Month: June 2017

The story of Athena and Arachne leaves a message that carries meaning over time and place. Originally spun as part of book VI in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, it speaks of the downfalls of human pride and cleverness.

Ovid was a poet who, in 8 CE, finished his most epic narrative: Metamorphoses. It is still one of the greatest compilations of beloved Roman mythology to date, and in fifteen books Ovid emphasizes some of the most common themes in classic Greek and Roman mythology. Although the tale of Arachne is short in comparison to some of the others in Metamorphoses, it depicts some of the most influential motifs in mythology. I specifically chose to write about this story because I believe that, even in today’s society, we can learn from the lessons told in mythological and religious literature. We could benefit from paying heed to the consequences of things such as pride, disrespect, and the desire to test fate. If only Arachne had this foresight, her fate may not have been sealed as dimly as it was.

Arachne was a woman of humble upbringing and an artist whose only recognition came from her work. Therefore, it seems reasonable that she shows great pride in her skill. As in many cases though, there is a line between pride and arrogance. Arachne crosses this boundary when she contests the great craftswoman goddess Athena. Unlike Ovid himself, who asked for the gods’ blessings to write his prose, Arachne does not respect the authority and humility of her religion and stubbornly challenges the goddess to a weaving competition.

Gods and goddesses do not take kindly to the idea of mortal beings coming anywhere close to perfection. Athena reacted with swift vengeance when Arachne’s weaving was shown to be a stunning, yet disturbing depiction of the numerous crimes of her fellow gods. Arachne had shunned the religious attitudes of her people; some of which included gratitude to the Olympians and an acceptance of mortals lesser role in life and their imperfections. She had upset the balance of nature and a reckoning, as per usual in mythology, was necessary. Thus Arachne realized too late that she had disrespected the wrong person and in her shame she tried to kill herself. Athena showed more mercy than normal by turning Arachne into a spider and allowing her to live.

This tale is sometimes said to be a creation story and the origin story of arachnids. I do not disagree, but because of its intricacy and its plot, this text has subtle lessons and warnings that are meant to mold mankind into cautious and subservient believers. Just like the Bible is to Christians, the ancient Greeks and Romans lived and breathed the stories that represented their past so that they could lead a devote present. Gods and goddesses were simultaneously loved and feared and were no more fiction that the air and the earth. Although I cannot see the story of Arachne and Athena from these peoples’ perspective, there are a few details that stand out above the rest.

At the beginning of the tale, Athena approached Arachne and gave her the opportunity to give credit to higher powers for her talent. This does not fit the short-tempered and punishing profile established in my mind. It shows that fate is grey. We sometimes have the ability to adjust our own future and fix mistakes that could lead us down the wrong path. It is a glimmer of hope to see the story from this mindset. Also, in the same line of thought, and contradictory to what I just wrote, it seems a little ironic that the opportunity to change fate even exists at all. I remember from reading myths growing up that there are three “Fates”: crones who weave a tapestry of their own which affixes each and every individuals inevitable lot in life. I think the conflict of the Arachne’s opportunity to change her fate and the Grecian idea that fate is sealed from the beginning is what drew me to this story. Myth can be interpreted in so many ways; it is only each reader’s interpretation that, in the end, counts.

My personal interpretation is even applicable to today. Morals and lessons never lose value; they just alter to fit the times. There are so many conflicts going on in our world that we have the ability to grasp, find a solution to, and change before it is too late. I have known this story for a long time, ever since my mom read abbreviated myths to me when I was a kid and more in depth in college. Each time I read it there is something new and tangible in the world that its lessons can be applied to. This class was a good way for me to remember that behind every seemingly ridiculous story is a bigger picture.

 

 

Bibliography

Anon, Arachne. Greek Mythology. Available at: https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Mortals/Arachne/arachne.html [Accessed June 30, 2017].

Gill, N.S., Who Won the Weaving Contest Between Athena and Arachne? ThoughtCo. Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/weaving-contest-between-athena-and-arachne-117186 [Accessed June 30, 2017].

O. & Miller, F.J., 1966. Ovid Metamorphoses: with an English translation, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

 

Coming into this class I had no knowledge of Greek mythology whatsoever. Other than watching Hercules when I was a kid, and Percy Jackson when I was a teenager, I was pretty much clueless about the subject. All I knew was the names of a few Gods (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades) and one Hero (Hercules). The extent of my knowledge about Hercules was what I could recall from the movie I watched as a little kid. In my mind, he was a big strong guy who helped people and everyone liked him. He was almost a celebrity in my eyes, but after taking this course I have realized that he wasn’t what I had imagined. Being so surprised about the stories I heard about Hercules it made me rethink my original perception of him. With that, it made me wonder if Hercules was a good guy or a bad guy. That is want I hope to determine after writing this paper.

