Myth
Canadians are tough, especially when it comes to bearing the incredibly cold temperatures and frigid winds that we may face during the winter. However, we haven't had to use these strengths, as this past winter was extremely mild. Just this week, temperatures reached 7 degrees, despite the fact that this time of the year is usually around -5 to -10 degrees. The question is, what has caused this change? It surely did not happen overnight, as average temperatures have been on the rise for decades now, but what is responsible for this increase? Calores, daughter of the Mighty Zeus and mortal, Anna Clemins. Calores was raised primarily by her mother, but was aware of her heritage, and what she was capable of. When Calores was younger, and was upset, frustrated, or sad, heat would begin to radiate from her skin. If her emotions got too out of hand, the heat would become so intense, that it would radiate from all around her, resembling a heat wave. She had burned many people and many homes, including her own (on multiple occasions), and felt isolated and alone. However, this changed when she met a young man named Kleftis. Calores fell in love with Kleftis, and finally felt like she belonged to something, someone.
Calores and Kleftis settled down together, and Calores told him about her past. She explained what she was capable of, and explained why she had virtually not aged since they met. Kleftis accepted her for all that she was, and they got married. She became pregnant, and was extremely happy to be having a family of her own. Unfortunately, this all went South, when she caught Kleftis in bed with another woman. She began to feel the rage, the heat, return to her body, as it had once consumed her as a child. Kleftis tried to explain that he was afraid of Calores leaving him when he began to get old and weak, and she would still be young and beautiful. This other woman was simply a “backup” and the person he truly loved, was Calores. It was too late though, because the heat began to grow inside of Calores, and an enormous heat wave expelled from her body, destroying any and all forms of life for miles and miles. When Calores woke up, and saw not only Kleftis’s dead body, but felt that the little life that once was inside of her, gone, she was in complete agony. All she wanted was to have a family of her own, and that was now gone. She blamed Kleftis, and vowed that she would scour Earth and ensure that any unfaithful man would suffer the same fate that Keftis did. She would catch these men, and burn them with an immensely strong and large heat wave. Throughout the centuries, Calores has stuck to her vow, but cheating has only increased due to technology and social media. This increase in unfaithful men has meant that more heat waves are being expelled from Calores, and slowly, Earth's temperature has been increasing. Recently Aeschylus’s Eumenides these increases have been larger, as Earth’s atmosphere is struggling to contain all of the extra heat being created by Calores.
Analysis
The purpose of this myth was to create a phenomenon that is responsible for global warming. My myth gives responsibility to Calores, which is derived from the Latin word, Calor, which means heat. According to the ancient Greek text Carm, written by Horace, Zeus was able to control the physical elements of weather including, but not limited to the heat, cold, rain, wind, and snow (Horace, Carm 1. 1-25). As Calores is the daughter of Zeus, she inherited some of these traits, but they present differently in her. For Calores, she is able to generate an extremely concentrated source of heat within herself, which, if not controlled, can be extremely lethal, powerful, and dangerous. We can further see how the concept of emotional distress can affect the climate by looking at Poseidon. According to the Kinêtêr, written by Enosichthôn, Poseidon was known, in his anger, to cause the Earth to shake (Enosichthôn, Kinêtêr gas). As the Earth shook below him, powerful waves were created, and would flood inland. We now know these to be Tsunamis, created by earthquakes, which are extremely dangerous and damaging wherever they hit. Calores, like her uncle, has the ability to affect the weather immensely, through her anger, as she contributes to the increasing amount of heat that is trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere.
I would next like to use various ancient sources to explain the inspiration behind the story of Calores. The main character that inspired Calores, was Medusa. The first concept of my story which relates to the Origins of Medusa, is an affair. According to Hesiod's Theogony, Poseidon seduced Medusa, and slept with her (Hesiod, Theogony 270-280). The concept of affairs is a very popular trope in not only ancient Greek mythology, but also modern forms of entertainment, which is why I wanted that to be a central theme in my narrative. To ensure that I did not make Calores too similar to Medusa, I made sure that she was the one that was cheated on, unlike Medusa, who was the ‘homewrecker’ in this scenario, as Poseidon was with Athena (Hesiod, Theogony 275-28). Further, the fact that Calores was cheated on, helps fuel the narrative of her vengeance, as she knows how it feels.
