Mjölnir: Thor's Mighty Hammer

Mjölnir is depicted in Norse mythology as one of the most fearsome weapons, capable of leveling entire mountains and crushing anything it is unleashed upon. It belongs to the Norse God Thor and is associated with his attribute of being the God of Thunder. 

Both the comic and norse myths tell of the wielder of the mighty hammer must be deemed worthy. if the wielder for whatever reason falters, or cracks under the pressures of life, they may never wield the hammer. 

From a comic book perspective, this concept of worthiness creates a whole new plane for writers to develop inner emotional conflict within the character of Thor. It also allows audiences and readers, whether they watch Thor on film or read the latest edition of The Avengers, to see the that the hammer is indeed a tangible and powerful weapon for its wielder. 

The Mighty Thor: Comics Vs Mythology

The greatest part about reading myths is that we get to see them all the time when it comes to comic books and movies about them. Thor a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is based on the Norse Mythological god of the same name, is the Asgardian god of thunder and possesses the enchanted hammer Mjolnir, which grants him the ability of flight and weather manipulation amongst his other super powers,

The Norse interpretation of him does not depict him of having the exact same abilities, but he is still said to have mystical powers granted to him. He is portrayed as not being the brightest of the Aesir gods, however his tales are legendary in the fact that he is powerful warrior. 

Loki: Trickster or Misunderstood?

Marvel Comics takes a swing at using Norse Mythology as inspiration for the work they put out. Even Thor's villains and allies are inspired by Norse Mythology. For example Loki, the god of mischief, is portrayed as Thor's brother and enemy. In Norse myth, no one really likes Loki being around. Yet Marvel tries to portray Loki as having faults to a character that in a way humanize him. They tend to do that with many of their characters, but it is a good way to tell the stories they are trying to tell.

Norse Myth tells us that he killed Bald'r and that he is essentially a scumbag, but perhaps there are layers that go even beyond that. We see things told from the perspective of the Aesir more often than the perspective of Loki. However if we were to see the perspective of Loki, how much of our own bias opinions win over when it comes to believing a word Loki says? Perhaps that is what is most intriguing about Loki as a character. His intentions, though malevolent on the surface are inherently similar to the injustices the Aesir and other gods have done. This is coming from an opinion that leaves Loki portrayed as the villain for all-time. The road to power, god or not, involves performing deeds that not everyone will see as righteous. 

In this clip from Thor: The Dark World we see Marvel's powerful narrative story telling by providing layers of emotion behind the relationship of Thor and Loki. *SPOILER ALERT* The scene takes place shortly after  Loki, being the trickster that he is, creates an illusion of what he wants people to see. However as an audience that has seen the movie, we know that Thor is able to call Loki's bluff because he knew how much Loki cared for their mother. It is evident that Loki is absolutely devistated. 

Old Norse Gods:Old Norse Pantheon

This Family Tree shows how extensive the Aesir family is. It makes this pantheon a bit easy to remember because one can just memorize who their parents were if they would like to figure out where they fall into.

Yygdrasil: Old Norse Pantheon

This tree splits up the 9 realms that make the universe with respect to the Old Norse mythology. Each realm hosts a different race of beings.

Guide to Names of Gods: Greek and Roman

Greek Gods and their Roman Counterparts

Greek God	Roman Name	Attribute.
Aphrodite	Venus	Goddess of Love
Apollo	Phoebus Apollo	God of the Sun
Ares	Mars	God of war
Artemis	Diana	Virgin goddess of the hunt, wilderness, wild animals, childbirth and plague. In later times she became associated with the moon.
Athena	Minerva	Goddess of wisdom
Demeter	Ceres	Goddess of grain/crops
Dionysus	Bacchus	God of wine
Eros	Cupid	God of love
Hades	Pluto	God of underworld
Hecate	Trivia	Goddess of witchcraft, crossroads, and justice
Helios	Sol	The sun God
Hephaestus	Vulcan	God of fire, and the forge
Hera	Juno	Queen of the Gods
Hermes	Mercury	Messenger of the Gods
Nike	Victoria	Goddess of victory
Pan	Faunus	God of woods and pastures
Poseidon	Neptune	God of the sea
Zeus	Jupiter	King of Gods

Chart: the differences between the Gods of Roman and Greek Mythology

This chart comes from diffen.com and has helped me draw some conclusions as to what the differences between the Greek and Roman myths were.

