Colophon

The Internet gives everyone with access to a computer the opportunity to become a visual artist. We are a scientist, a philosopher turned network engineer and a menagerie of pets. We hope our choices today reflect some of our past, our interests and our future. Our look is the result of our own experiments and feedback gathered from our families, friends and colleagues. We have chosen several distinctive elements to breathe some personality and vibrancy into our online presence. After years of watching the web grow up alongside us, we have begun to develop our own tastes and styles.

Nomenclature

We use ancient Greek nomenclature to demarcate the various sections of the site. The domain name Erinyes is taken from Greek mythology. The Ἐρινύες (Erinýes) have been depicted as gods of vengeance and personifications of the anger of the dead. More than avenging furies, we draw upon Heraclitus' representation of the Erinyes as guardians of the standard order in a world defined principally by change. The paradox of such a position is central to our choice in identifying ourselves with the concept.

Section titles include:

• • οἶκος: An οἶκος (oikos) is the ancient Greek equivalent of a household, house, or family. It is the oikos to which Odysseus is attempting to return at the end of the Trojan War. And it is the conflict between the oikos and the polis that form a major thematic element of Greek tragedy.

  • φώς γραφή: The words φώς (phos) and γραφή (graphê) form the etymological bases for the word photography. These two elements can be transliterated to mean: writing with light.

  • βήτα: Βήτα (Beta) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. As such, it has many meanings and broad usage in contemporary society. In particular we draw on two specific uses of the term: a reference to the beta version of software development, and an allusion to the perceptual illusion of beta movement. We use the word to identify our blog.

  • λόγος: The term λόγος (logos) is important in philosophy, psychology, rhetoric and religion. We use logos in reference to the Aristotelian meaning of reasoned discourse -- as opposed to ethos or pathos. The Heraclitean use of logos as both the source and fundamental order of the world is a secondary reference.

Iconography

The animal featured in our design is the barn owl. The barn owl (tyto alba) is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. The barn owl can be found almost anywhere on the planet outside polar and desert regions. Owls have been associated with death and misfortune, wisdom and prosperity. The Greek goddess Athena was commonly depicted accompanied by an owl and the owl can be found emblazoned upon ancient Athenian coinage. Athena is the goddess of wisdom, peace, and reason, shrewd companion of heroes and the goddess of heroic endeavor. Through its association with Athena the owl has remained a common Western symbol of wisdom.

Typeface

The typeface used throughout the graphical elements is Helvetica. Helvetica is a widely used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann. The aim of the Helvetica design was to create a neutral typeface that had great clarity, had no intrinsic meaning in its form, and could be used on a wide variety of signage.