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It’s the month for all things eerie...monsters, dragons and scary stories. But gods could also be frightening. Many like to imagine Dionysus as the fun, theater-loving drinking buddy from ancient pantheon...but did you know he was also a flesh-eater? (Get the full story on page XIII). Fortunately for us, the ancient world is full of interesting tales and characters, all perfectly fit for the season. For instance, there is the Gorgon Medusa. And then there are stories that you just know will be horrifying...especially for those with arachnophobia (read more on page II). Don’t let her recent comeback on Starbucks cups fool you, she was a very frightful sight for eyes...though she wasn’t always that way. (You’ll find her tragic tale on page XVI.) Of course, there are so many more fascinating legends, these are a tiny sampling. In fact, we have a larger than usual issue just trying to cover the most interesting ones. So, with that in mind, it’s best we just plunge right in. Enjoy this special October issue of Classical Wisdom Litterae on myths and monsters... Anya Leonard Co-Founder and Project Director Classical Wisdom IN THIS ISSUE: II. The Itsy-Bitsy Spider: Nicole Saldarriaga X. Monster Memory Game V. Top 5 Dragon Slayers: John Mancini XI. Fierce Females of the Odyssey: Julie Huse VII. The Riddle of the Sphinx XIII. Dionysus the Mild: Eater of Flesh: Ben Potter VIII. Myths & Monstrosities: Ben Potter XV. The Top Five Most Terrifying Monsters XVI. Pursuing the Gorgon: John Mancini I THE ITSY-BITSY SPIDER... (or, The Girl who Told the Truth about the Gods) BY NICOLE SALDARRIAGA Reader, let me tell you that I thought long and hard before deciding on my topic for this article. I’m speaking here about the myth of Arachne, of course. Though it’s considered one of the “lesser myths” of Greco-Roman mythology—probably because it’s not quite as detailed as other myths—it still gives us wonderful insight into ancient culture. A theme like “monsters and myths” isn’t so easy for me, considering the fact that monster myths happen to be my favorite aspect of Greco-Roman mythology. So...all these monsters to choose from...which to choose? Essentially, it functions as three different things: a moralistic warning, a subtle jab at the gods, and an origin story. At the end of the day, I made a decision that surprised me: this time I wouldn’t discuss bloodthirsty wraiths or barbaric hybrids—instead, I’d take a look at the humble spider. Before we get into the details of the myth, however, it’s important to point out that—like most myths—Arachne’s story has warped and changed over time, resulting in a few different versions of the myth. (Then again, if you’re anything like me, you do place spiders firmly in the category of “monster.”) For the purpose of this article we’ll be focusing on the most well-recorded version, which can be found in that great book of transformations, Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Monster myths are interesting and important for a variety of reasons—perhaps mostly for the insight they give us into the cultures that create them. According to Ovid, Arachne was the beautiful young daughter of a simple shepherd. She took up the craft of weaving at a very young age and quickly demonstrated an incredible amount of talent. By examining the “things that go bump in the night,” we essentially get insight into a culture’s fears and therefore its core values. Though spiders may not qualify as the most terrifying of creatures, their inclusion in a popular myth about Roman goddess, Minerva, certainly clues us into what the Greeks and Romans found chilling. As she grew into a young woman her talent only grew with her, and many people gathered to see her beautiful tapestries or to simply watch her at the loom—a sight that was said to be mesmerizing. II However, after years of having her work effusively praised, Arache gets a bit cocky. She begins to boast that her work is more beautiful than Minerva’s (the Roman equivalent of Athena). So, goddess and mortal sit down to work, and both produce beautiful—but incredibly different tapestries. Ovid spends a relatively lengthy amount of time describing the scenes woven into each tapestry, and for good reason. Keep in mind here that Minerva is to weaving what Vulcan is to smithing—she is considered the patron goddess of the craft, yet Arachne refuses to acknowledge Minerva’s hand in her great talent and even claims superiority. As you can imagine, this is incredibly infuriating to the goddess. Minerva weaves a perfectly symmetrical tapestry that depicts the glory of the gods (and her own glorious achievements in particular) in the center, and four separate corner scenes depicting mortals who were severely punished for challenging or insulting the gods. The work is technically flawless, and stunning. So, Minerva does what most of the Greco-Roman gods and goddesses seem to do when a mortal ticks them off— she disguises herself and pays Arachne a little visit. Arachne, on the other hand, weaves a very different tapestry. While hers is also gorgeously worked, it depicts the gods in a very unfavorable light. Appearing as an old crone, Minerva warns Arachne that she should not boast so carelessly, and that she should beg the goddess for forgiveness: “Not everything old age has is to be shunned: knowledge comes with advancing years. Do not reject my advice: seek great fame amongst mortals for your skill in weaving, but give way to the goddess, and ask her forgiveness, rash girl, with a humble voice: she will forgive if you will ask.” The tapestry is packed with scenes of gods raping women, deceiving innocent mortals, and generally displaying embarrassing behavior. Minerva is completely outraged at this further sign of arrogance and insult—and is only angered more by the undeniable fact that the tapestry is perfect. “SO, GODDESS AND MORTAL SIT DOWN TO WORK, AND BOTH PRODUCE BEAUTIFUL—BUT INCREDIBLY DIFFERENT TAPESTRIES.” There is no clear winner, but Minerva