No-Lost Wednesday

So there isn't a new episode of Lost tonight. Bummer.

I pose a question to all fans of the Losties: In this last episode, a woman gave birth to a baby on the island. It's been established that when the Losties first crash landed on the island, pregnant women could not carry to term. What happened? Perhaps, it was the purge...or maybe...something the Losties themselves did in the past.

Some food for thought...

The baby is supposedly Ethan.

The glimpse of the statue! The boards all over the internet are talking about what it could be. Most people agree it is an Egyptian god of some sort. Here are the top contenders (all of which are very fitting!):

Taweret (Taueret, Taurt, Toeris, Ipy, Ipet, Apet, Opet, Reret) - The Great Female - was the ancient Egyptian goddess of maternity and childbirth, protector of women and children. Like Bes, she was both a fierce demonic fighter as well as a popular deity who guarded the mother and her newborn child.

She was depicted as a combination of a crocodile, a pregnant hippopotamus standing on her hind legs with large breasts and a lion. Unlike the composite demoness Ammut, her head and body were that of the hippo, her paws were that of the lion, and her back was the back of a crocodile. All of these animals were man killers, and as such she was a demoness.

...She was thought to assist women in labour and scare off demons that might harm the mother or child.

Childbirth and early infancy were felt to be particularly threatening to both mother and baby. Magic played the primary role in countering these threats; various evil spirits needed to be warned off, and deities invoked to protect the vulnerable. These magic knives, also known as apotropaic (that is, acting to ward off evil) wands, were one of the devices used. They are usually made of hippopotamus ivory, thus enlisting the support of that fearsome beast against evil.

The depictions on this knife encompass a range of protective images. They include a grotesque dwarf, probably known as Aha at this date, but later the more famous Bes, and Taweret ... both of whom are associated with childbirth.

...Apotropaic Wand, British Museum

SO This Egyptian goddess, Taweret, used magic to ward off evil so women could have successful childbirths. Interesting...

Next is Anubis!

Patron of: mummification, and the dead on their path through the underworld.

Appearance: A man with the head of a jackal-like animal. Unlike a real jackal, Anubis' head is black, representing his position as a god of the dead. He is rarely shown fully-human, but he is depicted so in the Temple of Abydos of Rameses II. There is a beautiful statue of him as a full jackal in the tomb of Tutankhamun.

Description: Anubis is an incredibly ancient god, and was the original god of the dead before Osiris "took over" the position. After that point, Anubis was changed to be one of the many sons of Osiris and the psychopomp (conductor of souls) of the underworld. His totem of the jackal is probably due to the fact that jackals would hunt at the edges of the desert, near the necropolis and cemeteries throughout Egypt.

Prayers to Anubis are found carved on the most ancient tombs in Egypt, and his duties apparently are many. He watches over the mummification process to ensure that all is done properly. He conducts the souls through the underworld, testing their knowledge of the gods and their faith. He places their heart on the Scales of Justice during the Judging of the Heart, and he feeds the souls of wicked people to Ammit.

Oh yeah, and Ammit.--quite a good resemblence to Smokey (aka the Smoke Monster):

Other Names: Eater of the Dead, the Devourer.

Patron of: destruction of the souls of the wicked.

Appearance: a demon with the head of crocodile, the torso of a leopard and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus.

Description: Ammit sits beneath the Scales of Justice before the throne of Osiris where she waits for the daily flow of souls to come before Osiris for judgement. During the Judging of the Heart, if the deeds of the soul being judged are found to be more wicked than good, Anubis feeds the soul to Ammit. This results in the total annihilation of the person, and there is no hope of further existence.

Hmmm...remember when Smokey killed Mr. Echo?

very interesting.

Horus

Patron of: the living Pharaoh, rulers, law, war, young men, light, the sun, many others depending on the particular variant.

Appearance: His most common form is that of falcon-headed man, but he is also shown as a falcon, a lion with the head of a falcon, or a sphinx. He is also shown as a falcon resting on the neck of the pharaoh, spreading his wings to either side of the pharaoh's head and whispering guidance in his ear.

Description: It is nearly impossible to distinguish a "true" Horus from all his many forms. In fact, Horus is mostly a general term for a great number of falcon gods, some of which were worshipped all over Egypt, others simply had local cults. Yet in all of his forms he is regarded as the prince of the gods and the specific patron of the living ruler.

The worship of Horus was brought from the outside by neighboring tribes who invaded and then settled into Egypt. He was their god of war, but was quickly absorbed into the state religion, first as a son of Ra, then changing to become the son of Osiris. He was the protector and guide to the pharaoh and later pharaohs were believed to be his avatar on earth. Horus was also the patron of young men and the ideal of the dutiful son who grows up to become a just man.

The most popular story of Horus is the one in which he grows to manhood to avenge the death of his father Osiris by battling against his cruel uncle Set. In many writings, he is said to continue to battle Set daily to ensure the safety of the world.

I bolded that particular part because it reminded me of Jack.

Really---I think the Egyptian theme is the way to go. It seems obvious that an ancient civilization inhabited the island; the heiroglyphics in the donkey wheel room, the four toed statue, the temple seen during Rousseau's team episode...and the fact that both Ben and Locke ended up in Tunisia...

but Charlotte also mentioned Ancient Carthage. And I still believe in the Atlantis theory.