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Help[Opinions] Re: Hera (edited)
in reply to a message by mirfak
... then there is no way to also believe that Hera can be any kind of positive symbol at all today.
There is, though (I actually really like Hera). Hera as Power of Marriage (and more) exists in cultural memory. It was a complex representation, even if the wider historical context is undesirable to preserve. The positives can be positive (basically, Powers That Made Marriage Powerful at that moment in time) even if our culture wouldn't depict Power of Marriage the way Hera was depicted; recognizing positives in history doesn't automatically reinforce associated negatives.
Hera's actions aren't negative (even if my judgment of the reasons they'd make sense in an antiquated story are), just demonstrations of what her power was.
What I think is not possible is acting as if Hera (specifically, that name) can be meaningfully symbolic without understanding one's relationship with the cultural context her power is depicted in. Although it doesn't need to be meaningfully symbolic in order to be used in modern times as a name.
So judging whether she would be an appealing namesake today - seems to me to have nothing to do with anything, except our own perceptions of our own perceptions.
I don't really get this. As a statement, it reads similarly to how, 'the unknowable is unknowable is unknowable' would to me. Okay...
Religion's based on perception and typically involves distortion, because it's intrinsically collective.
Propaganda's biased info used to promote a particular POV (as many myths are and do, specifically in the time/place they are conceived or treated as authoritative).
And this is a board where people judge their perceptions of names. If names don't convey meaningful in complex ways (as Hera can), sure, there's no point.
There is, though (I actually really like Hera). Hera as Power of Marriage (and more) exists in cultural memory. It was a complex representation, even if the wider historical context is undesirable to preserve. The positives can be positive (basically, Powers That Made Marriage Powerful at that moment in time) even if our culture wouldn't depict Power of Marriage the way Hera was depicted; recognizing positives in history doesn't automatically reinforce associated negatives.
Hera's actions aren't negative (even if my judgment of the reasons they'd make sense in an antiquated story are), just demonstrations of what her power was.
What I think is not possible is acting as if Hera (specifically, that name) can be meaningfully symbolic without understanding one's relationship with the cultural context her power is depicted in. Although it doesn't need to be meaningfully symbolic in order to be used in modern times as a name.
So judging whether she would be an appealing namesake today - seems to me to have nothing to do with anything, except our own perceptions of our own perceptions.
I don't really get this. As a statement, it reads similarly to how, 'the unknowable is unknowable is unknowable' would to me. Okay...
Religion's based on perception and typically involves distortion, because it's intrinsically collective.
Propaganda's biased info used to promote a particular POV (as many myths are and do, specifically in the time/place they are conceived or treated as authoritative).
And this is a board where people judge their perceptions of names. If names don't convey meaningful in complex ways (as Hera can), sure, there's no point.
This message was edited 4/28/2021, 7:07 AM
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