Myths as Vehicles for Communicating Messages - Term Paper Example

TMA 03: Myth in Rome Q. ‘Myths were primarily vehicles for communicating moral and/or political messages.’ Do you agree with the ment? Answer inrelation to the uses of myth encountered in Block 2. A. Throughout history, myths have been transmitted prolifically, modified, truncated or extended to suit various purposes. Often, one of these purposes was the validating of different moral or political messages. During the early reign of Augustus Caesar, for instance, the emperor made a great effort to align himself with the Romulus creation story of the city of Rome. This was done to validate his reign as having sprung up from the original founders of Rome and also refashion his image as the new rebuilder of Rome (2.1, P. 108). This kind of implicit propaganda was spread through Augustus Caesar’s imperial imagery. He renovated the burnt down ‘hut of Romulus’, constructed statues of Aeneas and Romulus and so on. His own statues were accompanied by sculpted dolphins and cupids, which represented his divine ancestry (P. 109). Augustus’s reign was marked by this ardent idealization of the values of the so-called first Romans, exemplified in the figures of Aeneas and Romulus. Livy’s accounts of history are another example of how myth gets refashioned in transmission. His Histories begins with a prologue that tries to justify the vagaries of writing about ancient history, saying that it is impossible to know for certain the events of the distant past (2.1, P. 110). Livy also records differing versions of popular myths. For instance, the miracle of the she-wolf nursing the baby twins, Remus and Romulus, is explained in Histories as possibly being allegorical for a prostitute with the nickname of ‘Lupa’ which means ‘wolf’ who may have nursed the twins with her milk. Romulus’s death is given the alternate ending of having been killed by senators, Rhea Silvia’s claim to being raped by Mars is discredited as being delusional and so on (P. 111). These go to show that Livy himself was accepting of the fact that myths could be and were often modified and adapted to fit different criteria, during transmission. Livy appears to be pessimistic about contemporary Roman politics and although not nostalgic about the past, he traces a gradual degradation of the city of Rome from the early rulers. Livy is however, quite optimistic about Augustus himself and mentions the closing of the door of Janus’s temple at the end of the battle of Actium as a mark of peace. Livy’s Histories contains the origin of several of Rome’s most fundamental political and religious institutions. The creation of the Roman senate and the twelve lictors by Romulus, the purple-bordered toga and the curule chair all find their roots in the accounts of Livy (2.1, P. 112). Myth, therefore, merges with history and is used by Livy to instil pride in his contemporary Roman citizens by emphasizing the long heritage of their customs and institutions and by ascribing heroic, mythical origins to them. Virgil is another renowned source of another version of Rome’s foundation stories. The Aeneid traces the journey of Aeneas, who eventually becomes the ancestor of the Romans. Both Livy’s Histories and Virgil’s Aeneid are concerned with the origins of Rome, and yet these accounts are very distinct. Aeneas establishes the city of Lavinium, not Rome. It is from Lavinium that Aeneas’s son Iulus founds Alba Longa, from where Romulus ultimately founds the city of Rome. In terms of content therefore, Livy and Virgil are separated by a few generations (P. 113). An interesting aspect to both these writers is the way in which myth and history are inseparable. Romulus and Remus can possibly co-exist with historical characters like Augustus and Cleopatra. This kind of ambiguity makes it easier to pass on political messages through myth by subtly aligning the historical characters with the mythical character that suits the purpose best. The account of the rape of the Sabine women is another case in point. Incidents of rape mark them mythical origins of Rome at several junctures. Remus and Romulus are conceived after their mother, Rhea Silvia, is raped by Mars; the Sabine women are raped; and the royal period ends with the rape of Lucretia by Tarquin. In Livy’s account of the incident, although Live is sympathetic to the cause of the Sabine women and is aware of the injustice of the situation, he makes great effort to justify the actions of the Roman men. Livy gives the need for political survival of the Roman state as the cause of the rape, rather than sexual incontinence. He also mentions that the envoys that the Romans had initially sent out to ask for the Sabine women had been rudely dismissed. These appear to be designed to arouse the sympathy of the reader for the Romans. However, Mary Beard notes that in the subtext of this account there is the mention of a competition for the best-looking women among them, which implies that sexual attraction did have a role to play (2.1, P.121). This is another instance of myth being tailored in subtle ways to favour one political faction over the other. But it is also notable that of the ancient historians, it is perhaps Livy alone who gives the women an active role to play in the story. For instance, the Sabine women are later depicted as agents of peace when they intervene in the battle between their husbands and parents. Ovid’s account of the same incident differs on many counts. Livy makes the motive of the rape a political one, while for Ovid the rapes are committed for sexual reasons. Ovid repeatedly talks about sexual desires in his play and establishes the Sabine incident as a prototype of a seduction scene, whereas Livy had envisioned it as a prototype of Roman marriage. Another difference is in the account of the women’s reactions to their rapists. Livy treats the women as a group, their response being depicted as a collective one. But Ovid on the other hand, goes into much greater detail and depicts individual responses. Some women are seen to cry out for