Psychoanalysis of religious myths

The myths of Oedipus, Prometheus and Antigone are examples of psychoanalysis in storys containing the Ancient greek religion. Freud is one of the main psychoanalytic theorists of all time. He brought the analysis of the psyche and the analysis of the mind together to form psychoanalysis. Freud's analysis of Sophecles' Oedipus is his most prominent and famous piece of work because it has made the greatest impact on society. Freud seemed to be more fascinated by the context of the myth more than anything else which involved the main character, Oedipus, killing his father and marrying his mother. This lead Freud to famously claim that, 'it is the fate of all of us, perhaps, to direct our first sexual impulse towards our mother and our first hatred and our first murderous wish against our father.' This shows Freud using this myth as a tool to explain the working of man's psyche. The self blinding of Oedipus in the myth could symbolise our ignorance and blindness to our unconscious desires or maybe our deliberate refusal to acknowledge them. This insestual desire is seen in the Ancient Greek Gods way of life and could have influenced the writing of this play.The seeking of advice from the oracle at delphi (seen below) was an important part of the ancient Greeks religion and the inability to avoid the oracles message gives us an insight into how much fate was a part of the ancient Greeks lives.

 The myth of Prometheus was also analysed by Freud, in this myth there is also a resentment shown towards a father figure because Prometheus resents Zeus (the father of the gods). In the scholarly article 'Freud on Prometheus', the symbolic meanings of certain aspects of the myth are brought to light. The first is the fennel stalk that Prometheus keeps the fire in; according to Freud this represents a penis. His reasons for this connection with a penis are that by reversing what is kept in the fennel stalk (fire), you end up with water. The penis is the organ used to evacuate water from the body, therefore according to Freud the fennel stalk is a symbol for a penis. In my opinion this theory is not convincing enough, it seems as though he has relied on the idea of opposites in order to make his theory seem legitimate.

One of the key questions that arises from Freud’s invention of psychoanalysis is what if psychoanalysis had chosen another myth? If Freud has chosen for example the myth of Antigone then our understanding of psychoanalysis would be very different in more than one way. Firstly the key themes in Antigone differ to those in Oedipus. In Antigone we see women going against men, religion against law and individual against sate. These themes concentrate more on the politics of the developing psyche which contrast with the themes of Oedipus which concentrate on impulses and drives. Therefore if Freud had chosen Antigone, psychoanalysis would be more concerned with ethics and responsibility. The second way in which choosing this myth would have changed psychoanalysis would be that Freud would have paid closer attention to the female psyche. The reason for this is due to the fact the character of Antigone is such a strong character in the myth that Freud would have been forced to include her in his analysis. However as we can see from the way that he totally ignored Jocastas suicide when it came to analysing the Oedipus myth and in his subsequent Oedipus complex theory it was probably a deliberate decision not to choose the myth of Antigone. This may have been due to his old fashioned and sexist attitude, which would mean that he would not have wanted to promote female behaviour in a positive way.


 
Bibliography
The routledge handbook of Greek Mythology, Robin Hard

Classical Mythology images and insights, Stephen L.Harris and Gloria Platzner

The complete world of Greek Mythology, Richard Buxton

A companion to Classical Mythology, Robert J. Lenardon and Mark P.O.Morford

Holy Bible with Apocrypha New Revised Standard Version 

Theissen, G. And A. Merz (1998) The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide, London: SCM Press

Harris, Understanding the Bible, seventh edition


http://library.thinkquest.org/28111/newpage2.htm

Hesiod's Prometheus and Development in Myth, E. F. Beall

The Oedipus Complex, Antigone, and Electra: The Woman as Hero and Victim, Dorothy Willner

The Ancient Greek Gods in Drama

The myth of Prometheus bound by Aeschylus to some extent depicts the characters of Prometheus and Zeus in a typical way compared to Hesiod’s theogony. The portrayal of Prometheus in this extract displays to some extent a “typical” attitude in comparison with the Prometheus bound myth which was written by Aeschylus. The Prometheus we see in Prometheus bound is one of great compassion and generosity to the mortal humans. This is shown when Prometheus says “my great love for mankind” which displays Prometheus in a very philanthropic way. This is similar to the attitude of Prometheus that we see in Hesiod’s Theogony because he shows that he cares for the humans by acquiring the best portion of the sacrificial feast for them. However to some extent the attitude displayed towards Prometheus in the is passage is not typical because in Prometheus bound the chorus say “Over my eyes a mist of tears and fear spread” which shows that there is great sympathy for Prometheus. However this is not the attitude we see displayed towards Prometheus in Hesiod’s Theogony. Instead we see great hatred and anger from Zeus towards Prometheus. 

