Thunder. Religion. Myth. Genius. Eagle. Thunderbolt. Sky God. White
Ox. Gilded Horns. Thursday. The list goes on by Jove. Did I say By
Jove? By Jove, I say. I did indeed say that. Shall I explain? Well
then by Jove. I shall.
Once upon a time. in an era long past. there was a cameo which, over
the eons, became a tad fragmented. It was created–I believe–with
Sardonyx. which comes in black, brown, white, and red. Our cameo is
in the brown and white category. The era was the Late Hellenistic or
Early Imperial period. some time between the 1st century B. C. to the
1st century A. D. That’s a bit of a large time frame. but I guess
when you’re tracing back a couple of thousand years it’s easy to be
off by a hundred years or two.
First. a bit about the Sardonyx. It is a stone that has the capacity
to give one strength. It enhances willpower. It assures integrity.
And like some of the enhancement drugs of today. it endows its wearer
with stamina and vigor. Tell that to Viagra why don’t you. It is also
believed to bring lasting happiness and stability to marriage and
partnerships. It attracts friends and good fortune. It is used as a
protection grid. often placed at each corner of a house as well as at
doors and windows to prevent crime and misfortune. Who needs an alarm
system when you have bits of Sardonyx around the house? Not I. that’s
for sure.
As to the cameo itself. upon it are depicted an eagle and upon the
eagle. riding bareback as it were. is Jove himself. Also known as
Jupiter. for whom Thursday was named. Think of French where Thursday
is Jeudi which is derived from Jupiter and is only a hop, skip and a
jump to Thursday. Of course, Jupiter’s favorite creature was the
eagle. As to the epithets above. they are all words used to describe
our protagonist. He was the Sky God. He was considered a genius. He
was offered a white ox with gilded horns as a gift of appreciation
for past assistances. Jupiter was. in essence. the Roman equivalent
of the Greek god Zeus. Today we use different names to allude these
beings. Did I ever tell you about the science-fiction story I once
read where Zeus and Buddha and Jesus and Yahweh were all at a table
playing poker together while discussing mankind? No? Well. I guess
that’s for another time. As to that great jeweler of that time long
past who created this cameo of ol’ Jupe. I know not who he is.
Perhaps he’s related in some distant way to you… or you or. well…
modesty prohibits my pursuing this train of thought to its end.
logical or not. So. before I start ranting and foaming at the mouth
over my excitement of my cameotical (don’t look it up. I just created
it) find. may I extend an invitation to one and all to view Jupiter
astride an eagle depicted on a Sardonyx cameo created around 2000
years ago by one heck of a talented dude. You know where. My home
page: http://www.tyler-adam.com. Scroll down. Left side menu. Current
Tidbits. Click. And there will be ol’ Jupe.
And there ya have it. That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark