A certain Clarence Larkin, a Baptist pastor in the early 1900s, created charts to visually explain some biblical teachings to the faithful. To take a look at these charts, click here.

It is very fitting that I should come across these charts now, as I am currently reading Dante’s Inferno (thanks, Hala) and the drawings of the Inferno have been very helpful in explaining the various cantos. If I am going to hell, it pays to know the address beforehand.

The Wagilak myth

At the beginning of time the Wagilak Sisters set off on foot towards the sea, naming places, animals and plants as they went. One of them was pregnant and the other had a child.

Before their departure they had both had incestuous relations with men of their own moiety (marriage class). After the birth of the younger sister’s child, they continued their journey and one day stopped near a water hole where the great python Yurlunggor lived… The older sister polluted the water. The outraged python came out, caused a deluge of rain and a general flood and then swallowed the women and their children. When the python raised himself the waters covered the surface of the earth and ite vegetation. When he lay down again the flood receded.

The Dreaming

The concept of the Creation Time, when the ancestral beings made the world in the form in which present-day people encounter it, is widespread in Aboriginal thought. This is commonly called the “Dreamtime” or “the Dreaming” in Australia. The Walbiri call this period djugurba which, strictly speaking, refers to the stories and attendant designs about ancestral actions during this creative time.

It means an act of creation which was an actual even in ancestral times but is still ongoing and still exerting creative power in the human present. Access to the significance of ancestral creation is often gained through the power of dreams, which is why the term is used in this way.

The Walbiri say they dream themselves of the design their ancestors are supposed to have laid down across the country. In other areas of Australia, a woman may, shortly before learning she is pregnant, dreams of a species, or of a certain place. This is interpreted as indicating the totemic affiliation of the child and its spiritual progenitor.

Source: World Mythology by Arthur Cotterell, Paraggon 1999. Chapter 14 – Australia.

One of the most captivating myths I have come across, and one of the most artistically well-knit, Prometheus Bound remains anonymous to most people. In this myth, one is presented with the case of Prometheus, Mankind’s most generous patron, as he is punished by Zeus for having stolen the fire from the god Hephaestus and given it to Man.

The conflict between the “old regime” and the “old gods”, and Zeus’s newly established dominance over the rest of the new generation, is so obvious in this myth one could almost touch it. Zeus overthrew his father, with Prometheus’ aid, but when Prometheus gave Mankind special gifts and abilities and therefore sabotaged Zeus’s plans to destroy them, the latter grew outraged. He decided to punish Prometheus, and so had him chained to a mighty rock by Hephaestus, the God of fire. Later on in the myth, Zeus split the chasm and entombed Prometheus underground, and when ages have passed on this punishment, he returned into the light and a savage eagle ripped his flesh and picked on his liver all day long.

Prometheus came to be known as a Satanic Hero, due to his defiance to Zeus, and to his exquisite knowledge. In addition to those traits, he was quite proud, even in his torture and time of punishment. One of the most memorable lines that he says in this play, and one of my favorties, is : ” I willed to be wrong”.

From Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound and Other Plays, translated with an introduction by Philip Vellacott, a Penguin Classics book, inclusive of Prometheus Bound, The Suppliants, Seven Against Thebes, and The Persians, I bring you the sixth episode of Share a myth.

After sustaining that, in Prometheus, we are taken to a period which, historically, is that of the first appearance in Greece of the “Olympian” gods, but which Greeks thought of as belonging to the most primitive stage of the history of man, Vellacott says:

” The transition from the primitive to the civilized world, from the life of nomadic tribes and village settlements to that of walled cities and organized states, was doubtless a gradual and barely perceptible process spread confusedly over several centuries and large expanses of land. Individuals who noted such change, however, must generally have associated it with some sudden or memorable event – an invasion, a siege, a massacre, a migration. So this stage in the development of Greek social order had its mythical counterpart in the story of a violent dynastic change among the gods.”

This is the summary of the myth, again cited from the introduction:

” In the primitive era Cronos was lord of all gods. During his time the human race was created, but was early recognized as a regrettable failure, and kept in a state of wretchedness and total subservience. Force ruled everything; reason and right were unknown. The Titans, sons of Earth begotten by gods, were a race of gigantic size and strength, and no intelligence; until in one of them, Prometheus, emerged rational and moral qualities, ranging from cunning and ingenuity to a love of freedom and justice.

