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The match between the twins rivals in Myth and literature

I

"Everyone needs an enemy" – that word, I heard from two American men who did not know each other, sounded quite amazing to me every time. Naturally, being used for general language, I took the word "man" means "person", and as I've never had the need of an enemy, I felt quite confused until I recalled the theory of Robert Graves on ancient mythology. In his book The White Goddess, he explains the essence of the old theme of poetry, which is the story of the birth, life, death and resurrection of the god of the year, god, representing the seasons of the year is sometimes divided into two: the God of the Waxing Year, and her sister and rival, the God of the year graduate. The first is the protagonist of the story, the second is the antagonist, and completeness of the story, one can not exist without another. At both sites of the year when they meet, they kill others and always takes its place alongside the great nature goddess, who is the mother of twins, the lover and the murderer. Thus, each of the two mythological characters needs of his enemy as a whole person.

It must be remembered that in ancient pagan mythology, none of the twins is good or evil, both are needed to form a whole, as has been the need winter day and night needs the darkness the light of needs. There is a natural dichotomy exists in nature, where humans have tried to understand and interpret throughout their existence as Homo sapiens.

The idea of this rivalry for the love and power is the best represented by the ancient Canaanite myth of Baal (meaning Master) and Mot (Death meaning). The goddess Anat is the sister and the lover of both twin brothers (the mother's role is filled by the Mother Goddess Athrat / Astarte, Anat, while the role as a killer is subtly hidden, this myth was written later than its original tale of the goddess of nature omnipotent single). The story goes thus: the season of spring, when all the rains scarce and the vegetation begins to dry up in this region of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, killing Baal word – which represents the rainfall and vegetation Green – and buried in a hidden location in the North, where the sun never shines. At the height of summer (the month of Tammuz, the counterparty Baal Babylon), Anat with the help of the sun goddess, find serious Baal, his body takes on him and mourning. She then catches word of the form of dry wheat, so will reduce – that shoots him – castigated him and his body was scattered like chaff in the wind like dust. In the fall, Baal returns to life, bring rains that cause the earth to soften and the green grass to grow, grains of wheat (= maize), which represent the body MOT, are buried in the belly of the earth – strewn say – from which the corn is always greener on the body of Baal, and the cycle begins again. It is obvious here that the two seasons year, and both aspects of maize are needed for life to exist and continue.

This pagan belief in the dichotomy year was so strong that in some places of myth and the connection between the goddess of love and political power has been used not only as a basis for the ritual but also the reality. In his book The Greek Myths, Graves presents historical evidence of such a politico-religious in some city-states of ancient Greece, the pre-classic period, there were seasonal changes between pairs of leaders. One of these pairs is the Beaver Twin brothers and Pollux, the Dioscuri called ("twins"), which traded in the seasonal throne of Sparta after their death, the brothers have become gods and have been fixed in the sky as the stars representing the Zodiac Gemini ("twins") sign.

The myth is symbolic for both reality and the ritual, and it is not always possible to distinguish between the two. In this European Year, the sacred king symbolizes the bride years younger priestess of the goddess of spring and summer, his rival brother, symbolizing the year down, is married the former priestess of the fall and winter, which is also the goddess of death. Ritual, when the sacred king marries the goddess of death, he dies and becomes king of the underworld.

In my opinion, that good literary history needs a conflict between a protagonist and an antagonist stems from the theory of rivalry between the God of the Waxing Year and the God of the waning year. This idea is particularly literary important in the 19th century. This is called the Romantic literature (to be distinguished from the more recent "romantic novel"). Two such prominent books are those written by the Bronte sisters, Emily and Charlotte.

In the book of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, heroin Kathy is in love with Heathcliff, who is in his appearance and character of God or death of king of the underworld he is black, wild, wild, and belongs to the lowest class possible. The myth is his match with the girl Kathy impossible because it represents the dark god of autumn, and she marries the lovely Linton and beautiful, which is clearly the god of spring and Light. Heathcliff, penniless, wandering about distant lands and acquired great wealth, then, identifies yet more with the Roman Pluto, the God of the Underworld Rich. When Heathcliff returns, Kathy died, as if he brought death with him. But a dead woman becomes generally herself the Goddess of Death, and she also takes to his grave. Thus, they should meet, how they have always been made one for the other inhabitants of the underworld, where Kathy is no longer young and pretty. It is, however, throughout history, one who holds in his hands rule and motivation of love and power.