I want to start with a little background about Hercules because I came into this class with no real knowledge of the subject. So, everything we talked about was new information to me and I found it very interesting. To start, Hercules is a demigod which means one parent is a god and the other is a mortal. In Hercules’ case, his father is Zeus and his mother in a mortal named Alcmene. Zeus was
married at the time to Hera and she hated the fact that there was a child born out of wedlock. She hated this so much that she sent snakes to kill the infant Hercules, but the young boy killed the animals. Even though Hera tried to kill Hercules when he was a young boy, her plan failed. Hera was still very angry at Zeus for having Hercules and wanted to get even with him. Knowing she would lose in a fight, she thought that making Hercules’ life miserable would be a good punishment for Zeus.

After Hercules strangled the snakes sent by Hera, he grew up to become a strong warrior. He got married to Megara and they had two children together. Everything seemed to be going well for Hercules, but Hera’s anger never went away and she decided it was time to start making Hercules’ life as miserable as possible. Hera struck Hercules with a fit of madness. This incident was recorded by Euripides, a Greek tragic dramatist playwright. This playwright says that the madness made Hercules lose control; “his children looked at him; he was no longer himself; his eyes were rolling; he was distraught; his eyes were bloodshot, and foam was oozing down his bearded cheek”. Hercules had zero control of his actions and ends up killing Megara and his children. When I heard this for the first time in class I was confused because I thought Hercules was a good guy, not someone who would have killed his whole family. I understood that my only knowledge about him is from a children’s movie where they obviously left that part out. Nevertheless, this still shocked me because I never knew he killed people, especially his own family. Initially, this made me think that Hercules was a bad guy, and Disney just changed the story to make a good movie. Hercules went from being a hero in my eyes to a murderer.

After looking over the story for a second and third time I realized that I was just looking at the fact that he killed his family. I wasn’t looking at the fact that Hera sent him madness and he didn’t have any control over what he was doing. With that in mind, it makes it a little easier to understand, but it’s hard to not disapprove of him because he did still do it. It makes the question of whether he is a good or a bad guy a little bit more complicated. Even though he wasn’t in his right mind, someone has to take the blame and I think that it still lands on his shoulders.

When Hercules came to and realized what he had done, he was very distraught and wanted to somehow fix his mistakes. He asked the God Apollo how he could get rid of his sins. Apollo told Hercules that he had to preform 10 heroic labors (this increases to 12 later on) if he wanted to be free from his sins. Not going too in-depth with all 12, I will just give a brief description.

1. The Nemean Lion- Kill the lion of nearby Nemea.
2. The Lernean Hydra- Kill the hydra (water snake). It was difficult because every head cut off three more would grow.
3. The Hind of Ceryneia- Catch a hind that was dedicated to the goddess Aretmit.
4. The Erymanthean Boar- Catch a boar from the slopes of Erymanthus.
5. The Augean Stables- Cleanse the stable of king Augias of Elis in one day.
6. The Stymphalian Birds- Remove the many man-eating birds.
7. The Cretan Bull- Fight against the Cretan Bull.
8. The Horses of Diomedes- Catch four flesh-eating mares.
9. Hippolyte’s Belt- Collect a belt from a queen for Eurypterus’s daughter.
10. The Cattle of Geryon- Steal the cattle of Geryon.
11. The Apples of the Hesperides- Obtain apples of the Hesperides.
12. Cerberus- Catch a three-headed dog.

These are the 12 labors that Hercules had to do to have his mistakes forgotten and his soul be cleaned. Hercules obviously felt bad for what he had done and was trying to make it right. He did everything he was told to and completed 12 very difficult tasks. Now does this make up for killing his family? Does it make him a good guy in the grand scheme of things?

After reading these stories for the first time I wrote Hercules off as a bad guy because I don’t think you can make up for killing your wife and children. Also, my perception of Hercules was a little skewed because I knew very little and expected him to be good guy. Re-reading the stories, I have a different perception of Hercules. I think he is a good guy because even though he killed his family, Hera put the madness on him so he couldn’t control it. She also put the madness on him because of something his father did. Hercules didn’t do anything wrong. After he realized what happened, he knew that he was under the madness and that Hera didn’t like him because of his father.  Therefore, killing his family wasn’t his fault at all. But, he still felt so bad about something that he didn’t have any control over that he went out and did 12 very difficult tasks. That shows his true character and for him to do that proves that Hercules is a good guy.

