Wednesday 13/12/17: mane post (‘The morning after’)

If there were a few sore heads after last night’s Christmas party, they were either not in attendance this morning or else were very well hidden…  Around 300 swimmers managed to drag themselves out of bed for their dose of Vitamin Sea (or perhaps they partied through the night and bypassed bed altogether?).  It helped that the water temperature was back up to 21.2 – we even had six newbies join us today.

Above: Some well-rested 7 o’clockers make the transition from Bacchic revelry to aquatic calm…

A big thank you to all those who supported the Royal Far West Raffle and Auction at the Xmas Party last night. Just over $3000 was raised on the night. A great result.

Above: Edwina, Michael, and Di.

For those who are feeling a bit worse for wear, try getting some cabbage into your diet today – the Greek philosopher Aristotle (or perhaps a pseudo-Aristotle, no one’s really sure) encouraged it as a remedy for hangovers (the logic being that, as the vine and the cabbage were natural enemies in the agricultural world, the one would cancel out the effects of the other) (Pseudo-Arist. Problemata 873a).

Above: Bobbing heads and the glare of the sun at The Point.

Eschewing neat wine might also help next time, and you’ll be in good company – the ancient Greeks and Romans considered unmixed wine to be only fit for Barbarians, more refined types drank theirs mixed with water.

Above: Waiting patiently for the ‘Let’s Go!’

Unrestrained revelry was associated in the ancient world with Dionysus (known as Bacchus in the Roman pantheon), the god of the vine, religious ecstasy, and wine, amongst other things.  He was a major figure in Greek myth – a powerful god, and definitely not the sort of fellow to cross: the story of Dionysus and the Tyrrhenian pirates is a well-known example of the wrath of the god.  The pirates kidnap a young boy (actually Dionysus in disguise) and take him aboard their ship, he asks them to take him to the port on Naxos but the pirates instead steer in the opposite direction.  The lone survivor, Acoetes (who recognised the boy as a god from the start), later recounts what happened when the pirates refused to do the god’s bidding:

‘Now, by that god himself (for there’s no god closer than he) I swear I tell what’s true, as true as past belief: the ship stood still upon the sea as fixed as in a dry dock. The crew, bewildered, rowed with dogged strokes and spread the sails, twin means to make her move. But ivy creeping, winding, clinging, bound the oars and decked the sails in heavy clusters. Bacchus [Dionysos] himself, grape-bunches garlanding his brow, brandished a spear that vine-leaves twined, and at his feet fierce spotted panthers lay, tigers and lynxes too, in phantom forms. The men leapt overboard, all driven mad or panic-stricken. Medon’s body first began to blacken and his spine was arched into a curve. “What magic shape is this?” cried Lycabas, but, even as he spoke, his mouth widened, his nose curved out, his skin turned hard and scaly. Libys, trying to pull the thwarting oars, saw his hands suddenly shrink – hands no longer – fins they might be called. Another, when he meant to clasp his arms around a hawser, had no arms and jumped limbless and bending backwards into the waves. His tail forked to a sickle-shape and curved like a half moon. All round the ship they leapt in showers of splashing spray. Time after time they surfaced and fell back into the sea, playing like dancers, frolicking about in fun, wide nostrils taking in the sea to flow it out again. Of the whole twenty (that was the crew she carried) I alone remained. As I stood trembling, cold with fear, almost out of my wits, the god spoke words of comfort: “Cast your fear aside. Sail on to Dia [Naxos].” Landing there, I joined his cult and now am Bacchus’ faithful follower.’

            Ovid, Metamorphoses, 3.658-691 [trans. Melville]

Above: Dionysus and the Tyrrhenian pirates as dolphins, Athenian black-figure kylix C6th B.C. (Staatliche Antikensammlungen).

No dolphins (or pirates) were spotted today, although there were sightings of the fever (what a fantastic collective noun!) of Cownose Rays – a very impressive sight for those lucky enough to have got a glimpse.

Above: Metamorphosis of the Tyrrhenian pirates, Etruscan black-figure hydria C6th B.C., (Toledo Museum of Art).

Recommended reading (bottom of the blog): As an unashamed Classics nerd, I live in hope that one day someone will ask me, ‘Alex, I would absolutely love to immerse myself in the world of ancient Greek and Roman literature – where should I start?’  Alas, it hasn’t happened yet, so I’m taking matters into my own hands and adding a ‘recommended reading’ section to the bottom of my monthly blog post.  (N.B. You can find good translations of Classical texts by most of the major publishers (the Oxford World’s Classics editions are generally pretty good, as are most Penguin editions), or online through websites like the Perseus Digital Library, or theoi.com)

This month: Ovid’s Metamorphoses.  This is an absolute cracker.  Ever wondered how the Bosphorus got its name, or what the origin of the term narcissism is, or perhaps you’ve pondered why aráchni (αράχνη) is the Greek word for spider?  You’ll find the answers in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, a narrative poem containing over 250 myths (most relating to transformation of one form or another) by the Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso.  Ovid is funny, clever, subversive – an easy sell and an absolute joy to read.

Valete omnes (‘toodles everyone’),

Alexandra

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Summer Swims
The 6km summer swims will continue on most Saturdays thru to Feb.
Proposed 10km swim on Sat 16th Dec at 7am.
Note: Swimmers for 10km are required to bring their own food drink requirements to be left at Manly.
ALL swims are dependent on suitable ocean/weather conditions.

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