End of Days

Well, we've been reading Revelation and it was suggested that we track down a song or picture of the end of the world...




What can I say? I'm a traditionalist. :)

But seriously, what do you think about the End of Days? Do you think about it? Death is a scary enough topic, but the death of everything? Gee whiz. It makes my head spin a little.

If I were to die tomorrow, what would I change about today? For one, I'd definitely have skipped class. And work. And I'd be back home in the company of family and friends, doing nothing but smiling and holding my husband's hand all day long. :)

A Quick Technical Note

I've added links to all the other mythology blog sites from this class in the side bar of this page. Hopefully this will come in handy to more people than just myself as we all strive to stay up-to-date and well-informed. Enjoy! :)

Cupcakes and Valentines

So... guess what I did today?

Well, yes, I made cupcakes. But that really has much more to do with yumminess than scholarliness.

So what else?

Aha! There we go. Yes, I made a ton of valentines to send to my husband's platoon. And you know what? It got me thinking about mythologies. I know Valentine's Day is still a couple of weeks away, but perhaps now would be a good time to start thinking about the mythology surrounding it...

We all know the holiday as that huge deal every February where single persons particularly crave to be in a relationship while those persons in a relationship particularly crave having the foggiest clue as to what to give their significant other. We traditionally send and receive cards of love -- oftentimes requesting all sorts of people we barely know to "be my valentine". It's quite joyous, lots of roses, pink and red decorations...

chocolate. :)

But do we really know the origins of our traditions? Does anyone truly know for certain? The answer? No. Not in the slightest. Even the oh-so-knowledgeable History Channel will tell you that it is  "shrouded in mystery". So do we leave it at that? Do we just say, "Oh well," and continue on with our mindless existence?

Of course not! We are human. We are driven to understand. We long for closure. We form a myth about this really great guy named Valentine back in ancient Rome who continued to perform marriage ceremonies even after the emperor of the time had banned them (because, of course, as we all know marriage distracts a man and makes him far less suitable as a bold and courageous warrior). We romanticize this wonderful man's story and tell how, once he had been thrown into prison (for his wildly heinous crime of aiding star-crossed lovers) he sent sweet notes from his cell and signed them "From your Valentine". We even refer to this man as Saint Valentine and, it is said, continue on in his pro-love campaign to this day.

Because we are awesome like that. I love humankind.

And I love St. Valentines Day. It's a fabulous excuse to make up adorable little cards of love and joy and pass them out to absolutely anyone. Way cool. :)

In the Beginning...

We're reading Genesis for class now - part of an exploration into creation myths.

Gosh I sure enjoy reading Genesis, particularly in conjunction with the first part of Ovid. I've been assigned the combination of readings before but no amount of familiarity can eliminate the magic.

You see, Ovid's version of the creation story is seriously epic. For starters, there are the Greek/Roman gods. I just can't get enough of them! I mean, the story starts out all calm and serene, with a single unidentified Being organizing the Chaos that was into the world that is. It's really quite tidy. Humans are formed of the "divine substance" and all life forms exist in harmony for awhile. Then, guess what? They get a little rowdy. I so enjoy Ovid's description of the horrific evils which ensue:

Now men demand that the rich earth provide

more than the crops and sustenance it owes,

and piercing to the bowels of the earth,

the wealth long hidden in Stygian gloom

is excavated and induces evil;

for iron, which is harmful, and the more

pernicious gold (now first produced) create

grim warfare, which has need of both; now arms

are grasped in bloodstained hands; men live off plunder,

and guest has no protection from his host,

nor father-in-law from his daughter's husband,

and kindness between brothers is infrequent;

husband and wife both wish each other dead,

and wicked stepmothers concoct bilious

poisons that turn their youthful victims pale;

a son goes to a soothsayer to learn

the date when he will change from heir to owner,

and piety lies vanquished here below.

Oh those pesky wicked stepmothers, right? ;)

Well, the gods are less than pleased. And there's a Great Flood (sound familiar?) followed by a second creation. These humans spring from rocks tossed upon the earth. No longer divine, but sadly ordinary.