can’t contain her rage-she tears the offensive tapestry into pieces and begins to beat Arachne with her shuttle (a tool used for weaving). Arachne can’t bear this abuse, and suddenly hangs herself. Arachne responds with surprise and rage: “Weak-minded and worn out by tedious old age, you come here, and having lived too long destroys you. Let your daughter-in-law if you have one...listen to your voice. I have wisdom enough of my own. You think your advice is never heeded: that is my feeling too. Why does [Minerva] not come herself ? Why does she shirk this contest?” This extreme reaction actually causes Minerva to feel pity for Arachne, and the goddess chooses to bring Arachne back to life—but in the form of a spider, so that Arachne can both continue to weave and continue to “hang.” Enraged by Arachne’s impudence, Minerva reveals herself as the goddess (which, interestingly, barely affects Arachne), and the two ladies challenge each other to a contest: whoever can produce the most beautiful, the most flawless tapestry wins. In order to ensure fairness, the contest would be judged by the goddess Envy. “Live on then,” says Minerva, “and yet hang, condemned one, but, lest you are careless in future, this same condition is declared, in punishment, against your descendants, to the last generation!” III René-Antoine Houasse, Minerve et Arachne, 1706. There you have it—the creation of the first spider; but as I mentioned earlier, this myth is much more than a simple origin tale for those creepy-crawlies you find in your basement. The basic function of the myth is, of course, to act as a warning. Like many of the transformation myths found in the Metamorphoses, Arachne’s story is a reminder to never challenge the gods. It may have been unpopular and even dangerous to express this opinion, but the opinion existed, there is no doubt. “IN FACT, THIS MYTH IS MUCH MORE THAN JUST A WARNING—BECAUSE IN THE END, IT’S VERY IMPORTANT FOR US AS MODERN READERS TO RECOGNIZE THAT EVEN THE ANCIENTS WERE WELL AWARE THAT THEIR GODS WERE FLAWED. Even more interesting is that fact that in the myth itself, the two different perspectives expressed by Minerva and Arachne are both actually substantiated. IT MAY HAVE BEEN UNPOPULAR AND EVEN DANGEROUS TO EXPRESS THIS OPINION, BUT THE OPINION EXISTED, THERE IS NO DOUBT.” Minerva punishes Arachne for her insolence, just like the mortals on her tapestry were punished. She clearly believes that the gods have that natural right to command respect. No matter the validity of your claims, it will not go well for you—that is a guarantee. Arachne, on the other hand, whose tapestry displays mortals being treated unfairly and horribly hurt by the gods, is in fact reprimanded and beaten by Minerva. But Arachne’s story is also interesting in that it subtly shows us an unpopular opinion about the gods. Because of this, we could theoretically argue that Arachne’s behavior is not truly arrogant. Instead, it’s simply an example of a young woman telling the truth about her world as she perceives it, and being severely punished for doing so—and that is an entirely different sort of warning. It’s no secret that the Greco-Roman pantheon is made up of gods who are flawed, petty, and often cruel. Arachne could not ignore this and paid the price for calling attention to it. In fact, this myth is much more than just a warning— because in the end, it’s very important for us as modern readers to recognize that even the ancients were well aware that their gods were flawed. One that, as modern readers, we must hope no longer applies today. IV THE TOP FIVE DRAGON-SLAYERS OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY BY JOHN MANCINI The original sword-wielding dragon slayer of legend was not the knightly Orlando saving Angelica, nor was it Sigurd killing Fafnir… And it wasn’t even the Archangel Michael or St. George. champions for us to cheer on. So, without further adieu, let us look at the five original weapon-wielding dragon slayers from Greek mythology... 1. APOLLO It goes much further back than all of those...straight to the Ancient world. Our first hero was more than just a man, but a god all together. Where better to start really, than with one of the most famous and favored of the Olympians, Apollo, the god of light and the sun, truth and prophecy, healing, plague, music, poetry, etc, etc. In fact, the ancients had a fairly well-documented obsession with snakes, especially the large fire-breathing winged variety. From India to Egypt to Peru, a plethora of cultures around the world had some version of a snake-myth. His story begins with his house of worship: the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Appearing on coinage for centuries and supremely important to every culture that knew it, the temple was rebuilt five times in its several thousand year history. It was in Classical Greece, however, that the story elements were arguably perfected (at least in our opinion). There, the dragon-serpent antagonist was none other than the primeval water god, Poseidon, a close relative of Gaia, the earth goddess. He was, you could say, from the beginning of their time. In fact, the earliest version of the temple predated Homeric poetry and was likely devoted to an earth deity, not so dissimilar to our antagonist Poseidon, who was thought to be the most ancient possessor of the oracle. But what good is a story with the ideal “bad guy” without the perfect hero? Funnily enough, it was also supposedly the “earthshaker” Poseidon who was responsible for the earthquakes that destroyed the temple time and time again. Not much according to Ancient Greek mythology, which supplied some fantastic examples of monster vanquishing V According to the mythology, a spring nearby the location of the temple was guarded by the large Python or shedragon, which Apollo slayed upon arrival, thus freeing the people from their fear of the earth and its power. Harmonia then turned into the reptiles and slithered away into the forest together. Other versions of the myth, however, say that the gods transformed them into snakes as punishment. 