Muses

It woudl be entirely improper and disrespectful to mention any of these great works without addressing first the very beings that inspired the authors thereof.

There were usually thogut to be 9 of them, each with their own unique name and specialty:


Calliope - Chief of the muses and muse of epic poetry
Clio - history
Erato - erotic poetry
Euterpe - lyric song
Melpomene - tragedy
Polyhymnia - sacred song
Terpsichore - dance
Thalia - comedy
Urania - astronomy

When wanting to compose or write, an artist would invoke the goodwill of the appropriate muse, such as:

"Tell me, O muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy. Many cities did he visit, and many were the nations with whose manners and customs he was acquainted; moreover he suffered much by sea while trying to save his own life and bring his men safely home; but do what he might he could not save his men, for they perished through their own sheer folly in eating the cattle of the Sun-god Hyperion; so the god prevented them from ever reaching home. Tell me, too, about all these things, O daughter of Jove, from whatsoever source you may know them. "

From the opening of Homer's The Odyssey

Hades and Persephone

The story of the rape of Persephone has always fascinated me. I know this sounds like a terrible thing to say, it is, after all, the story of th eabduction of an innocent youth and her imprisonment in the underworld by a man who is her husband as well as her uncle. But still, I think it is intriguing because of the personality of Hades himself. Cold, stern, severe, and at times even cruel, he is suddenly overtaken by the beauty of this young woman and suddenly all he desires is her, even though he knows the consequences may be severe. I find it valuable as a story of what lengths a man will go to for love (or at least lust). I love this drawing of the pair:

I love the way he is clutching her to him so fiercely and the distant stare on her face. THinking about thses two remind me somewhat of another dark historical couple:

Unlike Persephone, Anne Boleyn was not enitirely innocent in Henry's infatuation with her. However, Henry, like Hades, seduced her, brought her into his dark world, and ultimately she, liek Demeter and Persephone paid the price for his actions, being beheaded once he had grown tired of her. A dark man seducing a woman only to lead her to her doom, the same old story.

The Loss of Innocence

Reading the hymns to Demeter and Hermes made me realize something - most tragedy is built around the loss of innocence, and comedy seems to be built around the glorification of it. I am not a mother, but like everyone alive, I have one, and I can see her troubles at some of the things I and my siblings have done as we have grown up. I used to think it was us that she was angry with, but after takign a long glance at Demeter and her troubles with her daughter, I realized that it was not so much what we had done as what we did was implying - that we were growing older and by doing so losing childhood innocence.
Demeter mourns her child in much the same way. The young girl she raised and cherished is now lost to another forever and may only return on a strict time schedule. I have such incredible respect and sympathy for both Demeter and Persephone, although I'm sure they do not need it.