Myth
A Mythological Explanation of Global Warming
For eons, Helios had ruled over the sun, riding his chariot across the sky from dusk till dawn. Helios was the titan god of the sun, and he spent the majority of his time aboard his sacred chariot, ushering the sun along its path.
One day, Demeter and Helios were talking to each other on Mount Olympus. Helios would often stop by Mount Olympus on his daily journey where Demeter would be gazing upon hard-working farmers. Helios had controlled the sun, and sunlight was important for Demeter’s crops, so they were discussing the weather patterns. Demeter was in fact very close with Helios, who had helped her look for her daughter Persephone when she was kidnapped by Hades.
Enter Apollo, the Olympian god of archery, prophecy, music, poetry, healing, plague and disease, sunlight. Apollo and Helios were typically on good terms for the most part, co-existing alongside one another, sharing duties of the sun. However, as Apollo walks past Demeter and Helios on this day, he becomes somewhat agitated by the fact that he typically didn’t get a chance to partake in official duties of the sun like Helios. Out of anger, he torches a poppy field belonging to Demeter. Once Demeter finds out, she is rightfully furious. She doesn’t really know what to do, however. She went to her brother Zeus in hopes that he might be able to help her get back at Apollo. Zeus refuses to help Demeter, calling the cause petty and irrelevant. Out of options, she asks Helios for help.
He doesn’t want to refuse a request from a close friend, so Helios stages a prank to scare off one of Apollo’s girlfriends. When Apollo finds out, he is enraged.
Apollo declares war on Helios. They are similarly matched, so the battle drags on for a long time. At one point, Helios sends a giant red hot bolt of fire in Apollo’s direction. Apollo dodges the bolt, which sends it hurtling towards the atmosphere, piercing a giant hole in the ozone layer. This warms up the planet, sending the climate into an unbalance. Soon enough, people notice the instances of unexpected weather patterns , including rising sea levels, unpredictable weather patterns, increase in wildfires. Eventually Zeus notices too. He decides to put an end to their petty quarrel before further damage is done, so he sends a raging tempest in their direction. Both Helios and Apollo respect Zeus enough to know that this is a warning sign, so they decide to come to peace. Unfortunately, the tempest Zeus sent was a little too strong, and it ends up causing further disruption in weather patterns across the globe.
Analysis
Introduction
In my myth, I attempted to explain the phenomena of global warming through the conflict between the Greek gods Apollo, Demeter, and the titan Helios over control of the sun. Climate change is a pressing issue in modern society. Explained simply, climate change is the phenomenon where the excess pollution humans have created is essentially heating up our planet, causing adverse effects in the climate all around the world. These effects include rising sea levels, unpredictable weather patterns, increase in wildfires, melting of the polar ice caps, flooding of low-lying areas, and are caused by the heating of the climate. My goal in writing this aetiological myth was to explain the physical effects of global warming that we experience by providing a mythological causation for the heating climate, using mythological content from ancient sources.
Characters & Setting
My myth involves a number of mythological deities, the key ones being the gods Apollo, Demeter, and Zeus, and the titan Helios. All of these deities presented in my myth align with how they are portrayed in ancient Greek mythology. I chose these characters because their domain of rule all intersect with the physical effects of climate change, and opted to preserve the ancient mythological content detailing their roles because it sets the initial setting for my myth.
In ancient mythology, Apollo, “the son of Zeus and Leto” is the Olympian god of the sun and light, music, poetry, healing, plagues, prophecy and knowledge (Hesiod. Theogony. 918). He is one of the main characters in the myth as he is responsible for initiating the conflict in the myth. His display of pride and jealousy ignites the conflict that global warming results from, making him the antagonist in the myth.
Another major character in my myth is Demeter who is the Olympian goddess of “agriculture, grain and bread who sustained mankind with the earth's rich bounty” (Homer. Homeric Hymn to Demeter). Demeter is a relevant character in this story because she is crucial in instigating the driving conflict between Helios and Apollo.
The third major character, Helios, is described in ancient mythology as the titan of the sun, who “rides his chariot, he shines upon men and deathless gods, and piercingly he gazes with his eyes from his golden helmet” (Homer. Homeric Hymn. 31). In my myth, I mention that Demeter and Helios are close friends, as Helios doesn't hesitate to help out Demeter when she asks him. There is a legitimate mythological background to this relationship because Helios “reveal[ed] to Demeter the carrying off of her daughter” (Homer. Odysseus. viii. 271) when Persephone was kidnapped by Hades,
Later on, I bring Zeus into the cast. Zeus, the ruler of the gods, whose “power almighty shakes this earthly ball” (Orphic Hymn 15), was needed in this story as an authoritative figure above Apollo and Helios. I intended to use him in the story to conclude Apollo and Helios’ fighting, with the intention that Apollo and Helios return to their regular duties by the end of the myth.
