Thats Good Dharma!

Dharma is a very interesting concept because of the deeds you do causing karma. Further these depend on your caste and actions according to your caste. It goes beyond what is typically thought of as karma but this is everything in hinduism and fulfilling dharma is key to living a good life.

In Viswarmithra a man changes the world and teaches others for the good of it to stop creatures from harming the holy ground. If the people or himself failed in stopping these beings then there would be karma on them for their failure in the actions.

Rama the son of King Dasharatha was considered perfect in his culture. He is in several stories along with his wife Sita for their roles in dharma throughout. Sita’s dharma is to stay by her husbands side and that is her fulfillment. She continues to stay with him throughout his adventures and even his banishment.

Dharma is a really interesting concept to me because of the role that is kind of forced on to the people as their role in life. Out of this role if they follow it for the good of it instead of to please the big brother then they will have good karma.

I volunteer!!

Katniss Everdeen was almost out of the age range to be called for the Hunger Games on reaping day. She had for years put her name into the bowl additional times so that her family would have enough food and she would often hunt to help provide also. This was her normal life although nothing too spectacular, it was still better than what it could be. This all changed when her sister got her name called at the reaping which no one could have guessed was going to happen. Katniss volunteered for the hunger games and thus accepted the call to adventure.

Her mother expressed the regret for this by being sad but Katniss told her mother that she had to be there for Prim. On the way to the Capitol, Katniss met Haymitch Abernathy who would teach her and Peeta how to survive in the games which of course is getting people to like you. Haymitch does his best to prepare them as well as Katniss putting on a good show for the judges but eventually she must cross the threshold. This occurs when the games start and she is lifted into the arena and gets a look at all the other kids from around Panem who are only thinking about survival.

Katniss experiences enemies almost instantly when one of the premier kids in the games almost kills her with throwing knives. She is tracked down by the Careers after this and faces challenges to get away from them. Eventually she gets stung by a tracker jacker which disorients her but then she is covered with leaves and sticks by Rue a girl who is very similar to her sister Prim. With her new ally, Katniss decides it is time to attack the stockpile the Careers have made and blows up all the supplies. One comes after them however and hits Rue with a spear which is the ordeal of this story. Katniss sings Rue a lullaby to lull her into the eternal sleep. She meets up with Peeta once there was an announcement that they could both win together and kill the other tributes. They eventually won the games although controversially and were able to go back home.

The climax occurred in the arena when Katniss had to fight off Mutant dogs and Cato to win and they were rewarded with a house and food for the rest of their lives (Elixir because everyone was starving. Get it? HUNGER Games?) That was the end of the hero’s journey for Katniss, at least for this book!

Hero’s Journey

Campbell states the twelve steps of the Hero’s journey as a basic structure that must be followed. It begins with the hero’s ordinary world that has something call them into an adventure situation. In most cases they refuse the call until they meet a mentor. The hero must then cross a threshold and face several tests and meet enemies as well as some new friends. The hero must prepare for an approach into the biggest peril of the journey where there is loads of crisis. He faces “death” but eventually prevails and must then get back into the ordinary world. The hero must then become resurrected through some sort of last challenge and return using elixir.

Theseus removed a sword and thus began his journey. He wanted to go to Athens to claim his prize so he set out and crossed the threshold. He came up against club man and passed one of the many tests that would await him. Once he reached Athens many thought he couldn’t be trusted but Aegeus recognized his sword. Eventually Theseus had to be rescued from Hades by Herakles thus completing the return with elixir.

Herakles sees the Oracles and wants to obtain immortality so they explain the 12 labors of Eurystheus. Some of the labors he faces include a lion, a hydra, stealing a belt, and the most treacherous of course, cleaning a barn. Herakles gets some help from titans and his crisis begins with the taking of Kerberos. He is rewarded with freedom from labors but he kills Iphitos and must then serve as a slave to be resurrected.

Death all around us

Steven Cave categorized death in four ways.

First there was elixir, the belief that someone could take a consumable item and it would either prevent death or at least keep them alive for a longer period of time.

The second way we view the afterlife is resurrection. This is the belief that once we die there is the possibility for us to be brought back to life by some force and continue living in that manner.

The third is soul. After people die they believe that a part of them will live forever while their bodies decay. They live on through their soul for eternity.

The fourth way that he categorizes death and the afterlife is legacy. People want to make sure they are remembered after they have passed. Even if there isn’t a heaven, their presence will always be known and felt. I relate this to something like any sports hall of fame.

