Earliest Memories

I have to admit, I am a little behind on my blog. So I am going to go back a couple class periods and start from there.

As I said before in my previous literature class with Dr. Sexson, my earliest memory is from when I was about 4 years old. My father took me to Toys 'R' Us (I can't remember the reason... maybe to buy a birthday present or maybe just for kicks). I was following him around for a while and then eventually wandered off into the bright pink Barbie aisle, where I was entranced by all of the different dolls. Some amount of time went by before I realized my dad was not in the same aisle as me. I walked over a couple aisles looking for my dad when I arrived in an aisle full of baby strollers and car seats. I thought it was weird that he was looking at car seats, but I tapped him on the back anyway. But when the man turned around, I saw that IT WAS NOT MY DAD! OH, THE HORROR! Needless to say, I turned around and back away as my 4-year-old  eyes began to fill with plump tears that rolled down my chubby cheeks. I ran into the arms of my dad (the real one this time) and swore to myself at 4 years old that I would not stray from my parents' side ever again (actually, I'm not sure if that last part is true, but I would imagine it would be).

My Dad and Me

Another early memory I have from about the same age is from Thanksgiving when my family would go to my Grandma and Grandpa's house is Absarokee , MT. While my mom and my grandma were preparing dinner in the kitchen, I stood in front of the refrigerator with all of my stuffed "Winnie The Pooh" toys surrounding me, using the refrigerator magnets to give them some sort of "lecture". Now, my early memories may not be as profound as Alyosha's in "The Brothers Karamazov" nor that mythological, but I would say they're (somewhat) detailed, right?

The Golden Bough

It arrived! It finally arrived, my copy of The Golden Bough so now I can start the actual preface to my blog.

So let's see here, shall we....

"Clad in rags, daubed from head to foot with red ochre, and stinking shark oil, always solitary and silent, generally old, haggard, and wizened, often half crazed, he might be seen sitting motionlessly all day apart from the common path or thoroughfare of the village, gazing with lack-lustre eyes on the busy doing things in which he might never take a part." pg. 248

Needless to say (but I'm going to say it anyway), that is a very long, and descriptive sentence. I think the reason we were asked to do this assignment is because the language is so rich and full of detail that it is nearly impossible NOT to pull a wonderful sentence from it.

I like how Dr. Sexson brought up that mythology is around us everyday, all the time. If we look closely, almost everything in nature has some sort of mythological explanation for why it is the way it is. For example, the story of how the peacock got its many eyes was when Hermes played music which put the guardian's (Argus) many eyes to sleep and kills him (as demanded by Zeus). Then Hera puts Argus' many eyes into the feathers of the peacock and voila! we now have an explanation for this brightly colored bird. I can't believe I didn't pick up on this before, but on the show 30 Rock they briefly introduced a peacock whose name was unironically, Argus.

Interesting Find

“If myth is translated into literal fact, then myth is a lie. But if you read it as a reflection of the world inside you, then it’s true. Myth is the penultimate truth.”

—	Joseph Campbell, from a 1986 Houston Chronicle interview by Leslie Sowers: “Cultures Linked by Man’s Ideas, Mythologist Says.”

Most excellent visualization of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey/monomyth, which he argues is the basic pattern underlying narratives all over the wide, wide world.

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” From The Hero with a Thousand Faces

Mythology & Art

I'm still patiently awaiting the arrival of my copy of The Golden Bough, but in the mean time I starting reading through Books I & II of Metamorphoses of Ovid. For some reason, I was expecting this book to be a much more challenging read than it actually is. It's quite a nice book of stories that I am really enjoying so far. But I do have a bit of confusion. I was under the impression that the son of Saturn was "Jupiter" and not "Jove". Perhaps they are the same God with two names. Either way, I am intrigued by the ultimate "God of the Gods" and all he encounters in the stories so far.

My boyfriend took a class last year that was about exploring famous artists and their lives. He was explaining the paintings of Picasso, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, etc. when one in particular stood out to me. It is called "Saturn Devouring His Son" by the legendary Francisco Goya. It's a rather disturbing painting but very clearly rooted from the Metamorphoses of Ovid.  The context of this painting is that the God Saturn feared that his six children would become so powerful that they would overthrow him. According to the myth, his wife hid his son "Jupiter" or "Jove" on the island of Crete and he did indeed end up overthrowing his almighty father. Even more fascinating is the fact that Goya painted this portrait directly on the wall of his dining room (not really my taste, but whatever). I am very interested to explore more artwork (paintings, music, film, etc.) that is so richly rooted in mythology. The Bible and  Metamorphoses  are the two ultimate books of stories and the fact that so many pieces pull inspiration from these makes me want to discover even more.