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Durham E-Theses Rethinking mythology in Greek museums through contemporary culture Antonopoulou, Marina How to cite: Antonopoulou, Marina (2010) Rethinking mythology in Greek museums through contemporary culture, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/2511/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk lml'Hlm:ING MYTHOLOGY IN <mEEK »KUSE{]Ml$ THROUGH CONTEMPORARY ClJL1UllB MARINAANTONOPOULOU Appendices The copyright of this thesis rests with the author or the university to which it was submitted. No quotation from it, or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author or university, and any information derived from it should be acknowledged. 2 6 MAY 2010 Appendix 1 Socratis Malamas Date: 15/01/2005 Venue: Hotel'Olympia', Thessaloniki. Q: Could you tell me what is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words 'Greek mythology'? A: The usual, what we learned in school. With the passage of time, of course, we easily forgot this knowledge and we came to think of myths as if they were fairytales, for instance Heracles' myths, Theseus and some extracts from Hesiod's 'Theogony'. All these were, in a way, interwoven with historical facts, such as the Peloponnesian War and the construction of the Acropolis. I thought that all these constituted one single body and that they were an extension of history, of classical and the -classical history. Q: What do you mean exactly? Did you believe that these myths actually referred to real incidents? A: Yes. I believed that, because, more or less, we heard about myths before we went to school. Q: At home? A: We heard about myths at home, in conversations with adults and in our games with other children. I had two older sisters and they used to narrate me stories from Greek mythology, instead of the tragic folk tales that our grandmothers used to tell us children. I thought Greek mythology was far more interesting than these tales. As a child though, I thought that the ancient myths were about real people. I thought that that these people were similar but not identical to us; they were a bit like us, they lived in ancient times and they had all these bizarre stories. I thought that the Homeric Epics were also mythology. I joined all these in one body, which I named history. I found this approach to mythology interesting and I still embrace it. Why should we distinguish the realistic, factual, elements of a narrative and leave out the imaginative and the unreal aspects of it? Saying this, I believe that what Homer, as well as Herodotus said, was partly true. Of course, what historians, like Pausanias, but also tragedians described, was based on real incidents. They may have used their themes in an archetypical way so that they reached the audience in the form of norms, of general and abstract notions, of 'psychological notions' - if that makes any sense at all. Of course this is something that I believe now. As a child I did not think of mythology in this way. But, honestly, I did believe that Greek mythology together with history constituted one solid body of data, which described in reality how people were in the old days. Now, when it comes to each myth separately, a good example is the stories of Odysseus with all these unbelievable encounters. Later on in my life, by reading books and by talking to people, I started suspecting that there is some sort of correspondence between the mythological stories and the 300 psychological situations and adventures of Man. I mean, what does the Argonauts' passing through the Symblagades mean? ... Q: What does it mean? A: Would you like us to analyze all these? Q: Yes. I have various certain interpretations of this story and I was wondering which theory or interpretation are you familiar with, or which one you embrace. A: I believe that the entire Greek mythology is a journey of self-knowledge. I perceive it as being the story of humankind's evolution toward humankind's main aim, which is knowledge and wisdom. Of course there are myths of power too. But this specific story (Odyssey) is about humankind's course toward absolute knowledge, toward self-knowledge. The same goes for Theseus' descent in the Labyrinth with Minotaurus' and Ariadne's thread. This story symbolizes the soul that marches through the real maze of life. And perhaps Ariadne's tread is exactly the subconscious connection of Man with their spirit. I say 'perhaps', I do not know for sure. This is the way I perceive mythology but at the same time I like playing with my perception, in order not to be solely committed to one interpretation. So, I believe that all myths are a description of the individual's course towards themself, towards their deeper core. Now, when it comes to how this is expressed in myths, let's think, for instance, of Heracles and the Hydra, where the hero would cut one head but then, in its place, two new heads would sprout. This means that Man cannot find stability, he/she cannot gain control of things, cannot manipulate and tame his/hers torments. Or again Heracles cleaned up Augeias' Stables; he cleaned up his own life. Heracles tamed Geryon's Horses, and this means that he tamed himself, his impulses. All these legends had to do with Man's nature, with Man's constitution. It is just that all these are impersonated in various ways. Who was the other bloke with the Pine-bender? Wasn't it Theseus? Or think of the myth with Procrustes. What were all these things? They all say the same thing. They all aim to stimulate inside us the desire to explore ourselves and thus live a substantial experience with the impetus of a mythical metaphor. They are ancient myths that represent our journey in life, or rather the journey that Man has to make in order for him/her to become a complete being. Q: This is an aspect that is hardly represented in the relevant academic literature. A: I do not care. Q: I am not implying that you should care. A: I am interested in playing with things and their meanings and not in accepting certainties. Q: There are many scholars who believe that we should opt for a holistic interpretation of the ancient Greek myths, for instance an interpretation that falls under the umbrella of the Freudian approach. I read once about the Symblagades that they represent the walls of the womb, which contract and thus crush the man who is inside a woman. 301 A: This is so phallocratic (sic). You have to be sick to come up with such an idea. The Symblagades are the ultimate chance, which appears before one's eyes only for a moment in a certain time in one's lives. If the person manages to pass through the Symblagades, it is fine; that is if the person has the courage to do it, though. Usually, the passage between the Symlagades closes again very quickly. The Symblagades is the equivalent myth of the Toltec Indians, who say that the bird of freedom always flies straight ahead and passes through one's life only once. If you can jump on its wings, it is fine. But the bird won't wait, nor will it ever return. The Symblagades were something similar. Q: Do you use myths in your songs? Are they a source of inspiration for you? A: Yes, yes, very much. They are metaphors that help you express what cannot be expressed precisely with rational speaking. Namely, it is not possible to express yourself and say exactly what you want, unless you transfer your thoughts into a mythological context. Q: Do you use myths as codes, then? A: Yes, as codes. Q: They provide a possibility for immediacy. Are they a kind of codified emotion, or notion? A: They are codified emotions, images; they are codifications of actions and incidents that occur all around you. Many of them make you reflect on a situation and realize in retrospect that you have played in a myth. And when you are creating a song and want to put something into words, you will use myth's codes, in whichever way you comprehend them. There is no objectivity in this matter. Unless a wise man comes one day and says: 'this myth speaks precisely and strictly ofthis thing! Conform! Do not alter the concepts and the meanings!' This cannot ever happen though and thus we literally flow and float like boats in the abstractness of the abstract elements. We are travelers. Q: Give me an example of the above with reference to specific lyrics from your songs. What comes to my mind is the line: 'Hera's scents, Zeus' mischievous games' A: I borrowed their names because I found myself in Olympus (the song is about a day trip on Mount Olympus) and I realized that Hera and Zeus were actually there at that moment.