3. JASON After Apollo’s triumph at Delphi, the traditional omphalos (a rounded stone artifact and early focal point of the temple) came to feature a snake wrapped around it. Our next dragon slayer is just like a comic book hero. His team, the Argonauts, were a seafaring crew that included Heracles, Asclepius, Orpheus, and Atalanta, among dozens of others. This marked it as a symbol of Apollo, the dragon slayer, god of wisdom and healing. The last trait he passed on to his son, Asclepius, who, according to Ovid, transformed into a snake and founded Rome. 2. CADMUS These larger-than-life lads accompanied Jason in his heroic quest for the Golden Fleece, which was, of course, guarded by a dragon. The second dragon slayer on our list is Cadmus, a Phoenician prince who introduced the alphabet to Greece around 2000 B.C. Jason was sent by Poseidon’s son, Pelias, to fetch the Golden Fleece. Along the way, he acquired additional tasks: to plow a field with fire-breathing oxen, to steal a tooth from a dragon, and to slay the dragon that guarded the fleece. On a quest to find his sister, Europa, he stopped at the Delphic temple to consult Apollo’s oracle, which led him to found the city of Thebes. Luckily for Jason, his lover Medea was trained in Hecate’s dark arts and gave him an ointment that would keep him from being burned by the oxen, in addition to a herbal potion with which he could put the dragon to sleep. While building the Theban temple, Cadmus’ assistants were slain by a dragon as they attempted to collect water from a nearby spring. (Apparently dragons like hanging around springs.) He did as advised and stole the tooth from the sleeping monster. Then, like Cadmus, he sowed the dragon tooth into the field, which grew into an army...and, again like Cadmus, he threw a rock into the middle of the crowd. Athena instructed Cadmus to slay the dragon and then sow its teeth into the ground like seeds. These seeds then grew into a fierce army. Not knowing where the blow had come from, the army once more turned on each other and self-destructed. In one version of this myth (and there are many), Jason is swallowed and then regurgitated by the dragon, thus reborn a bonafide hero. Following Athena’s orders yet again, Cadmus threw a stone into the center of the advancing warriors, causing them to attack each other until only five remained. With these men, or Spartoi, he was able to complete the citadel. 4. PERSEUS Unfortunately for Cadmus, this wasn’t just any dragon; it had been sacred to the god Ares. After its death, Cadmus had to do eight years penance, but was plagued nonetheless by the slaying. Cadmus’ family, as well as the city of Thebes, was cursed with innumerable tragedies, including the death of his four daughters and the fate of his grandson, Oedipus. Next up is Perseus, the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty of Danaans. In fact, Perseus’ deeds were so grand that they went on to provide the founding myths of the Twelve Olympians, a first of the heroes of Greek mythology. Eventually, overcome with his misfortune, he exclaimed that if the gods loved snakes so much, then he wished to become one. Ovid claimed that Cadmus and his wife VI Of his conquests, one of the most memorable is the beheading of Medusa, the snake haired gorgon, with the aid of Athena’s polished shield. Afterwards, Perseus went on to slay another monster, the sea serpent Cetus sent by Poseidon. ruler of the zodiac who rings in the new season by continuously slaying the old. Throughout his twelve labors he conquered two multi-headed snakes, including the Hydra and the Ladon. In an interesting relationship to Jason’s and Perseus’ story, This time it was to save Andromeda, his prize for slaying Heracles was instructed for his tenth labor to capture the both dragons. “golden haired” cattle of the tripleheaded Geryon (the son of Chryasaor, It is interesting to note that Cetus is “FROM INDIA TO EGYPT TO PERU, who, like his grandmother Medusa, lived on an island at the far edge of essentially another aspect of Poseidon A PLETHORA OF CULTURES AROUND the western sea). (being sent by him) and Medusa is THE WORLD HAD SOME VERSION OF often thought to be representative of A SNAKE-MYTH.” nature’s wrath, something for which Besides mirroring Perseus’ earlier the sea God is notorious. victory over Medusa, Heracles’ slaying of the Geryon follows as all his labors do...the archetypal pattern of the hero’s journey to slay the 5. HERACLES metaphorical dragon. The most accomplished of the Greek dragon slayers, Heracles, strangled his first snake when he was still just a baby in the cradle. This, of course, begs the question: what does dragon slaying represent? Of course we can never be certain, but it could be seen as a symbolic act of taming the wild, the natural, the demonic. Exhibiting strength, courage and ingenuity, he is considered the greatest of the Greek heroes, especially by the many Roman emperors who came to identify with him. Living in water but breathing fire, with the ability to swim as well as fly, the dragon embodies all the natural forces the ancients would have feared. Slaying them meant slaying fear itself. Heracles, in Greek, is another name for the sun. He is the RIDDLE RIDDLE WHAT GOES ON FOUR LEGS AT DAWN, TWO LEGS AT NOON, & THREE LEGS IN THE EVENING? Oedipus and the Solution to the Riddle As the story goes, the riddle of the Spinx famously confounded generation after generation — that is, until Oedipus came along. “Man, who as a baby crawls on four legs, then walks on two legs as an adult, and in old age walks with a cane as his third leg...” Promised the hand of the queen if he could solve it, Oedipus proceeded to tell the smug Sphinx: Its riddle solved, the despairing Sphinx proceeded to commit suicide. VII PLAGU ANCIENT MYTHS & THEIR MONSTROSITIES Were they really to be believed? BY BEN POTTER The attitude of the Ancients towards beasts, monsters, ghouls, ghosts and other creatures that give