MYTHS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD: The Neverending Story
The February 1, 2003, the shuttle Columbia exploded while performing the maneuver back to earth.
next day, Luis Ignacio Parada published in a Madrid newspaper column entitled "Too many tragedies for Icarus." In that article, the reporter relied on the Greek legend of Daedalus and his son to raise a reflection on the meaning that could be the beginning of the third millennium expeditions such as the Columbia.
The legend of Icarus expressed a moral lesson from the Greeks. Seems to tell us "Do not want to climb up the sun as this young man, attentive to human limits" regardless, of course, that other levels are possible reading.
In the new version of the myth does not stop calls moralizing tone that man is kept within the physical limits of the earth. Instead, the myth serves as an illustration of an author's thesis: as the Cold War is history, when the space race is no longer the wild competition that was in the sixties of last century, what reason justifies endangering many lives human and those that have been lost in the disaster of the Columbia or Challenger? If start and
I do my presentation with the desire to justify the title it carries, "Myths of Antiquity: The Neverending Story." There is no tribute in these words of a famous fantasy novel of the twentieth century.
But it is true that I have allowed myself to take Michael Ende given the title of his work because it seems beyond question that the Greco-Roman mythology is also a "never ending story." A story that starts for us in the eighth century BC C. and lives, survives and metamorphoses over centuries and millennia, to recreate, for example in the article published by stop several years ago. This entry
I present a few examples of diachronic vision of classical myth, a vision that allows us to appreciate their ability to mutate and acquire new meanings, to be "never ending story."
But I will not, in principle, to speak of the persistence of the myth from antiquity to the present day. My approach might be considered rather intraclásico. Not transcend the temporal limits and borders the ancient Greek and Latin language. I will try is approached, first, the story of a myth in the Greek tradition, with a second example will illustrate the ups and downs that you may experience a mythical tale of Greece on their way Rome. But maybe, before proceeding in the matter, agree clarify my concept of myth.
I understand that a traditional tale starring extraordinary characters: in the classical tradition, gods and heroes, this story takes place in prime time, perceived as essentially different from the time he narrates, the myth is also , a story relevant to the community that arises because speculative plays a role: that is, is an attempt to explain reality, pre-logical if you want but not irrational.
ask these ideas (which I prefer not to call definition) and I realize that every one of his notes are open to debate. In the same way you can question the fact that I did not consider the religious dimension as necessarily constitutive of myth. I remember not pretend to give a general and universal definition of it but only to make explicit my assumptions.
The first of the stories with which I would like to face the stars by the god Prometheus, son of the Titan Iapetus. Greek sources that narrate the myth are plentiful, but not Latinas. Among the Greeks, the most relevant are these five:
- the Theogony of Hesiod,
- Works and Days (presumably by the same author), Prometheus
- the shears,
- dialogue Protagoras Plato
- and one of the Dialogues of the Gods, parodic version written by Lucian of Samosata in the second century AD
Of these five sources consider only the relevant Greek
Theogony and Plato's text.
In Hesiod Theogony, a work which we can date in the S. BC VII, we present the basic sequences and the story.
the god Prometheus is beating for some reason not made explicit, intended to benefit humans, no matter that, to achieve its objective, has to confront the supreme god, Zeus.
And between Prometheus and Zeus set a trick game: for every action by one followed by a reaction of the other, the actions of Prometheus designed to favor men, while those of Zeus always hurt and, ultimately, end up hurting our dubious benefactor.
We can distinguish three moves in this match.
- First, the supreme god tells his son of Iapetus that will help to establish how they should share in the future victims of sacrifice, which parts correspond to their men and what the gods. Achieved through trickery Prometheus that Zeus access to the meat of slaughtered animals is the lot of humans, whereas fat and bones is all that is received by the inhabitants of Heaven.
- The reaction of Zeus (the second movement of this game) is to deprive men of fire, possibly so they can not enjoy the meat slaughtered. Rival's response will be to steal the fire to put it in the hands of mortals, and (again) benefit.
