacrificios de animales a partir de entonces.

VII/315 Agamenón sacrifica un buey en honor a Zeus.

Zeus estaba tan enfadado por el engaño que retiró el don del fuego a la raza de los mortales, pero Prometeo volvió de nuevo en su ayuda al robar fuego del cielo que llevó en el seco y correoso tallo de un hinojo (nartex, esto es,ferula communis, de la familia del perejil cuyos tallos contienen una savia blanca de combustión lenta).

Zeus respondió a esta segunda provocación imponiendo un segundo castigo a los hombres mortales (puesto que no había mujeres como tales) y condenando a Prometeo a un tormento eterno. Como castigo a los hombres por el fuego robado, Zeus dispuso la creación de un «hermoso mal» (kalon kakon)·. la primera mujer. Hefesto la formó de tierra húmeda por mandato de Zeus y Ate nea la cubrió con vestimentas plateadas y un velo bordado. La adornó con guir naldas y una corona dorada del taller de Hefesto. Fue entonces llevada a un lugar en el que se encontraban reunidos hombres y dioses que, maravillados ante ella, se dieron cuenta de que sería una trampa irresistible para los hombres. En esta versión de la Teogonia, en la que se deja a la primera mujer sin nombre, Hesíodo no dice nada sobre su vida posterior, sólo se extiende con cierto celo sobre las desgracias que las mujeres y el matrimonio han traído al hombre desde entonces. Evitar el matrimonio tampoco trae ningún beneficio, puesto que Zeus también se aseguró de que en ese caso los humanos se enfrentaran a una des graciada vejez.

Hermes llevando a Pandora desde el Monte Olimpo, una medalla basada en un diseño de John Flaxman

En cuanto a Prometeo, lo ató a un pilar con cadenas imposi bles de romper y envió un águila para que cada día picoteara su hígado, que volvía a regenerarse por la noche.

Aunque finalmente quedó libre de este particular tor mento cuando Heracles disparó al águila (cf. p. 357), una hazaña autorizada por Zeus para la gloria de su hijo, no se sugiere que Prometeo fuera liberado de sus cadenas como en la mayoría de las versiones posteriores.

La liberación de Prometeo, por Carl Bloch (1864).

Hesíodo ofrece un relato más detallado del mito de la primera mujer en Tra bajos y días. El foco de interés en esta versión es bastante diferente, puesto que el poeta se centra en la explicación acerca de la razón por la que los hombres llevan una vida de duro trabajo tras una existencia de asueto, que se supone que habían disfrutado en los tiempos más remotos (cf. p. 113), cuando un día de trabajo bastaba para disponer de recursos suficientes durante todo el año. Pro meteo y sus acciones benefactoras fueron las culpables, como en la Teogonia, puesto que enfureció a Zeus al engañarlo (supuestamente por los sacrificios, aun que esto no se afirma), y el dios hizo esconder el fuego. Cuando más tarde Pro meteo robó el fuego para beneficiar a los mortales, Zeus envió a la primera mujer para que generara problemas a los hombres.Por mandato de Zeus, Hefesto mezcló tierra con agua para modelar a una mujer joven tan hermosa como las diosas inmortales. Atenea la vistió y la adornó y le enseñó a coser y a tejer. Afrodita le concedió gracia y seducción. Las Gracias y Peito (la personificación de la persuasión amorosa) la engalanaron con joyas. Las Horas (Estaciones) la coro naron con flores de primavera y por último Hermes le enseñó todas las formas de astucia y engaño y le concedió el don de la palabra. La llamó Pandora {pan, todo, dora, dones) porque todos los dioses del Olimpo la presentaron a los hom bres como regalo y sufrimiento.

The gods bestow their gifts upon the first woman Pandora. She is depicted as a forward-facing, statuesque figure. The goddess Aphrodite steps forward to crown her with a wreath of myrtle. Ares, armed with a shield and spear, and Poseidon, holding a trident, stand on either side. Several other figures (not shown) complete the scene--Hephaestus, Athena, Zeus and Hermes.

This image is a montage of several photos of the vase.

Zeus ordenó entonces a Hermes llevarla a Epimeteo (Ocurrencia a destiempo), el hermano tonto de Prometeo que la aceptó como esposa a pesar de que Prometeo le había avisado de que no debía aceptar ningún regalo de Zeus, puesto que daría lugar a sufrimiento para los hombres. Sólo después, cuando ya era demasiado tarde, entendió qué había hecho.157 De forma muy extraña, dado que Epimeteo tiene estatus divino, este matrimonio era el medio por el que Pandora se introdujo en la raza humana. La Teogonia afirma de forma similar que Epimeteo trajo el sufrimiento a los hombres al acep tar a la mujer concedida por Zeus.158 Se afirma en la tradición posterior que Pan dora le dio una hija, Pirra, la primera mujer que nació en un proceso natural y que se casó con su primo Deucalión (cf. p. 524).

Epimetheus receives Pandora the first woman from Zeus. She is depicted as a woman rising out of the earth, crowned and veiled, with hands raised. Eros, the winged god of love, flutters above her. The Titan holds a farmer's trowel in one hand and extends the other to receive his new bride. Behind him stand the gods Hermes and Zeus. The messenger of the gods wears a winged cap and winged boots, and holds a herald's wand (kerykeion) in his hand. The king of the gods is crowned with a wreath of olive and bears a royal sceptre.

Óleo en lienzo de Paul Merwart (1855 – 1902): El diluvio o Deucalión manteniendo en alto a su mujer. Galería de Arte de Leópolis.

