Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes.Pdf

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes.Pdf ZEUS GRANTS STUPID WISHES A No-Bullshit Guide to World Mythology Cory O’Brien ILLUSTRATIONS BY SARAH E. MELVILLE A PERIGEE BOOK A PERIGEE BOOK Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA USA / Canada / UK / Ireland / Australia / New Zealand / India / South Africa / China Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England For more information about the Penguin Group, visit penguin.com. Copyright © 2013 by Cory O’Brien Illustrations by Sarah E. Melville All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or dis- tributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions. PERIGEE is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. The “P” design is a trademark belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data O’Brien, Cory. Zeus grants stupid wishes : a no-bullshit guide to world mythology / Cory O’Brien ; illustrations by Sarah E. Melville.— First edition. pages cm ISBN 978-1-101-61967-4 1. Mythology—Humor. I. Melville, Sarah E., illustrator. II. Title. BL311.O25 2013 201'.30207—dc23 2012042666 First edition: March 2013 While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone num- bers, Internet addresses, and other contact information at the time of public- ation, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for er- rors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does 4/494 not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. Most Perigee books are available at special quantity discounts for bulk pur- chases for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, or educational use. Special books, or book excerpts, can also be created to fit specific needs. For details, write: Special Markets, Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. To Tiresias Chang For giving me the idea for this whole thing in the first place. And to Christina Sheldon I met you in a bar when I was thirteen and promised to dedicate my first book to you. You probably thought I was joking. CONTENTS TITLE PAGE COPYRIGHT DEDICATION INTRODUCTION (Right after this table of contents, dumbass.) GREEK Cronus Likes to Eat Babies Zeus Sticks It to Semele a Little Too Hard King Midas Is: GOLDFINGER Tiresias Is TWICE the Man/Woman You’ll Ever Be Narcissus Probably Should Have Just Learned to Masturbate Persephone Is the Mother of Inven- tion . No, Wait . Hephaestus Gets Dicked Around a Lot 7/494 Orpheus Rocks Hard Friends Don’t Let Friends Bang Cows NORSE The Norse Are METAL Thor Gets Hammered Odin Gets Construction Discounts with Bestiality Fenrir Is a DILF Sex 4 Gold Thor Gets Jacked All’s Well That Mimir’s Well The End of the Norse World as We Know It EGYPTIAN Ra Has Sex with Himself Ra and Sekhmet, or: How Beer Saved the Universe Isis Has Bad Taste in Jewelry Thoth Is Just Giving Out Scorpions Horus Jerks Off in Set’s Salad 8/494 MAYAN The Mayans Have the Most Brutal Calendar Hunahpú and Xbalanqué: ULTIMATE BALLERS Zipacna and the Four Hundred Boys JUDEO-CHRISTIAN God Makes a Lot of Stuff Cain and Abel Invent the Sibling Rivalry Abraham Is Totally Cool About Stabbing His Kid in the Face Noah Is on a BOAT King Solomon and the Disposable Baby HINDU The Hindus Like to Chop Dudes Up Shiva Cannot Be Stopped Anything Kali Can Do, Shiva Can Do Better Ganesh Is the Very Definition of an Un- planned Pregnancy 9/494 JAPANESE Izanami Gets Real Sore Susanoo Has No Idea What He’s Doing Amaterasu and the Crippling Depression Tanukis Have Big Balls AFRICAN Obatala Has a Drinking Problem Local Father Discovers Immortality with This One Weird Tip! Eshu Elegba Is Probably the Last Dude You Want Approving Your Friendship CHINESE Pan Gu Is a Pretty Big Dude Chang’e Is a Substance Abuser Fei Chang-Fang and the Poop Mystic SUMERIAN The Ancient Sumerians Knew How to Party Enki and Nimmah Party Far Too Heartily 10/494 Gilgamesh and Enkidu: ULTIMATE BROMANCE NATIVE AMERICAN Wisakedjak Is Highly Irresponsible Killer-of-Enemies and the International House of Vaginas Rabbit Takes Summer Fun to the Next Level The Moon Is Made of Meat UNITED STATES OF AMERICAN The Creation Myth . of AMERICA John Henry Was a Steel-Drivin’ Man Paul Bunyan Was a Log-Drivin’ Man Pecos Bill Was a Cattle-Drivin’ Man Davy Crockett Talks a Big Game This Is What Tom Cruise Believes In CONCLUSION: