My Class: Gods and Heroes of Classical Mythology – HSA020C132H 2017-18

Dionysus—also known as Bacchus—is described by Jennifer March as the god of “ritual madness and ecstatic liberation from everyday identity” (March p231). Followers of the deity connect to him, and each other, through rituals of intoxication, ecstasy, and transcendence. Because Dionysus was

SINCE YOU HAVE USED A HISTORICAL PRESENT IN THE PREVIOUS PHRASE, I SUGGEST TO LOOK FOR CONSISTENCY AND WRITE “Dionysus is”

a patron of the arts and artistic expression, I posit that most—if not all—creatives find themselves making similar connections, both directly and indirectly.

Intoxication

Dionysus is most often associated with wine and intoxication. He is frequently depicted with vines, grapes, cups, and jugs—presumably carrying wine, which he made himself. Silenus, a minor rustic god of drunkenness and winemaking, was his companion and tutor. In most myths concerning his origin, Dionysus is said to have brought the art of wine making to mortals. He traveled the whole of Eurasia, spreading his knowledge with all who would listen. One of the few surviving myths about the deity is The Bacchae

NO, THE “BACCHAE” BY EURIPIDES ARE NOT A MYTH — THE WORD “MYTH” IS USED WRONGLY. YOU WANT TO REFER TO A TEXT THAT NARRATES THE MYTH. I WOULD WRITE:: “One of the few surviving mythological narratives”

which describes him as such:

“… [Dionysus] discovered the grape cluster’s liquid drink and introduced it / to mortals, that which stops wretched men / from suffering, when they are filled with the stream of the vine, / and gives sleep as the oblivion of the evils that happen by day; / nor is there any other cure against the distress.” (Euripides, 279-83)

There are few written records of Dionysian rituals—but is is well known that his rituals always included excessive drinking. For Dionysus’ followers, intoxication was a means of achieving altered consciousness

BETTER TO WRITE: NOT “altered consciousness” (A SLIGHTLY CONTRADICTORY PHRASE), BUT “an alteration of the consciousness”

wherein one’s inhibitions—or, earthly restraints—are significantly lowered. There are even records of a Dionysian ritual that included severe intoxication to the point of ripping apart animals with their bare hands, called sparagmos, and eating their raw flesh, called omophagia. Ultimately, this altered state was seen as necessary to evoke one’s most primal emotions and the first step towards connecting with the deity.

Ecstasy

Dionysus is very closely linked to ecstasy—a state of altered consciousness defined in the Oxford Dictionary

DO YOU MEAN THE “Oxford Classical DIctionary” OR THE “Oxford English DICTIONARY”?

as “an emotional or religious frenzy or trance-like state, originally one involving an experience of mystic self-transcendence.” His various followers—satyrs, silens, nymphs, and maenads—are often depicted in art in this state of ecstasy. Bacchants can be seen freely dancing and drinking, usually with glowing smiles, as illustrated in William-Adolphe Bouguereau’s The Youth of Bacchus. Bouguereau painted their arms reaching towards the sky, a movement associated with joy or bliss; they dance in a circular motion, a movement sometimes associated with trance-like states or religious/occult practices (e.g., the “witchlike” dancing of the girls in the 1996 adaptation of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible). But these are not the only types of ecstasy associated with Dionysus. Various scholars on

“PLEASE WRITE “of” NOT “on”

the deity suggest that his followers participated in orgies—unrestrained sexual activity—to intensify feelings of ecstasy generated through the other forms of orgia, ancient Greek religious practices to worship cult deities. The state of ecstasy, like the one depicted in Bouguereau’s painting, was seen as the second step towards connecting with Dionysus.

Transcendence

Worshippers of Dionysus were often those of low social standing: slaves, non citizens and, most often, women. He is often equated/associated to the Roman deity Liber Pater (“The Free Father”), god of wine, fertility and freedom—and understandably so. His worshippers were drawn to him because of the freedom he provided; freedom of the body, through intoxication and ecstasy, and freedom of the mind, by elevating women to dominant positions within his cult. Intoxication and ecstasy were the initial, physical means of connecting with Dionysus, but to finally and fully embrace the deity one had to connect with him in spirit. Nietzsche describes this experience of transcendence in Birth of Tragedy: THE ECUMENIC SENSE OF UNITY AND EQUALIZATION WITH THE OTHERS WHICH DIONYSIAC CULTS WOULD HAVE PROVIDED IS MAINLY AN INTERPRETATION BY NIETZSCHE. YOU SHOULD STRESS THAT IT IS NOT WIDELY ACCEPTED BY MORE MODERN SCHOLARS

“Now the slave is a free man, now all the rigid and hostile boundaries that distress, depositm, or ‘impudent fashion’ have erected between man and man break down. Now, with the gospel of world harmony, each man feels himself not only united, reconciled, and at one with his neighbour, but one with him, as if the veil of Maya had been recent and now hung in rags before the mysterious primal Oneness.” (Nietzsche, p17)

Dionysus, Parton “Patron”, NOT “Parton” of the Arts

Aside from being the god of wine and intoxication, Dionysus is also a patron of the arts. Many of the rituals and festivals in his name involved singing, dancing, and theatre. Though the two arenas may not seem connected at first glance, consider the Oxford Dictionary definition of Dionysian: “relating to the sensual, spontaneous, and emotional aspects of human nature.” Worshippers of the deity used intoxication as a means of lowering inhibitions, encouraging ecstasy,

PLEASE ADD: “promoting free creativity of even the humblest individuals”

and achieving transcendence. In a way, an artist seeks these goals as well. As Nietzsche wrote:

