• About Me
  • ADX-Files
  • Blog
  • Creative Writing Exercises
  • Doctor Who
    • Books
    • Classic Who
      • Lost Episodes Found?
      • Was Doctor Who Rubbish in the 1980s?
    • Clips and Teasers
    • Doctor Who News
    • Matt and David
    • Official Webpage
    • Previews
      • The Name of The Doctor
    • The Doctors
      • Peter Capaldi
    • Theories!
      • Who is Hurt’s Who?
  • Dracula
    • Actors
    • Literature
      • Anno Dracula Series
      • Dracula by Bram Stoker
      • Dracula Rekindled
    • Movies
    • New Series
  • EDX-Files
  • Extracts
    • Bacchae: The Pie-Eyed Piper
    • Finding Delphi
    • God Almighty, Aphrodite!
    • Petronius’ Satyricon
    • Queens of Alba
    • Sisterhood of the Wolf
    • Sleepless
    • War Beyond Reguntor: Prologue
  • Guest Appearances
  • Hex Files
  • Jack the Ripper
  • Links
    • Dickson Telfer
    • Donald Robertson
    • IAFA
    • Radio of Horror
    • Sherlock Cares
    • SupernaturalUFO.com
    • Terry Pratchett
    • Ultimate Fantasy Books
  • Meditations
    • View From Above
  • Poetry
    • Limpet
    • The Tommyknocker Knicker Nicker
  • Political
    • I Voted For Scotland
    • On the Eve of the Scottish Independence Referendum
    • Real-Life Horror of Scotland’s Poverty in 2014
  • Published
    • Bacchae: The Pie-Eyed Piper
    • Erotic Magic of the Ancients
    • Nods to the Old Gods: The Pagan and Magical References of the Scottish Romantics
    • Petronius’ Satyricon
  • Reviews
    • Book Reviews
      • Killing a Spider
      • The Philosophy of CBT: Stoic Philosophy as Rational and Cognitive Psychotherapy
    • Movie Reviews
      • Contact
  • Sherlock
    • Sherlock Cares
    • Virtuoso
  • Short Stories
    • Coffee Dating
    • St Tony’s Prayer
    • Waiting
  • SPI
  • Spirituality
  • Talks
    • Nods to the Old Gods

Alyson Dunlop's Blog

~ "Hex in the City"

Alyson Dunlop's Blog

Tag Archives: Medusa

The Psychedelic Eleusinian Mysteries of Ancient Greece

18 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by Alyson Dunlop Shanes in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

afterlife, Asklepios, Athens, Bacchus, Classical Greece, Demeter, Dionysus, Eleusinian Mysteries, Eleusis, ergot, Gorgon, Hades, Hellenic, Homeric Hymns, Hygieia, Kerameikos, Kore, kykeon, Medusa, mushrooms, Persephone, Perseus, psychedelic, Religion, Sacred Way, Styx, Telesterion

Persephone and Demeter holding mushrooms and food wallet, an implement of the Mysteries used to hide secret edible objects. From the Pharsalos bas-relief (5th c BCE), now in the Louvre.

Persephone and Demeter holding mushrooms and food wallet, an implement of the Mysteries used to hide secret edible objects. From the Pharsalos bas-relief (5th c BCE), now in the Louvre.

   Eleusis was a religious cult of ancient Greece, situated about twenty kilometres north west of Athens near the Isthmus of Corinth. In the Classical period, from as early as 1700 BCE, right up until the Roman Empire, Eleusis was the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries. These were sacred rituals revolving around Demeter (mother goddess of the grain) and her daughter Kore/Persephone. The ritual seems to have given the hope for life after death for those initiated. The traditional outlook at that time was that after death one would cross The Styx, the river of the Underworld. The Eleusinian Mysteries gave Greeks hope of a better life in Hades. These Mysteries were considered to be one of the most important in ancient times and were a major festival during the Hellenic period.  The rites, ceremonies, and beliefs were secret, but appear to have involved sacred visions of the Afterlife. It is generally accepted by scholars that the initiates used a potion to induce a psychedelic experience.
One line of thought by modern scholars has been that these Mysteries were intended “to elevate man above the human sphere into the divine and to assure his redemption by making him a god and so conferring immortality upon him.” (1).
The only requirements for initiation were a lack of “blood guilt”, in other words having never committed murder, and not being a “barbarian” (unable to speak Greek). Men, women and even slaves were allowed initiation (2).
There were four categories of people who participated in the Eleusinian Mysteries:
1. Priests, priestesses and hierophants
2. Initiates, undergoing the ceremony for the first time.
3. Others who had already participated at least once. They were eligible for the fourth category.
4. Those who had attained epopteia, who had learned the secrets of the greatest mysteries of Demeter.
Much of the information about The Eleusinian Mysteries was never written down. For example, only initiates knew what the kiste, a sacred chest, and the kalathos, a lidded basket, contained. The contents, like so much about the Mysteries, are unknown. However, one researcher writes that this Cista (“kiste”) contained a golden mystical serpent, egg, a phallus and possibly also seeds sacred to Demeter (3).
There were two Eleusinian Mysteries, the Greater and the Lesser. According to Thomas Taylor:

