Introduction
The ancient Greeks had communal tales called myths. Myths focused on the life of deities, exceptional humans, adventures, and natural occurrences. These fascinating tales gave details about natural occurrences and events that could not be elucidated by science. The tales have been passed down from regeneration to generation for almost thousands of years. In these myths, several Greek gods, goddesses, and their roles have been described. All Greek deities are portrayed as perfect beings with the ability to perform miraculous acts. Notably, these gods and goddesses had unique behaviors and traits that human beings desire. For instance, Artemis the daughter of Zeus and Leto is one of the Greek goddesses that possessed amazing traits, personality, and behaviors (Lefkowitz, 2003). In the myths, she is described as the goddess of virginity, the moon, the hunter, childbirth, and caretaker of the natural environment. His brother Apollo became renowned for his exceptional traits. He was obsessed with arts and music as depicted in most paintings and sculptures. This article focuses on two people whose traits remind me of Artemis and Apollo.
Apollo
Apollo is a renowned Greek god who is portrayed in many sculptures with a muscular body and long hair. In myths, he is described as the deity of the sun, music, prophecies, and a healer. His parents were Zeus and Leto (Lefkowitz, 2003). Like the other gods, Apollo possessed supernatural powers that enabled him to command plagues and drive the sun across the sky using his four horses. There are some unique traits exhibited by Apollo that can be identified in some human beings.
Some of the personality traits exhibited by my favorite celebrity Chris Brown reminds me of Apollo’s personality. I have known Chris Brown for about a decade. Brown is a singer, artist, and actor who has won many awards. The art industry has earned him a lot of money from the million sales of his music records and paintings. I have realized that some of the Browns’ traits resemble that of Apollo. From his childhood, Brown has been obsessed with arts. It is alleged that Brown has painted a number of pictures and graffiti since he was 15 years old. Some of these arts have been donated for charity. This obsession with the arts can be related to Apollo’s fascination with the arts. Apollo has been depicted in numerous sculptures and paintings. In some books, he has been referred to as a god of arts.
Apart from art skills, Brown has a great passion for music. His music is not only entertaining but also full of fun. Brown commands substantial knowledge in many musical instruments. He plays guitar, drum set, and piano, as he is talented in music. Brown is a great choreographer who can dance while singing. He has great stage performances that allow him to entertain thousands of fans worldwide. Currently, he is considered among the most influential global celebrities. Based on the above illustrations, it is apparent that Brown shares some attributes with Apollo. In history books, Apollo is depicted as the god of music. At certain incidence, he is depicted in a music contest with Marsyas. The winner of the contest had the right to do anything to the loser. When Marsyas lost, he was murdered and dangled on a tree by Apollo (Lefkowitz, 2003).
Another attribute shared by brown and Apollo is their obsession with women. Brown has had several love scandals with famous women. Similarly, Apollo’s love for women has been documented in various Greek mythology books. In some instances, the god is illustrated engaging in an affair with King Troy’s wife. Some books assert that the god had an affair with a princess by the name of Cassandra who was the daughter of King Priam (Lefkowitz, 2003). With respect to the love for women, the two characters share similar attributes.
If I inform Brown about his similarity with Apollo, I would expect him to agree with some of my observations because as a celebrity he loves a lot of attention. However, he would not concur with my observation about his love for women. His similarities with Apollo would increase his popularity among his fans.
Artemis
The life of Artemis as portrayed in the Greek myths has similar attributes to the life of a musician Robyn Rihanna. Rihanna’s beauty is remarkable. She is considered to be among the best beautiful global women. Her beauty has earned her millions of global fans. To some extent, the celebrity has some of the character traits, which the Artemis possessed. Artemis had extraordinary powers that allowed her to command plaques (Napoli & Balit, 2011).
Artemis’s love for animals was undisputed. To date, animal activists are inspired by her acts. She used to rescue preyed animals in the same manner environmentalists work to rescue endangered animals. Just like Artemis, Rihannas’ love for exotic animals has attracted international attention. A few months ago, she posted images of herself holding an endangered primate. Similarly, on her trip to South Africa, she posted several pictures of herself standing beside giraffes and orphaned lions. Based on the above traits, it is apparent that Rihanna shares some attributes with Artemis in regards to their love for wild animals.
Another important trait I have noted in Rihanna is that she is overprotective. She does not like seeing her boyfriends in the company of other women. Even after breaking up with her former boyfriend, she never wanted to lose him. When Chris Brown beat her, she still loved him as seen when she initiated the reunion. She has tried severally not to talk about their broken relationship. It is apparent that she is always willing to forgive him. These attributes remind me of the possessive traits of the Artemis. She was overprotective of her holy animals rather than of humans. She could severely punish those who interfered with these animals. At some point in time we encounter, Agamemnon being punished for the killing of the sacred stag. He could not sail since Artemis caused a calmness to prevail (Lefkowitz, 2003).
Similarly, in many stories, Artemis is depicted walking alone through the forest hunting and caring for the animals she cherished. Just like Artemis, Rihanna likes taking nature walks along the beaches and animal park paths. Equally, some of her videos have a naturalistic setup. Whenever, I come across Rihanna’s pictures illustrated above, they remind me of Artemis behaviors. If I was to tell her of the many resembling traits they share with the Greek goddess Artemis, she may not believe them because they are mere coincidence. Alternatively, she might be amazed because of Artemis popularity and position in Greek history. I believe that Rihanna’s reaction would be inconsistent with the personality of Artemis.
References
Lefkowitz, M. R. (2003). Greek gods, human lives: what we can learn from myths. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Napoli, D. J., & Balit, C. (2011). Treasury of Greek mythology: classic stories of gods, goddesses, heroes & monsters. Washington: National Geographic Society.