“Man is no longer an artist, he has become a work of art: the artistic power of the whole of nature reveals itself to the supreme gratification of the primal Oneness amidst the paroxysms of intoxication….the Dionysiac [sic] world-artist there echoes the cry… ‘Do you sense the Creator, world?’” (Nietzsche, p18)

To create genuine art, the artist seeks to lower their inhibitions in order for the audience to see and understand the artist intimately. Unsurprisingly, art and artists are often associated with one or more altered states of consciousness. The drunken or intoxicated artist is a common stereotype, but has a great deal of legitimacy to it—intoxication can give way to truths that would otherwise remain inaccessible. Artists are also often associated with ecstasy, both religious and sexual—many works illustrate or arise from a heightened emotional state, as they give art the air of realism that comes out of emotion. To many, art is the ultimate act of self-transcendence; for an artist to describe their world, they must be able to understand their place within it from a distance, or an outside perspective.

Whether or not the artist engages in the core aspects of Dionysian worship figuratively or literally, neither the artist not their art can be untied from them. Art is meant to relate to the sensual, spontaneous, and emotional aspects of human nature. At its core, art and the artists are inherently Dionysian.

 

Works Cited

Bougeureau, William Adolphe. “The Youth of Bacchus.” The Youth of Bacchus, 24 July 2011, www.wikiart.org/en/william-adolphe-bouguereau/the-youth-of-bacchus-1884.

“Dionysiac | Definition of Dionysiac in English by Oxford Dictionaries.” Oxford Dictionaries | English, Oxford Dictionaries, en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/dionysiac.

“Ecstasy | Definition of Ecstasy in English by Oxford Dictionaries.” Oxford Dictionaries | English, Oxford Dictionaries, en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/ecstasy.

Euripides, et al. Bacchae. Nick Hern, 1998.

Hytner, Nicholas, director. The Crucible.

March, Jennifer R. Cassells Dictionary of Classical Mythology. Manitoba Education and Training, 2002.

Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm. Birth of Tragedy. Dover, 1995.

 

Eros, better known by his Roman counterpart’s name Cupid, is one of the most recognizable figures in Greek mythology.  He is commonly known as a symbol for Valentine’s Day. He is the winged god of love and desire. Throughout history, there have been several different versions describing Eros’ origins. One of Eros’ origin stories not only makes him a primordial god, but also one of the oldest. He is presented as the son of Chaos, the representation of the emptiness that was, before anything existed. In this version he is either self-formed or is born out of an egg Nyx (Night) laid. Either way, he emerges from Chaos and becomes the generator of life. This initial telling

“Version” WOULD BE MORE TECHNICALLY ADEQUATE

is important because in later versions he is depicted as the son of Aphrodite and is treated as more of a minion or companion, than a great primordial god that preceded other gods. This later version is also the one that is more commonly referred to when talking about Eros. Eros is an extremely important figure in Greek mythology and is much more than a mischievous god with a magical bow and arrow. In fact, he often acts as a catalyst for the events that unfold in various key stories.

The role Eros plays as a god is an interesting one. He uses arrows to manipulate humans and even other gods to the power of love. Love is often portrayed as the great equalizer amongst gods and humans alike by great writers such as Ovid was Eros’ to control,

<< SYNTAX FAULTY

Eros is often depicted with a bow and arrow, which he uses to make people fall in or be indifferent to love. He uses two kinds of arrows. He uses golden arrows that sparks love and dull weighted arrows full of lead that causes the victim to be disinclined with a lover.

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE IDEA OF EROS’ TWO DIFFERENT ARROWS WITH DIFFERENT EFFECTS IS ONLY LATE

Eros’ powers represent love and lack of interest alike.

<<WHAT SAID ABOVE ALSO APPLIES TO THIS POINT

I think he is such a popular figure because of how humans relate to love. We see that although he is a god and not just a personification like other mythological figures, he is the embodiment of love and desire. Eros although a singular deity, was part of Aphrodite’s band of winged love gods that were named after him, the “Erotes.”

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE PROLIFERATION OF THE “EROTES” MAY APPEAR ALREADY IN ARCHAIC ANACREON, BUT ITS STANDARDIZATION IS ONLY VERY LATE

These were gods of different kinds of love and desire. For example the god Anteros is the god of “requited love” and the god Himero is the god of “pressing desire”. Out of all the Erotes, Eros is the most referred to.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN? DO YOU MEAN THAT AT LEAST IN TE ARCHIC AND CLASSICAL AGE OF GREEK CULTURE “EROTES” ARE NOT OFTEN MENTIONED, AND ALMOST ONLY EROS IS ?

Juno discovering Jupiter with Io (1618) by Pieter Lastman

Cupid (Eros) can be found drawn in the background of many famous illustrations that depict mythological stories. In the image displayed above Pieter Lastman depicts the scene in which Juno (Hera) discovering Jupiter (Zeus) with the cow Io.

<< SYNTAX FAULTY.NO FINITE VERB!

This is an image that came up several times throughout the duration of this course. It is a painting that is held at The National Gallery here in London which I got to see how detailed it was up close. Although this image is a drawing of a scene in one of the stories from Ovid’s poem Metamorphoses in which only Juno, Jupiter, and Io are present Lastman painted in Cupid and a man wearing a mask. It is unknown whether Cupid and the masked man are trying to cover up the heifer Io and Jupiter from Juno or unveiling the adulterers. Whether or not the or

SYNTAX FAULTY

covering or uncovering the lovers it is important to note Cupid’s presence. This is an example of Cupid being used

PLEASE ADD: “to”

personify love with the masked man being used to personify deceit. In this story Jupiter’s desire for Io not only causes him to cheat on Juno like he’s done several times before, but to turn her into a heifer and engage in intercourse while she’s in that form. Juno is known for being unfaithful to Juno and it is often blamed on Cupid. He is vital to Greek mythology because he has the power to humanize the gods in lighter and more comedic representations of their stories using the power of love.

Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss (1787-1793) by Antonio Canova

Sculpture was another medium in which Eros (Cupid) was commonly depicted in.  However, there are several differences between the way Eros (Cupid) is being depicted in Lastman’s painting and Antonio Canova’s sculpture other than the fact that they used two different artistic mediums. Initially he was portrayed by artists as a very handsome young man, but over the years he started being characterized as a mischievous child. In Lastman’s painting he is shown as the later. Whereas, Conova’s

“Canova”

sculpture represents him as a young man. This sculpture is important, because it is depicts a scene from Cupid and Psyche. Although in most important mythological stories Eros plays a background character causing mischief by making humans and gods alike fall in love, The Golden Ass by Apuleius tells a story in which he’s the protagonist. In this story even he is not immune to the power of his own arrows. After being sent to humiliate Psyche by Venus because men started worshipping her, Cupid could not do it and instead pricked himself with his own arrow. Cupid although characterized as mischievous was a loyal and obedient servant to his mother. This story is important because strays from that narrative.

 

I WOULD WRITE “role-standard” NOT “narrative”

Not only is Eros an important figure in mythological cannon,

“canon”

but his role in symbolizing love and desire is something many people including myself can relate to. He is much more than the cherub resembling Cupid we associate with Valentine’s day and love.

Works Cited

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Eros.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 15 Feb. 2018, www.britannica.com/topic/Eros-Greek-god.

“PHANES.” IRENE (Eirene) – Greek Goddess Hora of Peace (Roman Pax), www.theoi.com/Protogenos/Phanes.html.

“The God Eros in Greek Mythology.” Greek Legends and Myths, www.greeklegendsandmyths.com/eros.html.

Whether you recognize it or not mythology is all around us. At one point for me, it was unrecognizable. The one thing in the world I can never get enough of is pop culture and music; a space that when closely analyzed, has many ties to mythology. Mythology, and specifically the goddess of love Venus, is a major figure in pop culture and music, and is even viewed as an icon for feminism. I’ve decided to focus on Venus and her role and impact in modern day feminism and pop culture because she is an important figure that is still relevant today, and is now being viewed in a modern perspective.

Venus, or the Greek equivalent Aphrodite, is the goddess of love. She possess  exceptional characteristics of sex

BETTER TO WRITE: “sex appeal”

and beauty, and is known to be the most enticing goddess of them all. Venus was known to use her captivating beauty and sexuality to her advantage having many gods and heroes fall under her spell. Stories of Venus, like the one about her affair with Mars, as well as the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, where Venus seduces Anchises which ultimately leads to his death as a result, are significant to understanding the many differing perceptions of her as a goddess, and the impact she has in feminism and pop culture. Reading stories of Venus being unfaithful by partaking in affairs, and even bearing children with different men, is something when viewed within times of the past, could be looked down upon. However in modern times, seeing an ancient goddess like Venus embrace her sexuality and femininity despite doing some inglorious things, is slightly honorable although it may also be reprehensible. Women have been shamed throughout all of history whenever displaying their sexuality overtly, and although this is a stigma that we as a society are trying to unlearn, Venus can be interpreted as the first figure to challenge those unsafe ideologies.

Aside from the characteristics of Venus and some of the myths about her, the depiction of Venus in art is significant to the role she plays in feminism, and her appeal in pop culture. We find throughout history that Venus was often used by artists as an excuse to sculpt and paint naked women and disguise it within mythology.

I WOULD WRITE “and disguise it as a need of mythology”

Venus is mostly

“almost”

always depicted in the nude with paintings such as Venus of Urbino, and The Toilet of Venus, as well as sculptures including Aphrodite of Knidos and Capitoline Venus. Undoubtedly, the most famous depiction of Venus is the Venus de Milo which is currently in Paris, France at the Louvre museum. The Encyclopedia Britannica mentions that the Venus de Milo is a statue that was carved from marble by Alexandros around 150 BCE. It was discovered on Milos Island in 1820, then donated to the Louvre in the next year. The statue displays Venus half-naked and is armless, but it is believed by some scholars that the statue may have depicted Venus with the apple she receives from the Judgment of Paris. Regardless, this rendition of Venus is noteworthy because it is one of the earliest portrayals of women that set a standard of beauty in history. The statue being in the nude only heightens its significance since the naked female body is something that has been always been a sort of taboo. In an article by Bob Duggan titled “How the Venus de Milo Changed Female Beauty”, he goes into detail explaining how the portrayal of Venus in the Venus de Milo “begins the politicization of female beauty.” He claims Venus was sort of the Kim Kardashian of the past since she was a very idealized beauty and admired for it, which is evident in many of her stories. Through this, we can see the role Venus plays in modern day pop culture and feminism since she was a goddess who embraced her naked body and sparked controversy for it in the real world through her depictions in sculptures and paintings.