Tras su llegada al mundo mortal, Pandora abrió la tapa de una gran jarra que traía con ella, dando lugar a una gran cantidad de males y enfermedades que se extendieron por primera vez entre los mortales, ya que hasta ese momento los hombres habían vivido en la tierra libres del duro trabajo, enfermedades y otros males. Hesíodo no dice nada sobre el origen de la vasija, supuestamente se la habían dado los dioses. Por voluntad de Zeus, puso en su sitio la tapa de la vasija antes de que Elpis (Esperanza) pudiera salir. Aunque el relato no sea total mente lógico en este momento (puesto que particularmente la Esperanza debe ría haber salido junto con todos los males si iba a acabar viviendo entre los mortales), sin duda significa que la Esperanza tiene que reservarse a los morta les como paliativo.159 El motivo de la jarra de los males fue seguramente un prés tamo tomado de fábulas o el folclore. Se puede encontrar una idea parecida en la llíada, en donde se afirma que Zeus posee dos urnas de las que puede dispensar males o bendiciones a los mortales.

Lawrence Alma-Tadema's watercolour of an ambivalent Pandora, 1881

Para desarrollos significativos en la mitología de Prometeo, tenemos que esperar hasta el Prometeo encadenado, tragedia del siglo V a.C. atribuida a Esquilo (aunque puede ser de diferente autoría, parcial o total). El drama comienza cuando Crato y Bía (Poder y Fuerza) dos brutales agentes de Zeus, llevan a Prometeo a una roca en un lugar no determinado en el lejano norte (aparentemente no el Cáucaso) y lo encadenan allí. Hefesto los ha acompañado para proporcionar sus servicios como herrero, aunque no se muestra nada entusiasta sobre la tarea o el modo de gobernar de Zeus. La causa inmediata del castigo de Prometeo es su robo del fuego, como en la versión de Hesíodo, pero nos enteramos a lo largo de la obra (que apenas tiene acción) que también ha concedido muchos otros beneficios a los mortales, y que en una ocasión incluso los había salvado de la destrucción por un Zeus tirano que veía con malos ojos su misma existen cia. Dado que, aunque Prometeo (aquí descrito como hijo de Gea) había ayu dado a Zeus a llegar al poder al avisarlo sobre cómo vencer a los Titanes, más tarde discutió con él cuando Zeus no sólo ignoró los intereses de los seres huma nos tras su subida al poder, sino que quiso eliminarlos y reemplazarlos por una nueva raza.163 Al atreverse a oponerse a su intento y defender los intereses de los mortales, Prometeo se ganó la hostilidad constante de Zeus y posteriormente agravó la ofensa al conceder todo tipo de beneficios a los humanos. Les enseñó a hacer casas de ladrillos y madera, a someter a los animales a la yunta y a la brida, a cruzar los mares en barcos y a leer los cielos, de modo que pudieran ser capa ces de recolectar y sembrar en las estaciones adecuadas. Inventó el arte de la numeración para ellos, además de la escritura y la medicina, la interpretación de los sueños y los presagios, así como las técnicas de minería para extraer los tesoros de la tierra. En definitiva, introdujo o inventó todas las artes que hacen que el hombre se eleve por encima del estado natural.164 La historia del engaño en los sacrificios que cuenta Hesíodo está notablemente ausente en esta versión del mito. Aunque Zeus podía imponer por la fuerza una cruel venganza, Pro meteo tuvo ventaja sobre Zeus en un aspecto crucial, puesto que su madre le había revelado que si Zeus tenía un hijo con cierta madre (Tetis cf. p. 93), éste sería más poderoso que su padre.165 Como sabía que Prometeo estaba en pose sión de tal secreto, Zeus le envió a Hermes una vez encadenado para obligarle a revelarlo; pero Prometeo permaneció desafiante frente a todas las amenazas, y el Prometeo encadenado termina cuando es arrojado a las profundidades del Tártaro.

Óleo en lienzo de Dirck van Baburen: Prometeo encadenado por Vulcano (Prometheus door Vulcanus geketend, 1623). Museo Nacional de Ámsterdam.

Esta tragedia fue, posiblemente, la primera de una trilogía en la que la segunda y la tercera parte se titulaban Prometeo liberado y Prometeo el dador del fuego (aun que pudiera ser que la última fuera la primera de la serie). La acción del Prometeo liberado tiene lugar en las montañas del Cáucaso donde Prometeo aparecía enton ces encadenado y sufría las dolorosas visitas de la ya mencionada águila. Puesto que el coro estaba formado por sus compañeros titanes (a los que se menciona en el Pro meteo encadenado como habitantes del Tártaro) podría parecer que habían sido liberados del Tártaro junto con el mismo Prometeo. Heracles llega en algún momento y dispara al águila, como en el relato antiguo de Hesíodo, y entonces procede a libe rar a Prometeo de sus cadenas, como se indica en el título de la obra. Prometeo debía apaciguar a Zeus en algún momento de la obra al revelarle que Tetis era la diosa de la que se había profetizado que tendría un hijo que superaría a su padre, pero dado que se había mostrado tan obstinado al rechazar revelar tal secreto en la obra anterior, su cambio de actitud posiblemente estaba motivado por algo más que un interés personal. Bien pudo haber sido que Zeus, un tirano brutal en el Prometeo encadenado, hubiera estado de acuerdo en cambiar sus maneras.167 Por lo general la tradición posterior acepta que Prometeo fue liberado por Heracles y también que el Cáucaso fue el lugar donde tuvo lugar su castigo.1

La tortura de Prometeo, por Salvator Rosa (1646-1648).

A menudo se afirmaba que Prometeo no era simplemente el benefactor de la raza humana, sino el ancestro de parte o de toda ella, incluso su creador. Según una genealogía que aparece por primera vez en el Catálogo atribuido a Hesío do, él y su hermano Epimeteo engendraron a Deucalión y a Pirra respectiva mente, la primera pareja en la tradición de la Grecia central (cf. p. 524).169 Dado que las dos fuentes relevantes están mal conservadas, no podemos decir quién fue nombrada como la madre de Deucalión en el Catálogo. El Prometeo enca denado y el logógrafo Acusilao de Argos coinciden en el hecho de que Prome teo se casó con una oceánide llamada Hesíone (aunque Heródoto identifica a su mujer como Asia, su madre en la Teogonia·, otros nombres se sugieren en fuen tes posteriores).

