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Metamorphosis: Manifest of man’s needs and dreams By: Somaye Nouri Zenoz on 4/25/2005; 5:13 AM A study of Metamorphosis in Mythology Metamorphosis: Manifest of man’s needs and dreams by Somaye Nouri Zenoz Mythology takes us to the age when the world was young and man was in close connection with nature and wild life in contrast to his present situation. Considering the nature as the dominant and not the submissive, man let his imagination- not yet examined by reason, illustrate his desired images. Out of horror, he created powerful divinities which could perform the most impossible, help him with the surrounding terror and illuminate his dark savage life. Accordingly, the individuals would represent their own wants and aspirations in the holy bosom of the fabricated authoritative gods and goddesses. Man’s imaginative faculty would manifest his basic needs and mundane desires by no better concept than that of transformation into other things or entities- literally referred to as ‘Metamorphosis’. In relation to needs, there was no better substitute for Metamorphosis since it could euphemize the rough measures man took to meet his needs and beautify the savage rites he carried to guarantee his survival. The same could be applied to his dreams and desires since it was only through the possibility of change and transformation that he could become what he yearned to become. Greek mythology abounds with transformation of persons into trees, flowers, birds, animals, stones, stars and constellations, islands, water, air or even the other sex. The varieties and irregularities noticed in the subjects, processes, causes and consequences of the effected Metamorphoses and the fact that no definite rule can be set for their acute categorization- except very general ones based on male/female divisions or the ancient notion of vices and virtues- point to the chaotic nature of the ancient mind. Deprived of scientific reasoning and replete with obliged beliefs taken from the surrounding nature, man sought refuge in his imaginative power to make the necessary associations. This can justify the existence of numerous metamorphic instances as one of the main undercurrents of classical mythology. An overview of the renowned Metamorphoses would highlight recurrence of the theme and the factors contributing to its emergence. The appearance of so many Metamorphoses within classical mythology can be defined in close relation with the emergence of myths themselves. As noted by Rosenberg, myths symbolize human experience and embody the spiritual values of a culture while they usually originate in an ancient oral tradition. Some explain origins, natural phenomena and death; others describe the nature and function of divinities while still others provide models of virtuous behavior by relating the adventures of heroes or the misfortunes of arrogant humans (14). Thus, myths can not be considered as arbitrary inventions but stand for accounts of real lives which formed the cultures and their presence in all cultures proves the idea. In line with the same idea, it is quite accepted that large parts of the spiritual and practical life of the ancient Greek society have been grounded upon myths and as the cultural heritage of the primitive people, they represent ancient humane actualities. It is true that every myth accounts for the world of the people it belongs to. The idea f Metamorphosis which is numerously witnessed in Greek mythology can be studied in connection to the same philosophy applied to the origin of myths. Inclination of the poorly-developed ancient man to create authoritative divinities to dominate and protect him, his lack of logical reasoning and resort to his imagination for description of the surrounding nature and his attempt to concretize his relation to gods and men for constructing a moral code to live, all led him to weaving myths for the purpose of survival, meeting his most basic needs along with formation of mental frames depicting his dreams and ambitions. As gathered by Hamilton, a quick overview of mythology introduces the following characters as a handful of those going under Metamorphosis: Arcas, Dioscouri, Orion, Philemon and Baucis, daphne, Heliades, Myrrha, Adonis, Hyacinthus, Narcissus, Actaeon, lycaon, Midas, Battus, Anaxarete, Cycnus, perdix, Cadmus and Harmonia, Tithonus, Alcyone, Arethusa, Atalanta and melanion, Cephalus, Ceyx, Clytie, Daphne, Glaucus and Scylla, Hephaestus, Lichas, Leucippus, Laius, Lycius, Melanippe, Munichus, Menippe, Minthe, Neophron, Nemesis, Oenoe, Pandareus, Periclymenus, Philyra, phineus, Polyphonte, Philomela, polytechnos, Alope, Ambrosia, Theophane, Vertumnus, Zagreus and many other ones. Interestingly, some characters have been metamorphosed for several times of whom Zeus, Poseidon, Proteus, Apollo and Aphrodite can be mentioned. The large number of metamorphic instances mainly point to two major aspects of man- and particularly those of the primitive man who inserted the idea into the myths: His needs and his dreams. In a society lacking science and reason, imagination is certainly considered as the main source of truth. Accordingly myths appeal to this faculty and largely influence one’s beliefs. That’s why