Mythology is embedded in pop culture through references that may go unnoticed by some. Venus is one of the most popular goddesses we see referenced within pop culture, mostly by women, because of her unapologetic display of femininity and the feminism she has come to represent. Pop legend Kylie Minogue titled her eleventh studio album Aphrodite, and the tour for the album included a lot of imagery tied to the goddess. We see references to Venus in lyrics to songs like “Dark Horse” by Katy Perry where she asks her lover to “make me your Aphrodite.” However, the most brazen reference to Venus in pop culture and music is from Lady Gaga with “G.U.Y – An ARTPOP Film.” In the short film for her third studio album, she includes audio from her song appropriately titled “Venus,” which has the lyrics “Aphrodite lady seashell bikini (garden panty), Venus.” The lyrics reference the famous painting The Birth of Venus, as the painting shows Venus covering herself while standing over a seashell. In the video, Gaga depicts herself as Venus and as that part of the film comes to its end, she transitions into the next song G.U.Y by praying to Himeros, who is part of Aphrodite’s Retinue. This part of the film features the song G.U.Y, which challenges the stereotypical roles of male and female relationships by displaying the woman as the one in charge. Gaga’s use of Venus in a song and music video that promotes feminism by challenging misogynistic stereotypes exemplifies Venus’s impact in the modern day. It is evident that the bold display of Venus’s sexuality and femininity within her myths affiliates her with feminism making her an icon in music and pop culture.

Under the wide umbrella of music and its many genres, we often find artists drawing inspirations from classic mythological gods, goddesses and heroes. This is something I was unaware of until I took this class, which provided me with a new found knowledge of mythology. Upon reconsideration, I’ve noticed that elements of mythology are present in many of my various interests.

 

Works Cited

Bob Duggan. How the Venus de Milo Changed Female Beauty. Big Think. Accessed on 28 June 2018. https://bigthink.com/Picture-This/how-the-venus-de-milo-changed-female-beauty

Brittany Garcia. Venus. Ancient History Encyclopedia. 27 August 2013. Accessed on 28 June 2018. https://www.ancient.eu/venus/

Mary. Aphrodite Today: Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. Walks Within. 31 March 2014. Accessed on 28 June 2018.  http://walkswithin.com/tag/aphrodite-in-pop-culture/

Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga – G.U.Y – An ARTPOP Film. YouTube. 22 March 2014. Accessed on 28 June 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNu_-deVemE

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. Venus de Milo. Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed on 28 June 2018. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Venus-de-Milo

Meghan Khameraj

 

Throughout history, Medusa got the bad reputation as a scornful, evil woman who turns people into stone with a mere glance. However, much like most women of ancient mythology, she was a victim of patriarchal societal norms. Medusa’s origins, her trauma, and her pain are conveniently forgotten when it comes to telling her story. Her origins put into perspective the ordeals she went through that led her to become the evil gorgon that everyone thinks of her as. She wasn’t evil just for evil’s sake but was forced by the misogynistic tendencies of pitting women against each other and the damaging experience of rape.

Medusa’s story is best portrayed through Ovid’s Metamorphoses where she is depicted as a beautiful young woman who was the priestess of Athena. Medusa was the only mortal born from two primordial sea gods. Medusa was so beautiful that many men lusted for her but as a priestess, she remained a virgin and dedicated to Athena. Poseidon became intrigued by Medusa’s beauty and broke into Athena’s temple and raped her. Athena was enraged by this and turned Medusa into a Gorgon instead of helping her.

After Medusa was turned into a gorgon, Perseus was tasked with beheading her. He asked Athena and Hermes to help him and they provided him with winged-sandals, an invisibility cap, and a mirrored-shield. He then set forth to find Medusa and murder her.

The story of Medusa, when it is told as a good versus evil tale and Medusa is the evil factor in the story, is actually quite entertaining. That’s probably why it continues to be told that way. However, it is not acceptable for Medusa’s traumas to be dismissed for the sake of a good story. Although she is a fictional character, her struggles are very common amongst women. The tendency to pit women against each other for the sake of a man is, unfortunately, an issue that creeps its way into the everyday lives of women. Athena blames Medusa because of two reasons. One, she can’t possibly blame Poseidon for what happened. He is a male god who just raped a woman. She might’ve been scared herself. Two, it was commonplace for rape victims to be villainized and seen as unholy simply because their virginity was stolen from them. Although it’s easy to see Athena as part of the problem in Medusa’s story, it’s actually the societal factors that are problematic and led her to react in the way that she does. Perseus also contributes to Medusa’s abuse by literally murdering her. Perseus is praised for killing Medusa and it is all too common where victims of rape are shunned from society or continuously abused or murdered because they are seen as less than human or in Medusa’s case less than worthy to live.

While doing research on Medusa for this blog post I found it increasingly difficult to find sources that were true to her original story.

I DO NOT KNOW WHICH IS THE “ORIGINAL” STORY OF MEDUSA. DO YOU KNOW? YOU SHOULD MORE SIMPLY SAY THAT HER STORY — WHICHEVER THE ORIGINAL STORY WAS — IS LIABLE TO BE RECOUNTED IN MANY DIFFERENT VERSIONS

The tale of Medusa is oftentimes twisted to be appropriate for children. Her story is also twisted to make it seem as if she were a promiscuous woman who was boastful about her beauty and lured Poseidon to have sex with her in Athena’s temple. If I’m being honest, I didn’t know much about Medusa until probably three months ago. I just assumed she was born as a gorgon and I wasn’t aware of her rape. It wasn’t until I was watching a YouTube video by Mythology and Fiction Explained where the narrator fully explained Medusa’s story. I assumed that I was one of the few people who didn’t know her actual story but as I spoke to some of my friends about it, I realized I wasn’t the only one. It is understandable why the story is changed for children, however, to make Medusa seem like she wanted sex from Poseidon is highly damaging and further allows the misogynistic themes of ancient mythologies to be accepted in today’s society. It is important to tell Medusa’s story as honestly as possible because it is undeniable that the tales of ancient mythologies immensely impact modern day society.

