Book II

"In the religious history of the Aryan race in Europe the worship of trees has played an important part. Nothing could be more natural. For at the dawn of history Europe was covered with immense primaeval forests, in which the scattered clearings must have appeared like islets in an ocean of green."(Frazer, 131)

Before I delved into book II, I had to turn towards Frazer for some reasoning behind the latest obsession with trees and the like...I believe I've found part of the answer.

Book II of The Metamorphoses of Ovid

Cycnus: I find it rather peculiar that Jove would later take Cycnus's form to impregnate Leda, for Cycnus's avian form feared the very essence of Jove, the thunderbolt.

Phoebus: Why would Jove not prove Phoebus wrong, unless the mighty King of the Gods was truely unable to perform the tasks of the sun...



Coronis: The Gods almost seem at times to be more human than those humans around them, Apollo's rage towards Coronis certainly justifies that fact.

Mercury, Herse, Aglaros: Is it here that we derive the 6th deadly sin of Envy, if so, it is another metamorphoses of myth.



Europa & Jove: The female fascination with all things wild(trees, animals) suggests a rather unique sexual pathology.

Chapter 7 in Myth and Reality

Chapter VII in Eliade's Myth and Reality opens with the tale of Matsyendranath and Gorakhnath.For the sake of convenience, let's refer to them as Mat and Gor. The story begins as Mat(a yogi) abandons his own body to wander in spirit form. It is during this vulnerable time that Mat's spirit enters a dead king's corpse and thus reanimates it. According to the poem Goraksha-vijaya the women of the "dead" king's country then hold Mat prisoner. Hearing of his master's plight, Gor enters the realm of death(yama), searches through the book of fates and erases his master's name from the list of those dead. Gor then retruns to the land of the living in the guise of a dancing girl, he enters the court of Mat's kingdom and dances for him, singing songs that slowly bring Mat's spirit back to its proper state. Mat comes to see that the "way of the flesh" will lead to only death, his end would have been brought about by his forgetting his pure and immortal nature. The tale concludes with Mat rejecting the sins of the flesh and returning to his disciple Gor.

The purpose of the tale of Matsyendranath and Gorakhnath in chapter 7 is to introduce the place memory inhabits in myth. "Indian literature uses images of binding, chaining, and captivity interchangeably with those of forgetting, unknowing and sleep to signify human condition..."-page 116 of Myth and Reality. Indian symbolism takes this a step farther to explain that "Forgetting" is equivalent, on one hand, to "sleep" and, on the other, to loss of the self, that is, disorientation, blindness..." Simply said, sleep brings about ignorance, while wakefulness ushers in knowledge and truth. In respect to myth, memory (wakefulness) also brings about the truth. The relationship between myth and memory is perhaps better explained from the Greek's point of view.

"When a poet is possessed by the Muses, he draws directly from Mnemosyne's store of knowledge, that is, especially the knowledge of "origins" of "beginnings", of genealogies."-page 120. Drawing on this quote, it becomes clear where the power lies in memory. Drawing upon the Muses ultimately links the artist to the very start of time, which holds the greatest of powers. Memory, then, links those who are aware of it to the origin as well.

Forgetting is then akin to death. Cut off from the memories of the origin, from the power of the beginning, only the destruction of the body and mind is able to follow, as one cannot renew oneself with the memories of the origin. The fountain of Lethe in Greek mythology is found in the underworld, where the dead are housed. For those who are dead have lost their right to memory. Life stems from memory then, which the living are able to retain

Lethe undergoes somewhat of a revision in respect to reincarnation; where Lethe erases the celestial memory in order for the soul to be reborn. Plato elaborates on the matter to state that only those souls who gorge on "forgetfulness and vice" will be reincarnated. Plato's Theory of Ideas further explain to role of memory and reincarnation(I'll leave you all to read it, as you should, being that you are required to read it.)

Platonic anamnesis applies to modern society as well, myth acts as a reminder that everything a man has done or will do, has already been done before, in illo tempore. To Gnostics, the ability to remember the "primordial drama" is akin to salvation from sin. In remembering they are able to avoid the pitfalls of ignorance that lead to sin.

