I’m totally out of my element talking about chess, but I’m not going to let that stop me. ;~)
Chess is particularly apropos for Eric to be playing at this point in the plot because the object of the game is to capture the king, rendering him powerless, which is exactly what Eric needs to do to Russell somehow.
Talbot’s chess set is based on Greek mythology and loaded with meaning. Zues and Aphrodite are king and queen, and Asklepios, the snake wielding god of healing, is the bishop. The centaur is the knight, and Pan the pawn.
First Eric leads with Aphrodite the Goddess of Love, but Talbot captures her replaying Eric giving up his queen to Russell.
Then he checkmates Talbot with a bishop, Asklepios.
In addition to being a healer, he is the son of Apollo, the Greek god most closely associated with the Hebrew god because of his association with truth, light, knowledge, healing, and prophecy. This is significant because Eric is frequently portrayed as both a healer and the Son of God.
Petulantly Talbot wiped the board when Eric’s win was a foregone conclusion. However, several of Eric’s pieces are left standing. Is there any significance in them? All that is left on the board is Zues, a rook, and 3 pawns in the form of Pan, the god associated with panic.
Thanks for bringing this up Renee!
I’m pretty much fail at chess too, but Eric is white right? And white always makes the first move right?
Sidenote: I like how the knights are centaurs. I love centaurs. (I’m a Sagittarius afterall,
)
Good point about white!
Haha! Go centaurs!
Zeus represents Eric, the king. The three pawns represent Bill, QSA, and? all of whom he will use as pawns in his quest to save his queen, Sookie.
and Hadley .Chess is a game I love to play .
Yes it is foreshadowing they will have to work together
Hadley–yes!
This is very interesting Renee. I’ll have to just enjoy reading, since I know zip about chess. Didn’t even know that white went first. Good to learn something new everyday.
Renee, where are you reading that it takes two bishops to checkmate? As far as I know you may checkmate a king with a piece on the board as long as you leave the king no way to take your piece or no place to move. It is very possible to checkmate with a rook and a pawn.
Hi Osterby! Thanks for the info. I was looking under checkmate in Wikipedia, they have a section on two bishops. Now that I look further down they have some scenarios with one bishop in conjunction with some other pieces. I’m on my way out, so I’ll have to correct it about tomorrow morning.
I was so glad to see the reference to Chess and Eric. It is a game that one has to think ahead when playing. Each player must anticipate the other’s reactional moves. Most of the time it is a guess. The better player you are the more educated a guess you are able to make. As in Backgammon there are standard moves. However, a player’s first moves on the board tell the other player the tale of the other’s stratagy. It truly is a thinking man or woman’s game.
Playing chess is a game of stratagy .But it is to take the other pieces and put into check mate .
Doing a false stard in the frist moves can make ther other play think you are weaker then you are .I play chess and I stard out with a piece knight( horse piece)
Knight moves are in a L shapes 2and 1 …..like this
;.or .; OR the l can be at top left or right .I will used this like it is my the piece I like when turth is I can take any piece and use it as much as a knight
People I play with will all ways go after my Knights by then I have their queen .It call setting them up to win .
Let the other side all way think your weaker and then go in for the kill .
Eric had a knight left check it out .
sorry about the spelling I can see that my moderate brain damage kick in ,rhythmic electric impulses didn’t recognize the letter going in the wrong place of the word’s.
Yes, it is a good game for Eric and for this point in the plot. I got a kick of Talbot and Eric’s card playing. He assumes it’s Kaiserspiel (The king’s Game) but Talbot says no, it’s karnoffel, a game this was considered immoral because of its anarchy allowing low cards to trump higher ones, which is what the lowly king of MS is doing taking on The Authority, and what Eric will do to him.
http://www.pagat.com/karnoeff/kaiserja.html
Zeus is interesting.
He is the god of the sky and Sookie is sky fae.
Some of his epithets:
As Zeus Xenios, Zeus was the patron of hospitality and guests, ready to avenge any wrong done to a stranger.