The Prevailing Creation Myth ABOUT THE AUTHOR INTRODUCTION (Or, the Part of This Book You Can Safely Tear Out If You Need to Make It Slightly Lighter for Some Reason) ’Sup, guys. Here is a book I wrote, and I hope you enjoy it. A lot of what is in it comes from my website, which is on the Internet, but there is a lot of stuff that is only in this book too, like this introduction. So I figure I better use this opportunity to say some things about myths, and the writing thereof. First off, I think anybody who complains that a retelling of a myth is “inaccurate” doesn’t really understand what it means to retell a myth, or probably even what a myth is. (Yes, there are some non-canon additions in this book. I’m sure you’ll spot a few.) I 12/494 always stay true to the general arc of the story, but my retellings aren’t always canon in the obsessive fanboy sense. I have spent the last three years frantic- ally accumulating mythological knowledge and distilling it into what some have affec- tionately called “the death of intellectual- ism.” I am proud of this, because I think that lately, myths have suffered from a severe in- tellectualism overdose. Everybody’s always studying them in school, or reading watered- down versions of them to little kids, and what that means is that hardly anybody has the time to actually sit down and look at how fucking funny these things are. I mean, for a long, LONG time, the difference between a good story and a bad story was whether a bard could memorize it well enough to not get eviscerated by a mead hall full of drunk- en barbarians. These things are holy, sure, in a way. But they are definitely designed to cater to the lowest common denominator. 13/494 Speaking of common denominators, one of the guys who I read a lot of while I was making this book was a dude named Joseph Campbell. He wrote a book called The Hero with a Thousand Faces, which is both an in- credibly sweet title and an incredibly insight- ful book. One of the things he spends a lot of time talking about is how similar the mytho- logies of different cultures are, and how that arises out of our innate neurological similar- ities as human beings (you’ll see what I mean when you get a ways into this book). What I think is particularly interesting, though, and what I wanted to talk about here, is one of the things he says in his intro- duction, which is that a lot of the psycholo- gical problems that we experience today may stem from our rejection of mythology. Like, if this stuff came out of our common human brain problems, isn’t it kind of dangerous to pretend that they’re no longer relevant? I 14/494 mean, sure, they’re a little outdated, but that’s where I come in, my friends. We can rebuild these myths. We have the technology. We can make them snappier, flashier . it would be hard to make them sexier . But you get where I’m going with this. It’s been too long since someone snatched these myths out of the past and pitched them screaming into our everyday lives. In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell says that the role of the an- cient priest, the role of guiding people through their spiritual crises with mytho- logy, has been taken over by the modern psy- chologist. Well, I’m no psychologist, but I once talked to one for almost ten minutes at a grocery store, so come on: Let me massage your brain with my myths. GREEK Ahhh, the Greeks dead longer than America has even existed and still invading our lives with their myths. If you drive a car you may have bought auto parts from Midas. If you listen to Internet radio you might be acquainted with Pandora. If you got laid today you might have spotted a Trojan on the condom if you use condoms which you should but if you don’t then you’re probably a lot like Zeus and/or Aphrodite SO YOU CAN’T ESCAPE THESE MYTHS NO MATTER WHAT. 17/494 My friends, the extent to which we idolize these Greek myths is ridiculous. Poets can’t stop talking about them we carve crazy Greek-looking columns into all our national monuments we name our planets after (the Roman ver- sions of) them and NOW you are about to get the inside scoop on them. CRONUS LIKES TO EAT BABIES So everybody knows Zeus is the king of the gods right? WRONG. I mean, he is the king of the gods but first of all, not everybody knows that and second of all he wasn’t always the king of the gods.