The Egyptians prepared their deceased for a better life in the afterlife by surrounding them with their prized possessions and giving their kings golden masks. In Greek mythology there was a pleasant afterlife. Nothing exceptionally crazy but you know it could be worse for some people. Christianity has heaven or hell and they seem to be two extremes. One is incredible and anything you have ever wanted while the other is more of an eternal punishment where even the coffee is cold. (Anyone read the Far Side Gallery?)

When I was a kid I saw the movie phenomena and this was my first experience of realizing what death really was. I think I was comforted by the fact that once someone dies they aren’t just gone forever but that they are living maybe a better life somewhere else. The Egyptians coped with death by believing their relatives would be even better off in death than they were in life and possibly even deities.

For the most part Christianity helps relieve fear of death because when someone dies you always hear “they are in a better place now.” Not to be a negative nancy but it seems they also forget about the other half of the spectrum. Do they really know how their relatives act? I think they just choose to ignore this other possibility to help them move on and not be as sad about the passage of a loved one.

Gollum and His Precious

Evan Powell

Professor Lawson

World Mythology

October 21st, 2015

Analysis of Gollum

Smeagol/Gollum is a trickster by the very definition and is one who is widely known in our culture today. He fits into the characteristics very well because he has a hunger for The One Ring that drives his ambition. Although many people may be a little tuned off by his non-traditional appearance, they are fascinated by the processes that turned the beloved river folk Smeagol into the vile and cunning Gollum. Gollum is a modern day trickster because he uses lying, deceit, hunger, and ambiguity to trick Frodo and Sam into situations where he might be able to take The One Ring away from them.

Gollum, perhaps more than any other character, has the ambiguity that Hynes was alluding to. He often shows both sides of his mind where one is in favor of helping Sam and Frodo and one only has the ring in mind. This double interpretation of this character shows that he can trick the hobbits into believing him that he truly wants to help them because one half of him actually does. Gollum appeals to our culture because of his ambiguity because it is hard for most people to stay angry at someone who has also shown a very caring and helpful side. This is one character in movies or books that has an effect like no other on people where most don’t know whether he is good or evil until closer to the end.

Gollum plays the role of a deceiver multiple times throughout the movies. In “The Two Towers” Gollum deceives the the hobbits by gaining their trust. At first he tries to kill Frodo but then Sam defends him and they put him on a rope leash. Gollum puts on a show that he is just a very miserable creature and Frodo begins to argue with Sam about how cruel he is to Gollum. This is a very slight area of deception that occurs where its nothing truly evil quite yet. The point of no return for Gollum occurs when Frodo leads him into Faramir’s trap and Gollum loses all trust that he once had in Frodo. Once outside Osgiliath, Gollum flees the hobbits for a short time so that he can devise a plan in which the hobbits end up dead. Shortly after that he decides he should take them to the giant spider Shelob so that he doesn’t have to kill them himself. While headed up the staircase to get to Shelob, Gollum crumbles up the remaining food and throws it off the cliff after leaving some crumbs on Sam’s jacket. Gollum deceived Frodo to the point that he sent his best friend away. He took all the little things that upset Frodo during the long travel about Sam and used them to his advantage to turn Frodo against Sam. In addition to Gollum’s role in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, he also appears in The Hobbit. There is a scene where he and Bilbo go back and forth giving each other riddles to see whether or not he eats Bilbo or he has to show Bilbo the way out. This is deception in itself because he never truly wants to let Bilbo leave even if he wins so in reality it is like Loki and the Giant trying to build the wall. There was never intended to be a prize because Loki and Gollum never expected their adversary to be competent enough to complete the task.

Gollum has another side to him that we see on several occasions. Smeagol is his caring side that is innocent and doesn’t want to hurt the hobbits but Gollum is driven by the hunger for the ring. This is his shape shifting in my mind because it is a constant back and forth between the two and you never know which one is going to be showing. He shows whichever side of himself he thinks will help him achieve what he wants at the current time.

Hynes three characteristics help to describe Gollum’s situation as a trickster but perhaps the role of predator and prey helps to show this better. There is nothing more iconic in the Lord of the Rings trilogy than Gollum saying “My Precious” because of how spine chilling and effective it is. This is Gollum’s hunger. The ring poisoned his mind to the point that all he wants is for the ring to be in his possession again. He hungers for this above all other things in his life so once he finds Frodo he is happier than he had been in a long time just knowing he was in its presence. He does not really attempt to take the spot of the prey which in this case is Frodo but instead plays the role of predator. He attacks Frodo on a few occasions showing that will do whatever it takes to get the one thing he really wants in life. In The Two Towers, Gollum is speaking to himself and getting angry over how the hobbits stole the ring from him that is his precious and Smeagol continues to defend them by saying they look after them. Gollum using deceit and poisonous thoughts to try and persuade Smeagol that they are cheating him and that they don’t actually care at all. Eventually, Smeagol wins the argument until Frodo betrays his trust by allowing Faramir to capture him thus reviving the hunger for the ring.