- Then Zeus made the move that we consider as the checkmate of the game. The punishment imposed on Prometheus for having tried to deceive Zeus is the prison, the prison later (Prometheus the shear) will be located in the Caucasus, men, meanwhile, are "in exchange of fire" (v. 570) a bad, or rather, what the narrator of the Theogony presented as a wrong: the first woman.
At the point in exchange for a bad fire prepared for Men:
ground as he formed the famous bowlegged
a being bashful maiden appearance at the behest of the son of Cronos.
The girded and adorned the owl-eyed goddess, Athena,
with a silver dress, her head a veil
prodigious his hands hung up, wonder to see.
And some fresh wreaths of flowers and grass,
delicious, put him in the head Pallas Athena.
(...)
But once formed a beautiful bad return for a good, took
where were the other gods and men,
adorned with the ornament of the Eye of owl, the daughter of a powerful father.
At this point in history we may be tempted to name this figure and call it "Pandora".
However, the fact is that the first nameless woman in the Theogony :
Pandora will be called only in the parallel account (yet different) to Works and Days; the same way, the woman in the Theogony not convey any box ( or better, jar) with which he is to scatter the evils of the world.
That is the situation in Works and Days while the first of the poems the wife is bad for men.
I will not comment on the character of this text clearly misogynistic, character shares (otherwise) with much of Greek literature of the time. I think it's more productive to stop and reflect on the reasons why we consider that we are dealing with a myth.
-
is clear that what we read in verses 535 and following of the Theogony is a narrative; - the measure of its traditional character comes from the fact that the story has been recreated in these other texts Greeks to the reference I've done before;
- is also beyond doubt that the protagonists, as gods, are extraordinary people.
- What about the idea that the time it develops the myth is a prime time? That the situation is really in the story of Prometheus can be exemplified in various ways; I think stick to the most obvious case: a time when there are still no women would not be considered by force as primarily and essentially different from our own time?
The question that I have not yet made reference is the speculative function of myth. The story of Prometheus included in the Theogony
"tries to be the explanation of some unknown?
In my opinion, this story does not attempt to explain a single facet of reality tries to explain at least three different aspects of what the Greeks of the seventh century BC was the reality.
The myth speculate, first, with the way they performed sacrifices in Greek culture. It is true that the Hellenic practice was described in the poem: the sacrifices those who attended knew that this day could be fed with meat, while the gods receive the smoke from the burning of fat and bone. We know that in some moments of its history, the Greeks considered the usual irreverent. The myth of Prometheus tries to find the reason for this peculiar use, the Greek custom is justified (as is common in mythic thought) in an event located in prime time.
Note, incidentally, that when we talk of "speculative function" the myth is not to say that all myths have always responding to the major problems, "Who am I?" "Where do I come?" "where do I go?".
Thanks to the work of anthropologists know, for example, that among the indigenous tribes in Latin America are common myths about the origin of the ceramic item to us (from other cultural assumptions) may seem irrelevant.
Similar to what happens with the American Indians, the Greeks tried to find through the myth of Prometheus, an explanation for one aspect of their culture (the reason for your sacrifices) which for them was important, although perhaps not be so for us. But the story contained in the Theogony
is much more than that. Prometheus was not in vain considered among the Greek god of fire.
His myth is also trying to find a rationale for the presence here of a cultural reality as important as the fire: fire discriminate men from animals, as they knew perfectly Mowgli and King Louis in
The Jungle Book. According to the formulation of a famous book of Levi-Strauss,
- animals eat raw, we cooked,
- animals lack technique while we were able to develop ceramic or metallurgical precisely thanks to the fire.
comparative mythology says that usually preliterate cultures tend to consider fire as a celestial element, foreign to the land, which descends as a beam. If the fire has descended to this world to stay there, the service of man, is because in the beginning, Prometheus, our divine ally, wanted regalárnoslo.
the last sequence also plays a role speculative myth. Again, comparative mythology tells us that, often, very different cultures have considered that the man was born before women. The problem due to interest the archaic Greek, and found for him this answer broadcast on
Hesiod Theogony. A response is not too favorable to women, regarded as inherently evil. While, however, this response may be consistent with certain aspects of archaic Greek society can not study here.
