As the Trojan war continued, a different struggle had emerged in Mycenae, as the resources to forge weapons were starting to diminish. The heart of the Greeks weapon supply resided in a distant coastal village, neighboured by lush, towering forests. The materials had started to become more and more scarce with the crafting of each arrow or spear. Omiros, the smith overseer, had begun to feel the pressure from his king, Agamemnon, because of the lack of production. Omiros was a dedicated craftsman and had always remained devoted to his king, so he gave the order for his workers to obtain the resources, by any means necessary even though he knew it was wrong. Out of time and out of options, the craftsmen turned to a nearby, untouched forest teeming with an abundance of resources, more than enough to fuel their production for the rest of the war. Although this was no ordinary forest, it was sacred to the goddess of the hunt and the wilderness, Artemis. This forest was home to a great variety of trees, including some of the tallest cypress trees in all of Mycenae, from which the craftsmen could extract the finest of materials for making weapons. The forest also had some of the most diverse animal populations making it a favoured hunting ground, where commoners and nobles alike would hunt some of Mycenaeans most prized wild game. People would bring offerings or make sacrifices to Artemis at the forest’s edge, before each hunt and in times of need. The locals warned the workers not to proceed with their plan to log the untouched forest, for the thought of invoking the wrath of a god seemed unbearable in times of war. However, the weaponsmiths thought that the great goddess would care not of the expense of a few trees, for the end of the war was in sight. They thought wrong. A few trees turned into many trees and with each tree branch struck with an axe, the craftsmen stoked the ire of the goddess.
One night, as Omiros’ shift ended, a tall woman, garbed in animal pelts, awaited him outside the door, a golden bow and quiver strung across her back, holding a spear in one hand a satchel in the other. Her hunting dogs snarled, barking viciously at Omiros as they paced back and forth behind her. Omiros stood terrified and speechless as she confronted him for his reckless use of the local lands. She reached into her bag and pulled out a perfect blue sphere made of ice, within a clear glass case and placed it on the ground. She explained that, slowly, with each cloud of black smoke released from the forges and with every tree hewn down from the forests that the ball of ice would slowly melt. As the ice would melt, the animals would disappear from their habitats, the waters would be poisoned, the heat would become far too overwhelming and the seas would rise, enveloping their lands. Omiros stepped forward and kneeled down to examine the icy ball, as soon as he touched it he foresaw the very disasters the woman had spoke of. Overwhelmed by this future he let go of the ball, and tried to pull himself together. When looked up, the huntress had disappeared. Omiros realized that this was no chance encounter, but rather a sign of divine intervention, and he knew his ways had to be changed, for the fate of the world would was in peril.
Omiros never returned to the forges of Mycenae, instead, he spent the rest of his days travelling, advocating for nature. As time passed by, would kings come and go, civilizations would rise and fall, but the story of Omiros and the melting ice sphere persisted throughout history. Oral tradition saw that his story was passed from generation to generation. Some chose to believe that their actions had consequences towards their environments and made changes for the better, while others denied it, claiming it was nothing more than a myth.
Analysis
For the topic of my myth draft I chose global warming because I thought the characteristics of climate change would be easily transitioned into a Greek myth. The overall consequences of climate change, especially in earlier periods of time, can be made to represent the wrath of a god such as the causing of floods, high temperatures and uncontrollable weather events. I set my myth in the time period of the Trojan war because I needed a setting that could put humans against nature. In ancient times, the environment was not seen the same way it is today, and that was the difficult part to incorporate. Choosing a god was tricky at first, however as soon as I decided I wanted to use a forest setting, Artemis was the straightforward choice. The destruction of the sacred forest represents the craftsmen's value for industry above all else and the encounter with Artemis serves as a consequence for their reckless use of the environment. When Omiros glimpses the future, it exemplifies the need for change which can be related to modern day projections of our future environment or climates should our trends stay the same. As modern of a topic as climate change is, certain mythological elements, such as the Trojan war or Artemis and her characteristics, were a needed inclusion to blend the two together.
Omiros is a representation of the conflict between the needs of a society and the responsibility that everyone on Earth has towards the environment. He and his workers cut down trees in the forest which leads to Artemis giving him the ice sphere almost as a burden that he must carry. Upon touching the sphere, he foresees a future where the environment is completely destroyed and because this vision was only seen by him, he knows it is his responsibility become a activist for nature. He leaves the forges behind to travel and raise awareness towards the exploits of nature.
Omiros is a dedicated, honest worker so he realizes his wrongdoings and changes his ways as a form of redemption of his past. An ancient source that influenced this part of the story was Prometheus’ punishment after giving fire to mankind, “And now the last recess of the Black Sea opened up and they [the Argonauts] caught sight of the high crags of the Kaukasos (Caucasus), where Prometheus stood chained by every limb to the hard rock with fetters of bronze, and fed an eagle on his liver. The bird kept eagerly returning to its feed” (Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 2. 1238). What they each had done was irreversible and therefore a punishment, albeit a much less brutal one for Omiros, was needed to correct it. Although Omiros willingly dedicates himself to environmental advocacy, I attempted to parallel it to Prometheus who was chained to the rocks for the rest of his life because of what he did.