Next, Clalores relates to Medusa because both of them felt alienated from society. To understand why Medusa was outcast from society, I would like to use a depiction of her, taken from Aeschylus’s Eumenides. In this text, Medusa is described as looking atrocious. She was described as looking the opposite of an angel: no wings, dark in appearance, cursed eyes, and disgusting coverings (Aesch, Eumen 2. 50-55). All of these characteristics made Medusa, and other Gorgons, extremely undesirable. In Calores’s case, she was physically beautiful, as Medusa once was, but it was her uncontrollable heat. Medusa, in a sense, had an advantage that Calores did not. She was among the Gods, Goddesses, and other creatures. She did not stand out for the same reasons that Calores did, as she wasn't surrounded by mortals. Calores, being a Demi-goddess, among humans on Earth, made her stick out, and made it difficult for her to fit in, be loved, or accepted.
I would next like to elaborate on Calores’ connection to her Paternal Uncle, Poseidon, as they both had immense effects on the Earth, specifically climate and weather. Using Aeschylus’s ‘Prometheus Bound’, to provide some examples of Poseidon’s effect on earth, especially when caused by his anger. The narrative is describing the lack of humility that Zeus has, and that sure enough, there will be a man who can bring him down. Aeschylus then begins describing a strength so mighty, that it can even destroy Zeus, “A prodigy irresistible, even one who shall discover a flame mightier than the lighting and a deafening crash to roar the thunder; a prodigy who shall shiver the trident, Poseidon’s spear, that score of the sea and shaker of the land” (Aesh, PB. 920-926). From this narrative we can learn that the conflict between Poseidon, and his brother Zeus, was one factor that fielded Poseidon’s anger enough to shake the Earth, relating to Calores’s ability to generate heat, ultimately building it up in the atmosphere. Further, using Pausanias ‘Description of Greece’, we can see more of Poseidon's powers, especially in relation to retribution, like Calores. The text describes a place known as Helice. It was a holy place where Poseidon was worshipped and loved. The Achaeans invaded Helice, and killed the people of the land. This infuriated Poseidon, as he also loved the people of Helice. As punishment, he caused an intense earthquake, which split the land and swallowed the Achaeans who killed the people of Helice (Paus, Description of Greece, 7. 5-6). As we can see, Poseidon used his power to get revenge on people who took away people he loved. This relates to Calores, as she too uses her abilities to get revenge on her lover, who took away her dreams.
Lastly, I want to explain why her quest was necessary to explain Global Warming. I knew her powers would have to be emitted long-term, in bursts, otherwise it wouldn't make sense that temperatures on Earth were gradually increasing. The logic behind her quest is that she knows the pain of being cheated on, and she is getting revenge for any other woman who is experiencing the same thing. Because she is a Demi-God, she has the strength, endurance, and lifespan to travel all around the Earth to catch adulterers. Unfortunately, cheating is extremely common, so everywhere she travels, she is able to find many men, who will soon be her victims. Picture an atomic bomb. There is the spherical shape that is coming around the center of the explosion. That is what happens when Calores emits the heat, but on a smaller scale. The heat does not just disappear, but instead travels up to the atmosphere, which explains Global Warming. This has become a more pressing issue, as social media, phones, chat, and email, have made cheating much more easy, and therefore much more common. Calores has an abundant amount of men to catch, which means more heat being emitted from her, which is why Global Warming is a much more serious and prevalent issue now than it was before.
Bibliography
Horace, Carm 1. 1-25
Enosichthôn, Kinêtêr gas
Hesiod, Theogony 270-280
Aeschylus, Eumenides 2. 50-55
Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 1. 908-926
Pausanias, Description of Greece 24. 5-8
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