La idea de que Prometeo creó a los primeros seres humanos moldeándolos con barro aparece por primera vez en época helenística.171 Esto podría explicar al menos la razón por la que pudo haber deseado actuar como su adalid. Según una tradición local de Panopeo en Fócide, dos rocas de barro coloreadas que había en el lugar estaban formadas con el barro que le había sobrado a Prometeo después de crear la raza humana, de ahí su olor particular, parecido al de la carne humana.

Se ha sugerido la idea de que Prometeo surgió como una figura tramposa con un carácter un tanto inmoral al que le gustaba oponer sus saberes a los de Zeus, y puesto que en algunos momentos se le representó engañando a Zeus para conseguir ventajas para los seres humanos, llegó a adquirir un nuevo y distin tivo rol moral como su benefactor y defensor.

Prometeo recibió culto en Atenas, como patrón de las artes del fuego, tan importantes para esa ciudad. Presidía la elaboración de la cerámica, mientras que Hefesto (otro dios especialmente venerado en Atenas, cf. p. 226) presidía la forja. Se celebraron carreras de antorchas en su honor dentro de su festivi dad ateniense de las Prometeas, y había un altar dedicado a él como dador de fuego (Piróforo) en la Academia.1

—Robin Hard en "el gran libro de la mitología griega"

#Robin Hard #Pandora #Prometeo #mitología griega #el gran libro de la mitología griega

Choking (sport)

THE SCIENTIFIC TERM for choking is “choking.” Psychologists haven’t come up with anything that sounds more clinical. Sian Beilock, a psychologist and leading expert on choking, defined the phenomenon in her book Choke as “poor performance that occurs in response to the perceived stress of a situation.” The source of perceived stress is one’s sense of the importance of the performance in question—specifically, the importance of achieving a certain outcome from it. Choking is therefore a kind of ironic self-sabotage. The desire to maximize performance and achieve a particular outcome creates a feeling of pressure. This feeling of pressure compromises performance and ensures that the wanted outcome is not achieved.

Some people are more susceptible to choking than others, but everyone is susceptible to some degree. The universality of this weakness suggests that choking serves a practical purpose—that it is an evolved coping skill with benefits for survival. But what survival advantage could possibly be conferred by a tendency to underperform in important situations?

Choking is probably useful in much the same way that acrophobia (fear of heights) and glossophobia (fear of public speaking) are believed to be useful. Like the propensity for choking, fear of heights is stronger in some individuals than it is in others but exists in all humans. One of the symptoms of acrophobia is dizziness, which increases the likelihood that a person will fall when standing at the edge of a long drop. It seems a rather backward instinct, but this symptom keeps us from getting too close to the edge in the first place, and thereby aids survival.

Fear of public speaking is also helpful in an ironic sort of way. At the root of glossophobia is dread of being socially judged. Although fear of public speaking today seems absurdly out of proportion to the worst-case outcome of making a fool of oneself, sociobiologists believe that in the ancient past, the social ostracization that followed failure in front of an audience was often fatal. In any case, this fear only increases the likelihood that a person will perform poorly when speaking publically and become the target of a negative judgment, but its true purpose is to prevent us from taking the risk of putting ourselves out there to begin with.

Choking is similar. Most likely, the phenomenon originated in situations of high-stakes (i.e., life-or-death) competition. It serves us by discouraging us from entering into competitive situations in which we are likely to come up short. But it is far less helpful as a coping skill when we cannot avoid competition or we choose to enter into it despite the risks. Psychologist Abraham Maslow referred to choking as the “Jonah complex,” which he understood to be essentially a fear of success. In the athletic context, this description hits the nail on the head.

The recent revolution in brain science has revealed that it is not pressure per se that causes people to perform poorly in important competitions. Rather, it is self-consciousness. Sian Beilock’s research has shown that impaired performance in high-pressure athletic situations is associated with heightened activity in parts of the brain that are linked to self-awareness. What happens is that the athlete’s feeling of being under pressure directs her attention toward internal processes such as body movements and anxious thoughts, and this attentional shift undermines performance in a number of ways.

First, self-consciousness distracts athletes from the task of the moment such that, as Beilock puts it in Choke, they “are not devoting enough attention to what they are doing and rely on simple or incorrect routines.” This is precisely what happened to Siri in her final chance to qualify for the Olympics in Dallas, where she forgot to execute the rudimentary measure of drinking to stay hydrated on a very hot day—a beginner’s error that even most beginners don’t commit.

Pressure-induced self-consciousness also harms performance by reducing movement efficiency. Athletes move more efficiently when their attention is focused on key features of their environment rather than on their own body. A 2005 study conducted at the University of Nevada–Las Vegas and published in the Brain Research Bulletin found that college students shot basketball free throws more accurately when they were asked to concentrate on the back of the rim than they did when they were told to focus on snapping the wrist when the ball left their hand (an element of “good technique”). Psychological pressure has a similar effect, inducing a state of self-consciousness that effectively shifts the athlete’s attention from the “rim” to the “wrist.”

Endurance sports do not require the same kind of coordination that games like basketball do, but self-consciousness is known to reduce movement efficiency in running, swimming, and other forward-motion activities. In a 2011 experiment, scientists at the University of Münster in Germany observed that runners consumed more energy at a fixed pace when they thought about their body movements or their breathing than they did when they concentrated on the external environment.

Yet another way in which pressure-induced self-consciousness sabotages performance is unique to endurance sports, and it is explicable only in terms of the psychobiological model of endurance performance. Simply put, self-consciousness increases perceived effort. Racing in a state of pressure-induced self-consciousness is like fire walking while giving your full attention to the painful heat in your feet rather than focusing on where you’re going. As an athlete, you’re much better off directing your attention externally, to the task at hand, which distracts you to some degree from your suffering, allowing you to push a little harder.

The negative effect of an internal attentional focus on perceived effort and endurance performance was demonstrated in a clever study conducted by Lars McNaughton at England’s Edge Hill University and published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. Trained cyclists completed 16.1-km indoor cycling time trials under three different conditions. During one time trial, each cyclist watched a video screen displaying an avatar representing him and showing his progress toward the finish line. In a second time trial, the subjects watched a screen on which their avatar raced against a virtual competitor. In the remaining time trial, the screen was blank. McNaughton found that the cyclists performed best when they were engaged in a virtual race and did worst in the blank-screen condition.

