Myths Quest #3: Love Myths, Flower Myths

Question 1

Spectrum of Romantic Love

Answer 1

• Unrequited, one-sided, limited relationship, attraction/lust vs. love
  
  • Daphne (and Apollo)
• Loving, selfless marriage (also tragic)
  
  • Ceyx and Alcyone
• Long, loving marriage, the ideal
  
  • Baucis and Philemon
• No real relationship, sad, frustrating–> deep relationship, joyful, fulfilling

Question 2

Daphne and Apollo

Answer 2

• Follower of Diana/ Artemis (virgin goddess)
• Just wants to run around, dad (river god) wants her to have children
• Apollo= into her
• Turns into Laurel tree when asking father for help
• Truth:
  
  • Sometimes love doesn’t work out
  • Accept that it won’t work= settle

Question 3

Ceyx and Alcyone

Answer 3

• Truths:
  
  • True love= protective (Ceyx is comforted that his love still lives)
  • True love cannot be separated
• Creation of Halcyon= bird/ wind, calm serene

Question 4

Baucis and Philemon

Answer 4

• Old couple who welcome Zeus and Hermes even though they are poor
• Discover they are gods, chase goose
• Flood kills everyone but them, temple is created and they become priests there
• Creation myth of unusual tree
  
  • Want to be together forever, die same day
• Truths:
  
  • Do not need stuff to be happy, just each other
  • Hospitality= important
  • Real love endures and invites others in

Question 5

Prometheus and Io

Answer 5

• Creation of the peacock’s eyes on feathers: Argus’ eyes
• Ionian sea= named after Io
• Ford of the cow= Created
• Beauty= curse
• 2 sufferers at hands of the gods
  
  • Prometheus= picked at by vulture at rock
  • Io: Zeus likes her==> Hera’s wrath
• Hercules will save Prometheus (Io’s descendant)

Question 6

Europa

Answer 6

• Has a basket that portrays Io, made by Hephaestus
• Creation of the name Europe for unnamed continent
• Descendants= important

Question 7

Flower Myths

Answer 7

• How certain flowers came about
• Flowers everywhere in Greece
• Flowers connect with gods (beautiful things)
• Truth: Deities themselves could not change fate
  1. Narcissus
  2. Hyacinth
  3. Adonis

Question 8

Narcissus

Answer 8

1. Zeus let Hades use this flower to lure Persephone to underworld
   - Chasm opens in the earth and Hades abducts her
2. Narcissus= beautiful guy
   - All girls loved him, he had no interest
   - Hera thinks Echo is fooling around with Zeus, punishes her to only repeat things said to her
   - Narcissus= rejected Echo (hid in cave, embarrassed)
   - Since he was a scorner of love, girl prayed he would fall in love with himself
   - Stared at himself in the water, drowned
   
   • Where he died, the Narcissus bloomed

Question 9

Hyacinth

Answer 9

1. Hyacinthus festival
   
   • Hyacinthus and Apollo playing discus
   • Hyacinthus gets hit in the head, dies
   • Blood turns into the flower
2. Zephyr made the discus hit Hyacinthus, jealous of their friendship
   - Truth: Humans can relate to loss, jealousy

Question 10

Adonis

Answer 10

• Both Aphrodite and Persephone were in love with Adonis
• Zeus made the decision:
  
  • Winter and Fall: spent with Persephone
  • Spring and Summer: Aphrodite
• Boar killed Adonis while he was with Aphrodite
• Blood dripped into the underworld, flower blooms
• Creation of the word Adonis: attractive man
• Truth:
  
  • Goddess of love isn’t immune to love
  • Compromise similar to Persephone myth
  • Girls fight over guys

Question 11

Pre-Greek flower myth

Answer 11

• People who die in spring turn into flowers–> human sacrifice of young, beautiful people
  
  • Made cruel seem less cruel
• If crops did not grow, people would be killed, blood spilled over the land
• Did not know of gods and goddesses yet, but everything is interconnected