Nobody else has said much, so I'll help with what I can. For awhile this was one of my favorite mythemes and although I can't recall any specific info/theories about the significance of eating in the underworld, I may be able to at least point you in the right direction.

There is a chapter in Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces dedicated to these myths (there are dozens spread across the world), so you might want to check there first. I remember he detailed a number of these stories and recounted key similarities and differences, I just can't recall if he gave any specific info about the significance of food or drink.

I also recommend checking up the Mesopotamian myths of Inanna/Ishtar. Her stories feature all the templates for an underworld descent you mention here and it is possibly the oldest recorded work of literature (iirc some of the tablets that the story is recorded on are literally oldest narrative texts we've recovered). Her story is only slightly different in that she is a goddess and therefore the underworld she is visiting is her sister's realm. It's a great read and in particular I can recommend Diane Wolkstein's excellent translation/adaptation. This volume not only tells the story, but also provides a few great essays that might contain the answer you're looking for.

BEEN TRYING TO GET THIS NOTICED FOR WEEKS NOW - NOW THERE'S ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT.

LET'S HIJACK VALENTINE'S DAY

THE PLAN:

Put "Subscribe to Pewdiepie" in your V cards and give them to anyone who'd really appreciate getting a card, doesn't have to be a partner, give it to the nerdy girl or anyone who it would make their day to get a V-card.

I've put the effort into making one that you can just order and should *still* arrive in time, details below. But, there's nothing to stop you buying any old card and using the template below (obviously you'd be helping me out if you get mine, and it's pretty damn good if I do say so myself).

For the lazy among you who want the card I made (which took a ballsack load of effort to put together), you can find it here:

United States: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1794697217/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_T2AwCb179J50B

United Kingdom: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1794697217/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_fZAwCb2YPSJ7M

The inside of the card has the following poem:

I don't want roses,

I don't want a ring

I don't want a rainbow

I don't want you to sing

You warm my heart

Like the sunshine in may

But there's only one thing

That will brighten my day

I don't want to the moon

or the stars in the sky

If you really love me

SUBSCRIBE TO PEWDIEPIE

It has a heart-shaped QR code that will take your crush directly to the subscribe button

You may wish to start with Tolkien's own translation and commentary on Beowulf.

This reminds me to pre-order a copy. Looking on Amazon, I found these two options: option 1 and option 2

The seemed to have different ISBN numbers and different publishers, but the same page count and cover. Any idea which is the better option?

tl;dr: No, 'U' not exclusive to Ecclesiastical Latin in modern texts

The difference is mostly in orthography. In latin texts you'll see mostly three established ways of dealing with U, V, I, and J:

1. the Ecclesiastical orthography which treats the consonantal varieties (the ones followed by a vowel and therefore considered a consonant) as separate letters and write them as Vv and Jj (confer jam and vir but insignia and unus), where the vowel varieties are written as Uu and Ii, respectively.
   
   
2. the modern orthogragraphy (which most editions will use) which distinguishes between Vv and Uu, but does not use the letter Jj (iam, but still vir)
   
   
3. the more true to classical orthography (which I've observed in Ganiban's Aeneid 1-6) doesn't differentiate at all, and instead merges the Vv and Uu forms to write the UPPERCASE as V and the lowercase as u resulting in fun things like Vlixes.
   
   EDIT: Ganiban seems to use the modern orthography as well, but still writes capital U as V which is just confusing to me. Can anyone say whether this is the standard?
   
   EDIT2: for an example of the third 'classical orthography', confer the Oxford Latin Dictionary.

Read this.

The first book, Hyperion, is good for background.

tl;dr Commercial culture would spread throughout the universe, fucking up entire planets and creating permanent underclasses.

If this is something you do regularly, I'd recommend checking out this book. It contains several really good hymns to Inanna, the Sumerian/Babylonian goddess associated with Venus and love.

It's way too close to the word inane for my taste.

However, if you want to consider it, I found this book linked in an article about the goddess (along with a poem wherein she wondered who would plow her vulva, so take that as you will) that purports to gather the pieces of the goddess's story as told by the ancients. I'm seeing a lot of conflation with Ishtar and even Aphrodite, so goodness knows how accurate any of this stuff is.

My personal favourite work on the subject of Inanna-Ishtar is Ishtar by Louise M. Pryke as part of Routledge's Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World series.

It's quite expensive in hardback form, so I suggest trying out the Kindle edition or searching around elsewhere. Perhaps you'll be able to find it in another format.

