Friday, October 20, 2006

What's in a name?

There exists a dominatrix called Hera. This fact boggles my mind. Why a domme would name herself after the Greek goddess of marriage is beyond me. I mean, what does she do? Flog single men until they vow to marry? Whip married men until they promise to be faithful to their wives?

I understand the allure of using names from mythology, but the effect is completely ruined when you don't bother to read the myths and learn about their significance. Would you fly with Icarus Airlines? Yes, they really did exist.

On the other hand, sometimes a carefully selected name gives away too much of the game. I'm hardly the only one who watched the first season of HBO's Rome wondering what dreadful fate would befall the lovely Niobe. (No idea what I'm referring to? Read this Mythography entry that explains it all.)

Niobe
Niobe

2 comments:

SunflowerP said...

Hera = strong female = dominatrix.

Not only a sadly shallow grasp of classical mythology, but a sadly shallow grasp of feminine strength (implying similar lack of grasp of the D/s power exchange).

I'm not D/s, I just read a lot. I'm not sure Mistress Hera can say the same.

Sunflower (working off some snark from elsewhere)

The Oracle said...

I would be happy to give your snarks a new home here. Quality snark is hard to come by these days.

Yes. If you look at the most popular myths about Hera and interpret her actions as strong, I'd say that you have a rather unhealthy idea about strength. Manipulation? Vindictiveness? Eh.