Eternal Love

The story of Baucis and Philemon summarizes all the key points in Metamorphoses. I enjoyed how the characters were humble and gave, even when they themselves didn’t have much to give. The gods are shown doing one of the things they enjoy doing, and have been doing all through the play, disguising themselves and toying with the lives of the mortals. Though in this story thanks to the kind hearts of Baucis and Philemon they have a happy ending as a gift from the gods.

I’ve mentioned love in many of my posts because all these tales are about love. Still the most poetic words of love I have heard all through the play have been in Baucis and Philemon:
“Let me die the moment my love dies
Let me not outlive my own capacity to love
Let me die still loving, and so, never die”
Love is part of everyone and it is demonstrated in different ways. You don’t share the same love with your brother as you would your boyfriend, but still the essence of the love you are trying to give is there. Baucis and Philemon was an old couple that had spent all their lives together. The request they made to the gods was so sweet and loving. I’ve seen old people lose their lifelong companion and it isn’t pretty. They walk around kind of lost and seem to find the other person in everything they do. I know that if I old and were given the choice to die at the same time as the person that I truly love; I would take it so suffering would not follow me in my last days.

In this music video you see examples of love in different stages. The part when they show the old man remembering his deceased wife made me think of Baucis and Philemon because they got to go together to heaven and no one stayed behind in pain.


What I also liked about this part of the play was how they go back to the first story of Midas and show how he was reunited with his daughter. After the whole cast says the words of Baucis and Philemon, it seems magical that the play would end in a way that brings conclusion to all the stories.

Teen Angst Through Phaeton

Before I read the script, I had an idea what the story was about but after reading it, things were so much clearer. I enjoyed that Marry Zimmerman gave the story that twist that Phaeton is like a teenager breaking free from his parents. Who doesn’t seek those moments of freedom when we can define those that have been the road block in what we want to do? Phaeton also has qualities that are much like any other teenagers. The way he responds to what his mother says to him, his sarcasm, and the way he has to deal with other peers is a very typical thing in a teenager’s life.

Phaeton has been neglected by his father Apollo. Apollo is a busy god that has to ride the chariot that makes it night and day in the world. I found it funny how Phaeton wants to ride such said chariot and take advantage of the situation. I know that if I was asked for anything I wanted and the person held a strong oath I would definitely do something like what Phaeton did. When he asks for the keys of his car and Apollo starts backpedaling, I found it to be such a typical situation in real life. It’s also kind of sad how Apollo was never a part of Phaetons life and how now that his son is there, he is going to make up for all the lost time by letting him ride his car. You can’t buy love through material means.

“So I set out and it’s hot and it’s dusty and it’s a long way- across Ethiopia. And I hitch part of the time and part of the time I walk and finally, finally, I get there. And the hill is steep.” (pg 64)

I can totally see myself reflected in this quote because trust me like any other person my age out there I complain. I can even picture the face Phaeton would have done talking about this journey in frustration because I have used the exact same face in boring family outings and annoying moments. I really enjoyed that the therapist is talking about what Phaeton says in a psychological way calling this his “spiritual passage from one sphere to the next.” Then when he is done describing his real journey she makes it sound like a metaphor when she says the passage is never easy. The mix between the story Phaeton is talking about and the therapist deep analysis of what he truly means is quite entertaining.

All in all I really enjoyed finally grasping this story. I seriously never understood this part even when I worked on the play here in school. Like I said before I got the story but not the idea of the teenage drama being analyzed by the therapist.

If you want to understand teenage reactions, check out this trailer:

Le Amour

Love can be a tough road. Anything can go wrong and if your overanalyzing (like most girls), any small gesture can be amplified about 100 times. In the story we read in these pages we see love being represented along with all the blunders one can make to achieve it and all the frustrations being ignored can have on a person.

