Myth Paper 1 PDF

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Parent and Offspring Relationships

In myths, there are a lot of different relationships between parents and offsprings. There are relationships that involve incest, hate, or simply just a healthy parent and child relationship. There were a lot of incest cases in Greek Mythology because at one point it was considered socially acceptable. It’s inferred that parents should take care of their children and have their best interests at heart. But this was not the case in most myths. The killing of one’s own children was not viewed as a bad thing during that era, because it was justified to do anything to obtain r keep a high status. The Greek and Roma valued having a high position, which is why most of the time parents put themselves before their own children. Many myths have “twisted” relationships between parents and children, which can most often be split into three different categories: mothers and sons that have a really strong connection, parents that are threatened by their own children, and the betrayal of parents or children. However, most of the time mothers and sons had a good relationship with their mothers in an effort to defeat their fathers. An example of a rather healthy parent and child relationship would be the connection Zeus had with his mother, Rhea, which was very different from the relationship Zeus had with his father, Cronus. Zeus respected his mother and loved her for trying to keep him safe and protect him from his father. Rhea felt the same way about Zeus, she loved him and tried to keep him safe as any mother would. On the other hand, a relationship where a parent is threatened by his children and betrays them is basically the type of relationship Cronus had with his children. Even

though it is technically not accurate to describe Zeus and Cronus’ connection as a relationship, it is often referred to this way. Cronus never really had a relationship with either of his children, because he consumed them before even getting to know them, except for Zeus., which never spent time with his father because he stayed hidden in a cave. Even though Zeus and Cronus didn’t have a connection, he wasn’t swallowed because his mom kept him safe. Cronus betrayed his children by eating them, because as a parent Cronus should have cared for his children, instead of swallowing them out of fear, that the prophecy would be fulfilled. The connection that Cronus had with Zeus or any of his kids for that matter was the total opposite of the relationship Rhea had with Zeus. Cronus didn’t have any respect for his children and he didn't try to care for them either. Cronus wasn’t the only god to betray his children. Gaea betrayed her children by shaping her children as evil creatures. In mythology, deformities are considered to be evil. She could have formed them to be god-like creatures, but instead she chose to make them the universal form of evil, Gaea betrayed them. Another example of a strong mother-son relationship is shown when Gaea created Uranus. This makes him her son, yet they end up getting married and having children. Later, Gaea asks Cronus to overthrow Uranus. Cronus’ relationship with his mother is very strong. Otherwise, he could not have overthrown his father. Another healthy parent-offspring relationship is the relationship that Zeus had with his daughter Athena. Zeus had many children because of his very strong and unusual attraction to women. Because he had so many children, he didn’t quite have an actual relationship with them, except for Athena. Athena is often considered his favorite child because she was born from his

head. Zeus gave Athena most of the things that she wanted. Zeus treats Athena differently than he treated his other children. He did not neglect Anthena like he neglected his other children. At first, Athena’s father was overprotective of her. Though Athena had a father that was willing to give her everything, she still did what she wanted independently. She was one of the only children of Zeus that really had his attention. There are myths where parents are threatened by their children. Uranus feared the strength that his children had, and he hated them. So as each of the children were born, he took them away from their mother, he threw them into Gaea’s being. Uranus obviously feels threatened by the children. In real life, this act would probably be considered child abuse. Child abuse is definitely frowned upon today in our modern society. There are many different types of relationships between children and parents in myths, and each of those relationships has different backgrounds. Many things that used to be considered acceptable or okay in society, are now frowned upon or disapproved of. Therefore we can see how society and its expectations has changed over time. The different relationships that each parent had with their child is what helps tie all of the stories together....