Ojuice5001

Okay, Venus and Juno are both Roman goddesses of love, but they're far from the same. To simplify, Venus is the fun one, and Juno is the one who makes love seem like a chore. That certainly seems to be the case when you look at their portrayals by the Greeks; all the male gods love Aphrodite, while Hera's relationship with Zeus seems to be an unhappy one. What implications does this have for the modern holiday we call Valentine's?

Valentine's Day comes from the Roman festival Lupercalia. This festival was, among other things, one of Juno's festivals.

And all too often Valentine's Day is a chore for one or both sexes, like the influence of Juno is rather prone to make things happen. Yet another parallel between empirical reality and Roman mythology.

Doubting Didymus

Ah? Reality corresponds to mythology, eh?

Have you considered that perhaps the mythology was written to correspond to reality, rather than the other way around?

Luiseach

And further to this, remember that mythology can influence our perceptions of reality. It isn't just descriptive, but also prescriptive.

Doubting Didymus

Aha, well said! Not only does the fact that we created myths to describe us explain Ojuices phenomena, but so too does the fact that our stories shape us in return. Perhaps part of the equasion is that we perceive a distinction between happy exstatic venus love and misarable oppressive binding inescapable destructive juno love, simply because we have been told about it through our own stories? A cycle of forming and being formed that leaves little room for an inference of real gods, I'm afraind.

Luiseach

Absolutely. I agree. The symbiotic relationship between text and identity.

Doubting Didymus

Or in this case, not as purely symbolic as it would first seem. Part of this is text moulds identity and identity in turn interprets text. Essences of humanity become tightly woven into these stories. We should not be in the least bit surprised if the old myths speak to us. These stories explain and interpret humans themselves.

Luiseach

I said 'symbiotic,' not 'symbolic'. :-)

Although what you describe is what I am agreeing with....

Doubting Didymus

I am such a dip. Sorry about that.

Luiseach

No way...and, no need for apology...just crossed a few wires is all. :-D