Mythology is Everywhere...

The study of the world's mythology has always been interesting, but throughout this course I personally have learned that it's more applicable to the "real world" than most people know. As the final weeks of our mythological experience come to an end, each student presents an application of the knowledge they've gained throughout the course by applying it to a piece of contemporary literature or media. Though I had a pretty good idea of how well Campell's "Journey of the Hero" could be fit to a fictional movie or novel for example, I found it quite intriguing how well it could be applied to an autobiographies or nonfiction works as well; the obvious difference being one is created with the intention of entertaining so it may not be as realistic, while the other is a record of "real life" events. Most people still associate the word myth with it's dictionary definition (obviously) as being "any fictitious idea accepted as part of an ideology by an uncritical group", and are so quick to judge, question, or try disprove myths from cultures other than their own, when selections like the Holy Bible for example is really no different. Myths just serve as basically a culture's set of morals, values, and/or code of conduct depicted through a narrative; though the characters and events of the story may be untrue, the values they represent are very real, almost making the myths themselves real. We must remember that mythology was based off observations of life as we once knew it, and the fact that cultures spread throughout the world have very similar myths with common themes, indicates the relevance, importance, and thus reality of these invaluable exhibitions of history and human life.

Myth v.s. Fable



Myths are accepted as true without proof

Myth. Legend. Fairy tale. Fable. Four of the most commonly interchanged words with four completely unique definitions. Before this subject was just briefly brought up in class today, I too was unaware of the differences between such nouns, but it turns out they are pretty distinct. The class we have been writing this blog for all semester is devoted to the education of myths, which according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, is characterized by: association with religious beliefs, unknown origins but traditionally kept alive, recognized as symbolic narrative which most always involves deities or superhuman characters that are involved in extraordinary circumstances that is understood to have taken place beyond everyday human life. The plausibility of myths are often unquestioned, accepted as matter-of-fact in the culture it originated without any form of proof other than its existence. Myths play a major role in its originating culture, often serving as word from a higher power, and more often depicting the actual progression and morals of the culture itself. 

The characters of fables are most notably animals



Fables on the other hand, are characterized by predominant anthropomorphized animals or objects as the main characters of the story; but unlike myths, fables often end in a resonating moral message that comments on human social behavior of the time. Not only do myths lack the "preachy" tone that fables present, but quite the opposite, most myths really have no point they're trying to get at and actually should not be looked at as an example to copy. In addition, the comprehension of a myth is very dependent on a vast understanding of the events and people of a certain time, while a fable is almost always universal since it's main characters are known animals or objects.

Fairy tales are mostly magical recollections

Fairy tales, apart from its literal definition concerning the class of supernatural beings (fairies), has developed into another branch of narration most often characterized by the presence of a young individual that has some sort of run-in with magical events or beings. The origin of this classification of short story can only be traced back to the 18th century, where the idea of a "fairy" was first introduced to the word by medieval Europe, convinced these beings inhabited the very kingdom in which they lived. Like fables (and unlike myths), fairy tales take place in a vague time, so as to be more universally understood.

Arthur's account is based on factual info

Legends, on the other hand, are more closely related to myths rather than fables or fairy tales, as they are associated with being based on historical fact. The distinction between legend and myth is often difficult, as legends border on becoming myths since a degree of supernatural is often incorporated into its story, though it's still supposed to be based on fact. Common examples of legends are King Arthur and Robin Hood; some argue that the Iliad is a legend as well since it was based a real man's journey..

The significance of wolves in mythology



Wolves accompany Odin



The appearance and significance of the wolf throughout myths from a numerous different cultures and time periods raises a question from time to time concerning its role throughout these myths; it seems to mostly fill the role of an antagonist to cultural heroes or deities, or at least exhibit some characteristics of the trickster figure, yet it appears in some myths as the companion or form of assistant to the protagonists. Through some research I found that the wolf most generally symbolizes evil, along positive and spiritual aspects, and the representation of the union of opposites. In the early development of mankind, it was found that wolves and humans were constantly opposing each other, competing essentially for the same food, which is perhaps why the wolf is more prominently known as a troublesome or evil figure.

