The Birth of Global Warming
A great deal of time had passed since The Five Ages, and the humans have dealt amongst themselves for centuries, free of any interference from the Gods in Olympus. Humans had made exceptional advances with technology during this time, demonstrating their great potential for knowledge; the creation of the lightbulb and the automobile are perfect examples for this. Upon discovering the humans' technological advancements, Zeus found a renewed interest in the humans, believing it was time for a new golden age. And so the God of Thunder, Zeus, gathered the God of the Sea, Poseidon, telling them about how far humanity had evolved, displaying to them impressive human-made creations in all their glory—impressed, Poseidon to help Zeus with his goal. Both Gods provided a renewable energy source dictated by their natural powers: Zeus had provided energy in the form of raw electricity, and Poseidon used the sea as a channel to harness its power for energy. And for a time, humans had prospered with a seemingly unlimited supply of energy; the world had appeared as if it was returning to the original Golden Age.
Some time had passed, and Apollo had discovered Zeus' plans with the humans. He had felt as if something were to go wrong; if the humans descended from grace during The Five Ages, what would stop them from doing the same in the present? Concerned for the future, Apollo consulted his Oracle to look into the future, seeing the end result of Zeus and Poseidon's partnership with humankind. It was then revealed that humans would eventually utilize the energy for matters of war and violence. With this newfound knowledge, Apollo confronted Zeus with this knowledge, only to be dismissed by him. Over the course of the next few weeks, humanity had been rapidly developing weapons with the intent to kill, and a war known as the Great War had begun. The Great War was unlike any other war before it; countries from across the world participated. With millions of deaths and counting, Zeus came to the realization that Apollo was correct. He had seen once again that people's fundamental problem was violence and greed, problems he had witnessed before during the early Iron Age. Zeus had forgotten his long-standing rule of avoiding human activity and has bred a new age of war. Poseidon was ordered to withdraw at once with Zeus, and the humans were to dealt amongst themselves once again. Being the selfish humans they were, Zeus and Poseidon's efforts had all been forgotten once they began to use an alternative energy source: fossil fuels, which resulted in various environmental problems, a major one being climate change. It was then that Zeus vowed not to interfere with humans once again, leaving them to their evils and shame.
Myth Analysis
"The story of humankind and our relationship to the earth may be seem as a continuing adventure or a tragedy shrouded in mystery. The choice is ours" (Al Gore). One of the most significant problems in modern times is global warming. In the myth titled The Birth of Global Warming, mythological characters such as Zeus, Poseidon, and Apollo are utilized to intensify the humans' ultimate hamartia. Parallels drawn with the Five Ages' ancient story are drawn to demonstrate the commonality and discrepancies between the two times. Upon a moment of reflection, characters are presented with a moment to confront the consequences of their decisions, realizing the effects to the fullest extent. A combination of these aspects sheds a darker and more tragic light on the birth of global warming.
The mythological characters of Zeus, Poseidon, and Apollo are introduced to allow for the presence of a higher power in the mythological story. With these gods' additions, it is quite a bit of an expectation for humans to improve in more ways than one. In the myth, Zeus breaks his rule of non-intervention throughout the history of humanity as he becomes so impressed by the technological advances and knowledge humans had gained since he had last interfered in their affairs. His character is changed quite a bit from his character as seen in Homer’s Iliad, which wrote: “He avoided the Assembly where men win renown, and kept from battle, eating his heart out where he was, longing for the noise of battle” (Homer, Iliad 489-491). Instead in this myth, Zeus is more than willing to aid the humans with their needs. This relates back to a common theme in Greek mythology: hubris. On one hand, Zeus became increasingly proud of humans and their accomplishments. On the other hand, humans had become overconfident and downright greedy and violent due to the approval of higher beings. When the people are rewarded with the gifts of energy powered by Zeus' lightning bolt and Poseidon's control of the sea, they have the potential to make a great change in the world. But ultimately as in all Greek myths, the folly of hubris makes itself known. Unfortunately, deep down, negative traits such as greed, envy, and general evil had never left the humans. But ultimately as in all Greek myths, the folly of hubris makes itself known. A war known as The Great War had subject the earth to the horror and desolation of war, unmatched by any previous one. Weapons were being made to assist in the killings of others, driven by the overwhelming hubris of the humans. Despite all the faith that a god had in them, they were simply unable to resist their natural urges, displaying the reasoning behind of which Zeus gave up on humanity so long ago. A theme of good vs evil also appears, seeing how evil never goes unpunished in Greek mythology. Zeus does not try to kill all evil humans. Instead, a fitting punishment is given: the humans are left as they are, for Zeus knows that the humans created their own hell on earth.