Hesiod presents a literary elaboration of myth. But it seems to be very close to the mythical status that pure thought is a myth. With the author that we consider now take a twist: the
Protagoras and Plato's myth is not thought, is the vehicle of thought; a thought which, moreover, is clearly different from that found in the Theogony
.
- Is the thought of Plato, who speaks to us behind the mask of Socrates?
- Or is picking up here the philosopher Protagoras ideas?
be appropriate to frame the text, as we did earlier with the passage of Hesiod.
Sometime S. IV BC, Plato wrote down the dialogue that Socrates and Protagoras allegedly kept in the previous century. To a question raised by your correspondent, Protagoras offered to explain what you think "telling a myth, as you would an old man with a youth group, or through a rational exposition. " Your audience chooses the first option and the sophist tells a new version of the myth of Prometheus. This text
not find any reference to what constituted the starting point in the
Theogony, the distribution of the response between Zeus and the son of Iapetus. The approach is different. "Once upon a time," says Protagoras, and this formula starts with a story about the origin of mortal beings, shaped by the gods through a combination of the four elements. Prometheus, who does not believe the men under him, however, other functions capital in the early stages of our history, between him and his brother Epimetheus have to give to mortal beings (animals and men) of the powers that the gods give them for this purpose. Prometheus and Epimetheus
in mythology are a typical couple, the pair of siblings or friends with different mental abilities: one is the smart and the other a fool. This suggests differences in the qualities and their names, because Prometheus and Epimetheus, in Greek, are names speakers.
- Prometheus is "proactive," which is in advance. "
- Instead, we seem to understand the name of Epimetheus as "supervisor", "the supervisor" that in a negative sense, which is after things happen, who realizes in retrospect.
The point is that in the
Protagoras, Prometheus is not as ready as we expect, or at least wrong to enter the plea of \u200b\u200bhis brother, who asks to have the most active role in distribution of powers among mortal beings, "when you have done [distribution], you oversee it." Note that granting this request, Prometheus change of role, and takes his leave of his brother, "the supervisor" (Epimetheus) provide for the division of powers while "proactive" (Prometheus) will oversee this division.
As was feared, Epimetheus is wrong and the animals spent on all available capabilities. And realizes, too late, that no longer has any with which to equip the man, a "naked and barefoot, lacking arms and bed." To amend this error makes the decision Prometheus stealing fire and give it to man. Mytheme is essential that we already know from Hesiod.
However, significant differences exist in the new version.
- First, what Prometheus stole fire is not just physical, but the fire and artistic ability, wisdom technical (Protagoras says) is useless without the fire.
- Furthermore, a Prometheus who steals is called practical wisdom is not Zeus but to both work Greek gods, Athena and Hephaestus.
and theft (although the victim is not Zeus) is not far unpunished sophist expression becomes allusive and can only be understood in light of the traditional version of the myth "Prometheus, because of Epimetheus, then fell (according to legend) the penalty for theft. "
is also peculiar in this version of the myth then adding Protagoras, in order to make us see that the gift of Prometheus, however valuable it is a gift incomplete, and that the true gift that men receive the grant that has yet to Zeus.
Man, endowed with technical knowledge, could develop skills that set him apart from animals, "he quickly discovered the art of articulating sounds and invented words and buildings, clothing, footwear, bedding and agriculture." But man, it could be a rational animal, there was still a political animal. It was therefore unable to found cities without insulting their neighbors condemned to live in solitude, was unable to fend off the beasts that threatened to exterminate.
The history (And this myth speculates about the history and progress of mankind) could have been very short. But Zeus, in conversation with Hermes, the men decided to give them what they really needed to live in community: Shame and Justice, and with them the political wisdom.
Unlike what had happened to the other knowledge, political wisdom was shared equally among all men. Thus (still Protagoras), in policy discussions involving all citizens, while not everyone would consider them if, without doctors or architects, wish to express their opinion about a problem in medicine or architecture.