Bibliography

• http://www.livius.org/about/
• http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper

Pictures

• https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/b7/4c/53/b74c539844109142448b51d9de44689b.jpg
• https://www.diomedia.com/imagePreview/01AGS3TY?imageId=10517696&imageCode=01AGS3TY&contributor=Alinari&siteName=www.diomedia.com&title=&location=&ds=760&newStyle=1&tc=FFFFFF&tbc=333333&qv=95&icc=1&cl=1
• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Madrid_Krater_Asteas_MAN_Inv11094.jpg/1200px-Madrid_Krater_Asteas_MAN_Inv11094.jpg
• http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/Hicons/labors.gif

Classical Greek and Roman mythology as a religious following has brought to light many of the virtues that are important to the culture of that time period. The idea of predetermined fate has been brought up numerous times through extensive story telling. Specifically, this topic is expressed through the tales of Zeus and the two jars, the story of the Fates, and the story of Oedipus. Each of these brings to light different ideas of fates and explanation to the world of the unknown that surrounded the Greek and Roman people.

 

The epic poem The Iliad, written by Homer, recounts the events of the Trojan War. This piece of literature was written around 800 B.C. and was written to document the story telling of that era. Within this book, Homer is quoted in writing of Zeus’s action of giving each mortal a handful of evils and a handful of blessings. This is represented by two jars that sit beside the god. Each handful is given out from the corresponding jar and they determine how fortunate one will be.

 

This representation of fate seems to play into the idea that everyone is given good and bad fortune. Later, Homer specifically addresses a man named Peleus. It is stated that he was blessed with gifts starting right at birth until he died (Homer, 800B.C.). He was even given a goddess as a wife. This man, however was still given some evil. His only son was destined to die early.

 

The Greeks could have also used this story as an explanation for why things occur that are out of the control of humans. We are not able to alter each situation as we please and, often times, those type of situations happen without full enlightenment of why. This idea of evils and fortunes given by a god help the Greek people solidify the unknown reasons for good or bad luck.

 

The story of the Fates brings a different outlook to the idea of predetermined outcomes. This story can be found within the Dictionary of Classical Mythology by Jenny March. This dictionary was published in 2014 and was written to inform the readers of the characters and stories of classical mythology.

 

March writes briefly about the Fates (also known as the Moirai) and each one of their roles. The fates consisted of three goddesses known as Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos. Each played a specific role in their ultimate goal of writing out each mortal’s fate. In this story, a mortal’s life was like a thread of yarn. Clotho, whose name meant spinner, spun the yarn of life. Lachesis, whose name meant apportioner, gave the correct length for the yarn. Finally, Atropos, whose name meant inflexible, cut the yarn, essentially symbolizing the end of the mortal’s life.

 

This myth specifically illustrates the power of fate. March states, “Even the gods, it seems, were subject to the decrees of the Fates” (March, 2014). This shows the strong Greek and Roman view that fate cannot be altered by any means. Every mortal is destined to die and not even a god cannot change that.

 

It is also important to recognize that often times these goddesses are not always discussed specifically within the storytelling. As March put it, they “only played an occasional part in mythological events” (March, 2014). This is significant because they don’t need to be mentioned. Everything that happens to a mortal is assumed to have been written out already by the Fates. This, then, becomes a perfect metaphor for predetermined life. Just as the Fates don’t need to be mentioned, neither do reasons for events in life. These events are the direct cause of the Fates and that provided enough explanation for the people of this time.

 

Oedipus is a story of an attempt to avoid fate. This is told through many plays, but maybe most famously told by Sophocles in a play titled Oedipus Rex. This was written and performed around 400BC. This form of storytelling was most likely written as a form of entertainment for the Greek and Roman people.

 

This plot of this story discusses how Oedipus was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. He was sent away from his parents at a young age to prevent this. Oedipus grows up with new parents, who he believes to be his blood. Once he is older, he hears of the prophecy and runs away to avoid hurting his new family. On his journey, he fights and kills a man. He then, later, marries a queen making him king. The new King Oedipus soon finds out that the man he had murdered was the former king and that his queen wife is his mother.

 

This story addresses the inability of any mere mortal to avoid fate. His family attempted to save themselves, but failed. He attempted to save his family, but failed. The play addresses the point that Oedipus, and his parents, knew his destiny, but still fell into it. As Oedipus’s parents were attempting to save themselves, they were contributing to the series of events that lead to what they feared most. Similar to when Oedipus attempted to save his new family. He fell into the route that was already decided for him. Essentially, his fate was inevitable.

 

Each of these stories brings to light a different aspect of fate that helped to shape the lessons and beliefs that the Greeks and Romans of this time were attempting to report. The story of Zeus brings to light that everyone has good and bad luck. There is no one that is born completely free of one. The story of the fates describes the power of fate. It tells us that every mortal will die and no god can save us. Finally, the story of Oedipus describes our inability to run from fate. These, ultimately, form one large lesson from this time period that fate is inevitable and predetermined.