As Zeus Horkios, he was the keeper of oaths. Exposed liars were made to dedicate a statue to Zeus, often at the sanctuary of Olympia.
As Zeus Agoraeus, Zeus watched over business at the agora and punished dishonest traders.
As Zeus Aegiduchos or Aegiochos he was the bearer of the Aegis with which he strikes terror into the impious and his enemies
As Zeus Meilichios, “Easy-to-be-entreated”,
As Zeus Tallaios, or “Solar Zeus”
Eric the healer (Askelepios) checkmates the black king, but Eric the god of gods (Zeus) is the ultimate result.
Ok, your piece is going under my symbolism idea about the chess pieces!
well a link to it
Thanks TTB! You’re article is so insightful. You gave me a lot to think about.
Finally! I was expecting something about this, lol.
It suits Eric a lot to play chess, he is a ruler, born to be a king and kept on high steps. He is an strategist and is going to win as he won Talbot.
The scene reminded me a lot to the one, on seasson 2, about Laffayette and his reading of cards, each of them in their own way.
I don’t know though if the game talked about this seasson or the whole series, but whatever, something is there, as always.
I think this really points up for the casual viewer that Eric is a strategic thinker.
Hello. First-timer. Glad to find this site. I used to be a quick guide to Greek mythology as a child but now I struggle to name the major gods/goddesses. The one thing I did notice though was the painting in Russel’s Study.
http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/9140/russellstudy.jpg
A bit hard to decipher since it’s out of focus. There is another being in the background. At first I though it was Aphrodite and her son since it looked short and well pudgy. But they are usually interacting in paintings. And second thought was Diana who usually had her entourage with her.
Thought it of some importance since it’s in Russell’s study but also because Eric is shot right next to it. Much appreciated.
When I saw the picture I thought of Leda… But I haven’t found it so I must be wrong… I’m trying to find it though… I think I know which one it is, but I can’t place it, it is frustrating, I know most paintings.. It’s a pity the image isn’t better, I might have known the author. lol.
THis kind of details are usually quite important.
Welcome, Iyala! I’ve been fascinated with Russell’s art, too, but I haven’t had much luck identifying anything beyond the bust of Hermes. I took a second stab at the nude after reading your post, but didn’t turn up anything.
I’d kill to find out about that red painting with the crucifix composition. Godric had a painting that could be described the same way in his study. In RE’s there is a second image of two figures struggling superimposed over the dominant image.
That picture over the mantel in RE’s study is driving me mental. Is there a screen cap that could show the subject matter? Maybe that could begin to narrow it down.
This one?
http://s1002.photobucket.com/albums/af142/ancientpythoness/True%20Blood/?action=view¤t=3x03_0900.jpg
Thanks Renee. That Red Painting looks like the people have some sort of middle eastern headgear. Can’t get a better handle on it unfortunately. Someone out there must have seen this. I have to admit I never have until it appeared in TB. ARGHHHH.
IMO it looks like a female, Spainish, 16th or 17th century.
Tho it could just be me, but doesnt it look like she has a chessboard in front of her?
Although it’s very dark I think the painting in question is Boucher’s ‘Cupid and Venus’
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u316/geeport/bou_ven.jpg
You got it! Thanks for solving the mystery.
Thanks! That was my first guess but you’re right it was too dark. It looked more like draping than another person.
Thanks! Finally! lol… The pose is so caracteristic, different from most of Aphrodite’s ones. But with the light it was difficult to see the technique..
Won’t you know too which one is the red one in the studio that we see when Eric and Talbot play chess, I’m so intriged… But can’t place it at all.
BTW, the title of the Boucher’s is “Venus consoling love”… We have a lot about cupid aroun TB, And now, consoling?
Interesting…Bill and Sophie Anne?