Recommended publications
  • MAYA GLYPHS – Book 2
    Maya Numbers & TTTheThe Maya Calendar A Non-Technical Introduction to MAYA GLYPHS – Book 2 by Mark Pitts Maya Numbers and Maya Calendar by Mark Pitts © Mark Pitts 2009 This book is dedicated to the Maya people living today in Mesoamerica. Title Page: A Maya glyph signifying10 periods of about 20 years each, or about 200 years. From Palenque, Mexico. 2 Book 22:::: Maya Numbers & TTTheThe Maya Calendar A Non-Technical Introduction to MAYA GLYPHS Table of Contents 3 Book 2: Maya Numbers and the Maya Calendar CHAPTER 1 – WRITING NUMBERS WITH BARS AND DOTS • The Basics: The Number Zero and Base 20 • Numbers Greater Than 19 • Numbers Greater Than 399 • Numbers Greater Than 7999 CHAPTER 2 - WRITING NUMBERS WITH GLYPHS • Maya Head Glyphs • The Number 20 CHAPTER 3 – THE SACRED AND CIVIL CALENDAR OF THE MAYA • Overview of the Maya Calendar • An Example • The Sacred Calendar and Sacred Year (Tzolk’in) • The Civil Calendar and Civil Year (Haab) • The Calendar Round CHAPTER 4 - COUNTING TIME THROUGH THE AGES • The Long Count • How to Write a Date in Maya Glyphs • Reading Maya Dates • The Lords of the Night • Time and The Moon • Putting It All Together Appendix 1 – Special Days in the Sacred Year Appendix 2 – Maya Dates for 2004 4 Appendix 3 – Haab Patrons for Introductory Glyphs Resources Online Bibliography Sources of Illustrations Endnotes 5 Chapter 111.1. Writing Numbers wwwithwithithith Bars and Dots A Maya glyph from Copán that denotes 15 periods of about 20 years each, or about 300 years. 6 THE BASICS: THE NUMBER ZERO AND BASE 20 The ancient Maya created a civilization that was outstanding in many ways.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Origin of the Different Mayan Calendars Thomas Chanier
    On the origin of the different Mayan Calendars Thomas Chanier To cite this version: Thomas Chanier. On the origin of the different Mayan Calendars. 2014. hal-01018037v1 HAL Id: hal-01018037 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01018037v1 Submitted on 3 Jul 2014 (v1), last revised 14 Jan 2015 (v3) HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. On the origin of the different Mayan Calendars T. Chanier∗1 1 Department of Physics, University of Namur, rue de Bruxelles 61, B-5000 Namur, Belgium The Maya were known for their astronomical proficiency. Whereas Mayan mathematics were based on a vigesimal system, they used a different base when dealing with long periods of time, the Long Count Calendar (LCC), composed of different Long Count Periods: the Tun of 360 days, the Katun of 7200 days and the Baktun of 144000 days. There were three other calendars used in addition to the LCC: a civil year Haab’ of 365 days, a religious year Tzolk’in of 260 days and a 3276- day cycle (combination of the 819-day Kawil cycle and 4 colors-directions). Based on astronomical arguments, we propose here an explanation of the origin of the LCC, the Tzolk’in and the 3276-day cycle.
    [Show full text]
  • H. Braakhuis Artificers of the Days: Functions of the Howler Monkey Gods Among the Mayas
    H. Braakhuis Artificers of the days: Functions of the howler monkey gods among the Mayas In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 143 (1987), no: 1, Leiden, 25-53 This PDF-file was downloaded from http://www.kitlv-journals.nl Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 08:43:37PM via free access H. E. M. BRAAKHUIS ARTIFICERS OF THE DAYS: FUNCTIONS OF THE HOWLER MONKEY GODS AMONG THE MAY AS* Car j'installe, par la science, L'hymne des coeurs spirituels En 1'oeuvre de ma patience, Atlas, herbiers et rituels. (Mallarmé, ProsepourDes Esseintes) 1. INTRODUCTION In his study entitled 'Supernatural Patrons of Maya Scribes and Artists', M. D. Coe has been able to establish that the gods Hun Batz and Hun Choven, 'One Howler Monkey' and 'One Artisan', repeatedly occur as the subjects of funerary vase representations, dating from the Late Classic period (600-900 A.D.) of Mayan civilization. An important sixteenth-century Quiché-Mayan source, the Popol Vuh, presents these deities as the malicious elder stepbrothers of its heroes, Hunahpu, 'One Blowgunner', and his companion Xbalanque. In accordance with some of their functions in the Popol Vuh, the simians, or figures substituted for them, are depicted in the acts of writing and carving. In 1981, the article of M. D. Coe was followed by a chapter on scribes in the catalogue raisonné of codex-style vase paintings published by F. Robicsek and D. M. Hales. Although adding quite a few pictures of Howler Monkeys and other writing and carving gods, the authors did not present any new points of view but stayed within the confines of Coe's earlier explanations.