Bibliography

Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: https://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad24.htm [Accessed 30 Jun. 2017].

Archives.dailynews.lk. (2017). Features | Online edition of Daily News – Lakehouse Newspapers. [online] Available at: http://archives.dailynews.lk/2012/01/12/fea17.asp [Accessed 30 Jun. 2017].

Biography.com. (2017). Homer. [online] Available at: https://www.biography.com/people/homer-9342775 [Accessed 30 Jun. 2017].

Cliffsnotes.com. (2017). Oedipus the King. [online] Available at: https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/o/the-oedipus-trilogy/play-summary/oedipus-the-king [Accessed 30 Jun. 2017].

March, J. (n.d.). Dictionary of classical mythology.

Martintcahill, V. (2017). If Books Were Beer: The Iliad & The Odyssey. [online] Martin Cahill. Available at: https://martintcahill.wordpress.com/2013/06/27/if-books-were-beer-the-iliad-the-odyssey/ [Accessed 30 Jun. 2017].

ThoughtCo. (2017). The Three Moirai: Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos. [online] Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/moira-goddess-of-fate-119859 [Accessed 30 Jun. 2017].

 

“A man can surely do what he wills to do, but he cannot determine what we wills” –Schopenhauer.

What is fate? When speaking about mythology one could be referencing the destined condition or event, fate, or one could be referencing one or all of the three Fates. In Greek mythology, Fate was personified as three sisters: Clotho, the spinner of life’s thread, Lachesis, the allotter of a person’s destiny, and Atropos, who cut the thread at death. These three are rarely mentioned by name, but their power seems to have control over even Zeus, the most powerful of the gods (In a limited amount of Greek texts). The concept of fate has been predominant in Greek/Roman myth and has been the driving force for most stories.

This predetermination of events is a familiar and common feature of Greek mythology and specifically Greek tragedies, the causes of human actions may be attributed simultaneously to fate or a deity and to a self-motivated human. These forces work generally in cooperation or at least simultaneously with harmonious purpose. Fate represents the personification of a power acting in parallel with the gods.

The Greek poets and writers found great irony in the fact that individuals might seal their fate by the very precautions they took to prevent it. We see countless characters who go to great lengths in attempts to alter fate, even if they know such an aim to be futile. Among mortals a famous example involves Oedipus and his father Laius. Laius also learns that his son will kill him, so he leaves the infant Oedipus to die – which only means that the two do not recognize each other when they battle years later, and thus fate is fulfilled and a prophecy is made true. But not only mortals are subjected to fate, even immortals have found themselves victims of it. The Titan Cronus learned that a child of his is destined to overthrow him, so he swallows all his children as soon as they are born. Gaia, his wife, hides the infant Zeus away, and later he does indeed overthrow his father. Because of stories such as these, one might come to believe that fate truly is predetermined and one has no control over it, what is to be will be.

So that brings us to the question of whether fate is truly definite or is it flexible. Do mortals and immortals have the ability to change a predetermined destiny? And something else to contemplate would be, does man truly have free will? Given the previous examples from myth, many would believe the answer to be no. One of the strongest examples is the king of Thebes, who has learned that his son, Oedipus, will one day kill him. The king takes steps to ensure Oedipus’s death but ends up ensuring only that he and Oedipus fail to recognize each other when they meet on the road many years later. This lack of recognition enables a dispute in which Oedipus slays his father without thinking twice and ends up marrying his mother just as it was professed. Although one might think that moral responsibility implies the existence of free will, the human agents of tragedy are blamed and held responsible. It is the king’s exercise of free will that ironically binds him to the thread of destiny. This mysterious, inexplicable association between will and fate is visible in many the stories of the Greeks.

An article written by J.V. Morrison discusses the concept of fate and directly references the story of Achilles in the Iliad. More specifically, Morrison quotes “Then father Zeus balanced his golden scale, and in them he set two fateful portions of woeful death, one for Achilles and one for Hector, breaker of horses. Balancing it in the middle, Zeus raised it high, and the fated day of Hector sank down: it went toward the house of Hades, and the god Apollo left him ”(Homer, The Iliad, p.274). While many see this depiction of Zeus in the story of Achilles as a god of fate some could argue that Zeus is simply just an agent of fate, not the ultimate ruler of it.

