height seth green
2009
The match between the rival Twins in myth and literature
I
"Every man needs an enemy" – this word that I heard American two different men who knew nothing of them sounded quite amazing to me every time. Of course, language is used for the general, I assumed the word "man" means "person" and as I never had the need for an enemy, I was very puzzled until I remembered the theory of Robert Serious about ancient mythology. In his book The White Goddess, explains the essence of the old theme of poetry, which is the story of the birth, life, death and resurrection the god of the year, that God, who represent the seasons of the year, sometimes divided into two: the God of the waxing year, and his twin brother and rival, the God of waning year. The first is the protagonist of the story, the second is the antagonist, and the integrity of history, one can not exist without the other. In both seasons, when they meet, always kills the other and takes its place alongside the great nature goddess, who is the mother of twins, lover and murderer. Thus, each of the two characters mythological enemy needs a whole person.
Remember that ancient pagan mythology, none of the twins is good or bad, both are needed to make a whole, as the needs of summer, winter, day of the needs of the night, the light needs darkness. It is a natural dichotomy existing in the nature, humans have tried to understand and interpret throughout its existence as Homo sapiens.
The idea of this rivalry for the love and power is the best represented by the ancient Canaanite myth of Baal (meaning Master) and Mot (death is). The goddess Anat is the sister and lover of these two twin brothers (the role of mother is completed by the Mother Goddess Athrat / Astarte, while Anat's role as a murderer is subtly masked, this myth is written before his original story of the goddess only powerful nature). The story goes like this: in the spring season, when all the rains cease and the vegetation begins to dry in that area of the eastern coast of Mediterranean Sea, Mot kills Baal – which represents both rainfall and green vegetation – and buries him in a hiding place in the north, where the sun never shines. At the height of summer (in the month of Tammuz, the Babylonian counterpart of Baal), Anat with the help of the sun goddess, found the grave of Baal, take your body out and mourn him. Then Mot catches in the form of dry corn, cut it down – that is, picking him – he turns and spreads his body in the wind like dust, like chaff. In the fall, Baal returns to life, brings rains that cause the earth to soften and the green grass to grow back, wheat grains (= corn), representing the dead body of Mot, are buried in the belly of the earth – ie sowing – from which the corn grows green in the body of Baal, and the cycle begins again. It is very clear here that both seasons, Corn and both aspects are necessary for life to exist and continue.
This pagan belief in the dichotomy year was so strong that in some parts of the myth, and the connection between love of the goddess and political power was used not only as a basis for the ritual but also to current realities. In his book The Greek Myths, Graves presents historical evidence of a religious-political situation: in some city-states of ancient Greece, in the pre-classic period, there were alterations Seasonal pairs of rulers. One pair of these was that of two brothers, Castor and Pollux, known as the Dioscuri (twins), seasonally exchange the Spartan throne after his death, the brothers became gods and fixed in the sky as the stars representing the Zodiac Gemini ( "twins") sign.
The myth is symbolic for both reality and the ritual, and not always possible to differentiate between the two. In Europe, the sacred king symbol household increases by one year young priestess of the goddess of spring and summer, his rival brother, symbolizing the year to decline, he marries the old priestess of autumn and winter, which is also the goddess of Death. Ritual, when the sacred king married the goddess of death, dying and becomes King of the Underworld.
In my opinion the idea that a good literary story needs a conflict between a protagonist and an antagonist of the stems of the theory of rivalry between the God of the year growing and the God of the waning year. This idea of literature is particularly important in the Hundred 19. what is called Romantic literature (to be distinguished from the more recent novel "romantic"). Two very important books are those written by the Bronte sisters, Emily and Charlotte.
In Emily Bronte's book Wuthering Heights, heroin, Kathy is in love with Heathcliff, it represents in its appearance and character of God of death or the king of the underworld: it is black, savage, sullen, and belongs to the class more low as possible. The myth has its match with the young girl Kathy impossible because he represents the dark god of autumn, and Linton marries the nice and beautiful, which represents clearly the God of spring and light. Heathcliff, no money, he walks in distant lands and acquired great wealth, therefore further identified with the Roman Pluto the God of the Underworld wealth. When Heathcliff returns, Kathy dies, as if brought death with it. But a dead woman usually becomes herself the Goddess of the Death, and she also leads to the tomb. So, are united in the way they always had each other as the inhabitants of the underworld, where Kathy is no longer young and nice. She is, however, throughout history, which is holding the rule and the motivation of love and power.
