Abaia and Erebus

Lee Berman · 30 Jul 2010, 05:27 · from 2010-July.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:27:57 -0400
Subject: (urth) Abaia and Erebus
Message-ID: <SNT123-W14219373EFCE57080DF69CFAA0 at phx.gbl>

Jeff Wilson- That last related tale puzzles me. The very large, very pale "pandours"
suggest armed and armored siblings of Idas.

Perhaps the pandours and undines are related. I take these pandours as being the
 "cold, pale warriors of Erebus" that are mentioned. Somewhere in the text there
is a mention of the reconcilliation of Erebus and Abaia and this scene combining
pale warriors with undines and a deeper underwater presence might illustrate the
collaboration or conjoining.

In The Tale of the Student and His son, we have the Naviscaput who raped Night, 
almost surely a reference to Nyx the primordial Greek goddess of Night. Severian
overtly associates the Naviscaput with Abaia, but the Greek legend has Nyx mating
with her brother, Erebus. Perhaps more evidence that Erebus and Abaia are basically 
aspects (portions?) of the same being.

In Greek mythology, among the offspring of Erebus and Nyx is Charon, the Boatman
of the dead. Many find an allusion to Charon in Dorcas' husband, the tiny old man
so "bowed and shrunken by age"  who describes Father Inire with, "just a little man
he is, with a wry neck and bow legs".

(can't pass up the chance to mention Rudesind here also advocate of the dead).

I see this character as the possible family connection between Severian and the 
great, alien powers of Urth.

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