These differences in performance corresponded to differences in the athletes’ attentional focus. They reported being most internally focused when the screen was blank, offering no visual stimulation. Their attentional focus was most external in the battle of avatars, which drew the athletes into forgetting themselves and becoming absorbed in their task. Ratings of perceived effort were no higher in the avatar-versus-avatar trial than they were in the blank-screen trial despite a 3 percent difference in power output, indicating that an internal attentional focus reduced performance by making the same intensity of pedaling feel harder, while an external focus had the opposite effect.

Choking was not a factor in this study because the participants felt little pressure. But it proved that self-consciousness reduces endurance performance, and we know from other research that perceived pressure promotes self-consciousness, especially in certain vulnerable individuals. This vulnerability is not necessarily inborn, but may result from traumatic experience. For example, people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder exhibit heightened activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, known as the brain’s internal critic, when performing under pressure.

Siri Lindley did not have PTSD, but she had an overactive internal critic that was probably related to the trauma of her parents’ divorce and was almost certainly the source of her tendency to choke under pressure. The irony is hard to ignore. The reason Siri latched onto the goal of becoming an Olympic triathlete was that she believed it would free her from the self-doubts that had dogged her for so long. But it was this very weakness that had caused her to miss out on the Olympics. In order to rebound from her failure and achieve some future feat of greatness in triathlon that would silence her internal critic, Siri would need to . . . silence her internal critic. In order to get what she needed, she needed to have it—or at least some semblance of it—already. Quite a pickle.

—Matt Fitzgerald en "How bad do you want it: mastering the psychology of mind over muscle"

#Matt Fitzgerald #How bad do you want it #running

DISSOCIATION: KNOWING AND NOT KNOWING

Lyons-Ruth was particularly interested in the phenomenon of dissociation, which is manifested in feeling lost, overwhelmed, abandoned, and disconnected from the world and in seeing oneself as unloved, empty, helpless, trapped, and weighed down. She found a “striking and unexpected” relationship between maternal disengagement and misattunement during the first two years of life and dissociative symptoms in early adulthood. Lyons-Ruth concludes that infants who are not truly seen and known by their mothers are at high risk to grow into adolescents who are unable to know and to see.”36

Infants who live in secure relationships learn to communicate not only their frustrations and distress but also their emerging selves—their interests, preferences, and goals. Receiving a sympathetic response cushions infants (and adults) against extreme levels of frightened arousal. But if your caregivers ignore your needs, or resent your very existence, you learn to anticipate rejection and withdrawal. You cope as well as you can by blocking out your mother’s hostility or neglect and act as if it doesn’t matter, but your body is likely to remain in a state of high alert, prepared to ward off blows, deprivation, or abandonment. Dissociation means simultaneously knowing and not knowing.37

Bowlby wrote: “What cannot be communicated to the [m]other cannot be communicated to the self.”38 If you cannot tolerate what you know or feel what you feel, the only option is denial and dissociation.39 Maybe the most devastating long-term effect of this shutdown is not feeling real inside, a condition we saw in the kids in the Children’s Clinic and that we see in the children and adults who come to the Trauma Center. When you don’t feel real nothing matters, which makes it impossible to protect yourself from danger. Or you may resort to extremes in an effort to feel something—even cutting yourself with a razor blade or getting into fistfights with strangers.

Karlen’s research showed that dissociation is learned early: Later abuse or other traumas did not account for dissociative symptoms in young adults.40 Abuse and trauma accounted for many other problems, but not for chronic dissociation or aggression against self. The critical underlying issue was that these patients didn’t know how to feel safe. Lack of safety within the early caregiving relationship led to an impaired sense of inner reality, excessive clinging, and self-damaging behavior: Poverty, single parenthood, or maternal psychiatric symptoms did not predict these symptoms.

This does not imply that child abuse is irrelevant41, but that the quality of early caregiving is critically important in preventing mental health problems, independent of other traumas.42 For that reason treatment needs to address not only the imprints of specific traumatic events but also the consequences of not having been mirrored, attuned to, and given consistent care and affection: dissociation and loss of self-regulation.

RESTORING SYNCHRONY

Early attachment patterns create the inner maps that chart our relationships throughout life, not only in terms of what we expect from others, but also in terms of how much comfort and pleasure we can experience in their presence. I doubt that the poet e. e. cummings could have written his joyous lines “i like my body when it is with your body. . . . muscles better and nerves more” if his earliest experiences had been frozen faces and hostile glances.43 Our relationship maps are implicit, etched into the emotional brain and not reversible simply by understanding how they were created. You may realize that your fear of intimacy has something to do with your mother’s postpartum depression or with the fact that she herself was molested as a child, but that alone is unlikely to open you to happy, trusting engagement with others.

However, that realization may help you to start exploring other ways to connect in relationships—both for your own sake and in order to not pass on an insecure attachment to your own children. In part 5 I’ll discuss a number of approaches to healing damaged attunement systems through training in rhythmicity and reciprocity.44 Being in synch with oneself and with others requires the integration of our body-based senses—vision, hearing, touch, and balance. If this did not happen in infancy and early childhood, there is an increased chance of later sensory integration problems (to which trauma and neglect are by no means the only pathways).

Being in synch means resonating through sounds and movements that connect, which are embedded in the daily sensory rhythms of cooking and cleaning, going to bed and waking up. Being in synch may mean sharing funny faces and hugs, expressing delight or disapproval at the right moments, tossing balls back and forth, or singing together. At the Trauma Center, we have developed programs to coach parents in connection and attunement, and my patients have told me about many other ways to get themselves in synch, ranging from choral singing and ballroom dancing to joining basketball teams, jazz bands and chamber music groups. All of these foster a sense of attunement and communal pleasure.