us the willies was significantly different to those of people today. Hercules and the Nemean Lion (it is for this reason that Hercules is usually depicted draped in a lion-skin). While we’re on the topic, Hercules is worth a special mention as the archetypal battler of beasts and monsters. Not only was he the conqueror of the aforementioned lion, but also faced a particularly ferocious hind, a boar, a bull, four man-eating horses, the many-headed hydra, and Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guarded Hades (which, like much in the Greek mythological canon, was given an “intertextual homage” [i.e. stolen] by J.K. Rowling). To start on the purely rational/corporeal level (best to get it out the way), the treatment of fierce beasts was not one of distant, awed respect...and certainly not one of conservation. These were real and quite dangerous animals that walked in their midst. Indeed, according to writers such as Aristotle and Herodotus, lions were commonplace around Greece “THE TREATMENT OF FIERCE BEASTS WAS NOT (and perhaps even Spain and ONE OF DISTANT, AWED RESPECT...AND CERTAINLY France) in the fifth century NOT ONE OF CONSERVATION. THESE WERE REAL BC… though seem to have AND QUITE DANGEROUS ANIMALS THAT WALKED IN become extinct in those areas THEIR MIDST." by 100 BC. Hercules’ descent into the underworld (katabasis) elevates him to the premier bracket of ancient heroes, along with Odysseus, Aeneas, Psyche, Orpheus and Theseus. After this, they (along with leopards, tigers etcetera) were only seen regularly in Europe because the Romans, in their uniquely altruistic manner, aided and abetted our dumb chums. N.B. katabasis is not unique to the Greek/Roman pantheon; the Egyptian god Osiris and Christianity’s Jesus Christ literally went to hell and back (for JC, Peter 3:19-20 and Ephesians 4:9). In other words, these beats, who would otherwise have needed swimming lessons in order to sample the delicacies of European cuisine, were brought over from Asia and Africa in order to devour perfidious criminals and duel with valiant gladiators in the amphitheaters of the Empire. Touching again on wild beasts in the Roman arena, it is perhaps surprising that the Ancients were such strong believers in ghosts, ghouls, demons. Indeed, one Ancient belief that was quite terrifying is the idea that when we see people in our dreams, we don't know if we are actually seeing a phantasmical version of that person, or, if they have already passed beyond the veil, the actual soul of the deceased on a brief sojourn from Hades. This baying bloodlust vis-à-vis our furry friends was not solely a creation of theatrical expediency, but actually a reference to possibly the greatest hero of antiquity i.e. VIII Perhaps because of these nocturnal chats with wraiths, specters and spirits, such entities were not universally feared or reviled. Indeed, in book XI of the Odyssey we see the eponymous hero chatting away quite cordially with the dearly departed. restful year of sex and reputation-building – including assistance in katabasis). For all these supernatural elements, the very reasonable and much-debated question is to what extent we should contend that the Ancients actually believed in their religious mythology. However, that’s not to say all those who had shuffled off their mortal coils were content to benignly shoot the breeze with dreamers or interlopers into hell – the Romans actually dedicated an entire festival (the Lemuria) to placating angry souls who had not received the correct burial rites. However, such musings are largely the product of our own cynical/enlightened/ monotheistic/naïve (delete as makes you happier) bias, i.e. we have no more reason to doubt the faith of the Greeks or Romans than the faith of the Norman English or the Renaissance Italians. One manner in which ancient and modern attitudes to the Ulysses and the Sirens, John William Waterhouse, 1891 supernatural do seem to There is very little evidence that incredulity was overlap is with regard to witches who were then, as now, widespread and huge evidence that it was commonplace. a good topic for a scary story, but don’t seem to have been given enough credibility to truly terrify. Indeed, two famous examples from men who clearly disbelieved only serve to reinforce that fact. The difficulty in verifying their scare factor is that witches do crop up in ribald, picaresque stories like The Golden Ass Socrates (via Plato) says that we must take an allegorical and The Satyricon, which presumably, though not attitude to the religious myths and Polybius states that, if necessarily, precludes them people were more intelligent, from the realm of true fear. “THIS WAS HISTORY, THESE WERE THE STORIES we could do away with The other issue is that, without UPON WHICH SOCIETY WAS BUILT… WHEN PEOPLE “superstition” altogether. HEARD STORIES OF JASON, HERCULES, ACHILLES Polybius leaves us very much our monotheistic tradition of with the feeling that, though he heaven versus hell and good ET AL, THEY WERE LEARNING ABOUT THE GREAT himself was not religious, the versus evil, the boundaries FEATS OF THEIR ANCESTORS." masses certainly were...and between a witch, nymph, Socrates was actually executed goddess, maenad et al becomes rather blurred. for his heretical ideas! To take Homer’s Odyssey as an example, Circe, the In reference to the above, one may argue that religion has character with whom Odysseus stays for a year – the one nothing to do with fantastical beasts, monsters and who famously turns his men into pigs – is usually called a supernatural beings...or that such beliefs are extraneous witch. to the wild and wonderful world of three-headed dogs, However, Calypso, with whom Odysseus stays for seven hydras, gorgons, furies, sirens, and cyclopes. years, is usually called a goddess or nymph; this is despite However, for the Romans and especially for the Greeks, the fact that there is very little practical difference these monstrous occurrences were not only at the core of between the powers or behavior