I Shall Have Life

As I was finishing up my blog site for the semester, I perused over my older posts, notes, etc. and came to this conclusion: maybe the reason for having the blogs is so that we can all have life just as Ovid says at the end of the Metamorphoses. Just as we gave Ovid life by reading his poem, we give each other life by reading the posts on our sites. The past, once again, possesses the present! So, as long as you are reading this, I too shall have life.

Scapegoats-Who Knew?

I chose to write my paper and do my individual presentation on scapegoats because the topic was not only an important part of the past, but it is hugely obvious in the present. However, even as prevalent as scapegoating is in our culture today, I was still surprised by the response to the topic. Maybe it was just the fact that two consecutive presentations dealt with scapegoats (mine and then Brian's, which I found extremely amusing-loved the Ace Ventura bit), but maybe it was the fact that almost everyone can relate to scapegoating. At some point or another, we have all probably been on both sides of the scapegoating mechanism. This thought was only reinforced after browsing through the recent bloggings of my classmates. Several people had been inspired to write about scapegoats: Cassi and Danielle had stories about being the scapegoat, Ross wrote about Jesus as a scapegoat, Alison brought up the idea of metaphorical scapegoats, and Jann discussed many modern scapegoats, including guns. I am in awe of how interested we as humans are in the act of scapegoating. It seems to be a trait that has and always will be a part of what makes us human. The desire to scapegoat seems to cross all of the usual barriers; sex, ethnicity, age, religion, etc. Why is it that the one thing that we have used to unite us since the beginning of time involves the destroying of another? Does this prove that people are all inherently bad instead of inherently good? Or, does it simply prove that we are too lazy or lack the knowledge to find the true answer to the problem? Honestly, I don't know, but it is certainly something to ponder.

Five Lines

Maybe the most difficult task of the semester was choosing just five lines from Ovid as my favorite. I was both impressed and moved by the lines that others chose: the lines from Pythagoras were scholarly and probably the most encompassing of the whole book, the lines from Europa were "where it all began," the lines from Orpheus were filled with deepest love, and the lines from Arachne were as beautiful as the tapestry they described. Yet, I still
stand by my lines:

"The moon was three nights short of rounding out
its horns. But when its circle was complete
and shone in full upon the earth, then she,
in a loose robe, barefoot, her hair uncombed
and unadorned, went out to wander through
the silences of midnight."
-pg. 216 from the story of Medea and Aeson

It is within these lines that I can see myself, and I am comforted by the image of home. I see myself walking well into the night with only the moon for my guide. My hair and clothes are of no concern. There is no one there to see me and no one to see, but I am surrounded. I am covered by the thick blanket of night, tucked in securely with my thoughts, and at that moment, everything makes sense and anything is possible.

Cupid and Psyche

I liked this picture because it shows that even modern artists are fascinated with Cupid and Psyche. (I can't quite make out the name in the corner of the artist, and the site I found it on didn't say either, but it was done in 1993.)

The Frames Within

Sorry if everyone else has already figured this out, but I just did and think it is really amazing! The painting above is Titian's Rape of Europa. Look at it closely. Then, look at the background of the painting below, Velazquez' Las Hilanderas (The Spinners). (You may need to click on the picture to open it in a new window to make it big enough to be really obvious.) On the tapestry, you can see Titian's Rape of Europa. Now, look at the two women directly in front of the tapestry. The one on the left is wearing a helmet. Remind you of anyone? Athena, right? So, that makes the woman on her right Arachne. Athena (or Minerva, if you like) is about to turn Arachne into a spider. That Velazquez guy really knew his Ovid!

Latona & the Lycian Peasants

I thought that the story of Latona and the Lycian Peasants would be a good story to try to find an illustration to represent, and I found that there were many other people that felt the same way. Literally hundreds of artistic representations of the myth exist, and thanks to the internet, I stumbled upon a few that were just what I was looking for. The last one is a picture of the central fountain in the garden terrace of Versailles and shows the peasants in various stages of transformation. Great stuff! (Also check out the summary in my Metamorphoses page.)

Greek Theater Rediscovered

I found this interesting:

Greek archaeologists discovered a theater at Acharnae that was mentioned by ancient writers but, until now, never found. It turns out that Acharnae was associated with Dionysus because that is where Athenians believed that ivy, his sacred plant, first grew.