Curiously, the same year as Emily's Wuthering Heights book was published (1847), Charlotte Jane Eire and was published – a book that is clearly based on the same theme. In this document, Rochester is the parallel of Heathcliff, the dark man wild and in which the heroine falls in love, though Rochester is of high birth and much more cultured than Heathcliff. His rival in the pursuit of the hand Jane Rivers vicar, who Parallels Linton in appearance and in its nature cold and logical. Jane Eire, however, differs from Kathy to her character much more decisive. She does not hesitate to choose Rochester, especially because of his warm heart, it does not even count his disfigurement later, after rejected rivers sanctimony. It is much the figure of the Great Goddess that evil Kathy confused, though less pretty in appearance. In both books, he is a very strong sense of a woman's right to choose her lover without predejuice.

***

A variation of this myth appears in Egyptian mythology old. Osiris, which was the counterpart of Baal as the god of vegetation and corn, was the brother and the lover of the great goddess Isis Nature. He was killed by Seth, who came from the desert and which is, as the Word Canaanite, dry and barren, Seth was also supposed to want to Isis itself. But the situation here is more complicated. Having been killed, Osiris became god of the underworld, never Baal, but his son Horus as replacing protagonist, is a sun god who kills to avenge Seth for his father. An interpretation of the myth ascribes relatively late Seth an evil nature, he did not at first. The link between Osiris and his son Horus was expressed by the Egyptians' practice of identifying the living king, Pharaoh with Horus, while after his death, he became "Osiris". It is interesting to note that Osiris, god of the underworld if and therefore in charge of death has never been regarded as evil.

This classic is in Shakespeare's hamlet, where the evil brother murdered rightful king and married his wife treacherous. Alongside the Egyptian myth, Hamlet is necessary to avenge his father's betrayal and death on the wicked. Unlike Horus the son of Osiris, Hamlet is unable to do so, preferring to kill himself instead.

II

The idea Goddess be free to give her love to think that she deserves – although it really depends on the change of seasons – gave him a bad time reputation as a treacherous person. This idea is well presented in the Mesopotamian myth of Gilgamesh: In a culture where a king met his reign with a marriage ritual to the Goddess, King of Gimgamesh Erekh refuses this marriage to the Great Goddess Ishtar on the ground that she kills her lovers, and he feared for his life with her. Goddess angry, then, causes the king's friend Enkidu in bed with his priestess and kills, his due as the myth goes. The poem expresses the revolt finally a man against the current system in which there is so much power given to the goddess of his life. Again, there is no identification of Gilgamesh Enkidu and that good and evil, the difference between the two is that there is a civilized king and the other as a wild animal – its clear from the previous life of man, which is much more involved with nature and the goddess of nature that is Gilgamesh.

There is a new situation here where the female trio is regarded as a traitor, without any consideration for the symbolism of the Old, and the necessities of nature and life in connection with nature. It seems that the idea of the nature treacherous woman was advanced in mythology with the advance of male power over women, as stated by the Babylonian myth of youth (upstart) God Mardukh kill the Great Goddess Tiamat, the mother of all beings. This upheaval is expressed in a well-known Welsh myth where the struggle for dominance between men and women is still ongoing.

The myth tells the story of Llew Llaw Gyffes, whose name is translated by Robert Graves "the lion with the steady hand" and by others as "Lugh (the Sun God) with the long arm. Llew mother Arianrhod Graves identified to the Greek goddess of the nature of Ariane, but the evolution of the scene in Wales, it has limited authority over man and nature, being under the reign of his uncle, the Math Magician. Arianrhod gives birth to Llew without a husband to his name, thus proving its independence from male domination and raises the anger of his male relatives. It puts obstacles in the way of his son to have a name, carry weapons or make an earthly wife, but was persuaded by his uncle and his cousin make Gwydion. The woman, Blodeuwedd, is made of flowers and therefore a suitable bride for the young hero, whose name means lion him that the representative Sun Spring, but she betrays St. John, giving his love to his host Gronw Pebyr, not only after his love, but also after Llew of property. Gronw kills its host, which turns into an eagle, whose flesh is eaten by an old sow – another figure of the goddess in charge of Death and inspiration. Blodeuwedd, whose name means "Owl" and therefore also identified with the Goddess of Wisdom, flies in the form of the bird. Eventually, Gwydion is Llew, saved and restored him to his property, where it kills Gronw turn. This story is a mixture of the old woman elements mythological and later men rule over them. Here, although Gronw that kills its host is nowhere called the "evil", the woman is certainly considered as a traitor to her husband and society.

