For those who are mythologically challenged, such as myself, it turns out that Dame Necessity, (Ananke, in Greek) is the mother of the Moirai (Fates). She is mentioned in Plato and is associated with the spindle and with the cosmos. The Spindle of Necessity is the cosmic axis.
Both the object and the nymph are thus identified. And the object itself can be seen to have been built as a rebus. The axis of the cosmos, the spindle of Ananke, the cosmic spindle has been turned into a spindle that represents the cosmos. It's very clear in 5061. It's a rebus. The VMs representation looks like a derivative image, like something that has been borrowed from a more detailed original.
This technique of turning the cosmos into a spindle is a distinctive bit of trickery, given there are currently only the two known sources. Does this have any influence on the date of VMs composition? Perhaps other data will turn up?
The stars are not difficult to 'understand'; they are the background against which the action takes place.
Both the object and the nymph are thus identified. And the object itself can be seen to have been built as a rebus. The axis of the cosmos, the spindle of Ananke, the cosmic spindle has been turned into a spindle that represents the cosmos. It's very clear in 5061. It's a rebus. The VMs representation looks like a derivative image, like something that has been borrowed from a more detailed original.
This technique of turning the cosmos into a spindle is a distinctive bit of trickery, given there are currently only the two known sources. Does this have any influence on the date of VMs composition? Perhaps other data will turn up?
The stars are not difficult to 'understand'; they are the background against which the action takes place.