Parasites

"In ancient times infection by parasitic worms was common. The filarial worm Dracunculus medinensis aka "the fiery serpent", aka "the dragon of Medina" aka "the guinea worm" crawled around the victim's body, just under the skin. Physicians treated this infection by cutting a slit in the patient's skin, just in front of the worm's path. As the worm crawled out the cut, the physician carefully wound the pest around a stick until the entire animal had been removed. It is believed that because this type of infection was so common, physicians advertised their services by displaying a sign with the worm on a stick."-Keith Blayney, Independent Hawera General Practitioner 




Allow me to indulge in an extended metaphor, perhaps it may prove to be tenuous but as I said, indulge me. This might be a bit of a stranger blog...

Asclepius, son of Coronis and Apollo carried with him a rod with a snake wound about it. In and of itself, the rod is a harmless thing that has now become a world-wide symbol for the art of healing. However, as explained in the above quote, parasitic infections in ancient times were quite common and it is entirely plausible that the method used to rid one's body of Dracunculus medinensis evolved into the myth of Asclepius' rod. The snake being exchanged for a leg-dwelling nematode of course. The point I try to make here being the relationship between the mythic and the parasitic. I use the case of the nematode and the rod only as physical proof that the  mythological does indeed carry the characteristics of parasitic relationship with humanity.

Looking back on the three stages in our relationship with the Gods, I'll bring up the first stage; conviviality. The point at which the gods and humans lie with one another in peace. The Golden Age where balance is present and active. In respect to parasitic relations, optimum virulence is in effect. Host and parasite coincide peacefully. Lycaon has yet to offend the gods, and Jove hasn't eyeballed poor Io yet. In this stage of the "infestation"what is mythic serves only to enrich life. However, as Mircea Eliade tells us "Whatever endures wastes away, degenerates, and finally perishes." Alas, conviviality must yield to the second, far more violent stage.

It is the stage of Rape that perhaps offers the greatest look into the parasitic relationship the gods hold between themselves and humanity. It is this penetrating stage that the gods begin to demand prayer, sacrifice and open acknowledgment. They directly and often times painfully intrude themselves into the lives of mortals. Jove, for example, successfully forces himself upon a great number of humans and leaves with a wake of both physical aftershocks as well as emotional. Minerva doles out her rage against poor Arachne and also leaves a violent footprint. The stage of Rape allows the mythic to take on a "physical" presence within humanity. The twisting, squirming characteristics of myth burrow so close to humanity that they causes direct suffering. The mythical has achieved a life of its own and finds acknowledgment in daily life. As for the hosts, the mortals, life must be lived according to the parasite; prayer, sacrifice, ritual ect. The gods ride along with their hosts, be they daemon or demon. Is it any wonder then, that humanity would start to search for a "cure" to the mythic, start seeking the stick in which to draw the myth out; to have the shocking, living myth exorcised, and the stage of rape completed?

"Sometimes, instead of chasing the demon of disease from their homes, savages prefer to leave him in peaceful possession, while they themselves take flight and attempt to prevent him from following in their tracks"-Frazer, The Public Expulsion of Evils, pg. 660.  Much like the "savages" that Frazer mentions, modern day society has managed to expel the parasitic mythological. We live in the 3rd stage of indifference, where myth only interacts with those in a forceful way in the darker regions of the world, where science has yet to stake a hold. We've left the stage of Rape and prevented it's following us through science and logic. These are the sticks which draw the intrusive mythological from the world. Without the living myth writhing within popular society, it has continued on only as a background. Science allows us to say "Plagues are caused by bacteria and viruses. There are no angry deities that send forth misfortune and death. We are in control of our own lives." And without the need or drive to appease and give thanks to potentially volatile gods, we are content to look at Asclepius' rod and say that while it is a lovely story, it is not a true or relevant tale. The parasitic myth now lies cured.

There's a slight issue with curing a particularly old disease. Sometimes the body itself denies the fact that the disease is no more and launches into extreme measures whenever the slightest little bug is detected. See Chrohn's Disease for example; it just so happens to be a disease of the rich. Too much clean water has led the development of a chronic illness that causes a great deal of pain with no hope of a cure. In respect to the mythological, there's a similar issue with trying to "cure" it. Living with myths has flooded and nourished the creative souls of our many cultures over the millenniarises, trees whisper to one another, and artists constantly refer to their lazy muses.

Perhaps I was too harsh in saying that what is mythological is parasitic and painful; as I've learned to see in everyday life myths permeate every fiber of the life around us. The stage of indifference then, is more marked by a symbiotic relationship with myths. We take what we need of the mythic, and in return, myths get to live on inside of us. A quiet, but essential part of our humanity.