Ben Hellman
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...
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Ben Hellman
Oct 31, 2021
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...
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Ben Hellman
Jun 28, 2021
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...
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Ben Hellman
Jun 17, 2021
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...
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Ben Hellman
Apr 24, 2021
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...
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Ben Hellman
Apr 11, 2021
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...
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Ben Hellman
Mar 29, 2021
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...
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Ben Hellman
Mar 7, 2021
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...
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Ben Hellman
Feb 18, 2021
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...
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Ben Hellman
Feb 10, 2021
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...
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Ben Hellman
Jan 25, 2021
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...
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Ben Hellman
Jan 12, 2021
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...
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Ben Hellman
Oct 22, 2020
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...
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Ben Hellman
Oct 15, 2020
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...
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Ben Hellman
Sep 24, 2020
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...
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Ben Hellman
Jul 20, 2020
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...
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PRACTICAL MYTHOLOGY
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