note to self: don't think about rewatching gmw when youre touch starved
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PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF SATAN REBLOG THIS SO WE CAN START REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF DONATION POSTS THAT GET STUCK FLOATING AROUND THIS WEBSITE
@starryjuno
Based on Devin Mitchell’s “Veteran Vision Project”. I thought this was perfect symbolism for how the world sees Captain America vs the real Steve Rogers. My Captain America Edits
Poseidon rapes Medusa. Rape is evil. Therefore Poseidon is not a god. Correct?
Not really.
There are many things implied with this logic. The first thing that's wrong is that it assumes ancient myth literalism.
Myth literalism is a normal thing in our society because of christianity's fundamentalism. The bible in christian traditions is read sometimes literally, and even if its not, the stories told there are of vital importance to the religion. However, this doesn't happen in all religions, specially in pagan religions.
The second thing that's wrong is that it assumes the specific context of the myth. We may have a myth that uses the element of “rape” as we understand it to mean something else. But what we today understand as “rape” in ancient Greece meant probably these two things: 1. Abduction, 2. Sexual relations without the consent of the parents.
The importance of not reading myth literally (I mean, not regarding the Gods' actions in myth as factual, or their behavior as true to their nature) is that of independence. Being able to interpret myth metaphorically helps us arrive at different conclusions regarding the true nature of the Gods, and it also influence us philosophically.
See, a God cannot make evil; Poseidon is a God; therefore, Poseidon cannot make evil (he cannot “rape” anyone). But if Poseidon cannot rape, then the actions of Poseidon in myth are 1. False, or 2. Symbolic.
If Poseidon's actions in the myth of Medusa are false, then the myth serves no purpose but to entertain. However, if Poseidon’s rape in the myth of Medusa is symbolic, then it is illustrative of the God's power: perhaps, in the temple of Athena, one could experience Poseidon's presence unwillingly.
Remember what some historians used to say about Pythia’s moment of invocation? When the Priestess got possessed by Apollo? That sometimes she would get seizures? That the possession was so powerful her body could barely bear it? I imagine this is what “rape” myths refer to; experiencing a God (specially a deity regarded as “male” traditionally, for some reason) in an overwhelming rapture, perhaps randomly, without expectation. But this is a mystical reading of the myth.
There are not just mystical readings. Doing them takes time and attention, but they're often very illuminative. However, moral readings also exist. And even natural or physical readings. For example, in a moral reading, we could say the myth’s lesson is to not have sex inside Athena's temple, because that's a holy place, and it belongs to a virginal goddess. On a physical reading, we could say that Poseidon represents the fury of the ocean, and that Medusa is perhaps the earth, getting moved and assaulted by the tides. Or anything of that nature.
Understanding those conclusions is better than reading myth literally and ending up thinking those gods are evil (and therefore are not gods, and therefore must be demons; which is indeed one of many christianity's premises regarding pagan religions. These types of premises, as you may understand, feed intolerance and supremacy).
Arriving at satisfactory and philosophical conclusions with myths is a hard task, but it's really worth it. Even in ancient times, these incorrect ideas about the gods were widespread, and it was the philosopher’s, and the priest’s, task to teach people how to actually understand myth.
So, in summary; no, Poseidon is not evil, because Poseidon is a God and therefore cannot rape; furthermore, Poseidon's myth with Medusa is symbolic of a deeper, more mystical truth.
Ultimately, the myth of Poseidon and Medusa is explicative of Athena's and Poseidon's power when it gets intertwined. Oh, and, I forgot; you can also make a historical reading about this myth, or at least how it originated. The Athenians, who first told this myth, used to be devoted to Poseidon on a city-state level, until the cult of Athena arrived, and they instead made her their patron deity, removing Poseidon (there's another myth that tells this story, in which Athena and Poseidon compete for the patronage of the city-state, and Athena wins). Often times different city-states would create infamous stories about another city’s patron god in a political attempt. There's a theory stating that in other city-states Zeus’ wife would be Dione, instead of Hera, but in Athens it was Hera, and so some athenian would find it funny to imagine the god cheating over Hera (as a silly explanation of why theogony differed accross Greece).
Often times, myths are incredibly ironical. Like all of Zeus’ myths cheating over Hera as I stated before; Hera is the Goddess of marriage, so it is laughable that her own husband would go around cheating on her with literally anyone. So it is clear here that the myth is implying something deeper than what's is being told. One might have to think and reflect on why the greeks would choose to portray their Goddess of marriage in such a light, and their God of morality too. Perhaps they were hinting at something bigger with the use of hyperbole and irony; Hera never cheats on Zeus. On the other hand, Zeus is the Big Papa. So basically the whole world is of his descendence, because he is the Father of humanity, and putting it that way the greeks were explaining this.
Conflicting things about myths have always been conflicting. The greeks didn't like their gods going around raping people and killing others in those stories either, but the stories existed nevertheless. So they wrote a whole ton of treatises trying to explain to themselves the deeper truths of those myths, one of them was On the Gods and the World by Sallustius, which I recommend a lot when trying to understand both the importance and the metaphorical narratives of myths.
waves: ice cream sundaes, overalls, picnic blankets, sending memes to your friends, coconuts, bucket hats, skipping stones, ripping your own jeans, pink lemonade, lilacs 5
silly girl: black nail polish, blank stares, the first snowfall of the season, falling asleep in someone else’s sweater, tabby cats, salted caramel, grey storm clouds 4
road trip: chocolate milk, music festivals, summertime freckles, golden retriever puppies, saltwater pools, midnight thunderstorms, orange blossoms, waterfall mist 6
types of people: Chloe Moriondo songs :)
waves: ice cream sundaes, overalls, picnic blankets, sending memes to your friends, coconuts, bucket hats, skipping stones, ripping your own jeans, pink lemonade, lilacs
silly girl: black nail polish, blank stares, the first snowfall of the season, falling asleep in someone else’s sweater, tabby cats, salted caramel, grey storm clouds
road trip: chocolate milk, music festivals, summertime freckles, golden retriever puppies, saltwater pools, midnight thunderstorms, orange blossoms, waterfall mist
https://www.paypal.me/alexandot
Hey, sorry to post this again but I’m in between paychecks right now and would really appreciate a few dollars so I could get a pizza or something
AARON HOTCHNER AS SONGS THAT REMIND ME OF HIM
↳ playlist here
If you're celebrating Biden's win, consider celebrating by donating to a bail fund, planned parenthood, or the Navajo Water project.
Your action to help the marginalized shouldnt end at presidential candidates and voting.