Mythology and Folklore

The Giant by Henry Justice Ford ( Wikimedia ) Odysseus, Sindbad, and the Giant “…And at last I arrived at this cave where we now feast.” “You expect me to believe there exists a valley of diamonds and serpents larger than elephants? That by attaching a large roast to you back you managed to escape by the wings of a great bird? Only to be rescued by merchants flapping their arms and yelling?” “Ay, this is the story of Sindbad the Sailor.” The room grew quiet as Odysseus rose, tension mounting as he said “How could you insult me such telling ridiculous lies. Do you think I am a fool?” Then, just as Sindbad began to fear for his safety Odysseus burst into laughter and so too did both crews. “Sindbad the Sailor, for all the wonders you have seen, you still cannot best the look on your face just then. I too, have had many great travels and experiences, the tales of which many would cast aside as horrible lies. Let us continue to share these stories while we fill our bellies, what a ch...

Sindbad the Sailor by Milo Winter ( Wikimedia ) Reading Notes: The Voyages of Sindbad, Part A First Voyage : I like the use of first person narration, different technique that I have not used yet, might be beneficial to try.  I also like the context of voyager on the sea, lends itself to nearly anything imaginable happening  Islands are cool because they exist almost as their own worlds, good way to test a character against situations not normally present in “average life”  Could be really interesting to retell this tale with Sindbad as an untrustworthy narrator or even through more of a dialogue with his listener responding: could also change listener  Second Voyage : Interesting how he goes from a somewhat reasonable voyage to a very strange one  I like the rhino and elephant story, might be interesting scene for descriptive imagery and could be placed anywhere  Third Voyage : Description of small savages that attack as swarms a story I hav...

Meditation by Moyan Brenn ( Wikimedia ) Siddhartha’s First Meditation Emphasis on knowledge indicative of that value within culture   Interesting method of plot development where main character is meditating. Can’t have him talk, instead has passerby comment on him to elaborate what is occurring  Supernatural occurrences with nature mark this story: ie. Shadow not moving  Interesting quote at end that must stop working in fields, must seek the great truths  Would be interesting to insert theme of finding the great truths working among the fields and talking to people of the earth. I would suggest that this is where real knowledge is found but this may not fit the caste system of the culture I believe this is set in: potential for retelling  First Encounter and Two More Encounters :  I like the emphasis on nature and the use of descriptive imagery to convey this  Scenes of nature and seasons as exposition frame stories nicely  ...

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The Great Flood by Bonaventura Peeters ( Wikimedia ) The Great Flood Jupiter’s lashed out, unsatisfied. He had drawn the winds and aerial waters to his side. Storms encompassing nations spread across the sky, a never ending sea of tumultuous darkness, split only by the bright flashes of Jupiter’s strikes. Water came torrentially, but not even this satisfied his anger. He called out to Neptune who joined in his cause. Neptune struck his great trident into the sands of the beach and at once the oceans came to life consuming all before them. The rivers rushed unrelenting, overflowing, and grabbing anything they could grasp as they raced to the oceans. Buildings, orchards, flocks, people, and temples, no one was spared as every body of water became one. The world is drowned None escaped save for Deucalion and Pyrrah. Able to salvage themselves on a small skiff, they moored near the top of Mount Parnassus, whose peaks rest among the stars. Here in this strange limbo...

                                            Week 4 Part B:  Ovid’s Metamorphoses: (Books 1-4) Echo: This is a wild start to the story with 3 different episodes in the first few paragraphs  Might be more difficult to replicate, this plot is very complex The plot got even more complex in the strangest love story I’ve read This story had significantly more detail and description than the last one I read from this book Mars and Venus: Interesting difference in narrator where it is a separate character telling the story Another unique version of a love story Shorter but still descriptive More straightforward plot but told well, driven right into the story right after some brief exposition Perseus and Andromeda: In this story and others from this unit there are many myths within the one larger story. For example, as Perseus is flying Medusas blood dro...

Mount Parnassus in 1821 by Edward Dodwell ( Wikimedia ) Week 4 Part A: Ovid’s Metamorphoses: (Books 1-4) Deucalion and Pyrrha :  Jupiter = Greek Zues; Neptune = Poseidon; Early flood myth. D and P only survivors. Themis = God of Law and order. D son of Titan god Prometheus, Pyrrha daughter of Titan god Epimetheus and wife Pandora. Interesting paragraphs. Action packed, seems to come from verbs, and does not feel passive. “The world is drowned.” All animals die except for ocean dwellers. Possible use for trickster animal experiencing flood. Transfer to passive voice now as focus settles on story. D and P come to rest on a mountain, Mount Parnassus that peaks above clouds in completely flooded world, really cool opportunity for descriptive imagery – link to limbo type world Jupiter clears clouds and Neptune calms the sea/Triton arises from ocean and blows conch returning rivers and streams to return – cool imagery  Probably want to retell this one with the additio...