—Bessel Van der Kolk en "the body keeps the score"

#bessel van der kolk #The body keeps the score

El ascenso de Zeus: Los alóadas y su rebelión

Dos hijos gigantes de Poseidón llamados los Alóadas fueron los últimos seres que organizaron una gran rebelión contra el orden olímpico, o al menos, lo ame nazaron.

Gustave Doré's illustrations to Dante's Inferno, Plate LXV: Canto XXXI: The titans and giants. "This proud one wished to make experiment / Of his own power against the Supreme Jove" (Longfellow).

Aunque recibieron este nombre a partir de su padre putativo Aloeo, héroe tesalio de ascendencia eolia (cf. p. 533), eran realmente el fruto de una relación extramarital entre su esposa Ifimedea y el gran dios de los mares.

Ifimedia según la wikipedia de destripando la historia

Según Apolodoro, cuyo relato pudo perfectamente haber sido extraído de la tra dición primitiva, Ifimedea se enamoró de Poseidón y acudía frecuentemente a la costa, donde recogía agua del mar con sus manos y la derramaba en su regazo, hasta que un día el dios del mar emergió de su reino y mantuvo una relación sexual con ella.Probablemente en la historia original ella quedó embarazada al simple contacto con el agua del mar. Existe también una tradición alternativa de origen helenístico en la que los Alóadas nacen de la tierra, al igual que los Gigantes y Tifón antes que ellos. Sus nombres eran Oto y Efialtes.

Se puede conocer mejor su leyenda a través del relato más antiguo en la Odi sea, que cuenta cómo Odiseo encontró la sombra de Ifimedea en los Infiernos y cuenta: «Aseguraba haber tenido amores con Poseidón., y que parió dos hijos, que tuvieron breves vidas: Oto, rival de los dioses, y el ampliamente famoso Efial tes. A éstos los crio muy enormes la tierra productora de vida y los hizo los más hermosos después del famoso Orion. A los nueve años éstos medían nueve codos de ancho y nueve brazas de alto. Incluso a los inmortales les amenazaron con llevar al Olimpo el tumulto de una guerra estrepitosa. Estaban ansiosos por colo car el Osa sobre el Olimpo y luego sobre el Osa el Pellón de frondoso boscaje, para poder escalar el cielo. Pero el hijo de Zeus, el que diera a luz Leto de hermosos cabellos [Apolo], los mató a los dos, antes de que les floreciera la primera barba en sus mejillas y su mentón se cúbriera del vello juvenil».

Pellón y Osa eran las montañas más altas de Magnesia, la región costera del norte de Tesalia, y Olimpo era la siguiente gran montaña al norte. En narra ciones posteriores se sugería que los Alóadas realmente habían apilado las mon tañas antes de ser detenidos.

El relato de Homero nos cuenta menos de lo que querríamos saber. Por ejem plo, ¿cómo mató Apolo a los Alóadas? ¿Hizo eso para evitar que asaltaran el cielo? Autores posteriores vinculan su muerte con ciertas acciones descarriadas en la esfera erótica. Según la historia más habitual, Efialtes pretendió sin éxito a Hera y Oto a Ártemis, lo que hizo que ésta provocara su muerte en Naxos por medio de un engaño. La diosa se transformó en un ciervo, corrió entre ellos mientras cazaban e hizo que se mataran el uno al otro con sus jabalinas al intentar darle caza. Al menos en su forma esta historia podría ser muy antigua, ya que el mismo Píndaro menciona que encontraron su muerte en Naxos. Higino da una versión bastante diferente, aunque con el mismo final y relata que Apolo puso un ciervo entre ellos dos para distraerlos cuando pretendían violar a Ártemis. Se añade aquí un detalle interesante, puesto que se les castigó en el Hades por su mala acción y los ataron con serpientes, espalda contra espalda, a una columna sobre la que se sentaba una lechuza. En este relato tardío resulta interesante el hecho de que Oto comparta su nombre con una especie de búho típica de Grecia; quizá el castigo de los hermanos consistía en escuchar continuamente el chillido de una lechuza.

Otro fragmento de la leyenda de los Alóadas se remonta a la Iliada y cuenta cómo en una ocasión ataron a Ares, el dios de la guerra, y lo recluyeron durante trece meses en una vasija de bronce: «Y acaso entonces habría perecido Ares, insaciable de combate, si no hubiera sido porque su madrastra, la muy bella Eribea, se lo comunicó a Hermes, que libró furtivamente a Ares, ya abrumado, porque la severa ligadura lo iba doblegando». Sería interesante saber si los Alóadas emprendieron esta acción para quitarse de en medio al dios de la guerra antes de lanzar su ataque contra el cielo, o si, por el contrario, se trata de un incidente totalmente independiente. Lo que sí es de interés son las explicaciones de los antiguos comentaristas de Homero que cuentan que Ares había enfurecido a los Alóadas al matar al joven Adonis (cf. p. 268) después de que Afrodita les hubiera pedido que lo cuidaran, aunque parece poco probable que esto tuviera algo que ver con la historia original de la reclusión de Ares.

Talla dulce, obra de Tommaso Piroli (1752–1824) a partir de un dibujo de 1793 de John Flaxman, empleada en una edición inglesa de 1795 de la Ilíada: Oto y Efialtes mantienen encadenado a Ares.

Se conoce también a los Alóadas por acciones más constructivas. Se dice que fundaron Ascra, la ciudad natal de Hesíodo en Beocia e inauguraron el culto de las musas en el monte Helicón.148 Después de que su madre y su hermana Páncratis hubieran sido secuestradas y llevadas a Naxos, navegaron en su busca por orden de su padre y tomaron control de la isla. Sin embargo, terminaron peleando entre sí y se mataron uno al otro en una batalla que tuvo lugar en su reino insular. Se afirmaba en esta narración que su tumba estaba en Naxos, donde se los veneraba como héroes en tiempos históricos. Sin embargo, sus tumbas podían verse en Antedón en la costa beocia y Oto tenía incluso otra tumba en Creta. Ifimedea, por su parte, fue venerada en Milasa, en la región de Caria.

