Myth
When Hermes was born, he did not stay in the warm arms of his mother for too long as his nature is cunning and adventurous. His first deed of bravery was stealing the cattle of Apollo. Apollo was angry when he found out the suspect, but we all know the rest of the story. The two gods made peace when Hermes offered the newly-created lyre as a compensation for his “childish” act. It is not sure if the aging process really has an effect on gods, but Apollo is not satisfied that Hermes used age as an excuse. He felt dishonored as a new born would dare stealing away his property and escaped the right judgement using a musical instrument while he is actually the god of music. Due to the pressure of Zeus Apollo accepted the gift from Hermes and made peace with him, but within his heart the seed of anger and envy had rooted inside. The feeling of injustice grew stronger when Apollo watched as his father gave several gifts and duties to his new brother and he realized the similarities between himself and Hermes. They are both the protectors of travelers and good at music and language. He felt threatened as the presence of Hermes reminded him of his succession of Helios after the battle between Titans and Olympian gods ended. One day Apollo found some of his cattle went missing again. Although the traces of the theft were cleaned but this crime and method were familiar enough for Apollo to point his finger at Hermes and went confronting him in front of Zeus immediately. Hermes, of course, denied the accusation with Zeus’ trust as he had sworn before to never lie to be a messenger of the gods. Apollo, however, did not believe Hermes as the new god is known as a cunning trickster. Failing to judge the crime with the help of Zeus, Apollo went back to his duty with grievance in his heart. The chariot of Apollo radiated stronger as he rode it across the sky with the flame of anger. Soon the whole world began to suffer as the rays of sun grew stronger every day. Demeter and Poseidon were the first to find out things started to get out of control as the earth and sea grew weak and caused random disasters across the world. After hearing from Demeter and Poseidon, Zeus summoned Apollo in front of his throne and asked for the reason behind his abnormal behavior. Apollo explained that he was still angry about his missing cattle and did not trust Hermes’ innocence. In order to smooth Apollo’s anger, Zeus made a promise to punish the real person behind this crime and ordered Iris, another messenger of the gods, to investigate the crime with Hermes. Apollo’s rage was weakened a little but claimed that his mind would not be in peace until the real criminal is captured and punished properly. Until now the sun is still shining brighter than it should be and we don’t know when will the real thief be revealed.
Analysis:
Introduction
This myth is using famous figures from Greek mythology to explain the current phenomenon of global warming. In the story, Apollo’s rage over his missing cattle and the injustice behavior of his father Zeus is the real cause of unusual weather condition across the world.
Hermes and Apollo
Hermes stole Apollo’s cattle once when he was just born according to The Homeric Hymn to Hermes (#4). “When he leapt from the immortal legs of his mother, he did not long stay in the sacred cradle but sped forth to seek the cattle of Apollo, crossing the threshold of the high-roofed cave.” In the origin text, Apollo exchanged his cattle for the lyre and the reed-pipe Hermes had invented and the two gods made peace afterwards. But in this myth, Apollo didn’t give anything to Hermes and Hermes received all his equipment and duties from his father Zeus. These two gods share some intriguing similarities, especially their deities. Hermes is the messenger of the gods while Apollo is the god of oracle, “They say that you know soothsaying, Far-darter, by the voice of Zeus, for from Zeus are all oracles, in which I myself now know you to be all-wise” (Homeric Hymn). Hermes invented two musical instruments after his birth while Apollo is famous for his musical talent, “they have granted them as companions in their feasts the Muses and Apollo the master of music” (Plato, Laws 653.4).
Apollo is known as the god of poetry while Hermes is also associated with language, ‘Well then, this name “Hermes” seems to me to have to do with speech; he is an interpreter and a messenger, is wily and deceptive in speech, and is oratorical” (Plato, Cratylus). Originally in Homeric Hymn to Hermes, Apollo was amazed by Hermes’ music talent and thus pleased to forgive him while in this myth Apollo treated it as a provocation from the new-born god.
Helios
Helios is the son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia and is a personification of sun in Greek mythology. Although Helios is a Titan, he and Apollo are both gods of sun. In the story it is indicated that after the Titans loss the war with Olympian gods, Apollo took away Helios’ deity as the god of the sun, just like Zeus took away Cronus’ deity as the god of the sky. The theme of succession in Greek mythology starts with the murder of Uranus and his throne taken away by Cronus. It is natural to keep this theme and use it as a cause of Apollo’s radical behavior afterwards. The chariot of the sun comes from the chariot of Helios, “As he rides in his chariot, he shines upon men and deathless gods, and piercingly he gazes with his eyes from his golden helmet” (Homeric Hymn to Helios).
Demeter and Poseidon
Demeter is the goddess of grain and fertility, “Then the most dread and terrible of years did the goddess bring for mortals upon the fruitful earth, nor did the earth send up the seed, for Demeter of the fine garland concealed it” (Homeric Hymn to Demeter). Poseidon is the god of the sea, “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” (Homeric Hymn to Poseidon). As the temperature rises, earth and sea will take the most severe impact of the changing of the weather. Also, these two gods are brother and sister of Zeus, “But Rhea was subject in love to Cronos and bare splendid children, Hestia,18 Demeter, and gold-shod Hera and strong Hades, pitiless in heart, who dwells under the earth, and the loud-crashing Earth-Shaker, and wise Zeus, father of gods and men, by whose thunder the wide earth is shaken” (Hesiod, Theogony). They share a close relationship with Zeus thus is capable of complaining to Zeus directly.
Iris
Iris is the goddess of the rainbow and another messenger of the Olympian gods, “But when strife and quarrel arise among the deathless gods, and when any of them who live in the house of Olympus lies, then Zeus sends Iris to bring in a golden jug the great oath of the gods from far away, the famous cold water which trickles down from a high and beetling rock” (Hesiod, Theogony). In the war between Titans and Olympian gods, Iris chose to stand with the Olympian gods therefore still acted as a messenger after the war ended. Since Apollo did not trust Hermes in the story, she is sent to make sure the process of capturing the thief is fair, just like what she does whenever gods are having quarrels over each other.
Bibliography
Hesiod, Theogony from Hesiod, Homeric Hymns, Epic Cycle, Homerica; Evelyn-White; Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. https://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodTheogony.html
Homeric Hymn from Hesiod, Homeric Hymns, Epic Cycle, Homerica; Evelyn-White; Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomericHymns1.html.
Plato, Cratylus from Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 12; Harold N. Fowler; Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg005.perseus-eng1:408
Plato, Laws from Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vols. 10 & 11; R.G. Bury; Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1967 & 1968. http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg034.perseus-eng1:2.653d
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