(urth) Cumaean???

[gwern0 at gmail.com]

On 2007.12.14 12:31:50 -0500, stoneox17 at aol.com scribbled 2.0K characters:
> I suspected that this had something to do with the Cthulhu mythos, and
> indeed Googling
> shows that August Derleth wrote a story in which the Great One Cthugha
> can only be
> summoned when Fomalhaut is in the sky. ("The Dweller in Darkness,"
> which I have not
> read.)
>
> Peter S.

That would make sense. Fomalhaut is a red star, "its name means "mouth of the whale", from the Arabic فم الحوت fum al-ḥawt", and it was interesting for its isolation from other bright stars. And reading <https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Cthugha>, I am struck by the last line of the quotation:

"Unable to resist, utterly powerless to control his movements, he was diving headlong towards that ravening chaos, that age-old intelligence which was Cthugha."

You have to admit, 'age-old intelligence' is pretty close to the Cumaean's wording.

--
gwern
Peking DREC CATO Koancho imagery Cross Ermes TRANSEC fish Psyops
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