In Christianity it is believed that man has free will, God dignifies us with free will, the power to make decisions of our own rather than having God or fate predetermine what we do. Although God has the power and great influence he does not use these things to control everything. Consider what the Bible teaches and what the Greeks and Romans relayed through their myths. There are connections made between free will and fate that makes one question whether we truly have free will if our fate is predetermined. Perhaps the Gods/God know us better than we know ourselves and this is the root of it all.

Works Cited

Homer, The Odyssey

 Homer, The Iliad

Sophocles’ Oedipus trilogy

James V. Morrison. “Kerostasia, The Dictates of Fate, and the Will of Zeus in the Iliad.” Arethusa 30, no. 2 (1997): 276-296. Available at: https://muse.jhu.edu/ (accessed June 30, 2017).

Depictions of nudity are rampant throughout ancient Greek and Roman forms of art; so commonplace, in fact, that the “ideal form” as exemplified by the gods was a highly athletic, physically strong, nude male. This was a distinct Greco-Roman tradition as other ancient sculptures, like that of the Egyptians and Persians, were not crafted in this manner; “[t]o the Greeks [nudity] was the mark of a hero” (Singh, 2015). The choice to depict their greatest heroes and gods in the nude was not on a whim, but rather part of a deeply rooted philosophical and cultural ideology in which the human body was celebrated rather than shamed. Athletic competitions at religious festivals were done in the nude, and these demonstrated a love and idolization of the body in ways that were “unparalleled” (Sorabella, 2008).

Further, the idealization of the body was even more important in the Greco-Roman tradition than simply admiring the human form. In the nude sculptures, the bodies are portrayed as mathematically ideal, not realistic — a common theme throughout most Greek art, although Romans were more realistic in their portrayals of people in general. They are also not diverse; many of the statues would be interchangeable if not for defining characteristics that we look for in any work of art about the gods or goddesses, like Athena’s aegis or Apollo’s crown of laurels.

This is essential in comprehending the message behind the choice to portray their greatest heroes and the gods, because it is not about making them vulnerable, weak, or overtly sexual (although the argument differs when it comes to the depictions of women and goddesses). Rather, their goal was to revere and show admiration for them, and their main avenue for expressing the glory, heroism, and divinity of these statues was making them nude. Not all nudes are used for this purpose; also located in the British Museum, the Assyrian galleries have “nudes but they are not heroic. They are victims of war, stripped and flayed alive… [Greek] nudity was part of a dissociation from the reality of war” (Singh, 2015). This renders the nude tradition of Greece and Rome particularly interesting, as it reveals their sociocultural relationship to art and their forms of worship.

Just as nude men were utilized as a means of demonstrating heroism and strength, the female nude possessed its own connotations. Despite the obvious adoration of the male body, presentations of naked females in ancient art were nonexistent until the fourth century BCE, when Praxiteles sculpted the famous Aphrodite of Knidos (Bass-Krueger). After this event, the naked female body flourished in artwork, but the purpose was drastically different than that of male nude production. The power derived from the male body was not also transmitted to the female; rather, her body was used as a means of expressing fertility, sensuality/sexuality, and modesty. Many of the women portrayed both in antiquity and beyond are typically seen covering themselves, such as in the Knidian Aphrodite (a Roman copy of which is featured below), or are being intruded upon by the physical manifestation of the male gaze.

The latter is essential in Greek mythology and in portrayals of such. Many popular myths include goddesses being watched while bathing, a deeply intimate act: Diana (Artemis) is accidentally walked in on by Acteon, whom she turns into a boar so his dogs will tear him apart (Ovid); Athena is watched by Tiresias, whom she hits across the face to render him blind (Wilkinson, 2009). The former is frequently displayed in art, which we as a class were able to see in the National Gallery. Despite the retribution the goddesses are able to attain upon their invaders, that is not quite the point of the story (nor of the accompanying artwork). Goddesses, the most powerful and ethereal beings to the Greeks and Romans, were still being objectified and placed in vulnerable, subservient, and weak positions in relation to the men. Their bodies are used as the framework upon which a story can be told, and although the end of the story brings about great physical harm for both perpetrators, that is not something that readily comes across when artists depict the moment.

Furthermore, when one takes a look at the actual nakedness of the goddesses and women presented, it is important to note that the female genitalia are never actually crafted. While there are countless works in which male nudity is presented in full (and has somehow managed to survive thousands of years of abuse), females were relegated to a genitalia-less existence, which once again presented important sociopolitical connotations. These “statues present a value – an idealized value – of male and female roles in society that codified a power dynamic and social order that persists in so many ways today,” and the contexts in which they were produced (for the male gaze, to denote sexuality, fertility, innocence, purity, etc.) create interesting discourse about the nature of gender relations in ancient Greece and Rome; alternatively, of course, these dynamics were already exhibited by the pronounced sexism, victim blaming, and usage of rape throughout Greek and Roman mythology.

