Pt. 9 of PJO: The Lightning Thief

Happy Saturday, viewers.

Here is yet another part of the Lightning Thief by the brilliant Mr. Riordan (I really wish it were pronounced REER-din instead of RY-er-din).

In this section,  Percy explores the camp and runs into some trouble with the bully, Clarisse. 

MP3 time! http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?8d5tdcdi6uhegl0

thanksalotforwatchingourvideosandreadingourblog!isthisdifficultforyoutoread?

Greek Values

When you're studying a particular society--its art, literature, history, mythology/religion, anything--you have to examine the cultural values in order to really understand it. Sorry to sound so much like a textbook, but I swear this'll get more interesting.

So a lot of people get really weirded out by Greek mythology because...well, take your pick of the reasons. Scandals galore? Check. Human-animal hybrids? Check. Crazy magic-science? Check. But we can't really look at the Greeks through the lens of American values, circa 2012--we can't expect people who lived thousands of years ago to have lived by our cultural norms. We have to apply their values to their stories--and then, some things start to make sense.

Take the Sophocles play Oedipus Rex, for instance. It's pretty disturbing. In fact, reader discretion is advised past this point. Baby Oedipus is abandoned by his parents and left to die of exposure, all because his father heard a prophecy that the baby would someday kill his father and marry his mother. Ugh. The parents, thinking they can prevent the prophecy from ever occurring, tie the kid's feet up and leave him to die in a field. However, unbeknownst to him, he is taken in by a peasant who feels sorry for him. Oedipus grows up and saves Thebes from the Sphynx's riddle, so he is feeling pretty clever. Little does he know, that guy he killed on the road who looked like a peasant was actually his father, the king. And little does he know, that cougar he married is actually his biological mother. He keeps trying to figure out why the gods are cursing Thebes with plagues, famine, and drought, since he doesn't know what they've done wrong. He spends the whole play trying to get to the truth.

When the truth finally comes out, however, Jocasta his mother/wife is so horrified that she hangs herself. His daughters are ruined forever, knowing nobody will ever marry them. And Oedipus blinds himself.

So...moral of the story? Americans might have trouble figuring out the point of all that melodrama. To the Greeks, however, the moral is obvious: you cannot outwit fate. You cannot outrun the gods. Apollo's oracle said this was going to happen--so it happened. There was no preventing it on anybody's part.

Also, Oedipus's (and his parents') fatal flaw was hubris--that's a very important Greek concept, so remember it--arrogance, believing (erroneously) that one is cleverer or stronger than the gods. Hubris is the downfall of many heroes in Greek myths because it's such an easy trap to fall into.

Finally, a bit of trivia: does anyone know the answer to the Sphynx's riddle, one of the oldest riddles in the world still surviving?
What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?
Post the answer if you know it, or figure it out!

Ciao!
~Meg

Pt. 8 of PJO: The Lightning Thief

Hey guys, Parte Siete is here! Siete = SEVEN.

actually, I just remembered that this is part eight! So Parte Ocho

In this section, Chiron explains the modernization of the gods.
MP3MP3MP3MP#MP#MP#MP#M3mpMM#m3pm3m3mpm3m3m3mmMP#Mp3mP3MP# Download!!!!!!!!!: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?82fnznvu5xj7myw

Have a wonderfilled day!

-luvthecheat

Pt. 7 of PJO: The Lightning Thief

Hey guys, sorry that I forgot about posting audiobook parts on here! Here is part 7 of Percy Jackson for your enjoyment.

In this section, Percy meets up with an old mentor, a god, and a new companion.

MP3 GET! http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?67l0vg80o3goe68
Yes, we use mediafire now, SO much better than SkyDrive!

bon!
-luvthecheat

Artemis (not Fowl) and Men

If you're Jewish, you might know that the date for Passover is determined by the full moon (since the Hebrew calendar is, I believe, lunar-based and therefore different every year). Correct me if I've got that wrong. But there were some massive, beautiful full moons last weekend if you took the time to notice outside your window.

In honor of the moon, I'd like to talk about Artemis today. Some traditions point to her as the patroness of the moon (although earlier there were a specific god and goddess for the sun and moon, Helios and Selene, that seem to have died out after a time because, well, they were kinda useless apart from being celestial bodies). Other than the moon, she was the goddess of the hunt and of unmarried women.

It was traditional for young Greek brides to make a sacrifice of a lock of hair to Artemis before the wedding ceremony--hoping to appease her as she left maidenhood behind, praying that Artemis would make that journey easier for her.

You might think it curious that Artemis would be the patroness of childbirth, given that she foreswore romantic love and marriage, and generally protects young maidens. The reason, however, is because her mother gave birth to her easily, but was having trouble delivering Apollo, so the infant goddess became her midwife and delivering her own twin. Gotta love Greek myth weirdness, huh?


Now, I know a lot of people really like Artemis--she was popular in Ancient Greek times, too--but I've never really been crazy about her. Sure, she's kind of badass with her archery skills, and she's supposed to be the nurterer of all things and the protector of innocent creatures, but I just don't see eye to eye with her when it comes to romantic love and men. There's nothing wrong with choosing to live a celibate life--I'm not knocking her for that--but to have such contempt for men in general seems a little unfair and like reverse-sexism. Also, I don't like her implication that, in order to be strong, feminist, and independent, you have to actively dislike men, and that you can't fall in love AND be a feminist. I mean, look at all the "strong" women in Greek mythology: Athena? Took a vow of chastity. Hestia? Took a vow of chastity. The Amazons? They have no use for men except procreation. Hera? Well, I guess she's an exception. And one could argue that Aphrodite is strong in her own way because she does, in fact, wield great power, just not in battle.

Now, I'm not saying that Artemis's viewpoint has no basis at all--I can understand why, in patriarchal Olympus, with all these testosterone-fueled heroes and a seriously philandering father, she would feel the need to break away from men a bit. But at least Athena collaborated with and became friends with men--because she knew she was their equal. Artemis seems to think she's BETTER.

To be fair, I am sort of exaggerating Artemis's opinions on men. For one thing, she really does love her twin brother, Apollo, even though they've got some healthy sibling rivalry. (They're always trying to one-up each other's archery skills.) She might feign disdain for him sometimes (he is kind of a playboy), but I think she feels pretty attached to him, and he to her.

In addition, even Artemis has to bow to love sometimes--or just once. Orion, a mortal hunter, one of the handsomest men in the world at that time, captured Artemis's attention. They were comrades, companions of the hunt, friends--and I feel that Artemis truly loved him, though in a gentler, less passionate way than so many of the gods fell in love. I can understand her affection for him because he respected her, showed her deference because she was a goddess, and didn't expect her to fall at his feet just because he's Orlando Bloom-esque. The accounts on this myth really vary depending on the source--some say it was just a platonic love, while others say they were truly in love, but most people agree it was not physically consummated, not even in a kiss. Artemis remained pure. Then Apollo (who had a weird jealousy at that time, probably feeling that no mere mortal was good enough for his sister, and that she shouldn't be with anyone anyways given her dedication to chastity) tricked her into killing Orion. He challenged her to an archery contest and said, "I bet you can't shoot that shape way out in the distance..." You can guess how that turned out.

I'm sure Artemis forgave him in the end, given that, well, you don't get to pick your family members, but it probably took a pretty long time. At least Orion got his own constellation, right? That tends to be the consolation when a mythical person's luck sucked. Anyways, Artemis's beloved hunter gets to watch over the night sky with her.

(Edit) There's a part in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, during the balcony scene, in which Romeo, weirdly desperate to make some sort of promise to Juliet, starts to swear his love by the moon. Juliet stops him and begs him not to--the reason she gives is that the moon is not constant, but ever shifting with the tides, but the real reason she doesn't want him swearing his love by Artemis' symbol is because she is virgin and foreswears romantic love. So, knowing your myths can help you better understand Shakespeare, and pretty much any other literary writer.
So what do you think of Artemis? Positive feminist heroine, or overzealous Amazon? Do you see her as cold and indifferent, or compassionate and nurturing? I'd like to hear your thoughts. One thing is certain: she, like many of the gods, is not simple or one-dimensional.

Snow? What the Heck?

Okay, remember how I was gushing about the 80 degree weather in March? Yeah, now it's April and snowing. Go figure.

I think I've figured out what happened, though: Hades and Persephone must have gotten into some domestic quarrel (Zeus only knows what about) back in March, she stormed out of the Underworld and went to stay with her mother a month earlier than usual, causing that weird heat wave. Now, of course, they've both had time apart to cool down and think, so they've realized what a silly argument it was, how childishly they behaved, etc. Hades isn't allowed upstairs except on the Winter Solstice, so Persephone went back to talk it out with him. The good news? Once they've kissed and made up, I imagine she'll come right back up to hastily undo this cold spell and give the mortals a nice harvest (and she'll be in a better mood, so we'll have a pleasant summer).

See, I can't be pissed about the snow when I imagine this as the cause--after all, I would feel bad too if I'd left my husband for six months without saying an affectionate good-bye (and sending your apology via Hermes just doesn't cut it), so I don't blame her.

Hope everyone had a nice Easter and/or Passover.
Meg

GREECE IS STILL ALIVE (At least in America! Not so sure about the geographical Greece being very alive....)

I TOTALLY WANT THESE SHOES!

