LMAC continues with round #58. It all begins with @shaka's beautiful template photo:
My interpretation of this photo was inspired by various origin myths. Some of these have helpless babies adrift and rescued. Some have wolves acting as benevolent intermediaries. In some cases, a deity oversees rescue of the helpless baby.
Romulus and Remus: The Founding of Rome
Image credit: Benutzer Wolpertinger. Public domain. The wolf statue is said to be from the 13th century. The twins Romulus and Remus were added in the 15th.
The Foundation Myth for Rome
The summary offered here was derived from Romulus and Remus, by Brittany Garcia:
Romulus and Remus are twins. Their mother, Rhea Silvia, is a Vestal Virgin who lives in the city of Alba Longa. The father (in one popular version) is Mars. A Vestal Virgin who violates her vows is to be buried alive (she is, after all, supposed to be a virgin). But the king of Alba Longa is fearful of Mars so he spares the mother. The boys, however, are to be cast in the river where they, it is presumed, will drown. A merciful servant places the infants in a basket and sets the basket afloat on the Tiber River.
Tibernus Watches as Romulus and Remus are Rescued
Painting, Romulus and Remus by: Peter Paul Rubens, 1614-1619. From the Web Gallery of Art. Public domain. Here you see not only the wolf, the infants and Tibernus, but also the shepherd, who will raise the boys.
The god of the Tiber River, Tibernus, calms the waters and causes the basket to be snared on the roots of a fig tree. There the boys are discovered by a she-wolf, who suckles the infants. Eventually, a shepherd comes upon Romulus and Remus, and takes them home.
According to legend, other great leaders who have been set adrift in baskets and rescued include:
Moses
Credit: This engraving, 'Moses im Binsenkörbchen am Nile ausgesetzt', by Bernhard Rode (1725-1797), shows the baby Moses being put in a basket and set adrift on the Nile River.
The story of Moses' rescue from the Nile (summarized from British Library):
The Pharaoh of Egypt decrees that all first-born male babies be killed. Jochebed, mother of Moses, places him in a basket. She sets him afloat on the Nile, where she knows the Pharaoh's daughter bathes regularly. Sure enough, the young woman discovers the baby and rescues him. She raises Moses as her own.
Karna, Demigod from the Hindu epic, "Mahābhāratawho"
Credit: Extract from a larger piece, "Arjuna and His Charioteer Krishna Confront Karna". 1820 Public domain. From the Philadelphia Museum Collection.
This summary is derived from Fort Fairfield Journal, by David Deschesne):
In this tradition we see another pairing between a god (the sun god Surya) and a mortal, Kunti. This union results in the birth of the Hindu demigod, Karna. Shame over her unwed state drives Kunti to put her son in a basket. She places the basket in the Aswa River (Some sources say she placed him in the Ganges, and at least one source says the Yamuna.) Eventually the child is rescued by, "Adhiratha, charioteer of King Dhritarashtra of Hastinapur." Karna grows up to be a great leader and his exploits are revealed in the ancient Hindu epic, "Mahabharata".
The Wolf as Protector, or Deity
Egyptian Wolf God, Wepwawet
Image credit: Roland Unger. Used under CC license 1.0,2.0,2.5,3.0.
In the picture, Wepwawet is offering insignia to Seti 1,the Egyptian Pharaoh who ruled (approximately) from 1294 BC to 1279 BC. Wepwawet was a god of Egypt's early dynasties. He is viewed as a guide. In the Book of the Dead, he "leads the deceased through the underworld and guards over them on their perilous journey". (From Ancient Egypt Online).
Wolf as Deity, for the The Ainu People of Japan
Image credit: Cadell and Davies. 1796 Public domain. An Ainu family of Hokkaido Island.
The Ainu are indigenous people of Japan who live in its northernmost islands. The Ainu inhabited these islands before the Japanese owned them. According to Ainu oral tradition, in the beginning there was a union between a white wolf and a goddess. According to this tradition, it is from this union that the Ainu people descended. Wolves therefore were venerated by the Ainu.
My Collage
When I saw @shaka's photo, I envisioned water in the foreground. (The lake is taken from Pixabay)
At first I tried to put in a kind of 'highway to heaven' (I drew the highway).
That didn't work.
Then the idea of the baby in a basket came to me, and the wolves. I decided to remove background that made the image contemporary, and to bring the whole scene closer.
You can see the baby came naked (from Pixabay), so I drew a blanket.
I took a wolf from Paint 3D, one from Pixabay, and found an angel (also Pixabay) to watch over the baby.
By now, the ribbon-like suggestion of water in @shaka's picture had become a stream. I tried to make that look realistic by adding shadows and curves.
