No More Spring
The sun shone above the bustling villagers as they moved to prepare for “The New Spring Festival,” occurring only once a year. Endless baskets of fruits, bread, and wine presented in celebration for the gods that have provided the village with rain, sun, and food for the year.
At the break of dawn, villagers gather around the sacred tree, anticipating the performances. A variety of foods from bread and fresh jam to refreshing grape wine are provided for hungry villagers.
At noon, villagers gather for a spectacle dedicated to the gods. To Zeus, the god of the sky for the favourable weather, Demeter, the goddess of agriculture for the crops grown, and Dionysus, the god of wine for the exquisite beverages enjoyed by all.
At night, the villagers send their final wishes for the coming year.
The next morning, a commotion shakes up the peaceful village.
“Come out!”
A group of 10 large men, carrying axes and shovels, glaring at the villagers.
“Sell us the land for 100 silver coins.” a man said, laughing.
An older man stepped forward, getting ready to hit them with the broomstick he held. “No! We cannot give this land to you. We use the tree to give thanks to the gods that provide us with such prosperous lives. Get out!”.
“Listen old man. Give us the land. In two days if you can’t decide, we burn everything,” snickering, the group walked away, kicking stalls as they left.
“What will we do? Our village will be burned! We cannot anger the gods!” an older lady said worriedly.
Villagers began shouting profanities as they expressed their anger and concerns. A middle aged man stepped forward.
“Listen. Do you want our village to be burned to ashes? Think about it. Give them the land. Besides, they’ll give us money! We’ll be rich!” he reasoned.
“No. Think about everything the gods gave us. We must protect the land,” an older man stepped forward.
Murmurs of approval sounded throughout the crowd. However, a bitter expression rested on a particular man’s face.
“Alrighty boys, get to work!” A booming voice shouted.
The villagers were horrified to see what was appearing in front of them. The trees were being cut down!
“What are you doing? It hasn’t been two days!”
“Really?! This man,” he began, Dragging a familiar face forward, “Gave. Us. This. Land. He should’ve split the money with you.”
Irritated, everyone turned to face the man, only to watch him running away. They could only accept their fate.
Indeed, the following days, the sun stopped shining, the rain stopped pouring, and the food stopped growing. Nothing seemed alive. They had angered the gods.
Soon, there seemed to be nothing left in the village. No amount of praying or offerings would please the gods and allow for forgiveness in the village.
While the man prospered with his newly earned money and ran off to start a family, the villagers could only feel betrayal. After the many years that they had provided him with food and hospitality, he had left them for money.
In return for the man’s greed, the villagers suffered endless days without food, without rain, and the scorching sun. Only once a month, did the gods sprout one grain, grow one grape, pour one droplet, and provide a brief second of shade for the villagers.
Analysis
In the short myth, it is evident that the greed of one person ultimately led to a loss of environmental resources (global warming). The story begins with villagers preparing for the yearly festival to give thanks towards the gods that have helped them in having a fortunate year and to pray for the coming year. In this festival, they surround a sacred tree that they must take care of as an agreement with the gods. In other words, as long as they take care of this tree, they will have many fortunate years to come. Later, a group of men arrive and suggest a deal that they will pay the villagers money in return for their land. In order to protect the tree, the villagers decline. However, one of the villagers decides to agree to the deal behind their backs and takes the money for himself and runs away as the group of men arrive to claim their land. In future days, it shows that this event has made the gods upset, resulting in a loss of rain, sun, and agriculture. This story focuses on the event of global warming and “how it all started”. The idea of global warming is that, “The globe is heating up,” (Pappas 2020). In society today, it is known that global warming started from humans and, “The burning of fossil fuels has released greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,” (Pappas 2020). With this myth, I created an idea of “how global warming started” and what the humans did in order for this action to occur. I decided to include human villagers as the result of upsetting the gods that ultimately led to the increase in heat and loss of rain and crops. This is significant as it showcases qualities such as greed, that lead to consequences in a society.
As mentioned, in this myth, humans are very important in the result of global warming. Not only does it make the myth more interesting because of the range of characters, but it is also able to connect with the readers as the qualities and characteristics of an everyday person. Aside from the villagers, there are also a group of men who interfere with their everyday life. I decided to make them humans as well as the story now appears as a “human to human” conflict. In addition to human characters, I included three greek mythological gods. Although they do not physically appear in the story, they are mentioned and play a very important role to the lives of the villagers. These greek gods are: Demeter, Zeus, and Dionysus. Demeter, the goddess of agriculture helps the villagers in growing crops that will provide them with fresh crops and food throughout the year. In this context, when the sacred tree is cut down, it appears that this action uspets the goddess, thus she stops the crops from growing. The idea of the goddess becoming upset in reference to the Hom. Hymn: 2 Dem When Demeter finds out that he daughter, Persephone is missing and is unable to find her, she becomes upset and leaves Olympus all while stopping crops from growing (“To Demeter” 302-333). Additionally, Zeus uses his ability to control the sky/weather and makes the sun stronger, taking away clouds and shade for the villagers. The trait of Zeus troubling humans can be seen in Hesiod's: Works and Days. Zeus’ character can be seen when it states, “But Zeus got his spleen up, and went and hid/ How to make a living, all because shifty Prometheus/ Tricked him. That’s why Zeus made life hard for humans,” (Hes. Works and Days 65-67). This is significant as it demonstrates the connection between Zeus’ character in the poem and in the created myth. In other words, it showcases the similarities that Zeus’ character has, as it is evident that Zeus is making life harder for the humans in the myth by increasing the heat of the sun. Finally, the third character included in this myth is Dionysus, the god of wine. I decided to include him in the myth as it would be more interesting to the reader to read about a god that is more “carefree” and what will happen if the humans were to upset them. As read from Hesiod’s: Works and Days, “then shade them over for five more, and, on the sixth draw off into jars/ the gifts of joyful Dionysus,” (Hes. Works and Days 613-614). It is evident that Dionysus is a god that is very cheerful, meaning that it would be a surprise to see him “punishing” humans. The reference to “filling the jars” refers to the wine that the villagers are able to make when he supports them.