I really enjoyed the story of Pomona and Vertumnus. I can defiantly relate to Vertumnus because it isn’t easy to be completely ignored by the person you like. The frustration he experiences by being cast away by the woman he loves is part of everyone’s experiences. How many times in history and in movies has the woman or the man been ignored because they don’t live up to the other persons expectations? Vertumnus tries to impress Pomona through different disguises and acting different every time he see her. I wouldn’t say we impress people through disguises anymore but you do strive for the attention of the person you love. Even if it is just a gaze your way, you feel complete and that all the time you’ve spent thinking of that person is worth it. It’s like when Pomona touches Vertumnus by mistake and he says:”I live for these trivial moments”, it’s those simple gestures that can make someone heart flutter.

If it isn’t that the person doesn’t like you because they simply don’t like anyone, its worse when they have standards. It’s horrible when a person is judged not for who they are but for how they look and how they act. Sure looks can be important but they aren’t that important. Pomona is a great example of a person who cares for what is inside more than on the outside. I think when Vertumnus realizes that Pomona is not going to fall for any of the fictional characters he shows, he sees that it is not so much because of the characters but the fact that they aren’t who he is. Pomona also finally is interested in Vertumnus when he shows her the true him, not a fake: “When at last the god revealed himself just as he was, much to his surprise, he had no need for words. Little Pomona was happy with what she saw, unadorned and undisguised. Soon enough the vine was clinging to the tree.”(pg 62) You have to be true to yourself and have confidence in who you are for others to see it. This idea has been used throughout the years in movies, T.V shows, and books. I wonder if this is one of the first examples ever made of inner beauty. Did Ovid write about this?

Then there is the story of Myrrha and her father (talk about disturbing) that has a great point. Soon enough everyone will experience love and once you are trapped by those feelings there is no way to ignore them. Like Aphrodite said,” You can shut yourself in a room, bolt the door, but love will come through the window. Draw the curtains, lock the casement, but love will seep through the walls. Never think, never think you can be safe from love.” I completely agree with her. It doesn’t necessarily have to be your father (eww) but what if you like that guy you swore you were never going to like? One day you wake up, see him, and think to yourself: Hey he isn’t that bad. Then like Myrrha you are stressed and annoyed at yourself for liking the one person you vowed to think of as a jerk for the rest of your life. But off course in her case it was just disturbing incest brought upon by the gods. Still it’s the same thing you don’t go looking for love, love finds you. Sometimes it can be found in the most unpredictable person but it is still there. You let love lift you up like in this image of this couple, she is letting the person she loves lift her up.

This is going to sound cheesy but you have to follow your heart.

Myrrha was with her father in the night and didn’t let him see her. It was a good idea in which she satisfied her cravings for him and he had a good time. This image titled “Lovers Playing in the Dark” reminded me of them:

As I said before love can be tricky and full of challenges. But if the characters of these story were able to overcome them and finally be with whom they loved, anyone can.

A Sacrifice Unapreciated

Orpheus and Eurydice are another couple shown to us in Metamorphoses. Instead of focusing on the characters it focuses more on the actions each one assumes toward each other. By taking his journey down to the Underworld Orpheus proves how love haunts you even after death separates you. Instead of moving on and continuing with his life, he makes a journey to restore what made him truly happy in life. Orpheus uses love as his tool in the Underworld to make an impression on the gods.

As Orpheus speaks he uses rhetoric to make his point to Hades. When he talks about how he knows that all beings come to the Underworld in the end and how he knows Eurydice will be a citizen, he shows logos. His logic showing that he knows this proves that he has given thought and time into his speech. He also talks about love uniting Hades and his wife representing it in a pathos way that causes emotion in his listeners.

Eurydice doesn't say much during the scene but I am confused by why she forgot at the end who Orpheus was. We got both sides of the story as Orpheus narrated:"They had to be behind him, but their steps were ominously soft. If only he could turn around just once."But when they mention Eurydice's part, they speak of how she was indifferent to all that was happening. Then what I found troubling is that she didn't recognized him, the guy that had risked everything for her, and when the moment came to part forever; "her steps constricted by the trailing gravelclothes, uncertain, gentle, and without impatience." as if the journey was worth nothing.