The knowledge that the future lay with such intangible principles rather than with brute strength, was a secret possessed by Earth, who imparted it to her son Prometheus. (The earth was in all centuries thought of by the Greeks as the prime source of foreknowledge and prophecy.) This certainty set Prometheus at the side of Zeus, son of Cronos, in rebellion against his father and the older dynasty; and by Prometheus’ help Zeus and the other “Olympian” gods won the day and thenceforward ruled the universe.

But Prometheus was not only an immortal; he was also a son of Earth, and felt a natural sympathy with the earth’s mortal inhabitants. The race which Zeus despised and planned to destroy, Prometheus saw as capable of infinite development. He stole fire from heaven and gave it to them; and he taught them the basic mental and manual skills. In so doing he frustrated Zeus’s plan to create a more perfect race. So when Aeschylus shows him punished for this presumption, the reader or spectator, judging between the antagonists, finds the scales nicely balanced.

What has won our favour for Prometheus is largely the fact that he believed in, and wanted to help, the human race as it is, full of both noble achievement and pitiable squalor, honouring both goodness and wickedness; a race where virtue, if rare, is at least costly. “

Visual and resources: 1- Prometheus bound and visited by the Eagle at Caucasus by Elsie Russel and 2-Prometheus Bound, by A. Russell.

You may wish to check out previous episodes of Share a myth, find them at: Share a myth I, II, III, IV, V.

Aeschylus’ The Suppliants. Chorus of the Danaids addressing King Pelasgus, ruler of Argos.

So compelling is the drama of Aeschylus’ Orestain Trilogy that it will be treated with attention paid to the strong female character of Clytemnestra. I realize that I treated the play Agamemnon before, and I shall treat it again with more depth in this entry. In addition to Agamemnon, I will examine The Eumenides, the third play completing the circle of the Trilogy.

The story of Clytemnestra and her husband, the King of kings, Agamemnon, requires establishing some historical and mythical background in order for us to truly understand the happenings that the Trilogy revolves around. Therefore, necessary data will be provided, in the briefest form possible, to bring understanding to a closer range, and this entry will serve as prelude to the actual analysis. Do not despair if you find the ancient Greek names difficult, you may replace them with modern names in your head if this helps you understand the story. The depths of the drama are eternally meaningful, patience in reading this entry will be rewarded with unfailing knowledge.

To relate bits of the history of Greek “Olympian” Gods, it is crucial to learn that the regular names one hears of, Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Athene,and the others, were not at all times in Greek history the rulers of the universe. Before them came two generations, the first one being that of Ouranos, who was later overthrown by Cronos. Cronos’ son, the famous Zeus, overpowered his father and seized the throne and control of all beings, this was the new religion. Now Zeus’ power, being as fresh and fragile as it was, is said to be “harsh”. The chorus in Prometheus Bound literally say, regarding his new rule, that “Power newly won is always harsh”.

Perhaps the most important figures in the Trilogy, aside from Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, are the Furies. Those are female personifications of vengeance, their job is to punish crime. In Greek thought, Justice equaled Vengeance. Therefore The Furies were the tools to set the scales right, and to restore Justice. They hunt down wrong-doers, those caught red-handed committing matricide, patricide, or breaking codes of hospitality. The Furies were considered part of the Old Generation, they are said to be the guardians of law when the state proper did not exist. Bearing that they make part of an old system will help us understand the events of the Trilogy much better.

The short mythical background secured, let us move on to the historical facade.

Helen, mostly known for her captivating beauty, was Clytemnestra’s sister. Their mother was Leda, and their father was Zeus. Upon maturing into the breath-taking female that she was, Helen received outrageous numbers of suitors who desired her. The suitors were so infatuated with her physical attributes that they all agreed to consider her word final, and to aid the man to be her husband with their armies, should his possession of her ever be endangered. Helen chose auburn-haired Menelaus, who happened to be Agamemnon’s brother. This choice was followed by Clytemnestra’s choosing Agamemnon as her husband and had with him three children: Orestes, Electra, and Iphigenia. The godly ancestry of the two women (Helen and Clytemnestra) is very important in understanding the status of the female in Greek thinking, this to be later explained.

