I know all of you Epicureans really love the smiling monkey-skull logo at the top of our group page, which comes from the mosaic in Pompeii. ;-) If you are not familiar with the background and the images on the mosaic, it is an excellent piece for challenging us all to think about death, and it is a good stimulant for discussion of Epicurean philosophy in general. On the other hand, it is not necessarily the thing we want to look at *every time* we come to the group. We are thinking of making a change, and since this is a discussion group, we welcome discussion on the existing logo and potentials for replacement (or rotation). Wed like to see any logos of course convey a distinctly Epicurean theme, but were just at the beginning of discussing new options and open to any reasonable ideas. Elli prepared the attached Garden logo as an example of a collage with direct references to the four points of the tetrapharmakon. In this logo, dont fear gods is represented by the smiling Venus at right, dont fear death is represented by the smiling monkey-skull, whats good is easy to get is represented by the leaping piglet from Herculaneum, and whats terrible is easy to avoid is represented by a scene featuring the Epicurean Petronius from the movie Quo Vadis. We probably wont use this one for long, if at all, in part because the Quo Vadis scene requires explanation (as does PD4, for that matter). In this scene from Quo Vadis, Petronius has been told that Nero has ordered him to be executed. Instead of cowering, in best Epicurean fashion Petronius calls a party at which he composes an elegant poem tearing Nero apart. He then calls the doctor (behind him in the photo) to assist him in suicide. As Epicurus said, suicide is a last resort, and he is of very small account for whom there are many good reasons for ending his life. On the other hand, there can be no terror in living for those who know there is no terror in dying, and those pains that are most severe are short. This scene therefore is a great way to discuss these crucial Epicurean tenets. But lets face it, the message doesnt exactly jump out at you unless you know the historical background. To those who do not know the Epicurean viewpoint, the scene looks more like a marriage ceremony than a suicide. Some of those who are married tell those of us who are not married that the two ceremonies have distinctly different results. On the other hand some tell us that the results are the same. Im frankly not sure which, but that discussion takes us fairly far from Epicurean philosophy! ;-) I am also attaching a second version, with the same four elements, but this one superimposed over a photo of the replica of the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum. Feel free to use either or both as you see fit. If you have commentary on subjects, themes, etc that would make a distinctly Epicurean logo, please let us know. Graphics like this have many uses, and wed love to see your suggestions!
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 20:09:33 +0000