[...] This chess piece Eric used to win the chess game could possibly be in the image of a fairy and/or goddess and it is probably not a coincidence. Will Eric win the battle with Sookie in his corner or does this simply mean the viking will prevail, even at a cost of the queen? My friend Renne has a good theory over at her blog the ancient pythoness about what the chess game and what it represents http://www.ancientpythoness.com/2010/08/13/checkmate/ [...]
I have a few other artwork that I wanted to ask about with better quality than my last but imageshack is throwing a tantrum right now and my new links turn up blank pages. I’ll have to wait.
On another note. Just a quick stray off topic. I don’t know if you’ve discussed this. But I wondered why they picked day lilies to feed Tara besides being edible and making her taste better for Talbot.
I found nothing really besides this one article.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brigitte-mars/delightful-day-lilies-wit_b_642023.html
Key points:
*Origin the Greek words hemera , meaning “day” (goddess of the day)and kalos, translating to “beautiful”.
*Considered beneficial to the lungs, mind, and for strengthening willpower. (Maybe she should’ve eaten them)
*Day lilies symbolize coquetry, mothering and are associated with the twentieth wedding anniversary.
Coquetry:behaviors of a coquette; flirtation.
Coquette:a woman who *endeavors without sincere affection* to gain the attention and admiration of men. In Tara’s case to placate Franklin and gain her freedom.
Mothering: I know it’s been speculated that Tara may be pregnant but I think in this context it may allude to her protectiveness over Sookie. Freeing her. Attacking Bill in the truck and protecting her still in the hospital at the belief that he was still a danger to her. She mentioned in S1 how sometimes she acts like her mother.
The gathering in her home after Gran’s death. Lafayette has to pull Tara back from Bill just as he did in the hospital when she sees him race to her room and comes upon him shaking her. When she only had a bad dream. And he thought she had been choked to death.
You bring up a good point about the daylilies.
I love the idea that they are edible, but Talbot didn’t know how to prepare them, and Tara didn’t know how to eat them. LOL!
IDK what to make of the symbolism, but the connection to pregnancies sis certainly intriguing.
I think we are talking about a different painting. The one I mean visually reads red and looks almost like an upside down cross. My error saying it was over the fireplace mantel. It’s the shot of Eric and Talbot and the painting is behind them.
Serena, I’m sorry. This should be posted under your reply. My bad.
Sorry Bobsgran.. I got my head in the sandbox over there. Barely know what you guys are talking about anymore. LOL.
No worries Serena. Lately my head is filled whygrammawhygrammawhygramma. It’s hard to form a response when all you can think is “I can eat my cereal faster than you”.
This one?
http://s1002.photobucket.com/albums/af142/ancientpythoness/True%20Blood/?action=view¤t=3x05_1124-1.jpg
In this shot, in the full sized image you can make out the line drawing of two figures struggling superimposed on the predominant image. There was a similar hieroglyph.
That be the one. It’s still driving me batty. I will try to devote some more time to finding it this weekend. Hieroglyph….hmmmm.
Thanks Renee.
It looks to me like a reddened photogragh of a gathering of the College of Cardinals. Perhaps to crown the Pope. See the figures kneeling before a central figure, who is standing with raised arms? There are two mitre-hatted figures standing behind the central figure. Maybe we’re looking at an image of the vampire pope.
Hmmph. I was wrong. There are TWO central figures.
I’ve enlarged it as much as I know how, used a magnifying glass and still can’t figure it out. It’s a ceremony of some sort that’s for sure. Could it be a wedding, if there a two central figures?
Sunny, I could totally see that if it weren’t for the lower section of the painting. Those drums exclude it from being a Catholic ritual or assembly IMO.
Drums in large numbers like that have military, not religious connotations. With the lined drawing of the two figures struggling, the painting looks to me like some kind of ritualized recreation of the battle between two gods, like sumo wrestling is the ritual performance of two gods struggling over possession of the Japanese islands.
Maybe the ritual involves a struggle between the two figures in light robes against the two figures in dark robes.
