Greek myth - the cuckoo myth
Jun. 1st, 2020 10:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sparklightPausanias, Description of Greece 2. 17. 4 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"The presence of a cuckoo seated on the sceptre [of Hera] they explain by the story that when Zeus was in love with Hera in her maidenhood he changed himself into this bird, and she caught it to be her pet [in order to seduce her]."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 36. 1 :
"A mountain [near Halike in Argos], called in old days Thornax; but they say that the name was changed because, according to legend, it was here that the transformation of Zeus into a cuckoo took place. Even to the present day there are sanctuaries on the tops of the mountains : on Mount Kokkux (Cuckoo) one of Zeus, on Pron one of Hera."
So, these are the two sources that exist for the cuckoo myth. Simple, to the point, and without much of any detail at all.
And yet there's a lot out there goes with "he immediately transformed back and raped her and she was shamed into marrying him" (despite the fact that she can and has left him when she didn't feel like putting up with him and he had to win her back). I know Zeus have done lots of questionable things, but a lot of the various sources can be translated differently and a lot of them don't specify forcible sex (some of them absolutely do, and undeniably so), and this thing? Is one of them.
Can you speculate that "he immediately transformed back and raped her" was what happened? Sure, but that's as unsupported as "he stayed a cuckoo for some time", for example. And like, yes, this is trickery, but note that Zeus has turned himself into a small bird. This is no predator, no majestic eagle. He turns himself into something small and presumably helpless and lets himself be taken care of - he's literally humbling himself for Hera.
But no, apparently all most people are interested in is poor, beleaguered Hera being forced into a marriage from the start and Suffering through all of it, instead of it being built on some genuine bridge-building and common affection and love, even if they also have huge problems as a couple.
"The presence of a cuckoo seated on the sceptre [of Hera] they explain by the story that when Zeus was in love with Hera in her maidenhood he changed himself into this bird, and she caught it to be her pet [in order to seduce her]."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 36. 1 :
"A mountain [near Halike in Argos], called in old days Thornax; but they say that the name was changed because, according to legend, it was here that the transformation of Zeus into a cuckoo took place. Even to the present day there are sanctuaries on the tops of the mountains : on Mount Kokkux (Cuckoo) one of Zeus, on Pron one of Hera."
So, these are the two sources that exist for the cuckoo myth. Simple, to the point, and without much of any detail at all.
And yet there's a lot out there goes with "he immediately transformed back and raped her and she was shamed into marrying him" (despite the fact that she can and has left him when she didn't feel like putting up with him and he had to win her back). I know Zeus have done lots of questionable things, but a lot of the various sources can be translated differently and a lot of them don't specify forcible sex (some of them absolutely do, and undeniably so), and this thing? Is one of them.
Can you speculate that "he immediately transformed back and raped her" was what happened? Sure, but that's as unsupported as "he stayed a cuckoo for some time", for example. And like, yes, this is trickery, but note that Zeus has turned himself into a small bird. This is no predator, no majestic eagle. He turns himself into something small and presumably helpless and lets himself be taken care of - he's literally humbling himself for Hera.
But no, apparently all most people are interested in is poor, beleaguered Hera being forced into a marriage from the start and Suffering through all of it, instead of it being built on some genuine bridge-building and common affection and love, even if they also have huge problems as a couple.
