Political Concerns in Greek Mythology Essay

Introduction

Greek and Roman mythology was highly dependent on how people lived. A myth itself appeared because people were deeply religious and felt the need of glorifying their gods. The content of myths, in its turn, was influenced by many additional factors, such as culture, geographical positions of the country, history, etc. Many Greek and Roman myths are driven by political concerns, where one of the main themes is one party striving against another for the throne.

Main body

The idea of seizing the throne by killing the previous ruler is very common in Greek and Roman mythology. Moreover, it seems to be natural and even honorable: the more bloody and cruel the fight is, the more respectable a person who takes over the throne becomes. For example, the Babylonian poem Enuma Elish (The Epic of Creation) has the following words in it.

They rejoiced and offered congratulation: “Marduk is the king!”

They added to him a mace, a throne, and a rod,

They gave him an irresistible weapon that overwhelms the foe:

(They said,) “Go, cut Tiamat’s throat,

And let the winds bear up her blood to give the news.”¹

The words refer to the part of the poem when Marduk agrees to fight Tiamat and all her monsters, but demands to be provided with absolute power when he succeeds in the fight. This excerpt ideally demonstrates, first of all, cruelty and bloodthirstiness: “Go, cut Tiamat’s throat, and let the winds bear up her blood”.² Secondly, it shows what exactly Marduk has to do to be the ruler: he becomes the king only if he uses his weapon and “overwhelms the foe”.³ And finally, there is a phrase: “And let the winds bear up her blood to give the news”.⁴ That is, people have to be informed about the slaying of the ruler, so another one, the slayer, can become the new one.

The unusual weapon Marduk has in Enuma Elish symbolizes the power of this character over his rival. Moreover, this weapon is called an irresistible one. That is, the poem implies that Marduk’s rival has no chance to resist and win the battle. In other words, the ritual of killing the ruler to seize the throne is normal; it is the natural order of things for the Greeks and Romans.

Combat and victory are traditional elements of any Greek and Roman ancient myth, each of which usually has the following structure.⁵ It starts with describing a threat, which has to be eliminated, and a hero for whom this threat is somehow personal. Then, the story tells about an unusual weapon the hero is provided with and the faraway land, where he needs to get. Since the threat is usually a person, the combat happens, where the hero wins eventually: even though he can be temporarily defeated in the battle, he always overcomes the rival in the end. Finally, the hero returns home and gets the reward. The type of the reward usually depends on the character of the combat and the kind of a threat: if the hero has to overcome the beast, he will probably marry the maiden after it, and if he aims to overthrow the king, he will get the throne in the long run.

In this context, both a monster and a ruler can be considered as a threat in ancient Greek and Roman myths. In his book called The Golden Bough, Frazer explains that with the following words: “When his waning power threatened the well-being of the people, the king had to be killed and a young, vital successor placed on the throne”.⁶ He also proves that it is quite a common pattern in ancient mythology since the stories of Adonis, Dionysus, Osiris, and others all fall under the description above. Considering this, the slaying of the ruler to take the throne does not seem so cruel anymore since it is done for the greater good: “The king must die that the people might live”.⁷

Still, even though force and even cruelty can be justified, it goes without saying that it appears to be an integral part of the power in Greek and Roman myths. Therefore, the reason why almost any ancient myth tells about the combats and shows the victory of the main hero is that such kind of a plot symbolizes power. And power was the most important for the Greeks and Romans in those ancient times.

The kind of figures that are described as heroes in ancient mythology deserves attention as well since the main characters represent power too. Admittedly, they are influenced by the life people lived in those times. As proof, all warriors are males while many beasts or overthrown rulers are females (as a prime example, Tiamat mentioned above is a female character). Men in ancient times were free and dominant, in both their private lives and public spheres.⁸ They had authority, and all members of their households (above all, their wives) had to obey. Only men were considered to fight in wars and make a difference in politics. Thus, it is not surprising that myths endow men with strength while women are presented as either evil characters, weak rulers, or powerless maidens that serve as a reward to great warriors.

Considering all of this, particularly the cult of power that is evident to the naked eye, the following question arises. Why were the ancient Greeks and Romans so concerned about their power and dominance? The truth is that not only do people maintain the sense of being free and dominant, but the whole state did the same. One of the reasons for that is the geography of the Balkan peninsula.⁹ It influenced the history of the Greeks and Romans, their culture, the way they lived and co-existed with other nations, and, consequently, it also affected their mythology. Because of the mountainous terrain, the communication between states was weak, and each of them gradually gained political independence. That is why cities and states remained autonomous and, as Powell writes about it, “struggled constantly and murderously against one another”.¹⁰ Nevertheless, none of those exists presently, which proves that the greater lesson that can be learned from ancient Greek and Roman myths is the following. The power gained by force is temporary and should be regularly confirmed. Otherwise, another pretender to the throne will appear and take over.

Conclusion

To conclude, the political concerns that the Greeks and Romans had in ancient times influenced their mythology. By telling about combats for the throne, which usually were cruel and violent, myths celebrated power since the power was almost equal to the use of force in those times. Nevertheless, even though the Greeks and Romans indeed had some power and dominance, all that was temporary by its very nature.

Bibliography

Powell, Barry B. A Short Introduction to Classical Myth. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2002.

Footnotes

1. Enuma elish IV.28-32.
2. Enuma elish IV.28-32.
3. Enuma elish IV.28-32.
4. Enuma elish IV.28-32.
5. Barry B. Powell, A Short Introduction to Classical Myth (Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2002), 147.
6. Powell, A Short Introduction to Classical Myth, 34.
7. Powell, A Short Introduction to Classical Myth, 34.
8. Powell, A Short Introduction to Classical Myth, 159.
9. Powell, A Short Introduction to Classical Myth, 51.
10. Powell, A Short Introduction to Classical Myth, 51.