- MozartŐs Magic Flute
o Anthropologists speak of initiation, while the ancient world spoke of "mysterium" - that will be the key word and the last word in the music we are about to hear.
¤ Resurrection after the ordeal of death
¤ Free masonry takes its myths from many different thought systems of the world
á Especially important is the theme of the resurrection of the Egyptian figure of Osiris
¤ Initiation is all about being able to say the right things in the right moment, not saying these right things in the wrong moment
o Film version, Ingmar Bergman
¤ Sung in Swedish
¤ Tamino – based on the Near Eastern vegetation figure of Tammuz
á Initiated into mysteries
á Letters in Swedish spell out the mysteries on the bronze plaque; later, they will become the "subtitles" for what Tamino sings.
¤ People initiating Tamino are wearing masks
á Getting ready to unmask themselves as soon ordeal is over
¤ After initiation
á Reunited with his one true love
á Subtitles, as said before, are now the "translations" of the originally secret writings
á Everything is now in the realm of light and life
á Things that had been mysteries now become obvious
- Champions of Dike
o The poetry of Hesiod helps us make our transition from the world of homer to the world of tragedy
o Keyword: dik
¤ Justice (long-range), absolute
¤ Judgement as rendered by kings (short-range), relative
¤ Opposite of dik is hubris
á Human
o Excessive behavior
o Violates morality
o An infamous example is Antinoos in Odyssey
o Great opposition between dik and hubris
¤ Once dik is established
á Aristotle – hubris is transgression of moral law
á When outrageous can overthrow entire political system
á Socrates – executed by Athenian state for hubris
¤ In tragedy lots of hubris
¤ So morally wrong violates sanctity of universe
á Mnis – cosmic sanction kind of word
o Hesiod represents a medium of where you do talk about whatŐs right and wrong
¤ Homeric medium does not spell out what is right and wrong
¤ Tragedy spells it out much more
á Animals
o Excessive violence and sex
¤ Erections all the time
á Plants
o Unbalanced excessive growth
o Excessive plant activity, bad in different way for different plants
o Apple tree
¤ Excessive word and leaf production = no apples
¤ Diminishing of capacity to bear fruit
o Lettuce
¤ Gone to seed
o Radishes
¤ Bolts
¤ Metaphors of dike
á Straight line
á Ex. Prune the naughty apple tree
á In Greek, pruning is visualized as putting things into a straight line
¤ Metaphors of Hubris
á Sterility of land caused by undergrowth or overgrowth
¤ How does this have to do with heroes?
á Body
o Any kind of contact with the body of the hero, you grow and become fertile
á In death they should be champions of Dike
¤ Where have we seen Dike in Iliad or Odyssey?
á Ex. Iliad
o Shield – men litigating over price of a manŐs life
¤ How can big picture of Iliad make sense in terms of the little picture inside the shield of Achilles in the Iliad?
¤ The holding a staff is the visual index for rendering dik in the sense of judgment
o Odysseus compares wife to just king
¤ Vegetation to flourish around him
á Idea of King – which is way you think of heroes and one who makes right judgements
á WeŐve seen it but the next set of poetry makes it much more clear
á Seen in Orchard in Odysseus
o Beautiful flourishing orchard
o Reconnecting of the generations
o Coming full circle of the Odyssey
á Conflict of dik and hubris in one man – Odysseus
o When someone has authority and makes a judgment, that does not immediately become dik – only the judgment of Zeus is automatically dik
¤ What about hubris?
á Dominance of the suitors in OdysseusŐ absence
á Describes as randy plants out of control
o 1st Passage on handout
¤ Zeus as executive of universe sorting out (krisis) what is right and wrong
¤ Voice of Hesiod talking about Zeus and judgment
á He has had a crisis (krisis) with his brother
o Hesiod = righteous
o Brother, Perses = not righteous
á Hesiod asking for help to achieve his own dik
á Expects to do it by talking
o Words of the poetry itself will make what was an imperfect process into an absolutely just process
o How is Hesiod himself a hero? 2nd Passage on Handout
¤ Hesiod becomes spokesperson for justice
á His relationship with Muses
á They ***initiate*** him to be able to do this
¤ Muses enable kings to make just judgments instead of unjust ones
¤ Nomoi – customary laws
o Blueprint for reading the Works and Days
¤ 5 generations of Humankind
á blueprint for understanding the relationship of the heroic voice and the world view of regulating the cosmos (setting order back into place)
á very different way (that is, different from Homeric poetry) of looking at humanity through time
á people keep getting worse and worse morally
o finally generation 5 - it could go either way
¤ universe of justice or injustice
á two cities – justice and injustice
á moral power of the words – that is dik
á a zig-zag line that is trying to become straight
o Theoginis
¤ Preparation for moral issues
¤ Passage C
á Riddling octopus
á Can change its color anywhere
o Odysseus is the ultimate survivor adapts to whatever land he lands in
o Even the just can play tricks outsmart the unjust
o From a-tropos to polu-tropos, adapting to many different environments
o Micronarrative
¤ He went to Hades and he came back - Odysseus
¤ Embedded Odyssey maybe more important than outright Odyssey
¤ To Hell and Back
á Normal way – die and come back as a vengeful ghost
o Tragedy
¤ Takes anger to grave and restless spirit comes back