Some of the figures in the semi-circle seem to be playing drums, two different kinds, and there seems to be lightning type zigzags running through the picture. The drummer’s hats look a bit like a Father Christmas’ and they seem really familiar but I can’t quite place them.
They look like Fez to me. Maybe we’re looking at a super-secret Masonic ritual of some kind. Shriners are composed of Master Masons. Boy, if you wanna get into some conspiracy theories…
Oooooh. That could be fun. They do look like Fez types of hats. I keep thinking about that movie that was playing when Eric visited LaLa to cure his bullet wound in S2. Flying carpets and such.
Sunny, that could tie in with RE being a druid/Celt (?) Maybe I’m reaching?
Beyond myth, there is a distinct absence of documentation as to Freemasonry’s origins, which has led to a great deal of speculation among historians and pseudo-historians alike, both from within and from outside the fraternity. Hundreds of books have been written on the subject. Much of the content of these books is highly speculative, and the precise origins of Freemasonry may very well be permanently lost to history. Some believe the scant evidence that is available points to the origins of Freemasonry as a fraternity that simply evolved out of the lodges of operative stonemasons of the Middle Ages. Others have disputed whether stone masons were ever organized formally into guilds, and have criticized the suggestion that Freemasonry evolved out of such organizations as a trite myth, stemming merely from the fact that the fraternity uses stone masonry as the core allegory for the organization of its symbolism. In any event, the matter of the origins of Freemasonry continues to puzzle and mystify historians.
The origin of Freemasonry has variously been attributed to: King Solomon and the construction of the Temple at Jerusalem,[1] Euclid or Pythagoras, Moses, the Essenes, the Culdees, the Druids, the Gypsies, or the Rosicrucians,[1] not to mention the intellectual descendants of Noah.[2] Some of the more popular theories include Freemasonry being an offshoot of the ancient mystery schools,[3][4] or that it is an institutional outgrowth of the medieval guilds of stonemasons,[5][6] or that it is a direct descendant of the “Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem” (the Knights Templar).[2][7]
There are other lesser-known theories, such as:
Freemasonry is an administrative arm of the Priory of Sion,[8]
Freemasonry is the intellectual descendants of the Roman Collegia[9]
Freemasonry is the intellectual descendant of the Comacine masters[10]
Freemasonry had its beginnings particularly in the German Steinmetzen, or the French Compagnonage[1]
Freemasonry was created by Francis Bacon, Oliver Cromwell, or the Stuart Pretenders to the British Crown.[1]
Freemasonry was a result of Sir Christopher Wren and the rebuilding of St. Paul’s Cathedral[1]
Here we go making connections. RE quoted Kipling to Bill during the cigar smoking. Kipling was a Mason?
Apparently so.
they can use the whichever origin myth suits them, and slap the conrpiracy theories concerning Mason’s on top of TA. They already started it, with that postmortem from ‘the informer’.
Freemasonry: Two organizations, one visible the other invisible (like the AVL and The Authority)
http://www.cuttingedge.org/free001a.html
Well, well, well. We have links to Satanic rituals, tarot and telepathy and others. This is fascinating. I think we found a common ground for RE and the New World Order. Could Bill be part of a Lodge and his original mission to secure Sookie and her telepathy? My mind is racing right now, links to the Illuminati, Eyes Wide Shut movie. Must stop and organize thoughts. Sorry for the ramble.
I linked to that site before I realized they mention the Protocols. Blech!! But, the article does give some hints as to where we may start reasearching. For instance, I dimly recall a theory about Mason’s inserting themselves into the affairs of men in times of conflict. I know RE seems opposed to TA but I’m thinking RE simply represents one faction of a powerful elite. Elite factions are often in conflict for one reason or another.
I like this connection! I wonder if there’s anything else that points to the masons…not sure if I’d recognize it if I saw it, though.
I’m probably off base here, but the hats and drums look
Chinese to me.