The setting of the myth is Olympus, which is located in the sky. It seemed fitting to me that the story take place here because Olympus, the home of the gods, is in the sky, which is where I needed the action in the myth to take place.
Plot
My idea of the plot began with the knowledge that both Apollo and Helios were described as deities of the sun. Further investigation that the delegation of duties between the two gods was not well defined. It seems that in ancient mythological writings, Apollo and Helios would often be conflated into the same being. In fact, the “ idea of Helios knowing every thing … seems to have been the cause of Helios being confounded and identified with Apollo, though they were originally quite distinct” (Theoi). According to Britannica, “in classical Greece, Helios was especially worshipped in Rhodes, [then his] worship spread as he became increasingly identified with other deities [and by] the 5th century BCE, Apollo, [who was] originally a deity of radiant purity, was more and more interpreted as a sun god” (Britannica).
The main action in my myth begins with Apollo being jealous that Helios is treated as the primary authority of the sun, and is angered when he sees Demeter consulting Apollo over matters of the sun. As addressed previously, whether or not Helios is the primary mythological deity of the sun is not clear in ancient sources, but it is presented as such in my myth to provide the rising action for the conflict. Apollo feels neglected by this, and in a bout of aggression, torches one of Demeter’s poppy fields. This exhibition of jealousy displayed by Apollo is very common in humans as well, making Apollo’s motives seem understandable seem understandable. This parallels the manner in which many aetiological myths deal with gods who create
The poppy is one of Demeter’s sacred plants (Virgil, Georgics 1. 208), so Demeter is offended by Apollo, and asks Zeus to help her get revenge on Apollo, who refuses. Demeter then turns to Helios, who agrees to help because they are close friends, as established earlier. In get back at Apollo, Helios scares away one of Apollo’s girlfriends. Helios’ actions anger Apollo as well, and thus Apollo and Helios battle.
From the ancient literature available, whether or not Apollo and Helios were equals in combat is not specified, as there have never been any myths where they fought each other. We know that Helios did spend most of his time on his chariot, riding it across the sky (Homer. Homeric Hymn. 31), but there are many myths that detail accounts of him in combat. One such instance includes when he fought the Moly Gigante (Ptolemy. Hephaestion). Being the god of archery, Apollo has fought in numerous battles, such as when he slayed the monster Python (Homer. Homeric Hymn 3 to Apollo. 356). For the sake of needing the battle to draw out for a while, I opted to make them evenly matched in combat.
The most relevant part of the battle is when Helios accidentally shoots a red-hot ray that pierces through the atmosphere, creating a permanent hole there. This is my mythological origin for the hole in the ozone layer today that causes a number of the effects of climate change. This is also directly in line with ancient mythological sources, because Helios is known to do this, as Gaia “prayed to Titan Helios with submissive voice: she begged of him one red hot ray, that with its heating fire she might melt the petrified water of Zeus” (Nonnus. Dionysiaca 2. 543)
This finally alerts Zeus to the potential havoc that this battle may cause. The reason I needed Zeus to interfere is because I needed to stimulate the change in weather patterns. As a warning sign, Zeus sends a large tempest into the sky, permanently altering weather patterns. Apollo and Helios come to a truce, but unfortunately, the damage is already done, as there is now a hole in the atmosphere. In my myth, I claim that the damages ensued by this battle, specifically the hole in the ozone layer, and the permanently altered atmosphere, cause the effects we know as global warming.
Themes
The main theme explored in my myth is the Danger of Jealousy and Pride. Both Apollo and Helios display pride over their authority as rulers, and this causes unnecessary conflict with rather severe consequences. The moral takeaway from this myth is that unnecessary pride and lack of communication and cooperation can have massive negative consequences later on, as illustrated by how the petty conflict between Helios and Apollo resulted in global warming.
Conclusion
Ultimately, this aetiological myth aimed to explain the cause of physical effects of global warming. To accomplish this, I drew upon ancient mythological writing of the gods and titans, specifically those regarding Demeter, Helios, Apollo, and Zeus.
Bibliography
“APOLLO - Greek God of Music, Prophecy & Healing.” Theoi Greek Mythology, www.theoi.com/Olympios/Apollon.html.
“DEMETER - Greek Goddess of Grain & Agriculture.” Theoi Greek Mythology, www.theoi.com/Olympios/Demeter.html#Descriptions.
“HELIOS.” HELIUS (Helios) - Greek Titan God of the Sun (Roman Sol), www.theoi.com/Titan/Helios.html.
“Helios.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/topic/Helios-Greek-god.
“What Is the Difference Between Helios and Apollo?” Myth Nerd, 14 Apr. 2020, mythnerd.com/what-is-the-difference-between-helios-and-apollo/.
“ZEUS - Greek God of the Sky, King of the Gods.” Theoi Greek Mythology, www.theoi.com/Olympios/Zeus.html.