…the dramatic shows of the Lesser Mysteries occultly signified the miseries of the soul while in subjection to the body, so those of the Greater obscurely intimated, by mystic and splendid visions, the felicity of the soul both here and hereafter, when purified from the defilements of a material nature and constantly elevated to the realities of intellectual [spiritual] vision.

According to Plato, “the ultimate design of the Mysteries … was to lead us back to the principles from which we descended, … a perfect enjoyment of intellectual [spiritual] good”

   The ancient calendar was different from the Gregorian. On the 14th Boedromion, the Greater Mysteries began by bringing the sacred objects from Eleusis to the Eleusinion at the base of the Acropolis. On the 15th, the priest carried out sacrifices and on the 16th celebrants began cleansing rituals, washing themselves in the sea at Phaleron. On the 17th, participants celebrated the Epidauria. It was a “festival within a festival” in honour of Asklepios, god of healing, and his daughter Hygieia.
The procession to Eleusis began on the 19th, and started at the Kerameikos. This is the ancient cemetery in Athens (well worth a visit – lovely museum – take a picnic and sit amongst the ruins!). The celebrants would walk along the Sacred Way, which is still visible. At one point they would shout obscenities in commemoration of an old woman who had made Demeter laugh as she mourned the loss of her daughter Persephone.
On reaching Eleusis there was a day of fasting, again commemorating Demeter’s fasting as she searched for Persephone. The fast was broken when the celebrants drank a potion called the kykeon, and on 20th and 21st they would enter the Telesterion. This was the most secretive part of the Mysteries and those who had been initiated were forbidden ever to speak of the events that took place in the Telesterion. The penalty was death.
Some believe the priest revealed the visions which were of life after death, but others believe the experiences must have been internal and caused by ingesting a hallucinogen as part of the kykeon mixture.   We can certainly find evidence that Greek wine sometimes was hallucinogenic. At the Anthesteria, a Dionysian festival that was not part of the Mysteries but was similar to it, specific mention was made of a drug in the wine that was responsible for opening the graves and allowing the departed spirits to return to Athens for a banquet. Its hallucinatory nature can be seen on many of the choes vases depicting scenes from the festival. In fact, someone in Aristophanes’ Acharnians wishes his enemy a bad trip at the Anthesteria by hoping that he encounters a mad hallucination. Wasps also begins with two slaves attempting to escape their misery by drinking a potion called Sabazios, a Thracian analogue of Dionysus (god of wine, R. Bacchus): it causes them to experience a so-called “nodding Persian sleep”, during which they see strange things. Furthermore, such well known hallucinogens as mandragora and henbane were often compared to wine with respect to the drunkenness they induced.
Whatever else happened at the Eleusinian Mysteries, the use of psychotropic hallucinogens seems to have been a definite part of it, with visions inducing an ecstatic spiritual experience for the initiate. There are several theories about what the kykeon might have consisted of. Some have suggested that, as the ritual was in honour of Demeter, it might have been partly made of Lolium (or ‘aira’).    Improperly grown in the wrong conditions, it seems this cultivated grain reverted to a more primitive form which was also susceptible to the growth of the ergot fungus. Ergot poisoning can cause very serious effects, including seizures, spasms, mania, psychosis and hallucinations. In severe cases, even death.
The Lesser Mysteries seem to have been linked to the ingestion of mushrooms. Mushrooms, or mykes (from where we get the word mycology),are also linked to the myth about Perseus who founded Mycenae in the spot where he picked a mushroom. A Greek amphora from southern Italy depicts a variant of the same foundation myth in which Perseus’ decapitation of the Gorgon, Medusa, is equated with his harvesting of a mushroom. Traditional folklore has associated the decapitation of Medusa with giving birth to a son, Chrysaor, and a flying horse, Pegasus – symbolic of perhaps inspiration and transportation. Chrysaor’s name means “he who has a golden armament”. He was depicted as a golden sword-wielding giant.
The political and military leader, Alcibiades, caused a huge scandal one year by stealing the kykeon and having a party with his friends! The conclusion being that the experience was both pleasant and very much sought after. Many wrote about the joyful and revealing holy experience the potion induced. Both Gordon Wasson and Robert Graves believe the kykeon contained psychedelic mushrooms, whilst Albert Hofmann believes ergot to be the psychoactive ingredient in the mixture, suggesting that the ancient Greeks could have made a safe psychedelic beverage with an aqueous infusion of ergot thereby separating the water soluble alkaloids from more dangerous peptide ones. After more research, he concluded that paspalum (a wild grass in the Mediterranean) and ergot were the most likely combination, rather than barley (Hofmann 1994). He goes on to say that barley may have been a nutrient ingredient and mint used to settle the stomach, as ergot preparations induce nausea. Both barley and mint are mentioned in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. However, after much self-testing of various different concoctions, all those that included any derivative of ergot, produced unpleasant side effects. This was not at all in keeping with the description of the kykeon! The Homeric Hymn describes the initiation experience at Eleusis thus: “Blissful is he among men on Earth who has beheld that!”. This description is verified by Pindar and Cicero.
Terence McKenna has pointed out that both Demeter and Persephone were associated with the poppy and that perhaps opium was an ingredient in the kykeon, reducing rather than enhancing its effect. Many agree with both McKenna and Graves that psilocybin mushrooms were also most likely an ingredient in the potion. We will probably never know, unless further archeological or textual evidence is found to tell us more.
As an aside, do please be extremely careful with experimentation of psychedelics. The Eleusinian kykeon recipe seems to have been a tried, tested and very safe concoction which was used for centuries without any deaths being recorded. That’s not to say that there wasn’t any. Whatever it was made of, the ingredients were obviously very carefully measured. It was also most likely deemed as safe.  Many people took part year after year, enjoying the religious experience it brought them. Nevertheless, it was a respected potion, as all living things on this planet should be. It was not recreational but spiritual in nature.

