Initations

Initiation. As I thought of times of initiation in my life, I came to realize that there are many more instances than I had ever considered. I also found that the trial overcome and the knowledge gained through initiation result in a ticket, an invitation, to a group of people...and this ticket is necessary, there is no way in the club without it.

Here are a few of "initiation" experiences in my life:

1. Us younger players had heard about it for quite some time. Often times the stories seemed unbelievable. How could a person survive such a drill? My experience so far had taught me that my lung capacity would not suffice in such an experience. I could say I had done "so many" suicide runs consecutively, had survived through the dreaded "quick fire" drill, and had survived many a morning practice... but I could not say I had experienced the "popcorn" drill. When I did finally run a popcorn, I realized that I always considered it to be much harder than it actually was (probably due to the stories I had been told), but after successfully completing the drill, I had gained the right to say I had also been made to run "a popcorn." I was now a sort of high school basketball veteran.

2. I was initiated into a sorority in fall of 2009....and that is all I can say about that.

3. I underwent another initiation with one other person. We were required to take ten classes, to pay for an official document evidencing our initiation, to prepare for seven months, to spend too much time and money, to make sure and have witnesses of the initiation, to feed all of the witnesses (dinner and cake), and to make a life-long vow in the presence of God. Yep, it was the initiation of marriage. It was something I could read about, talk to those who had undergone the initiation, learn about it and prepare for it, but nothing would bring me to this new stage of life apart from it. I don't think I could say it was painful...but I now am a "Mrs." for the rest of my life and I have joined the married couples club.

Ovid's Top Five Bike Rides

A news article was titled "The World's Top Ten Bike Rides." My mind quickly considered the chariot ride of Phaeton, and although it was fatal, it seemed to be quite the trip. I have decided to report on "Ovid's Top Five Bike Rides," and here it goes:

5. Cadmus's Course:
This path is not specifically marked out, but it has a few guidelines. First, travel around the world as if looking for your lost sister. Once you have given up, determining she is nowhere to be found, go ahead and meet with a prophet. Continue on the bike ride until you come across a white ox lying down on the ground. In reaching the spot where the ox lies, you have completed the journey!

                                      

4. Trip to Hades:
This adventurous ride is one that is never forgotten (as long as you are not a shade, of course). In this course, you can enter through the "tall gates of Taenarus down to the world of Death and flowing Darkness." Throughout the ride, you will see the "streets of Tartaus [as they wind] in Hell" and the famous eternally punished men: Sisyphus, Tantalus, and Ixion. By passing back through the Styx you have finished the course.

3. Perseus's Pathway:
This ride pleasantly begins in the garden of the Titan Atlas, but it quickly turns plenty hard as you ascend the mountain of stone. (Interesting Fact: Made of the Titan Atlas, this mountain actually supports the heavens.) Following the mountain trek, you will be able to enjoy the beautiful coral along the Ethiopian shore. Continue to travel around the world, and be sure to take note of the "annoying" look of the people who have been turned to stone by the forerunner Perseus. Watch out for toxic snakes as your race to the finish line at Seriphos.

2. Medea's Mad Bike Ride:
It is best to ride this course as if you are guilty of many crimes. Don't ask why, that is just the way it is. Begin this journey at the Mount Pelion, and continue gaining altitude to reach the top of Mount Othrys. On the downhill ride be sure and look for the "huge writhing serpent carved out of stone." Continue through Ida's forest, to the sandy shores (don't mind those "unearthly noises"), to the "town of old Eurypylus."If you have the determination to continue on, you will soon see the "great walls of old Carthaea"on the island Cea, and then Hyrie's lake along the valley, where you may see a beautiful swan. If you still desire to complete the entire journey, pass through Pleuron, the island Calaurea, Cyllene, the "house where old Eumelus lived and grieved" and finally reach the endpoint of Corinth. Good look.

1. Phaeton's Ride:
The best part of this ride may be the starting point: the palace of the sun. You have to make sure to check out the artwork on the doors. Also, be sure to know the safety precautions. You MUST steer a middle course through the sky and maintain a medium altitude. As you start off on the course, make sure and take note of the view of the constellations; it is a stellar view. Watch out for stars and clouds, and be sure to abide by all the rules and maintain control. Otherwise you may have an unpleasant meeting with Jupiter's lightning bolt.

Why an Absence of Ears?

