Myth
Zeus looks up from Olympus only to find a grey sky replacing what used to be bright and beautiful.
“There’s no point is there father? They won’t make a difference no matter how much of their carbon emissions they reduce” Hermes said to his father.
“No Hermes, it won’t make a difference” Zeus replied.
Zeus hands Hermes two letters, one displaying a long-handled trident and the other displaying a curved bident.
Hermes dawned his sandals and reached for the caduceus and made his way toward Atlantis. When he arrived, Poseidon was not surprised, in fact, it seemed as if he was expecting him.
Hermes hands Poseidon the letter and says “Zeus has a plan, but he needs your presence”.
“The sea level is rising, if I am no longer able to control the sea, then I must help my brother in whatever way I can” Poseidon proclaimed.
Poseidon raises his hands and almost immediately a chariot pulled by several hippocampi appeared, pulling him away into the and with that Hermes makes his way to the underworld. He passes by Charon on his way only briefly catching the look of confusion on his face. Focused on the urgency of the matter, he did not stop to chat but made his way into Hades’ quarters. It seemed that he had walked into a heated argument between his uncle and Persephone.
“WHERE’S THE WATER” Hades responded!
“THERE IS NONE” Persephone responded with malice.
Hades’ relationship with Persephone has always been shaky due to the whole kidnapping of Persephone to be the queen of the underworld, so Hermes wasn’t surprised.
Before Hades could respond, he spotted Hermes in the corner of his eye.
“Whatever Zeus thinks I did, it was probably me,” he said with a smirk on his face.
Just as he did with Poseidon, he handed him the letter. A wide smile appeared on his face, then he began to laugh.
“So, they finally want me to join them up there. This must have something to do with the shortage of groundwater down here. I know this is the underworld, but it's way too hot down here, all the water is disappearing” Hades lectured.
Hermes and Hades wasted no time and departed for Olympus. When they arrived, Zeus was already speaking to some Olympians, Poseidon among them. The Olympians turned to see Hades and Hermes approach. The surprised look on their faces was no doubt caused by Hades’ presence. His father was not concerned, he smiled at Hermes and Hermes knew his father was pleased with him completing his task.
The gods started arguing among themselves, all except Zeus and Poseidon. Zeus raises his hands and the crowd almost immediately responded with silence. We need him here for what we must do.
“And what exactly is happening brother, I thought maybe you stuck your lightning bolt in the wrong place and it’s just Hera getting revenge”
Hera gives Hades a stare that would make even Cerberus heel, but Hades pays it no mind.
“It’s our grandmother, Gaia, she isn’t well” Zeus solemnly said.
Someone from the crowd yelled, “Then get her a healer.”
“Her wounds are not on the outside, but on the inside. There is only one option left if we desire to save her” Zeus replied.
Zeus was aware that Poseidon had already lost control of the sea and the skies were no longer in Zeus’s control. It is only a matter of time before Olympus falls out of the sky. Gaia Will destroy herself along with the world.
He looks at hades and says, “Release the titans”.
Zeus looked around at everyone’s surprised expressions and tried to find words to explain how bringing back her family may be the only way to cure Gaia’s depression.
Analysis
This myth approaches climate change to be an issue created unintentionally by the titan Gaia. Her past traumas began to cumulate and the result would have been her destroying herself from the inside out and the Earth with herself because she is the personification of the Earth (Hesiod, Theogony 2. 116). This theory also argues that global warming, arguably the biggest global crisis the world has ever faced, was factually incorrect and was not caused by humans and greenhouse gas emissions. This crisis does not only affect the realm of the humans but the entire world itself stretching from the heavens to the underworld and as a result, the gods are shaken.
Before Zeus and Kronos, the world consisted of Gaia and Uranus and from the day the two met, countless events have occurred (Hesiod, Theogony 2. 116). Events both pleasant and traumatic that ultimately lead to global warming. Gaia had watched her husband get castrated and her son Kronos swallow her grandchildren whole. It doesn’t just end there, her grandchildren and children were locked into a battle for a lengthy period until finally Kronos and the rest of the titans were defeated and then imprisoned in Tartarus. In order to teach Zeus a lesson, she has a child with Tartarus named Typhon and he too is killed by Zeus. His death had left Gaia in grief and taking it upon Zeus would only result in her death or the loss of another family member. This myth looks at Gaia and her depression being the cause of global warming. This is reasonable because one of the major causes of depression is stressful life events. Since Gaia is depressed, the Earth starts feeling the effects because Gaia is the personification of the Earth, and this is how climate change came to be.
The myth is written in a similar way to the Percy Jackson books and Rick Riordan’s style of writing rather than Homer’s. Alike the Percy Jackson books, it takes place in current times and both societies have been integrated. The myth takes place from Hermes’ perspective because through his perspective the readers will be able to see climate change affect the world to its full extent because Hermes regularly travels through the worlds.
Throughout the myth, there are several effects of global warming that can be seen. At the beginning of the myth, Zeus looks into the sky to see Olympus’ beauty replaced by a gloomy grey. Hermes proposes that human efforts to reduce carbon emissions have been in vain. In our world today, much of the politics is about carbon emissions, for example, hours after President Joe Biden was elected into office he re-entered the United States into the Paris agreement (Cho). Zeus confirms Hermes’ claim because he knows that it isn’t the humans causing this but his grandmother Gaia.