Whether the creators of Medusa’s myth knew it or not, her story is a representation of the conditions women had to live within ancient times and continue to live with today. Medusa, just like Athena or Hera or the Amazonian women, should be seen as a feminist icon instead of continuously being portrayed as a promiscuous and evil woman.

THIS IS WELL SAID, AND PROBABLY CORRECT

Luckily, I feel as though because of movements such as the #MeToo movement, she is slowly being recognized as a victim rather than a villain.  Hopefully, as time progresses and people become more aware of the injustices that women face, Medusa will be seen as the good character in her story and the men who wronged her and the society she lives in will be seen as evil. When people see Medusa for who she really is, a victim, hopefully, society as a whole will start treating real-life victims of rape and abuse with respect and take them seriously. As I mentioned earlier, mythology has a huge impact on who we are and what we do as a society. Although it is highly fictional and the worlds these characters live in aren’t similar to the world we live in, we all want to be like our favorite characters and if those characters are good then we will inherently be good.

 

POSSIBLE, AS YOU SAY THAT MEDUSA STORY IS ” a representation of the conditions women had to live within ancient times and continue to live with today”, WHEREAS HER PERSECUTOR ATHENA IMPERSONATES A MORE MASCULINE CHARACTER?

When hearing the name, Heracles, many people think of Disney’s Hercules. That was my first experience with the mythological hero, however the children’s film leaves out many not-so-pleasant details. Heracles lived a life filled with not only physical challenges, but challenges and decisions that would alter every path of his life. In Greek myth, Zeus is married to Hera, but he is not faithful to her. One of his affairs was with the mortal Aclmene

<<PLEASE CORRECT

, who gave birth to Heracles, thus making him a Demi-God. When he was born, Aclmene named him Heracles, meaning Glory of Hera, so that she may not make Hera so angry, but she did the opposite.

PLEASE BE MORE CLEAR: “she did not achieve her goal”

Hera was angry and jealous, so she sent two serpents to kill baby Heracles, but he strangled them to death. This, unfortunately, was not the end of Hera’s wrath.

When Heracles approached adulthood, he wondered if his life would be filled with ease or hardship, thus bringing about Heracles’s Choice,where he was faced with the decision of Virtue or Vice. After leaning towards Vice, Heracles made the choice of Virtue, which meant that his life would be filled with hardship and battle that would make him a better man. However, this life of hardship the he chose was nothing that Heracles could have ever imagined. After Heracles married a mortal, by the name of Magdala, and had children, Hera sent a curse upon him, called the Madness of Heracles.

PLEASE DO NOT CONFUSE THE DEFINITION OF THE CURSE SENT BY HERA WITH THE TITLE OF THE PLAY BY EURIPIDES

In a state of rage and confusion, he murdered his wife and children, and when he came out of his madness, he was heartbroken and distraught. He then went to the Oracle of Delphi and prayed to Apollo to redeem him. The Oracle told him that he must serve King Eurystheus for twelve years as a punishment for his murders.

As part of Heracles’s punishment, Eurystheus ordered him to complete ten labors, however it ended up becoming twelve labors after two did not count. Many of the labors consisted of Heracles capturing or slaying beasts that were wreaking havoc upon cities and civilians, while others were much more difficult. Eurystheus even expected many of the labors to be impossible for Heracles, but he was proven wrong. Some of the seemingly impossible labors were the ones in which Hera came down and intervened, hoping to cause Heracles to fail. The original ten labors were to slay the Nemean Lion and bring back it’s skin, slay the Lernaean Hydra, capture the Ceryneian Hind, capture the Erymanthian Boar, clean the Augean stables in one day, slay the Stymphalian Birds, capture the Cretan Bull, steal the Mares of Diomedes, obtain the Belt of Hippolyte, and to obtain the Cows of Geryon. The two labors that were later added were to steal the Apples of the Hesperides and to capture Cerberus.

The second labor, which was to slay the Lernaean Hydra, was the first labor that Eurystheus did not count. The labor seemed impossible, because whenever Heracles would smash one head of the hydra, two more heads would grow in its place, so Heracles decided to call on his nephew, Iolaus, for help. Each time Heracles smashed one of the hydra’s head, Iolaus would hold a torch to the neck, which kept more heads from growing back. Eurystheus did not count this labor as one of the ten, because Iolaus helped Heracles defeat the beast and he was supposed to do it on his own.

          The fifth labor was to clean the Augean stables in one day, which was the other labor that Eurystheus did not count. The stables belonged to King Augeas, who owned more cattle than anyone in Greece, and so Heracles said that he would clean his stables in one day if he was payed a tenth of his cattle. Augeas agreed, and Heracles completed the task, however, when Augeas learned about the labors, he denied his promise and refused to pay Heracles. Heracles called on Augeas’s son to testify before a judge, who then decided that Heracles must be paid. Eurystheus did not count this labor either, because Heracles was paid for the work.

The ninth labor was to obtain the belt of Hippolyte. Hippolyta promised the belt to Heracles, but Hera intervened. She disguised herself as an Amazonian warrior and told all of the Amazons that Heracles was to take away their queen, and so they put on their armor and prepared to fight. Realizing that he was under attack, Heracles drew his sword, killed Hippolyta, and took her belt. He then engaged in a great war between the Greeks and the Amazons.

          The tenth original labor was to obtain the Cows of Geryon. Geryon was a terrible monster who kept a herd of red cattle guarded by Orthus and Eurytion. Heracles smashed the guards with his club and began to escape with the cows. Geryon was alerted and attacked Heracles, but Heracles triumphed. While trying to bring the herd back to Eurystheus, Heracles came across many obstacles, including one from Hera. She sent an attack on the cattle, which caused them to scatter far and wide, and so Heracles had to retrieve all of them, making his task even longer and more difficult. After gathering the herd and bringing them to Eurystheus, the king ironically sacrificed them to Hera.

