Monday, May 27, 2013

uroboros



uroboros [jʊərəʊˈbɒrəs] n. also ouroboros, uroborus.

1.) The symbol, usually in the form of a circle, of a snake (or dragon) eating its tail (O.E.D. 2nd Edition).

Etymology: adaptation of Greek οὐροβόρος, devouring its tail (frequently connected with δράκων, dragon).

"At times, I found myself marvelling at the way that HBO has solved the riddle of its own economic existence, merging "Hookers at the Point" with quasi-Shakespearean narrative. In the most egregious instance so far, Littlefinger tutored two prostitutes in how to moan in fake lesbianism for their customers, even as they moaned in fake lesbianism for us—a real Uroboros of titillation." (The New Yorker, Emily Nussbaum, 2012).


(Eternity Seated by a Fire, Holding a Tablet with the Ouroboros in Her Left Hand, Her Right Hand Leaning on a Sphere, as Wisdom Stands Nearby Leaning on a Staff Encircled with a Scroll Inscribed Rerum Magistra, Arnould Houbraken, ~1690)