Like Hermes, Gollum uses lies to appear innocent when confronted by the higher power. Sam would accuse Gollum of sneaking or plotting to kill Frodo but Gollum would always weasel his way out of it by appearing to know nothing of what Sam is talking about. Hermes used this strategy in front of Zeus by saying that he did not take the cattle of the sun home with him. He technically didn’t but he did still steal them so he is using lies to get out of punishment. He is also helpful to the hobbits like Loki is to humans when he gives them fire. Gollum allows the hobbits to find a path into Mordor and without him they would have stood no chance. Loki gave the humans a mean in which to cook foods, stay warm, and ultimately survive which is relatively similar to Gollum giving the hobbits the hope that they can actually make it into Mordor.

Gollum illustrates many of the characteristics that Hynes discusses about tricksters. He is for the most part neither good nor completely evil although he does use deception and shape shifting to strategize through his struggles. For these reasons, Gollum is the perfect modern day trickster and is one of the most beloved “villains” in movies. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB5asCOdrms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5rhgSylpH8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB2CNr692RE

Tricksters in Mythology

Tricksters in myths all are rather interesting characters to me. They have the wits to avoid being caught most of the time but eventually they are too cocky and end up being caught anyway. Loki for example was the one who basically created his own capturing device so I found that pretty ironic. Cleverness is definitely present in tricksters as well especially when we look at the stories of the weasel and the raven. They are simply the third party in a game of predator and prey but the get the meat from the traps before either other party has a chance to get its fill. Another instance of a trickster is when Loki weasels his way out of the deal they had made with the giant to build a new wall for Asgard. He tinkered with the deal they had made and created an outcome that favored the gods and not the giant who was promised rewards for finishing.

For a trickster, I think Gollum/Smeagle is a good option because of his role in Lord of the Rings. He befriends Frodo and Sam to get closer to the ring (My Precious!!) and has a few changes of heart but his end goal remained the same after these. He shows one side of himself to the hobbits and another more dastardly side when they are away from him or asleep so we know he is scheming the entire time.

Tribal Creation and Myths Compared to European Views

Vine Deloria states that the only similarity between the two views is the belief of a higher being or spirit. In “Rabbit Boy” the boy comes into being after the rabbit engaged the power of motion or Takuskanskan. This illustrates the timeline in tribal myths as more than just one power or a handful of powers at work that will ultimately end in destruction of the world. Deloria views the time as ever flowing in tribal beliefs because it is more central to nature and the understanding of the world in different ways than simply beings who created everything. In the “Creation of the First Man and First Woman”, the creation helps to describe why people die instead of how they just came into being. Also, there had already been a type of human that just needed to be altered to fit the higher beings’ images. In a sense it matches the greek and Norse creations where humans are images of the Gods but in the tribal stories once the Wind God’s breath leaves them they die which gives more of a sense to why human pass.

The beings in tribal myths also seem to be more helpful and/or not spiteful towards the humans other life forms. “When grizzlies walked upright” is a good example of this as compared to “Thor’s Journey to Utgard”. In the tribal myth, the god was upset with the grandmother for disobeying so he made her get on her hands and knees so that she wouldn’t forget. Thor simply took the farmers as his servants when the boy was merely trying to stay alive. (Servants is used lightly) So when the bears couldn’t walk upright anymore they still had freedom giving me confirmation of this difference.

The last difference I want to touch on is the creation of the Earth being corrupt and humans nature by it also being corrupt. In “Pandora’s Box”, Pandora does not neccessarily embody all that is evil but she just couldn’t help to look into the box that eventually plagued the Earth with omens. Deloria cites Young Chief who declines a treaty because he is concerned about what the consequences could be not just for himself but for others. Humans in Greek and Norse seem to be more self interested than the Native American humans who seem to have a sense of their surroundings better.

Aetiologies and Floods

In Genesis, Greek creation Myths and Norse creation myths, there is the creation of natural phenomena. Genesis and Greek mythologies share the common concept of one being creating the very first things in the world. God created the Earth and the Seas while Gaia, who was the child of Chaos, was responsible for the deities who represented these phenomena. Genesis compares to the Greek creation because they both go step by step through a lot of the natural occurrences that happen every day and the beginning of the Earth as needing to be created. Norse correlates to Genesis because of the different places that are being. Asgard, Midgard, etc. There must be dwelling areas for both the deities and the mortals alike.

