Happy Anna Howard Shaw Day!

I've got a whole bunch of ideas lined up for you guys, but more on those later this week. Today is - you guessed it - Valentine's Day; the day where sweethearts express their love through greetings cards, candy, and flowers!

Nothing like plant genitalia to get you in the mood, am I right? (via)

I figured I'd go the route I've gone for other Holidays and do a retrospective on the history of this "love"-ly day. The feast of St. Valentine was first established by Pope Gelasius I in 469 AD. This feast celebrated only two of many Saints named Valentine; most of whom were persecuted and invariably martyred at the hands of those crazy Pagans: the Romans!

I'm in the mood for looooooove... (via)

Sexy, right? Actually Valentine's Day didn't get its Romantic context until almost a thousand years later in Medieval Europe. The earliest known written link between St. Valentine's Day and Romantic Love is found in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, when Courtly Love was all the rage.

Porno music not included (via)

Of course, nothing in history is that simple. The true origins of modern Valentine's Day are pretty much unknown to us. I'm sure at least some of you have heard the story of Saint Valentine writing the first Valentine to the blind daughter of his jailer, which apparently made her see again. This has never been historically attested and has probably been attributed to all the different Saints named Valentine in turn.

"In other words, we haven't the foggiest." (via)

Some even speculate that Valentine's Day's romantic connotations were a rediscovery of Ancient Roman and Greek festivals such as Lupercalia, a festival which was supposed to cleanse the City of Rome of evil spirits to promote prosperity in the coming year, and Gamelion, a month set aside by Athenians to honor the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera. However, these pagan festivities had more to do with ritual sacrifice than Romantic Love...

Isn't it romaaaaaaaaaaaaantiiiiiiiic? (via)

Anyway, somewhere in the Middle Ages people made up an excuse to send each other love letters because, really, what else was there to do in Medieval Europe? Also, considering the little Ice Age that gripped the Western World, February would have been the point in winter where the cabin (or 'castle') fever would have been too much to bear and people would have seriously needed an excuse to take off their clothes. So, that's how it all got started (kind of). The earliest surviving modern 'Valentine' was written by Charles, Duke of Orleans during his captivity in the Tower of London after the Battle of Agincourt. You can read it here.

He's got on his "do-me" robes. (via)

As time passed and industry grew, people began taking advantage of this holiday to sell pre-made Valentines to the Western public. It really picked up here in the United States and in England around the turn of the 19th Century - and paved the way for the commercialization of other holidays. Many entrepreneurs found success in the Valentine business, including Esther Howland:

"Wedding now are all the go,
will you marry me or no?" (via)

The 20th century brought mass-produced cards known as "mechanical Valentines" and with the rise of advertising in post-war America, the typical Valentine's Day shopping list expanded to include candy, toys, flowers, eventually jewelry. Today it is estimated that around one billion Valentine's Day cards are exchanged every year, with teachers receiving the most.

Next Year? Your SOUL. (via)

Of course, no Holiday this commercialized could go without its critics. Vinegar Valentines - generally mean-spirited insult cards - have been around as long as people have been able to buy regular Valentines. In probably the most famous instance of Vinegar Valentines, Calvin of "Calvin and Hobbes" regularly sends these to Susie in order to hide his true feelings from her:

(via)

Others still choose to ignore the holiday altogether:




However you choose to celebrate this day (be it a ritual sacrifice, vinegar valentine, or oral surgery) a very happy Valentine's Day to you and yours.

Mythology or Fact?

The Bull-leaping Fresco from the palace at Knossos, Crete

This week in my Art History class I learned about the Aegean Civilizations of the Bronze Age. The Aegean were the civilizations that populated modern day mainland Greece (Mycenaean), modern day Crete (Minoan), and the islands in between (Cycladic). Of course, Greek Mythology is a vivid source of inspiration for writers, designers, and artists of all types, but more and more discoveries in archeology point to the fact that many myths have a basis in fact.

For instance, most everyone knows the myth of the Trojan Horse, but archeologists have discovered a city that matches the descriptions of the Homeric Epic.

The Minoans were a relatively peaceful, seafaring people. Their palaces were lavishly decorated with beautiful frescoes (such as the one pictured above) and ornate sculptures and pottery (pictured below).

As is clear from the sculpture above and an artist's rendering below, the Minoan woman's wardrobe consisted of an open-fronted bodice and a layered skirt in many bright colors. Upper class Minoan women were women of leisure, and lived in the lap of luxury. Women enjoyed many rights rarely seen in other cultures of the time, including serving as priestesses. Their open bodices indicate the liberal views towards them, and the respect held for their life-giving properties.

Minoan Palace Scene by Thomas Baker

One of the many entertainments offered the Minoan court at Knossos would have been athletic events such as those pictured in the Bull-leaping Fresco. There were different types of bull-leaping, but the one pictured above is seen in the diagram below. The athlete would face the charging bull, grab onto the horns and - as the bull reared its head - would perform a somersault, leap off the bull's back, and finally land behind the bull. Pretty damn impressive, if you ask me. It has been suggested that many modern men's gymnastic events, such as the pommel horse, the vault, and the still rings have their origins in this ancient art.

If you're aware of the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, you might be thinking this seems like a bit of a coincidence. Remember, King Minos (for whom the Minoan Civilization was named) did have his palace at Knossos. Though a labyrinth has never been discovered anywhere on or near the sight, take a look at this plan of the ruins and an artist's reconstruction:

Some archeologists have suggested that Homer's mythological labyrinth may have been inspired by the Palace itself. That courtyard you see in the pictures was where the Bull-leaping was held. Perhaps the legend of Theseus battling the Minotaur were, in fact, an exaggeration of a real boy's trials to travel from Athens to Crete to compete against the Minoan Bull-leapers.

Ultimately, it is widely believed that the Minoans met their demise after a major volcanic eruption on Santorini. Apparently this was one of the biggest eruptions in recorded history. This eventual demise is also considered one of the inspirations for the Atlantis myth.

I find these sorts of things absolutely fascinating. It is no small leap of faith to think that myths could be based on actual facts. In the years that go by, and in an era where people fully believed in magic and a whole Pantheon of vengeful gods, stories are naturally misinterpreted and purposefully exaggerated to glorify or vilify historical figures or people. Also, in an era where kings ruled without the reigns of a parliament, parables and myths would have been the only way for people to speak their minds about the misdoings of royalty.

It's also not hard to believe that we ourselves may have misinterpreted certain things about these cultures and their stories. Some of these cultures have words that mean both "king" and "god". Many cultures worshiped their leaders as deities, so perhaps the entire pantheon of gods and all of those myths are based on real kings and queens of yore. I would be completely fascinated to learn about these people. History is one of my greatest passions. I'd be an archeologist I weren't so lazy...!

"Historical sense and poetic sense should not, in the end, be contradictory, for if poetry is the little myth we make, history is the big myth we live, and in our living, constantly remake."
-Robert Penn Warren


Nostalgically Yours