There are definitely two different pictures, the one behind Eric and Talbot when they are playing chess
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u316/geeport/vamp/redpic.jpg and the one I think you are talking about…http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u316/geeport/vamp/redpic1.jpg I’ve boosted it as much as I could and it looks like a gathering of men from some middle eastern state (they look as if they are wearing some type of turban/headress and there are loads of drum players, the overlaid figures seem to be wrestlers or something similar.
Gee, it’s the second painting we’re talking about. You have the best screencap of it I’ve seen. In your image, addition to the two central figures struggling, you can see ghostly images on the sides backing each wrestler. The one on the left is wearing an elaborate turban which fits in with all the figures that are wearing fezzes. The ghostly image on the right looks more like a Greek god to me.
I did think they might be a type of fez too but couldn’t think what place it might be or the period.
oops sorry, something went wrong with the second link!
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u316/geeport/vamp/redpic1.jpg
What do you think of this?
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u316/geeport/janissaryband.jpg
These are ‘Janissaries’ a standing personal guard/army belonging to the Ottoman sultan from the mid 1300′s on whose recruits included a wide range of people (including Christian Greeks), according to wikipedia families were quite keen to let their young men enrol because it could be a door to great social advancement. The janissaries had their own bands which had a very distinctive sound.
Could the Janissaries be part of Talbot’s history?
Great picture gee. That’s the closest we’ve come to the one on the wall.
Now this is getting real interesting…Eric spoke of shape shifting jackals at the Battle of Constantinople and the Janissaries were there, too. That could be where Russell and Talbot met, if he was really younger than he claimed. If he really was 700, he could still have been a Janissary when he was human.
Wiki says the Jannissaries were the first standing army in Europe. This fits in so well with Skarlove’s theory (and Eric’s LOL!) about RE appearing at key places in history with his wolves and also supports the idea that he may have stole the pack originally from Harold Fairhair (and/or Ulfric) who was the first king to use berserkers, which were thought to be wolf men.
That’s brilliant, they look really similar and the backstory sounds plausible.
The janissaries also were involved in the introduction of Turkish wrestling, (they fight in leather trousers + covered in oil – sounds exotic!) that might match in with the central figures that overlay the main image.
Ha! You nailed it! The two struggling figures are Turkish grease wrestlers!
Very homoerotic. Before wrestling the opponents oil one another up, and the object of the match is to get your hand down your opponent’s pants. ROTFL!
http://www.edirnegezi.com/Kirkpinar_guresleri.htm
http://www.virginmedia.com/sport/galleries/wacky-sports-2008.php?ssid=11
http://www.flashnews.com/news/wfn07100702fn6201.html
http://www.daeschner.com/eurotripping/oil_wrestling.html
“When Cazgir calls for the event to begin, the wrestlers strides together, to the accompaniment of the magnificent drums and pipes, similar to the traditional tsuzumi drum and pipe corps. This is the ritual for the entering the field, which is called “Pesrev”.”
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/bayside/yokohama/En/doc/kirkpinar2.html
Is this the opening ritual depicted in the painting? Are the rows of robed figures facing each other about to throw off their robes and wrestle each other?
With the Turkish ghostly image on the left and the Greek ghostly image on the right seems to connect it to the Fall of Constantinople. Does the painting reduce the battle to a wrestling match or does it depict a celebratory bout of wrestling after the victory?
I knew if we asked your brilliant readers, someone was bound to lead to the answer. I can sleep now. YEAH!!!! Thank you gee, anna and Renee.
I can sleep now.
You and me both!
When we put our minds together, there’s nothing we can’t figure out.
According to Prof. W.—–Conspiracy theorists have long associated Freemasonry with “The New World Order” and the Illuminati, and state that Freemasonry as an organization is either bent on world domination or already secretly control world politics. Historically Freemasonry has attracted criticism and suppression from both the politically extreme right (e.g. Nazi Germany) and the extreme left (e.g. former Communist states in eastern Europe). The Fraternity has encountered both applause for supposedly founding and opposition for supposedly thwarting liberal democracy ( such as the U.S.A.)