we can actually parallel myths and specifically those of Metamorphosis to human aspirations and needs. No matter how irrational the narrated transformations might seem to us, they offer reality of the ancient days in an imaginative way- with replaced characters and try to make sense of that kind of nature and human life. Certain inconsistencies and irregularities are found in myths of Metamorphosis which make it almost impossible to set rules and well divided categories for them; however, below this surface of chaos and disorder, one can discover a structured attempt to give form and meaning to universe and human life. A certain transformation such as turning into an animal or a tree can not be always considered a rewarding one; it can also serve as a change for worse when the gods used it as a punishment. For instance, Hamilton narrates the story of ‘Philemon and Baucis’ who change into oak and lime tree after having reached extreme old age for offering hospitality to Zeus and Hermes when they had come disguised as mortals. This is a rewarding one while we also witness the ‘Apulian Shepherd’ changed into an oleaster tree as punishment for mocking dancing nymphs. Another example can be the Metamorphosis of ‘Hierax’ who was changed into a hawk as punishment for informing Argus that the god was stealing Io; however, there is the myth of ‘Daedalion’ who was also transformed into a hawk not as punishment of course but as a favor of Apollo while leaping from a cliff, crazed by the death of his daughter, Chione (111). Even some punishments have been effected upon innocent people doing no wrong. Sample of this can be the myth of ‘Cadmus and Harmonia’; when loaded with grief and the infirmity of old age, they were innocently changed into serpents (Hamilton, 256). As mentioned, stories of transformation effected upon men, women, gods and goddesses generally point to the realities of ancient life and nature which might have been quite darker than is generally supposed. As argued by Hamilton, ….such charming tales of lovely young people who, dying in the springtime of life, were fittingly changed into spring flowers, have probably a dark background. They give a hint of black deeds that were done in the far distant past. Long before there were any stories told in Greece or any poems sung which have come down to us, perhaps even before there were storytellers and poets, it might happen if the fields around a village were not fruitful, if the corn did not spring up as it should, that one of the villagers would be killed and his- or her- blood sprinkled over the barren land. There was no idea as yet of the radiant gods of Olympus who would have loathed the hateful sacrifice…. (89) Thus we see man using the idea of Metamorphosis to give a less distasteful picture of the way he lived and met his basic needs of food, clothing, shelter and probably his sexual urges. Lacking the civilized mind and spirit, ancient man would satisfy his needs for survival in any possible way no matter how savage or unpleasant it was and would transform his manners under the coverage of the metamorphic stories he created. As Hamilton adds to the above argument, ….Mankind had only a dim feeling that as their own life depended utterly on seed time and harvest, there must be a deep connection between themselves and the earth and that their blood, which was nourished by the corn, could in turn nourish it at need. What more natural then if a beautiful boy had thus been killed, than to think when later the ground bloomed with Narcissus or hyacinths that the flowers were his very self, changed and yet living again? So they would tell each other it had happened, a lovely miracle which made the cruel death seem less cruel. Then as the ages passed and people no longer believed that the earth needed blood to be fruitful, all that was cruel in the story would be dropped and in the end forgotten. No one would remember that terrible things had once been done. Hyacinthus, they would say, died not slaughtered by his kinsfolk to get food for them, but only because of a sorrowful mistake. (90) As mentioned before, the uncivilized man who shared kind of non-existent reason with his people would mainly suffice to acts of hunting, eating, sleeping and probably pale spiritual ideas. Such a man would attack animals to hunt, chase maidens to get rough sensual pleasures, kill and sacrifice others to make his farm productive and do many darker actions just to live. Weigel supports the same idea and notes that the savage rite of human sacrifice was supposed to guarantee a plentiful harvest in Neolithic societies, because the sprinkling of human blood on the ground would bring the necessary rain to the crops (12). Men used such religious rituals or magic to induce the gods to grant their requests. Gradual developments of mind and spirit made man aware of his imaginative faculty which could serve him as the organizer of his chaotic life and surrounding. This could give meaning and shape to his life and of course a more pleasant form than it had actually had. Thus he started thinking of Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite and all those fabulous stories going about them. They were manifestations of his yearnings for power, dominance and support and would help him come up with ideas to illustrate the realities he and his ancestors had experienced, in ways more meaningful and decent. This would make a nicer picture of his requisites and desires along with organizing a structured mental frame for his children to receive and believe. Consequently the colorful motif of Metamorphosis, which is noticed quite a lot in mythology of various cultures and particularly that of Greek, also counts for the better depiction of what men had actually experienced. They probably killed a fellowman of themselves for satisfaction of the supposed gods and narrated the story of Apollo’s mistake in throwing the discus leading to the unfortunate death of a young Hyacinthus; however, they would imagine the lad metamorphosed into a flower and continue his life in such a spirit! Also quite tangible that one chased a young maiden in an attempt to satisfy the innate sexual needs and ended the girl’s life in his savage rape; however, he would narrate the interesting story of Acis changed into a river while fleeing from Galata’s mad pursuit (Hamilton, 85). It’s worthy to mention that the act of chase, for the purpose of hunt, is one of the most repeated images throughout mythology and particularly in the processes of many metamorphic myths which certainly draws the attention to the primitive and natural manners man followed in his attempt to survive. Metamorphic instances which can be associated with the idea of human sacrifice can be those of ‘Hyacinthus’, ‘Adonis’ and ‘Narcissus’; when Hyacinthus was accidentally killed by Apollo with a discus, the god changed his blood into the flower of Hyacinth. Furthermore, when Adonis was slain by a boar, Venus- his desperate lover- changed his blood into an anemone and Narcissus was also changed into the Narcissus flower, pining away for the love of his image reflected from the water (Hamilton, 88). Among the myths of chase and transformation, those of ‘Alpheus and Arethusa’ and ‘Daphne’ can be named. Hamilton relates the tale of ‘Alpheus and Arethusa’ in which Arethusa was a huntress with whom Alpheus fell in love and pursued. Unwilling to marry, she fleed away to the island Ortygia and there turned from a woman to a spring (116). Daphne also changed into a laurel tree while fleeing from Apollo who chases him out of love. Interestingly, they also explained natural phenomena as the work of gods and goddesses; even the annual death and rebirth of vegetation was a major idea embodied in some tales of Metamorphosis. So when civilizations started to appear and man had already met his needs and fulfilled his dreams in the most natural and brutal form, he turned those experiences into fairy tales and myths to be conveyed to the coming generations. Pale spiritual and emotional needs of the primitive man which contributed to the emergence of transformational myths should not be ignored as well. Despite the fact that the ancient man was naturally too roughened and busy to look at his spirit and deal with the developed feelings and affections, many emotional and spiritual subtleties can be traced as causes of metamorphic myths which of course include ancient man’s basic delight in the sensuous part of the story with few exceptions interested in the spirituality and sublimity of the ideas. Mythology is abundant with instances of Metamorphoses of the cruel beloveds refusing their true lovers into plants or animals; also those mocking the lovers get hard punishments and turn into lifeless stones or objects. No matter how much those men sufficed to the mundane level of love, we encounter various affectionate stories involving most philandering gods and goddesses in love with mortals, representing the existence of such emotions in ancient men. The myth of Narcissus and his Metamorphoses can count for this idea as well. In this regard, Bush relates the story of Glaucus and Scylla when Scylla, bathing in her favorite pool, is seen, loved and pursued by Glaucus who tells how he was changed into a sea-god and urges his suit. But Scylla flees away and Glaucus in anger betakes himself to Circe, begging that the nymph may be made his partner. Circe’s obliging offer of herself as a substitute being rejected, she mixes a grisly jewce which, when dropped in Scylla’s pool, transforms the damsel into the traditional monster. Glaucus wept there and Scylla remained to wreak her spite on passing mariners (83). Another relevant myth can be that of ‘Anaxarete’ who mocked Iphis who loved her and was turned into a stone. As noted previously, the notion of Metamorphosis can also be attributed to ancient man’s aspirations and dreams. Ignorant of the possibility to cope with the violent nature lacking enough reason and logic to act upon his dreams, man tried to concretize the wistful images he had in mind and thus depicted stories of his mutability and transformation into the yearned subjects. Therefore, he used his imaginative faculty to fulfill the dreams and desires he could not reach in reality and nature. So he imagined to transform himself into a hawk to become able to fly vigorously, to a tree to escape death and become eternal, to a star to become unreachable and dominant, to a flower to become strikingly beautiful and at last transform his enemy to