Interestingly, in the same year that Emily book was published Wuthering Heights (1847), Charlotte had also published his Jane Eire – a book that is clearly based on the same topic. In it, Rochester is the parallel Heathcliff, the dark and savage man in which the heroine falls in love, despite Rochester's high-born and more cultured than Heathcliff. His rival in the quest for the hand Jane is the vicar of the rivers that parallel Linton, both in appearance and in its cold nature and logic. Jane Eire, however, differs much in character Kathy more decisive. She does not hesitate to choose Rochester, in particular because of his great heart, she still ignores her disfigurement later, after having rejected the rivers highly moralistic. She is much more the figure of the Great Goddess of evil Kathy confusing, but much less in appearance. In both books there is a strong sense of right of a woman to choose her lover without predejuice.
***
A variation of the myth appears in Egyptian mythology. Osiris, which was the counterpart of Baal as the god of vegetation and corn, was the brother and lover of the great nature goddess Isis. He is killed by Seth, who came from the desert and what it represents, like the Canaanite Mot, the dry and barren; Seth also assumes that Isis wants for himself. But the situation here is more complicated. After have been killed, Osiris becomes god of the underworld, never Baal, but his son Horus replace him as the protagonist, being a sun god who kills Seth, in revenge for his father. An interpretation of the myth relatively late Seth attributed to an evil man, who did not initially have. The connection between Osiris and his son Horus was expressed by the Egyptians "the habit of identifying the living king, the Pharaoh, Horus, while after his death, would become" Osiris. "Interestingly note that Osiris, though a god of the underworld and therefore responsible for the death, never considered evil.
This is classic in Hamlet, Shakespeare, where the evil brother has murdered the rightful king and married his wife traitor. Along with Egyptian mythology, Hamlet must avenge the his father's betrayal and death of the evildoers. Unlike the son of Osiris, Horus, Hamlet, is unable to do so, preferring instead to kill himself.
II
The idea of the goddess "be free to give his love to whom she feels she deserves – even if it really depends on the change of seasons – at the time gave a bad reputation as a person treacherous. This idea is well presented in the Mesopotamian myth of Gilgamesh: In a culture where the government reaches its king through a ritual marriage to the Goddess, Gimgamesh Erekh King refuses marriage to the great goddess Ishtar, on the grounds that kill their lovers, and he feared for his life with her. The angry goddess, then, a friend of the king within Enkidu to bed with a priestess and then kills him, as his due according to the myth. The poem clearly expresses the revolt of man against the current system in which much power is given the goddess of life. Again there is no identification of Gilgamesh and Enkidu as good and evil, the difference between them is that one is a civilized king and the other so wild like an animal – your character clearly derives from principles of human life, which is much more involved with nature and nature goddess of Gilgamesh.
There is a new situation here, where the trio of women is considered a traitor, without any consideration for the symbolism of age, and for the needs of the nature and life connected with nature. It seems that the idea of the treacherous nature of women has advanced in mythology with the progress of male power over women, as stated by the Babylonian myth of the young (upstart) Mardukh god killing the Great Goddess Tiamat, the mother of all beings. This disorder is expressed in a Welsh myth known in the struggle for dominance between men and women is still ongoing.
The myth tells the life story of Llew Llaw Gyffes, whose name is translated by Robert Graves "Lion with a steady hand" and by others as "Lugh (god of the sun), with the long arm. Llew is Arianrhod mother, whom Graves identifies with the goddess Greek nature of Ariane, but in the changing scene in Wales, which has limited power over man and nature, being under the rule of his uncle, the Magician Math. Arianrhod gives birth to Llew no husband to his name, showing their independence from male domination and raises the ire of her male relatives. It puts obstacles in the way of his son to have a name, bear arms or take a woman on earth, but is tricked by her uncle and cousin Gwydion to do so. The wife, Blodeuwedd, is made of flowers and therefore a suitable bride for the young hero, whose name means lion him as the representative of the sun of spring, but she betrays him in the summer solstice, giving his love to his guest Gronw Pebyr, not only after his love, but also after Llew property. Gronw kills its host becomes an eagle, whose meat is eaten by an old sow – another figure of the Goddess, by death and inspiration. Blodeuwedd, whose name means "Owl" and therefore identified also with the Goddess of Wisdom, departs in the form of this bird. Eventually, Gwydion is Llew, rescues him and returns to his property, which kills Gronw turn. This story is a mixture of ancient mythological and feminine elements later men rule over them. Here, though Gronw that kills its host is nothing called "bad" women is certainly considered a traitor to her husband and society.
III
The idea of assigning two representatives of the campaign's characters of good and evil seems to be rooted in the Zoroastrian religion of Persia. There, the old dichotomy was represented by the rivalry between Ahura Mazda, the god of light and all good, and Ahrimon, god of darkness and evil throughout. The idea was picked up by early Christianity, probably in Rome, which included many Persian ideas, and increased to become the basis on which this new religion was built. The dominant institution in the world was divided between God and Satan in Heaven in the underworld (or hell) with treacherous women to take their part, principally with evil, unless they refrain from using the power of her sex appeal.
This idea took root in medieval times, that appears in many fairy tales that were popular literature of the period. One of their representatives is the classic book of the Thousand and One Nights, and one of his best-known stories is that of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. In this story, as in many other stories, which appear, for example, the Brothers Grimm collection, one of the brothers is rich and evil, the other is poor, but good (rich and poor, as mentioned, fit the character of the Roman god Pluto Underworld). The poor, good brother is naturally the hero of the story, and is one who finds the treasure of the thieves, who makes his rich but still greedy brother's death. An interesting character role of the Goddess in this history, the figure of the slave adopted Marjanah (which, in translation, is called or Morganna or Marianna – both names of the Great Goddess). With her beauty and wisdom Ali Baba helps to win their fight against the cruel thieves, in the end she turns to Ali Baba's son as a wife and gains an important place in society. This woman definitely strong takes the side of "good" in this story.
Two hundred and 19. Romance novels mentioned above have used the idea that when a woman has potential lovers, one must be good and bad, the choice of women, including defined as innocent or as a traitor. One of these books is The Count of Monte Cristo, where, in order to get Mercedes, the woman he loves, Fernando returned to his rival, the pure in heart Edmond Dantes, who is supposed to be his friend, the French authorities as a traitor and supporter of the exiled king of Napoleon Bonaparte. Dantes escapes from his tomb, including imprisonment, in the form of Monte Christo gets his revenge on Fernando. Mercedes who was married to Fernando, in the absence of Dantes, is considered a traitor, until he discovers that he was told he was dead. Of his own doubts of their actions take her on the tip to the neutral site of a nunnery. The rich now Dantes, with his acts of vengeance, must be identified as evil. The story oscillates between good and evil and the ways they change very tortuous instead a presentation of the game for the love and power.
Persuasion Jane Austen book is much simpler than That, and the parties of good and evil are clearly defined in it. The villain is the cousin of Anne Elliot, which is perceived as a dishonest man who had acquired their wealth in crookedly. Her other suitor is just Captain Wentworth, who has earned his money honestly. Anne, the heroine, in fact holds in his hand the power of happiness any of these men, and finally makes good option, which will be best for her. In this book, a yearning that wealth is the symbol of the underworld and evil, Indeed, the power behind the scenes that really determines who is good and who's bad.
IV
There is, therefore, a development that may be clearly seen from the different stages of ancient myth, a fairy tale medieval and modern literature, especially as regards the position of women between the two rivals and different ideas about good and evil, who compete for her love and the power it gives. When the Goddess of Nature ruled alone, there are no good or bad, but the needs of existence, with the advance of the monotheistic religions moralist, and the deteriorating position of women in society, there was a change in those ideas, that have been well articulated in the literatures of all periods, and – if I may be so bold as to say – we face today.
REFERENCES
Robert Graves – The White Goddess
Robert Graves – The Greek myth
Arabian Nights
William Shakespeare – Hamlet
Emily Brontë – Wuthering Heights
Charlotte Bronte – Jane Eire
Jane Austen – Persuasion
Alexandre Dumas – The Count of Monte Cristo
http://www.themystica.org/mythical-folk/articles/Baal.html
About the Author
I live in Israel and I hold an M.Phil. degree in literature from the London University,
having studied both Hebrew and English languages and literature for B.A.. I taught these subjects before I became a full time writer. My main interest is mythology, but I write also fantasy and science fiction stories, novellas and books, and had many of them published in print and on the Net, both in Hebrew and English. Among works of mine published on the Net and in print are Minstrel in the Forest and The Myth of Tristan and Isolde. editor@thewriterseyemagazine.com
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