The setting of this myth is in the suburbs as it is often referred to a village. As explained, the villagers grow and cook their own meals, meaning that they are often working outdoors. Because of this, resources such as plants, sun, and rain are very important in harvesting crops. Picking a setting that is set in the suburbs similar to a farm is to showcase the importance of these natural resources and what will happen once they deteriorate or are gone.
One important aspect that I have included in this myth is the betrayal of one of the villagers. When the big men first arrive, it is evident that he wants to give them the land because of his greed for the money. After the argument he had with the villagers, he ultimately gave the land away behind their backs and took for money for himself. Then he runs away to start a new life. It is revealed that throughout his years of living in the village, they had provided him with food and shelter, however, because he noticed something “better” he had decided to betray them. One prominent example of betrayal is the myth of Jason and Medea. After all the Medea had provided for Jason, when he was presented with another female of a higher class, he left Medea without a second thought (Euripides). Both examples show people who display acts of kindness only to be betrayed in the end.
In this myth, it is important to note that when the men arrive to claim the land, none of the villagers show them respect or hospitality. One of the villagers even holds a shovel, ready to hit them. As described in Carol Dougherty’s Phaeacians and Cyclopes: Overseas Settlement, xenia is, “[...]the institution of hospitality. (Dougherty 122)” It is evident that despite the situation they were placed in, the villagers showed bad xenia towards the men who had entered their village. In cases such as The Odyssey: Polyphemus Returns, Odysseus plans to test the hospitality of the giant. However, when he is not pleased, he allows his own men to eat all the food in the cave. As Odysseus describes it, “So we lit a fire and made an offering, and helped ourselves to the cheese, and sat in the cave eating, waiting for him to return, shepherding his flocks.” (Homer 193-255). This is significant as it represents the lack of xenia that Odysseus and his men are showing to the giant. Ultimately, they are discovered by the giant and Odysseus comes up with a plan to get away. As displayed in the pottery, “Black-figured neck-amphora showing the blinding of Polyphemus by Odysseus and two companions, it is clear Odysseus injures the giant . Not only does his group not follow the rules of xenia, but they take it a step further and injure the “host” . Similarly, the men do not show respect to the villagers, and in turn, the villagers do not return the hospitality. Ultimately, both groups show bad examples of xenia.
In this myth, there are various activities that the villagers do while they celebrate a successful year in honour of the gods. For example, one of the activities is to perform a play. According to Module 6, Lecture 6, many tragedies and comedies were performed in honour towards Dionysus and various gods (Cundy 2021). In accordance with the myth created, I decided to include an event where villagers present a play that is dedicated to the gods in which they are honouring. This is significant to note as this performance is an important aspect of the myth. Additionally, the myth often refers to a sacred tree that the villagers protect as it has been said that this tree acts as an “agreement” with the villagers and the gods. As long as the villagers protect and respect the tree, the gods will provide them with a prosperous year. Unfortunately, for one villager, greed took over, ultimately leading to a punishment for the village. A punishment that has not been taken back for thousands and thousands of years where the sun only gets hotter each year.
Works Cited
“Black-figured neck-amphora showing the blinding of Polyphemus by Odysseus and two companions”, 520BC, Italy https://britishmuseum.tumblr.com/post/141433937112/ancient-greeks-explained-the-unknown-through-myths
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1866-0805-3
Cundy, Jody. “Tragedy.” Module 6, March 2021.
Doughty, Carol. “Phaeacians and Cyclopes: Overseas Settlement.” Oxford [England]; New York :
Oxford University Press, 2001. http://books.scholarsportal.info/viewdoc.html?id=1733 Accessed March 31 2021.
Euripides. 2005. Medea. Translated by G. Theodoridis. Bacchicstage. Hesiod. 2004.
Hesiod. 1993. Works and Days. 65-67. Translated by R. Lamberton, S. Lombardo. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Co.
Hesiod. 1993. Works and Days. 613-614. Translated by R. Lamberton, S. Lombardo.
Homer. 2004. Odyssey: Odysseus tells his tale: Polyphemus returns. 193-255 Translated by A. S. Kline. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Co.
The Homeric Hymns. To Demeter. 302-333. Translated by S. Trzaskoma, S. R. Smith, S. Brunet, T. G. Palaima. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Co.
Pappas, Stephanie. “What Is Global Warming?” LiveScience. Purch, February 20, 2020. https://www.livescience.com/37003-global-warming.html. Accessed March 10, 2021.