Also, of course, there's Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth by Diane Wolkstein. I've heard very good things about it, but haven't been able to get to it yet, unfortunately.

For correspondences, things of a Venusian nature might work very nicely. :)

Tolkien wrote a longer essay on Tom Bombadil, but I dont remember what additional information he had to add. You can find it in The Tolkien Reader

Actually - let me recommend On Fairy Stories by a little known author. It's short, easy to read, and good. The other works in that book are worthwhile, too.

Not directly Catholic, but insanely Catholic.

Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion (collectively known as Hyperion Cantos) by Dan Simmons. easily my absolute favorite books, ever - not only are they well written, they mingle theoretical physics and science fiction in a way that makes my nerd girl toes tingle with anticipation.

*edit: words everywhere! also, don't want the pizza (I'm sure someone else can put it to much better use than me). just want to share good books :)

Could it be the Long Price Quartet? Haven't read it, but I've heard it's an actual fantasy series about banking.

I too have only Wikipedia'd :)

A pair of great epics that I have read and can give my highest recommendation are the two Hindu epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. They read like mystical, lyrical action adventure books, complete with haughty gods, cruel demons, heroic humans, lots of sex, violence, flying saucers, and battles that span hundreds of pages.

And yet, ironically, he's the one with a new book scheduled to come out this year.

An ebook I found today about killer nuns! Quack Quack...I would act like a duck for a klondike bar.

Mechanics of Reincarnation is on Gumroad and Kindle and Smashwords. Check out the physical book on Gumroad because it's actually quite nice imo -- we went with a Risograph printing process, and with a sleeve like an album. Also -- you don't have to buy my book, I performed and edited a film of it in a psychedelic style, and I'm putting it up in twenty parts on YouTube one part a week. I'm on part six coming up tomorrow.

>What do you believe is the role of the modern poet?

I think it's to expand poetry to a revelance. If you buy we're in a Closed-Mind Crisis, which I truly believe we are, then I think it's poetry's role to forge an approach to meaning-making without the propagandic assumption. The modern poet's role is to fix the world. To skate out onto Kierkegaard's thin ice for the real thing.

>What poet(s) did you imitate, starting out? Alternatively, what poet(s) do you hope to be like in the future?

Octavio Paz, Tranströmer and Ben Lerner. Little bit of Anne Carson and Tracy K Smith. A lot of Emily Nelson. I want to be Mac Vogt. I want to research neurophilosophy much more deeply. And I want a deeper romanticism.

>What's the most recent thing to inspire one of your poems?

Breaking up with my girlfriend after watching Call Me By Your Name + struggling with declining viewership of my YouTube series and no sales outside of close family, even as I still believe I'm making one of the best things in the world.

Try this book: http://www.amazon.com/Inanna-Queen-Heaven-Earth-Stories/dp/0060908548/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318607856&sr=8-1

Hi, I'm late. I really feel like you two are connecting with Inanna - she is a very ancient queen deity who has moon, snake, and wings imagery as well as being a very dark/light goddess. She rules over Heaven and Earth, is connected to the Morning/Evening Star, and is a fertility/sex goddess as well as a war goddess. She's not a mother goddess, though, not soft n squishy at all. I think you should maybe try to read this book and see what that does for y'all. Book link]

The Fall of Hyperion - The first one was too good not to continue.

The Bhagavad Gita centers mainly around Krishna, one of Vishnu's most popular avatars. It takes place during a war. The family of Arjuna, who is a king, betrays him. Both sides ask Krishna for aid in the war. To remain neutral, Krishna gives his army to Arjuna's family and Krishna becomes the personal Charioteer of Arjuna. As they are about to enter the war, Arjuna becomes conflicted. Krishna reveals to Arjuna that he is an avatar of the god Vishnu. The entire text is the conversation between Arjuna and Krishna. Krishna gives Arjuna advice on how to live a spiritual life on all accounts. Devotees of Krishna place an extremely high value on the Bhagavad Gita.
Here is a link to an English translated version of the text: https://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Easwarans-Classics-Indian-Spirituality/dp/1586380192/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494927615&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=bhagavad+gtia
And here are links to Krishna sites: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna
http://www.krishna.com/info/about-krishna#

Kalki is said to be the last avatar of Krishna. He has yet to be born. At the end of the Kali-yuga (which is the time period we are in,) Kalki is said to be born ina hidden paradise called Shambhala. He will ride across the Earth on a white steed and cleanse the Earth of evil, returning us to a golden age of peace.
here are some links to pages about Kalki:
http://www.yoga-philosophy.com/eng/kalki/kalki.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalki

Although this next one is more controversial, a lot of people believe Buddha to be an avatar of Vishnu. There isn't really a specific book or site to go to for this one, but there are several books on Buddhism and documentaries on the Buddha.

