It was a gray vinaceous day. Poseidon was enraged, the Sirens were clueless, and Odysseus was homesick.
Days before the harm had struck, Odysseus and his companions were set to sail home, Ithaca, after blinding the great cyclops, Polyphemus. When Polyphemus had eaten a handful of Odysseus’ crew, he desired a plan; the idea led him to revenge - an eye for an eye. With a mighty stake that he had built for the clash of action, he charged the sharpened wood into the depths of Polyphemus’ eye, the cyclops shrieking ‘NOBODY! NOBODY!’ at Odysseus. The Greek king was clever enough to tell a lie of his name, and as the son of Poseidon was outwitted by the dauntless king, punishment sailed his mind. Polyphemus prayed to his father, the god of the sea, to raise the oceans and wreak havoc at Odysseus’ ship. Polyphemus' prayers were promised by Poseidon, and as Odysseus and his crew had set the sea, Poseidon awaited up in the heavens for the mortals.
Melodious voices calmed the oceanic waves. The reflection of the Sirens gleamed onto the blue rippled surface; the salted waters tasted of honeyed wine, pleasing the fishes and other sea animals. The Sirens were indeed divine creatures, the face of a fair maiden with the body of a bird. They dwelled on an island, left to only lure passing shipmen and seize their everlasting breath of life. The Sirens were merely tending to each other’s care when Odysseus’ ship floated towards the island. The ocean had a gentle touch, perfect for a song to be heard, and as the Sirens poured their voices out, the ship swam toward them. The sailors did not seem in control of the ship, instead, the ship was in control of itself. The ocean had darkened while the waves had moulded into monstrous ones.
Poseidon was wrathful, and it was his doing.
The sky rumbled while the colour of wine dyed the clear blue. Poseidon unleashed reckless storms and wrecking waves at Odysseus’ ship. Odysseus had no fear for Poseidon’s temper; while his men dropped the oars and scurried around the boat to hide, Odysseus got on his knees and prayed to Elais, the goddess of oil. The goddess answered his prayers as a rain of thick oil spilled from the sky. The oil and water divided from each other, angering Poseidon further when he saw his ocean contaminated with the black goo. Outraged at what she had done to his beautiful ocean, Poseidon puts aside the hate for what Odysseus did to Polyphemus and ceased the punishments. Immediately doing so, Elais turned the oceanic water back to its original form; Odysseus and his men cheered as the sky became a clear blue and the wind whispered the waves.
Oh, but the poor Sirens. Coated in inky oil from top to bottom, their wings all sticky and heavy. As Odysseus and his sailors sailed past the Sirens without lending help, the hapless Sirens wailed as their wings were glued in one and the feathers were matted.
Analysis:
This aetiological myth, Drowning in Elais, explains the harmful contribution to global warming and the effect on animals. Unfortunately, many individuals do not understand that there are large amounts of oil pollution being spilled into rivers and oceans and are affecting sea mammals, more so sea otters, and seabirds. The animals get washed up on the sore from the oil being glued onto their skin, drowning either in the water or from the oil. The Narrative includes the mythological characters that are read in Homer’s poem, The Odyssey. In book 9, Odysseus and his men welcome themselves to the land of Cyclopes, they arrive at a cave that is filled with delicious treats. Odysseus and his men help themselves to the feast, but while doing so, Polyphemus enters the cave and comes to see Odysseus and his companions. Polyphemus provides the theme of xenia by allowing Odysseus and the shipmates to feast on his food; later on, Polyphemus’ blood boils of inviting Odysseus into his cave and showing hospitality to the unwanted visitors. Bitter, Polyphemus eats a couple of Odysseus’ men and keeps the rest, including Odysseus, in the cave to devour later (Homer, The Odyssey 9. 105 - 306). Odysseus, clever and all, intoxicates Polyphemus with the countless offerings of wine and begins his devious plan. He starts by telling the drunk Polyphemus that his name is, ‘Nobody,’ which then Polyphemus believes Odssyeus and tells him that he will eat ‘Nobody’ last; Odysseus executes his plan while Polyphemus is in a deep sleep. Grabbing the sharpened olivewood stake, Odysseus stabs it in Polyphemus’ eye, instantly wreaking havoc for his future travels (Homer, The Odyssey 9. 307 - 412). In my myth, I incorporated the incident of this sequence in Homer’s play as the beginning of my Narrative to display front and centre the conflictive action that will result in the theme of the aetiological myth, global warming. In The Odyssey, after Odysseus stabs Polyphemus’ eye, Polyphemus prays to his father, Poseidon, to let Odysseus not make way to home, Ithaca, delaying his journey. I thoughtfully devised this section of the story as I desired to incorporate the Sirens first, consequently, to allow the connection between Poseidon setting Odysseus and his men off course and the theme of revenge that contrasts with global warming - both themes ending with a connection.