III

The idea of giving the two representatives of the year characters of good and evil seems to have originated in the Zoroastrian religion of Persia. Here, the old dichotomy was represented by the rivalry between Ahura Mazda, god of light and all good things, and Ahrimon, god of darkness and evil at all. The idea was taken over by early Christianity, probably in Rome where the Persian ideas were rife, and deepened to become the basis on which this new religion has been built. The entity in power the world was divided between God and Satan in heaven to hell (or hell), with the traitor Woman taking its share mainly with evil, unless it abstains from using the power of her sex appeal.

This idea was well established in medieval times, appearing in many fairy tales that were popular literature during the period. One of its representatives is the classic book of the Thousand and One Nights, and his most famous stories is that of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. In this story, as in many other tales, which appear, for example, in The Brothers Grimm "collection, one of the brothers is rich and evil, the other is poor, but good (rich and evil, as has been mentioned, the adjustment the character of the Roman god Pluto Underworld). The poor and good brother is, of course, the hero of the story, and it is he who finds a treasure thieves, causing his death rich but still greedy brother. An interesting character plays the role of the goddess in this story, in the face of the slave adopted Marjanah (which, in translation, is called either or Morganna Marianna – both names of the Great Goddess). With her beauty and wisdom, it allows Ali Baba for winning his fight against thieves cruel in the end she is given to Ali Baba's son as a woman and win an important place in society. This strong woman definitely takes the side of "good" in this story.

Two of the 19th century. romance novels mentioned above have used the idea that when a woman has two potential lovers, it must be good and evil others, the woman's choice between them defines her as innocent or as a traitor. One of these books is the Count of Monte Cristo, where to get Mercedes, the woman he loves, Ferdinand becomes his rival, the pure heart Edmond Dantes, which is supposed to be his friend more than the French authorities as a traitor and supporter of the rule in exile of Napoleon Bonaparte. Dantes escapes from his prison grave, and in the face of Monte Cristo takes revenge on Ferdinand. Mercedes, who had married Ferdinand in the absence of Dantes, is considered by a traitor, until he discovers she has been told he was dead. His own doubts of his actions lead to the the end the neutral point of a convent. The Dantes became rich with his actions of revenge, must be identified as evil. The story oscillates between good and evil and their changing forms instead a presentation convoluted game of love and power.

persuasion jane austen is much simpler than that, and the parties of good and evil are clearly defined in it. The criminal is the cousin of Anne Elliot, who discovered as a dishonest man who had made his fortune in a roundabout way. Her other suitor is the right Captain Wentworth, who earned his money honestly. Anne, heroin, indeed holds in his hand the power of happiness for one of these men, and at the end, she made the right choice to be the best for her. In this book, a thirst for riches which is the symbol of the underworld and evil is, in fact, the power behind the scenes that really determines who is good and evil.

IV

There is an evolution which can be clearly seen in various stages of ancient myth, fairy tales medieval and modern literature, especially regarding the position of women between the two rivals and different ideas about good and evil vying love and the power it grants. When the goddess of nature alone decided there was no good or bad, but the necessities of existence with the progress of religions monotheistic moralist, and the deteriorating position of women in society, there was also a change in these ideas, which have been well expressed in the literatures of all periods, and – if I may be bold enough to say – to plague us today.

REFERENCES

Robert Graves – The White Goddess
Robert Graves – The Greek myth
Thousand and One Nights
William Shakespeare – Hamlet
Emily Bronte – Wuthering Heights
Charlotte Bronte – Jane Eire
Jane Austen – Persuasion
Alexandre Dumas – The Count of Monte Cristo
http://www.themystica.org/mythical-folk/articles/Baal.html

About the author

I live in Israel and I hold an M.Phil. degree in literature from the London University,
having studied both Hebrew and English languages and literature for B.A.. I taught these subjects before I became a full time writer. My main interest is mythology, but I write also fantasy and science fiction stories, novellas and books, and had many of them published in print and on the Net, both in Hebrew and English. Among works of mine published on the Net and in print are Minstrel in the Forest and The Myth of Tristan and Isolde. editor@thewriterseyemagazine.com

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