Homeric Hymns - To Demeter
This hymn describes how Hades stole Persephone and how Demeter grieved, punishing the earth, eventually making Zeus send Hermes to retrieve Persephone--but not before Hades tricked her into eating pomegranate seeds. Now Persephone must spend four months in the underworld every year.
This story seems fundamentally similar to the Christian/Jewish account of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. In this story, Eve (like Persephone) is tricked by the devil (Hades) into eating a fruit (like the pomegranate) and this action comes with horrible consequences. However, the pomegranate is seen in a positive light from a Jewish perspective: "Jewish tradition teaches that the pomegranate is a symbol for righteousness, because it is said to have 613 seeds which corresponds with the 613 mitzvot or commandments of the Torah" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#Pomegranates_and_symbolism).
On the surface, this myth seems to be a simple way of explaining why there are seasons, why winters are so harsh, and could even explain the reason for a famine (Demeter is angry). This myth has deeper levels that correspond with Antigone. Demeter is cheated by Zeus (a man and someone with more power) but she does not accept this fate. Like Antigone, she fights for what she wants, for what she thinks is right. It is clearly a man vs. woman conflict and could even be a individual vs. society--Zeus representing society because of the great amount of power he wields. It could also be living vs. dead because it is Demeter, who has power over living things like crops, against Hades, who is king of the underworld.
With this story, the pomegranate turns into a symbol of the cunning of man, the power of man, which woman could not stop. It represents that even though Demeter won, she did not win completely and will forever have to submit to Hades for a time each year. The pomegranate ultimately becomes woman's inherint frailty and man's brutish force in taking advantage of it.
This story seems fundamentally similar to the Christian/Jewish account of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. In this story, Eve (like Persephone) is tricked by the devil (Hades) into eating a fruit (like the pomegranate) and this action comes with horrible consequences. However, the pomegranate is seen in a positive light from a Jewish perspective: "Jewish tradition teaches that the pomegranate is a symbol for righteousness, because it is said to have 613 seeds which corresponds with the 613 mitzvot or commandments of the Torah" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate#Pomegranates_and_symbolism).
On the surface, this myth seems to be a simple way of explaining why there are seasons, why winters are so harsh, and could even explain the reason for a famine (Demeter is angry). This myth has deeper levels that correspond with Antigone. Demeter is cheated by Zeus (a man and someone with more power) but she does not accept this fate. Like Antigone, she fights for what she wants, for what she thinks is right. It is clearly a man vs. woman conflict and could even be a individual vs. society--Zeus representing society because of the great amount of power he wields. It could also be living vs. dead because it is Demeter, who has power over living things like crops, against Hades, who is king of the underworld.
With this story, the pomegranate turns into a symbol of the cunning of man, the power of man, which woman could not stop. It represents that even though Demeter won, she did not win completely and will forever have to submit to Hades for a time each year. The pomegranate ultimately becomes woman's inherint frailty and man's brutish force in taking advantage of it.
2 comments:
Astute observations. Along the lines of comparing Antigone to the homeric hymn of Demeter, I would adress the further similarities of Zeus and Creon. Both are kings in their own domains. Both dont feel that they have to answer to anyone. This kind of pride is exactly what gets Creon into trouble. His stubborness and defiance of gods, natural laws and the will of his people are his fatal flaw. Zeus on the other hand is a god, but even he is responsible for his actions and finds that they have consequences. He too must respect the rest of the universe, specifically the feminine half. This may be the problem with both of them, that they underestimate the power of the feminine forces in the universe, and are punnised. Everyone is responsible for their actions regardless of their status as king, or god...
Zeus. I can't help it! Has anyone been reading Ovid? Basically all he does is show up and rape virgins. His wife should castrate him. He's deffinetly worse than Creon.
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