Ex Nihilo creation and creation from chaos also tie these myths together. Chaos and Gaia can be seen as supreme deities where there is God in Genesis and Ymir or Surt in Norse. While Surt may not create all that much he is the end all be all of Norse and it parallels well with judgment day in the hebrew beliefs. I think that this should be considered because all that is created can be destroyed by this powerful being. A lot of what has come to be in the different myths came from the deities will; Prometheus giving humans fire, Eve eating the apple where the snake was, and Odin giving the human race a beginning. While all could be said to have started humans I like the different aspects that the Gods have given or allowed to occur.

The last similarity I wanted to discus was the frost giants surviving the flood and the flood in Genesis. The number two played a role in both of these because that is all that is needed to replenish one’s species after a catastrophic event. The realm of mortals was cleansed because of God’s anger with how corrupt the Earth had become so he warned Noah to gather the different species and survive the flood with a boat. Both flood accounts deal with new beginnings either because of disgust or simply a changing of the guard like the Norse myth after the killing of Ymir. Floods establish a new beginning to the existing order of how things were.

Connections in Greek and Norse Mythology

In the beginning there was the Earth, at least in some form in both Greek and Norse myths. In Greek it was Gaia whereas there were regions in Norse. There was Muspell, the “region flickers with dancing flames” and Black Surt was there with his flaming sword. There was Niflheim, the land of snow and ice. There was also, of course, Hvergelmir, the land of spring where the rivers lie. This also relates to Greek mythology where the Ocean, the world encircling river had 50 daughters with Nereus. In the common interest of parents and children, Rheia and Kronos had three powerful sons in Zues, Poseidon, and Hades. I’m not quite sure what it is with trios of immortals in mythology but Bor and Bestla birthed three sons by the names of Odin, Vili, and Ve. It seems that both mythological beginnings began in the same way with the Earth as the mother of all things with three powerful deities coming of it.

The striking similarity of the gods and goddesses in Greek and Norse myth does not only appear in how they came about, but in the cruelty they have towards mortals and others. As Apollo feared that he would not be the best musician he killed the mortal who would challenge him, the Norse gods made a deal with a mason to create a better wall to protect Asgard. When the time came that he would have finished the wall in time to win his prizes; Freyja, the most beautiful goddess (similar to that of Aphrodite), the sun, and the moon, the gods had to find a way to cancel the contract. Although the giant was not quite a human mortal he paid the same price. The moral of both stories is that no one got the best of the gods…EVER.

Disobeying a god also seemed to be a pretty horrible idea. Remember when Pandora opened the box even though she was told not to and let disease and all that good stuff into the world? Well in Norse mythology there had to be at least one rebel! Thor told the farmers family that they should not hinder the bones of the goats but instead throw them onto the skin. The famished little boy disobeyed because he longed for nourishment and sucked the marrow from the bone. Something so small should be ignored and forgiven right? Not in Thor’s eyes! He was about to kill the family but then he came to his senses and only kept them as slaves! The gods are as reasonable as they come with disobeying. Either you do it or all hell breaks loose.

There are some very similar ideologies in Greek and Norse myths but the idea of the gods being kind to anyway has never quite changed. It’s their way or the highway in most cases.

Athena, the Ultimate Deity

Do you like knowledge? Do you like the occasional bit of war? How about someone who came into being by popping out of someone else’s forehead? Well if any of the three questions I just asked got you excited, Athena is the god for you!

Now before you get concerned with the bit about war, its not the bloodthirst of war that she embodies. She is the strategic type trying to be efficient and powerful at the same time but without the rage of her awful brother Ares.

Do you enjoy watching Hell’s Kitchen or maybe Top Chef? You can thank Athena for both of those because she is associated with household crafts and among these gifts, cooking and sewing. She basically makes sure that you can feed yourself and clothe yourself and if you’re not into a god that gives you basic needs I’m not sure what will get you excited!

Now onto the Wisdom part of things. Athena is basically the reason we consider smart sexy. Her wisdom comes from the fact that she sprung right out of Zues’ forehead! Talk about awesome births! To top it off her symbol is an owl which, guess what, is commonly known for its wisdom and just how cool it is!

Last but most certainly not least, this supreme goddess is associated with Athens and is the entire reason why the Parthenon was built. Yeah, you heard me right, the Parthenon was built to honor Athena and only Athena because the ancient greeks realized she was incredible.

So if you enjoy strategic war video games such as age of empires, baking cookies with grandma every Christmas, owls such as Hedwig in Harry Potter, or just buildings created after someone, why haven’t you started worshipping Athena yet?

Works Cited: http://www.ancient.eu/athena