I have no real comments on the answer, I guess, other than the fact that as a man it would be rather fun to have a “state of sustained orgasm”. My problem is with the question: as far is I know, Tiresias is not a prophet of any kind. There does exist a myth that a man named Tiresias was once punished by a god to spend ten years (more or less) as a woman. After he became a man again, Zeus and his wife Hera were arguing once over who had the most pleasure during sex, the man or the woman. They called Tiresias before them, because he had lived his life as both male and female, and therefore could anwser the question. When asked, Tiresias replied: “Take the male orgasm, and multiply it by nine, and you still wiil not get the feelings that a woman gets when she has an orgasm.” After that, he was punished again. Not by Zeus, as one would imagine, but by Hera, for disclosing the secrets of a woman to men.
Uh oh…did he also tell them how women can find car keys from three rooms away?
jarbaby
Tiresias appears in many myths, chiefly as a prophet.
Judging from personal experience, I would guess the woman gets a LOT more out of it.
There’s an old joke, used by comedian Rusty Warren in her act (although I don’t know if she originated it) that went like this:
“Stick your finger in your ear when it itches and scratch. Which feels better, your finger or your ear?”
Maybe this is the knowledge Tiresias got, but was killed by Hera before he could reveal.
Tiresias’ punishment from Hera was blindness. Zeus, of course, didn’t like to see his buddy punished, but he couldn’t directly reverse Hera’s punishment, it being the direct act of another deity. He could, however, make up for it, and so he gave Tiresias the gift of prophesy as a replacement.
Big T’s most notable appearance as a seer was in Oedipus Rex, but also as recently as T. S. Eliot’s “Wasteland”: “And I, Tiresias, once blind, now see…”
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Who gets the most pleasure from sex, the man or the woman? (05-Jan-1990)
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I think you mangled that quotation. I heard it and was so struck that I’ve remembered it verbatim ever since. The way I heard it, it goes “if the pleasures of sex be counted as ten, nine go to the women and one to the men.”
Well, you’ve both mangled the quotation, because it was originally in Greek, not English. It looks to me like BorgChild got a more literal translation, and Chas.E got a poetic translation. No big deal.
Many thanks to Chronos for correcting me about Tiresias not being a prophet. Seems like I didn’t get the full story, and I’m always willing to admit my mistakes.
As for Chas E., I actually like your translation much more. I also guess that yours was the more literal translation, because most mythes were poetic in nature. The quotation is used only brought forth the meaning of what Tiresias said, without the articulacy. I have got to remember that quote.
[[Uh oh…did he also tell them how women can find car keys from three rooms away?]] jarbabyj
Huh. I guess I need me a good woman, then. Who’da thought?
Jill
Nah, literal translations of poetry usually end up being in prose, unless it’s two closely related languages (like Middle and Modern English, for example). You have to put in a little extra work and change a few words around to turn it back into poetry. In this particular example, the meanings come out pretty much the same, but sometimes things can be changed considerably that way. It’s a question of whether you value the sound or the meaning more.
As an experienced hypnotist I can assure you that a womans ability to orgasm is virtually unlimited as when in trance she can be made to orgasm at will and for as long as she can physically take the pleasure/pain.
From The Perseus Project’s copy of Apollodorus’ Library and Epitome, 3.6.7, Tiresias’ quote says:
which I inexpertly translate to “One part alone of ten does a man enjoy, but the ten does a woman fill, enjoying a thought.” I guess my Greek is too rusty to be helpful.
Foxhole I don’t think that is true for all women. I know some who will never have any organisms for as long as they live–under hypnosis or otherwise.
And as far as that “ear thing goes”, it is not telling it like it is. A finger is not a penie. Penies have feelings and an ear does not have the muscle contractions, and undulations like a “you know what” has in a woman. So saying that, I think men have lots of pleasure from it because men always bother women for their powerboxes. And women seem to have the most pleasure because they are more verbal and they can’t help being verbal.
I feel sorry for the women you know, or know you.
Later today we will explore the concept of a “joke”.
Please, please tell me he doesn’t think “penie” is the singular of “penis”.
Penie is Penis. I just want to use the real word.
Foxhole, the women the know me like me.
Since I am knew here since yesterday, I am not sure what is considered acceptable dialogue here, so I really held back what I wanted to explain.
I can’t edit my post above. Please forgive that post it is full of mistakes! I am very sleepy and I shall retire now. leaves embarrassed as heck :o
Mr Carpenter said:
Sorry, you’ll have to explain that one.