After eight years and one month, Heracles had completed his ten labors. However, because the slaying of the hydra and cleaning of the stables were not completed properly, Eurystheus demanded two more labors. I think that the reason that Eurystheus did not count these two labors was because if Heracles received help from someone else or was paid for his labor punishments, it could not be considered a truly virtuous labor

I WOULD SAY: “a virtuous labour of atonement”

therefore it would not be true to the virtuous path that he had chosen to go down. And so, Heracles was given two more labors, which were considerably the most difficult of all the twelve labors he was given, in order to make up for the ones that could not count.

I think that Heracles’s never-ending feud with Hera, which led to his madness and then resulted in his twelve labors, were influenced by his choice of Virtue.

 

THIS A GOOD IDEA, THAT MIGHT BE DEVELOPED, AS THE IDEA OF HERACLES AS  “CHOOSER OF VIRTUE” COMES AGAIN AND AGAIN IN GREEK MYTH (THE THE MITH OF HERACLES AT THE CROSS ROAD, FOR INSTANCE

The difficult labors were meant to redeem Heracles from the terrible thing that he had done, which would, in a way, make him a better man. His hardships and battles made him the perfect embodiment of the Greek idea of “pathos”, which is the experience of virtuous struggle and suffering which would lead to fame and, in Hercules’ case, immortality on Mount Olympus. Hera tried time and time again to kill Heracles, cause him to fail, and to keep him from reaching Mount Olympus, but Heracles was too strong and too virtuous to let her get to him.

YOU SEEM TO PROPOSE THE INTERPRETATION OF HERACLES AS A PURSUER OF VIRTUE AS YOUR OWN ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION. BUT IT IS A WIDESPREAD INTERPRETATION ALREADY IN THE ANCIENT WORLD, WHERE HERACLES HAS BEEN OFTEN INTERPRETED IN ALLEGORICAL TERMS AS THE HERO OF VIRTUES.

 

Works Cited

• The Life and Times of Hercules. (n.d.). Retrieved June 26, 2018, from http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/bio.html
• Atsma, A. J. (2000). HERACLES. Retrieved June 26, 2018, from http://theoi.com/greek-mythology/heracles.html
• Labours of Heracles. (2018, June 22). Retrieved June 26, 2018, from https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/The_Myths/Labours_of_Heracles/labours_of_heracles.html
• The Twelve Labors of Hercules. (n.d.). Retrieved June 26, 2018, from http://www.crystalinks.com/12laborshercules.html
• Clements, R., & Musker, J. (Directors). (1998). Hercules[Video file]. USA: Disney.
• Leonard, A. (2013, February 26). The Tumultuous Tale of Heracles and Hera. Retrieved June 26, 2018, from https://classicalwisdom.com/heracles-and-hera/

Ever since I was a child, I have loved learning about Greek and Roman mythology. I loved the Disney movie Hercules and devoured books like the ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ series by Rick Riordan. In addition, I felt strong connections with many of the various gods and goddesses. For example, my favorite goddess was Artemis (Diana in Roman mythology), simply and solely for the fact she is a twin with the god Apollo. Like Artemis, I have a twin brother. It was rare for me as a child to hear of other boy-girl twins in stories, so I developed a strong fascination with Artemis. I looked for signs of her everywhere in books, artwork, and movie characters. Sadly, as I grew older I stopped looking for signs of Artemis or of any of the other Greek or Roman gods. Having no opportunity to take a class on it in school, I also drifted away from the field of mythology in general. Besides knowing the bare basics about the most popular myths and characters, I knew almost nothing about mythology.

Luckily for me, a study abroad opportunity presented itself to me and I jumped at the chance to learn about Greek and Roman mythology in London. Now, I get the chance to rediscover and fall in love with mythology all over again. And after my time in London and the mythology course, I’m noticing mythological symbols everywhere! From subtle to glaringly obvious, there are references to Greek and Roman mythology all around London. So, I decided to pick a day where I already had plans and see how many links to mythology I could find while I went about my day. The day I chose happened to be the day I toured the Harry Potter studio at Warner Bros. I picked this day because I assumed, naively, that I would not be able to find that many references to Greek and Roman mythology during the tour or on the trip to and from the studios. There were in fact so many connections to Greek and Roman mythology that I am only going to mention a few of the obvious links I saw and I am going to exclude any links I found in the material of the Harry Potter books I noticed while on my tour of the studio.

The first link I found to Greek and Roman mythology was when I was walking around before the tour began. Across the street from the tour building was Hermes London Dental Clinic (picture taken from my phone):

The obvious reference is to the Greek god Hermes (Mercury in Roman mythology). Hermes is most commonly known as the god of messengers (“Greek Gods and Goddesses”). One of his most popular symbols is the caduceus (kerykeion in Greek) – the rod with two entwined snakes and wings at the top of the rod (“Caduceus”)

HOT NECESSARY THAT YOU REPEA “Caduceus”, AS YOU HAVE MENTIONED ITS NAME ALREADY TWO LINES ABOVE. IF YOU  MENTION IT AGAIN, IT SEEMS THAT YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN YOU QUOTED IT ALREADY.

. What is interesting to me is that Hermes and his rod are associated with dentistry at all. Perhaps the connection to Hermes is a mistake as his rod is often mistaken for the staff of Asclepius, who is known as a healer (“Caduceus”). Or perhaps the dental clinic used him for advertising – believing more people would recognize the name of Hermes and not worry about the inaccuracy of associating him or his rod with healing. Whatever the case may be, the name indicates an interest in mythology in London that continues to this day.

