Myths tell stories of life lessons and origins in forms of “tall-tales”. The original purpose of mythology was to “help us to cope with the problematic human predicament. It helped people to find their place in the world“(Armstrong, p 2). They are based off human experiences, and helps explain attitudes about the environment and various customs around the world. Through the actions of one person, myths can tell the origins of countries, origins of nature, or origins of natural events. In Tales from Ovid, Ted Hughes provides various renditions of famous myths and tells of the struggles of various Greek gods. In the myth “Phaethon,” Phaethon is constantly teased because no one believes his father is the infamous sun god, Phoebus. Phaethon becomes …show more content…
Like Narcissus and Niobe, Phaethon’s hubristic behavior led to his demise. In a loving gesture to prove his love to his son, Phoebus offered to grant any wish to his son. Phaethon, however, had different intentions for his father’s offer. He only wanted to be seen with his father’s chariot. Even after Phoebus pleaded Phaethon to “ask again, for something different, wiser” (Hughes, p 28), Phoebus tried to convince Phaethon to change his mind by explaining stronger gods, such as Zeus or himself, cannot handle the horses driving the chariot. However, Phaethon did not listen. His mind was set and “wanted nothing but to drive the chariot and horses of the sun” (Hughes, p 29). After granting his wish, Phoebus provided Phaethon with a “medicinal blocker” to prevent him from burning while “driving” the chariot. Even with countless warnings and advice on how to control the horses, Phaethon trailed off only to derail and blaze the land and people before him. As a result, the Sahara Desert was formed, and Ethiopians were burnt, alternating their skin tone (Hughes, p 35). Phaethon strived to be someone he is not. His excessive pride made him believe he had qualities and characteristics of a god, but in end, he destroyed himself and parts of the earth in the …show more content…
Regardless of who makes the promise and what the promise is, the promise must be fulfilled. When Phoebus makes his promise to Phaethon, he realized his mistake in doing so. Once he heard Phaethon say he wanted the chariot of the sun, he instantly regretted his promise stating that “if promises could be broken [he] would break this. I would deny nothing except this” (Hughes, p 26).Though Phoebus did not want to break his promise with Phaethon, he presented Phaethon with multiple options and detailed examples of how hard it is to control the horses once they were released. Phoebus genuinely cared for his son and proved that “[his] fears for [Phaethon’s] life are proof, solid enough… if only [Phaethon’s] eyes could see through [Phoebus’s] heart and see it sick with a father’s distress” (Hughes, p.28). With the heart ache Phaethon was inflicting on Phoebus, this indicates that Phoebus should have broken his promise with his son in order to protect him. If Phoebus broke his promise with Phaethon, Phaethon would have been alive and no one in their family would be grieving excessively nor would have any of the events preceding Phaethon’s death occurred. This shows that parents who spoil their children will regret it in the
The structure of stories, on which Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and Booker’s Seven Basic Plots elaborated, is actually only a portion of the field of study it is under. Comparative mythology not only studies the structure of hero stories, but also origins, themes, and characteristics of myths from various religions and cultures. They study the language, psychology, history, and anthropology in order to identify a common theme or beginning point. Even without delving into religion, many common elements have come to light. For instance, many cultures have tales of people with strange supernatural abilities, others speak of similar creatures that reside in water, air or land, while still others extol the importance of talisman and religious symbols. Despite cultures existing on different ends of the earth and having little contact for much of their existence, they share these common
David, Adams Leening., ed. The World of Myths: An Anthology. New York: Oxford UP, 1990.