of the two women. their religion, but of their history. Indeed, by captivating Odysseus with her magical singing The date of the Trojan War (we are relatively sure there for so long, Calypso poses far more a threat to our hero’s was an actual Trojan War) is c.13th century BC; Homer life and legacy than Circe does (with whom he enjoys a IX was active circa 8th century BC and the Golden Age of Greece was circa 5th century BC. Thus the wild, weird and wonderful stories of fierce and ferocious monsters recounted in this month’s Classical Wisdom ebook are no mere trifles to be the playthings of an idle hour. The tale of the wooden horse, of Achilles and his gammy heel, of Laocoon and the sea-serpent...these were not ancient myths. They are the foundation blocks upon which Greek and Roman society — and by proxy our own — was built. They are worthy of serious attention and contemplation. This was history, these were the stories upon which society was built. That said, they are also rather fun, so, if you prefer, you can always make them the plaything of an idle hour. When people heard stories of Jason, Hercules, Achilles et al, they were learning about the great feats of their ancestors. Don't have access to the ebook? You can buy it here or get access to the library here. MONSTER MEMORY: CAN YOU MATCH MAN TO MONSTER? I.OEDIPUS A.WEREWOLF II. ODYSSEUS B. SPHINX III. LYCAON C. TYPHON IV. ZEUS D. ORTHRUS V. HERACLES E. THE SIRENS VI. BELLEROPHON F. CHIMERA Answers on the following page. X FIERCEST CREATURES IN THE ODYSSEY? FEMALES. Odysseus and the Sirens, Herbert James Draper, c. 1909 BY JULIA HUSE Of the many monsters and mythological creatures Odysseus encounters during his long voyage from Troy to Ithaca, among the fiercest are female. while the other half goes in search of Aeaea to see what people live there. The search party comes across the home of Circe, which is described as a large house in a clearing in the middle of a thick forest. All around the house are lions and wolves, which at first frighten the crew until they notice how docile the beasts are. Three of these are Circe, the Sirens and Calypso, who all prove to be difficult and terrifying obstacles to Odysseus’ journey home. It is later discovered that this is because they are the drugged victims of Circe and her potions. Meanwhile, Circe welcomes Odysseus’ band with a meal of cheese and honey, which she has drugged. The men promptly turn into pigs. THE WITCH CIRCE After escaping the island of the cannibalistic Laestrygonians, Odysseus and his crew stumble upon Aeaea and the home of Circe, who is referred to as both a witch and a nymph. One member of the crew, however, manages to escape becoming a pig and warns Odysseus and the other half of the crew about Circe’s wiles. In most mythology she is known as the daughter of Helios and Perse the Oceanid, or sea nymph. She has a vast knowledge of potions and herbs, which Odysseus and his crew experience firsthand. Odysseus goes to Circe’s house to save his crew but is stopped along the way by the messenger god Hermes, sent by Athena. Hermes tells Odysseus of an herb called Odysseus and half his crew stay behind with the ships Monster memory game answers: I-B, II-E, III-A, IV-C, V-D, VI-F XI moly that would protect him from the potions of Circe. whole cosmic picture. They are bewitched by the idea of hearing their own story, of witnessing their own epic, while still living it out. Armed with immunity, Hermes tells Odysseus he should act as if he would attack Circe, at which point, according to Hermes, Circe will try to coax him into bed with her. Odysseus is told to avoid this at all costs. THE NYMPH CALYPSO Towards the end of his journey, Odysseus washes up alone on the island Ogygia, the home of the nymph Calypso. Odysseus, hero that he is, listens to Hermes, proceeds to convince Circe to turn his crew back into humans, and he and his crew continue on their merry way...until they encounter more fearsome females. Homer describes Calypso as the daughter of the Titan Atlas, who holds up the pillars of the sky and the sea. THE SIRENS Her name comes from the Greek word klypto, meaning to conceal, hide or deceive. The reason for this is soon explained by Odysseus’ encounter with her. Odysseus also encounters the famous Sirens during his wanderings. Homer does not mention the origins of these half-female, half-bird creatures in the Odyssey, but other accounts say they were the daughters of the river god Achelous and Terpsichore (a muse) or Melpomene (also a muse), Serope or Chthon. Calypso keeps Odysseus on her island for seven years, accounting for a large part of his journey home. Calypso wants to make Odysseus her immortal husband, and enchants him with her singing as she weaves on her loom. Odysseus performs all the duties of a husband for Calypso, including sleeping with her. Sirens perch on rocks by the sea and sing beautiful songs that lure men to them. Once listening, their victims are unable to pull themselves away and eventually die of starvation. But even under Calypso’s spell, Odysseus desires a different life. The promise of immortality does not stop him from missing his wife Penelope. In the Odyssey, Circe tells Odysseus about the Sirens and instructs him to plug his and his crew’s ears with beeswax in order to prevent their sweet songs from entering their ears. Odysseus, a mortal, does not desire the life of a god; he much prefers his own life, despite its hardships and eventual end. But, curious adventurer that he is, Odysseus instead plugs his crew’s ears with beeswax and has them tie him to the mast of the ship. He tells them not to untie him no matter how much he begs for it. Noticing that Odysseus wants to leave the island, Athena asks Zeus to order Odysseus’ release. Zeus sends Hermes to tell Calypso to release Odysseus because it is not his fate that he should remain on the island forever. Odysseus hears the music of the Sirens and immediately demands to be released, but his faithful crew only tighten the ropes binding him to the