Until next week. Your friend, A.D.

References and Further Reading

Bigwood, J., Ott, J., Thompson, C. & Neely, P. 1979 Entheogenic effects of ergonovine. Journal of Psychedelic Drugs, Vol. 11 (1-2) Jan-Jun 1979(1 47-1 49)
Casti, J.L. 1990 Paradigms Lost: Tackling the unanswered mysteries of modern science. Avon Books, New York
Cole, J.R. & al. 1977 Paspalum staggers: Isolation and identification of tremorgenic metabolites from sclerotia of Claviceps paspali. J. Agric Food Chem., Vol.25, No. 5, (1197-1201)
Craig, J.R. & Metze, L.P. 1979 Methods of Psychological Research. W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia
Foley, H.P. (Ed.) 1994 The Homeric Hymn to Demeter: Translation, commentary, and interpretive essays. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ
Gallagher, R.T., Leutwiler, A. & al. 1980 Paspalinine, a tremorgenic metabolite from Claviceps paspali, Stevens et Hall. Tetrahedron Letters, Vol. 21, Pergamon Press Ltd. (235-238)
Goldhill, S.: Greece; in: Willis, R. (Ed.) 1993 World Mythology. Simon & Schuster, London
Graves, R. 1992 The Greek Myths (Combined edition). Penguin Books, London
Hofmann, A. 1983 LSD-My Problem Child: Reflections on sacred drugs, mysticism, and science. Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., Los Angeles
Hofmann, A. 1994 personal communication
Kerenyi, K. 1962 De Mysterien von Eleusis. Rhein-Verlag, Zurich
McKenna, T.1992 Food of the Gods: The search for the original tree of knowledge. Rider, London (available online here)
Ott, J. 1993 Pharmacotheon: Entheogenic drugs, their plant sources and history. Natural Products Co Kennewick, WA
Ott, J. 1994 personal communication
Ott, J. & Neely, P. 1980 Entheogenic (hallucinogenic) effects of methylergonovine. Journal of Psychedelic Drugs, Vol. 12(2) Apr-Jun 1980 (165-166)
Rätsch, Ch. 1992 The Dictionary of Sacred and Magical Plants. Prism-Unity, Bridport, Dorset
Ripinsky-Naxon, M. 1993 The Nature of Shamanism: Substance and function of a religious metaphor. State University of New York Press, Albany
Ruck, C.A.P.1981 Mushrooms and philosophers. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 4, (179-205); 1983 The offerings from the Hyperboreans. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 8, (177-207)
Sankar, D.V.S. 1975 LSD-A Total Study. PJD Publications, Westbury, NY
Sheridan, Ch.L. 1976 Fundamentals of Experimental Psychology (2nd ed.). Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York
Shulgin, A. 1994 personal communication
Shulgin, A.T. & Shulgin, A. 1991 Pihkal: A chemical love story. Transform Press, Berkeley 1993 Barriers to Research; in: Rätsch, Ch. & Baker, J.R. (Eds.): Jahrbuch für Ethnomedizin und Bewusstseinsforschung 2. Verlag fur Wissenschaft und Bildung, Berlin
Springer, J.P. & Clardy, J. 1980 Paspaline and paspalicine, two indole-mevalonate metabolites from Claviceps paspali. Tetrahedron Letters, Vol. 21, Pergamon Press Ltd. (231-234)
Valendid, Ivan 1993 Mistery elevzinskih misterijev. Razgledi 18(1001), 30f
Wasson, R.G., Hofmann, A. & Ruck, C.A.P. 1978 The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the secret of the mysteries. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York