Another popular Vishnu avatar is Rama. Rama is said to be the perfect man. His story is told in an epic called the Ramayana, in which his wife is kidnapped and he must rescue her.
English version of Ramayana: https://www.amazon.com/Ramayana-Modern-Retelling-Great-Indian/dp/0865476950/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1494928047&sr=8-2
Sites for Rama: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama

There are a lot more avatars of Vishnu, but these ones are the main ones. For a bigger list, they are links to all of the major ones here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu

It's also good to keep in mind that beliefs on who the avatars of Vishnu are vary from region to region and from tradition to tradition.

> there's an empty space on the shelf.

Space for the upcoming Beren and Luthien!

> (there never will be new canon in that universe again)

Think again!

Just throwing this out there because I'm super excited for it.

Its canonical status might be somewhat debatable, so take it how you will, but Christopher's compiled, novel version of Children of Húrin is pretty great!

https://www.amazon.com/Beren-L%C3%BAthien-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/1328791823

For the lazy
https://www.amazon.com/Beowulf-Translation-Commentary-J-R-R-Tolkien-ebook/dp/B00J3V9PTO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518491269&sr=8-1&keywords=tolkien+beowulf

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

Giants of the North: A tale in Verse

>A dark power is sweeping across the land.
Our lone hero hears of a strange disturbance in the forests, and travels north to lend aid.
What he finds there is more than he can comprehend, but is it all as it seems?
A tale of adventure and magic, told in verse.

A pretty short poem, in total this is a 25 page booklet. Currently running a promo, the ebook can be downloaded for free at this link:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GT42DWB/
Enjoy :)


​

Sorry for your disappoint. However, you STILL might find some historical writing pretty fascinating. Try reading Inanna, Goddess of Heaven and Earth or Sumerians, might just be what you're looking for.

One of the oldest writings in the world is a prayer to Inanna, written by a priestess named Enheduanna. Read more here.

Here is a big book of Inanna's stories and hymns.

Among other interesting things, Inanna might be the first dying-and-resurrecting Underworld traveler, setting the stage for everyone from Persephone to Christ. Read about her Descent into the Underworld.

I recently reread the entire Harry Potter series, because I was being nostalgic that day (it's been over 10 years since Order of the Phoenix came out). I finished Inferno by Dan Brown yesterday, and I'm waiting on The Fall of Arthur to arrive so I can read it.

Here you go! Just got released a month or so ago

AMG this works very well for this contest. I'd be happy to give you my address for this contest, have you over, and make you dinner.

I absolutely love Tolkien related anything....

Imladris

Book 6 of 10 in the Amber Chronicles.

And then I'll jump back to the Hyperion Cantos with The Fall of Hyperion

• I LOVE the Life of Pi. I recommend reading the "editorial reviews" because Amazon does a terrible job summing up how great the book is.
  
• I also highly recommend the Ramayana this is the version I read. I like this retelling because, while long, it give you a sense of what this story truly is--an Indian epic.
  
• Books by Deepak Chopra (I suggest looking through reviews of diff books to see if any catch your eye).
  
• The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality
  by the Dalai Lama because it is a very sincere book and I can almost visualize what he is saying.
  
• If you're in the mood for a bit of silliness, I recommend The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible because while being funny, it does teach you a little bit of the lesser known tenements of Judaism and Christianity.
  
• Last but not least, I recommend reading travel books. If you look for well written (read: not just looking for cheap laughs) books, even if they don't intend to, they inevitably talk about their personal views on the world--their personal religions.

It is worth remembering that Abraham also wrote the Long Price Quartet. This is right in his wheelhouse.

I love reading up on the lore of LotR! Iirc, the new Beren and Luthien book just came out this week and I plan on getting it soon! Oh happy cakeday too!!

This one is me.

Working on a shorter book that's unrelated when I'm not super sick, then gonna go back and do book 2 of this series.

The Keys of Death and Hades ($6.66 on amazon and barnes and noble)
.

This is an epic poem I am working on. This is the first book in what I am planning to be a 6 part series which follows the story of Lucifer after the fall from heaven and his attempt to bring war back to God for all creation.