The Olympian Gods were invited to a wedding, save for a minor power named Eris. This Eris came uninvited, and to cause some trouble, he threw an apple on which were inscribed the words ” For the fairest”, on the table where the Goddesses were seated. Hera, wife of Zeus, Aphrodite, Goddess of love, and Athene, Goddess of wisdom, all quarreled over who gets the apple. To solve this problem, Zeus sent the three female deities to the most beautiful of mortal youth, Paris of Troy. He gave the apple to Aphrodite, for she had promised him the most beautiful woman on earth as prize. This woman was Helen.

Mythology and history incredibly intertwine in the Greek world, thus fueling the imagination of the passionate. Read on.

The Trojan War broke after Helen eloped with Paris to Troy. Her husband, Menelaus, called for the ex-suitors of Helen, the Kings, to live up to their earlier pact. Agamemnon, King of kings, led phenomenal fleets and set sail for Troy to recover Helen. Naturally, he left his wife, Clytemnestra, behind, in the city of Argos.

In Argos there lurked a threat to Agamemnon’s empty throne, personified in his cousin, Aegisthus. The blood-feud between the two is rooted to their fathers, Atreus father of Agamemnon, and Thyestes father of Aegisthus. The two old men argued about who should succeed to the throne of Argos, and to prevent his brother from ruling the kingdom, Atreus had to attach an unforgivable sin toThyestes’ fame, one that would render him permanently taboo in the eyes of the citizens. What better way to do that than to make the man devour the flesh of his own sons? The wholesome meal was served in a banquet, Thyestes was exiled with his remaining son Aegisthus.

Atreus, Agamemnon’s father, got away with the crime. But Vengeance was to haunt his family for eternity until the scores were set even. Aegisthus seduced Clytemnestra, the wife of his cousin, and gave her yet another excuse for the murder that she was about to carry out. Killing Agamemnon.

Another bit of history integral to the story is the heartless act of sacrifice that Agamemnon deemed appropriate. Upon starting the naval journey to Troy, the winds changed and the ships were unable to cross the seas. A soothsayer declared that Artemis must be appeased by the sacrifice of the virgin daughter of Agamemnon, named Iphigenia. Agamemnon, not wanting to risk his status among the other kings, consented and sent for his daughter. He deceived Clytemnestra by telling her that he is about to marry their daughter off to the hero Achilles, the girl was duly slaughtered by her father and the fleet set sail.

With this I conclude the introductory entry to the Analysis of the Female in the Orestia. I leave you with graphics made by yours truly to make things easier for the confused. Figure (1) explains the relationships between Sparta and Argos, while Figure (2) depicts the unended struggle for vengeance between Atreus and Thyestes.

After a long repose, one that was longer than my expectations had designed it to be, Share a myth series return. Again from Arthur Cotterell as General Editor, I take the subsequent myth from World Mythology, a Parragon Publishing Book, 2005 edition.

Chapter 15, “Africa” introduces an absorbing article titled “The Cosmic Egg”. I enjoyed reading this bit and I feel I should share it with my readership. What I found captivating is the fact that this particular myth affirms the existence of a single creator for the world, and the existence of a spider before man. Other aspects I found lovely are found at the end of the myth, and are related to the process of creating earth.

The Cosmic Egg

Mebege (Fang, Pahouin/ Congo Afrian Republic, Congo, Gabon) was lonely. He pulled some hair from under his right arm, took substance from his brain and lifted a pebble from the sea. He blew on these three elements and they formed an egg.

Mebege gave the egg to Dibobia, a spider who hung between the sky and the sea. When the egg became hot, Mebege descended and put his sperm on it. The egg cracked and three people emerged. Mebege took a strand of raffia and worked it into a cross, establishing the four directions.

He took hair from under his arms, and the lining of his brain, rolled these into a ball, blew on them and created termites and worms. These dispersed in all directions and with their droppings they built up the earth upon which the three humans stepped.

From “World Mythology” by Arthur Cotterel as general editor, a Parragon Publishing Book of 2005, I bring you the third piece of the “Share a Myth” series. This myth I take from chapter 4; The Celts.

Oisin in the Land of the Forever Young

Oisin, the son of Finn mac Cool, was out hunting one day with his father and their elite band of warriors, the Fianna. They were joined by a beautiful fairy-like woman on a white horse. Her name was Naim of the Golden Hair and she had come, she said, to take Oisin with her to Tir na nOg, the Land of the Forever Young.
Naim told them that she had loved Oisin since she and her father had ridden through Ireland some years before. She had watched him then, running like a young deer through the meadows, looking every inch a huntsman and a warrior. For seven years and seven days she had returned, invisible, to watch him grow up and, at last, her father had given her permission to declare her love.

