Long ago, on the island of Ortygia, there lived a man by the name of Othere. Growing up as the child of hunters he was knowledgeable in the ways of the woods. But growing up in this life is not an easy one. There were many times when he saw the struggles his parents endured for the sake of survival. When there was not enough food for everyone, his parents would not eat. When there was not enough wood for the fire, his parents would go out into the cold in search for more. He saw these hardships and vowed to himself to never allow him or his family to be desperate again. Years later, Othere reached adulthood. His parents had taught him all they could and now it was time for him to set out on his own. As the months passed, Othere had found a quiet field with a beautiful, lush forest that bordered the meadow. He began gathering supplies to build his new steading and food and water to ensure his survival. As each tree fell to his axe and each animal succumbed to his arrows his stock of supplies grew larger. But, the thoughts and fears of becoming that scared little boy took hold of Othere and he continued to chop and hunt relentlessly. When he reached the centre of the forest, Othere noticed something. A magnificent cypress tree, larger and more beautiful than any he had ever seen. From it he felt some sort of radiant energy. As the blade of the axe touched the trunk, a powerful female voice rang out as if he was surrounded by a choir. “Othere, your fears have blinded you and filled you with greed. This sacred wood may provide for you, but you must also respect it’s needs.”. This voice resonated with Othere for a moment, but his hubris took control and he felled the tree for himself. A flash of light beamed down from the heavens and a beautiful woman, donning a bow and arrow appeared. Othere instinctively kneeled and lowered his head. It was the Goddess Artemis.
“You have acted out against the wood, going as far as to destroy mine and Apollo’s sacred Cypress. For this you must be punished! You, nor anybody else will ever commit such misdeeds in the woods again!”
Another flash of light blinded Othere, and as it faded, he looked out at the wood he had found but it was no longer lush and green. It was sparse and dying and few animals were to be seen. Heat from the sun caused the grass to die and could no longer support the grazing animals. He quickly climbed the tallest hill he could find and looked out over the whole island of Ortygia and beyond and saw nothing but the same dead landscape as far as he could see. Othere wept for his hubris and greed had killed the environment that he cherished so deeply and it would never recover.
Analysis
For my aetiological myth assignment, I chose to cover the theme of Global Warming and explain how it came to be in our world. Due to the undeniable link between Global Warming and the recent mistreatment of the environment we live in, I felt that the composition was best suited to be based off that mistreatment, specifically the clear cutting of important forested areas such as the Amazon Rainforest. To achieve this, I brought in the goddess Artemis and the different aspects that surround her as she is the goddess of the wilderness as well as wild animals. Along with utilizing Artemis to represent the forest and environment, I made use of the theme of Hubris as well. In CLAA06 we have discussed hubris as a major theme in mythology and how the hubris of characters causes them to make regrettable decisions that often have dire consequences. Lastly, I utilized a similar style of punishment for humans that was used in the myth of Pandora’s Box as often the gods punish many for the actions of one and, in a way, Global Warming is a punishment on humans that was brought on by the actions of a very small percentage of the population. Additionally, Artemis has a history of punishing those who disregard her will as seen in Apollodorus’ Epitome and by implementing a similar disregard for her divine power, her anger and punishment imposed is justified. By engaging with these three major aspects of mythology, I was able to craft an aetiological recount of the creation of Global Warming that stayed true to Greek Mythology while engaging with a very modern and complex phenomenon.
First, the goddess Artemis was the most important character to have represented in my myth as she is widely known as the goddess of the hunt, wild animals and vegetation. In Homer’s Iliad he refers to her as “Artemis of the wilderness (agrotera), lady of wild beasts (potnia theron)” (Homer, Iliad 21.470) as well as Seneca, in Hercules Furens stating “O [Artemis] queen of the groves” (Seneca, Hercules Furens 406). These excerpts discussing Artemis from classical literature clearly show the connection between the goddess and the environment as well as animals that roam freely in the wild. Having her represent the environment in my composition was an obvious choice. Along with her embodiment of the environment, I wanted there to be a significant action taken against her to “push her over the edge”. This is where I implemented the Cypress tree as in Strabo’s Geography he mentions “Ortygia, which is a magnificent grove of all kinds of trees, of the cypress most of all. It is traversed by the Kenchrios (Cenchrius) River, where Leto is said to have bathed herself after her travail. For here is the mythical scene of the birth, and of the nurse Ortygia, and of the holy place where the birth took place.” (Strabo, Geography 14. 1. 20). This quote referencing Leto’s birth of Artemis and Apollo mentions both the island of Ortygia which I used as the setting for my myth as well as mentioning the Cypress tree which is sacred to Apollo and Artemis due to their proximity during birth.