mast. Calypso resists but eventually agrees to free Odysseus, sending him on his way with wine, bread and materials for a raft. It is then revealed that the reason these songs allure and entice men is because they sing of past and future truths. Be they singing Sirens or drug-wielding witches, these women (or part-women), are certainly terrifying in their abilities to enchant mortals. Odysseus needs a lot of help to to resist their enchantments. The Sirens sing to Odysseus about his past endeavors, such as the glory and suffering he endured on the battlefields of Troy, and his future actions — what he will achieve and what they falsely promise that their hearers will live to tell these truths to others. Calypso, the least threatening of the three, manages to keep Odysseus detained for seven years. In fact, she ends up being one of the greatest obstacles to his journey. Odysseus, of course, is one of the few—or only—men that survives after hearing the Sirens’ songs. Homer’s choice of female mythical creatures to challenge Odysseus seems to point to the innate powers of all women as enchantresses, seers, intimaters of past and future truths, and creatures of dangerously beguiling beauty. In that, I think we are agreed. With the Sirens, Homer appeals to the spirit of men and not their physical desires. Men are lured in by the desire to know the future and learn from the past, to see the XII DIONYSUS EATER THE MILD: OF FLESH BY BEN POTTER As a figure of myth and superstition even in his own time, Dionysus could well have been dismissed by the cynical as being an unworthy interpolation into the field of true religion. Zeus’ fractured skull). The babe was then given to his human aunt, Ino, for safekeeping. However, Hera, her spleen not yet fully vented, sent Ino and her family into a frenzy of madness and suicide. Thus, Dionysus was passed along to the nymphs of Mount Nysa (from where he gets his name) and there his induction into all things sublime, sensational, sexual, salacious and sinister started. However, although “he represents an enchanted world and an extraordinary experience” according to Albert Henrichs, the scope of his temporal power is hard to overstate. He self-proselytized across Greece, Asia and India, bringing madness and death upon those who denied him. The chief example of this was the poker-faced wrath he brought upon his cousin, “HESIOD REFERS TO THE GOD AS ‘HE OF MANY Pentheus, King of Thebes, made famous to us through DELIGHTS’ AND HOMER, IN THE ILIAD, CALLS HIM Euripides’ The Bacchae. The twice-born Dionysus is technically, like Heracles, a demigod, though unlike the twelve-time laborer, his godliness dominates his humanity. Dionysus’ bizarre incubation started when Zeus impregnated Semele, the daughter of the Cadmus, king of Thebes. THE ‘COMFORTER OF MANKIND’." Though not all tales on Dionysus are dark or depraved. Subsequently, Zeus’ (understandably) jealous wife, Hera, concocted a plan for revenge. She convinced Semele to request that she see Zeus in all his divine glory, knowing that the sight of the god would overload Semele’s frail, human form, causing instant incineration. A particularly charming story about him comes from the seventh Homeric hymn which recounts his capture by pirates. The unsuspecting brigands got more than they bargained for when the god’s bonds dropped off and he turned into a lion, all while a great vine grew around the ship’s mast. From these ashes, Zeus recovered Dionysus, sewing the charred and blackened fetus up in his thigh. Quite understandably, the pirates all jumped overboard, only to be turned into dolphins upon hitting the water. Thus the King of the Gods gave birth to Dionysus (a bizarre, but not unique feat – Athena was also born from For this and other tales, Dionysus is, as Henrichs puts it, XIII “perceived as both man and animal, male and effeminate, young and old, he is the most versatile and elusive of all Greek gods”. whom Sunday is more than merely a day to watch football and mow the lawn: “When mortals drink their fill of wine, the sufferings of our unhappy race are banished, each day’s troubles are forgotten in sleep. There is no other cure for sorrow. Dionysus, himself a god, is thus poured out in offering to the gods, so that through him come blessings on mankind”. Of course, it is the vine motif that flashes first into our minds when we think about Dionysus. Indeed, this aspect of his personality is represented in some of the most famous artwork of which he is the subject. Unlike Mr J.C. of Nazareth, Dionysus may well have been, quite astonishingly, a teetotaler. Although there are some Renaissance depictions of him imbibing his own gift, in antiquity this is not the case. That said, he is almost invariably depicted close to wine, grapes, or drunkards; his entourage of satyrs are forever indulging in inebriated dancing, fornicating and reveling in general. And if the satyrs represent all the naughty fun and frolics that go hand in hand with overindulgence, it is the maenads (or bacchae), female followers of the god, who lend things a dark and sinister air. Maenads, on their annual pilgrimage to the mountains, would pay homage to the god by inducing in each other a ritualized frenzy, often described (by others) as a madness. Though commentators have often used drink or drugs to explain this away, contemporary accounts put it down to an infusion of the god into the body; perhaps a form of intense, liberating meditation. For example, the seminal Hermes and the Infant Dionysus above shows the older god dangling grapes over the head of the younger (above). Likewise, this facet of the god was a regular feature in literature. Both in art and literature this mania culminates in the bare-handed rending of a live animal (sparagmos) and the raw consumption of its flesh (omophagia). Among the earliest poets, it can be seen that the winegiver holds a particular place of affection in the hearts of the poetical: The once-popular idea that this carcass was a ritualized ingestion of the god himself