Ultimately, nudes in Greco-Roman art as well as portrayals of mythology are not meaningless, but rather serve as key insights into the sociopolitical and cultural realm in which this art was being created and displayed and in which the gods and goddesses of old were being worshipped. It is essential that we continue to study the depictions of nudity in such art and to think about the reasons behind these depictions, because they allow us to delve even deeper into the cultural world of the Greeks and Romans. Moreover, by learning about the Greco-Roman dynamics of gender, art, and culture — and the confluence of these — we are able to better understand the artistic movements throughout other time periods, and to derive greater understanding about the realities of the ancient world.

WORKS CITED

Bass-Krueger, Mauede A Brief History of Nudes. Available at: https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/theme/XwISmlY5uQWdJQ (Accessed: 29/06/17).

McFadden, Syreeta (2015) The lack of female genitals in art seems thoughtless until you see it repeated. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/13/absent-female-genitals-art-repeated (29/06/17).

Ovid Metamorphoses.

Singh, Anita (2015) British Museum explains why Greek statues are naked. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11333473/British-Museum-explains-why-Greek-statues-are-naked.html (Accessed: 26/06/17).

Sorabella, Jean (2008) The Nude in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/numr/hd_numr.htm (Accessed: 26/06/17).

Sorabella, Jean (2008) The Nude in Western Art and its Beginnings in Antiquity. Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nuan/hd_nuan.htm. (Accessed: 28/06/17).

Wilkinson, Philip (2009) Myths and Legends. London: Dorling Kindersley.

Since the beginning of time, humans have always wondered about the unknown. They wanted to make sense of life and how everything around them came to be. In Ancient Greek times, people had time to sit around and wonder about life and the role the gods played in their lives (Mason). From the curiosity, writings and myths were created by different poets and writers. The one I am going to focus on today is Hesiod. He lived in the 8^th century BC and was a farmer in central Greece until the muses gave him a symbol of poetry from which he became a poet (Scodel). Hesiod wrote a story about the Five Ages of Man in his poem Works and Days which explained very broadly where the gods came from and the eras that came before the age they were living in (Mason).

According to Hesiod, there were five ages that mankind has lived through since the beginning of time. Each of these eras were characterized by certain events and the style and type of living the people witnessed. The first age is the Golden Age. This is the only age that Zeus was not the King of the Gods but rather his father Cronus was the ruler. The humans of this time lived in harmony with the gods (Karas). They walked among them and interacted directly with them. This was considered a utopian time. They lived in happiness and enjoyed an abundance of food and resources that were provided to them by Earth (Mason). The people of this time did not work and no one became ill or old rather when their time came they would fall into a deep sleep like state and die peacefully and painfully (Five). The ending of this war came when Zeus was born and a ten year war, Titanomachy, broke out between Zeus and his siblings and their father, Cronus. This ended the Golden Age in destruction with the Olympians winning the war (Erin).

From the Silver Age on Zeus remained the God of the Gods and all man-kind. In this age men stayed children for one hundred years being reliant on their mothers. The reason men stayed in childhood for so long was because men were immature and needed this time to grow up (Karas). However this did not turn out to be a viable solution to their immaturity. Adult men would fight each other constantly and had no respect for the gods therefore only living a couple years into adulthood. Eventually Zeus decided to kill all of them due to their lack of appreciation of the gods, essentially ending the Silver Age (Erin).The people that were killed in the Silver Age were sent to Hades in the underworld to be his blessed spirits (Five).

During the Bronze Age the earth was stricken with war. The people were a militaristic society with the men being strong and trained in combat. Bronze was used to make everything from weapons to housing as well as horses (Karas). This age essentially destroyed itself. The wars killed off most of the people that lived in it and it also destroyed a lot of the land. The age was brought to a close with the great flood of Deucalion.

The Heroic Age is the only age that is not named after a metal. It is the only age that improved upon the previous age (Erin). This was man-kinds new birth. The age gets its name from housing the greatest heroes and demigods. The people were a honorable race with many heroes like Hercules and Achilles that respected the gods and followed their laws (Karas). Most of the stories that were told about the gods and heroes were from this era. This is also the time of the Trojan War. Souls of this age were so well liked and respected by the gods that they were to the Islands of the Blessed in the underworld which was the happiest and most fulfilling place to go after death (Five).

The final age and the age that Hesiod is writing this poem from is the Iron Age. The humans of this time lived in a time of great suffering. People had to work very hard and were under constant stress. Death and disease plagued the inhabitants and they were always surrounded by desolate places and destruction. Man-kind was selfish, violent, and neglected the gods (Karas). Hesiod believed that by the end of this age man-kind would kill themselves and the gods would not help correct anything and would either abandon them or come back and destroy the entire race (Five). Just like he did in the other ages.