(Theater at Delphi)

If you would like to read the article, I have provided a link.

George Steiner's Antigones

Page 112:

I believe what Steiner is trying to say on this page, and for much of chapter two, is that though Antigone and/or her family were mentioned in several classical works, they were not always depicted in the same way. Therefore, the discrepancies can be explained by either variations in the story of the original circumstances surrounding the family, or, more likely in Steiner's opinion, the artistic license that classicists used when portraying Antigone. Steiner goes on to say, because we cannot know what Antigone's role was in the surviving myths, we cannot make connections between the myths and Sophocles' Antigone. Steiner does admit, however, that current evidence suggests that the conflict between Antigone and Creon stemmed from Sophocles' imagination. Yet, the idea was so enchanting that it may have enticed other writers to alter their texts to agree with Sophocles.

In the second paragraph, Steiner examines the difficulty in determining what is the "historical truth" within classical writings. He suggests that the difficulty is related to the inability to know with any certainty how the Greeks distinguished between what we refer to as myth and history. So, I believe the point that Steiner is trying to make is that we know that the meaning of words can evolve over time so it is challenging to know absolutely how the Greeks would have defined the words myth and history or even if there would have been a difference. On the other hand, it could be possible that the meanings are lost in translation and "the text is made mute" (Steiner 202).

What's in a name?

Antigone comes from the Greek roots anti for "against" and gon for "birth," but what does this mean? Should pro-choice supporters be referred to as Antigones? Actually, that strikes me as an interesting idea because Antigone was obviously pro-choice, no, not in the modern sense but in the Athenian sense. Antigone deliberately chose to disobey Creon's laws in order to bury her brother. She felt that she had the right (or the obligation) to choose to obey the divine law of her gods, the gods of the underworld. She could have done as she was told and saved herself the agony. However, Antigone was unwilling to be told what to do, what to say, or how to think. As Woodruff says, Antigone chose to "give up everything to put right something she believe(d) was wrong" and illustrated "that leadership must be tempered by advice from those who are led." So, could it be that Antigone means "one who exercises the right to choose?" Well, it is one way of looking at it, but there are also a number of others. Woodruff, for example explains it as "she was plainly born for trouble." This makes sense because Antigone was hardly going to be a well-adjusted member of society with a dad that was also her half-brother, a fiance that was her cousin, and seemingly more than just a sisterly love for her brother. What part of that doesn't spell trouble?

What's old in the "newspaper"

After looking at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, I was assured that the stories in the newspaper are in fact classical stories that are being retold in a modern setting. There were a few items in particular that seemed especially interesting. One appeared in the police reports and read, "A woman on Love Lane got into an argument with her mail carrier." My first thought was that it was ironic that this woman lived on Love Lane when she was obviously not practicing a "love thy neighbor" approach. But then I thought about classical literature and how often quarrels and wars stem from love. I also thought about the fact that the woman fought with her mail carrier, a messenger of sorts, which reminded me of Hermes, the messenger from the gods to humans. From the Homeric Hymn to Hermes we know that he was something of a trickster. I imagined the mail carrier, Hermes, playing a practical joke on the woman on Love Lane.

As I read on, I was also inspired by two of the obituaries. One obituary, for Carol Kanta, referred to her as "the Queen of our lives," and I couldn't help but wonder if those lines had been written by one of her two surviving daughters. It made me think of the indescribable connection between mothers and daughters that we discussed in class when talking about Demeter and Persephone. How telling that they should lose each other during the winter when Demeter and Persephone are forced to be apart.

Another obituary, for James Knox described a modern-day Odysseus who traveled the globe enjoying both fabulous and dangerous adventures, including a run in with Mao's army in China and traveling Europe with a family of seven. Anyone who does not believe that the tales of Odysseus could have happened never met Mr. James Knox, possibly a student at the school of hard "knox", (okay, that's a lame joke, I know, but I couldn't resist the play on words). These were modern people that were very much connected to the past.

Mount Olympus

Another article that interested me dealt with the proposal that national parks should have limited access in order to preserve them. So, I began to think about Mount Olympus, the home of the gods. I thought about what it would be like to have a huge, god-like figure standing at the entrance of Yosemite National Park telling visitors that only the gods were allowed to live and play in the heavenly surroundings. Would we honor their wishes out of love? Fear? Or would we resent the power that they had over our travels?

Yosemite National Park