—Robin Hard en "El gran libro de la mitología griega"

#Robin Hard #el gran libro de la mitología griega #mitología griega

Ese fue el sonido del último tren de regreso a casa Y una vez más, lo perdí La clase de chino siempre termina tarde Así que debo caminar a casa Pero está bien porque me gusta el chino y si sigo las vías el camino de regreso no suele ser tan difícil

El ascenso de Zeus 6. La rebelión de los gigantes

A depiction of the Gigantomachy showing a typical central group of Zeus, Heracles and Athena. black-figure amphora in the style of the Lysippides Painter, c. 530-520 BC (British Museum B208).

La otra revuelta más importante contra Zeus y el orden olímpico fue empren dida por los Gigantes, que fueron vencidos por los dioses con la ayuda de Hera cles en el poderoso conflicto conocido como la Gigantomaquia. Los Gigantes habían nacido de la tierra, tal como implica su nombre griego. Según la Teogo nia, Gea los concibió en los tiempos más remotos a partir de las gotas de sangre que manaron de los genitales cortados de Urano y cayeron en la tierra.116 Hesío do los describe como guerreros poderosos que vestían armaduras brillantes y portaban largas lanzas en la mano, una versión que se corresponde con su ima gen más conocida en las obras de arte arcaicas. No está claro si el poeta quiso sugerir que surgieron de la tierra totalmente armados (como los espartanos en Tebas, cf. p. 389). Claudiano, un poeta romano del siglo IV d.C., es el primer autor que afirma esto de forma explícita.117 Incluso aunque los Gigantes apare cen como seres hechos para la guerra, no hay indicación en la Teogonia de que se hubieran rebelado en algún momento contra los dioses (excepto quizá en una sección del poema posiblemente añadida en época posterior a Hesíodo, y que parece referirse a la contribución que, al parecer, hizo Heracles para ayudar a derrotar a los Gigantes).118 De hecho, no hay una referencia concreta a la rebe lión hasta que aparecen las primeras representaciones artísticas en la segunda mitad del siglo VI a.C.

Detail of Zeus battling the giant Porphyrion from a painting of the Gigantomachia (War of the Giants).

Homero menciona a los Gigantes en tres ocasiones dentro de la Odisea. Los Les- trígones, adversarios de Odiseo en los mares remotos que parecen haber sido muy grandes y con seguridad muy violentos (cf. p. 637), son «no como hombres sino como Gigantes». En otro pasaje, «las tribus salvajes de los Gigantes» son agrupa das junto con los feacios y los Cíclopes como seres semejantes a los dioses. En ter cer lugar, se nos dice que cierto Eurimedonte una vez gobernó a los imponentes Gigantes, pero dio lugar a la destrucción de sí mismo y su pueblo (en circunstan cias no aclaradas).119 No hay razón para suponer que esta última historia tenga algo que ver con una rebelión contra los dioses. Tampoco podemos concluir que estos Gigantes, que parece que vivieron en un lugar remoto sobre el mar, no fueran nece sariamente los mismos que los de Hesíodo (como así ocurría en el caso de los Cíclo pes cf. p. 108).

Ilustración de Griechische Heldensagen für die Jugend bearbeitet (Historias épicas griegas adaptadas para los jóvenes), de J. C. Andrä, 1902: Ataque de los lestrigones.

Según un relato atribuido al poeta helenístico Euforión, Hera fue violada por el gigante Eurimedonte mientras ésta todavía vivía junto a sus padres y, fruto de ello, nació Prometeo. Cuando Zeus se enteró de esto, tras la boda, arrojó a Eurimedonte a la profundidad del Tártaro y ordenó que Prometeo fuera enca denado, utilizando como pretexto el robo del fuego.120 La confusa referencia a Eri- medonte de la Odisea tiene que haber inspirado la invención de este mito revisionista.

Giclee Painting: Prometheus Teaching Man How to Use Fire.

Parece probable que los principales aspectos de la historia de la rebelión de los Gigantes se hayan establecido en un relato épico primitivo ampliamente conocido durante el siglo VI a.C. y que llegaran a ser aceptados como canóni cos. De otro modo sería difícil de explicar la riqueza y coherencia de los restos artísticos de los siglos VI y V. La popularidad de la historia en este período está también indicada en una anotación reprobatoria de Jenófanes (nacido aproxi madamente en 570 a.C.), quien afirma que la Gigantomaquia y la Titanoma- quia son temas violentos que es mejor evitar en los recitales de banquetes.121 Las primeras alusiones literarias no revelan más que el contenido de la leyenda, aparte de la ubicación de la batalla, y su aspecto más sorprendente: el hecho de que los dioses tuvieran que pedir la ayuda de Heracles (durante su juventud, cuando no era más que un héroe mortal). Píndaro recoge que hizo caer a los Gigantes con sus flechas, incluido su rey, Porfirión, cuando se enfrentaron a los dioses en la llanura de Flegras.

Detail of Hera, Heracles and the Gigante Porphyrion from a painting of the Gigantomachia (War of the Giants). In this scene the lust-filled Porphyrion seizes the goddess Hera, ripping her dress. The goddess' spear is cast awry and her Amazon-crescent shield seems to slip from her fingers. Porphyrion, draped in a panther skin and holding a torch, turns to face Zeus (above, not shown). The god aims his lightning bolt at the giant. To the left Heracles also comes to the rescue, aiming an arrow at the giant.

"Porphyrion rushed against Herakles and also Hera. Zeus instilled him with a passion for Hera, and when he tore her gown and wanted to rape her, she called for help, whereat Zeus hit him with a thunderbolt and Herakles slew him with an arrow." - Apollodorus, The Library 1.36

This image is montage of several photos of the vase.