    [Show full text]
  • Hesiod Theogony.Pdf
    Hesiod (8th or 7th c. BC, composed in Greek) The Homeric epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, are probably slightly earlier than Hesiod’s two surviving poems, the Works and Days and the Theogony. Yet in many ways Hesiod is the more important author for the study of Greek mythology. While Homer treats cer- tain aspects of the saga of the Trojan War, he makes no attempt at treating myth more generally. He often includes short digressions and tantalizes us with hints of a broader tra- dition, but much of this remains obscure. Hesiod, by contrast, sought in his Theogony to give a connected account of the creation of the universe. For the study of myth he is im- portant precisely because his is the oldest surviving attempt to treat systematically the mythical tradition from the first gods down to the great heroes. Also unlike the legendary Homer, Hesiod is for us an historical figure and a real per- sonality. His Works and Days contains a great deal of autobiographical information, in- cluding his birthplace (Ascra in Boiotia), where his father had come from (Cyme in Asia Minor), and the name of his brother (Perses), with whom he had a dispute that was the inspiration for composing the Works and Days. His exact date cannot be determined with precision, but there is general agreement that he lived in the 8th century or perhaps the early 7th century BC. His life, therefore, was approximately contemporaneous with the beginning of alphabetic writing in the Greek world. Although we do not know whether Hesiod himself employed this new invention in composing his poems, we can be certain that it was soon used to record and pass them on.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Rubaiyat Khan 21H.301 Hesiod's Moral Teachings on Living In
    1 Rubaiyat Khan 21H.301 Hesiod’s Moral Teachings on Living In Hesiod’s poem “Works and Days”, he explains to his brother how to live a good life. He describes both moral and practical ways of leading life. However, his emphasis lies on the moral teachings rather than the practical ones. One of the overarching themes of his work is the importance of being just in life. Hesiod believes that Zeus and the other almighty immortal Gods punish immoral men and reward moral ones. Therefore, men must not be unjust or unkind to one another. Some of his teachings are clearly moral For example, he mentions the importance of treating one’s parents well multiple times in the poem. Hesiod’s obsession with justice and morality can be inferred from this importance that he places on taking care of ones parents. To him, being disrespectful to ones aging parents is unjust and unfair because parents take care of their children when the children are young and unable to take care of themselves. Thus it is only fair and just to the parents that the children take care of them when they are too old to fend for themselves. Hesiod believes that it is not only justice that Zeus asks of people. He describes other criminal acts that he believes will make Zeus angry. He mentions wickedness, violence, seizing someone else’s property, being ungracious to a guest, adultery and cheating orphans as examples of other crimes that warrant Zeus’ wrath. “But for those who occupy themselves with violence and wickedness and brutal deeds, Kronos’ son, wide-seeing Zeus, marks out retribution.
    [Show full text]
  • Loki's Wolves
    educator’s guide curriculum connections D Mythology D Adventure D Friendship Ages 8 to 12 by K. L. Armstrong and M. A. Marr BUILDING BACKGROUND VOCABULARY Who’s Who Exhibit Throughout Loki’s Wolves there are references to many The pantheon of Norse mythology places and events, but they can be difficult to pronounce or may not be as familiar to students understand. Most of the words of Norwegian origin are as Greek gods and monsters, so explained quite clearly by reading context clues. Ask a short research project could students to create a vocabulary guide for future readers help build a foundation for by finding examples of words that may be confusing to understanding Loki’s Wolves. non-Norwegian speakers or people unfamiliar with Norse Creating a “Who’s Who of mythology. Then, have students create a companion Norse Mythology” exhibit is dictionary, defining the words they find. This exercise can an interactive way to prepare be a service to future readers, as well as a way to practice students for reading. Begin with using context clues to understand unknown words. a list of Norse gods, monsters, and creatures for students to research. Then, ask each student (or small groups of WRITING students) to choose one character from the list. They Collaborative Story should complete a short “biography” of the mythological The authors of Loki’s Wolves, K. L. Armstrong and M. A. figure, including a physical description, explanation of any Marr, collaborated on the book, each choosing to write significant connections to other mythological figures, and one or two characters’ points of view.
