Comments on: Legendary was Hacienda Napoles where Pablo Escobar decreed his stately pleasure dome

By: Isegoria

Isegoria — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 15:28:07 +0000

I thought I knew my Norse mythology fairly well, but I didn't immediately recognize "great beast" as the literal translation of the name Jörmungandr (the Midgard Serpent).

By: Sam J.

Sam J. — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 04:37:21 +0000

That Polearm link was an astounding read. I love stories that tie together so much detail like that. This is the link

https://magazine.atavist.com/american-hippopotamus

By: Francis W. Porretto

Francis W. Porretto — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 12:19:54 +0000

I got a charge out of this essay, both for the historical memories it evoked and for an allusion you might not have intended: In Norse mythology, a Great Beast was an evil, quasi-divine creature of immense power and appetite, unstoppable by Man. If freed, it could not be killed; it could only be driven back to Tartarus by the massed power of the gods.

To compound the laughs, the grove of Idun, Keeper of the Apples, was regarded by the Norse as the most important feature of Asgard, because the apples from her grove had the power to turn mortals into gods — gods that Odin could then use as “sword fodder” against the Great Beasts, should they succeed in escaping Tartarus.

I’m having trouble seeing hippos in that role, but you never know what a spell in the Everglades could do to them…

By: Graham

Graham — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 00:39:20 +0000

I well remember the many stories about plans to introduce the camel to the deserts of America. If I remember correctly, they actually did that for a time. I think that was for military and transport use.

Now this scheme would have been epic. I gather those things are quite dangerous. I wonder if the gators of America would have suddenly wondered what in hell those huge things were.

The Rubens image captures the rest of the story. And that looks like a pretty small hippo.