Talk:Shirt of Nessus
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References in literature/fiction
editGoogle Books finds over 800 books using the phrase "shirt of nessus", so clearly we cannot mention all of them. In fact, I don't see any particular reason to mention any of them, except of the image of the shirt of Nessus is somehow a key or non-trivial element of the plot or imagery of the work. As far as I can tell, this is arguably true only of the T.S. Eliot passage, which combines the motifs of love and destruction. In the other case, it is simply an inescapable burden; in the Dumas passage, it isn't even inescapable -- de Villefort takes it off!
So I would suggest replacing this section with a much shorter one about the wide use of the term. --macrakis (talk) 03:20, 17 August 2009 (UTC)
- I agree, this is a classic case of the bulk of the article having little to do with the subject in question. If it wouldn't blank out the article I'd remove them all too. Lime in the Coconut 19:41, 12 January 2010 (UTC)
- Yes, I just went through and removed the incidental mentions. --Macrakis (talk) 17:59, 15 April 2022 (UTC)
Greek vs Roman
editThe article's second paragraph mentions Greek mythology, but then talks about Hercules (the Roman name). Should that be changed to Heracles for consistency ? It seems confusing to change the name used for the same man from paragraph 1 to paragraph 2. --Teraya (talk) 21:50, 29 April 2010 (UTC)
- The inconsistency stood out to me too. I'm going to reconcile the two names. 1RM (talk) 23:08, 21 April 2016 (UTC)
- The boundless unfolding richness of Greek mythology, and the interconnectedness of all its threads into a massive über-narrative of inconceivable immensity, is sadly contrasted with the paucity of incident attached to the Roman myths. As the Romans themselves believed their own gods (and demigods) were identical to those of the Greeks (indeed, to those of the whole world, albeit under different names), they considered it only logical to render Hellenic lore in their own literature with Latin names.
- And since Latin literature, and the Latin tongue, remained uppermost in Western European culture through the end of the Imperial period, and long antedating the Renaissance, the habit of Romanising the mythic figures of Greece has simply stuck.