Asimismo, el Catálogo atribuido a Hesíodo da cuenta de que llevó a la destrucción a los Gigantes en Flegras a su vuelta de la campaña contra Troya.122 En los mapas del Egeo, la característica más llamativa de la costa norte es la Calcídica con sus tres «dientes», las penínsulas de Palene, Sitonia y Atos. Flegra o Flegras, tradicionalmente considerado como país de los Gigantes, se identificaba normalmente con la península más occidental, Palene (aunque también se pensaba que la península adyacente de Sitonia y otras zonas del interior de la Calcídica formaban parte de él). Aunque se cree que en el relato original los Gigantes se enfrentaron a los dioses en su tierra natal de Flegras, se desarrollaron versiones en las que la batalla pasó a territorio enemigo cuando intentaron asaltar el Olimpo. Se dice que algunos duelos específicos se exten dieron hasta tierras extranjeras, como veremos, hasta el sur del Egeo y Sicilia. Algunas versiones helenísticas y otras posteriores trasladan todo el conflicto a otras regiones, como Arcadia o en la llanura de Flegras (Llameante), cerca del monte Vesubio en Italia.

Apolodoro es el primer autor conservado que da cuenta de la progresión del conflicto. Si los motivos individuales de su narración contrastan con las prime ras muestras artísticas y literarias, pronto se hace evidente que se trata de una versión compuesta, elaborada principalmente a partir de material arcaico pero también de historias (o variantes) de la tradición posterior. La implicación de Heracles es, sin duda, un elemento antiguo. Los dioses sabían por un oráculo que no podían matar a ninguno de los Gigantes a menos que un mortal estuviera en sus filas. De ese modo, Atenea pidió ayuda al más grande de los héroes mor tales, Heracles, que en ese momento se encontraba en la isla de Cos, tras haber sido arrastrado por una tormenta cuando volvía de Troya (cf. p. 364). Gea supo también de ese oráculo e intentó burlarlo a través de una hierba que evitaría que sus hijos murieran con el concurso de este ayudante mortal. Pero Zeus des barató su plan al ordenar a Aurora, el Sol y la Luna que no brillaran hasta que él mismo hubiera cogido la hierba. En ese momento, la suerte de los Gigantes quedó echada.124 Este tema del ayudante necesario y de que los dioses (o reyes) dependan de un inferior para lograr sus victorias se puede encontrar en los mitos y el folclore de muchos países. Ya hemos visto que Zeus tuvo que confiar en los Centimanos para vencer a los Titanes. En una versión alternativa de origen hele nístico, los dioses tuvieron que buscar la ayuda de dos «semidioses» y convoca ron a Heracles y a Dioniso,125 ambos engendrados por Zeus con madres mortales (y pudo entonces afirmarse que ganaron su estatus divino gracias a sus servi cios a los dioses).

El Gigante más peligroso era Porfirión (ya mencionado en Píndaro y Aris tófanes), y también Alcioneo, que era inmortal mientras luchara en su tierra de origen. En el relato de Apolodoro, Alcioneo es la primera víctima de Hera cles, que lo mata sin ayuda divina al comienzo de la batalla. Ya que el gigante recuperaba su fuerza cada vez que caía al suelo de su Palene natal atravesado por las flechas del héroe, Heracles lo arrastró más allá de las fronteras de su territo rio por consejo de Atenea, y allí le dio muerte.

Heracles approaches the giant Alcyoneus with his sword drawn. The winged god Hypnos (Sleep) strides across the prone form of the slumbering giant.

This image is montage of two photos of the vase.

Había una tradición que afirmaba que Alcioneo provocó todo el conflicto al haber robado el ganado del dios del sol, Helios.128 El encuentro de Heracles con él se pre senta en ocasiones como un incidente separado que no tiene nada que ver con la Gigantomaquia. Según Píndaro, Alcioneo se enfrentó con Heracles en Flegras cuando el héroe volvía de su campaña troyana con Telamón y otros aliados. Heracles lo hizo caer con sus disparos, aunque no antes de que él hubiera arrojado una enorme roca que aplastó doce carros. Puesto que el episodio se sitúa en la tierra natal de los Gigantes y se asocia, como es normal, con la expedición de Heracles a Troya, ésta es posiblemente una versión secundaria en la que el incidente se separó del con flicto general. Píndaro describe a Alcioneo como un pastor enorme como una mon taña, sin especificar que era un Gigas.129 Los escolios del pasaje recogen otra versión en la que Alcioneo ataca a Heracles y sus compañeros en el Istmo de Corinto, cuando el héroe llevaba el ganado de Gerión a Argos.130 En una tradición que se conoce por la pintura en vasos, Heracles sorprende a Alcioneo mientras éste duerme en el suelo, y se arrastra por su cuerpo con su maza o su espada en la mano.

Debemos ahora llevar la historia a su final tal y como se cuenta en la ver sión de Apolodoro. Tras la muerte de Alcioneo, Porfirión lanzó un ataque con tra Heracles y Hera, pero Zeus lo distrajo inspirándole un deseo concupiscente por Hera y luego lo golpeó con un rayo mientras rasgaba las vestiduras de la diosa. Aunque esto podría haber bastado para matar al gigante en circunstan cias normales, Heracles, en su papel como asistente especial de los dioses, acabó con él mediante una de sus flechas. De este mismo modo, en los enfrentamien tos siguientes los dioses hacen caer de distintas formas a los Gigantes y dejan para las flechas de Heracles el golpe de gracia.

Puesto que Apolo era tan buen arquero como Heracles, ambos atacan al gigante Efialtes: Apolo le dispara al ojo izquierdo y Heracles al derecho.

Detail of Apollo battling the giant Ephialtes from a painting of the Gigantomachia (War of the Giants).

The youthful god Apollo brandishes a sword in one hand and holds a bow in the other. The giant, identified as Ephialtes in literature, is equipped with a spear, crested helm and shield.

This image is a montage of two photos of the vase.

Dioniso y Hécate utilizan sus atributos de culto, el tirso y las antorchas encendidas respectivamente, contra otros dos gigantes, Éurito y Clitíos

Dionysus (left) with ivy crown, and thyrsus attacking a Giant, Attic red-figure pelike, c. 475–425 BC (Louvre G434).

Hefesto, el herrero divino, acribilla con proyectiles de hierro al rojo vivo a Mimante.