One important aspect to look at is the place that these souls were placed in the underground. Not all ages were descriptive of that but the ones that are directly reflect what happened during the time they were alive. The ages were named after metals, each age receiving a less desirable metal as a symbol. This represents the degradation of each age besides the Heroic Age which was not given a metal as a symbol. These stories may have been told to scare the people of the Iron Age into doing right to return to the utopian time of the Golden Age. They were shown that disrespecting the gods and their rules, directly impacts the society in a harsh way. It teaches man that it was their own fault that disease and destruction plagued their world and their lives. This moved men to worship the gods and keep them in mind with every action they took. They were terrified of the power of the gods and did not want to end up like the souls from the previous ages (Mason). During the Iron Age the only interaction left between the mortals and gods was sacrifice. No longer did man live amongst the gods able to interact (Mason). These stories really helped shape society in the 8^th century BC and forward. The writings gave an explanation to the creation of the world around them as well as the gods that they worship. It also gave them a blueprint of how to be on the gods good side and described what has happened and what will happen if they fall out of line.

 

 

References

Erin. “Mythology – The Five Ages of Man According to Hesiod.” Mythography RSS. N.p., 21 May 2012. Web. 29 June 2017.

“Five Ages of Man (Hesiod) – Greek Gods, Mythology of Ancient Greece.” Greek Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 June 2017.

Karas, Michael, and Charilaos Megas. “Ages of Man.” Greek Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 June 2017

Mason, Moya K. “Hesiod’s Theogony, Myths and Meaning.” Moyak Papers. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 June 2017.

Scodel, Ruth. “Hesiod.” Hesiod – Classics – Oxford Bibliographies. Oxford, 23 June 2017. Web. 29 June 2017.

 

 

Test

For my blog post I will be discussing and exploring the concept of fate within mythology.

In various texts that we’ve discussed during the course of this module, fate (or the fates) seem to have played a very significant role, specifically in such texts as The Odyssey and Antigone for example. I intend to discuss the impact of fate on the characters of mythology while also exploring the question of whether or not fate is predetermined or can it be altered by an individual or God.

Violated Victims from Ancient to Present

Rape. It’s a touchy subject and makes a lot of people uncomfortable – as it should – but it should not be ignored. Ancient mythology and, unfortunately, present day reality is filled with horrific stories in which both women and men suffer as victims to aggressive and selfish rapists. Based on historical records, many mythological stories recount realistic situations that were actually occurring in ancient times. In ancient Rome, rape was not an uncommon occurrence, especially in wartime. In fact, according to Douglas Wong of Columbia University, ancient Roman law differed from current legal acknowledgment of rape and consent: first, stuprum was the term most commonly utilized, which – in reference to the online Babylon Dictionary (Babylon Software Ltd., 2016) only recognized rape between a man and a single women, maid, or widow (this excludes wives and other men); second, consent only counted for free-born citizens, and even then, wartime forced acceptance, and women may or may not have been included as citizens who could speak on their own behalf (Wong, 2017). Although the legal system is not the same, myths do encompass themes that are relevant to current circumstances.

 

Zeus is the king of the gods. His masculinity, power, and appetite is known throughout numerous lands, eras, and ages. He has had an ample supply victims. No mortal could be deemed safe from his vast cravings. The myths in which Zeus claims his victims, he completely disregards any notion of consent, and he takes no responsibility for his actions. Here, I will discuss only three of many Zeus victims: Leda, Ganymede, and Europa. In the first story, Zeus metamorphoses into a swan and seduces a woman named Leda, the wife of King Tyndareus. Some versions of this myth claim that this interaction was rape because Zeus took advantage of a woman simply trying to save a swan from an eagle, yet the word seduce makes it seem that Leda “consented;” therefore, the all-too-common phrase “she wanted it” is a more current expression that would parallel Zeus’ defense in this case. However, the next victim – a young man names Ganymede – definitely did not provide consent when Zeus transformed himself into an eagle and abducted the young man to be Zeus’ cupbearer and lover in Olympus. This story provides context to address the fact that women are not the only ones who can be victimized by rape. The third victim to discuss provides another scenario. Europa came across a very gentle bull one day grazing in a field. The bull was so kind and gentle, in fact, that Europa ventured to climb onto the bull’s back. Unfortunately, this bull just so happened to be Zeus in yet another animal form. Take a moment to consider the connection between Zeus’ transformation and the animalistic properties that rape requires. Once Europa takes her place upon the animal’s back, it runs to sea and swims to Crete where she would bear many sons to Zeus. Rape does not just happen. There are steps that lead to such a tragic event. This is a situation that creates many misunderstandings to say the least. If a woman speaks or even flirts with a man while he’s being gentle, and she still feels safe, that does not give him the freedom to take her away and do with her what he pleases. Even if he’s the king of the gods. (Reference https://www.bustle.com/articles/94692-8-weirdest-sex-things-that-went-down-in-greek-mythology for a quick view of these stories.)