The character of Zeus that is portrayed in Prometheus bound is mainly a negative one. This is shown firstly when the god Hephaestus says “for the heart of Zeus is hard” which presents Zeus in a harsh form with no love or compassion for the people that betray him. The second negative example is when the chorus say that “Zeus governs with lawless customs”. This shows Zeus as a tyrannical and unjust leader. These points show similarities to the character of Zeus that is described in the extract from Hesiod’s Theogony. However Zeus is also portrayed in a positive way in Aeschylus’ Prometheus bound myth when Hermes says how great Zeus is as a law maker and that Prometheus is at fault.

This inconsistent attitude shown town towards Zeus is also shown in another play by Aeschylus, the play of the Suppliants. This play almost shows a complete contradiction of the character of Zeus. There are many scholarly opinions given when determining the reasons for this change in attitude shown towards Zeus. One of which is the opinion of H. W. Smyth whose explanation was called the “Evolutionary Theory”. He argued that “As Prometheus had been softened in course of time, so a change has come upon his antagonist who is under bonds to Fate. Right has been added to might. Mercy and equity temper the omnipotence of Zeus...” The problem with this is that there is no textual evidence that Zeus learns mercy, equity and justice. However I am more inclined to agree with the one of many explanations given by Gilbert Murray to the reason for this contrast in the portrayal of Zeus. Murray argues that the actions of Zeus are “inscrutable by our mortal minds and therefore unjudgeable.” This observation seems more appealing to me as it leaves the nature of Zeus as mysterious. This theory also seems more convincing due to the difference in a mortals understanding of behaviour and an omniscient and divine character like Zeus’ actions.

Genesis V's Prometheus

Upon analysis of the creation account in Genesis 1-4 and Hesiod’s Prometheus myth, a number of points of comparison occur. To some extent there are many similarities between these two myths. Firstly both Pandora and Eve are created second to man. This shows that they are socially inferior to men which can be connected to the culture at the time. Furthermore both women were created from man. Pandora was made by the god Hephaestus from earth which is what men are made up of. Eve was made from the rib of Adam (see image below) “And the rib, which the Lord God taken from the man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.”

Secondly both myths show women as the direct cause for the fall of mankind. The Hesiod Myth shows Pandora (image to the right) wilfully open the jar which causes evil to be unleashed on the world. The Genesis myth shows Eve taking the fruit from the tree of knowledge which they have been forbidden to eat. This act resulted in the couple losing their childlike innocence and realising that they were naked and also in their banishment from the Garden of Eden.

Thirdly both myths show people trying to obtain what their god wants. The punishment that Adam and Eve had to endure like having to go through the pains of labour in order to bear children and having to work hard to gain nourishment are connected to the same punishments that humanity had to endure due the sacrificial trick that Prometheus played on Zeus. These included man having to work hard in order to obtain food from crops whereas before food was just given with no agricultural ploughing of the fields being needed. This establishment of agriculture was a mark of differentiation between man and animal. This superiority of man over animal is also seen in Genesis when Adam names the animals that gods brings to him. This implies that Adam holds power over beasts and is above them, just as man is above animals in the Hesiod myth due to mans structured and skilled method of cultivation as opposed to an animal’s random killing. Furthermore this ploughing is connected to the fertile soil of Pandora that if seeded will bring about children in order to carry on their legacy and look after them in old age. This is similar to the command of God to Adam and Eve that they must “bring forth children” (Genesis 3:16).

However there are also many differences between these two myths. Firstly Eve was created from the rib of Adam and so is made directly from a human. However Pandora was made from the clay of the earth and is therefore less human than Eve. Secondly Eve was made to be a companion to man “It is not good that should be alone, I will make him an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:18) In contrast to this, Pandora was made to punish and destroy man. Therefore Eve was the cause of the punishment but Pandora was the punishment. Thirdly, although the character of the devil could be seen as being the serpent in the Genesis myth and as Prometheus in Hesiod’s myth (due to the fact that they both defy their gods authority), there are differences in the amount of courage that it would have taken to disrespect their authoritative figures.  The serpent could be seen as taking the greater risk due to the unknown power of god which could be an omnipotent figure. However Prometheus could be seen as being braver because he was aware of Zeus’ power and even though he knew that Zeus had fought his way to the top, Prometheus still had the guts to go through with the sacrificial trick.

