I am wondering when peacocks were introduced to Mythic Europe?
and more important, associated mythology.
Apparently in Hindu mythology, Mayura the peacock is pictured having captured a snake. The snake supposedly represents the cycle of time. Any Criamon interested ?
The peacock is a domestic animal already in classical Egypt, Greece and Rome. It is the bird holy to Hera, who transferred the hundred eyes of Argus slain by Hermes onto its plumage.
They are mentioned in the Capitularies of Charlemange that each of his manors (he toured his Empire extensively and stayed at manors in each place) should have among other things a peacock. They were also associated with longevity and immortality due to the colour of teh peacock feather not fading with time.
Here is a mundane one I statted up a few years ago:
Mundane Peacock :
Size : -2
Characteristics:
Cun: -1
Per: +3
Pre: +3
Com: -1
Sta: +1
Str: -4
Dex: -2
Qik: +4
Abilities
Brawl 2 (Dodging)
Awareness 4 (food)
Athletics 3 (flying)
Qualities
Domesticated:
Imposing Appearance
Keen Eyesight +3 to all roll involving sight
Eater of Snakes: +3 rolls versus poison, +3 Brawl against serpents (made up by bob)
I also made a magical version for a familiar, but I've misplaced the base of that (the copy I have got was has been advanced in play) but magical qualities involved getting Presesnce up to +5 and Second sight., and I think sense Holiness and Unholiness.
I knew I had posted this before:
and the sense holiness and unholiness (although definitely motivated by myth) doesn't quite work for a Mgical being.
bob
Here are lots of photographs from medieval representations of peacocks.
More are here .
The peacock is a christian symbol of resurrection, immortality and paradise.
IIRC, in older editions the peacock was the symbol of the Order of Hermes proper. In 5th edition the 4th degree of the Green Cockerel (TMRE p.46) is called Peacock: this symbolizes the initiate joining the Cult as an active member.
The Sense Holiness and Unholiness is based on the tail feathers ability to counter the Evil Eye. This is why the great Papal canopy fans are edged with peacock feathers.
The Yazidi use the peacock as the symbol of the repentant Satan., the divine viceroy of Earth.
When I created one as a heartbeast for the Bad Apples game on the PbP area, I took the pheasant stats from Lords of Men and added a couple of levels of the Imposing Appearance quality.
More precisely, for the Yazidi Tawuz Malik (spelling varies) "the peacock angel" is Satan, the mightiest of angels, who refused to bow to man. But about his repentance we have two different accounts.
The first is that indeed, God casts Satan into hell. There, Satan repents, and cries seven seas of tears. And his tears quench the fires of hell and earn him forgivness and the role of divine governor of Earth.
The second is that, when everyone but Satan bows to man, God says "Tricksy me! It was just a test! Obviously you angels are my emanations, so you are not supposed to bow to man. Since Satan was the only one smart enough to get it, he gets to be my governor on Earth".
The two stories are quite different. But not only do they begin in the same way, with the command to bow to man, which Satan refuses as in the Christian and Muslim mythology. They also end in the same way, with Satan as the governor of Earth, and no hell at all -- as hell gets snuffed out by Satan's tears in the first myth, and it never gets created in the second. This contrasts with Ars Magica cosmology, so those preaching the Yazidi myth are probably diabolists in the game.
Unfortunately, this idea that Yazidi are diabolists does not exist solely in the Ars Magica game.
They have been persecuted for centuries as devil-worshippers in the real world by local Christians and Muslims. Even in the last decade.
Yeah, I think this was a very clumsy move to mirror that in ArM...