True Love and Feathers

Love is a broad topic all human beings go through. Ceyx and Alcyone are a clear example of the never ending love that one feels or can come to feel. In this story we see two characters that part ways for the first time and handle being apart in a very passionate way. Alcyone is the devoted wife who does not wish for her husband to go out to see and risk his life, according to her “the winds are wild and beyond anyones control.” Ceyx is the typical male proving his worth by not being domesticated on shore and trying to prove his independence through this journey.

My favorite part of demonstration of undying love is when the gods are compassionate and instead of separating them forever turn them into birds:
“Together they still fly over the waters ‘surface
And mate and rear their young and for seven days each winter
Alcyone broods on her nest that floats on the gentle water
For Aeolus, her father, then keeps the winds short reined
And every year gives seven days of calm upon the ocean
The days we call the halcyon days.”
Pg 32
What I like is that even though they were apart their love was so potent that it reached the gods own hearts. Instead of having to live on without Ceyx and being her biggest fear ( a widow) Alcyone gets to stand by her husband’s side (wings) forever.

Besides love I wanted to mention the gods included in these pages and their connection to the mortals. Poseidon and Aeolus are the ones who casts the storm upon Ceyx and his men. At the beginning Alcyone mentions that not even her husband, son in law of Aeolus, is saved from her father’s strong winds . I think that even though he was the god of the wind, he should have given free pass to his son in law and not caused his own daughter so much grief. Other gods present were Aphrodite, Heremes, and Sleep. What I most enjoy about Greek mythology is how the gods play a pivotal role in the lives of those who pray to them. How the destiny of mere mortals is in the hands of supreme gods.

Metamorphoses

Creation has been a topic of much question through time. The big bang theory is a credible version of how the world came to be but then there is also the moral part of creation which is all about God. According to The Bible, God created Earth in 7 days. The creation being described in this part makes me wonder if this, in a The Bible point of view, is how God created Earth:"He first molded the Earth into a the form of a mighty ball so it might be of like form on every side. Then he bathed the waters to spread abroad to rise in waves beneath the rushing winds...". The difference here is that in Greek Mythology many gods existed and it is not specified which of these many gods was the one to change this mass.

I noticed that personification is used a lot in this reading. Describing the different changes going on, Ovid gave life to inanimate objects such as the ocean and water:"nor had the oceans stretched her arms".

Up to now I am very intrigued with what will happen. Metamorphoses can only be related with the creation going at the beginning and how things evolve like a caterpillar into a butterfly. Later on as we read I am sure the title will make more sense on the change the characters go through in the story.

All Teachings Come to An End

Krishna explains to Arjuna about the divine traits and the demonic traits. He favors the divine over the demonic because the traits contained in the divine include kindness, charity, and basically being a good human being. In these teachings they explain how the demonic traits lead to an unhappy material life. But if you follow the divine traits and “relinquishes all three gates of hell” (pg 130) rebirth will not be a punishment. Krishna also says: “All creatures in the world are either divine or demonic; I described the divine at length ;( pg 128). By saying this we discover that the past teachings were all about being divine beings and the paths the divine are supposed to follow. I agree that in the world there are divine and demonic people and the way Krishna describes those that are demonic could be a new dictionary description of the ghastly beings in our world.

Three new categories emerge in teaching 17. Lucidity, passions, and dark inertia are fully explained in this teaching and lucidity is better than any other. When “sacrifices” (pg 132) are to be made Krishna sheds darkness over dark inertia and passions because they do the sacrifice without faith in it. Meanwhile a good sacrifice should “be offered with lucidity when the norms are kept and the mind is focused on the sacrificial act, without craving for its fruit.” (pg 132). In dark inertia these sacrifices are done without feeling and in passions (which are desires) only the fruit of the end product is wanted.

