TFBT: Mimir, the Monster Sphinx and the Throne of Olympus

I composed several encyclopedic articles that are posted elsewhere, that might be of interest to my readers.

A short piece on Mimir, a "giant" in Norse Mythology and a good friend to Odin, King of the Aesir.  Mimir:Norse God of Wisdom

A short piece on the dread and curse of Ancient Thebes, the Sphinx.  Sphinx, the Monster Sings

And finally, a more indepth piece on the danger from Zeus' daughters and sisters to the stability of the cosmos. Securing the Throne of Zeus

TFBT: Over-reaching Oedipus

“Such was the burden of my song, when on a sudden Apollo appeared to me and touched with his fingers the chords of a golden lyre; in his hand he bore a branch of laurel; a laurel wreath encircled his brow.  Prophetic was his mien and prophetic the voice with which he bade me lead my disciples into his temple“

“There,” said he, “you will find this inscription famous throughout the whole world, ‘Man, know thyself.’”[i]

And so enters into the world of literature the maximum supposedly carved on the walls at the temple in Delphi: Know Thyself.  This bit of advice did not seem to work out too well for Oedipus.  As we shall see.

Polybus, King of Corinth, found the infant and brought it to his wife Periboea.  She adopted him and passed him off as her own and after she had healed his ankles she called him Oedipus, giving him that name on account of his swollen feet.[ii]

Eventually Oedipus following the Delphic Maximum approaches this parents on the matter of his heritage.  When the boy grew up and excelled his fellows in strength , they spitefully twitted him with being suppositious.  He inquired of Periboea, but could learn nothing.[iii] (This was his first hint to not question the sweet destiny that was his.)  Rather than revel in the love of his parents and countrymen, rather than sitting happily and appreciatively preparing for the crown of Corinth he would someday wear, he goes to Delphi, which sets the whole tragedy in motion.

After Oedipus, had come to manhood, he was courageous beyond the rest and through envy his companions taunted him with not being Polybus’ son since Polybus was so mild and he so assertive.  Oedipus felt that the taunt was true.  And so he set out for Delphi in inquire about his parents.[iv]

Perfidious Apollo[v] does not answer Oedipus’ question about his parentage.  (Hint #2) Instead;

To Delphi and Apollo sent me back

Baulked of the knowledge that I came to seek

But other grievous things he prophesied

Woes, lamentations, mourning, portents dire;

To wit, I should defile my mother’s bed

and raise up seed too loathsome to behold

And slay the father from whose loins I sprang [vi]

To avoid murdering Polybus and bedding Periboea, Oedipus heads for Thebes.   He defeats the Sphinx, marries Queen Jocasta, raises children, fights wars and another plague, less obvious than the four-footed Sphinx settles on the land.  In response to this new danger to Thebes Oedipus unknowingly ask Teiresais about himself.

 To which the blind seer replies; Let me go home; prevent me not; ‘twere best, that thou should’st bear thy burden and I mine[vii] (This is hint number three to drop his obsession with self-knowledge.)  Teiresais resists.  Oedipus insists.  Tragedy follows.

His wife, his mother, the queen, Jocasta can foresee the tragic end to his quest.  Yet humor me I pray thee: do not this[viii] But, he ignores hint number four.

The herdsmen, long ago directed to expose Jocasta’s first-born upon the slopes of Mt. Cithaeron, is brought forward to testify. He begs Oedipus; “Forebear of God’s sake, master, ask no more”[ix]  Hint number five goes unrecognized by Oedipus’ obsessive drive to doom.   

His quest for self knowledge brought him to “stand a wretch, in birth, in wedlock cursed, a parricide, incestuously, triply cursed[x]. 

---

[i]    Ovid, the Art of Love, Book II

[ii]   Book 3 of the Library of Apollodorus 5.7

[iii]  Book 3 of the Library of Apollodorus 5.7

[iv]  Hyginus, Fabulae 66-67

[v]  Apollo's Perfidy: Iliad ω 59-63, Ruth Scodel, Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, Vol. 81, (1977), pp. 55-57

[vi]  Oedipus Tyrannus Euripides

[vii] Oedipus Tyrannus Euripides

[viii] Oedipus Tyrannus Euripides

[ix]  Oedipus Tyrannus Euripides

[x]   Oedipus Tyrannus Euripides

TFBT: Hyper-moron or Beyond Destiny, Part II

In Part One I discussed the conventional definition of “Beyond Destiny” that is beyond the dictates of fate; beyond one’s person destiny; “said of those who by their own fault add to their destined share of misery” (Liddell-Scott Greek-English Lexicon).   Gregory Nagy adds a nuance to this definition.  He considers the phrase a literary device.   “Within the conventions of epic composition, an incident that is untraditional would be hyper moron  'beyond destiny'.” (Best of the Achaeans, chapter 2, §17)   