She cast a spell over Oisin so that he loved her too, and they rode away on Naim’s white steed across lakes, rivers and the misty sea to Tir na nOg. There they married and lived happily for 300 years, a period which seemed like only three weeks to Oisin.

Eventually Oisin became homesick. He longed to see his father and his friends again. Naim did all she could to dissuade him from returning to Ireland. She could not change his mind, however, so she gave him her white horse to make the journey and she warned him not to dismount or he would never return.

When Oisin got back to Ireland he found that everything was different. The countryside had changed, his father and the Fianna were long dead and a new faith was being practiced. Deeply saddened, Oisin turned and began his journey back to his fair wife. He had not gone far, however, when a group of peasant struggling to lift a heavy stone into a wagon asked him for help. He agreed willingly but, as he stooped, his reins broke and Oisin fell to the ground. Immediately, the horse vanished and Oisin transformed into a very old man, blind and near to death.

He was carried to St Patrick who was walking the land and preaching of the new god. The saint received him into the new faith. He also managed to take down some of Oisin’s stories of the old days when the Fianna ruled the land. But soon, the warrior-poet, and the world he had known, passed away forever.

From “World Mythology”, a Parragon Publishing book with Arthur Cotterell as its general editor (2005 edition), I put forward this sequel of “Share a Myth”. A series of entries relating mythical stories with this particular entry acting as the second.
From Sumerian Mythology I desire to share with you one of the stories involving Gilgamesh, and bits of information regarding some of the characters portrayed in the story.

(Chapter1-P.14)
Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld

Inanna grows a Huluppu tree at the banks of the Euphrates and later has it transplanted to her shrine at Uruk, planning to fashion a bed and chair from its wood. However, she discovers that she is unable to cut it down because it is inhabited by three demonic creatures, a serpent, a raptor bird and a female demon. Gilgamesh volunteers to help her and with his mighty battle-axe fells the tree and kills the snake, whereupon the demon and bird fly away.

Apart from the furniture, Inanna makes two objects from the timber, which she presents to Gilgamesh as a reward- but for some reason they fall into the Underworld.
His servant Enkidu volunteers to retrieve them. Gilgamesh gives him careful instructions as to how to behave there, as all the normal rules of behavior are inverted. Enkidu goes down to the Underworld, but promptly forgets all his warnings and breaks every single taboo.

Through the mediation of Enki, Gilgamesh summons the spirit of Enkidu through a hole in the ground and is told of the conditions in the Land of the Dead, where one with three sons has water to drink, one with seven sons is close to the gods, but those whose bodies are never buried are destined to roam forever without rest.

Character Information:

(P.17)Enki is the son of the sky god An and his mother is Nammu, a goddess of water and creation. He lives in Apsu, the watery depths below the earth, the source of all fertility and organic life. Since water in Mesopotamia also had an important magical role, Enki was invoked in magic spells and rituals and hence was regarded as wise among the gods and the one called upon to find solutions to difficult problems. On the other hand his sexual appetite and his weakness for drink account for less than perfect conditions of life on earth. He is not a war-like god and his major adversaries are various goddesses, most notably Inanna who tricks him into giving away divine prerogatives and powers.

(P.19)Inanna is a Sumerian goddess with a complex mythological persona, perhaps the result of a theological/philosophical combination between a local Sumerian deity associated with Uruk and the west-Semitic Venus-star deity Ishtar. Introduced by the Akkadian ruling dynasty in the middle of the second millennium BCE. The former was regarded as the daughter of the supreme sky god An, the latter as the daughter of the moon god Nannar. The dual nature of the planet Venus was conceptualized as a bisexual deity, and this accounts for Inanna’s association with warfare, aggression and lust for power, as well as childbirth and erotic attraction. The myths about Inanna either stress her irascible nature and the fatal consequences of her anger, and/or her sexuality.

For the benefit of my readership’s mythological knowledge, I decided to start posting a myth every now and then. Not every myth impresses me though, so the choices will be subject to my feeling captivated by a particular myth (thus posting it), or my utter neutrality regarding another (which would result in my not posting it).

For as long as I remember stories have captured my imagination. Myths are exactly that; stories. They never cease to amaze and perplex me. I am presently reading a book titled “World Mythology”. Its general editor is Arthur Cotterell. I found the myths of the Arctic peoples especially bloody. Here’s one: