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The Privilege of Hubris
A medieval miniature of Alexander the Great being lowered into the sea in a bathysphere, from Le Livre et le vraye hystoire du bon roy...
Ben Hellman
Sep 23, 2023
49 views
0 comments


Her Undying Love; Gothic Viking Zombie Mayhem
Hild, unable to bear the deaths of her lover and father, raises their bodies with the bodies of their warriors, leading to an endless...
Ben Hellman
Oct 31, 2021
251 views
0 comments


Into the Mouth of American Kitsch: Wisconsin’s House on the Rock
The author contemplating another round of phantasmagorical excess at the House on the Rock, Spring Green, Wisconsin. Photo by Rachel...
Ben Hellman
Jun 28, 2021
59 views
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Immortal Queer; LGBTQ+ Narratives in Mythology
Loki consumes the female Gullveig’s heart, and is impregnated, an illustration of lines from Hyndluljóð, or Song of Hyndla, by John...
Ben Hellman
Jun 17, 2021
1,711 views
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Beyond Beowulf: Curses, Shapechangers, and Doomed Love
The Saga of King Hrólf Kraki features two warriors, man and son, who fight as bears. The father is cursed to roam as a bear by day. The...
Ben Hellman
Apr 24, 2021
509 views
0 comments


To Catch a Catoblepas by the Tail
Detail of Sludge, the Catoblepas, a wall-mounted sculpture by author, paper mache and mixed media, inspired by an illustration by David...
Ben Hellman
Apr 11, 2021
130 views
0 comments


Stealing Fire: John Colarusso and the Tales of the Narts
A fountain in Vladikavkaz, Russia with the Nart Sosruquo, dancing on the edge of a magic bowl. (Image courtesy Lhiten Hatko.) A range of...
Ben Hellman
Mar 29, 2021
687 views
0 comments


One Sad Woman; Reclaiming Hildeburh’s Tale from her Men
“The lady lamented, sorrowed with songs...the greatest fire of the slain, roared before the mound” (Beowulf, 1117-1120; Benjamin Slade...
Ben Hellman
Mar 7, 2021
609 views
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Look to the Light; A Folklorist’s Notebook for February
Dawn in southern New Hampshire, the first week of February. The light is returning. Every day the afternoon seems to last longer and...
Ben Hellman
Feb 18, 2021
42 views
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NASA Channels its Inner Goddess; Breaking Boundaries with Artemis
NASA-produced art representing woman on the moon from the Artemis program marketing campaign: “Her features are abstract enough that all...
Ben Hellman
Feb 10, 2021
186 views
2 comments


Toying with Ancient Stories; Uncovering the Tales of the Old English Poem “Widsith”
Danish King Hrothgar with his nephew Hrothulf, cutting down the Heathobards as Heorot Hall burns, following the failed wedding union...
Ben Hellman
Jan 25, 2021
733 views
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Beauty in the Beast: Photographer Charles Fréger and the Wilder Men
A winter festival performer from Christiansand, Norway, playing a Julebukk, a figure who goes door to door between Christmas and New...
Ben Hellman
Jan 12, 2021
872 views
0 comments


A Roundup of Mythology News; Folklorist's Notebook
An avenging Medusa, Abenaki Folklore, a new Beowulf, a fascinating take on Norse Mythos, and the 2020 winner of the Nobel Prize for...
Ben Hellman
Oct 22, 2020
17 views
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Divinity and Identity: Xu Zhen's Guanyin
“The European Thousand Armed Classical Sculpture,” by artist Xu Zhen at the National Gallery of Australia's Xu Zhen exhibition, “Eternity...
Ben Hellman
Oct 15, 2020
27 views
0 comments


Weaving New Tales; A Tapestry for a Modern Hero
The Eisenhower Memorial in Washington D.C. Photos from Designboom.com Adding to the Greco-Roman temples and Egyptian obelisk in...
Ben Hellman
Sep 24, 2020
29 views
0 comments


Portland Protester and the Power of the Female Nude
Portland protester, photographed by Dave Killen, Oregonlive.com and a 12th Century sheela na gig carving from the Church of St. Mary and...
Ben Hellman
Jul 20, 2020
44 views
0 comments
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