I grew up on a farm in north-central Montana. The farm life was an absolutely wonderful experience. As I was thinking of the farm, while sitting in class, I remembered one of our cats. This cat is not real special or real friendly, but she is unique in the fact that she has no ears. Now it was not as if this cat was born without ears. According to my mother, the ears "froze off." I always considered this a valid explanation, but when I thought of the cat just the other day, I wondered what the mythological explanation could be for this cat without ears. (the picture below is not of my cat, but it gives you the idea)

So in my quest to find the myth that would explain this cat with no ears, I found there are two possible explanations. According to Wikipedia, there is a Yoruba myth of the goddess Oba who was married to the god Shango. There are a few versions of the myth. One of the more prominent versions being that a co-wife of Shango convinced Oba to cut off her ear and feed it to her husband. The reaction of her husband was not what she expected, seeing her mutilation and the food offering, he banished her forever. In another version of the myth, Oba cuts off her ears and gives them to Shango to eat (since they had run out of goat), that he might have strength to defeat the deity Ogun. 

The other myth regarding cut ears was found in the ebook Myths and Legends of China. The soldiers of the army of early China would cut off the ears of the "vanquished" and bring them to their king. 

I am pretty sure the cat on the farm is a female, so according to these myths, she may have been trying to overcome fellow co-wives by offering her ears as food, or perhaps after defeat in battle her ears were cut off before she began another one of her nine lives. 

Stories & Myths

In class, I have enjoyed hearing the "Professor Sexson" version of the myths. His "true stories" are entertaining, and function in a way to help us as students consider the myths in the context of the 21st century. As Professor Sexson tells his version, he is doing even more, he is giving us a better understanding of the oral tradition of the myths found in Ovid's Metamorpheses and the oral tradition of myths that are prevalent today. (An example being that my mother's first name is Diane, adapted from the name Diana, one of the Olympian goddesses.) One thing that I keep thinking about is at what point are edited versions of myths no longer myths? Professor Sexson not only shared his version of the story of Echo and Narcissus; he also spoke of the versions found in the writing of Euripides. Each version had its own charm and intrigue. There is a sense in which I have the liberty to embellish the myth myself, and yet I cannot deviate from the story-line altogether--I could not make Narcissus fall in love with Echo, get married, have children, and live happily ever after. Such a story does not reveal the precedent behind an action, and is therefore not a myth. This reveals the line drawn between a story and a myth. And this gained understanding gives me a greater appreciation for those who created the myths written in Ovid's book.

Coincidence

During Monday's class period, Professor Sexson gave us the assignment to find something interesting that we usually consider quite boring. Yesterday, in reading for my English Methods class, I came across a proposal for English teachers to like reading student writing. In his article, "Ranking, Evaluation, and Liking," Elbow writes,

"How can we be better at liking? It feels as thought we have no choice--as though liking and not-liking just happen to us. I don't really understand this business. I'd love to hear discussion about the mystery of liking--the phenomenology of liking. I sense it's some kind of putting oneself out--or holding oneself open--but I can't see it clearly. I have a hunch,  however, that we're not so helpless about liking as we tend to feel" (201).

I like his ideas here because I can sympathize with the feeling of being unable to like something. For instance, it is challenging to enjoy a person who is proud and haughty. Like the certain aspects that student papers bad, the characteristics of pride and haughtiness that are repulsive in such a person. We still have the option of liking the paper despite all it's downfalls, and we also have the choice to like and care for a person who may demonstrate unfavorable characteristics. Elbow writes this idea in a very succinct way:

"It's an act of discrimination to see what's good in bad writing. Maybe, in fact, this is the secret of the mystery of liking: to be able to see potential goodness underneath badness" (203)

So the next time I am reading a book or other assigned text that is less than favorable, or listening to my grandpa tell the same stories, or watching worthless television, I hope to undertake the challenge of seeing the "potential goodness underneath badness."

Commonalities of Creation Stories

-The Flood: Many of the creation myths involved a flood; often because the deity (or deities) were unhappy with the way human beings were living.

-Beginnings: Is it too rhetorical to mention that most of the myths of creation started with "In the beginning there was nothing"?
            * I found it so interesting how some of the creation stories began with an already existing creation. For instance, the creation story of the Gros Ventre tribe that I found started with people who were wild and did not know how to do anything and so the creator decided to create a new world. It is almost more like recycling...

-Earth Divers- its tougher than it sounds... many earth divers were unsuccessful or only successful after pushing through adversity.

-Metamorphoses- in many creation myths, a body (or body parts) of a deity were transformed into the physical earth.

-Lonely Deities- human beings were often created because a deity was lonely...I bet it is because they can never keep their friends.

-Clay-made humans - often clay was used to create the form of a human being, and then life is breathed into the clay-figurine. Woman is not made from man, both are made from the clay, and different colored clay resulted in people of different colored skin.