 

That is; “Beyond Destiny" also indicates something outside the scope of the story being told.  For example; the crucial point of The Iliad is Achilles decision whether to die early, be forever young and attain “unfailing glory” or live to a ripe old comfortable age as an obscure chieftain.  Achilles’ mother is the goddess Thetis and much of her care and concern centers on this question; one of the ultimate questions in life.  However in Ancient Greece there was a third option; a carefree afterlife in a paradise called the Isle of the Blest; Achilles could be wafted away after his death to the world's end, where the departed heroes live unlaborious days.        

Snow, tempest and thunderstorms never enter there, but for men's refreshment Earth encircling Oceanus sent out continually the high-singing breezes of the west   (Homer, Odyssey 4. 56o)  To live  again  untouched by sorrow along the shore of deep swirling Oceanus, happy (Hesiod, Works and Days 156). However, had Homer mentioned this option in The Iliad what would have been the point of the story?  So the topic of the Isle of the Blest becomes beyond the hero’s destiny, at least according to and unmentioned by Homer. 

More specifically, Poseidon intervenes and saves Aeneas, telling him that his death at this point would be "beyond destiny" (Iliad XX 336).  If the poet allowed Aeneas to die at this point it would have been a terrible inconvenience to Virgil when he wrote “The Aeneid” recounting Aeneas after this point in the Trojan War.  Plus it would a real point of contention to all the genealogists and heralds who trace most of the European families back to Aeneas post war son, Ascanius.  (Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae).  So his death becomes “beyond destiny”; beyond the realm of possibility in The Iliad.

Similarly when the Greek army before Troy briefly regains the upper hand and almost captures the city; this would-be event is designated as beyond the allotment of Zeus (Iliad XVII 321).   Once more not an option the story teller told for this tale. 

So framed by Nagy’s nuance, “beyond destiny” designates the unthinkable to the poet and the “twenty thousand smiling faces” listening to the retelling of the tale in Ancient Athens.  To consider for a moments any of the story elements that are designated Beyond Destiny is to consider the unraveling of The Iliad.  It is to ponder the demise of the very foundation of the Greek civilization.  It is to question the very foundation of our lives.  Maybe the gods were wise to make certain things beyond the destiny of mortal men.

Image provided by NYPL Digital Gallery

TFBT: Hyper-Moron or Beyond Destiny

My research in classical studies this last weekend centered on a phrase from The Iliad; “Beyond Destiny”.  Ironically the phase translates as “Hyper-Moron”.   

“Beyond destiny” denotes those paths Fate won’t allow us (or the  Greek gods) to go down.  Of course, us mortals (descended from the ancient heroes) often think about going down those paths anyway, just like the gods.  Only we know we shouldn’t.  We know certain things lead to disaster.   

Zeus at one point ponders rescuing one of this mortal sons from a gruesome death in battle upon the plains of Troy.  (Il. XVI 446) His wife Hera calmly points out that if he does, all the other gods will rescue their mortal sons; by implication unsettling the balance of the universe and not giving Death his due.  In response the mightiest god among the Olympians shed tears of black blood.  Zeus knew that to go down that road would be a form of madness (Ate).  Hence a few scholars using a Christian paradigm define “Ate” as the goddess of temptation. 

We all know those dim light paths we are tempted to go down from time to time.  With age we even recognize the bright and sunny paths lined with flowers that will eventually lead us to sorry and moments of dark tears.  My grandmother once said that as we get older, “We get less and less desirable and more and more particular.” She said it in a tone implying that this was an affliction of old age.  As I totter into old age, I’d suggest instead that her adage is a blessing of earned wisdom. 

The Iliad doesn’t actually cover the fall of Troy.  That’s left to other books in the Epic Cycle.  The synopses we have of the “Cypria” suggests that Zeus too learned wisdom over the years.  After the death of Sarpedon, he pulled a veil between mortals and immortals. (Hesiodea, Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Classical Quarterly, vol. 9, page 75)  The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite suggests he taught love goddess the foolishness of forcing gods and mortal women to mix.  Her son Aeneas was the last of the demi-gods. (Cytherica: Aesthetic-Political Essays In An Aphrodisian Key, Josef Chytry, page 134)  Zeus sternly closed off the path of the divine siring the eventually dying.

I pray I have such Olympian strength when I try to avoid trying temptation and following foolish paths beyond my destiny.