the lowest and weakest creatures. Numerous tales of Metamorphosis into stars and constellations have been related of which those of ‘Arcas’, ‘Dioscouri’ and ‘Orion’ can be noted. As narrated by Hamilton, when Arcas was about to shoot the bear into which his mother, Callisto, had been changed, Jupiter turned him into a constellation (291). Again in reward of their brotherly love, the Dioscouri were changed into a constellation (41). There is also the myth of Orion who, while pursuing the Pleiades, was changed into a constellation which shows him with a girdle, sword, club and lion’s skin. It’s worthy to mention numbers of transformations into birds as well. Cycnus, son of Apollo, leaped of a cliff and was changed into a swan because his friend, Philius, refused to give him the bull captured by the help of Hercules (Hamilton, 326). Again, the tale of Perdix is related who was turned into a Partridge by Minerva. Perdix was thrown from the Acropolis by the envious Daedalus and the Metamorphosis happened. There are numerous instances of transformation into trees and flowers which support the ideas posed above. According to Hamilton, ‘Myrrha’ changed into a myrtle tree when fleeing from her father’s wrath (331). Also ‘Heliades’ changed into poplar trees while weeping over Phaeton’s grave and their tears turned into beads of amber (134). It’s interesting to mention some myths which according to what have been said, imply man’s desire to suppress and annihilate his enemies. Weigel relates the tale of the hunter ‘Actaeon’ who as punishment for seeing the bathe of Diana, was changed into a stag by the goddess (65). Rosenberg brings the myth of ‘Lycaon’ who was turned into a wolf. Jupiter changed Lycaon as punishment for offering the god, who was sitting at the table, human flesh to eat (23). Hamilton narrates a handful of such myths of which those of ‘Battus’, ‘Midas’ and ‘Tithonus’ can be named. Battus, the shepherd, was changed into a touchstone for violating the promise to keep Mercury’s theft of Apollo’s cattle a secret by Mercury (325). Furthermore, Apollo gave ass’s ears to Midas as punishment for preferring Pan in the musical contest between Apollo and Pan (278). And as the last instance, when grown old and infirm, Tithonus was changed into a cicada by Aurora (290). In line with the discussed inclination of man to create strong gods helping him with the needs, it was extremely dangerous to commit any act of disrespect towards the gods since they were strikingly cruel against the impious or antagonizing characters. This was where the idea of Metamorphosis could be utilized by the powerful gods to transform the aggressive ones into the lowest, weakest and most infamous of creatures such as serpents, beetles, geckos, snakes or the lifeless and powerless stones, rocks and mountains. The story of ‘Alcyone’ can be mentioned as a sample of disrespect towards gods who turned her into a halcyon. She claimed her husband to be Zeus and was punished for that (108). In building such fierce codes, man would virtually fulfill his dreams of absolute dominance over the antagonizing natural factors. This could provide him a so-called sense of security and draw a less uncertain picture of his surrounding. As well, this could serve his innate interest in setting forth a system of reward and punishment as the moral code of his race. Myths and metamorphoses have their source in imagination and so a great deal might happen to their reception when imagination goes through the check of reason. The gradual emergence of civilizations highlighted myths which were then an integral part of culture and moral system of the civilized man. Accordingly, developments in civilizations decreased the primitive thirst for immediate and rough satisfaction of human demands and desires through acts of bloodshed and savagery. When cultures start lacking monsters to kill, needs or goals worth fighting for, ideas to advance and dreams to fulfill, they dissolve in kind of clarity and security which makes them consider the mythological and metamorphic plots and characters void of any real outward manifestations. However, in allegorical interpretation of the metamorphic myths, one can easily replace gods and goddesses with real men and women of the ancient time. Such strong divinities are gifted the supernatural power to transform just to satisfy the urges of human needs and dreams. Instances of Metamorphoses can be considered as mythological solutions to set nature and life in kind of order by the application of desired transformations to men, gods and objects. This in turn points to the mythological reasoning and application of the ancient mind and feeling to the natural world around and the attempt to make the abstract ideas understandable. Metamorphoses helped concretize the abstract ideas originated from human needs and dreams and made them understandable. References Bush, Douglas. Mythology and the Renaissance Tradition in English Poetry. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1963. Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1940. Rosenberg, Donna. World Mythology. Illinois: National Textbook Company, 1992. Weigel, James, Jr. Mythology. Nebraska: Cliffs Notes, 1973.
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