Thus the story of Prometheus, in the mouth of Protagoras, has morphed into a political myth: the mythical justification of democracy. This is a meaning (of course) was oblivious to the myth in Hesiod's version, this is the new meaning becomes myth in a philosophical context, possibly in the context of the Sophistic: in my opinion, the most likely the myth of the dialogue reflects the thinking of Protagoras himself and not that of Socrates or Plato's aristocratic.
The second myth I want to draw attention involves a love triangle quite sui generis. But I explain that triangle before commenting something about the goddesses of love in Greece. By mentioning the term "love", all we can come to mind the name of Aphrodite. Clear that only Aphrodite goddess of sexual love, and that's not the only love possible. The Greek mythology also encode married love and put under the patronage of Hera. The peculiar and unique among the Greeks is that they also know a mother goddess of love, this is Demeter, the mother of Persephone, whom Hades abducted her uncle to become his wife.
Of course, the story of Demeter, Persephone and Hades is much more than a melodrama or a sentimental novel. In fact, is a clear example of myth, an example that fits perfectly to the characteristics of the myth that we discussed earlier. The story is known by different versions. As I did in the case of Prometheus, I will stick to the commentary of two of them.
- First things first, we will go back to the late seventh century BC to discuss Homeric Hymn to Demeter. After that we
- the Greek language and study by the Latin version of history that included Ovid in Metamorphoses, early century of our era.
The story essentially the following. Persephone was abducted by her uncle Hades, who wanted to make her his wife. Demeter, the mother of the gods were angry to learn that the abduction had taken place with the consent of Zeus. It disowned by his duties as patron goddess of farming, then the grain will not burst over land and there was a terrible famine among men. Highlander decided
mediate and convince Hades to return to the girl. Hades agreed, but soon gave him to eat a pomegranate seed to keep her tied to him forever. It was therefore necessary to reach a compromise and divide the time Persephone: each year could spend eight months with her mother and the gods, but the remaining four should remain with her husband Hades, god of the Underworld.
Unlike what I did in the case of Prometheus, I will not expose all the features of myth in the story. Only point out something about its speculative value. Some versions of the story talk about how agriculture Demeter instituted. But this is not the case in specific literary version we are talking about, the Homeric Hymn
. In agriculture it existed before, the anger of Demeter makes it disappear but, in the same way, back to earth when the Goddess aside his anger, according to
these verses indicate Hymn: [Rea] to Rari arrived
fertile arable land in the past, because time was not fertile, but sterile
was without leaves, hiding the white barley
by Demeter will ankles fine, but then quickly
was covered with a hair pin
to advance elongated spring in the fertile soil
rows of spikes would be charged, and later it would tie in bundles.
Although not explain the origin of agriculture, the myth that recounts the text still has a speculative basis because it contains the explanation of a natural reality as important as the seasons. As stated in a passage of the hymn (vv. 401 ff.), The time when Persephone returns with his mother will spring:
land When fragrant flowers in spring time ,
contention to sprout, then the misty darkness
again returned to huge amazement of the gods and mortal men.
is, the annual cycle of Persephone becomes explanation of the annual cycle of the earth. The girl must remain underground, with Hades, one third of the year, so from our perspective is a state of death, at least apparently, so the land is in a state of apparent death in the autumn and winter (four months, according to the computation of the hymn) to be reborn with the arrival of spring.
At this point I want to emphasize that we must not ever overlook the context in which myths arise, we must not overlook the context in which there is the version of the myth of Demeter just discussed. This is the context of the archaic period rhapsodic hymnody and understand that this genre was closer to that mythical thought patterns to patterns of rational thought that philosophers are in classical period. The way he uses the myth of the Homeric Hymn seems closer to Hesiod that Protagoras of Plato, or in other words: there is no attempt here to use the myth as a vehicle for the expression of rational thought or if I may use the neologism, postmitotic. The interesting thing is that, with Ovid, the example discussed below, it seems that we take a step in the transformation of myth in simple ornament.
The Roman author includes the story in the fifth book of the Metamorphoses
, where myth is sung by the Muse Calliope, during his confrontation with the Pierides that, for wanting to compete with the Muses, eventually transformed into magpies.