A parallel in the myth is clearly evident in the ancient mythological story of The Five Ages. The humans are written to be as similar to those in the Iron Age as possible. When compared and contrasted with the Golden Age, a clear foil can be seen between the two, reiterating the differences in the quality of the people themselves and how their differences accentuate the character traits of their own. In Hesiod's Works and Days, he describes the Golden Age as a time of great justice, happiness, and prosperity, including lines such as "And the good times rolled. And when they died / It was like sleep just ravelled them up / They had everything good" (Hesiod, Works and Days 136-138). Compared to the myth The Birth of Global Warming, very dark and depressive diction is used, including words such as death and greed. In addition, the Golden Age is named after one of the most sought-after and valuable metals itself. The word gold is associated with everything that is the best; the gold medal is often awarded to the number one contender. The sheer difference between the two serves to exemplifies how graceful and beautiful the Golden Age was and how far humans have fallen from a once-great period of time. On a tangent, the Iron Age is also a remarkable parallel with the time in the myth. Hesiod describes the Iron Age as a time of great evil, an excerpt stating, "Some good-for nothing will hurt a decent man/ Slander him, and swear an oath on top of it/ Envy will be everybody's constant companion" (Hesiod, Works and Days 225-228). Compared to times of the Great War, the two seem absolutely indistinguishable, demonstrating that the two are one in the same. The comparisons between The Five Ages and the early twentieth century also perfectly mirror the duality of that time. The early twentieth century was riddled with war and violence, but at the same time was a time of innovation. Ultimately, the humans punishment is quite similar to the ending lines of The Five Ages. “And then up to Olympos from the wide-pathed Earth, lovely apparitions wrapped in white veils, off to join the Immortals, abandoning humans”. (Hesiod, Works and Days 229-233). Zeus and Apollo both leave the humans to bicker amongst themselves while they leave to join the other immortals. With the comparisons with The Five Ages, the myth's time period demonstrates that humans have improved very little in terms of morals since the Iron Age.
In the myth, Apollo makes use of his Oracle to view the future. With the information, he goes to warn Zeus of the dangerous future they are heading into. Zeus, being the prideful god that he is, dismissed Apollo's warning. As some time passes, the humans are not what they seem they were; traits of violence and jealousy are revealed, proving Apollo's prophecy to be true. Zeus realizes his mistake and immediately stops any aid the gods are giving humanity, going back to the rule he had adhered to for so long. Zeus' lapse of judgment proves that he is not infallible, and in a certain way, humanizes him to a certain degree. His ability to accept his mistakes and act upon them also further reinforces the fact that he is a good ruler, one capable of justice and fairness. With traits such as these, this adaptation of Zeus remains relatively similar to those seen in ancient sources. On the other hand, Apollo also remains very similar to his counterpart in ancient sources. He uses his Oracle, which is able to tell the future without fail, which is present in this myth. A strained relationship between Zeus and Apollo is also evident. Zeus has great difficulty trusting Apollo's warnings, born from the fact that Apollo had betrayed Zeus in the past. By staying true to the original ancient source material, there is a better sense of how gods would fit in during the last century in the myth.
In the myth The Birth of Global Warming, powerful mythological characters are utilized in order to intensify the humans' hamartia, demonstrated as they disappoint Zeus' faith in them. A comparison is drawn with The Five Ages to show how far people have fallen compared to the Golden Age. To keep a better consistency of how gods would be in the last century, they remain relatively unchanged compared to ancient sources. With these three elements, it makes for a more complete myth with an elevated, darker purpose.
Works Cited
Hesiod. 1954. “Works and Days” in Anthology of classical myth: primary sources in translation, S.M. Trzaskoma, R.S. Smith, and S. Brunet (eds.). Translated by S.M. Trzaskoma, R.S. Smith, and S. Brunet. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company.
Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Robert Fagles, Penguin Books, 1998.
Herodotus, , and Sélincourt A. De. Herodotus: The Histories. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1954. Print.
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