In The Odyssey, Odysseus does not meet the Sirens in book 9, instead, he encounters the Sirens in book 12, a significant gap that I took apart. The reason for doing so is that I wanted to include mythological creatures that shared a similarity with the seabirds that get stuck in the mass oil spills. Doing so, I had to either fictionalize a mythological creature or, select a creature in The Odyssey that shared the features of a bird. Wonderfully, the Sirens were mythological creatures that were bird-women, the face of a woman with the body of a bird; feathers and all. The Sirens were first understood to be handmaidens to the goddess, Persephone, Demeter’s daughter. When Hades kidnapped Persephone, Demeter blessed the handmaidens the body of a bird so that the wings of a bird could assist them further with finding Persephone. Unfortunately, the Sirens were unlucky in their findings, displeasing Demeter. Outraged that even with the wings the handmaidens could not find Persephone, Demeter banished them to an island, two, according to Homer. The Sirens were then known as the captivating creatures that attracted passing sailors; sailors would crash their ships from the hypnotizing melodies that they sang (Homer, The Odyssey 12. 165 - 200).
In my myth, I rewrote Odysseus’ war with Poseidon on his way home as I wanted the theme of revenge to resolve at the end. The theme of revenge welcomes itself of Poseidon revenging Odysseus for stabbing Polyphemus eye while Odysseus merely punished Polyphemus in revenge for eating his friends and his plan to eat Odysseus at the very end. A clash of revenge between a god and a Greek king.
Poseidon was the god of the sea, known for his shipwrecking storms and his short-temper, he constantly hinders Odysseus’ journey home. In my myth, I presented Poseidon as the god he was; sending storms left and right to defeat Odysseus and his crew (Hom., Hymns. Poseidon 22. 207). When it comes to the actual climax of the myth, I incorporated a mythological character that was not in the original myth that Homer wrote. To fulfill the elements of global warming and the introduction of oil spills, I presented Elais, the goddess of oil.
Elais is a part of two other goddesses, Spermo, the goddess to produce grain, and Oino, the goddess who produced wine. All three goddesses are called, ‘Oenotropae,’ the great-granddaughters of Dionysus, the god of wine-making and fruitfulness. I chose the goddess, Elais, as her main power is producing water into olive oil. Introducing Elais in my myth easily draws the idea of having her turn Posideon’s ocean into pure oil. At the end of my aetiological myth, Odysseus is sailing home to Ithaca; instantly, the Sirens spot Odysseus’ ship and sings for them. As the Sirens begin to sing, the sailors instantly become drawn by the Sirens’ song, turning the ship from the course of the sea. The conflict of the myth arises when the Sirens notice the ship moving quicker than its normal pace. Odysseus realizes what is to come, and so, he goes to pray to the Elais; pursuing to defeat Posideon. Elais answers his prayer and does what she is known to do - rain oil and turn the oceanic waters into oil. As Poseidon becomes irritated at the view of his ocean turning into oil, he surrenders and returns to Mount Olympus. The goddess Elais then vanishes all oil from the ocean and departs as well. Odysseus and his companions cheer in happiness, praising Elais for her help. Yet, while Odysseus and the men are saved, the Sirens are covered in syrupy oil, damaging their feathers, causing them to be unable to fly. The ending here presents how oil spills can tragically affect seabirds, separating their feathers. The Sirens are left powerless while Odysseus and his crew neglect them, displaying how society seems to forget the animals who are harmed by global warming as well.
Overall, my aetiological myth parallels Homer’s play, The Odyssey, yet the addition of Elais and the timeline between Polyphemus and the Sirens are what differ the myths apart.
Bibliography
“ELAIS.” ELAIS- Greek Goddess of Olive Oil
https://www.theoi.com/Oenotropae/OenotropaeElais.html
Hesiod, et al.Hesiod: Works & Days & Theogony. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 1993
Homer, et al.The Odyssey. 9. 105 - 412. Poetry in Translation, 2016.
Homer, et al.The Odyssey. 12. 165 - 200. Poetry in Translation, 2016.
Homeric Hymn 22 to Poseidon
"POSEIDON" THEOI GREEK MYTHOLOGY - Exploring Mythology in Classical Literature & Art, www.theoi.com/Olympios/Poseidon.html