alphabet murders
Red Island
The Zodiac at Treasure Island
The poster is for The Zodiac Killer, first screened on 7 April 1971. The film is a highly fictionalised account of the real-life Zodiac Killings. With an audience score of 16 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, it is not on many must-see lists. On the other hand, the poster itself is highly significant. Crossing out the ‘O’ in ZODIAC created an anagram of CADIZ and the Zodiac’s trademark crossed-circle symbol.
Cadiz, the capital of the Spanish province of Cadiz, is a port city in southwestern Spain connected to the mainland by a long, narrow strip of sand. In antiquity, the land on which Cadiz sits consisted of islands. Moreover, the area is long associated with Elysium and the Islands of the Blest, the Greek heaven or paradise. Strabo identifies the Spanish Coast to the north of the city as Elysium and the islands not very far from the headlands of Maurousia that lie opposite Gades (Gadir) as the Islands of the Blest.
By Rodríguez.Gómez - self-made; Data taken from the same titled article in wikipedia spanish and La prehistoria de la Península Ibérica, Fernández Castro, María Cruz (2007). El PAÍS, S.L. Madrid, Editorial Crítica, S.L., ISBN 978-84-9815-755-0, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3198926
According to some ancient sources, Gades (Gadir) is on the mythical island of Erytheia (Red Island). Others argue that Erytheia is the island between Gades and the mainland. The controversy is moot today, as both islands lie beneath the city of Cadiz.
The three-headed, three-bodied giant, Geryon, lived on the island with his herdsman, Eurytion, and his two-headed hound, Orthos. The island was best known for its fabulous herd of red cattle, and its proximity to the House of Hades meant the god of the underworld also pastured his cattle there.
Hades’ herdsman, Meniotes, informed Geryon when Hercules (Heracles) killed Eurytion and Orthos and drove off his prized cattle. When Geryon caught up with Hercules, there was a fight, and Hercules killed him. The Life of Apollonius of Tyana records that a tumulus at Gades was associated with Geryon’s final resting place.
According to the Song of Geryon, the Hesperides or ‘Daughters of the Evening’ were nymphs who lived on the western shore of Erytheia in homes of solid gold. Their primary function was to care for a tree that produced golden apples, a wedding gift to Hera from Gaia. Moreover, the Hesperides were ‘the nymphs’ appointed to watch over other treasures of the gods, such as the Cornucopia or Horn of Plenty, and the winged sandals and the helmet of invisibility used by Perseus to slay the Gorgon Medusa.
With the Hesperides residing on Erytheia, the island became the ‘treasure island’ of the gods. Thus, like Dr Zodiac in Charlie Chan at Treasure Island, the Zodiac was linked to a treasure island. Moreover, thanks to the poster, the police knew the nature and location of the Zodiac’s paradise as early as April 1971.
Heracles Fighting Geryon
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