Hey guys and gals! Today's little book review is more of a tale review and basic summary. The reason I am doing this is, is because the book for today is actually a couple of mythological stories of romance during the time of Gods and Goddesses. So, let's get started!
The book which holds the different tales is called Mythology, written by Edith Hamilton. She actually simply translated them, but she is the author since the history of her book and how it came to be is a bit too long to explain. So, with the help of Little Brown and Company in 1942, located in New York City, New York, she had her book published.
Quick Plots for the First 3 Love Tales:
Cupid and Psyche: This tale is about a beautiful girl with so much attention, only in worship, that Venus (Aphrodite) became jealous. Venus asking Love (Cupid) to help her, demanded that Psyche marry someone very ugly. However, when she showed him a picture of her, he fell in love with her. So, in confusion or what to do, her asked Apollo for advice. Together, they schemed a plan to make Psyche go on a hill like she was dying because he would tell her dad she is to marry a winged serpent. It worked and she was, instead whisked in a field with a beautiful house where she had only his voice and her servants as company. Like, she lived alone hearing voices. So, after some time, she longed to see her sisters who were so jealous of her stuff that they planned and succeed in making Psyche break her promise with Cupid. (It was to not ever look at him). After he left her, because she looked at him and burned him with candle wax, he went home to his angry mother.
This, of course, led her into the task of finding Venus since she had angered her and no one would help her with getting Cupid back. Venus, laughing as she was also looking Psyche, forced her into slavery making her do some pretty impossible task while starving. 1) She had and did sort the smallest seeds in a huge, mixed heap (with some ants) into groups of the same kind. (Like having red and blue balls mixed up and sorting them into groups of red and blue. 2) She had and did get some gold wool from dangerous sheep (With the help of some river reeds). 3) She had and did get liquid hate from a river into a flask with the help of an eagle. Her final and 4th task was to get Persephone's beauty in a box. When she got it, opening it with curiosity, she fell asleep. With Cupid free from Venus, he woke her, with a scold, and made the Gods force her to be immortality so Venus would have to accept and they could marry.
The cool thing in all of this was the fact that Psyche means the soul, thus making their relationship: Love and The Soul.
Pyramus and Thisbe: It is like Romeo and Juliet with the whole forbidden love. However, this tale basically explains how the Mulberry Tree fruit went from white to red. It was their death, when they tried to meet under one of these trees, and blood that painted the berries. I really don't want to go into detail and make this too long.
Orpheus and Eurydice: When Orpheus married Eurydice, with him being one of the greatest musicians alive, the marriage was short. She got bit by a snake and died. So, Orpheus all like "Naw, I ain't livin' without her", he decided his skill in music was so great that he could win her back. Luckily, this was true! With Pluto in tears, he promised to give her back for some time as long as they left and she trailed him without him looking back to make sure to was following. Kinda like he wanted to prove if he really trusted her. Of course, he got out first and before she could get out, he looked back at her. This cause her to get sucked back in with one, last good-bye. Depressed, he lived the rest of his life alone with music until crazed Maenads killed him.
So, yeah. They almost all sucked with their inevitable death and what not. Of course, each one was a lesson or explanation as the world and morals you should keep in check all the time.
So, for the: QUESTION OF THE DAY!
What lesson did you learn these stories and which story did you learn it from the most? Please, post your findings in the comments below or post a link to a video/blog you might have answering this question.
Thanks peeps and I hope you can look at your relationship with a little more respect.
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