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littlemanpoet · 03-22-2005, 10:20 AM

Good questions, Shelob. The trouble with making distinctions is that they often kill something inbetween. Thanks for keeping that something alive. You're quite right that there is a lot of overlap. Like I said, both are fine to talk about, especially as they dovetail - I just have a focus on the one over the other.

You mention how the Greek myths had it that the living could pass into the lands of the dead. This is also true in Celtic myth. LeGuin writes it into her EarthSea series, too, and Pullman has it in his Dark materials trilogy; however, the land of the dead in those two trilogies has the darkness, grayness, lack of hope, that seems to be more associated with Greek myth, as opposed to Celtic and Tolkien and Lewis; then again, aren't the Halls of Mandos like the dark and gray, too?

03-22-2005, 10:20 AM	#2
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	Good questions, Shelob. The trouble with making distinctions is that they often kill something inbetween. Thanks for keeping that something alive. You're quite right that there is a lot of overlap. Like I said, both are fine to talk about, especially as they dovetail - I just have a focus on the one over the other. You mention how the Greek myths had it that the living could pass into the lands of the dead. This is also true in Celtic myth. LeGuin writes it into her EarthSea series, too, and Pullman has it in his Dark materials trilogy; however, the land of the dead in those two trilogies has the darkness, grayness, lack of hope, that seems to be more associated with Greek myth, as opposed to Celtic and Tolkien and Lewis; then again, aren't the Halls of Mandos like the dark and gray, too?