(1) Nilsson, Martin P. Greek Popular Religion “The Religion of Eleusis” New York: Columbia University Press, 1947. pages 42–64
(2) Smith, William. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London, 1875.
(3) Taylor, Thomas. Eleusinian and Bacchic Mysteries. Lighting Source Publishers, 1997. p. 117
(4) ibid p.49.

Advertisement

Monster Myths to Monster Movies: The Tales That Inspired Harryhausen

10 Friday May 2013

Posted by Alyson Dunlop Shanes in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

7th Voyage of Sinbad, Aeschylus, Apollonius, Arges, Argonautica, Aristophanes, automaton, Boreades, Brontes, bronze bulls, Catalogue of Women, Clash of the Titans, classics, Crete, Cronus, Cyclopes, Cyclops, Dead Man's Chest, Diodorus Siculus, Euripides, Euryale, forging, giant octopus, Gorgons, Greek, harpies, Helen, Hephaestus, Hesiod, Homer, hydra, Iliad, Jason and the Argonauts, Johnny Depp, King Phineus, Kres, magic, mechanical minotaur, Medusa, mermaids, metal-smith, Minoton, Moby Dick, monsters, myth, mythical creatures, Neptune, Odysseus, Odyssey, Orpheus, Penelope, Phinneas, Pindar, Pirates of the Caribbean, Polyphemus, Poseidon, Ray Harryhausen, sea monsters, sea snakes, Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, Sicily, Sinbad, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, Siren's Song, Sirens, Steropes, Talos, Tartarus, Tauric Chersonese, Tennyson, The Erinyes, The Fates, The Golden Fleece, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, The Griffin, The Kraken, the sun, Theogony, Titans, Underworld, Uranus, Uriel, volcanoes, Vulcan, Zeus

Harryhausen MedusaLike most of you, I was first introduced to the ancient Greek monsters through watching films like Sinbad, Clash of the Titans and Jason and the Argonauts.   I was also fortunate enough to end up doing a degree in Classics, so I got to find out more about the origins of the mythical creatures Ray Harryhausen magically brought into our hearts and minds, fascinating and captivating us with his animations.  Because of him, pretty much most of you reading this will know what the Cyclops and Medusa look like.

I was so sad to read about Harryhausen’s death earlier this week, and it is to him that I dedicate this article.  In the words of a friend, thank you for the magic Ray.

Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

Sirens

ulysses-and-the-sirens-1891

By John William Waterhouse

 The name Sirens comes from the Greek Σειρηνες which translated is ‘seiraô’.  It means ‘entwiners’ or ‘binders’.  They are first mentioned by Hesiod in his Catalogue of Women, but they appear in many texts including the Argonautica, Euripides’ Helen and Homer’s Odyssey.  The myths describe them as being three sea creatures who lure mariners to their deaths with enchanting songs.  Jason and his Argonauts manage to pass by with the help of Orpheus who drowns out their singing with his music.  Odysseus manages to pass by unharmed by asking his men to tie him to the mast of the ship, while they put wax in their ears so that they will not hear the Siren’s Song and perish.  The Sirens are so upset that a man hears their song, but escapes, that they throw themselves into the sea and drown!  What an odd tale indeed!  And, of course, there are many theories on what it might all mean.

For starters, the word has survived in modern language.  The siren is the sound of a warning bell or alarm, and generally means that there is trouble somewhere ahead.  Did the Sirens foretell the coming of danger?  Sometimes the Siren is a woman, or a woman with wings.  Could it be warnings from women about dangers, or is it a warning that beautiful women are dangerous, or that men can be tempted into dangerous situations by beauty and desire?  Certainly, Odysseus faces many temptations before he returns back to his dutiful and faithful wife Penelope.  She is certainly more faithful than he is, that’s for sure!

Sirens, like the tales of mermaids, seem to be a symbol for dangerous seduction; the kind that lure men to their deaths.  In this respect, therefore, they represent the desires of a man that he cannot have, or should not have, which will ultimately be his demise.

The Cyclopes: The Elder and the Younger

Redon.cyclops

The Cyclops by Redon

 There are two breeds of Cyclopes, the one-eyed monster: The Elder and The Younger.  The Elder Cyclopes first appear in Hesiod’s Theogony, a Greek creation story.  Their names are Arges, Steropes, and Brontes and were cast into Tartarus (a part of the Underworld where people are tormented) by their father, Uranus, along with all the other Titans.  They assist Cronus in usurping Uranus’ government, but Cronus then also throws them into Tartarus.  Because Zeus releases them during his war with Cronus and the Titans, the Cyclopes give Zeus his thunderbolt and lightning, as well as a helmet for Hades (god of the Underworld) and a Trident for Poseidon (god of the sea).  The Elder Cyclopes are eventually killed.  Later, their tale appears in the Argonautica where they are shown to be metal forgers.

The Younger Cyclopes appear in Homer’s Odyssey.  Here they are a giant race of lawless shepherds who live in South West Sicily and eat humans!  They neglect agriculture, have no laws or political institutions and completely disregard Zeus (Hom. Od. vi. 5, ix. 106, &c., 190, &c., 240, &c., x. 200.)

They seem to represent natural forces, both destructive and creative.  I can’t help wondering if perhaps volcanoes play a part.  They too have one eye, and there are many in the area of Sicily.  That they had a destructive force is obviously a given, but they do also possess the power of creativity.  After eruptions, ash and lava form rich soil and land is fertile.  Its power of creativity is, therefore, enhanced.  Many different kinds of metal deposits are also found near underwater volcanoes and geothermal springs. Most of the metallic minerals mined in the world, such as copper, gold and silver, are associated with magmas found deep within the roots of extinct volcanoes located above subduction zones.  It doesn’t take much of an imagination to envisage the possibility that settlers in these areas would mine for metals and be inclined to go into trades such as metal-smithing and forging, hence the association with Hephaestus (Gr)/Vulcan (L.).  Furthermore, with just another little stretch of our imaginations it would be perfectly plausible to assume that these ancient people, who worship Vulcan, god of volcanoes (where the name comes from), might have drawn or tattoed an eye in the middle of their foreheads to represent their god, and the eye of the volcano….  These are how myths are born!

There’s probably much more to discover on this subject through studying the cults of Hephaestus/Vulcan.  I’ll leave that for another day, though.

Jason and the Argonauts (1963)/The Argonautica

Talos

Talos

Talos

 A bronze automaton (see Minoton).  Talos is forged by Haephastus.  He is a massive statue from Crete who is given the task of patrolling the island three times a day and driving pirates away with rocks or a fiery death-embrace (see Cyclopes).  His first appearance is the Argonautica.  He was eventually destroyed when he tried to stop the Argonauts from landing on Crete.  In one poem he is the son of the Cretan sun-god, Kres, as well as the father of Hephaestus, the fire god.  His name means ‘the sun’ but also ‘to cut down’ in the Cretan dialect. 