is no longer in vogue (though remains to be convincingly refuted). “Cut off all the grape clusters…show them to the sun for ten days…cover them for five, and on the sixth day draw off into vessels the gifts of joyful Dionysus.” (Hesiod, Works and Days) The fact that Euripides interpolates King Pentheus into the role of sacrificial animal implies that cannibalism, though ghastly, does not seem to be wholly inappropriate. Elsewhere, Hesiod refers to the god as “he of many delights” and Homer, in the Iliad, calls him the “comforter of mankind”. Ignoring the god/man-eating aspect, the fact that the sacrificial meat was uncooked is a perverse act in and of itself and an example of how Dionysus revels in his role as disrupter of the social order. The following twist on that theme, from Euripides’ The Bacchae, will be of particular interest to those of us for This too is reflected in his public festivals, of which there were at least seven annually in Athens alone. XIV Characteristics of these celebrations were excessive and open drunkenness, obscenity, lubriciousness and transvestitism; all amidst huge, decorative phalli that lend a je ne sais quoi to any event. His beauty and brutality are so pervasive that at times he is almost the embodiment of a last request; one final moment of frenzied delight before the trapdoor opens and the noose tightens. Along with wine, intoxication and ritual madness, Dionysus was also a god of theater – comedy and tragedy reflecting perfectly the dichotomy within his soul – as well as masks, impersonation and, almost paradoxically, the afterlife. He is death, blood, beauty, pain, art, ecstasy, elation, and envy; a man for whom one would gladly hold a feast day, perhaps without acknowledging the dreadful truth of what could potentially be on the menu. Euripides certainly portrays him as a creature of horror and violence; one desirous of carrying out torture and humiliation. Indeed, this aspect should not be belittled as he constantly crops up in funeral art. The pre-Socratic philosopher, Heraclitus, went as far as to say: “Dionysus, in whose honor they rave in bacchic frenzy, and Hades are the same”. Perhaps as one so cruel and beautiful, powerful and appetitive, he is not merely versatile, but strikes to the heart of our own divine empathy. So how are we supposed to view this internally incongruous, but undoubtedly important god? After all, there is barely a man who ever existed who doesn’t have something in common with Dionysus. And it may be this, more than anything else, that fascinates and repels in almost equal measure. Well, Dionysus is certainly a joke, but a joke borne of lust and power, of wine and spite, of ecstasy and shame. The Top Five Most Terrifying Monsters of Greek Mythology 1. Typhon Typhon, born of Gaia (the earth) and Tartarus (the depths of hell), was said to have been the most ferocious creature ever to roam the earth. The lower half of his body consisted of two coiled viper tails that constantly were hissing. Instead of fingers, several dragon heads erupted from his hands. He was said to have wings that, when spread, could blot out the sun. Fire flashed from his eyes, striking fear into the heart of any living creature, even the might Olympians. 4. Cerberus Hades’ loyal guard dog, Cerberus was a massive hound with three heads that guarded the entrance to the underworld. It was said that the beast only had an appetite for living flesh and so would only allow the deceased spirits to pass. It is said that the three heads were meant to symbolize the past, present and future. In other versions of the myth the three heads represent youth, adult hood, and old age. 2. Medusa 5. Charybdis & Scylla 3. The Minotaur Charybdis is never explicitly described other than as a sea monster that lives under a rock on one side of a narrow strait and regularly swallows massive amounts of water., creating monstrous whirlpools capable of destroying entire ships. Similarly, the Scylla lives on the opposite side of the narrow strait and is believed to have been a many-headed sea monster that fed on the flesh of sailors who unwittingly traveled too close to the beasts’ lair. A monstrous creature who could turn to stone anyone who looked upon her, Medusa remains a popular monster of ancient mythology. Learn more about her on page XVI. A grotesque abomination that possessed the body of a man and the head of a bull, the Minotaur is best remembered for his affinity for devouring flesh and his cryptic home, deep within the confines of the twisted labyrinth. XV PURSUING THE GORGON BY JOHN MANCINI The Gorgon Medusa, with her serpentine hair, lolling tongue and deadly gaze, is one of the most recognizable icons in mythology. An attractive feature to both gods and men, Apollo harnessed the power of the Gorgoneion and used it to fight the Achaeans, while the mythical Perseus famously used the entrancing magic of the Gorgoneion gaze as a weapon, turning his enemy Polydectes to stone. Her popularity not only predates Classical Greece, but also extends through The Middle Ages, and can still be felt today. A mythical motif for centuries of artists, the Gorgon image appears in countless sculptures and paintings, especially in the Mediterranean – adorning everything from doorways of temples to sarcophagi of kings... Real men, too, desired the deadly effects or protection of the Gorgon. Indeed, some of the earliest depictions of the Gorgoneion in Greece appear on the shields of “[MEDUSA’S] DESCRIPTION HAS CHANGED OVER warriors in the mid-fifth TIME AND FROM POET TO POET… BUT WHAT WAS century B.C. where she is THE FIRST DEPICTION? FROM WHERE DID THIS represented as a goat-bearded monster with tusks rather than MYSTERIOUS CREATURE ORIGINATE?” a female demon. Most contemporary readers, however, know the Gorgon as the snake-haired goddess from the myth of PerseusMedusa in which she is one of three sisters, a trio of sea nymphs who occupy an island at the far edge of the ocean. But was she seen as a Sea Monster or a Mother Goddess? In the Greco-Roman