History, too, takes a page from myth in respect to memory. "What is of interest to our investigation is not the meaning that history may have but historiography itself-in other words, the endeavor to preserve the memory of contemorary events and the desire to know the past of humanity as accurately as possible."-page 135. For history to be succesful, it must, like the myth, employ the use of memory to continue onward. To deprive ourselves of historical memory is to risk repeating the errors of the past. See a pattern yet? Mythological memory relates to the power of the origin, while historical memory relates to the importance of past events, events that mark the continuation of life. Life for both myth and everyday life relates to memory, precise memory. Myth therefore lives in our every memory, we evoke the power of the origin by simply creating and retaining memory.

For a far better, more concise look at chapter 7, I'll direct you all to Kari's blog. She has the ability to pack information into a shorter amount of space with far better results. I'm still drinking from Lethe, so bear with me.

Questions Short on Answers

In accordance to the list of assignments, this is my blog on the first book of The Metamorphoses of Ovid. If any of you have answers to the questions I include on each section of the first book, I'd very much like to read your input.

Prologue: for myself at least, I find Ovid's invocation a real snare to any onlooking muse/god, it is as eloquent as it is humble.

The Creation: I must admire Ovid's wisdom in the obscure god or goddess who creates the world, he avoids upset while staying true to his storytelling.

The Four Ages: Why must the first age always be the most pristine, is there a single instance in which the ages of the world improve with time?

The Giants: Why is it humankind is noted by its creation out of blood, why do the myths depict only the worst of qualities in humans?

Lycaon: It would seem the Gods of old are characterized in part by their almost parasitic relationship with humankind, they scorn the acts of humans, and yet depend upon their worship.

The Flood: Why is it that most cultures, when in need of a myth to wipe out humankind, choose a flood in which to bring destruction?

Deucalion & Pyrrha: I admire the fact that Ovid includes something in favor of humankind, "From this, our race is tough, tenacious, we work hard-proof of our stony ancestry."

Python: What is it about snakes that endears some cultures to them(the Australian aborigines) or causes others to conjure up myths of their wretchedness?

Apollo & Daphne: I would very much like to know why the women so oft pursued by the gods change into trees, what is it about that particular sort of vegetation?

Io & Jove: For an almighty god Jove is perhaps in my estimation one of the worst of deities when it comes to love,what lover would give up his dearest to the form of a cow?

Syrinx: And again we bear witness to another chaste female turned into vegetation, the Greek's vision of love is not something I'd agree with.

Phaethon: Why is the subject of paternity so touchy in The Metamorphoses?

The above picture depicts part of the story of Io and Jove.

Playing Catch-up.

"Certain seasons of the year mark themselves naturally out as appropriate moments for a general expulsion of devils." Frazer, page 662.

Like Frazer so described, I feel that this, the mid-part of the start of the year marks the period where I must come to purge my demons; mostly those demons of sloth. It has become apparent to me that my blogs have been lacking, and I now intend to fix that fact as quickly as possible. To start to sort out the mess, I'll comment on another's blog.

I had the pleasure of reading Amberly McDonald's blog this afternoon. Her earliest childhood memory had me somewhat amused. Reading of her sister's desperate attempt to get the white rabbit to drink brought to mind a few instances where I also tried to nurture an animal to death. Taylor's memory also brought a question to my mind, why must life and death coexist within such close proximity of one another? After the lecture in class today I found my question could be repeated. Cronus ate his children as soon as they were born, essentially this came across to me as death following birth(never mind the fact that all of the brood were still alive). Why would life exist in such a precarious position? Thanks to Mircea Eliade, I have an answer. "The return to origins gives the hope of a rebirth" -page 30. In the context of my own question, I can see why the white rabbit's drowning would have been a significant, and yet insignificant memory. Death is merely the prelude to new life. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. We come from the ash and ergo we return to it to rise again. However, in respect to Taylor's memory, let me say I'm glad that particular rabbit didn't go gently into the night(or turtle pool in this case).