As a young man in Corinth, Oedipus learns from the Oracle at Delphi that he is destined to “kill [his] father, the one who gave [him] life!” (Sophocles). No one informs Oedipus that he is adopted, so he believes that his adoptive father, Polybus, is his biological father. Consequently, he runs away from Corinth in an attempt to beat the prophecy. For years, Oedipus has “given Corinth a wide berth” and Polybus has remained alive (Sophocles). This illusory correlation between Polybus’ survival and Oedipus’ departure causes Oedipus to believe that he has defeated the prophecy. Oedipus ' arrogance swells further when he defeats the Sphinx that terrorizes the city of Thebes. As Oedipus ascends to Thebes’ throne, his hubris escalates. He begins to see himself as more than a mortal. In fact, Oedipus deems himself a god on Earth. When the Chorus prays to the gods to save the city of Thebes, Oedipus responds, “You pray to the gods? Let me grant your prayers” (Sophocles). Oedipus’ arrogance is not challenged by the city of Thebes. On the contrary, Oedipus’ tyrannical rule only illuminates society’s lack of rebellion. The Theban citizens are completely subservient to Oedipus’ will. A priest refers to Oedipus not only as “first of men” but also says that “your country calls you a savior now” (Sophocles). The citizens of Thebes
The desire to win their father’s approval affected Phaethon and Sara’s actions because they both had trouble impressing their fathers. For Phaethon, he had a lot of trouble trying to get to his dad and trying to ride the chariot. He even thought of going back to his house after the difficult journey, but he didn’t go back. One text evidence to support this is, “Although Phaethon could not control the horses, Helios acknowledged that he had attempted to steer them back on course and had not cried out for help.” This shows that Phaethon was didn’t care if he got hurt, and that he really wanted to prove to Helios that he was his son. Helios saw his effort was impressed for a young boy to try to For Sara, she had to ride Hermes with great difficulty
Phaethon is given a wish by his father to ask him for anything, Phaethon asks for the chariot. Phoebus warns him to change his wish he tells him that no mortal can control the horses and that even he has trouble with it. “Even for me it is not easy” (Hughes 28). He warns Phaethon of how strong the horses are and how dangerous it is the ride the chariot because of obstacles there are in the sky, such as waking up the serpent, going too low to earth or too high to heaven and burning it. Phaethon is so fixated on riding the chariot that he ignores his father’s warning. “He wants nothing but to drive the chariot and the horses of the sun” (Hughes 29). Phoebus fails to bring sense into his son and grants him his wish; Phaethon rides the chariot but not before reminded to stay on the road. Phaethon not able to control the horses and gets lost, creating phenomena on earth. He burns earth and harms heaven which ultimately leads to him burning up and dying. His stubbornness taught the lesson to listen to your elders because they speak from wisdom and their mistakes and because if you don’t it will lead to your death just like
In conclusion, mythology has played such an influential role in art because the epic tales over hundreds of years, still to this day, give us many life lessons. Not only are these tales still relevant today, but they will continue to be important in the years to come. Myths help people learn from past mistakes, just like history. Mythology offers many morals and themes that can apply to anyone no matter the current life situation. Myths also show heroes, underdogs, and villains realistically even if the people aren’t particularly
Through studies such as comparative mythology, researchers and philosophers have discover hundreds of parallels between the myths that make up every culture, including their creation myths. As most are deeply rooted in religion, comparisons based on geographic area, themes, and similar story lines emerge as religions form and migrate. Campbell recognized these similarities an...
In our culture today, many aspects of ancient literature can be found within it. One such example of this can be found in the Greek myth Phaëthon. The myth details the story of a boy who is trying to learn the truth of who his father is and eventually is killed. Many questions, truths, and messages that can be found in the story of Phaëthon are present and relevant in our world today. The myth touches on subjects such as, the power of answering questions, the love of parents, the positive and negative consequences of courage, proving one’s self to another person, keeping promises, and being careful what you say.
Long ago, people lacked knowledge on why certain things happened. Without scientific answers, like we have today, the Ancient Greeks created their own answers about the world and an individual’s place in it. These tales were known as myths. They described the feelings and values that bound the members of society. There are two types of myths -- creation myths and explanatory myths. A creation myth explained the start of many events such as the origin of the world and the creation of human beings. An explanatory myth explained a natural process or event such as illness and death. Most myths concerned divine beings such as gods, goddesses and other heroes with supernatural powers. These characters had many human characteristics, aside from their special powers, that included birth and death and the presence of emotions such as love and jealousy. These human qualities of the divine beings reflected the values of society. Such characters are called anthropomorphic, derived from two Greek words meaning “in the shape of man”. Gods and goddesses that resembled animals were referred to as theriomorphic, derived from two Greek words meaning “in the shape of an animal”. The last group of mythical characters has no name. They didn’t take the form of a complete human or animal, such as a figure with a human body and an animal head. As well as being entertaining and interesting to read, myths played an important role in Ancient Greek society.