I was ready to make my GIF layers. This process went on and on. I think I made twenty different GIFs until I decided on this one. If you look closely (I don't blame you if you don't) you will see the stream flow, and the wolves' eyes blink. One wolf flicks its tail, magic dust falls from the angel and a head rises behind the wolves and then sinks into the earth again. Of course, through it all, the baby floats toward its wolf protectors.
Another weekend of creative challenges. Thank you, @shaka.
To all my readers, please check out @shaka's blog to see the remarkable collages on display. All are welcome. Once you start on the LMAC road, you can go anywhere. We have a school to help you get there and a very encouraging teacher, @quantumg, who always is ready to give advice.
hey but that's the symbol of my city!
!discovery 35
Ah, beautiful Rome! I love writing about Italy.
Thank you for visiting, and for your support. It is quite encouraging.
Hello friend, a story that goes back many years, what a good collage and how you relate it to the story, good luck in the contest
Thank you, friend. I think the collage may be very quiet and low key, but it does suit the story I think. Thank you for appreciating that. I hope you do very well tonight.
Thanks for the very interesting lesson. I really didn't know the Hindus would have a similar myth about an abandoned baby, although I'm a big fan of history.
As always, you've made a beautiful edu-collage. And I'm excitedly looking forward to your next contribution, like I had subscribed to a good science magazine with nice pictures inside.
It's pretty curious that there are so many myths of different kind that are similar in different cultures. Who knows what these myths are trying to tell us in reality, in their strange dialectics of the old days.
Especially when you consider that our historical knowledge of many epochs is only conjecture based on conjecture.
The world remains exciting. I'm still waiting for the announcement of a 5000 year old cell phone that would be found in some dark hole. On which they would find a video of the owner not looking at the street when crossing the zebra crossing but having his eyes clued to the display. :-D
Good luck! :-)
(Tip instead of a vote because I'm not sure the vote will count and I know the tip will :) Don't understand vote calculations.)
HaHa :)
Your reaction to my blog explains why I love this platform. I get to be my nerdiest self, and actually find a few people who share my interest. Usually when I write one of these I know little to start and then it all opens up for me. I actually discovered other babies abandoned in baskets...one of them a Mesopotamian king, Sargon of Akkad. This I think is more than coincidence. What primordial need do these myths satisfy? Is there a common experience well beyond history that escapes us?
BTW: your English language skills are outstanding. Wish I could duplicate them in German. So many years I studied that language on and off. Today I have basic reading competency, but no courage to embarrass myself by writing in the language.
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Thank you @discover-it. When Discovery comes by I know I've met a certain objective standard. That feels great.
Thanks for the support.
Dear @agmoore, I have seen your collage several times. It is of a tender subtlety and a mythical resonance. A baby in the waters. You have turned @shaka's photograph into a beautiful place, a place where we can be sure that the angels are looking after us. I love your animates images. You work very beautiful and genuine.
I don't know why, but your collage looks like a smile to me!
PS: One day we have to talk about Borges. ♥️
I share my small prize with you. Your collage was so interesting and led to many memories.
Thank you for your kind words. My collages are simple (reflect my very modest art skills) but you do seem to see what I intended. I guess that means it was a successful effort.
I will seen you in the next round, I hope. These exercises draw from me in a way that more analytical activity does not.
Be well and peaceful, friend @adncabrera
Dear @agmoore, you are such a beautiful person. I thank you with my heart for your gesture, but please, you don't have to give up your prize. You have earned it with a work that transmits much tenderness.
The question I asked at the pool was a product of the fear that I was breaking the rules of the contest. I take it seriously, you know? I've been working with culture since I was a teenager and some initiatives on the platform seem to me to be very commendable and well managed. I understand the meaning of competition. You'll see my collage in the next round, of course.
I'm honored that you liked my work. It's a privilege to have your generosity. And it's beautiful to feel the gratitude I feel for your gesture.
Hello my friend,
I'm not giving up my prize. I'm sharing happiness. This platform, this community, brings me such pleasure. For me it's like a party and I want everyone who attends to have a good time. Especially people like you.
See you next time and will likely be inspired by your very intelligent concept. Right now I'm looking at something quite different--cost and benefits of different healthcare delivery systems across the world. Not so much fun, but very interesting :)
Greetings and peace my friend.
No doubt it's not a fun topic when you see it in numbers, but it has dramatic consequences when you see it in life. Interesting it is, no doubt. And it gives much to think about the humanity of humans. Good luck! I love reading that post!
Hello my gracious friend,
I saw my wallet 💙 The health blog is coming slowly, but I've seen @shaka's picture and have an an inspiration. Whether that is good or bad, time will tell :)
See you soon on LMAC
Peace and health!
Muchas gracias!
You are very kind. I love to write and making the pictures is fun. Wonderful when that is appreciated. Thank you!