    [Show full text]
  • Turtles from Turtle Island 89
    88 Ontario Archaeology No. 79/80, 2005 Tur tles from Turtle Island: An Archaeological Perspective from Iroquoia Robert J. Pearce Iroquoians believe their world, Turtle Island, was created on the back of the mythological Turtle. Archaeologically, there is abundant evidence throughout Iroquoia to indicate that the turtle was highly sym- bolic, not only of Turtle Island, but also of the Turtle clan, which was preeminent among all the Iroquoian clans. Complete turtles were modified into rattles, turtle shells and bones were utilized in a variety of sym- bolic ways, and turtle images were graphically depicted in several media. This paper explores the symbolic treatments and uses of the turtle in eastern North America, which date back to the Archaic period and evolved into the mythologies of linguistically and culturally diverse groups, including the Iroquoians, Algonquians (Anishinaabeg) and Sioux. Introduction landed on “Earth” which was formed only when aquatic animals dredged up dirt and placed it upon A Middle Woodland burial mound at Rice Lake Tur tle’s back (Figure 1). The fact that the falling yielded a marine shell carved and decorated as a Aataentsic was eventually saved by landing on Turtle turtle effigy. At the nearby Serpent Mound, was noted in almost all versions of the creation story; unmodified turtle shells were carefully placed in many sources it is noted that this was not just any alongside human skeletons. At the Middle Tur tle, but “Great Snapping Turtle” (Cornplanter Ontario Iroquoian Moatfield ossuary in North 1998:12). Jesuit Father Paul le Jeune’s 1636 version York (Toronto), the only artifact interred with specifically recorded that “aquatic animals” dredged the skeletal remains of 87 individuals was a mag- up soil to put onto Turtle’s back and that the falling nificent turtle effigy pipe.
    [Show full text]
  • Marvel Magic Race Human (0 CP): Good Old Homo Sapiens. Much The
    Marvel Magic Race Human (0 CP): Good old homo sapiens. Much the same as they are on pretty much everywhere. Individually they are rather insignificant physically and are generally nothing too impressive mentally or magically either, but earth and humanity play many pivotal roles on both the universal and multiversal scale, often ending up center stage – or right in the eye of the storm. And just because most of them are nothing impressive doesn’t mean that none of them are, as some humans are incredibly formidable even amongst the powerful beings of this world. Demon (200 CP): Demon isn’t a term meant to describe one uniform group of beings. Rather, it encompasses an incredibly diverse range of magical beings. Your appearance is largely up to you, allowing you to appear as anything from living flame to a classical demon with horns and bat wings to basically human or even something more bizarre such as a multi-headed snake. The only restriction is your base size must be between that of a squirrel and an average car. Your nature means that you’re likely to be at least several times stronger than a human as well as having natural talent with magic and more personal power to call on than humans. If you wish, you may instead choose to be the offspring of a demon and a human, with your natural form appearing to be a human but possessing the ability to take on more demoniac features when calling on your power or feeling anger. God (400): Perhaps the decadent gods of Olympus, the fierce warrior deities of Asgard, or perhaps completely alien gods worshipped by beings on other worlds.
    [Show full text]
  • Limits, Malice and the Immortal Hulk
    https://lthj.qut.edu.au/ LAW, TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANS Volume 2 (2) 2020 https://doi.org/10.5204/lthj.1581 Before the Law: Limits, Malice and The Immortal Hulk Neal Curtis The University of Auckland, New Zealand Abstract This article uses Kafka's short story 'Before the Law' to offer a reading of Al Ewing's The Immortal Hulk. This is in turn used to explore our desire to encounter the Law understood as a form of completeness. The article differentiates between 'the Law' as completeness or limitlessness and 'the law' understood as limitation. The article also examines this desire to experience completeness or limitlessness in the work of George Bataille who argued such an experience was the path to sovereignty. In response it also considers Francois Flahault's critique of Bataille who argued Bataille failed to understand limitlessness is split between a 'good infinite' and a 'bad infinite', and that it is only the latter that can ultimately satisfy us. The article then proposes The Hulk, especially as presented in Al Ewing's The Immortal Hulk, is a study in where our desire for limitlessness can take us. Ultimately it proposes we turn ourselves away from the Law and towards the law that preserves and protects our incompleteness. Keywords: Law; sovereignty; comics; superheroes; The Hulk Introduction From Jean Bodin to Carl Schmitt, the foundation of the law, or what we more readily understand as sovereignty, is marked by a significant division. The law is a limit in the sense of determining what is permitted and what is proscribed, but the authority for this limit is often said to derive from something unlimited.