In the story of Calliope there, compared with
Hymn to Demeter, variations. The ultimate reason for the discrepancy lies in the fact that Ovid inserts the story in his Metamorphoses
considering it not as a speculative story but a love story: something that obviously was not in the Greek model, though we have presented before the myth (not the song) as a sort of love triangle.
In Ovid, the action of the fable of a plot hatched by Venus and Cupid, who raised Hades-Pluto make you fall in love as the other gods. At the same time, Venus and Cupid want to prevent it is Persephone Proserpina-virgin Pallas and Diana, which the Romans (as before the Greeks) was the virgin goddess par excellence. It must be noted that neither the one nor the other (or Venus or Cupid) in the original Greek, and their presence in the Metamorphoses
dictated by the character of "love story" to be inserted in the myth Ovid.
What was once an act of violence, abduction of the girl, now becomes an act of love, in words attributed to Ovid in parliament to Jupiter himself, who (the interest to remember) is no longer complicit in this version of happened:
If it is permissible to things their true name, this action has not been an attack, but it is love (vv. 524-6, trans. Ruiz de Elvira)
Also in this recreation of the myth Jupiter who will intercede in the end (after the usual famine occurs) to achieve the return of Persephone. But it sets a condition. The condition is another element of the tale known as the Homeric Hymn
: Proserpina may only return to the situation prior to the rapture if you have not eaten any food in Hell. But the star can not satisfy that condition. Not because her new husband has given you to eat a pomegranate seed with ill intentions, as the Homeric Hymn
; was the very Proserpina who plucked the fruit of a tree, regardless of the consequences:
the maid had broken his fast, and while his ingenuity wandered in one orchard, had caught a tree bent by the weight of a grenade and running away from the yellowing seven grain crust, had squeezed into his mouth (vv. 534-8, trans. Ruiz Elvira)
It is necessary to reach an agreement and set how much time has to pass the girl with Ceres and Pluto. The Hymn to Demeter
talks about a deal that benefits clearly to the mother, a deal that would prefer the mother-child love:
But if something took, again returning to the [depths of the earth]
dwell there the third of the stations [each year; ]
the remaining two, by my side and the [other immortals.]
The Metamorphosis
, instead propose a Solomonic division of time. According to Jupiter's decision, Persephone spent six months his mother and six of her new husband. This new distribution of contrasts with the previous. Why Ovidio thus divided the time of the girl? I understand, first, that the condition of possibility for this new division is in the fact that the Latin author has decoupled the story of Persephone cycle of the seasons: thus, it is not necessary that the young person is a specified number of months on earth, symbolizing seasons milder climate. On the other hand, maybe Ovid wryly romantic character of this new version of the myth we have seen before Jupiter seen what happened (kidnapping) as an act of love, if we were reading the
Metamorphosis, end up seeing in Orfeo tenth book also appeals to the love that once joined to the infernal gods; X, vv. 28-9:
if the fame of the old rapture has not lied, ye also joined Love (trad. Ruiz de Elvira)
If we consider this new version of the myth as a "love story" is not consistent Proserpina devoted to it at least once (six months) to marital love and filial love?
Throughout this presentation I have tried to present the classical myth as open history: from this perspective, and resorting to an analogy with linguistics, we can say that myth is a significant willingness to constantly acquire new meanings. He exemplified this characteristic of myth on the basis of two stories transmitted by ancient texts. We had proposed to overcome the language barrier is not Greek and Latin. The truth is we could have gone to examples from other literatures to find that both Prometheus and the couple are Demeter-Persephone mutant elements throughout the Classical Tradition, not only in what at first called intraclásica tradition. I want to say goodbye
highlighting one aspect that singles this mythology that rightly call "Classic." Note that in his case is particularly viable diachronic approach of the kind that we have tested in this exhibition. Such an approach is not applicable to all mythologies. It is not, by example, in the case of oral cultures living mythologies, as these mythologies, which are collected by anthropologists in a particular stage of its transmission, no history. At the other extreme, the Hindu mythologies as a diachronic study do not allow for its hieratic which vetoes the versatile use of myth, flexible and productive use of stories like that of Prometheus, Persephone or Icarus to which we referred at the beginning of this post.