The second connection I found to Greek and Roman mythology was at the Harry Potter tour itself. While walking along a path covered by a tent-like roof, I looked up and happened to see this logo (picture taken from my phone):

The name and symbol are clearly a reference to Poseidon (Neptune in Roman mythology). The long beard, trident, and wave he seems to be leaning on are all symbols associated with Poseidon (“Greek Gods and Goddesses”). Again, the reason for naming a company that supplies tent-like roofs after the god of the sea is unclear. My interpretation would be that the company wanted to invoke a familiar image with many people in order to better advertise their product. Or maybe the company wanted to indicate their purpose in keeping people out of the water by associating themselves with one of the most iconic symbols of water. As with the Hermes dental company, the link to mythology seems to be for advertising purposes rather than as a means of honoring the gods.

THE LAST STATEMENT IS A BIT NAIVE … WHO DOES STILL HONOUR THE GODS OF MYTHOLOGY IN MODERN TIMES?

The final connection I noticed was the enormous statue of Nike (Victoria in Roman mythology) at the Wellington Arch. Nike is known as the goddess of victory in war or peace (“Greek Gods and Goddesses”). The statue is clearly of Nike due to her wings and wreath in one hand – both are traditional symbols for Nike (“Greek Gods and Goddesses”). The connection to Nike is even more obvious after researching why the arch and statue were built: the arch was made for the British victory in the Napoleonic Wars and the statue (shown below from “Nike Today”) was later added to further emphasize the victory (Green).

The purpose of the link to Nike is not vague or subtle in this case. Britain very clearly wanted to emphasize and celebrate its victory in war and so included the widely-known figure of Nike in a giant statue for everyone to see.

These three examples of modern references to Greek and Roman mythology are just a tiny fraction of the overall number of connections to mythology in London. Regardless of the purpose for making these links, they serve as a reminder of how deeply mythology still permeates modern societies. Why are there still so many signs of the ancient gods and goddesses in London? I’m not sure. Perhaps the mythological stories are simply endearing to the people that hear them and thus they want to honor this love by naming things after the gods. Maybe the gods are merely a good advertising technique and way to easily convey an artist’s or business’ intentions. Or maybe artists and designers just become lazy after a while and don’t want to brainstorm a unique name or design. I for one am quite happy no matter the reason for the numerous modern references to Greek and Roman mythology in London and throughout the world. These references give me the opportunity to search for my favorite gods and goddesses in the world around me and enjoy mythology once more.

 

Bibliography

“Caduceus.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 9 Feb. 2018,

www.britannica.com/topic/caduceus

“Greek Gods and Goddesses.” Theoi Greek Mythology, Theoi Project, 2017,

www.theoi.com/greek-mythology/greek-gods.html

Green, David. Wellington Arch. VIPA, http://vipauk.org/enter/muse/lond/w03.html

“Nike Today.” About Nike, Nike Is Now, 2017,

www.nikeisnow.co.uk/index.php/shultz-on-nike/nike-today

[embeddoc url=”https://eportfolios.roehampton.ac.uk/hsa020c132h/files/2018/06/kelsey-urbaniak-Hera-uni-of-roe-1wqudzl.docx” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

 

I chose to focus on Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, because she has always been my favorite goddess. The image above is by the artist Titian, designed approximately between the years 1559 and 1575. The title of this well-known artwork is “The Death of Acteon. The painting depicts the scene when Acteon, a hunter, stumbles upon the goddess Artemis and her handmaidens bathing naked in the forest. As punishment, Artemis transforms Acteon into a stag and sends his own hunting dogs to kill him. The figure of Acteon is illustrated with the head of a stag and the body of a man. Ovid’s Metamorphoses are a common theme

NOT “theme”, BUT “source”E THE VARIOUS MYTHS ARE THE “themes”

in ancient mythological paintings and are used by artists and sculptors alike in the ancient world, “The Death of Acteon” as just one example.  The goddess Artemis is the twin sister of the god Apollo and daughter of the mortal Leto and Zeus, king of the gods. She is a fiercely independent figure who is

PLEASE CANCEL “is” OR MODIFY “protects”

also passionately protects her family from any harm that may befall them. Artemis helped her mother safely cross a river, and even helped Leto give birth to Apollo. These actions are why Artemis is also known as the goddess of childbirth and fertility. Artemis has always been my preferred goddess for multiple reasons. I was first drawn to Artemis because along with her other attributes, she is famously associated with animals. Animals have always held a special place in my heart and some of the happiest moments I have are when I am around certain animals, big or small.  Artemis, along with Athena, is a “virgin goddess” who prays to Zeus to grant her “eternal virginity.” Artemis is one of the few goddesses who remains a virgin forever, which makes her a unique character among the rest of the gods and goddesses, who are much more “carefree” in their romantic relationships. This is a trait that Artemis and I both hold in high regard, as my parents instilled in me that virginity is a gift and should be saved until marriage. My dad even gave my sister and I purity rings so that we would always have them as a reminder.