Second, the theme of hubris in Greek mythology is an extremely important one. Taking a central role in Homer’s Odyssey, Agamemnon’s hubris is his eventual undoing as he believes that he can change and be the master of his own fate. As well, Aeschylus states that “arrogance (hybris) is truly the child of impiety” (Aeschylus, Eumenides 532). Impiety being the act of ignoring or not showing reverence for gods or a god, Aeschylus explains how hubris, or arrogance, is a direct result of impiety and I tried to represent that in the myth by having Othere chop the Cypress tree against Artemis’ wishes. By ignoring the goddess and following through with his own wishes he embodies the arrogant hubris that is born out of his impiety shown to Artemis. It is also stated by Pindar that “Hybris (Insolence) is the ruin of cities” (Pindar, Fragment 2). This is something that I tried to embody in the myth as well when it came to the punishment to Othere. Much like how Pindar says hubris ruins entire cities, Othere’s hubris in my myth brings ruin to the entire island of Ortygia through global warming. Hesiod also mentions hubris in Works and Days stating “Hybris is bad for a poor man. Even the prosperous cannot easily bear its burden, but is weighed down under it when he has fallen into delusion.” (Hesiod, Works and Days 214). This line was a major influence on the character Othere and my reasoning for mentioning his poor upbringing as Hesiod states that hubris is dangerous for poor men as not even a wealthy man can handle the burden it brings, and by making Othere poor he is more susceptible to hubris.
Lastly, the punishment of mankind for Othere’s actions was something that I was unsure about while crafting my narrative until I came across the myths of Pandora’s Box in Works and Days and Agamemnon in Epitome. In Hesiod’s Works and Days, he states “[Pandora the first woman created by the gods], the Father sent [Hermes] . . . to take it to Epimetheus as a gift. And Epimetheus did not think on what Prometheus had said to him, bidding him never take a gift of Olympian Zeus, but to send it back for fear it might prove to be something harmful to men. But he took the gift, and afterwards, when the evil thing was already his, he understood” (Hesiod, Works and Days 42). This quote describes the punishment for all of mankind through Pandora and her jar. Due to Prometheus stealing fire from Zeus and giving it to humans, Zeus punishes the world by unleashing misery through Pandora. I used this as the basis for how Artemis would punish the world through Global Warming as this myth shows how the actions of one person can have far reaching consequences. Alongside the Pandora myth, Apollodorus’ Epitome shows the wrath that Artemis brings upon those who go against her wishes. It states “that they could not sail unless the fairest of Agamemnon's daughters were presented as a sacrifice to Artemis; for the goddess was angry with Agamemnon, both because, on shooting a deer, he had said, ‘Artemis herself could not (do it better)’ and because Atreus had not sacrificed to her the golden lamb” (Apollodorus, Epitome 3. 21). This passage displays the anger of Artemis and how she harshly punishes those who disrespect her divine will, much like how Othere was harshly punished for his actions against her Cypress tree. By engaging with the Pandora myth as well as the Agamemnon myth, I was able to craft a punishment for Othere that showcases both the temper of Artemis when she is clearly disrespected as well as the far-reaching consequences that come with actions against the gods.
To conclude, by engaging with the character Artemis and the aspects surrounding her in mythology, the theme of hubris and how it affects the minds of characters in stories as well as the framework for punishment in Greek mythology I was able to craft a myth that covers a very modern and complex topic while staying true to the workings of ancient mythology that we have discussed in CLAA06. Utilizing Artemis and her embodiment of nature gave me the basis for my myth, engaging with the theme of hubris gave me the climactic moment much like other mythological tales and utilizing the anger that Artemis displays when wronged as well as the far-reaching consequences that the gods impose on the world gave the result and an avenue to introduce Global Warming into the myth.
Bibliography
Aeschylus. The Eumenides. 532. Translation by Vellacott, P. The Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Books.
Apollodorus. The Library Epitome. 3. 21. Translation by Aldrich, Keith. Lawrence, Kansas: Coronado Press, 1975.
Hesiod, Works and Days. 42, 214. Translation by Evelyn-White, H. G. Loeb Classical Library Vol 57. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Homer. The Iliad. 21. 470. Translation by Lattimore, R. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Pindar. Odes including Principal Fragments. 2. Translation by Sandys, J. Loeb Classical Library Vol 56. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press
Seneca. Hercules Furens. 406. Translated by Miller, Frank Justus. Loeb Classical Library Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1917.
Strabo. Geography. 14. 1. 20. Translation by Jones, Horace J. Loeb Classical Library, 6 Volumes. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
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