Leto and The Virgin of Quito

I’m actually not in Ecuador anymore and have successfully moved across the United States to my new home by the University where I’m going for my MA and then PhD. That’s why 1) I haven’t posted recently and 2) I may end up punking out on this blog. But here’s hoping I can keep up with it all and keep this baby running.

So anyway, back to the Ancient Greek Ladies. Sort of.

While I was visiting Quito, I encountered the very beautiful Virgin of Quito. I fell in love. This is a virgin who is also called “The Dancing Woman” and “The Woman of the Apocalypse.” It was the latter name that helped me put the pieces together: crown of 12 stars, check; moon under her feet, check; dragon, check; shiny clothes, check; eagle wings, check; this chick is straight out of Revelation! So I dug out my trusty old New Oxford Annotated Bible and read what it had to say.

One well-known version of the story tells of the goddess Leto, pregnant with Apollo [and Artemis, thank you very much], who is menaced by the dragon Python who pursues her because he knows that Apollo [geez, stop forgetting Artemis!] is destined to kill him. Here this material is reinterpreted in terms of Jewish traditions and expectations as the story of the birth of the Messiah.

So there you have it. I’m excited. I love stuff like this. Sychretism=my favorite.

P.S. Do that poll thingie. I don’t feel like this blog fits too easily into any one of those categories, but hopefully you’ll disagree and help me with registering this durn thing in other people’s lists.