Myth:
Olympus, the birthplace of the Gods, was home to many powerful immortals such as Gaia, the goddess of the earth. Olympus is mainly ruled by the three brothers or grandchildren of Gaia and Uranus named Zeus (ruler of the heavens), Poseidon (ruler of the sea), and Hades (ruler of the underworld). One day, it came to Zeus's attention that Gaia’s health began to deteriorate and she was overcome with grave sickness. Gaia felt unwell as her role of mother earth was slowly worsening, which led her to feel weak and frail and having visions of the underworld. Much to his surprise, when Zeus informed his brother Poseidon about his worries he learned that Poseidon too had encountered a problem of his own.
The mortals had filled the sea with waste after drinking and dumping their trash and leftovers from festivals into the clean sea. The fish, sea nymphs, and creatures of the sea cried out to Poseidon for help to save their beloved home and stop the sickness and death that pollution brought. Poseidon, the ruler of the seas, saw his beautiful water being tarnished and trashed by heroes and men at sea as they ventured on their journeys or returned home for Nostos. Enraged by the actions of the sailors, he called out to Gaia to create beautiful winged maidens and virgin daughters living on islands to punish all sailors for their actions. These mythical beings were named Sirens. They lurked around the seas and sang beautiful songs that would bring sailors to their demise, forever luring sailors into their grasp by singing sweet songs about death and glory.
When the actions of the mortals came to Zeus’s attention, he instructed Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, to disguise herself as a woman and visit the mortals to determine how their treatment of earth has led to Gaia’s sickness. Upon arrival, Demeter sees the trash, thick clouds of smoke, and dirty water that are present on earth. In shock, she witnessed the mortals drinking, feasting, and wandering about as they slowly trashed the streets and destroyed the beauty of nature and food provided by Demeter herself. Demeter reported back to Zeus, informing him of the polluted nature of Earth and how many of the Gods temples were also surrounded with filth and waste in the dirty streets.
Enraged at the mortals' disrespect, Zeus decided to punish the mortals by taking away the privilege of the beautiful nature, food, and resources provided by the Gods. Since the mortals wasted food and polluted their crops, Zeus instructed Demeter to stop providing wealthy crops, grain, bread, and rich foods to the mortals leading to famine and suffering. Since the mortals had created thick smoke clouds that blocked out the sun, Zeus ordered Helios to further strengthen the heat and intensity of the sun beating down on earth. Poseidon’s sea had been polluted by the careless actions of the mortals. Angered by this, Poseidon made the sea levels rise and caused a storm which posed further danger to the sailors returning home. Zeus used the thick clouds of pollution and chemicals produced by the mortals to create acid rain that beat down on the earth. Demeter’s journey to the earth had revealed the worst and most wasteful use of the precious energy provided on earth by Gaia. This energy was used in the form of electricity, streaming into lights and wasteful technology which were given more attention and care than the Gods themselves. Overpowered with anger, Zeus created patterns of powerful thunderstorms that would strike down on earth temporarily destroying this electrical energy, to remind the mortals of simpler times. Gaia’s health continued to decline slowly, dying of the sickness that the mortals brought upon her as her condition worsened with every dying day.
Analysis:
This aetiological myth illustrated the origin and narrative of global warming on Earth. The story starts with an introduction to Gaia who is the mother of earth and is the eldest of all the beings (Hom. Hymn Gaea). Gaia is used as a personification of Earth and her sickness is used to represent how global warming has impacted the earth and the environment. In this myth, the mortals’ actions and irresponsibility lead to the pollution and effects of global warming on the planet. The consequences and side effects of the pollution, along with the irresponsibility of the mortals and their actions, shown through changes in the environment, were caused by the upset Gods and nature nymphs.
In the myth, Gaia has been experiencing a sickness that is slowly causing her health to decline. Gaia’s sickness is used to represent how Earth and the environment are slowly being damaged and dying with every passing day. When looking at the myth without the personification, the Earth is, in essence, sick and slowly plummeting to its demise because of global warming. The myth also mentions that Gaia is having visions of the underworld. The underworld contains all things dead and dark and is ruled by Hades who bridge the gap between life and the afterlife (Hes. Theog. 820). In my myth, Gaia is presented with visions of this underworld while she is sick. This is used to represent how the Earth could die because of the effects of global warming. This idea is presented as visions because as a society we can predict the drastic effects that the Earth’s conditions have and are aware that if global warming worsens, one day the Earth will no longer be. The section of my myth that talks about Demeter’s actions is inspired by the myth in which Demeter’s daughter, Persephone, is taken to the underworld against her will (Ps.- Apollod. Bibl. 29-33). Demeter was upset at the Gods when Persephone was taken away and disguised herself as a woman to visit one of her temples (Ps.- Apollod. Bibl. 29-33). At this time, she also refused to help produce wealthy crops and give agricultural benefits to the mortals because of her anger regarding the loss of her daughter (Ps.- Apollod. Bibl. 29-33). This was used within my myth to represent how Zeus got Demeter to present herself as a mortal woman so they could see if the mortals were responsible for Gaia’s sickness and deterioration. They learned that the mortals had been feasting and polluting the environment with their festivals and parties. Zeus got Demeter to stop producing healthy crops of grain and food for the mortals in hopes to punish them for their destructive behaviour.