Book description:
The story of Lucifer's fall from heaven is well known. His wicked nature is legendary, surviving for many years, yet as all conflicts go there are two sides. These opposing sides each with their own reasons and justifications. Knowing only part of the story is worthless. The Keys of Death and Hades is the first book in the Epic of Lucifer. It is the story as it happened through the Wyrm's eyes. What could be so precious that Lucifer would dare defy the will of God, supreme creator of all, fail and try again?

Link for Purchase:
https://www.amazon.com/Keys-Death-Hades-Epic-Lucifer/dp/1535211016/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472763128&sr=1-1

It is now available on Amazon in paperback. Cost was a little high due to the full color artwork:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542873541/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1498049366&sr=1-1&keywords=blake+sherwin

eBook will be available within 72 hours.

Hey guys, I've made a Valentine's day card that subscribes your sweetheart to Pewds.

Let's work together to hijack Valentine's Day and get as many wamen and manwamen to subscribe to Pewds out of luuuuurrrrve.

If you want to send one yourself (and we all should) you can find it here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1794697217/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_VoavCbV4REX75

*I'll send one card for every upvote (due to limited funds, being a student and all, this extends to a maximum of 100 upvotes )

New FREE book LOVE, contains 100 poems dealing with Love, Lust, and everything in-between. Some are about heartache, some passionate.

​

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QPB862Q

Sort of. :D

http://analogicalplanet.com/Pages/ContentPages/Sidebars/BurneyRelief.html

Innana, Ishtar, or Lilith, fine woman all the same. ;)

https://www.amazon.com/Inanna-Queen-Heaven-Earth-Stories/dp/0060908548

https://www.amazon.com/Hebrew-Goddess-3rd-Enlarged/dp/0814322719

https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Goddess-Evolution-Image/dp/0140192921

http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/descent-inanna-underworld-5500-year-old-literary-masterpiece-007296

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inanna

She's not quite yet forgotten by history. Transformed, twisted and turned, but always around in one form or another. One eras angel, anothers demon, and so it goes.

But the ones who strike down the malignant of those with the will to power.. Just shadows in the darkness. Eaters of tainted souls. Sometimes they get mixed up with various demon/devil myths.


The Erinyes live in Erebus and are more ancient deities than any of the Olympians. Their task is to hear complaints brought by mortals against the insolence of the young to the aged, of children to parents, of hosts to guests, and of householders or city councils to suppliants - and to punish such crimes by hounding culprits relentlessly. The Erinyes are crones and, depending upon authors, described as having snakes for hair, dog's heads, coal black bodies, bat's wings, and blood-shot eyes. In their hands they carry brass-studded scourges, and their victims die in torment


Colorful certainly, not always 100% accurate, but good campfire stories rarely are.

Take the ending of one particularly rotten pair of apples.



He says he promised the leader each day that he and his wife would be moved to Bucharest for a proper trial.

But his superiors had other plans. They hastily arranged a military trial at the base that was video-recorded.

The museum director says the day before, a Romanian official came from Bucharest and told his colleagues: "We'll do them here." Carstina says it proves the decision to execute the Ceausescus was made beforehand.

Kemenici was also bothered by the lack of any evidence during the trial. "The only thing on the table were the glasses of the chief judge," he says.

He adds that Ceausescu didn't believe he was getting due process either, calling it a conspiracy by Kemenici's superiors and other opponents. To this day, some Romanians still think the entire revolution was a planned coup d'etat, especially since many members of the communist regime became part of the new government.

"He didn't believe they were doing this on their own," Kemenici says. "He told me that the Americans and Russians got together to do this."

The trial, which began on Christmas Day, lasted less than an hour, Carstina says, adding that the chief military judge, Gica Popa, delivered the verdict after only minutes of deliberation.

He declared both Ceausescus guilty of genocide and sentenced them to death.

Video footage shows it wasn't until paratroopers assigned to carry out the execution arrived that the couple finally grasped what was about to happen.

Nicolae Ceausescu shouted: "I have the right to do what I want!"

His wife, Elena, struggled and cursed at the soldiers. She shouted: "Don't tie us up!" and "Don't offend us!"

They were hauled outside, lined up against a wall and shot dead by one of the paratroopers. Carstina says it happened before the camera could be turned on.



https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/12/24/369593135/25-years-after-death-a-dictator-still-casts-a-shadow-in-romania


Perhaps a bit rushed, but sometimes its best to hit the delete key rather than risk tainting things even further. Such is life. ;)