Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Battle of the gods for Tarentum: Some thoughts on polytheism

I came across a blog entry by ares_star who, upon discovering my blog said:
I'll save my comments on the gods battling for possesion of Tarentum later.
I'd be interested in hearing those comments, because I don't know much about polytheism or how it might explain the occasional wierd thing that happens in Tarentum.

I readily admit that I am a monotheist who sees many of the events happening around me as part of the unfolding story of the one God who created the universe and continues to bring forth new things. Part of my own focus in this blog is to record some of those events that may be happening without many other people noticing them.

statue of Hebe in Riverview ParkBut I have not seen signs of a battle of the gods for Tarentum. We do have a couple of nice statues of Hebe here. Hebe was the Greek goddess of youth, the cupbearer of the Olympian gods, the one who gave them immortality by serving them nectar and ambrosia. She also married Heracles (Hercules).

There are two statues of Hebe in Tarentum. The one shown here is in Riverview Park. A replica of the same statue stands at the foot of the bridge, facing the traffic arriving from New Kensington.

Statue of Hebe in Riverview Park, bridge in backgroundIs Hebe involved in a battle with other gods? Not that I can tell. She is the only greek goddess I've found in Tarentum. In case she will be a threat to anyone we keep her in a nice cage in the park. I am not threatened, and I don't need the cage.

I also readily admit that there are events that have happened in Tarentum for which I have no explanation, and I don't know what they mean, if anything. For instance, I can't explain the break-in at a small church, and the burglar's decision to jimmy open an unlocked filing cabinet containing nothing of value. I don't know why all the alligators in Brackenridge want to come to Tarentum. And when I saw a van that had run two stop signs before stopping against the outside wall of a bar, it just looked odd. So, with no way to explain what these events mean, I decided I could always exploit these incidents by making a segue, however weak, to a blatant promotion of a church fundraiser. (By the way, did I mention that there will be a ham loaf dinner at the Central Presbyterian Church in Tarentum on October 15?)

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