Motif
external life or strength stored outside the body
external_life_or_strength_stored_outside_the_body
A motif of the External Soul and Life-Token family. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
1 occurrences
1 traditions
comparative
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The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX. / FOOTNOTES; lines 14992-15134 confidence: high
According to Tzetzes, “not the life but the strength of Nisus was in his golden hair”; when it was pulled out, he became weak and was slain by Minos.
The passage gives examples where Nisus’s strength or reign depends on hair or a lock, a monster’s strength is in nested animals, and a witch’s life is bound up with a phial.
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