Maya M[i]
and I were discussing the Theban Wars as
referenced in the Cypria and
wondered about the involvement of the accursed Robe and Necklace of Harmonia Carlos Parada and Maicar Förlag wrote this
thorough article on the topic at Greek
Mythology Link. I highly recommend you visit the site and that you read the
article.
I had just a few comments to share;
·
The Oracle directed Cadmus to build a new city
where “the cow resolved to rest”. Robert Graves tells that “This beast he drove eastward through Boeotia, never allowing her to
pause until, at last, she sank down where the city of Thebes now stands”[ii]
(Because…) “A cow’s strategic and commercial abilities are not highly developed.”[iii]
·
“…armed
men, called Sparti, who cared for
nothing except killing each other. Some say that they did this because Cadmus
flung stones at them.” I wonder if the “stones” were pieces of gold that
Cadmus used to pay off his mercenaries.
·
“Cadmus
had to serve Ares for a whole year for having killed his darling Dragon, which,
some say, was this god's offspring.” Aaron Atsma says about this dragon; “Ismenian dragon was a giant serpent which
guarded the sacred spring of Ares near Thebes... Ares later avenged his
draconic son by transforming Kadmos and his wife into serpents.”[iv]
·
I wanted to make an observation about the
relationship of Zeus and Europa to Cadmus and Harmonia. Zeus and Europa had three sons with no indication
that they were triplets. By the
standards of the gods, theirs was a marriage.
Which makes Zeus and Cadmus brothers-in-law. Just a
few thoughts here. If Menelaus ended up
on the Elysian Fields simply because he was a son-in-law of Zeus[v],
how much more blessed is a brother-in-law? In Norse mythology the two groups of gods
Aesir and Vanir wed “hostages” from the other tribe in order to maintain their
alliance. Same tradition among the
Tlingit peoples of Southeast Alaska. Also
Graves and Maicar both claim that Cadmus helped Zeus defeat Typhon.[vi]
·
“New
marriage; ...an oracle told him (Alcmaeon) to depart to (the River god)
Achelous and to stand another trial on the river bank. So he went to the
springs of Achelous, and was purified by him, receiving Achelous' daughter, Callirrhoe to
wife. Alcmaeon settled in the region about that river and colonized
it.” I don’t recall where, but I
read an explanation of this. In fact,
the “river bank” was in the delta; newly formed land untainted by his crime of
matricide.
[i] Maya M is the blogger at Maya Corner where “ I write about things that interest
me, in as politically incorrect style as I like.” She is a frequent contributer to Bill’s Classical Studies. She writes “I had some interest in mythology
as a child, and "Ancient Greek
Legends and Myths" by Nikolay Kun was among my favorite books.
However, this interest was nothing out of the ordinary. My education had no
leaning to classics, except for the mandatory review of ancient Greek
literature in 9th grade. I was truly engaged only about 2 years ago, when a kid
to whom I am a teaching aide got to the above mentioned 9th grade. My student
seemed just bored by mythology and ancient literature, but I looked at them
with new eyes and was fascinated. My background in biology naturally
predisposed me to science-fiction rewriting of some myths, but I try also to
understand what they meant to their original audience in the pre-scientific,
"daimon-haunted" world.
[ii] Robert
Graves, The Greek Myths, Europe
And Cadmus f. http://www.24grammata.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Robert-Graves-The-Greek-Myths-24grammata.com_.pdf
[iii] Robert
Graves, The Greek Myths, Europe
And Cadmus 6. http://www.24grammata.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Robert-Graves-The-Greek-Myths-24grammata.com_.pdf
|
[vi]
Robert Graves, The Greek Myths, Typhon d. “But some say that it was Cadmus who
wheedled the sinews from Delphyne, saying that he needed them for
lyre-strings on which to play her delightful music; and Apollo who shot her
dead.” Delphyne here is the mate of
the Dragon Python and foster mother of Typhon, to whom he’d entrusted the
sinews of Zeus. http://www.24grammata.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Robert-Graves-The-Greek-Myths-24grammata.com_.pdf
Also, Parada
& Förlag wrote “Cadmus helped to defeat Typhon; Some have said that Zeus
gave Harmonia to Cadmus in recompense for having helped him
to restore the harmony of the world, destroyed by Typhon's attack on heaven.”
http://www.maicar.com/GML/Cadmus.html
|
