Salvador Dali and the Dioskouroi
The deeper I delve, the more mind-boggling it becomes. Dali apparently has a number of connections to the Dioskouroi. He painted the scene of Leda and the Swan, with the painting titled Leda Atomica. The model used in this painting was his wife Gala. Later he began equating himself with Pollux, his dead brother with Castor, and his wife Gala with Helen.
Here's a piece of interest from this article: http://www.all-art.org/art_20th_century/dali-6.html
"From now on, Dali lived with two idees fixes: that of the Dioscuri, and that of cybernetic science. His mind was busy looking for correlations between the two areas. One of the preliminary sketches for The Battle of Tetuan bears the dedication, "For Helen from her Dioscuri". Dali was excited to discover that the word "cybernetic" was etymologically derived from the Greek "kybernetes", a steersman or pilot. For Plato, the pilot's task was clear. The captain chose a harbour into which the craft was to be sailed. The helmsman adjusted the rudder in order to steer the vessel in the required direction. And the pilot ensured that the helmsman was continually aware how to use his rudder in order to reach the harbour. In this joint effort, the captain took the decision on a goal, the helmsman steered, and the pilot gave guidance. The pilot, in other words, is cybernetic in terms of his activity; and this derivation and meaning of the word struck Dali powerfully, since he saw himself as the pilot of his own life. But he went a step further and found a way of associating this with his other current obsession, with the Dioscuri. Was it not the task of Castor and Pollux, in antiquity, to guide ships ? Having made this connection, Dali averred that, with the remote guidance of the Dioscuri, he was piloting the boat of their life, with Gala's hand firmly on the rudder."
Neo-pagans will find this of even more interest; his painting of Leda Atomica is based on something called the "divine proportion." According to the wikipedia article on this, Leda and the swan are set in a pentagon inside which has been inserted a five-point star of which Dalí made several sketches. The five points of the star symbolize the seeds of perfection: love, order, light (truth), willpower and word (action).
Here's a picture of the painting in question: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Leda_atomica.jpg
Stuff like this just blows me away.
I would love to have someone out there work with me and compile a list of modern influences by the Dioskouroi for the devotional. I'd be happy to help but I don't want to write all of the articles for the devotional. Regardless I really do love finding these kinds of nuggets, which show that the gods are far from gone in our lives.
Here's a piece of interest from this article: http://www.all-art.org/art_20th_century/dali-6.html
"From now on, Dali lived with two idees fixes: that of the Dioscuri, and that of cybernetic science. His mind was busy looking for correlations between the two areas. One of the preliminary sketches for The Battle of Tetuan bears the dedication, "For Helen from her Dioscuri". Dali was excited to discover that the word "cybernetic" was etymologically derived from the Greek "kybernetes", a steersman or pilot. For Plato, the pilot's task was clear. The captain chose a harbour into which the craft was to be sailed. The helmsman adjusted the rudder in order to steer the vessel in the required direction. And the pilot ensured that the helmsman was continually aware how to use his rudder in order to reach the harbour. In this joint effort, the captain took the decision on a goal, the helmsman steered, and the pilot gave guidance. The pilot, in other words, is cybernetic in terms of his activity; and this derivation and meaning of the word struck Dali powerfully, since he saw himself as the pilot of his own life. But he went a step further and found a way of associating this with his other current obsession, with the Dioscuri. Was it not the task of Castor and Pollux, in antiquity, to guide ships ? Having made this connection, Dali averred that, with the remote guidance of the Dioscuri, he was piloting the boat of their life, with Gala's hand firmly on the rudder."
Neo-pagans will find this of even more interest; his painting of Leda Atomica is based on something called the "divine proportion." According to the wikipedia article on this, Leda and the swan are set in a pentagon inside which has been inserted a five-point star of which Dalí made several sketches. The five points of the star symbolize the seeds of perfection: love, order, light (truth), willpower and word (action).
Here's a picture of the painting in question: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Leda_atomica.jpg
Stuff like this just blows me away.
I would love to have someone out there work with me and compile a list of modern influences by the Dioskouroi for the devotional. I'd be happy to help but I don't want to write all of the articles for the devotional. Regardless I really do love finding these kinds of nuggets, which show that the gods are far from gone in our lives.