Close to the start of the myth, Zeus hands Hermes two letters, one with a trident and the other displaying a bident. These symbols are clear representations of Poseidon and Hades. The trident is Poseidon’s weapon of choice and the bident is hades’ (Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3.14.1-2). An irregularity here is Hades’ invitation to Olympus. Hades was not permitted to enter Olympus and yet Zeus invites him which displays how important climate change is to Zeus. After receiving these letters Hermes puts on his sandals and grabs the caduceus which is also known as the Staff of Hermes (Homer, Iliad. 24, 339). The sandals that are referenced are the winged sandals Hermes uses to travel and they also allow him to travel at enhanced levels of speed. “They were beautiful and golden and carried the god across land and sea with the rapidity of wind” (Atsma).
Later on, in the myth, Poseidon shows reluctance in leaving Atlantis and going to Olympus. Poseidon is unable to control the sea but soon becomes desperate because the Poseidon is god of the seas. Homer’s Hymn to Poseidon states “I begin to sing about Poseidon, the great god, mover of the earth and fruitless sea, god of the deep who is also lord of Helicon and wide Aegae. A two-fold office the gods allotted you, O Shaker of the Earth, to be a tamer of horses and a saviour of ships! Hail, Poseidon, Holder of the Earth, dark-haired lord! O blessed one, be kindly in heart and help those who voyage in ships!” This shows the reader how important this is to Poseidon and why he must go to Olympus (Homer, Homeric Hymns 22.1-5). One of the main effects of climate change is the rising sea level. The sea level has been increasing since 1880 and has increased about 21 to 24 centimetres since that time (Lindsey). This will cause islands such as Fiji and the Marshall Islands to be swallowed by the sea in Poseidon’s absence.
Progressing towards Hermes’ travels, he walks into a heated argument between Hades and his partner Persephone. Hermes was not surprised with the relationship Hades and Persephone had with each other because Hades had her abducted while she was picking flowers and she is now trapped in the underworld as Hades’ lover. “Also he came to the bed of all-nourishing Demeter, and she bare white-armed Persephone whom Aidoneus carried off from her mother; but wise Zeus gave her to him” (Hesiod, Theogony 2.912-914). Hades and Persephone were arguing about water or the lack of water. This was also caused by climate change and its influence over groundwater. “Rising temperatures at the surface level increases the evaporative demand over land, which limits the amount of water to replenish groundwater” (Wu, Lo and Wada). Hades was upset with the changes in the underworld and his selfish nature in which Persephone can attest to drove him to answer Zeus’ call.
When Hermes returns with Hades, the first thing Zeus does is smile at Hermes. Hermes has achieved his nostos because he had departed on his journey and returned successfully. Even though the main issue at hand has not been resolved, Hermes had done his duty toward Zeus successfully.
Shortly after arriving in Olympus, Hades makes the comment “And what exactly is happening brother, I thought maybe you stuck your lightning bolt in the wrong place and it’s just Hera getting revenge”. This is a reference to Zeus’ numerous relations with women other than Hera his wife. He also acknowledges Hera and her scheming behind Zeus’ back formed from jealously. In Hesiod’s Theogony, Hera’s treacherous nature can be demonstrated when it states “Zeus, apart from Hera, had lain in love with a fair-faced daughter of Okeanos and lovely-haired Tethys, Metis, whom he deceived, for all she was so resourceful, for he snatched her up in his hands and put her inside his belly for fear that she might bring forth a thunderbolt stronger than his own.” (Hesiod, Theogony 2.924-929).
Zeus has a monologue with himself when he thinks to himself of all the damage Gaia has caused unintentionally. Poseidon had already lost control of the sea and it also seems that Zeus cannot control the skies which would lead Olympus to fall out of the sky. It is known that Olympus is in the sky because Homer states “Now when the twelfth morning thereafter had come, then into Olympus came the gods who are for ever, all in one company, and Zeus led the way. And Thetis did not forget the behest of her son, but rose up from the wave of the sea, and at early morning went up to great heaven and Olympus” (Homer, Iliad 1.493-496).
Near the end of the myth, Zeus tells Hades to release the titans. The Titans were imprisoned in Tartarus which was located in the lower parts of the underworld. Why would Zeus ask for such a thing? Gaia spent the more pleasant parts of her life among the titans, her family. Zeus believes releasing the titans would cure his grandmother of depression. Perhaps reuniting with Uranus and her other children would inspire some happiness inside of her. Whatever his reasoning was, it was clear that Zeus was set on curing Gaia of her depression and in turn saving the earth from global warming. Zeus is willing to risk another power struggle with the titans in order to stop climate change which displays the seriousness of the matter.
Bibliography
Apollodorus. Bibliotheca. In The Library, Books 1-12, translated by James G. Frazer, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1921.
Atsma, Aaron J. Hermes. 2017. <https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hermes.html>.
Cho, Renee. The U.S. Is Back in the Paris Agreement. Now What? 4 February 2021. <https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2021/02/04/u-s-rejoins-paris-agreement/>.
Hesiod. Theogony. In Hesiod, Homeric Hymns, Epic Cycle, Homerica, Translated by Evelyn-White, Loeb Classical Library, Volume 57. London: William Heinemann, 1914.
Homer. Homeric Hymn To Poseidon. In Hesiod, Homeric Hymns, Epic Cycle, Homerica, translated by Evelyn-White, Loeb Classical Library, Volume 57. London: William Heinemann; New York: The Macmillan Co, 1914.
Homer. Iliad. Translated by A. T. Murray, Loeb Classical Library, Volume 1. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1924.
Lindsey, Rebecca. Climate Change: Global Sea Level. 25 January 2021. <https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level#:~:text=Global%20mean%20sea%20level%20has,of%20seawater%20as%20it%20warms.>.
Wu, Wen-Ying, et al. "Divergent effects of climate change on future groundwater availability in key mid-latitude aquifers." Nature Communications 11 (2020): 1-9.
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