Banner Image Relevance

I thought I would start by explaining what the Arabic script in the blog's banner image means. It's a very famous verse from a poem by Al-Mutanabbi. Al-Mutanabbi is widely regarded  as the greatest Arab poet of all time. In fact, his poetic skills were so strong, he believed he was destined to be a prophet. This is why people starting calling him Al-Mutanabbi or "The Would Be Prophet". His poetry often uses allegory and symbolism to convey complex pieces of wisdom.

As with most Arabic poetry much is lost in translation but the verse roughly translates to:



" A man does not attain everything he desires, winds can blow where ships would not go"

One of the themes in The Ship of Theseus is the helplessness S feels while he is aboard the ship. He does not know where he is nor where he is headed. Many of the literary images in the Ship of Theseus describe howling winds, storms, crashing waves, etc... Throughout the book, S. is searching for his identity but never finds it. At least not beyond what he can remember.

I hope this sheds some light on why I chose this verse for the blog's banner.