Harpies

The sons of Boreas, Kalais and Zetes, are hunting the Harpies. Laconian cylix 550 BC. Villa Gulia

The sons of Boreas, Kalais and Zetes, are hunting the Harpies.
Laconian cylix 550 BC. Villa Gulia

Harpies are the spirits of sudden gusts of wind.  They are known as the hounds of Zeus and are sent by him to snatch things, including people!  In Greek mythology, they are often blamed for sudden mysterious disappearances.  They are usually shown as winged women or women with the body of a bird.  They are mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey, by Hesiod in his Catalogue of Women and later in the Argonautica.  The Harpy Eagle is also named after them!

Two harpies were assigned by Zeus to torment King Phineus of Thrace.  In the film he is depicted as the blind prophet Phinneas.  The King is punished for revealing the secrets of the gods by having his food snatched away by the Harpies.  In the film it is for abusing his power of prophecy. They are captured by Jason and his crew in exchange for information.  King Phineus is mentioned briefly in Hesiod’s Catalogue of Women and he was the subject of a play called Phineus by Aeschylus which is unfortunately lost.  This story told of the arrival of the Argonauts at Phineus’ court, where the Boreades kill the Harpies and save Phineus.  Thankfully a few fragments survive at least.  The Harpies are mentioned in many other ancient texts including the Homer’s Iliad and Hesiod’s Theogony, both from round about 8th c BCE.

Hydra

By Ruth_Tay (deviantART)

By Ruth_Tay (deviantART)

In mythology, the Hydra is an enormous nine-headed water snake.  It is one of the twelve labours of Heracles (Gr.).  Whenever he cuts off one head, two grow in its place!  Eventually he cauterises the heads with fire.  During the battle he crushes a giant crab, which has come to assist the Hydra, beneath his heel.  Afterwards Hydra and the Crab became the constellations of Hydra and Cancer.

The Hydra first appears in Hesiods Theogony (8th/7th c BCE), and appears also in Apollonius’ Argonautica, as well as many other stories.   The Hydra is certainly representative of some kind of obstacle, however it has also been suggested that it represented ancient serpent worship.  This is something I would appreciate more information on, if anyone can enlighten me.

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)

Griffin

By Jim Nelson

By Jim Nelson

The Griffin is a beast with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.  A tribe of Griffins guarded gold deposits in northern and eastern mountains of Greece, which could have the same significance as the story of the men who guarded the Golden Fleece (see Minoton).  The Griffins are mentioned by several ancient Greek writers: Aeschylus in Prometheus Bound, Aristophanes in Frogs and Herodotus in Histories.

Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977)

Minoton: The mechanical Minotaur

 minoton

Of course, most of us will have heard of the Minotaur from the Theseus myth, but Automotons also existed in the ancient world.  They are creatures crafted out of metal and given life by Hephaestus, the Greek smith-god.  There are four fire-breathing bronze bulls, which Hephaestus makes for King Aeetes of Colchis.  These appear for the first time in the Argonautica. 

Diodorus Siculus informs us what they are a couple of centuries later.   He tells us Aeetes puts up a wall where the Golden Fleece is and has it guarded by men of the Tauric Chersonese.  He says that it is because of these guards that the Greeks invented monstrous myths.  A rumour is spread that fire-breathing bulls and a sleepless dragon guard the fleece.  The imagery of the bull breathing fire is used by these men because of their strength and also due to their cruel way of murdering strangers (2).

Clash of the Titans (1981)

Medusa

By Caravaggio

By Caravaggio

Medusa is one of three Gorgons.  She has snake hair and her gaze turns men to stone.  The first written account appears to be by Hesiod who pictures The Gorgons as sea demons who have the ability to create reefs.  They are therefore the personification of dangerous reefs which are a threat to sailors.  In fact, another of the Gorgons is called Euryale, which means “she of the wide briny sea”.  Medusa is possibly a personification of the sea storms that drive sailors to their deaths.  It is also possible the three Gorgons are connected with The Furies, three ancient goddesses who represent drought, ruined crops and famine.

