Welcome to Lyrapaxara
The meaning of the name Lyrapaxara — three ancient words that give this site its name.
This is a site of writing, images, and a few memories. Before letting you wander through it, let me say where the name comes from — because the name of the site is also its programme.
Lyrapaxara is a compound word. It joins three ancient roots, three small words from the Greek and the Latin which, set side by side, suggest a path.
Lyra — the lyre
The first is Lyra: the lyre of Orpheus, the mythical instrument whose sound tamed wild beasts, bent trees, and opened doors. It stands for access to the beautiful — to music, to poetry, to art, to everything that asks for listening and attention. To attend to the lyra is to accept that beauty does not impose itself: it comes slowly, quietly, and asks for silence to be heard.
Pax — peace
The second is Pax: in Roman mythology, the goddess of peace, usually depicted holding an olive branch. But the peace meant here is not merely the absence of conflict. It is a fertile, abundant peace — the calm that makes care, hospitality, and sharing possible. Without that peace, the lyra has no place in which to resound.
Ara — the altar
The third is Ara: the altar. Not in a strictly religious sense, but in its oldest sense — a space set apart, a place of gathering, where one who arrives leaves the noise outside and draws near to something larger than oneself. The ara is where the beauty that is heard (Lyra) and the peace that is lived (Pax) come together and are shared.
The meeting of the three
Lyra, Pax, Ara. Beauty, peace, a place of meeting. Three steps of one same movement.
That is what this site would like to be: a small, attentive space where one can read in quiet, look at images without hurry, and — who knows — find something shared between the one who writes and the one who reads.
Welcome, and happy reading.