 As mentioned before, the wolf is viewed as really a contradiction of itself by cultures all over the world, its a wild and feared animal that often times represent death or Satan of some sort; but at the same time a it is the companion to the goddess Artemis and Odin. I found that this theme of opposites in the symbolism of the wolf is also represented by the contrast between the masculine and feminine nature: the masculine nature is depicted by many cultures as the protector or exhibiting war-like behavior, while the feminine nature is symbolized as the goddess in she-wolf form nurturing the twins, Romulus and Remus, or in the Irish myth of Cormac, King of Ireland who was suckled by wolves and was always accompanied by them.  

Romulus and Remus nurtured by a wolf



The association of the wolf with the goddess was seen in the Roman cult of Lupa, as a "divine midwife" and "mother of the ancestral spirits", she was often known as "Mother of the Wolves". An ancient statue in the Lupercal grotto depicts the infants Romulus and Remus, whom she supposedly to have nursed. She was annually honored at the Lupercalia, the festival of the She-wolf, when kids dressed in wolf skins to do so. This notable female wolf figure and the abandoned twins became the emblem of Rome. The frequent connection between goddess figures and totemic wolves is also seen as a strong indication that women first established relationships with wolves and eventually domesticated them.

Histories of the Sky

I often find myself looking up at the night sky in hopes to find a clear unobstructed view of everything that's going on up there. I find it so fascinating that the constellations, planets, and even galaxies that we find ourselves awe stricken by every night were once gazed upon by people who lived anywhere on this earth even centuries ago, and that the shapes within constellations originally observed and outlined by ancient peoples are still visible tonight. The most prominent constellation I find my attention drawn to night after night without struggle is the great Orion, thanks to his signature belt that is visible from every part of the earth due to its location on the celestial equator; once you find the three close sequential stars that make up Orion's belt, the form of his body is easily identified soon after. Another notable feature of this constellation is the red giant Betelguese, which is one of the largest stars in the sky. So indulging my curiosity, I decided to find out Orion's tale, what people thousands of years ago felt the importance of this prominent figure of the sky was.

The origin of Orion from Greek and Roman mythology:

Orion was a demi-god, son of a mortal woman and the god Poseidon; Artemis fell in love with him, desiring to be with him. Her brother Apollo knew that if she gave her love to Orion, she would lose her power and image as a great goddess, and Apollo determined to keep his sister from her love. So when Artemis was busy, Apollo sent a giant scorpion to attack Orion, intending to kill him. Orion fought the scorpion bravely, but wasn't able to win the fight, so he attempted to flee. Seeing that he couldn't win, Orion attempted to flee by running into and on top of, the ocean; as Orion turned to enter the water the scorpion struck his ankle and the poison from the strike killed Orion. Artemis was of course upset upon learning what happened, so she put Orion's body into the skies so that she could always remember him. Afterwards, however, Apollo also put the scorpion into the skies as well, calling it Scorpio, so that the creature could forever chase the demi-god across the heavens. So, in the Greek sky, whenever Scorpio started to rise during the change of seasons, you could see Orion going down on the other horizon.

The ancient Egyptians recognized this constellation as well, but saw something different: they viewed it as their god Osiris holding the star Aldebaran. A theory exists (the Orion Correlation Theory) that speculates correlation between the locations of the three largest pyramids of Giza and the three bright stars that make up Orion's belt.

Norse Constellations

Throughout ancient Europe, the night sky was often as a "World Tree" that encompassed the entire skyline, where stars were the fruit of its extending branches, and the Milky Way was the gigantic roots extending down to the Earth and thus connecting the two "worlds". Here are some of the main constellations I stumbled across in scratching the surface; some of these constellations overlap or incorporate contemporarily known constellations since it is hard to know for sure which stars could be seen then or can't be seen now.

Friggerock (Frigg’s distaff) – this consists of three stars making up a distaff, which is equated with the belt of Orion.  (Assuming the Orion constellation was also viewed as a figure in the sky, in this case the goddess Frigg [2], the belt of Orion is still a belt but the sword has a vertical orientation as does the spindle as it would have been known in a society where women were the spinners.)  "Though Icelandic writings do not contain this name, it has remained in use among the Swedish country-folk (Ihre, sub v. Friggerock).  The constellation is however called Mariärock, Dan. Marirock (Magnusen, gloss. 361. 376), the christians having passed the same old idea on to Mary the heavenly mother." (Grimm 2004: 270)  "The same three stars are to this day called by the common folk in Up. Germany the three mowers, because they stand in a row like mowers in a meadow" (Grimm 2004: 726).

Thiassi’s Eyes – this consists of two Gemini stars Castor and Pollux, that are side by side of equal brightness resembling two eyes, reaching their peak in the sky at midnight in January, which is why they were associated with Skadi (goddess of winter and presumed goddess of Skandza).

Dain (dormant) – one of the deer constellations in the branches of the World Tree, an elf name and here is associated with the smallest of the deer.  Consists of two stars along its back leg, two stars along its front leg, two for its trunk, one star on its neck, the bright star Vega is its eye, and the four Lyra stars form its antler.

Dvalin (sleeper) – one of the deer constellations, a dwarf name and here is associated with the second smallest of the deer.  Consists of some of the same stars as Cepheus, with one star for each of its front foot and the North Star makes its rear foot, two stars for its trunk, one bright star is its eye, one star on its snout, seven stars make up its antlers.

Duneyr (drooping-ears) – one of the deer constellations, the name associated with the second largest of the deer.  Consists largely of the stars of the Great Bear, with two stars for its front leg, five stars for its rear leg, seven stars make up its body, two for its neck, one for its eye, and three for its antlers.

Durathror (sluggish beast) – one of the deer constellations, the name associated with the largest of the deer.  Consists of the Perseus constellation as its head and antlers and Auriga as its body, with one star for each of its three visible legs, six stars for its body, one star for its eye, one star for its snout, five stars make up its longer antler, three its shorter antler.

Ratatosk (gnaw-tooth) – the squirrel constellation.  Consists of the main stars in Cassiopeia, with one star for its head, one for each foot, one for its body, and two for its tail.

"Geirrod" – the eagle constellation, unnamed among the Norse but whose name here is based upon the eagle Garuda of Hindu mythology.[3]  Consists of largely the same stars as Cygnus the swan, with one star for its body, tail and head, its left wing being four stars and its right wing being five stars.

Vedrfolnir (wind-parched) – constellation for the hawk upon the eagle's head.  Consists of one star for its body and one for its head, two stars for its left wing, and three stars for its right wing.

Nidhogg (poison biter) – constellation of a serpent at the foot of Yggdrasill’s root.  Consists of many of the same stars as Scorpius, four stars make up its head and 19 stars make up its body and tail.

Wagon – this constellation among the Germanic people is well-known, in England as charles wain, Denmark as karlsvogn, Sweden as  karlwagn, and herrenwagen, meaning the "lord's wagon" and ultimately related by Grimm back to Wotan's wagon (Odin's wagon) (Grimm 2004: 151) while in the Netherlands it is known as the hellewagen (Grimm 2004: 802).  The same stars that comprise the Big Dipper, with four stars making up the wagon and three stars making up the tongue.  "We know that in the very earliest ages the seven stars forming the Bear in the northern sky were thought of as a four-wheeled waggon, its pole being formed by the three stars that hang downwards" (Grimm 2004: 151).[4]

Hellewagen – constellation of the wagon of the dead, that travels upon hellweg or

Frauen Hilde Street

(the Milky Way) to the underworld.  There is good reason however to think that the constellation known as Pegasus was the original Hellewagen (perhaps also Odin's Wagon), consisting of four stars making up the wagon, with three stars making up its tongue.[5]



The Nordic "Hell"

 

Valhalla

We discussed in class that those who died honorably in battle their souls would be collected by either the Valkyries or the great Odin and taken to Valhalla which could easily be considered the Norse heaven; consequently, we were encouraged to look into where the sinners of this culture were doomed to reside. In general they viewed dying as a promotion for the well-being of the tribe, even as a form of sacrifice, and heroes' souls were well rewarded. Those who died a mundane death of old age, their souls were sent to Hel/Helheim for it was believed that they were cowards for not having died honorably in battle. The Nordic Hel wasn't considered punishment like today's conception of the underworld is however, it was a place just as mundane and boring as the souls who reside there lived their life and died. It was also considered "hell" to the norse at the time because no loyalty to a tribe existed in Helheim, and self-sufficiency without the fellowship of a tribe was considered torture.

Hel/Helheim

Another realm called Niflheim was an icy wasteland full of predators, enemies, and danger around every corner; like in the Aesir, one could not die there so only suffering was in store for those who happened to be so lucky. They also believed in resurrection at any time, one could either be reborn in midgard once again, or they could be reborn in Odin's hall.