    [Show full text]
  • Mayan Life Path Astrology Report for Carlos Santana Page 2
    Mayan Life Path Astrology Report for Carlos Santana Text by Bruce Scofield Copyright ®1990-2006 Bruce Scofield, Barry C. Orr Copyright ®2006 Astrolabe Inc. Mayan Life Path Astrology Report for Carlos Santana Page 2 Carlos Santana Autlan De Navarro, Mexic Jul 20 1947 2:00:00 AM CST Mayan Long Count: 12.16.13.11.4 Sacred Day: 184 Night Lord: 8 Birth Year: 1-South (Grass). The Astrology Of Time The ancient Maya and Aztec astrologers studied the mysterious influence of the rhythms of the sky on earthly life. Everyone knows the Sun rises and sets every day -- this is the basic rhythm of life around which we set our clocks and calendars. What the ancient astrologers discovered was that other time cycles existed that were multiples of this basic day cycle. This fact was discovered about 100 years ago in Europe and these cycles (there are many of them) are now called biorhythms. The most important time cycles in ancient Mayan and Aztec astrology are those of the day, 9-days, 13-days, and 20-days. Additionally, years are counted also, in groups of 4 and 13. Each day is then part of several other cycles, so no two days are exactly the same. Your Maya/Aztec horoscope below shows exactly where in each of the cycles you were born. Each category below examines a specific cycle and a specific aspect of your personality. Keep in mind that our personalities are complex and contain many contradictions. All of us present a different "face" depending on who we meet.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mayan Long Count Calendar Thomas Chanier
    The Mayan Long Count Calendar Thomas Chanier To cite this version: Thomas Chanier. The Mayan Long Count Calendar. 2014. hal-00750006v9 HAL Id: hal-00750006 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00750006v9 Preprint submitted on 5 Aug 2014 (v9), last revised 16 Dec 2015 (v12) HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. The Mayan Long Count Calendar T. Chanier∗1 1 Department of Physics, University of Namur, rue de Bruxelles 61, B-5000 Namur, Belgium The Maya were known for their astronomical proficiency. Whereas Mayan mathematics were based on a vigesimal system, they used a different base when dealing with long periods of time, the Long Count Calendar (LCC), composed of different Long Count Periods: the Tun of 360 days, the Katun of 7200 days and the Baktun of 144000 days. There were three other calendars used in addition to the LCC: a civil year Haab’ of 365 days, a religious year Tzolk’in of 260 days and a 3276- day cycle (combination of the 819-day Kawil cycle and 4 colors-directions). Based on astronomical arguments, we propose here an explanation of the origin of the LCC, the Tzolk’in and the 3276-day cycle.
    [Show full text]
  • Veröffentlichungen ARCO 2019/19 ARCO-Nepal Newsletter 19- ISSN 2566-4832
    ARCO Veröffentlichungen – Arco-Nepal Newsletter 19, October 2019 Veröffentlichungen ARCO 2019/19 ARCO-Nepal Newsletter 19- ISSN 2566-4832 Content page Latest constructions at the TRCC Budo Holi / SE-Nepal – a photo documentation 2 World Turtle Day 2019 6 Fourth TRCC Volunteer’s Day – 2019 (February 10th ), World Environment 6 Day (June 5th) and interactions with school children Reassessment of Herpetofauna from Jhapa District, East Nepal 9 Acknowledgements 18 Volunteering at ARCO Centres in Nepal and Spain 19 Membership declarations are posted on our website and on Facebook – just fill the form and send it to us by mail together with your membership fee. ARCO-Nepal reg. soc. Amphibian and Reptile Conservation of Nepal c/o W. Dziakonski / Treasurer, Edlingerstr. 18, D-81543 München. [email protected] CEO & Editor: Prof. Dr. H. Hermann Schleich, Arco-Spain, E-04200 Tabernas/Almería www.arco-nepal.de email: [email protected] Account-no. 1000099984 BIC SSKMDEMMXXX BLZ 70150000 Bank/Credit Institute: Stadtsparkasse Muenchen - IBAN DE95701500001000099984 Membership contributions and any donations from SAARC and Non-European countries please pay directly upon our account at the Himalayan Bank Ltd, Kathmandu (Thamel Branch), Nepal Account no: 019 0005 5040014 / SWIFT HIMANPKA SAARC countries please apply directly to [email protected] 1 ARCO Veröffentlichungen – Arco-Nepal Newsletter 19, October 2019 Latest constructions at the TRCC Budo Holi / SE-Nepal – a photo documentation After the handing over ceremony of the Turtle Rescue & Conservation Centre on April 6th , 2018 to SUMMEF and the Jhapa Municipality, SUMMEF started the concrete wall and fenced enclosure building for the 260 sqm earthen pond.
    [Show full text]