Atena mata a Encélado mientras huía, arrojando sobre él la isla de Sicilia, y desuella a otro gigante, Palante, cuya piel utiliza como arma.

Athena (left) fighting the Giant Enceladus (inscribed retrograde) on an Attic red-figure dish, c. 550–500 BC (Louvre CA3662).[38]

Mientras persigue al gigante Polipotes por el Egeo, Poseidón arranca una parte de la isla de Cos y la arroja sobre él, creando así la pequeña isla de Nísi- ros, no muy lejos de allí hacia el sur.

Poseidon battles the giant Polybotes in a scene from the Gigantomachia (War of the Giants). The naked god is crowned with a wreath (of celery?) and brandishes a three-pronged trident. The falling Gigante is equipped with a breastplate, crested helm, shield and spear. Behind the god, Gaea (Mother Earth) rises up from the ground to plead for the life of her son.

Hades, que llevaba la gorra que lo hacía invi sible (cf. p. 318) para ocultarse de la vista de otros, derriba a otro gigante, al igual que Ártemis.

A Giant fighting Artemis. Illustration of a Roman relief in the Vatican Museum.[147]

Las Moiras (Hados) hacen caer a dos oponentes con unas mazas de bronce y Zeus ataca a otros con sus rayos, mientras que Heracles remata a los que caen quedan moribundos en el suelo.

Armadas con sus mazas de bronce, las Moiras mataron a Agrio y Toante (Museo de Pérgamo, Berlín).

Aunque Ares no aparece en este relato, sí lo hace como adversario de los Gigantes, especialmente de Mimante, en la decoración de vasos de cerámica y en otras fuentes literarias. De las dos historias en las que los Gigantes acaban enterrados bajo islas, la de Polipotes, sepultado bajo Nísiros, probablemente se generó en la épica puesto que se encon traba en la decoración de vasos de cerámica, mientras que la de Encélado, con su localización más distante al occidente, tiene aparentemente un origen hele nístico

La representación de los Gigantes fue cambiando a lo largo de las épocas. En las imágenes más primitivas, del siglo VI a.C., normalmente son hermosos guerreros hoplitas con armadura y casco y luchan con una lanza o espada (en algunas ocasiones con rocas cuando la necesidad apremia, tal como hacen los guerreros homéricos). Aunque, obviamente debían de ser muy grandes y pode rosos, para poder mantener una lucha contra los dioses, no se les imaginaba originalmente como gigantes en el sentido moderno de la palabra.

En este sen tido, es significativo que cuando un vulgar mortal se denomina gigas en la lite ratura griega primitiva, como es el caso del brutal Capaneo (cf. p. 419), en los Siete contra Tebas de Esquilo, la palabra sugiere violencia temeraria o impía más que una estatura excepcional.134 En el siglo V a.C. surge una representa ción alternativa en la que los Gigantes son descritos como seres salvajes y pri mitivos que visten pieles de animal o simples túnicas (o incluso van desnudos) y utilizan rocas y cantos rodados como sus armas habituales.

Finalmente, a par tir del período helenístico, los Gigantes tienen colas de serpientes en vez de pier nas, tal como sería lo apropiado para seres nacidos de la tierra, y son enormes de estatura.

Detail of a Gigante from a mosaic depicting a scene from the Gigantomachia (War of the Giants). The serpent-footed giant is pierced in the side by an arrow.

En la narración de Apolodoro sobre el origen del mundo, se dice que Tierra dio a luz a los Gigantes porque estaba enfurecida por el destino de los Tita nes (que eran hijos suyos). Cuando Zeus y los dioses olímpicos vencieron a los Gigantes, al igual que a los Titanes antes que ellos, la cólera de Tierra fue tan grande que alumbró a Tifón para generar otra amenaza contra el dominio del Olimpo.136 Aunque este relato ordena los diferentes conflictos en un esquema claro, presenta ciertas dificultades porque, en primer lugar, Tierra había ayudado previamente a Zeus contra Crono y los Titanes (a través de sus consejos en más de una ocasión, hecho que aparece tanto en la versión de Apolodoro como en la de Hesíodo) y, en segundo lugar, porque la presencia de Heracles en la Gigan- tomaquia implica que tuvo lugar en la era heroica, poco antes de la guerra de Troya y no en los tiempos primitivos poco después de la Titanomaquia.

La Teogonia que, por supuesto, no hace referencia a la rebelión de los Gigan tes, data la revuelta de Tifón en el período inmediatamente posterior a la Tita nomaquia, después del destierro de los Titanes del mundo superior, pero antes de que los dioses hubieran invitado formalmente a Zeus a convertirse en el nuevo soberano. Aunque se podría inferir de la narración de Hesíodo que Gea dio a luz a Tifón encolerizada ante el destino de los Titanes (lo mismo que Apolo doro dice de los Gigantes), no se puede asegurar nada al respecto.

—Robin Hard en "El gran libro de la mitología griega"

#Robin Hard #El gran libro de la mitología griega #mitología griega

Talk to strangers

Are you afraid to talk to your familiar strangers? Why? Of course you need to be careful, but make sure you’re not blocking new friendships by guarding yourself against dangers that aren’t really there.

Chances are, most of your familiar strangers are as nice as you are. With as hard as it can be to schedule time to see friends face to face, you might as well start with the people who are already right there in front of you.

Pick two people that you see on a regular basis and who seem pretty friendly: they can be people who commute on public transit on the same schedule that you do, or neighbors in your apartment or on your block. The next couple times you see them, strike up a conversation. Introduce yourself if you haven’t before. Ask how they like living in the neighborhood, or if they have made friends with other neighbors in the area. Let them know that you’ve been trying to get to know more people in the building/neighborhood and ask if they want to go for a walk or hang out sometime. (If none of these prompts feel comfortable, then by all means, say what feels natural to you.) It’s no guarantee that every person you meet will become your new BFF, but even if it doesn’t work out, at least you’ll both up feeling more like friendly neighbors and less like total strangers.

—Kat Vellos en "We should get together: the secret to cultivating better friendships"

#Kat Vellos #social skills

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