Hermes' Awesome Flying kicks on the Goodyear logo

Prometheus getting tortured for bringing fire to Rockefeller Center

Prometheus bringing fire to Rockefeller Center

Hermes watching over the medical field with his caduceus

Hermes Rocks. No exceptions.

Pegasus appears in the Mobil logo

Pegasus also appears on cracked clay pots!

America's symbol also happens to be the animal of Zeus

Zeus's Eagle was a sign of great power. I think America liked that ;)

The Capitol building has a lot of Greek architecture present

I really wish this wasn't crumbling.

Hey folks. Hoppy Easter!

So I comprised here a couple of examples of where Greek influence bleeds into American culture. The gods claim to be "above those tiny mortals," but they can't help but keep nudging them to keep the old style alive. Greece certainly is not forgotten. It is still residing subliminally woven into modern civilization. The gods would never let themselves blend into the shadows. They're too vain.

My Apollo-gies for the weird formatting that happened to this post. I really don't understand why it's so stupid for me. Anywho, I hope you guys had a good Easter if you're Christian and a good... Passover... if you're Jewish. I feel kinda strange being so Pagan on Easter. Anyways, look for the gods inserting their symbols into our culture. Leave a comment if you found one of the many this that i missed :)

Actually, we are making a competition out of this little excercise! We want to see who can come up with the most examples of Greek influence in modern day! Not just in architecture and visible things, but modern literature and other such nonsense (no, you can't use Disney's Hercules, we've already used that one!). Be creative in your sources, links are appreciated!

So far we have only had one person post anything, so you better get cracking!

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Look at my face!

-adios,

Hades/RJ/luvthecheat/Ryan 

Welcome Back, Persephone

If you, like us, live anywhere near the Midwestern United States, you've been gleeful with all this crazy good weather. It's March! Usually we're still buried in snow over here in Michigan. It's been eighty degrees this week, and all the cherry and magnolia trees are blossoming.

With the arrival of spring, naturally my thoughts have turned to Persephone, goddess of spring. The Greeks would have perceived that the world of the living was welcoming her back joyfully with the blooming flowering trees, crocuses and daffodils that are starting to emerge, and the grass that is finally becoming green.

I like to think of Persephone and her mother, Demeter, as the two sides of the natural world. Demeter, goddess of agriculture, is all about orderly, disciplined farming—domesticated plants all in a neat row—and she loved homey tasks, simple living, and the everyday mundaneness of peasant lives. She’s utilitarian, in a sense—practical. Persephone, on the other, is all about the wilder nature, flowers (which have no purpose except to look beautiful and brighten up the world) and vines and everything that might make a lovely overgrown garden. She seems to be more about being than doing, if that makes any sense.

There’s a lot of duality in the personality of Persephone. She and her mother make up the two aspects of nature, while she and her husband are also yin and yang—life and death. And there’s also a little bit of duality just with herself: she is Kore, the innocent maiden, the nurturer of life; yet she is also the dreaded Queen of the Underworld, wife and consort of Hades, beautiful and powerful. She’s more multifaceted than she might seem at first glance from the stories—and perhaps she was just too complex to be boxed into her mother’s overly simplistic lifestyle. She does appreciate the quiet life, as she is her mother’s daughter, yet she is also Zeus’s daughter—she has the capacity for pride and majesty and stubbornness just as he does.

She is one of the few goddesses who is portrayed in a mostly positive light. Her compassion was as renowned as her beauty—though sometimes this was exploited by the unscrupulous.

For example, Sisyphus (pronounced SIS-uh-fus) was a mortal man who wanted to cheat death. He ordered his wife that, when he died, she should not give him a proper burial, so that he could not cross over into the next realm via the River Styx. Then, his ghost visited Queen Persephone and wove a sob story for her: “oh woe is me, my cruel wife isn’t giving me a proper burial so I cannot rest!” Persephone, of course, felt sorry for him. Sisyphus begged her to let him go back to the world above to chastise his wife and make her bury him—and poor Persephone, too trusting, let him.

Of course, then Sisyphus was like, “Suckers! No way am I coming back!” He stayed in the world of the living, just as he had planned, incredulous at his own cleverness.

Persephone, now humiliated, broke down and told her husband what happened. Hades was irate—not with his dear wife, but with the mortal who dared to think he could evade him. He dragged Sisyphus back to the Underworld and punished him most severely. In the Fields of Punishment, he was to be eternally rolling an enormous boulder up a mountain, laboring all day in the hot sun. And as soon as he reached the top, the boulder would come crashing down to the bottom, and he would have to start all over again.

Notice how the punishment always fits the crime in the Underworld: Sisyphus was arrogant and ambitious and thought he had the cunning to accomplish something both impossible and against the most ancient of rules. Therefore, he had to spend eternity trying to do something and having his work constantly being undone—as a reminder that the gods are, in fact, more powerful than humans, and that one cannot outwit them.