 

The greatest hero of all myths even offers his own version of rape. Herakles – ironically conceived by another Zeus-as-rapist incident – has an appetite that strongly resembles that of his fathers’. Francesca Spiegel, from Humbolt-Universitat zu Berlin, presents Herakles through to perspective of his second wife, Deianira. Spiegel has analyzed Deianira’s character in order to get a sense of the victim within a marriage: a victim not protected by the ancient Roman enforcement of stuprum. Herakles’ main focus was the labour or adventure at hand – not his wife and home life. He came and went as needed and brought Deianira to whatever city and whatever “home” he deemed fit. Spiegel explains that Deianira was always a woman in a foreign place. The only familiarity she had was her husband and even he had a “monstrous nature” (Spiegel, 2017). When Herakles did come home, he had his way with his wife in whatever state of mind his last quest had put him in. This story brings to light that women in a marriage still have to consent every time to sexual intercourse; she is not at the whim of her husband’s animal-like appetite.

 

Alongside these few stories, several other myths are flooded with the theme of rape – directly and symbolically. These myths can serve a more significant purpose than simply a form of entertainment; they can help bring awareness to a subject that has terrorized victims for ages. In these and more, the victim is trapped in a terrible situation – trapped in the presence of their aggressors. Even if the victim does survive the rape, he or she can still feel trapped by the memory. Throughout time, false assumptions have arose about rape. The University of Minnesota Duluth has composed a list of common incongruities in relation to rape:

False: Women incite men to rape.

True: The majority of rapes are planned. The rapist is responsible for these actions – not the victim.

False: A victim shouldn’t dwell on the incident.

True: Telling the victim it’s better to “forget it” is a selfish lie. A victim should feel safe to talk about a rape.

False: Only “bad” women get raped.

True: Victim blaming is a problem. Saying the victim put him or herself in an unsafe situation is just making excuses for the rapist.

These are some of many more common lies people tell themselves to make rape okay. (See http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/jhamlin/3925/myths.html for more.)

Ultimately, it’s important to understand perspective. Times have changed, so our awareness of dangerous happenings, such as rape, should change and sharpen too. If we are willing to utilize these myths as warnings, they could be beneficial for potential victims in years to come. Myths can vary to serve almost any purpose, so why not use them to eliminate rape today?

 

 

References

Babylon Software Ltd. (2016) Stuprum Definition from Law Dictionaries and Glossaries. Available at: http://dictionary.babylon-software.com/stuprum/ (Accessed: 24/06/17).

Hamlin, J. (2005) List of Rape Myths. The University of Minnesota. Available at: http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/jhamlin/3925/myths.html (Accessed: 24/06/17).

Rutherford-Morrison, L. (2015) 8 Weirdest Sex Things That Went Down In Greek Mythology. Bustle. Available at: https://www.bustle.com/articles/94692-8-weirdest-sex-things-that-went-down-in-greek-mythology (Accessed: 24/06/17).

Spiegel, F. (2017) Sexual Rejection and the Monstrous Husband: Heracles in Trachiniae. Presented at: Rape in Antiquity 20 Years On, University of Roehampton.

Wong, D. (2017) Rape and Consent in Roman Law. Presented at: Rape in Antiquity 20 Years On, University of Roehampton, London.

Athena as Goddess

As I’ve listened to the myths in class, I cannot help but wonder about Athena’s prominent role as a goddess in a primarily male focused society. Athena’s characteristics that women were expected to mimic were separated entirely from those characteristics that the men of ancient Rome strive to mimic. Because Athena is a woman, her significance in Rome is surprising to say the least. She embodies wisdom, but to be wise would be a masculine achievement considering the lack of women in schools. She is a warrior, whereas women were not aloud to fight in wars. She was glorified for being a virgin, which contradicts one of the soul purposes for women at the time: to reproduce. Apparently, Athena’s tendency to be benevolent and disciplined are the only characteristics relevant to women. Even though she is a masculine goddess, Athena is a goddess nonetheless. The Roman’s exaltation of Athena reveals a conundrum when considering the social status women held in ancient times in my opinion. The contrast of goddess status and mortal woman status would be an interesting topic to delve in further research.