The Ephesian Heads Stone
as it was in 1996

And as it wasn't in 2003
(Not that I could see at any rate)

While going through my stacks of prints looking for examples of House Heads, I came across a picture I took of an extraordinarily chiselled, or plastered, or otherwise somehow or other sculpted rock when I was in Ephesus a few years ago now.

The rock's right up there with the Faerie Tree behind Kensington Palace off London's Hyde Park in terms of sheer weirdness. Unfortunately I only took the one picture of it and it clearly deserved more attention. Also have no idea if it's ancient or comparatively modern, although I suspect the former, -- if 2000 years counts as ancient any more!

There's no doubt somebody put an effusion of effort into chipping all sorts of faces and shapes onto this stone, so I thought I'd play around with my scanner and isolate some of the images that particularly struck me.

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First off, the thing's evidently a kind of diptych, that is to say it's divided in two. Looking at it, the right side dominates so that's where we'll start.

What probably grabs your eye straight away is the little faerie fellow holding the snake and blowing his nose. (Unless he's rubbing his eye due to a proximity of halitosis.)

First thing that hit me is the much bigger head to his left. The elbow of the nose-blower's non-snake-holding arm is just above the creature's mouth, its right eye an inch or two above the little figure's head, and out of its perhaps up-turned nose extrudes some kind of carbuncular knob.

Should be able to spot the splotch about where you'd look for a nose to be once you've identified the creature's mouth, right eye and lower jaw. Upper jaw area's somewhat more expansive than one would expect but there's no doubt in my mind it's supposed to be a head.

Next question is, -- the head of either what or, as the case may be, who? Don't know, do I? Be happy to speculate, though.

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There's a strong suggestion of an intense Vegetation God, wouldn't you say? I would. (And just did, -- or did I do that already?) Reason I do say that is because it reminds me, almost spookily so, of a DC comic book character known as the 'Swamp Thing'.

I'd scan in an image of this 'Swamp Thing' character but I don't want to get into trouble with the Copyright Cops.

(Which, believe me, has happened before. That's why, with very few exceptions, the only stuff I put out here in Cyberia are photos I've taken myself or images I've scanned in from the old comic books, -- my old comic books.)

Another thing you've probably noticed by now is that, when it come to this oversized cabbage-head (ouch!), there are heads within heads. Lettuce (double-ouch!!) look at few of them now, shallot we?

(And if you think that's a treble-ouch!!!, you should check out a few of the Fishisms one of my seemingly ever-recurring characters comes up with over in Gambit and Moon!)

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Of the four I've picked out, the first is the most obvious face. I suspect it's a masque of sorts; possibly related to that of either Tragedy or Comedy, which would make a degree of sense given the massive Ephesian amphitheatre is close by. Reminds me of Popeye a little.

Next one's the nose-blower. Snakes are a common symbol of fertility and sexuality all over the world -- and not just that of the Ancient Greeks. Some of my Hellion/Etocretan characters from the Heliodyssey Tetralogy and Ringleader's Revenge are inordinately fond of slither-hithers.

For example, Medea of the Ararats, who spends a lot of time in 38's series of stories slip-sliding out of Sorciere's garrotte-grip, is described by her own husband, Jason Annulis, as a serpent-suckler. (That's in one of his milder moments.)

Another one, Megaera born Kinesis now Zeross, who also plays a prominent role in Revenge, acquires a Fury's scourge in Vamp. Plus, Electrocretan's lightning rod, when it's not a lightning rod, -- well, let's just say it has to be fed.

As for the two eye-guys, the one who seems to grow around the vegetation Rockhead's right eye strikes me as a happy-go-lucky sort of sylvan or tree sprite.

[Just buy the buy -- as in buy it! -- "Feeling Theocidal" features a mother and daughter pair of not-so-happy, even downright unlucky sylvans.]

A few of his cousins might be lurking over in Faeries; a couple of the nose-blower's as well. Might even be some outside your window, if you look closely enough. Definitely a plethora of the pesky little, and not so little, critters in Volsung.

There was a more complete shot of right eye-guy earlier on. Given that perspective, the bit I described as the creature's eye looks rather more like the sprite's arm. Which would make the leaf-like object on the end of it his hand.

What, only 4-fingers? Much like Hellion Grudge, referred to above, -- except Meg actually has 9-fingers; the tenth was bitten off, Ring of the Nebuland attached to it, by Count Molech in Moloch.

If there's something of the flora about right eye-guy, there's a lot of the faun or satyr about the guy who occupies the area around where the vegetation creature's left eye should be. Note the ears and beard.

Got fauns in Volsung too. Actually there's only one, Pusan Wanderlust, and she's a fauna; that is to say female. Faerie farts call her 'Goat' but, fortunately for one of my characters, she's possessed of a devil with a knack for ... well, that would be telling, wouldn't it?

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In terms of the left hand side of the diptych, I didn't find it quite as interesting.

There's an obvious mother goddess figure, a bodacious babe from all appearances, and a kind of metallic-looking monster's head that may represent an automaton or demon.

Certainly has nice teeth and a big, pointy nose. Eyes are a little difficult to make out (piggy nostrils?) but I also thought it was reminiscent of medieval knight's bever.

Of particular interest to me is the ghostly head the mother goddess figure's breasts seem to be indicating.

Someone said it reminded them of something out of the Scream movies, but I was immediately struck by its similarity to the Ghost in the Cliff photo that's been gracing my Home Page out here in Cyberia for a few years now.

Maybe, one of these days, I'll get around to compiling all the faces and heads randomly scattered throughout PHANTACEA on the Web and stick them on a single, easy reference webpage like I used to do with images lifted from the old comics.

Sounds like too much work though. Besides, isn't it nice to just hit a link and come across something you've never seen before. Or am I the only one who likes surprises?

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