And that is when the story starts getting really interesting. The gods are now specifically named, take on their delightfully outlandish personalities, and frolic about the heavens and the earth. The "fall" and rebirth of humankind is the opening act for a wealth of fascinating stories. The world of "ordinary" humans is no longer quite so harmonious nor autonomous and now becomes a veritable playground for the gods, a place for them to meddle as they wish.

But what of Genesis? Oh goodness, we all know that story... right?

I always tend to think of Genesis as the Genesis, the creation story. That bit where God makes a lot of good things and ultimately forms Eve from the rib of Adam. But it's actually two stories in one. A sort of macro, then micro view of things.

Genesis 1 is strikingly similar to the first part of Ovid's tale. An all-powerful and fairly impersonal God is shown methodically creating all things. All things are Good, but nothing especially stands out.

(Notice that in this chapter God makes all animals first and then man and woman occur simultaneously.)

Genesis 2 is where the fun begins. It starts out with a new description of the creation of man. Now far more personal, God is referred to as the Lord God and painstakingly attends to Adam's every need. Animals are here created to be company for Adam, and Eve comes along later for the very same reason. Ultimately, the humans slip up and their harmonious existence in Eden comes to a rapid halt. Ordinary life ensues. Eventually there is a Great Flood. Ordinary life continues, resplendent with some epic stories of God's involvement in the human realm.

Both the ancient mythologies and more recent Christian tradition follow a similar path. Stuff gets created in a distant sort of way, we receive an explanation for our sometimes wicked behavior, and life as we know it springs into existence.

But what does it say about humankind as a whole that at least two long-lasting traditions feature a double creation story, a sort of general overview prior to the main event? I am curious as to why the tone and character of the deity responsible for creation morphs into a more anthropomorphic being as the story goes on. Why not just start out with the more personable god?

The contrast between the awesome wonder of creation as a whole followed by the up close and detailed account of our own beginnings is fantastic. I like to think it emphasizes our own eternal struggle. Look at us. So insignificant on the grander scheme of things, and yet the absolute center of our own universe.

Serendipity

I'm not sure about you, but I for one don't regularly find my own college courses having a direct application to everyday life. It's just one of those fun little side effects of being a theoretical mathematician. Plenty of exciting insights into iterative techniques and functional analysis, precious few off-campus moments along the lines of, "Oh my goodness! We were just learning about this in class!" 

However.

Guess what? Today, I had one of those moments (to be treasured always). :)

Among the first readings we were assigned in this mythology class was the Babylonian creation myth The Enuma Elish, which is notable for having been discovered in Nineveh (in modern day Iraq) written in cuneiform on a group of seven clay tablets. It is fairly old so far as creation myths go, quite possibly dating back to sometime around 1900 B.C.

It's a bit of a long story, but in essence the myth goes something like this. Before all else there exists only water, out of which spring Father and Mother gods as well as their Son. Before long, other gods are formed and these begin to reproduce to such an extent that their joyous cavorting disturbs the original gods and a plot is hatched to destroy these young upstarts, thus restoring a little much-needed peace and quiet (Father and Mother are clearly of the 'seen and not heard' tradition).

Well, the younger gods (being all youthful and spritely and suchlike) overhear the plan and launch a preemptive retaliation, killing the Father and capturing the Son. This in turn greatly upsets the Mother goddess (whose name is Tiamat, by the way) and she soon creates an army of fearsome monsters with which to take her revenge...

Um, yes, just like those.

Ahem. So anyhow, the crafty young things have a secret weapon up their collective sleeve: the bright and shining new god Marduk. Well, Marduk is pretty much the epitome of badass. He is born fully grown, fed by goddesses, breathes fire, and rocks the four-eyes-four-ears look. He wears the halos of ten gods and apparently makes his dad really proud. Sweet kid, really.