Interestingly, though possibly not important or relevant, the angel Uriel is the angel of wisdom who is associated with helping people to resolve conflicts.  In The Erinyes by Aeschyles, The Erinyes (Fates) were transformed into goddesses of good judgement and wisdom.   I just wonder if Uriel and Euryale have anything in common…

According to later classical poets, such as Pindar, Medusa is a beautiful maiden, “fair-cheeked”, who is turned into a monster by the goddess Athena for lying with the god Poseidon in Athena’s shrine.  Poseidon is the god of the sea, as well as earthquakes, so there is another nautical connection.  Could the myth simply mean that Medusa once represented the calm sea, and later represented the stormy sea?  The fact that she was mortal might also tie her to animal or plant and certainly her totem animal must be considered to be the snake.  Perhaps sea snakes.  I would need much more time than I currently have to really look into all that, but if anyone already has information, please do post a comment.  I’d be delighted to hear from you.

Kraken

Release the Kraken!

Release the Kraken!

I had to save the best for last!  Oh, but I am so sorry to disappoint you.  The Kraken was never a part of Greek mythology.  It first appeared in early Norwegian stories from the 12th c CE.  In 1752 it was described as being like a floating island, with arms, about a mile and a half across.  Later stories depicted it as a giant octopus.  There is a reference to it in Moby Dick, and Tennyson wrote a poem about it. 

It seems Ray Harryhausen just nicked it for Clash of the Titans, as did the the producers of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest with Johnny Depp.

It probably just represents the dangers of the ocean from predatory creatures.  There have been several accounts of large creatures wrecking boats, such as the giant octopus, which can grow to about thirty feet long.  Tales of the Kraken probably grew from mariner’s tales and fears about sea creatures.

Recommendations

If you want to read more about Greek myths, I highly recommend you start with reading Hesiod, Homer (particularly the Odyssey), Aristophanes and Euripides.  They are much easier to get through.  I probably wouldn’t recommend the Argonautica – it’s not a big book, but it is pretty taxing to read.

Please do feel free to post comments, as it is impossible to fully cover such a vast subject in just a couple of days.

Until next week… As always, your friend, A.D.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Fleece

http://www.theoi.com

http://library.thinkquest.org/C003603/english/volcanoes/theadvantages.shtml

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/LivingWith/PlusSide/mineral_resources.html

http://www.rbhs.w-cook.k12.il.us/mancoff/sirens.htm

http://monsters.monstrous.com/kraken.htm

http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/release-kraken-what-kraken-kraken-origins-history-2600156.html

 

REFERENCES

(1)  Strabo (first century BC) Geography I, 2, 39 (Jones, H.L. (ed.) (1969) The Geography of Strabo (in eight volumes) London

Tran, T (1992) “The Hydrometallurgy of Gold Processing”, Interdisciplinary Science Reviews (UK), 17, pp. 356-365  

“Gold During the Classical Period”

Shuker, Karl P. N. (1997), From Flying Toads To Snakes With Wings, Llewellyn

 Renault, Mary (2004), The Bull from the Sea, Arrow (Rand)

(2)Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. 47. 2 – 3 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian C1st B.C.)

 

Follow me!

YouTube FBBtwittertumblr-logo_zps5dc10b69

Alyson Dunlop

Twitter Updates

  • Happy 214th Birthday, Edgar! twitter.com/englishwhirled… 1 week ago
  • RT @revpeterlaws: A sadistic imposter in your house is terrifying...but what if you were the only one who could see it? Join me for a distr… 1 month ago
  • RT @isaackoi: Thanks to code kindly developed by a fellow Twitter user ("QEDJoe"), I've uploaded PDFs of over 60,000 pages of posts by UFO… 1 month ago
  • Lynne Crawford Knight "Ghostly Encounters of a Scottish Tour Guide" youtu.be/QxblabPAF7s via @YouTube 2 months ago
  • RT @NightmaresNorth: This week I had the chance to appear on the excellent @AlysonDunlop ADX files podcast. We discussed many tales from bo… 3 months ago

Creative Writing Exercise Uncategorized

Recent Posts

  • The Danger of Conspiracy Theories
  • Question Time for Gary Heseltine
  • Ali Jay Stone
  • Peter Robbins Versus The Haters
  • ADX 93 Miguel Conner

Archives

  • April 2020
  • February 2019
  • November 2018
  • May 2018
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • November 2012
  • August 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012

Categories

  • Creative Writing Exercise
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 920 other subscribers

Blog Stats

  • 100,236 hits

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

Blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Alyson Dunlop's Blog
    • Join 78 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Alyson Dunlop's Blog
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.