Description	Gods in Greek Mythology, i.e. the collection of stories or myths of the ancient Greeks about their gods, heroes and the natural world.	Gods in Roman mythology, i.e. the mythological beliefs about gods in the city of Ancient Rome.
Time period	Iliad distributed 700 years before the Roman civilization. No exact date for start of civilization.	Came 1000 years after the Greeks.
Literary source	Greek myths chronicled in the book the Illiad by Homer.	Roman myths chronicled in the book Aeneid.
Origin of mythology	Not known.	Many Roman gods borrowed from Greek mythology and myths of Roman creation from Greeks.
Nature of gods	Gods and goddesses based on human personality traits such as Love, Honor, Hatred, Dignity, as well as their roles in life determined by what they were god of, like: Zeus:Sky/weather, Hades: The underworld, Poseidon: Sea, Aquatics, etc.	Deities named after objects rather than human personality traits.
Afterlife	Importance of the physical life on earth rather than eventuality of the afterlife.	Mortals did good deeds on earth to be rewarded in the afterlife. They strove to gain their place among the gods in heaven in the afterlife.
Traits	As gods were based on human traits they each had characteristics that determined their actions.	Gods and goddesses not gender specific so their individual characteristics were not central to the myths.
Role of mortals	Deities were important for the progression of life but mortals were just as important as it was their contribution in society that in the end mattered.	Myths rooted in brave, heroic deeds of gods not mortals as mortal life was not important after death.
Actions of mortals and gods	Individualistic: actions of the individual were of more consequences than actions of the group.	Not individualistic.
Revered traits	Creativity more important than physical works. They revered the poet.	Focused on actions rather than words. They revered the warrior as sacred.
Physical forms	Greek gods had beautiful bodies where gorgeous muscles, eyes and hair would enhance their looks.	Gods did not have a physical appearance – represented only in the imagination of the people.

Ovid BBC Podcast!

This BBC podcast is an amazing tool in expressing Ovid's intentions and provides a bit of context to the tales Ovid writes about. They discuss the various transformations that Ovid represents and also talk about how progressive of a thinker Ovid was. One thing I found extremely surprising is learning that Ovid was already making assumptions about evolution far before Darwin ever walked the earth. 

Perhaps the Metamorphoses was one of the most forefront works of its time for shaping the minds of the people. 

Ovid Book 15: Wrapping up the Myths.

By the end, Ovid tells of a terrible plague that breaks out in Rome. Human effort is in vain, so the Romans appeal to the gods for help. They need Apollo’s son, Asclepius, to overcome the plague. Asclepius appears to them first in a dream and then in person. The Romans worship him as a god and bring him to Rome, at which point the plague ceases. By the end, Ovid recounts the murder and deification of Caesar and the rise and future success of Augustus. He essentially tries wrapping things up by telling about his own knowledge of Rome. 

To me Ovid was more like a historian than a popular author. However, to some extent his work also promotes a historical context to accompany its many tales. 

Ovid Book 14: Hide your Kids, Hide your Wives, They're Raping Everybody

Ovid closes this book with another story of rape. After thirteen books filled with countless rapes, this theme may seem well-worn. From a structural point of view, however, the placement of this rape is crucial, because it parallels the story of Apollo and Daphne. Ovid’s Metamorphoses begins with an account of the world and ends in Book 15 with another tale of the world. Before both of these tales, Ovid puts a rape scene at the very beginning. He creates a double frame . The larger frame concerns the principles of the world; the smaller frame's importance revolves around the sexual violence of the gods.

This sculpture by the baroque master, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, depicts the rape of Proserpina by Pluto.

Ovid Book 13: Ajax

jax and Ulysses verbally contend for the arms of Achilles in front of the chiefs of the Greek army. Ajax emphasizes his exploits on the battlefield and the fact that he has been part of the fight since its inception, unlike Ulysses. He cites his divine ancestry and points out that Ulysses left behind his comrade Nestor during a battle. He boasts that the arms would be too heavy for Ulysses and says Ulysses’ own armor is in perfect condition. Ulysses says personal merit, not ancestry, should determine the victor. He says if ancestry is a factor, then it is worth noting that his lineage is more well-known than Ajax’s. He says if joining a battle late is a vice, it’s a vice he shares with the greatest Greek warrior, Achilles, whom he brought. He has scars to prove his battlefield heroics, which Ajax does not. