The mighty arms of Atlas hold the heavens from the earth

The five lines I chose from The Metamorphoses are from Book IV, Perseus and Atlas. Coming to the orchards of Atlas, Perseus asks the titan for permission to rest in his lands. Atlas, remembering a prophecy that he would lose his golden trees to such a visitor, tries to give Perseus the boot. Knowing he can't beat Atlas' strength, Perseus screams "Say hello to my little friend!" and gives Atlas a face-full of medusa. The lines I chose are those of Atlas' transformation into stone, which I believe is the most richly worded of Ovid's stories.

Great Atlas now became a mountain-mass

as huge as he had been; his beard, his hair

were changed to woods; his shoulders and his arms,

to ridges; what had been his head was now

a mountaintop; his bones were changed to stones.

While many of the transformations within the Metamorphoses are dramatic or stirring, none could match the awe I felt when visualizing this image. The thought of a giant, larger than any other being, instantly turning into a mountain range is too powerful a picture to be challenged.

Frames in Velazquez

One question I had intended to ask during today's class was concerning a painting I had seen during my high school spanish class. The painting was from the view of a couple having their portrait painted. In the painting, the artist is seen standing to the side, looking past his canvas toward the subjects. Lastly, in the mirror the couple's reflection can be seen.

I could not recall the name of the artist, only that his use of frames was similar to the description of Spinners by Velazquez. Searching for the work, I was amazed to see the picture titled Las Meninas above it. Both of these paintings depict stories within stories, worlds inside of worlds.

The Rain Man

After today's class, I came back to my room and began pondering what to write for my blog. Low on inspiration, I turned on my Doors cd, and was struck by the lyrics to the song L'America. It tells a condensed version of the Bacchae almost exactly.

C'mon people, don't ya look so down
You know the rain man's comin' ta town
Change the weather, change your luck
And then he'll teach ya how ta...find yourself

Now from the first lines of Bacchae, I recognized the Rain Man as Dionysus, come to Thebes to make a little mischief.

Friendly strangers came to town
All the people put them down
But, the women loved their ways
Come again some other day

This final section strikes me as the chorus and the Maenads, who are mocked and punished by Pentheus. And while his aunts and mother might be mad as hatters, their only option is to love the bacchic revelry.

Tom Cruise in the movie Rain Man. Sort of resembles that troublemaker look that Elvis wears. The Bacchic lip curl?

Confusion about Perseus

Before taking this class I had read several renditions of the life of Perseus, ranging from serious to complete parody (With Zeus mistaking Danae for a different woman, leaving, then a guard finishing the work while Danae obliviously shouts "Oh Zeus"). While each of the stories is unique, the tale of Perseus and Atlas is the only one depicting the titan being turned into a mountain. What confused me about the story, however, was the opening paragraph of the story.

Acrisius, the son of Abas, born of the same stock as Cadmus still warred upon the new god, still denied Bacchus was a son of Jove--divine. Within Acrisius' city, his walled Argos, the new god was not welcome-even as Acrisius held that Persues, born of Danae, Acrisius' daughter, was no son of Jove, conceived within a godly shower of gold. But soon enough-such is the force of truth--the king reversed himself, accepting Bacchus as deity, and Perseus' claim as just.

What does the denial of Bacchus have to do with Perseus' divine parentage? Does Acrisius simply have a stick lodged up "the one place a dildo fits", or did he just feel like insulting as many gods as he could? I suppose he might've just shared a few genes with Pentheus, but it's still a risky business thumbing your nose at two gods at the same time.

Earlier Narcsissus

While reading the story of Narcissus and Echo, a friend remarked that she had heard a much different version, one without a nymph, and where Narcissus' reflection is a punishment from the gods. Intrigued, I wikipedia'd the story of Narcissus.

According to Wikipedia. the original story was a moral lesson for young boys to be kind to their lovers and suitors (Flashback to Symposium?). In the story, Narcissus is approached by a young man named Ameinias, but refuses him, giving him a sword instead. Distraught, Ameinias prays to Nemesis that Narcissus would feel the same pain, then kills himself with the sword. Later, Narcissus finds his reflection and unsuccessfully attempts to seduce it, unaware of its nature. Completing the curse, he then kills himself with the same sword he presented to Ameinias.

The Death of Achilles

The story I chose for my blog was the Death of Achilles from Book XII. While the armies battle, Apollo comes to Paris and directs his arrow to kill Achilles. What I found interesting is that the majority of paintings veer away from Ovid and Homer by depicting this scene with Paris stabbing Achilles from behind while he is visiting Polyxena, the daughter of Priam. Though differing in their methods, however, both scenes show Paris killing Achilles in a cowardly manner, ensuring that he is still undefeated despite his death.

Comedy and religion

In today's class I thought about the differences between old and new comedy, and how the new comedy's rise to dominance was influenced by religion, especially the condemnation of bawdy humor. In modern religion, mainly Islam and Christianity, God is portrayed as the pinnacle of morality. Humanity is instructed to shape and live their lives in accordance with this impossible standard.
This is sharply contrasted in Greek mythology. The gods, while wise and powerful, display a wide range of human emotions and tendencies. They feel jealousy, lust, and humor. They are even patrons to such things as trickery and debauchery (I don't think there's a patron saint of drunken revelry). A similar pantheon would be the Aesir of Norse legend. Though great in deed and fame, they are capable of being tricked, feeling fear and doubt, even of death.
Some attribute this human fallacy to the religion's eventual downfall. A deity who shares the same weakness as man cannot be expected to sustain the weight of an entire civilizations belief. I believe, however, that such a nature is necessary, for the followers of that religion to feel a connection with their gods.
This may well be the reason for Jesus to be born in the New Testament. But while Jesus was capable of doubt and fear, his virtue was still far above that of many of his followers. He may have turned water into wine, but he didn't stick a lampshade on his head and streak through the alleyways. I believe it is because of these religious standards that old comedy was fully stamped out. Such 'toilet-humor' would be viewed as immoral, or even sacrilegious.