Alas, I'd hoped to further my game of catch-up, but Death's little sister has me in her grip. More on that subject in the next blog.....

Putting Myth Into Practice

"Thus we are told that one of the customs most rigidly observed and enforced amongst the Austrlian aborigines is never to mention the name of of a deceased person, whether male or female; to name aloud one who has departed this life would be a gross violation of their most sacred prejudices, and they carefully abstain from it."-Frazer, page 303 Names of the dead tabooed.

The reason I chose the above quote and indeed the myth of the Rainbow Serpent is due to the intensive mythological atmosphere I experienced in Kakadu near Arnhem Land. When I was in Australia with the Aboriginal community we visited, the rule Frazer descirbed above applied to my group as well. Before meeting with the tribe, my fellows and I were told that a death had occured recently. Therefore, the name of both the deceased and the entire tribe was forbidden to leave our lips. The manditory waiting period is around 6 months, most tribes go much longer before the name of the person or their own community is allowed to be spoken aloud. To my ears at the time, it was a strange rule, but a rule nonetheless. Besides, it was a small price to pay for the numberous myths we were told by one of the community. And as Dr. Sexson said, it makes a world of difference to hear a myth spoken aloud, it becomes something tangible, something very alive and present. To the tribe, these myths were just as much a part of life as the kangaroo tails they ate(this is not their sole source of food, but it is mighty tasty).

I speak with complete honesty when I say that Kakadu National Park is one of those rare places on our planet where myth tags along as you walk near the billabong, it speaks to you on the wind at dusk, it instructs you when viewing a rock painting. And sometimes, on those ocassional nights or sunsets, the aboriginal myths almost seemed speak of their own volition.

Here I will include the internet copy of the Rainbow Serpent Myth, it varies from the one I told in class, but what can you do?

In the Dreamtime all the earth lay sleeping. Nothing grew. Nothing moved. Everything was quiet and still. The animals, birds, and reptiles lay sleeping under the earth’s crust. Then one day the Rainbow Serpent awoke from her slumber and pushed her way through the earth’s crust, moving the stones that lay in her way.

When she emerged, she looked about her and then traveled over the land, going in all directions. She traveled far and wide, and when she grew tired she curled herself into a heap and slept. Upon the earth she left her winding tracks and the imprint of her sleeping body. When she had traveled all the earth, she returned to the place where she had first appeared and called to the frogs, “Come out!”

The frogs were very slow to come from below the earth’s crust, for their bellies were heavy with water which they had stored in their sleep. The Rainbow Serpent tickled their stomachs, and when the frogs laughed, the water ran all over the earth to fill the tracks of the Rainbow Serpent’s wanderings – and that is how the lakes and rivers were formed.

Then the grass began to grow, and trees sprang up, and so life began on earth. All the animals, birds, and reptiles awoke and followed the Rainbow Serpent, the Mother of Life, across the land. They were happy on earth, and each lived and hunted for food with his own tribe. The kangaroo, wallaby, and emu tribes lived on the plains, the reptile tribes lived among the rocks and stones, and the bird tribes flew through the air and lived in the trees.

The Rainbow Serpent made laws that all were asked to obey, but some grew quarrelsome and were troublemakers. The Rainbow Serpent scolded them, saying, “Those who keep my laws I shall reward well, I shall give to them a human form. They and their children and their children’s children shall roam this earth forever. This shall be their land. Those who break my laws I shall punish. They shall be turned to stone, never to walk the earth again.”

So the law breakers were turned to stones, and became mountains and hills, to stand forever and watch over the tribes hunting for food at their feet. But those who kept her laws she turned into human form, and gave each of them his own totem of the animal, bird, or reptile whence they came. So the tribes knew themselves by their own totems: the kangaroo, the emu, the carpet snake, and many, many more. And in order that none should starve, she ruled that no man should eat of his own totem, but only of other totems. In this way there was food for all.

So the tribes lived together in the land given to them by the Mother of Life, the Rainbow Serpent, and they knew that the land would always be theirs, and that no one should ever take it from them.

Things half seen.

My earliest memory?
Bright green grass. I was about 2..maybe a little older, maybe a little younger, but I distinctly recall lying in a patch of bright green grass and playing with my floppy-necked goose. I had crouched down to look at the goose and was confronted with that vivid patch of vegetation. My dark stuffed goose looked so different from the grass that I eventually just wound up staring at it I suppose. Just green on green, a rather overwhelming flood for my two year brain.

A recent dream?
I was in a shallow sea, not swimming, not frantically looking about for some unbidden danger, I was simply standing on the sandy floor. I could see the waves run by from my spot below, I could see the white, white sand beneath my feet. The ocean was azure around me, bright and comforting. Sunlight filtered through and rippled with the waves. My hair moved with the water, flowing around me. Every touch was cool, my limbs tingled with the peculiar sensation of a fluid substance gliding around them. All was calm, all was soothing.

And I woke up with the disturbing sense that I was not where I was supposed to be.
.............................................................................................................................................................

On another note, I have a fun little link for those of you who still enjoy a few Saturday morning cartoons. The show is an old one, but one very dear to me. It was my first real introduction to myth(even if the information's not all that accurate, it's still a good way to incorporate more myth into your life.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_aGG2XtGRw

Hands Off Peta, It's Part Of A Myth.

" But it is the bear-festival of the Aino which concerns us here. Towards the end of winter a bear cub is brought and brought to the village. If it is very small, it is suckled by an Aino woman, but should there be no Aino woman to suckle it, the little animal is fed by the hand or mouth. During the day it plays about the hut with the children and is treated with great affection. But when the cub grows big enough to pain people by hugging or scratching them, he is shut up in a strong wooden cage, where he generally stays for two to three years, fed on fish and millet porridge, till it is time for him to be killed and eaten."-Frazer, page 607

In looking at our own view of animal cruelty, the above passage might seem barbaric in the least. But for the Aino people of Japan, the bear represents a most-sacred animal. The death of a bear can be seen as a renewal of life within the village. Nothing of the carcass is wasted, skins are used as clothing, the meat is in fact part of the Aino's staple diet, and the skulls are given places of honor within the home. The bear is a deity both precious in life and death. The women of the tribe will readily nurse cubs at their own breast, just as the entire tribe will readily crush the bear to death in order to obtain its sacred flesh. This fragile balance of overpowering devotion versus the lust to cull the sacred animal is mirrored in many other cultures besides the Aino.

Witness the Japanese whose slaughter of the whales has brought down so much wrath from the rest of the world. The Japanese, however, have a long and rich history with the species. In one of the Yuukara songs(though this is an extension of Aino culture it has strong ties to the traditional Japanese) a man is described as coming upon a breached whale and saying the following: "Killer whale, god of the ocean, please bring more than one and a half whales every year. Then, I will be pleased to give my sweet daughter as your bride." Here, it is plain to see that the whale is grounded in myth and history for the Japanese.Though their reasons for killing whales nowadays are less about myth and more about economy, the roots of the tradition bear the same needs as the Aino's tradition of killing bears. The Acagchemem tribe of California, too, has its roots in the same need with their sacred buzzard, as do the People of Fernando Po in Africa with their Cobras, and also the ancient Greeks with their rams to Zeus.

What is this reason to kill animals in often slow, cruel ways? Why would a tribe kill with zest that which they hold sacred? Why do we allow it in even modernized societies? Perhaps Frazer can help. "...he imagines that a species left to itself will grow old and die like an individual, and that therefore some step must be taken to save from extinction that particular species which he regards as divine.The only means he can think of to avert the catastrophe is to kill a member of the species in whose veins the tide of life is is still running strong and has not yet stagnated among the fens of old age." Frazer, page 600. What Frazer means to say here is that by killing one or two young, sacred animals, the death of the entire species is prevented. Old age and the natural processes of death are staved off for those chosen animals. In this, the sacred lives. By the death of a whale or a bear or a buzzard, the species lives on while bringing the people closer to the divine through their flesh. Which brings about the answer as to why the flesh of a sacred animal is often eaten.

In relation to the continuing myth, eating the flesh of a sacred animal(or any animal really) brings the diner back to that moment of the animal's creation, back to the power of first creation. Mircea Eliade sums this up quite nicely "Feeding oneself is not merely a physiological act but is equally a "religious" act; one eats the creations of the Supernatural Beings, and one eats them as they were eaten by the mythical ancestors for the first time, at the beginning of the world."-page 43. So, by eating the flesh of a bear, or a whale, the consumer is taken back to not only the animal's creation, but also to a time when the Gods were present and the world was fresh with new power. Here, lies the reason as to why such killings occur today as with the Tlingit people or the Japanese(both hunt whales, though the Tlingit by traditional methods only). It is a recreation of their myth, and a renewal of their cherished animals. It is myth in life today.

As important as it is to the people to kill in order to renew, there's the small issue of endangered species. Though the myths are still living today, and the people able to sustain those myths, the creatures they rely on are close to vanishing. When those creatures do vanish, so will the living myth. It is important, then, to protect those animals which are held as sacred, for not only their benefit, but for that of the cultures which cherish them.


That was a horribly long post, I will personally congratulate and thank any who read it in its entire. At least now you can defend yourself about being carnivorous. Just state that you hold the chicken as a sacred animal, and by eating its flesh, you are reliving the creation of the very world. I think it's a pretty good excuse....

Knowing Where Our Genesis Lies.

"Thus the keener minds, still pressing forward to a deeper solution of the mysteries of the universe, come to reject the religious theory of nature as inadequate, and to revert in a measure to the older standpoint of magic by postulating explicitly what in magic had only been implicitly assumed, to wit, an inflexible regularity in the order of natural events, which, if carefully observed, enables us to foresee their course with certainty and to act accordingly. In short, religion, regarded as an explanation of nature, is displaced by science." The Golden Bough, James Frazer-pages 853-854.

While paging through the text of The Golden Bough I came across the above passage near the end of the book. Reading it over once or twice, I came to realize that it summed up my reasons for taking this course quite nicely. As a 19 year old fresh out of high school, I come to college bearing the tasteless burden of my high school education. I'm not saying high school was a worthless endeavor, far from it, what I mean to say is that I came to reject those childhood myths (my "religion") in favor of  science. I read the old Greek myths in order to analyze their symbols and see those symbols in use today. I studied bacteria in order to see if they would accept a man-made plasmid so that they might glow if I shone a UV light on them. I studied the stars not for their stories, or their beauty, but rather for their structure, shape, and temperature. As James Frazer would say, I gave up my religion in favor of logic.

Science worked well for me in high school. And though I loved those old stories from the past, that's all they were to me, stories. Tales to tell my children someday and nothing more. But as an Anthropology major looking to cut into Archaeology, I can not look at myths as mere stories. To the cultures I wish to study someday, those myths were reality. So, I took this class. As Dr. Sexson told us last Thursday, I'm learning to "see the sacred".

I'm jumping down the rabbit hole and am now only beginning to see how far it goes...After rereading the first book of The Metamorphosis I am able to connect bits and pieces of myth to daily life. I step on a stone and start to wonder if I toss it over my shoulder, will it become a person? I stare at the trees and almost strike up a conversation with them, wanting to know which God/man/beast they begged release from. Our class is only just beginning to see and respect myth in daily life, and I am growing curious to know if Mircea Eliade's words prove correct. "The cosmogonic myth is "true" because the existence of the world is there to prove it; the myth of the origin of death is equally true because man's mortality proves it, and so on."-Eliade, page 6. If mere physical evidence proves a myth, then I shall continue to grow ever-more excited for this class and what it teaches, because it will work to bring me back to Genesis, to Chaos, The Big Bang.

So then, I've started my regression into myth with this; two names. Eris and Sinbad. These names have not popped up in the reading so far, but they've got stories behind them, they're myths in themselves. So every time I look at my two new dorm-fish, I'm reminded of the journey I'm taking with the rest of the class in Lit.
285.