Artemis was a seamless fit into my myth because of her connection to the Trojan war, notably, when the king of Mycenae, Agamemnon, sacrifices his daughter to appease her after he angered her before hand. So her patience, in my story, had all but run out, meaning when the workers started to cut down the trees, it was the last straw. The timing of her encounter with Omiros is set to be happening around at the same time as the treacherous winds and waters she creates for the Agamemnon’s navies. In my myth, their actions had inevitable long-term consequences rather than brief wartime obstacles. An ancient source that inspired this part of my myth is as follows, “When the expedition had mustered a second time at Aulis, Agamemnon, while at the chase, shot a stag and boasted that he surpassed even Artemis. At this the goddess was so angry that she sent stormy winds and prevented them from sailing” (Stasinus, Cypria 1. 2-3). In this regard, Artemis’ ability to control the weather, and her anger towards Agamemnon’s boastfulness sets up her role to create climate change in my story. After she delivers the sphere of ice, it foreshadows similar, unpredictable instances of extreme weather, which overall parallels the wrath of a goddess to that of modern climate change. Lastly, Artemis was the Greek goddess of the hunt and the wilderness, usually associated with hunting dogs, cypress trees or carrying a bow and spear. These characteristics of her persona were obvious inclusions into my story as gods or goddesses are often introduced and described with their signature symbols. An inspiring ancient representation of these characteristics comes from Pausanias, “Artemis wrapped in the skin of a deer, and carrying a quiver on her shoulders, while in one hand she holds a torch, in the other two serpents; by her side a bitch, of a breed suitable for hunting, is lying down” (Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.37.1).
The Trojan war lasted many year, and long wars pose a variety of other challenges whether it be on the battlefield or on home soil. In this case, the war had various events occurring on both sides, so a story telling the origins of climate change seemed like an apt inclusion. Agamemnon is a ruthless king, making his need for victory at any cost a believable spark to the story. Because Agamemnon was willing to sacrifice his own daughter for his armies, Omiros feels the pressure to fearfully follow his orders and continue to fuel his kings thirst for victory. The theme of global warming needed an anthropogenic antagonist, and in this case one who has already angered the goddess of the forest on a previous occasion was a good fit for my story.
Artemis’ wrath in both my myth and in mythology can be compared to Demeter’s anger when her daughter, Persephone, was taken away from her and into the underworld. Demeter is also a goddess tied to nature and used it as her wrath; “then the most dread and terrible of years did the goddess bring for mortals upon the fruitful earth, nor did earth send up the seed, for Demeter of the fine garland concealed it. Many crooked ploughs did the oxen drag through the furrows in vain, and much white barley fell fruitless upon the land. Now the whole race of mortal men would have perished utterly from the stress of famine, and the gods who hold mansions in Olympos would have lost the share and renown of gift and sacrifice, if Zeus had not taken note and conceived a counsel within his heart” (Hesiod, Homeric Hymns, 2.303-311). In response to her daughter being taken away, similar to Artemis’ forest being cut down, she stops things from growing causing a famine throughout the lands. In another myth involving Demeter, a king named Erysikhthon, angered her by cutting down a forest sacred, which holds a similar context of my story. In revenge Demeter curses him with a never ending hunger, “So much she said and devised evil things for Erysikhthon. Straightway she sent on him a cruel and evil hunger--a burning hunger and a strong--and he was tormented by a grievous disease. Wretched man, as much as he ate, so much did he desire again” (Callimachus, Hymns 4-6, 65-67).
Whether it be storms, famines or curses, these myths that involve humans against environment result in consequences for the misuse of nature or the mistreatment of its deity. These elements helped shape my myths origins and storyline, Artemis’ curse of global warming follows similar punishments that were handed out by goddesses in actual Greek mythology. These mythological elements such as these as well as a setting providing the right context to set humans against their environment and thus creating the aetiology of global warming.
Reference List
Apollonius Rhodius. Argonautica. Translation by Rieu, E. V. The Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Books. https://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanPrometheus.html (accessed March 30th, 2021)
Callimachus. Hymns & Epigrams. Lycophron. Aratus. Translation by Mair, A. W. & Mair, G. R. Loeb Classical Library Volume 129. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/DemeterWrath.html(accessed March 30th, 2021)
Hesiod, Homeric Hymns, Cypria Fragment 1, Epic Cycle, Homerica. Translated by Evelyn-White, H G. Loeb Classical Library Volume 57. London: William Heinemann, 1914 https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/ArtemisWrath2.html#Agamemnon (accessed March 30th, 2021)
Hesiod, Homeric Hymns. Translation by Trzaskoma, S., Smith, R.S., Brunet, S., Palaima, T.G., https://q.utoronto.ca/courses/192328/pages/homeric-hymns?module_item_id=2062320(accessed March 30th, 2021)
Pausanias. Description of Greece. Translation by Jones, W. H. S. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. (5 volumes). https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Artemis.html#Attributes (accessed March 30th, 2021)
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