Chapter 16 Lecture One of Two Theseus, Myths of Athens ©2012 Pearson Education Inc

Chapter 16Lecture One of Two

Theseus, Myths of Athens

©2012 Pearson Education Inc.

Theseus

• Latecomer • Myths are confused and pale• Theseus becomes their “hero” almost

artificially


CEROPS, ERICHTHONIUS AND THE DAUGHTERS OF CECROPS



Cerops, Erichthonius and the Daughters of Cecrops

• Three different versions of the origins of the Athenians:– Descended from Athena (?)– Autochthonous (from the earth itself)– Descended from Cecrops

• Great founding ancestor, who brought laws, civilization, proper worship of the gods


Cerops, Erichthonius and the Daughters of Cecrops

• Born when Hephaestus tried to have his way with Athena

• “The man of wool and earth”• Given in a concealed basket to the daughters

of Cecrops (Aglauros, Hersê, Pandrosus)• Only Pandrosus refrains from looking –

Aglaurus and Hersê driven mad and jump to their deaths from the Acropolis


ObservationsFestival of the Dew Carriers and the Erechtheum on the Acropolis in Athens. (Fig. 16.1)

Yearly ritual of the Arrhephoria (“dew carriers”) in late March

The two arrhephoroi lived on the Acropolis

Wove a robe for a statue of Athena

Sent at night to Aphrodite’s grove (near the Acropolis) with baskets, to return with a mysterious object


University of Wisconsin–Madison Photo Archive

Fig. 16.2 Birth of Erechthonius


Antikenmuseum, Berlin; Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz/Art Resource, New York

Fig. 16.3Athena and Erechthonius.


(© Trustees of the British Museum / Art Resource, New York

PROCRIS AND CEPHALUS



Procris and Cephalus

• In another myth, the daughters Aglaurus and Hersê survive the jump

• Hermes lusts after Hersê, and at first Aglaurus agrees to act as a go-between for gold

• But Athena afflicts Aglaurus with jealousy, and ties to deny Hermes passage



• Hermes turns her into a stone and continues on his way

• Hersê becomes pregnant with a son, Cephalus• Cephalus, being a beautiful boy, is carried

away for a while by Eos, nymph of the dawn



• Cephalus marries Procris, a daughter of Erechthonius, soon giving way to jealousy

• To test her, he approaches her in disguise



• When once she gives in, she is banished to Crete

• There Minos lusts after her, but his wife Pasiphaë had cursed his sexuality

• Procris gives him an herbal remedy, and in thanks Minos gives her Laelaps and a magic spear



• Procris starts to fear Pasiphaë and returns to Athens disguised as a boy, with the gifts

• Cephalus lusts after this “boy’s” gifts, and the “boy” offers them in exchange for sex

• He agrees, but the “boy” then reveals “him”self, and they live happily ever after – for a while



• But Procris fears that Cephalus is still seeing his former girlfriend, Eos (Lat. Aurora), a forest nymph of the fresh winds of the dawn



• She hears a report that he’s been calling out to “Dawn,” so one day she follows him on his morning hunt. She hears him calling “Dawn,” she thinks he’s having an affair and jumps out of the woods to confront him

• Thinking he’s being attacked by wild animal, he kills her with the magic spear she gave him


Fig. 16.4 Death of Procris


(© Trustees of the British Museum / Art Resource, New York


• Cephalus forced into exile by the Areopagus and he flees to Thebes

• Thebes being plagued by a “fox that can never be caught.”

• Sends his dog against it• Zeus “resolves” the contradiction by turning

both to stone


PROCNÊ AND TEREUS


Procnê and Tereus

• Pandion, a son of Erichthonius, has two daughters– Procnê– Philomela

• And two sons– Butes– Erechtheus


Procnê and Tereus

• Pandion (king in Athens) gives his daughter Procnê to Tereus, the king of the Thracians for his help in a war against Thebes

• Procnê and Tereus have a son, Itys• After a time, Procnê wants Tereus to go to

Athens and bring Philomela back for a visit


Procnê and Tereus

• But Tereus lusts after Philomela when he sees her

• On arrival in Thrace, he rapes her• To keep her from talking, he cuts out her

tongue, hides her and tells Procnê that her sister died

• Keeps her locked in a mountain house


Procnê and Tereus

• In her cell, Philomela weaves the story of what happened in a tapestry and sends it to Procnê

• Procnê understands the message• In revenge, they kill Itys and serve him to

Tereus• In the end, they all turn into birds


Fig. 16.5Philomela, Procnê and Itys.


Musée du Louvre, Paris; © Giraudon/Art Resource, New York

OBSERVATIONSOvid’s Literary Myth


Ovid's Literary Myth

• Ovid's retelling of the Greek myths emphasize the moral and psychological effect of a metamorphosis.

• Though the original myths may have their source in the belief that the human and animal worlds are closely linked together, Ovid uses them for entirely different purposes and with different effects.


End


Documents

Chapter 16 Lecture One of Two Theseus, Myths of Athens ©2012 Pearson Education Inc