Myths

Oh, how cold it’s getting.  As happens every year, there are complaints that there’s not enough snow, it’s not cold enough, and then the chill settles in… but the canal isn’t open yet, so outdoor ice skating isn’t available yet.  (I don’t indulge, personally, so I am curled up under some awesome blankets.)  Jerry still refuses to wear boots so his little paws get cold fast and he hops along on 3 legs, sometimes trying to manage on 2.  If he’s forced to get dressed, he refuses to move… silly little boy.  Don is “watching” NFL and flipping over to 3 other channels, so I’m not entirely sure what he’s following.  I’m not paying attention to any of it, so I’m not the most reliable witness in this.

I’ve been watching the series Great Greek Myths on Prime.  It’s partially animated, partially using images of sculptures, paintings, and other artworks to illustrate the tales.  I’ve always loved the Greek myths, and I’d spent a lot of time reading and rereading translations from my early childhood.  This series is progressing through the myths via the route of the gods, heroes, demigods, while overlaying the geography.  It’s awesome to me that so many rich and enduring myths arose from such a small area.  As we all know, the Greek myths shaped the Roman pantheon, and laid the foundations of our society.  In watching this retelling, I noticed something that I’d never realized before, which is just how little women were appreciated.  In the myth of Pandora, for instance, she’s the first woman, and has been designed to be desired, but she’s listed as the source of all humanity’s problems.  (Curiosity was a very feminine attribute, and apparently isn’t supposed to be positive.)  It’s echoed in the story of Eve, who is blamed for Adam’s failure.  I’ve said before, I think that what happened was that Adam was deceived, ate the fruit, learned how to lie, and blamed Eve.  The Genesis story doesn’t make him look too honourable, what with saying, “She made me do it,” so it’s really within the realm of possibility that he twisted the tale and got his version out first.  The gods are shown as being badly flawed, but extremely powerful, with all the human vices and remarkably lacking in virtues.  Consider Prometheus, who was condemned to having his liver torn out and eaten for a very long time for the “crime” of giving fire to humanity  — because Zeus was bored and removed it from humans.  So many tales of betrayal and deceit.  But there’s also a plethora of tales that we’ve seen replayed in different ways throughout our history.  We’ve got names for various things — diseases, behaviours, etc — rooted in these tales, like narcissism, Oedipus complex, Trojan horse, etc.  I’m rambling, I know.  But it’s so interesting to see how the stories have persisted and continue to play out after thousands of years. Myths are the stories we tell to help with understanding the world around us in a way that is as natural as breathing to humans.  We tell stories about everything, with varying degrees of fact incorporated in them.  But even the fantastical tales have a kernel of truth, or at the least a way of explaining an unknown.  Consider that even our scientific explanations have elements of mystery in them — what existed before the Big Bang?  What triggered that explosion?  The Vedas talk about the cyclic nature of the cosmos, and the life of Brahma, which roughly estimates to 3 vingtillion (10^20; or 3 followed by 303 zeroes) years.  Consider that the universe, at this point, is only 14 billion years, so there’s a lot of time for the life of Brahma in this incarnation!  That helps me make sense of the universe, and the various myths of different cultures all fill in gaps in understanding.  I don’t think that any of them are literally true — least of all the idea that the world is 6,000 years old — but they are all great for explaining our relationship to the universe.  That covers the cosmological myths, which talk about creation and existence.  The other types teach societal rules and morals (a good example is Aesop’s fables) or those that teach a sense of wonder:  miracle tales, for instance.  OK, after that summary, I’m going back to my tales of magic and wonder, where bravery, ingenuity, kindness and wisdom are rewarded, and where deep questions are asked — and occasionally answered.  

Clearly I’m in need of either a good meal or a good sleep or both!  The stories are so fascinating that I’ve lost myself in several of them, and I’ve enjoyed remembering the tales.  It’s occurred to me that going to school to learn more about these things is a dangerous idea.  On the one hand, I love learning and I’d enjoy doing more research in these areas, but at the same time there’s a risk that by having to learn them I’d lose the joy I get from reading them.  It’s how so many people object to reading after having had books assigned in school.  It’s a risk, and we’ll see how that goes… if I find an opportunity to audit a mythology course, I might take it.  Meanwhile, it’s time to play with the puppy who is looking neglected with nobody to toss his toy around.  Good night