Iphis & Ianthe

"The personal qualities which recommended a man for a royal alliance and succession to the throne would naturally would vary according to the popular ideas of the time and the character of the king or his substitute, but it is reasonable to suppose that among them in early society, physical strength and beauty would hold a prominent place." The Golden Bough pg. 188

The story that I was asked to present on Tuesday is located in Book IX of Ovid and it is entitled "Iphis & Ianthe" and when I was assigned this story, I believe Dr. Sexson said that it was one of the most interesting stories in Ovid and I wholeheartedly agree. When you stumble upon a gem of a story written many, many years ago that still holds relevance today and might even make a bit of a political statement, it's easy to see that this Ovid guy was writing way ahead of his time.

Now, if you haven't read the story yet or if it's just currently lost amongst all the other myths we have read so far, I'll briefly sum it up right now. There was a couple on the island of Crete named Ligdus and Telethusa who were expecting a baby. Ligdus said to his pregnant wife, Telethusa, that they could not possibly afford to keep the infant if it was born a female. And while it pained Telethusa to accept this fact, she obeyed her husband's command. As she approached her due date, Telethusa saw (or thought she saw - perhaps it was all a dream) the goddess Isis and a bunch of her deities. Isis essentially told Telethusa to let her baby live, regardless of the gender, because Telethusa had worshiped her so faithfully, she would ensure that everything would eventually work itself out. When she awoke, she gave birth to a baby girl. Telethusa hid the sex of the baby from her husband and told the nurse to tell everyone it was a boy and gave her the name "Iphis" which fits either a boy or a girl. Telethusa continued to raise and dress Iphis as a boy. When Iphis was 13 years old, her/his father found her/him a bride named Ianthe whom Iphis is truly in love with. She pleads to the gods and goddesses while her mother postpones the wedding date. But of course, the wedding day is imminent and eventually it arrives. It is then that Isis transforms Iphis into a male and HE can finally have HIS bride.

After reading this, I thought of the Hilary Swank film "Boys Don't Cry" whereas Professor Sexson said it's similar to something you would see on Jerry Springer. Either way, it's easy to see how LIFE imitates ART, especially in Ovid.

Pygmalion

After reading Ovid, I think I've come to the conclusion that my favorite story out of the entire "secular bible" is, unironically, the story of Pygmalion. It doesn't surprise me because it's the one story that ends happily and I'm very intrigued by the idea of not being able to find the "perfect somebody" so you simply create someone who meets your every expectations of your ideal significant other. Obviously, I'm not the only one who feels this way because people are still making modern interpretations of this love story.

And even now, I think that people try to create their significant other - not necessarily out of ivory - but rather by forcing someone to meet our expectations of them. And we all know the story of women who think they can "fix" the "bad boy" but when it comes down to it, I think people are simply too incorrigible. And unlike the story of Pygmalion, we don't get our perfect person; we either compromise part of ourself to meet the standards of someone else or we reluctantly accept that other person, flaws and all.

For a quirky interpretation of  "Pygmalion" watch the film Lars and the Real Girl.