Tuesday, January 30, 2007
I haven't thought of anything brilliant about which to blog today. But, while reading through the introduction of Homeric Hymns, I thought it was pretty great of whoever put them together to include the stories that all Greeks could relate to so that no one was made to feel insignificant. Instead of name-dropping and being exclusive, they used universal myths to bring Greeks from varying backgrounds together. Today we consider the literature that practically anyone can relate to to be the best.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Confusing My Myths
When I was in high school, one of my favorite and best English teachers, Miss Melanie Smith (whom some of you may know, as she is currently at MSU), taught an extensive unit on mythology, which I thoroughly enjoyed. But, apparently I need to brush up on some of the stories. When we first began talking about Antigone, I thought that I remembered a myth where she and Ismene turned into birds at the end in order to escape certain death. However, I was very wrong. That was Procne and Philomela. I had the wrong house; Antigone and Ismene were of course part of the royal house of Thebes, and Procne and Philomela were part of the royal house of Athens. It too is an interesting story. If you are interested, I found a version of this story at http://www.pelion.info/myths_procne.html
I also found it interesting when I visited this site that in the list of its contents was the heading "What's New," which of course I responded (to myself) with "What's Old?" How could there possibly be anything new on a mythologies site?! Well, it is actually a place where the creator of the site talks about personal matters and why some of the links don't work. Very misleading.
I also found it interesting when I visited this site that in the list of its contents was the heading "What's New," which of course I responded (to myself) with "What's Old?" How could there possibly be anything new on a mythologies site?! Well, it is actually a place where the creator of the site talks about personal matters and why some of the links don't work. Very misleading.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
25 January 2007
Well, I finally got a newspaper, and I was looking through it. But, so far nothing has jumped out at me that relates to Antigone or Demeter or Oedipus (if you can believe it).
However, there is an article about Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner, who recently spoke at MSU. And it occured to me that the Olympic games are a Greek tradition - not to mention, Mount Olympus is the home of the gods. Rulon Gardner was a wrestler, which was an orginal competition in the Olympics.
And here is an image of ancient wrestling.
For more artwork and info about the ancient Olympics, go to http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics
Again, "all that is past possesses our present." The Olympics are a part of most nations' cultures today, and many people look forward to and watch them. Especially for the nation hosting them, there is almost an Olympic craze prior to and throughout, which could be said is possessing the present.
I noticed a few other things along these lines of the past relating to the present in the first few pages of Antigone.
On page 7 is a reference to the Goddess of Victory, whose name is Nike, which a very successful sporting goods/tennis shoe company adopted for its name. I have always thought that this was very clever, although I'm not sure how many people make the connection.
And on page 12, there are two places where modern cliches or phrases could possibly have originated. At the part where the Watchman tells Creon that Polyneices has been buried, the Watchman expects to be killed. This reminded me of the saying "Don't shoot the messenger." And at line 295, Creon says "money is the nastiest weed ever to sprout," which of course sounds like "money is the root of all evil." I suppose these are just common tropes, but we still say similar things today.
However, there is an article about Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner, who recently spoke at MSU. And it occured to me that the Olympic games are a Greek tradition - not to mention, Mount Olympus is the home of the gods. Rulon Gardner was a wrestler, which was an orginal competition in the Olympics.
And here is an image of ancient wrestling.
For more artwork and info about the ancient Olympics, go to http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics
Again, "all that is past possesses our present." The Olympics are a part of most nations' cultures today, and many people look forward to and watch them. Especially for the nation hosting them, there is almost an Olympic craze prior to and throughout, which could be said is possessing the present.
I noticed a few other things along these lines of the past relating to the present in the first few pages of Antigone.
On page 7 is a reference to the Goddess of Victory, whose name is Nike, which a very successful sporting goods/tennis shoe company adopted for its name. I have always thought that this was very clever, although I'm not sure how many people make the connection.
And on page 12, there are two places where modern cliches or phrases could possibly have originated. At the part where the Watchman tells Creon that Polyneices has been buried, the Watchman expects to be killed. This reminded me of the saying "Don't shoot the messenger." And at line 295, Creon says "money is the nastiest weed ever to sprout," which of course sounds like "money is the root of all evil." I suppose these are just common tropes, but we still say similar things today.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Class - 22 January 2007
Notes and Thoughts:
agon - (Greek) a contest, a kind of battle between adversaries, an adversarial relationship
-root of agony
(Isn't lexicon fascinating?)
Conflicts in Antigone:
1. man v. woman
2. old v. young
3. individual v. society
4. living v. dead
5. humans v. god(s)
In Steiner's Antigones, on pages 114 and 121 are important, however elitist, quotes, including "The myth precipitates and purifies the agitated, opaque elements of the immediate situation. It enforces on them distance and the dignity of the insoluble..."(121). The myths are relevant to our lives, and our common experiences are so much more than common or agitated.
What's old?
And there is a "fistful of Greek myths which have shaped western consciousness," Antigone being the most important, according to Steiner. It is so necessary (and enriching) to be familiar with mythology when reading literature. It seems to pop up everywhere.
agon - (Greek) a contest, a kind of battle between adversaries, an adversarial relationship
-root of agony
(Isn't lexicon fascinating?)
Conflicts in Antigone:
1. man v. woman
2. old v. young
3. individual v. society
4. living v. dead
5. humans v. god(s)
In Steiner's Antigones, on pages 114 and 121 are important, however elitist, quotes, including "The myth precipitates and purifies the agitated, opaque elements of the immediate situation. It enforces on them distance and the dignity of the insoluble..."(121). The myths are relevant to our lives, and our common experiences are so much more than common or agitated.
What's old?
And there is a "fistful of Greek myths which have shaped western consciousness," Antigone being the most important, according to Steiner. It is so necessary (and enriching) to be familiar with mythology when reading literature. It seems to pop up everywhere.
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