The navel of the world: belly buttons, innies and outies
John Raffensperger Fort Meyers, Florida, United States Rounded stones near Ahu Te Pito Kura on the north-eastern coast of Easter Island. Thought to symbolize the “center of the world” to the culture of the Polynesian people who first arrived at the island. 2013. Photo by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen. Via Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 3.0 In […]
Gluttony: rise, fall, and resurgence of a capital sin
F. Gonzalez-Crussi Chicago, Illinois, United States Figure 1. The emblem of gluttony as a woman with protruding belly, carrying wine, and accompanied by a pig. Left: Georg Pencz (1500-1550). Right: Jacques Callot (1592-1635). The notion of gluttony (gula in Latin, meaning throat, gullet) was born among the Desert Fathers. These were hermits who […]