(urth) The Osiris complex

[Nick Lee]

Something that I've been thinking about lately is Dionysus' journey to the
East. There is an obvious connection here between Wolfe's own life and the
protagonists of the Urth cycle. There is also an apocryphal story of Christ
traveling to the East, but in the case of Dionysus (as with Wolfe and his
protagonists) the journey is one of warfare.

Dionysus -- fights in the East
Wolfe -- fights in Korea
Christ -- travels to the East
Severian -- fights the Ascians
Silk -- wars with the Trivigaunte
Horn -- leads the people of Gaon in their war

Some other connections: Severian's blade contains mercury, named for
Dionysus' foster father; Silk carries an azoth (means "mercury"). If you
accept that the Rajan's staff is an inhumu, it could be a reference to the
caduceus, the twin-snaked staff of Mercury or to the thyrsus.
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