So Marduk is sent forth -- after a fabulous going-away party with plenty of ego-boosting praises and displays of magical power -- to confront Tiamat and her monsters. With the aid of magic and a great deal of wind, Marduk defeats Tiamat, splitting her body open and smashing her head in with a mace before then dividing her remains to form from them the earth and sky, waters and mountains. (I did say the guy was... special.) Out of this great violence he creates order. Ultimately, he creates all of humankind and sets himself up as their most beloved god.

...I guess you might be wondering how this applies to everyday life, huh?

Well, in true collegiate form I've been spending my Friday evening trying desperately to forget everything I just learned this week by tossing homework by the wayside and completely going wild.

In my case this means working on the quilt I'm sewing and watching old episodes of Stargate SG-1. To each her own. ;)

Well, folks. Season 5, episode 8 definitely finds the team on a remote planet uncovering a bunch of cuniform writing which outlines the story of -- you guessed it -- the Enuma Elish. I kid you not. Cheesy sci-fi it may be, but Stargate sure gets its facts straight when it comes to mythology. The team learns all about the history of the god Marduk and even tries to track down an ancient artifact known as the Eye of Tiamat. Now that is what I call quality television. :)

In conclusion it should be noted that the show as a whole consists of a fascinating series of myths within myths. Each episode attempts not only to explain the world around us (through exploring alien planets), but also to find causes for the very myths upon which our many cultures are founded. The overlying plot is thus itself a myth of epic proportions. Both informative and moralistic, it also happens to be a darn good time.

So so cool.

And now...

back to my quilt and the continuation of my riotous evening. ;)

A Thought

Okay, so...

My reading and writing courses are all fine and dandy, but my computer course already has me downright terrified. Seriously. I am quaking in fear and it's only the second week of classes.

Which brings me to my point.

For me, a myth can be anything which helps one to understand or cope. In my case, I’m currently a happy believer in the myth that I will be entirely done with college in a short 15 weeks. Ha! This is my hope, my belief, my myth. Is it true? Perhaps. Somewhat. For now, this belief is helping me to categorize the world around me. Oh thank heaven!

On Epic Awesomeness

What springs to your mind when you hear the word Myth?



This?

This?

Perhaps this?

Whenever most of us think the word "Myth" we envision any number of a great many fictional tales with timeless appeal and a message of courage, gallantry, and self-sacrifice in the face of insurmountable odds. These contain heros who are well-known to us: Hercules, Batman... Gerard Butler.

For the most part, such stories are inspirational. They provide a deeper understanding of the world around us as well as assurance - nay, downright proof - that Evil can always be conquered and Good will ultimately triumph. We love our myths. They comfort and amuse.

To me, Myth is anything whose purpose is to explain or encourage in an entertaining manner. Good myth will lend accessibility to those things which seem beyond our comprehension. It has the power to bring excitement to the humdrum and make the terrifying less so. It is an indispensible element in the development of any culture.

This semester I will be learning about a variety of different myths, some familiar, some less so. I will expand my understanding of the meaning and purpose behind such myths and in doing so recognize the truth within each. Most importantly, I will explore the many subtle myths which influence our daily lives in any number of ways.

On Mythical New Beginnings

Well, folks, I'm blogging again. (Woohoo! Go, me! Aren't I just so fabulously motivated? :)

Okay, okay. So, more precisely I'm fulfilling a course requirement while discovering a "more colorful and vibrant" world in the process. Awesomeness, no?

Believe me, an emphatic YES is most definitely the answer! Allow me to provide a brief orientation before the fun begins...

I have the marvelous good fortune of being a student at Montana State University and, this semester being my last, I chose to supplement my otherwise humdrum Mathematical/Statistical existence with a number of more 'imaginative' courses (in the interest of maintaining sanity, surviving Ansil's deployment, etc. etc.). Most notably, I enrolled myself in a Lit class on mythologies, for which I am required to maintain a blog.

Viola! Enter Danielle, blogger extraordinaire.

You may expect to find any number of potentially earth-shattering revelations on this page as the semester progresses: Class notes, reading responses, illustrations, paper drafts, and various other delights are sure to appear shortly.

Stay tuned. :)