Vol.III, No.17
www.renewssource.com
September 1, 2017
Mythological Influence By Pat Farrell
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID San Antonio, Texas Paid Permit #1590
We have previously looked at myths as they relate to the beliefs learned from parents or others during our childhood, but there are also myths that are essentially stories, evolved during ancient times, most likely meant to offer reasons for common things like the sun and moon, the land and the oceans and various phenomenon like rain, thunder and extreme heat. Such stories have been repeated throughout following generations within a culture and, as the years go on, the stories have a tendency to vary somewhat. The accounts most commonly found in literature are from Greek or Roman mythology. Though many folks may not have heard the stories of life and strife on Mount Olympus, they have undoubtedly, at some time or other, heard or made use of words or expressions that are derived from those stories. According to Greek mythology, after Zeus overthrew his father, Kronus, who was at the time head of the Titans, the twelve Olympian gods
and goddesses, all related to one another, came into power. In Roman mythology the gods and goddesses are similar to those of the Greeks but may have different names. The names of the twelve Olympian Greek gods (Roman names in parentheses) were Zeus (Jupiter), Poseidon (Neptune), Hades (Pluto), Apollo, Ares (Mars), Hephaestus (Vulcan), Hermes (Mercury) and Dionysus (Bacchus). The goddesses were Hera (Juno), Aphrodite (Venus), Artemis (Diana), Athena (Minerva), Hestia (Vesta) and Demeter (Ceres). One of the stories in Greek mythology is that of Pandora, who unlike the immortal gods was a mortal and, as the tale goes was created from clay by the gods and sent as a gift to Epimetheus, a Titan, with the intent of punishing humankind. From each of the gods she received a gift that could be used for good or evil, i.e. Athena breathed life into her while Hermes taught her how to be charming yet deceitful and others provided gifts like beauty, persuasion and curiosity. In original stories, for her wedding to Epimetheus, Zeus gave her a jar, which in later stories became a box, with instructions that it was never to be opened. Pandora, being naturally curious continued to wonder what the box might contain and finally her curiosity got the better of her and she opened the box. As one version of the story goes, Zeus had packed the box with all the evils of the world, including disease, misery and death along with poverty and sadness and when the box was opened they all came out in the form of tiny buzzing creatures which stung Pandora as they exited and flew on to plague mankind. She slammed the box shut immediately but could still hear a voice crying out to her from within and when she opened the box again found ‘hope’ in the form of a beautiful dragonfly which healed her wounds and proceeded to go after all the ills that had been released. Today, opening Pandora’s box is taken to mean we cannot be sure how some of the things we do, or have set in motion,
might affect us or others down the line. Another story concerns a King in the country of Phrygia in Anatolia which is in modern day Turkey. Although King Midas was very rich, with a great fortune and lived in a large and luxurious castle with his daughter he had an obsession with money and was fascinated in particular with gold to the point of counting his gold coins daily. It happened one day that Dionysius, the god of wine and revelry was passing through the kingdom with his companion, Silenus, a satyr, but Silenus became tired and stopped to rest in the King’s gardens. When Midas found Silenus there he invited him to stay at the palace for a few days after which he took him back to meet with Dionysus who was so grateful to see his friend again that he offered to make happen anything the king wished for, but cautioned him to choose wisely. King Midas, possessed by his fascination with gold asked that everything he touched would turn into gold and, as promised, his wish was granted. Although he was initially quite happy with this new gift, the folly of that wish soon became apparent when he hugged his daughter and found her turned into a gold statue and also learned he would soon starve as his food and drink were also subject to the conversion to gold. Again, calling upon Dionysus he was able to have the wish, turned curse, reversed when he followed instructions to cleanse himself in the Pactolus River. He did so and as a result was freed from the curse and all he had touched previously was restored to normal. Today, although it is still associated with greed, having the “Midas Touch” refers to someone who is always able to generate events that are successful in building wealth. Would that we could have those types of events to always occur with our real estate transactions! And then there is Dionysus (Bacchus) himself who was the subject of, or included in, a number of either the Greek or Roman stories. He was the son of Zeus but was the only Olympian
god who was the product of a god and a mortal. A number of stories include Zeus’ affairs and of his wife Hera’s wrath at learning of the affair and the pregnancy that would produce Dionysus. Some stories say she attempted to destroy the child prior to his birth by having the mother killed while others say she had the child ripped apart after birth. In some cases Zeus either saves the fetus by sewing it into his thigh until ready to be born (thus conferring immortality) or by later reassembling the slain child (rebirth after death) and protecting him until it was safe enough for him to be released. The gods of Olympus were worshipped and Dionysus, known as the god of wine, intoxication, ecstasy and freedom, was no exception. Stories tell of Dionysus wandering the world, attracting cult followers who would worship him in the woods rather than in a temple as was usual with the other gods. Roman historian, Livy, tells of the “mysteries” of the cult followers of Dionysus (Bacchus) being transported from Greece to the woods in Italy where festivals were held, in strict privacy, involving men and women from all social classes and of all ages, who, usually in a state of madness and ecstasy, would engage in drunken, and yes, sexual free-for-alls several times a month. Today, when some of our social gatherings seem to get wa-a-a-a-y out of hand they are often referred to as Bacchanalian events suggesting they might be approaching the Roman orgies. Given the foregoing stories it is apparent that we have learned well from mythology, whether we were aware of it or not. The Greeks and Romans were certainly not alone in their stories that evolved as a way to explain the unexplainable. All cultures have their own stories that have been passed down through the ages including, the Norse, Mexican and Egyptian cultures, and there is also a whole body of American Folklore of which many of us may be aware, but that is for another time!