Mythology: Edith Hamilton Archetypes
Archetypal Analysis of Myths
Part One: The Gods, the Creation, and the Earliest Heroes
Chosen Myth: Dionysus or Bacchus
Situational Archetype: Battle between Good and Evil In the myth of Dionysus there isn’t exactly a conflict between two sides of people battling for good or evil, its more as a battle between the two sides of Dionysus’ inner self. Unlike most examples of good versus evil, there isn’t a triumphant side. Just the personality switches between Dionysus being the joy-god or the heartless, savage, brutal-god. The reason for this change is due to the fact that he is the vine god; Wine is bad as well as good. He’d bring up peoples hopes and make them believe that they were capable of anything, but once they were sober again or they became drunk, you could see his dark side begin to arise. The hopefulness would fade and then you could see the people transition into darkness.
Symbolic Archetype: Water versus Desert In the story of Dionysus, there’s a part where he comes across a crew from a pirate ship in Greece by the sea. The sailors tried to capture him and saw him as a mortal, rather than the son of a god. In the end, Dionysus turned into a lion and turned all but one of the sailors into dolphins and sent them into the ocean. At this point in the story it shows the first glimpse at Dionysus’ ruthless side, almost as if they’re using this scene in the book at the birth of his “second side”, setting up the second view point of Dionysus’ personality for future conflicts.
Character Archetype: The Outcast In the myth, Dionysus was born in Thebes, he was the son of Zeus and Theban princess Semele- he was the only god whose parents were not both immortal. Before Dionysus’ birth he was snatched from his mother and hidden by Zeus’ side, almost as if he was ashamed by Dionysus. Dionysus was passed from person to person, his mother, Zeus, Hermes, and then to the nymphs of Nysa to be raised. As he became a man, Dionysus became a wanderer,
Part One: The Gods, the Creation, and the Earliest Heroes
Chosen Myth: Dionysus or Bacchus
Situational Archetype: Battle between Good and Evil In the myth of Dionysus there isn’t exactly a conflict between two sides of people battling for good or evil, its more as a battle between the two sides of Dionysus’ inner self. Unlike most examples of good versus evil, there isn’t a triumphant side. Just the personality switches between Dionysus being the joy-god or the heartless, savage, brutal-god. The reason for this change is due to the fact that he is the vine god; Wine is bad as well as good. He’d bring up peoples hopes and make them believe that they were capable of anything, but once they were sober again or they became drunk, you could see his dark side begin to arise. The hopefulness would fade and then you could see the people transition into darkness.
Symbolic Archetype: Water versus Desert In the story of Dionysus, there’s a part where he comes across a crew from a pirate ship in Greece by the sea. The sailors tried to capture him and saw him as a mortal, rather than the son of a god. In the end, Dionysus turned into a lion and turned all but one of the sailors into dolphins and sent them into the ocean. At this point in the story it shows the first glimpse at Dionysus’ ruthless side, almost as if they’re using this scene in the book at the birth of his “second side”, setting up the second view point of Dionysus’ personality for future conflicts.
Character Archetype: The Outcast In the myth, Dionysus was born in Thebes, he was the son of Zeus and Theban princess Semele- he was the only god whose parents were not both immortal. Before Dionysus’ birth he was snatched from his mother and hidden by Zeus’ side, almost as if he was ashamed by Dionysus. Dionysus was passed from person to person, his mother, Zeus, Hermes, and then to the nymphs of Nysa to be raised. As he became a man, Dionysus became a wanderer,