Like Artemis, I am very driven and independent in certain situations. Artemis is protective of her family and would do anything to protect them from harm.  I treasure time with my family and I always look forward to spending quality time with them.  Artemis also is a protector of the nymphs of the forests where she hunts. I find this to be a gesture of loyalty to nature and to the fields created by the gods. Although Artemis is a woman, she does not let that hinder her from performing tasks that are seen as “unwomanly” or “unfeminine”,  such as hunting with bows and arrows and participating in warlike activities to protect the ones she loves.  Another one of Artemis’ attributes is her association with healing. This has a very personal connection to me because I have struggled with a chronic illness for many years.  I have always been drawn to the medical field, even more so now that I have personal experiences with long term sickness. London is a city full of ancient history and is the perfect setting for learning about mythology and its numerous characters. There are museums scattered throughout many corners of this vibrant, unique city. Our mythology professor took our class to the National Gallery, one of the most famous history museums in London. The Gallery has paintings depicting scenes discussed in myth, such as the “Death of Acteon” painting of Artemis that I included towards the top of the page. I chose this specific painting because it depicts Artemis as a strong and powerful figure that is able to take care of herself, without the help of a male figure. I like to think of Artemis as a feminist goddess because she proves that women can survive and flourish in the world without the help of men.  Her courage and strength are just two characteristics of her that I admire and how I aspire to live my life.

The Gods and Heroes mythology course is a class I have looked forward to ever since my acceptance into the London Summer study abroad program at The University of Roehampton. In high school, my siblings and I all studied Latin to fulfill our foreign language credit and mythology was one of the key topics. I always looked forward to the days where the whole class was dedicated to solely mythology and nothing else. My teachers would tell us dozens of stories about the gods and goddesses and the crazy shenanigans that would occur on Mount Olympus and the fights that would always break out. Even before high school, I would read books about mythology for hours on end, where I learned all the names of the heroes and the gods and goddesses.

I FEEL THE LACK OF A PROPER DISTINCTION BETWEEN PERSONAL FEELINGS ON MYTHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS AND A REFLECTIVE NARRATIVE/INTERPRETATION CONCERNING THEM.

I quickly jumped at the opportunity to take a mythology course while abroad because no matter how many times I hear the stories, they never become boring or monotonous. Mythology is such an intricate topic with thousands of loopholes and symbolism, and there is always drama that keeps readers intrigued. Although this class was only three weeks long, I have learned many interesting tidbits about mythology and about the gods, goddesses and heroes of mythology. I have seen famous paintings in person and have noticed Greek and Roman mythological details and figures all over London buildings and streets, now more than ever before.  My background in Latin from high school helped me feel confident about the subject at hand, and allowed me to have a clearer understanding about Ancient Greek and Roman culture and mythology. I feel that I have undergone a transformation both as a student and as a person as a result of my time abroad. I feel so blessed to have been given this opportunity to learn about the multi-faceted topic of mythology in one of the most historical cities in Europe.

 

 

 

References:

http://www.ephesus.us/ephesus/mythology_of_artemis.htm

https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/titian-the-death-of-actaeon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Actaeon#/media/File:Actaeon.jpg

https://www.greek-gods.org/olympian-gods/artemis.php

Although we did not talk about the Sirens much in this class, they have caught my attention.  I have taken other classes in which we have discussed modern interpretations of Greek and Roman myths including Ulysses by James Joyce and the films “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?” and “Sirens”.  In these other classes there was a much larger focus on the Sirens and the way they have been portrayed throughout history.  I would like to share some of these portrayals with you here.

In the original myth, the Sirens were ugly (or beautiful depending on the source) chicken women who lived alone on an island.  These chicken women would seduce sailors passing by their island with song and the sailors would crash their boats into the rocks surrounding the island.  The Sirens would then eat their flesh.  This myth is pretty grotesque in its origin.  In some versions of the myth the Sirens were handmaidens of Demeter that were turned into birds to look for Persephone, while others simply have them born as bird women to the river god Achelous with no clear consensus on who their mother was.

The most well known use of the Sirens myth is in Homer’s Odyssey.  In the Odyssey Odysseus’ boat passes the island of the Sirens and he is determined to be the only one to hear their song and live.  He has all of his men plug their ears with ear wax and ties himself to the ships mast.  He succeeds in hearing the Siren song and surviving.

When you move further through history the myth is used in many different ways.  The most common theme is that these women are not only beautiful singers, but are beautiful women in general.  In the films mentioned above the women are beautiful and eye-catching, which gets the men into trouble.  In Ulysses the barmaids in the Sirens chapter are beautiful and lusted after by the men that visit their tavern.  The thing about Sirens is that they know they are beautiful and they use their looks to seduce men (and women) into doing something for them.  Whether that thing is crashing into the rocks so they have a meal, or spending more money on drinks at their bar.

    The Sirens always bring trouble to the men that they seduce.  In “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” the trouble is simply that they are delayed in their journey.  This is the same in the Odyssey.  Odysseus goes out of his way and takes the time to sail past the Siren’s Island.  Other men that encounter the Sirens are not as lucky and often come to some type of danger or pain.  In the film “Sirens”  the male figure loses his wife to the Sirens when she becomes one herself.  In other adaptations however the outcome is much more dire.  This is most obvious in the original myth, where the Siren song led to death.

This myth is just one of the ways that society and men have portrayed feminine beauty (and women in general) as being dangerous to men.  The beautiful feminine voices of the Sirens draw the sailors in to their deaths.  There are many other myths that help perpetuate this idea that women are dangerous for men.  One of the most obvious ones being the myth of Pandora, whose existence was a punishment for mankind.  The story of the Trojan war also perpetuates this idea.  Helen of Troy is described as the most beautiful woman on Earth and that beauty brings about a 10 year war between the Greeks and Trojans.  The Siren myth is just one myth that contributes to this idea of women as dangerous, but it is one that has persisted throughout history.

 

Image:  Ulysses and the Sirens by Herbert James Draper (1909)

 

Image:  Sirens (1993)

 

Image:  Oh Brother Where Art Thou (2000)