Probably the most interesting part of teaching 17 was the last page because it explained the sounds you make when doing anything. OM. SAT, and TAT make up the words to be used when asking for forgiveness, doing charity and admitting your wrongs. ASAT is described as “penance given without faith and have no reality here or after death” (pg 134). It is not showing any emotion in the actions you do and walking around doing something that doesn’t fill you with faith and is not appreciated by Krishna.

Action is all around us and can also be described as passionate, lucid and dark inertia. Those who perform the actions that are expected from them in a lucid way will always find the way to have a good life. Those who choose to complete the action either with passion or dark inertia suffers from spiritual unrests. The end of the Bhagavad Gita is very good and shows that through learning and listening one can come to understand how things are supposed to be and what is expected of you at the end.

In this drawing I did I drew Krishna as I imagined him in his own form. It shows his power and how superb he is to everyone that surrounds him. You see how everything that surrounds him is how he expects the universe to be and all the teachings are somehow demonstrated.

Understanding the Teachings of Krishna

These teachings were the most clarifying because we got to understand what connection Krishna had to Arjuna and why this lesson was going on among the two characters. Krishna is telling Arjuna to fight and here it is explained why he has to fight and kill according to Krishna. I wonder if the reason Arjuna revealed himself to Arjuna is because before the battle he was a devoted follower of his ways and now Krishna is guiding him.

pg 98: After seeing in teaching 10 how Krishna is everything that surrounds us it was interesting to see him being describes not as one of his many bodies but as Krishna himself. Up to now we have only heard of one of many gods in the Hindu religion and I wonder if Krishna is THE GOD like Zeus was to the Olympic gods.

Pg 102: Everything Arjuna said about Krishna is very respectful but at the same time he knows Krishna is better to have as a friend rather than an enemy. Like the moth Krishna can cause destruction in one second to his enemies. Arjuna is frightened by this form of Krishna he prefers to see him as the gentle charioteer he was and not as the supreme being he is. You can see a clear example of this in page 107.

Finally after chapters of not understanding what Krishna expects from Arjuna we see that he is simply using him as a"weapon"(pg 103) over his job of killing those that oppose him. When he says that they are already dead to him one assumes that the other side did something to offend Krishna and therefore deserve punishment. They probably didn’t take action and therefore didn’t make a sacrifice to honor Krishna.

They explain what "detachment and knowledge"(pg 114) is to Krishna. What most impacted me was when Krishna said he had to be detached from his home, wife, and children. Then it goes on to say how Krishna wants his devotees to be loners who don’t speak to anyone but him. What do you gain at the end? A never ending spirit.

A new term comes into the story known as dark inertia. Here "inertia"(pg 120) is negligence and falling into the desires that are looked down by Krishna. Inertia and Passion are two very bad things here because they are born from negligence that comes from the previously said desires.

This part makes me already guess that Arjuna will stand up to the enemy no matter that they are his own family, his own blood.

Krishna: A Bit More Personal

What I noticed about these 4 Teachings was that we got a better understanding of who Krishna is. In all the teachings she referred to herself at some point and that was a bit more clarifying who this god was. I keep relating Krishna to God because of how he says he is everywhere and that if we want we can reach to her through being good. Though being good in this story is only thinking about Krishna and not caring about anyone else to the extent of not carrying about your friends and loved ones. Its like she is telling Arjuna that it is either her or the highway.

pg 28

I am a bit confused about Krishna being desire and all. Is he a good desire? The desire that impulses men to complete their sacred duty to be with him,or is he the desire that pushes them away? Maybe he is the desire to be strong for him in battle and other times he also impulses the bad desire. Still why would she do that if what he wants is for them to be with him?

pg 29

It is later explained that Krishna creates all these creatures and decides who goes where. This quote was kind of impacting because Krishna says you have to get close, inside, this god, and yet you don't truly know him. Maybe once you reach that place of knowledge you do understand Krishna and get to know him.Or maybe Krishna is destined to always be unknown and just be a voice in the back of our head who tells us to kill no matter what.