world, the Gorgoneion-bearing aegis was a protective amulet, similar to the “evil eye” of witchcraft, appearing on the shields of Athena and Zeus. Its power could be transferred to whoever possessed it. According to the poet Hesiod, after her defeat at the hands of the hero Perseus, Medusa’s blood spilled from XVI her severed head and created the coral reef of the Red Sea, which tormented ancient mariners. as the multi-armed Hindu Goddess Bhavani, the wrathful counterpart of Parvati. While the “Gorgoneion” was a popular motif in ancient art long before the Greek story of Perseus-Medusa, it only caught on rapidly in the sixth and fifth centuries BC. Perhaps most direct influence to the Greeks was the Babylonian Humbaba, a demonic grinning monster that guarded the mythic cedar forest and was slain by the hero Gilgamesh. This is when the full-bodied Gorgon began to appear on temples to Athena and Artemis, as well as on coins, where she has been pictured opposite the owl of Athena or sun god Apollo. The Gilgamesh-Humbaba legend provided the model for the Perseus-Medusa myth, while visual elements from other Babylonian deities, like Abzu and Ishtar, which were also incorporated and re-interpreted by the Greeks. Around 415 BC in Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, the Gorgon is portrayed as three swanlike snake-haired sisters who share one eye and loathe mankind. By contrast, Pindar claimed that Medusa was in fact “fair-cheeked” and Ovid later confirmed that she was irresistible to whomever encountered her. The fact that “sacred prostitution” was an ancient custom in Babylonian temples devoted to Ishtar may shed additional light on how the story evolved in Greece – in particular, the detail of Medusa’s rape by Poseidon in Athena’s temple. So...was she hideous or beautiful? Medusa’s appearances in Greek art during the 7th century B.C. in early Corinthian pottery were influenced by Assyrian art. Like Hermes advised Heracles when he pursued the Gorgon in the Underworld – it depends very much on how you look at her. In these examples, the Gorgon is often pictured with a snout and tusks of a boar, as well as horns or wings, in addition to the snakes that traditionally crown her head. Clearly, her description has changed over time and from poet to poet...but what was the first depiction? From where did this mysterious creature originate? One only has to look at the Mesopotamian terracotta plaque from 1750 B.C. known as the Burney Relief, which depicts Ishtar as a vampire-like goddess with wings, clawed feet and a serpentine halo of hair, to see an obvious resemblance to the Medusa of Archaic Greek art: Well, the Gorgon Medusa is thought to have been a sea goddess born of Cetus and brought to Greece by way of seafaring tribes from Babylonia. In these early myths, she was a female deity who shared lineage with Artemis, Demeter, Cybele and Rhea. The Gorgons represented a fear of and reverence for the awe-inspiring wildness of nature and animals. To the Greeks, the Gorgon’s challenging grimace was the very personification of Fear itself: Phobos. And in tracing the origin of the Gorgon, archeologists have linked her to just about every natural phenomenon imaginable, including the roar of the ocean, the eruption of volcanoes, the crack of thunder-clouds – as well as beasts such as boars, lions, cephalopods and of course, owls. Although Greek depictions of the Gorgon monster did not properly appear until after the Geometric Period, the sisterhood of demonic winged snake-goddesses extends to ancient Phrygia, Phoenicia, Babylonia and Persia. This includes not only the great nature goddesses of Asia Minor, like Artemis, but also those from farther east, such XVII Medusa, Temple of Artemis, Corfu Although Medusa’s character may have become more distinct in the Greek myths, she still retained the features of the original nature goddess. In the late 20th century, the mermaid Melusine experienced worldwide resurgence in popularity when Starbucks chose her as its company mascot, and the Versace clothing company also adopted the Roman Gorgoneion as its logo. As mentioned, she was related to Artemis, the patroness of wild animals, whose encounter with Actaeon was extremely bloody. Actaeon caught Artemis and her nymphs bathing in a wooded spring, which resulted in his transformation into a stag and subsequent demise at the jaws of his own hounds. It is Sicily, however, that still has the longest-running claim to the Gorgon Medusa. Since 300 B.C. that Western Island basking in the Mediterranean sun has consistently incorporated the Gorgoneion into coinage and door handles, temples and sarcophagi. However, Actaeon only transformed once, while the Gorgon went through many alterations over the centuries. Sicily has even used the Gorgon on its flag since the 13th century. It can still be seen there today, surrounded by the triskelion, the three running legs of the Gorgon, as well as three shafts of wheat. In The Middle Ages, the Gnostics christianized Medusa by surrounding her head with a halo of biblical scripture. In folktales she became the mermaid Melusine who transforms into a fierce sea creature after she is caught bathing: But perhaps one of the most compelling depictions of Medusa is an earlier one from the Temple of Artemis at Corfu, an island on the western coast of Greece. Dating back to 580 B.C., the temple was one of the largest of its kind. There, the winged Medusa resides prominently on the western pediment, flanked by two lions, as well as her offspring, the flying horse Pegasus and Chrysaor the warrior. Larger than Zeus, who hurls a lightning bolt over at the far end, her authority is unmistakable, and the power of her dual nature can be more clearly understood. She is the Earth Mother, guardian of the natural world – both demon of the oceanic unconscious and mistress of wild beasts. To a soul worthy of her gaze, one need not worry about having the mirrored Athenian shield… as long as one approaches her with equal amounts of courage and respect. XVIII