Hometheus, the son of Poseidon and Greta; grew up as an orphan. His mother was impregnated by Poseidon but didn’t want her son to be involved with the lives of gods. She decided to take him and run away but Poseidon cursed Greta with not being able to see her son Hometheus ever again because of this betrayal. While growing up alone, Hometheus had no memory of his parents. Hometheus lived in the forest and one day, after turning 18, Hometheus was approached by a man. The man claimed to be the brother of Greta. The man told Hometheus that if he could complete two of the tasks to be given, he would tell Hometheus the truth about his life. The first was to stay underwater for one hour, and the second was to move water. After completing these tasks, Hometheus was told the truth about who he is and what happened to his mother. His uncle also gave him a knife that was capable of killing gods. Hearing all this led Hometheus to want revenge on his father. In the ocean, Poseidon is approached by a witch who tells him his child will soon replace him. Poseidon knew that the only child of his to attempt this would be Hometheus because he is the only offspring of his with the power to. Poseidon started to cover the world in earthquakes to try and make Hometheis come out of hiding but killed many innocent lives in the process with no remorse. Poseidon even requested help from Demeter god of the harvest and seasons to raise the temperature on earth so Hometheus would come to the water, but these selfish actions taken by Poseidon were enough to affect the world in a catastrophic way which led to the melting of the polar ice caps. When Poseidon finally found Hometheus, he sent a huge tsunami to vanquish Hometheus’s existence. Poseidon thought that he had achieved his goal but Hometheus survived with the powers obtained from his father but other humans were not as lucky leaving thousands dead and without loved ones. After seeing what his father had done, he decided to try and kill his father. He traveled around the world to find his father and stumbled upon Prometheus tied to a pillar. Prometheus explained to him why he is tied and convinces Hometheus to release him and in return, Prometheus tells Hometheus where to find Poseidon. Upon approaching his fathers' location, he dresses as a woman so that his father won’t recognize him. He sees his father and asks him for help and as Poseidon comes down to be the size of Hometheus to talk easily, Hometheus stabs his father with the knife that his uncle gave him back in the forest. As Hometheus takes his father's throne, he sees how his father has damaged the world. A devastated Demeter swears to continue raising the temperature on earth as punishment for killing Poseidon till the day Homethues dies.
ANALYSIS
The analysis of this myth can be compared to three original myths. Themes used from these are incorporated into the myth created above. The theme of global warming is shown. In order to better understand the different components that have been used, it is important to consider the origins. Firstly, the Odyssey by Homer is all about wanting life to go back to normal. As written in the myth, Odysseus spends ten years suffering just to get back home to Ithica (Homer, Odyssey 9-12). The myth is all about suffrage. This relates to the myth written above because just like the Odyssey, Greta was suffering. She had lost the basic right that every human deserves. Forbidden to see her son, Greta is destined to spend her entire life away from her son. All she wanted to do was save her son and keep him safe. This showcases the correlation between suffrage and being away from family. Incorporating Greta’s suffering into the myth was crucial because it shows why Homethus did what he did and it also displays the feelings of rage and anger that were developed upon hearing the truth from his uncle. Odysseus had to suffer away from his family and son. This is relevant because it shows the events that lead to global warming. If Greta had not been cursed then none of this would have taken place. The themes of familial bonds and suffering are also shown. Also, choosing these components for the myth were important because if Hometheus did not find out the truth about his mother’s suffrage then none of the calamities would have occurred.