their mothers, some tear their hair; some appear dazed with horror and so on. The interpretation of this is ambiguous from a modern perspective. While some argue that this interest in the psychology of rape victims is progressive and prefigures feminism, it is difficult to accept this in the light of the attitude in which these stories are depicted. The playwright seems to enjoy recounting these stories, and even if one were to make allowances for a distinct ‘poetic persona’, it is still difficult to reconcile feminist intent with a play that ultimately rejoices in the many ‘conquests’ of Romans. This attitude towards the incident, and additionally the choice of representing it in the theatre, has been seen by some scholars as Ovid’s attack on the present ruler and as an effort to undermine his allegedly noble heritage. We see therefore, that the myth of the origins of Rome can and have been adapted to variously justify or attack the reign of Augustus Caesar. Myth is therefore quite an effective vehicle to advocate or undermine political ideologies. This adaptability of myth was further used by emperors to justify their own rule. Nero is a case in point. Nero aroused the scorn of many contemporary historians because of his ardent love for the arts. The records of his participating in theatre, riding chariots, playing the lyre and writing poetry are all noted in negative terms. Most charioteers and stage actors belonged to Rome’s lower classes, which may have been cause of some of the elitist ire that the historians felt. There were also elements of extravagance and farce noted in this accounts: Nero was criticised for spending so lavishly on such trivial issues and ridiculed for his performances which the audience were compelled to applaud, whether they truly thought them worthy or no. These performances all have an underlying theme of myth. For instance, Nero liked to play the roles of Oedipus, Thyestes, Heracles, Orestes and so on (2.2, P. 138). Nero’s taking up of mythical roles might suggest his own belief and advocacy of his divine ancestry. Nero’s father had been deified after his death. Perhaps Nero actually believed, or at least liked to assert, that he too was a descendant of god. Playing divine or mythical roles on stage in front of huge audiences would serve as a very effective visual reminder of this ‘fact’. Edward Champlin suggests that Nero’s choice in playing these roles – characters that were matricides, incestuous or wife-killers – that was so reviled by his chroniclers, need not have been only a mark of his unstable personality. These choices in roles were a bold move as they helped to justify and contextualise some of his own actions (2.2, P. 140). Nero had, at the beginning of his reign, made claims to rule in the style of Augustus. By association therefore, Nero became connected to the god Apollo. His conscious alignment to Apollo was designed not merely to flatter his ego and enhance his esteem but it was also a ploy to exploit the divine imagery for purposes of reinforcing the positive attributes of Apollo which the people looked up to as a blessing for mankind. (2.2, P. 145). His likeness to Apollo as found on the coins extended Apollo’s divinity to Nero and was used as a symbol to communicate his political power and augmented his status in the eyes of the people. It must be pointed out here that myth was used as an accepted form of communication (4.1, P. 17). Amongst other contexts in which myth was used by people myths was a large exploration in the region of speculation of what happened to the soul after death. The question of human mortality and of life after death also found significance in the philosophical quest to figure out the phenomenon of life after death. This theme has been explored extensively in mythological stories in different civilizations of this world. The subject of myths and mythology is based on the beliefs, faith, customs, rituals and sociological aspects like society, hierarchy, defining political power and the structure of the society and family. Myths and mythological stories also have been the cornerstone of inspiration for literary expression in the form of stories, poems, epitaphs, elegies and have been handed down through generations, with minor modifications depending on the social climate of the times (4.1, P. 171). Myths help to bring about cohesion in society, give a logical context for the ethical codes and provide motivation to adhere to rules derived from apprehension of punishment or the lure of reward (4.2, P. 175). They form the backbone of history of a particular society and people. They have been given a local flavour while adapting to different regions under particular rulers and may be used to study the differences in society and culture between people from different regions. The appeal of myths is that it is devoid of any intimidating literary style or pattern. Myths have been woven around various objects, people and rulers and have been a medium with which common people can associate themselves. They are both emotive and carry with them the weight of the belief and faith of the people. They not only communicate symbolically but in many cases directly to throw light upon certain aspects about how the present social rules and norms have evolved. The intellectual elite knew that the myths and folklore were not necessarily authentic they were often prepared to observe and honour the traditions (4.2, P. 175). Therefore, myths have and always will serve as primary sources of information about people and society of different eras. People have used them to serve individual purposes and collectively form a corpus of information or have been inspirational for literary works like Homer’s Iliad, and in more recent times the Fairy Tales of Hermann Hess and the story of Grendel by John Gardner. On the lighter reading side, Dame Agatha Christie has written an entire series of stories based on Greek mythology. Thus, myths have helped to popularize and bring different world cultures closer. 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