Bobsgran, you might enjoy this
http://www.masonicinfo.com/illuminati.htm
That was great anna. Nice to see Robert Anton Wilson and the Illuminatus Trilogy mentioned. Number 1 offspring has promised it for Christmas.
Just noticed we are hellishly off topic. Hope Renee isn’t going to be too miffed at us.
Heck no! I love this stuff. I understand why it’s important to stick to the subject at SVB, but this blog is the place to explore ideas, where ever they lead. If that’s to something completely unrelated to the show or personal, no problem.
Well, if Nan is the spin doctor for the AVL and the link I posted is a spin for the masons we can kind of get it back on track as RE going batshit after Talbot’s death is the ultimate PR nightmare. Talbot swept the chess pieces onto the floor and now so has RE. Is that OK?
LMAO. Works for me.
Fantastic connection, Anna! Can’t wait to find out how Nan and TA react to Batshit Crazy Russell Edgington (henceforth BCRE).
OH I LOVE IT ANNA!
Really like the acronym BCRE!
LOL
This was just posted on the Sookie Stackhouse forum. it’s the AVl’s very own website with Nan at the helm
http://www.americanvampireleague.com/index.html
OK. Why is it listed as happening August 30?
Anna, that has been up on the AVL site for a while. I read that over a month ago. (?)
Osterby, I didn’t know it existed until I saw the link. I haven’t read through it, is it worth doing so?
Sure…there are the some funny vids…Hbo has a link to it on the TB Channel. I watch it. They haven’t posted anything new in quite a while.
Check out my latest posts over at Sunny’s….
Will do!
I have no idea! Maybe it’s part of the PR put out after the backlash to BCRE, unless TB world is in a different time frame/universe, who knows?
There’s that dang space-time continuum again. There are time warps in the last episode re:Bill and Sookie. Now this. It’s making my head hurt.
Time for some chocolate?
Hi Renée,
Thought you might like this random link.
According to TB Pam’s surname is Swynford de Beaufort. Katherine Swynford de Beaufort’s sister Phillipa married Geoffrey Chaucer.
Chaucer wrote a poem called the Book of the Duchess in which a Knight plays Fortuna and loses his queen and was checkmated.
LOL! You know me so well! I love this. Eric called Godric Swine, Sookie is identified symbolically as a pig, and apparently Pam is, too. ROTFL!
All the white imagery may be significant too since Eric is associated with the white stage of the alchemical process.
The poem starts with Chaucer reading Alcyone and Ceyx, another myth from in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. She was the daughter of the the ruler of winds and he was the morning star. Switch that around–Bill is windy and Sookie is a star giving off light. They thought so much of each other that they called one another Zeus and Hera, eclipsing the god’s rightful position and angering them. In Sookie’s mind, Bill walks on water and she is his reason for existence. Because they took for themselves, the worship due to the gods, Zues upset his ship with a thunderbolt killing him. After he appeared to her as a ghost, she threw herself into the sea. The gods took pity and turned them both into kingfishers, which could go back to all the bird imagery in TB.
Glad you liked it!
I’ve been waiting for a link to Chaurcer but I thought it would come though the Canterbury Tales. AB–the master of misdirection. LOL!
I tend to think laterally!
I didn’t go as far as the myth but I did post the Chaucer link over on SVB first but realised as soon as I had that it was probably the wrong place.
Straight lines do get you from Pam to royalty/purple but I thought the Chaucer connection was far more interesting.
Totally get what you are saying. I started this blog because, while some forums were more hospitable to a deeper interpretation than others, there was none that was willing to go all the way with me. LOL!
This is what happens when you show up to a party too late. Here are some photos that I took notice of. A few familiar but can’t quite put my finger on them. If anyone minds.
http://s840.photobucket.com/albums/zz327/ImaGem11/TB/