pg 32

This is the only moment that I felt man had destiny in his own hands. He could choose either to follow Krishna or not to. Like all things in life, you choose the path that gratifies you the most. Here it is the path that saves you from rebirth. So Krishna created rebirth to punish those who don't reach him in their current embodied self. The last part of the quote is the best because I also agree that you need a clear head to understand what path you are going to take and that all depends on how well prepared you are.

pg 35

Here we see that Krishna is impartial to men. I find this pretty interesting because I thought that to get in a gods good side you had to do many things. In a way Krishna says that the only way you are going to know him is by following his ways and not by sucking up to him. I found it a bit disturbing that even a criminal could reach high powers. Wouldn't that mean the criminal could be more powerful yet worse of a criminal? In my religion if your a devoted good person you get the gratification but if you are devoted and a bad person it doesn't matter your still bad. The meaning of virtue is: Moral excellence and righteousness; goodness.Wouldn't a criminal be the opposite?

These teachings were the most insightful into who Krishna is and what Hinduism is all about. It even explains how everything you do can be positive or negative towards Krishna.I found this song on YouTube about Krishna which made me think that maybe in modern times Krishna can be praised through song. In the song the man is begging Krishna to forgive them for being bad.

Action, Discipline and Knowledge

In the third teaching, sacrifice and action are words that are used over and over again. According to Kishna with action comes sacrifice but you need action to survive. Basically they talk about how change is good for man and that by taking action you are making a difference. I agree with Kishna about action being good but not in the context it is in the book still trying to convince Arjuna to kill his family.

pg 44

pg 45

In the quote from page 44 I found it interesting how Kishna is trying to explain action through sacrifice and how one cant exist without the other. Still isn't a sacrifice supposed to be something you don't do for yourself but for others? Though they have a point that it has to be free of attachment because most wars in the present are usually to support someones vision and not look at the big picture. If you are going to cause a war cause it for a reason that is free of attachment.

pg 45: I found this quote funny and interesting because I didn't really understand why in prayer Hindu people said OM. I found it funny because that someone takes the sound so seriously was kind of comical. I also liked the last part because it sounds like the type of thing the bad guy would say to the good guy in a movie when he has him dangling by a foot on top of a building. "you are weak, surrender!"

In the fifth teaching I liked that at the beginning we got a clearer idea of who Kishna is. "Though myself unborn, undying, the lord of creatures, I fashion nature which is mine, and I come into being with my own magic." pg 52. I found it interesting that they explained everything about the in actions and how you are expected to take action to enter paradise. Its also pretty cool how sacrifice action and knowledge are attached to one another. I m still not sure if Kishna could be compared to God in some way though. Because they both seem to be pretty high powers but I don't know if Kishna is the ultimate power but how she mentions how people seek her for comfort and she guides them kind of reminds me of God. I also found it very interesting that it was Kishna who invented knowledge and taught it to the other gods and then to man. She didn't leave man to learn for themselves but taught them from the start which could be good or bad depending on your views on how to raise mankind.

I agreed with the views explained in Teaching 5 because I also believe that to be happy you do not need material things. Still I wouldn't want to completely separate myself from material things but just the general knowledge that I can live happily without it is pretty good no?

pg 61

I really liked the metaphor on how knowledge will illuminate everything like the sun. Ive also noticed that it could be hard for a person to achieve this perfect knowledge mentioned in the book. My father is always reminding me how the only thing I have to do right now in my life is get a good education so I guess he could support his reasoning with this book.

pg 63

Even breathing is part of sacrifice? The person who follows all these rules must be really happy according to this. Not only happy but really smart. I think that your happiness depends on how you want to create it and not on how someone wants you to live your life. Finding peace and happiness to me are two very different things. Peace is when everything in your world is in place but it doesn't necessarily mean you are happy and the same with happiness you could be super happy but not at peace with the actions you took to get there. For example a drug dealer could be happy but not at peace because he is causing some kind of pain to have his own happiness.