The prometheus myth and anthropomorphism

In Homers account of the creation story, the God Prometheus forms the first man out of mud and breathes life into him. In Hesiod’s version of the story in 700 BC there are a succession of ages, starting with the golden age that is like paradise. There is no given explanation for the end of this age, in comparison to the biblical account of the creation of man in Genesis there is given an explanation. This is due to the wrong doing of Adam and Eve. The Creation of woman came about due to a trick that Prometheus played on Zeus. Prometheus sacrificed a sheep to Zeus but filled the bell of the sheep with the meat of the sheep and put it in one pile and rolled the bones up in the fat and put it in another pile. Prometheus then asked Zeus to choose which he pile he wanted. Zeus realised the trick and punished mankind by taking fire, Prometheus steals the fire back and gives it back to humanity. A punishment for this Zeus gave mankind a woman called Pandora referred to her as a beautiful evil. This was punishment because she was something that man uncontrollable desired. This may be viewed as a misogynistic thing to do however by giving humanity the female race they are seen as sexually threatening to men which makes men weaker. A very important aspect of Ancient Greek Religion that has yet to be mentioned is the fact that their images are human. This sets them apart from virtually all other divinities in the ancient world like the Egyptian religion that depict their Gods as various fierce animals. This anthropomorphic form may have been because in order to speak about the unknown you have to use the known for example in the Hebrew bible it says that god came down and walking in the Garden of Eden. This is impossible to describe unless God has taken some sort of form.

Hesiod's origins of the Ancient Greek Gods

The main source that we can use today to determine the origins of the gods is found in the work of Homer. Homer lived around 750BC and his work is the most ancient source and was the most widely followed. This means that the oral traditions that were later written down that originated from Homer are the closest thing the Ancient Greeks had to a bible due to the lack of holy documents. Not long after Homer the poet Hesiod composed the origins of the Gods called the theogony. This tells the story of the mating of the goddess Gaia (earth) with Uranus (heavens) and the castration of Uranus by their son Cronos. From the severed genitals of Uranus came Aphrodite goddess of Love. To the ancient Greeks this story was a matter of faith and helped explain how and why the world works as it does. This came to be known as the origins of Greek mythology. The story continues with the freeing of his siblings from Gaia’s womb and these were known as the Titans. Cronos married Rhea but did not want children and ate every baby that was born due to his fear of being overthrown by them. Rhea hide one baby Zeus before he could be killed by his father. The image below depicts Rhea presenting a rock wrapped in a blanket disguised as their baby Zeus in order to trick Cronos into swallowing it. When Zeus had grown up he returned and killed his father cutting open his stomach.

 All of the children emerged from Cronos and this was the birth of the Olympian Gods. This theme of conflict between father and son was one that was very apparent in the lives of the Greeks. This is due to the close family life style many of them lead with a great concern over succession and the father and son fighting over power.

Introduction to Ancient Greek Religion

Ancient Greek Religion was made up of more than one God, this is known as a polytheistic religion. This contrasts greatly with the Christian religion today which only has one God and so is a monotheistic religion. The Gods were seen as being superior to the human race mainly due to their immortality so the Gods fittingly inhabited mount Olympus while the humans were very much concerned with the earth and nature. The Gods were made up of Gods and Goddesses and were depicted by the humans in their own image. Each God was given a role that affected the lives of the Greeks and every God was meant to be worshipped equally in order to avoid punishment from the neglected God/Goddesses. This had the effect of fear on the Ancient Greeks and made them respect the Gods even more. The ancient Greek religion was not strictly polytheistic because the king of the Gods was Zeus, he is pictured to the right and was the God of the sky. Zeus presided over everything and was the supreme ruler.

The other main Gods were: Aphrodite; Goddess of love, Apollo; God of music, healing, guidance, purity and light, Athena; Goddess of war and wisdom, Hades; God of the underworld, Demeter; Goddess of harvest, Poseidon; God of the sea, Hera, Hestia, Hermes, Hephaestus, Ares and Artemis.