Justin Lew 10/25/19 Period 2 - Blog #1

10/25/2019

Justin Lew

Blogger #20

Modern Mythology 2020

Aim: How do the punishments of Prometheus, Io, Europa, and Polyphemus demonstrate the forces of wrath?

Today we started off with a discussion of our existence within the universe. This discussion included the possibility of other intelligent life forms within our universe as well as the concept of existence in general and began with whether humanity’s existence mattered due to how insignificant it is from a grand scale. 

As the class continued this discussion, we dove deeper and questioned the existence of the universe itself as it is interpreted by intelligent lifeforms. The concept was proposed that, in a way, the universe would cease to exist if there were no intelligent life forms as inanimate objects as well as organisms without any developed enough brain would be unable to understand the concept of existence itself. This was supported by an old but interesting quote, “I think, therefore I am” by Rene Descartes that explains that we, as intelligent life forms, know that we exist because we can think and understand the concept of existence.

The final major point of our initial discussion at the beginning of class posed the question of whether other intelligent life, or even extraterrestrials, exist. One student, Joshua, stated that it is possible that humans are currently far too primitive compared to other civilizations that exist outside our planet leading to a lack of interactions between us and the possible life forms capable of thinking. Another possibility, pointed out by Benjamin, is that we, as humans, are one of the first forms of intelligence to exist due to how young the universe may be.

Following our talk about our existential crisis, the class returned to Greek mythology, beginning with Europa.

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(Europa Questions)

… And then along came this handsome bull…

What's with Zeus's infedelity?

Why is it referred to as the "rape" of Europa?

Discuss the dichotomous impact of women?

You have the powerful, smart, and vengeful Hera, and then all of these weak women who succumb to their violators.

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Based on the questions above, we discussed how the story reflected women during the times of Ancient Greece. We learned that women, by the age of 12, were mature enough to fulfill their role and receive their “happiness.” In actuality, however, this happiness meant that they were married off and were fully expected to bear children to continue the lineage of their families. Furthermore, it was not uncommon for a lady to be “taken” by a man other than her husband or future husband which led to the creation of bridesmaids, a safety precaution in which the engaged or married woman is accompanied by other women who act as guards or become the potential victim in her place. This is reflected in the story of Europa in which Europa is a princess who gathers with her female friends and family members but was taken by Zeus who disguised as a bull and took her purity when Europa was taken to Crete. Furthermore, Hera who is described as “powerful, smart, and vengeful” is one of the two possible examples of women being that patient and obedient women were favored while vengeful women were shunned in society.

After the discussion of Europa came Io.

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(Io Questions)

Women must continue to endure

Explains the humble, gentleness of cows.

Why they were tormented by flies. The peacock's "100 eyes."

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The story of Io connected with the story of Europa in that it reflects how women fit in their role within society during ancient times. However, unlike other stories between Zeus and his mortal lovers, Io was able to escape the wrath of Hera as she journeyed the world and eventually settled in Egypt. However, until she arrived to Egypt, she was transformed into a female cow by Zeus and was chased by a fly sent by Hera as a result of Zeus’s actions and recurring infidelity. Through the story of Io, we understood the belief that “From a woman's sacrifice, greatness can be born” as Io gave birth to two children who became major figures in different empires.

The final figure that was discussed in class was Polyphemus.

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(Polyphemus Questions)

An inhospitable beast or just misunderstood?

Contradictory to the usual Greek theme?

"With physical blindness usually comes great insight."

What would shift about this story if Polyphemus was a regular, rude human?

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Polyphemus is a cyclops who became impaired due to Odysseus. However, it is not without reasoning as, in the epic, Polyphemus lacked hospitality towards his visitors, proceeding to trap and eat Odysseus’s crew. Thus, Polyphemus can be a representation of foreigners and that foreigners lack the “common sense” of the explorers who venture into foreign lands. This is connected to other myths as gods disguise themselves and test mortals on whether they act hospitably to others regardless of status. However, as a class, Polyphemus would not have had the same sympathy if Polyphemus was human as it is still expected for humans, as a whole, to act civilised and have a common sense among them.

Reflection

Today in class, I was able to deepen my understanding of the social circumstances Greeks faced during ancient times. Compared to the modern era, women lacked rights and were viewed not viewed as independent beings. While myths depict the powers and influences of goddesses such as Artemis, Athena, and Hera, they do not fail to display the role of women in Greek society as women who behave like Hera are shunned while mortals who follow the will of the gods are favored. Furthermore, It was not uncommon for women to be viewed only as bearers of future generations as the age of adulthood for females was extremely early compared to current times and that the necessity of bridesmaids reflect the dangers women faced when left alone. Greek myths also display the behaviors expected by the Greek as foreigners should have a sense of hospitality and act civilised when meeting new people. With this newfound knowledge, I am able to compare the societal differences between the ancient Greeks and modern societies around the world.

While the discussion of humanity’s existence within the universe does not directly relate to the curriculum of our Modern Mythology class, I was able to expand my horizons pertaining to how we perceive ourselves and how this is impactful to understanding our role and identity within the history of time.