Next, the creation of the cosmos by Hesoids is a myth that displays the origins of the world and also how everything around us came to be. This origin myth can be compared to the one created above because similar to the creation myth, this myth is about a father wanting to kill his child in order to keep his throne. Poseidon knew that Hometheus was his only son who could ever attempt to do this and after hearing the prophecy from the witch, he began to plot against his own son. This relates to the creation myth because Poseidon and Cronos heard a prophecy about one of his children killing him. In order to prevent this from happening he eats his children and continues eating his newborns too (Hes. Theog). However, in an attempt to stop this from constantly happening, his wife feeds him an infant-shaped rock. This action saves Zeus from dying. He later grows up and takes revenge by cutting off his father’s genitals (Hesiod, Works and days; and Theogony). This is similar to the myth created above as Hometheus decides to kill his father Poseidon. In addition to this, the theme of global warming is seen here. In all of Poseidon's efforts to stop his son from getting the throne, he asks other gods to help e.g., asking Demeter to increase the temperature of Earth. This demonstrates how global warming is majorly increasing. It also displays how this is done deliberately, despite having the power to stop it. All of this can relate to humans and reality because just like Poseidon it is in our power to stop global warming by changing up our everyday habits. Also, incorporating this was important because not only does it talk about creation but more importantly it is focused directly on the father-son relationship. It is also related to revenge and how despite being so closely related they grow to hate. Moreover, the lust for power is seen as well, and using this component shows the significance.
The twelve labors of Hercules is a myth that shows a man named Hercules having to do twelve tasks that were thought to be impossible to atone for the sins of murdering his family (Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2.4.8-2.7.7). This myth can be compared to the one I have created because Hometheus has to go through something that is somewhat similar to what Hercules had to do. Of Course, Hercules had to do tasks that were much more difficult and had to do many more, but similarities can be seen between the two. Hometheus was asked to complete two tasks that would be considered impossible to most people if not all, but he managed to pull it off because of the powers passed down to him from his father Poseidon. Hometheus and Hercules, both worked to complete the tasks because they wanted to achieve the prize in the end. For Hometheus, the prize was the knowledge of his life and the truth about his parents, and that to him was what he wanted most in this world. Hercules on the other hand wanted the prize at the end which for him was the atonement of the horrible sin he committed of murdering his family. Although both motifs are different from each other, they both did what they were told to do to get what they wanted. This is important as it shows why the completion of tasks was important. If Hometheus had not succeeded then he would have never found out about anything and none of this would have happened.
Furthermore, the myth of the Trojan war can also be used to analyze the myth created above. A trojan horse was used by soldiers in order to get inside the city of Troy (Homer, Odyssey 4). The act of deceiving can be seen. The myth created above can relate to this because just like the Trojan war, Homestheus deceives his father. This is achieved by dressing up as a woman and killing his father. The trickery displayed in the two shows how anything can be achieved if the right technique is used. The trojan war and the creation of the horse was extreme trickery however, it did help them win. Similarly, Hometheus was able to gain control in the end and defeat his father. He was in power and basically “won”. This shows how the two correlate. The choice to incorporate this was made because it shows how the act of deceiving came to be. The plan to dress up to kill his father was important to add to the myth because it shows how the whole killing came to be. It can be seen as the aftermath after the events of global warming, e.g., the tsunami or the extreme increase in the temperature of the Earth.
A myth by Hesiod called Works and days; and Theogony, is shown in the myth I have written. My myth called the story of Hometheus shows parts of Hesiod's myth. Homethues encounters Prometheus in the same state as Prometheus' original myth. He is tied to a pillar and every day an eagle comes and eats out his liver (Hesiod, Works and days; and Theogony). My myth does not go into much detail about Prometheus but it has him helping Homethues continue his story. Although Prometheus is only spoken of for a short time in my myth, he plays an important role in helping Hometheus find his father. The myth written by Hesiod was not changed too much except for one fact which was the involvement of Homethues. It was important to incorporate this because it shows how Hometheus found his father’s and without this component the myth would have been incomplete. Overall, these myths display the smaller themes of family relationships, betrayal, and deception. All of these themes later lead to the greater theme of global warming.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hesiod, Works and days; and Theogony. 195-235
Homer, Odyssey 4.
Homer, Odyssey 9-12.
Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2.4.8-2.7.7