This myth is about a young lad named Phaethon that visits the sun palace looking for proof if his father is the sun god. This myth begins when Phaethon arrives at the sun palace and he is met by a radiant palace with a God who has a very bright crown. So then, Phaethon asks the sun god if he is his father. Therefore the sun god answers and says that Phaethon is his son and that he could choose anything in the palace for proof. For example, Phaethon chooses the chariot so he could ride high in the sky and everyone would see him on the sun god’s chariot. However the sun god did not like that idea and told Phaethon about the dangers of riding the chariot, the sun god told Phaethon that there were sky beasts that would try to kill him and that
Mythology is defined as a collection of interrelated stories of a given culture. Myths are intended to explain and describe the mysteries of nature and give understanding about the world that surrounds us. Each culture has their own mythology that reflects their values and beliefs. Myths were also generated to tell the story of the first people to inhabit the earth. The Egyptian mythology elevated these people to the level of Gods and Goddesses by giving them supernatural and special powers. These myths of creation were passed from one generation to the next, either orally or by hieroglyphs painted in sacred temples, pyramids, and sanctuaries.
Across centuries of human history storytelling has been a large portion of how societies have communicated with one another for things as simple as entertainment, education, and social norm building. Many Americans can recall the story of George Washington and the cherry tree and many in the era of Homer’s ancient Greece (and onwards) would fondly know the epic heroic feats of Herakles, Akhilleus, and the man of many adversaries, Odysseus. A common element that all ancient Greek epic poems have is the main hero learns and then applies a cultural lesson throughout their journey. The cultural lessons that are learned are always qualities that are regarded highly by the specific
Myths were told in Ancient Greece to explain human being’s relationships and the fate of those who tried to best the gods. A few examples would be the story of Medusa and Athena, which represents respect to those higher than you. The fate of Arachne, who Athena cursed to save her life, represents jealousy. The tale of Daedalus and Icarus taught people to take good advice when you hear it. Through myths, the Greeks could understand the world around them better.
Oedipus’s hubris led him to a path where he couldn’t come back from. Oedipus grew up as the Prince of Corinth but as he discovered at a banquet that he wasn’t the true son of King Polybus. He immediately left for the oracle at Delphi. “To his questions regarding his parentage the oracle was silent; instead it repeated to him the curse it had uttered to Laius some twenty years previously.” (Sophocles, 18) Oedipus thought he could prevent himself from killing Polybus, by leaving Corinth. Even though he left in hurry because of the words from an unknown man and repeated words of the oracle, could have been proven in Corinth from the servant and Polybus. But Oedipus’s poor judgement in leaving Corinth caused him to further the curse. His ego made him commit deeds he wouldn’t have done before. Oedipus lived the life of the prince of Corinth. He did posses any qualities that contained a strong ego or greed. But once he fulfilled the prophecy,...
Throughout studying many myths, I came up with many new observations. Many questions came into my mind about these myths. Greek mythology takes us back to a time when people had a connection with nature and when nature played a major role in people’s lives. The religious beliefs of the people who wrote the myths are found in the background of these myths; however, they are not to be read like religious texts. The myths try to offer explanations of “how”, which makes us think deeply about the purpose of these myths and the questions they draw to our minds. According to the myths we studied in class, the world created the gods, not the other way around. The gods were always created in the image of man, which shows how much men were important in their society. Furthermore, many of these Greek myths show us the difference between the views of the Greek then and our view towards many aspects of the society, including nature. Monsters appear in Greek myths and have different representations and roles. Greek mythology reflects a view of the Greeks towards the world and how certain aspects of their lives are similar and different to modern society.