Thoughtless for the Day

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the food court? That shit ain't right

Today is happy day! After nearly a week of threatening actual action, I'm finally going to post something about Attis:

Attis was a Phrygian (possibly Lydian) deity who was also consort of the goddess Cybele (the "Mother of the Gods"). He's mostly remembered for castrating himself on whim and being reborn as a pine tree. Attis' conception was also a little unusual in that he was the offspring of a hermaphroditic demon whose penis had been cut off by the gods. Somehow this amputated love-muscle turned into an almond tree, the fruit of which somehow found its way into the womb of Attis' virgin mother. Man, you never hear about cool shit like that on Dr. Phil.

Why Attis' virgin birth may have contributed to the Jesus myth (The author of the Gospel of Luke enticed gentiles by incorporating familiar pagan motifs into the nativity story, while the author of the Gospel of Matthew appealed to Jews by stressing Jesus' descent from the House of David on his father's side – if Jesus was born of a virgin, why was Joseph's lineage important?), the self-castration practiced by many followers of Cybele may have also inspired the celibacy - or ritual castration - of Christian priests.

Whether or not Cybele and Attis were and influence on the Catholic Church, they almost certainly influenced the Roman Emperor Elagabalus (ruled 218 - 222 CE). Elagabalus, a Syrian who was all of fourteen when he ascended to the throne and enjoyed dressing was a woman and "playing wife" to his male slave, was assassinated shortly after he revealed his plans to castrate himself.

And now a word or two about tiny plastic shields.

You've probably figured out that I didn't paint those designs on the shields of my tiny plastic Roman soldiers. Yes, they are, indeed, decals. And they're found here. Download 'em and then play around with resizing them (print them on regular paper, cut and test against the shields) before printing them on full sheet labels (Avery 8165)

Next time we'll put the finishing touches on out TPRA and sing some campfire songs or something.