My myth discussed Poseidon’s anger towards the mortals for polluting the sea and the consequences that followed. The sea creatures and nymphs cry out to Poseidon for help when their home becomes polluted. This was used to represent how modern-day fishermen and companies are involved in unethical practices such as overfishing, oil dumping, and water pollution which leads to decline and presents danger for marine species. The myth also adds that the mortals have been trashing the sea after their festivals. This can also be related to how water bodies and beaches are often polluted with wrappers, plastic, glass, and more trash after humans have finished using them. Xenia is a common theme here, as it shows how the mortals treat the earth, as guests on the planet. Mortals in the myth do not display manners and respect towards the earth and are constantly seen having festivals and causing pollution and damage to the earth which is personified by Gaia’s sickness. This relates to global warming because everyone should be acting as guests on earth instead of behaving as selfish individuals that own the planet and will not have to suffer the consequences of polluting it. In a way, Gaia is providing a home to mortals and they repay her by trashing the earth until it is inhabitable which reflects on mortals' values and Xenia. In the myth, when the sea creatures cry out for help and Poseidon answers, it can be compared to when he answers his son Polyphemus’s prayers after he has been attacked by Odysseus in the Odyssey. Polyphemus prays to Poseidon saying that if he is his father then he will grant him the wish that Odysseus never returns home or returns home in misery (Hom. Od. 9, 187-542). His prayers are answered and Poseidon kills all of Odysseus's men and destroys his nostos and hubris. This reflects on Poseidon’s character as he is helpful to others, but is also very quick to unleash his wrath and punish those that do him wrong. This is evident in my myth when Poseidon asks Gaia to create the Sirens in order to punish sailors. The Sirens are the winged sea nymphs in the Odyssey that can bewitch sailors and men at sea who are drawn to their music, eventually killing them and leaving their corpses in meadows (Hom. Od. 12, 39). The myth provides an origin story for the Sirens and displays Poseidon’s vengeful and furious nature.
Each God or character that was chosen for my myth has a specific background story or role which correlated to the narrative and specific aspects of the effects of global warming. The main characters that I chose also correlate to areas in the environment where side effects of global warming are most visible. Characters such as: Zeus (sky), Poseidon (sea), Demeter (agriculture/food/famine) and Helios (sun/heat). Zeus was chosen to be in my myth because he is the ruler of the sky/heavens and is responsible for things like weather, law, order, destiny, and fate (Hom. Hymn 23 Cron.). Zeus has a strong presence in many narratives and is also referred to as the king of all Gods (Hom. Hymn 23 Cron.). His role in this myth was as a leader and protector of the immortals and as someone who serves justice. Zeus also played out his role as a sky god in my myth when he causes acid rain and thunderstorms to limit the use of electricity. Helios was chosen to be in my myth because he is the God of the sun (Hom. Od. 12, 168). The sun has a huge impact on global warming as the sun’s presence and heat is the main driving factor for many of the polar ice caps melting, the water level rising, and the changes in the weather and atmosphere. Therefore, Helios was chosen to represent the increased heat and presence of the sun on earth as a punishment for the pollution that mortals caused.
In conclusion, the myth that I created helped provide an origin story for the side-effects that we witness as a result of global warming. In this myth, the mortals' actions were to blame as they continued to pollute the earth and harm Gaia with their selfish and destructive actions. Zeus took charge and punished the mortals for their actions by taking away the beauty and care that mother nature and the nature nymphs provide for them. By showing the mortals the consequences of their actions, the Gods hoped that the mortals may develop an understanding of the severity of the damage being done to planet Earth and put their best foot forward to fix it.
References:
Euripides, Helen.The Bacchae, Translation by Vellacott, P. The Penguin Classics, London: Penguin Books, pp. 167.
Homer, Odyssey. 9,Translation by Shewring, W. Oxford University Press, pp.167.
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca. 1, Translated by Sir J. G. Frazer (1921 Loeb), pp.29-33.
Hesiod, Homeric Hymns. Loeb Classical Library Vol 57, Translation by Evelyn-White, H. G.
Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Hesiod, Theogony. Loeb Classical Library Vol 57, Translation by Evelyn-White, H. G.
Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, pp.820.
Hesiod, Homeric Hymns. 23, Loeb Classical Library Vol 57, Translation by Evelyn-White, H. G.
Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Homer, Odyssey. 12. Translation by Shewring, W. Oxford University Press, pp.168.
Homer, Odyssey. 12. Translation by Shewring, W. Oxford University Press, pp. 39.
Homer, Odyssey. 9. Translation by Shewring, W. Oxford University Press, pp.187-542.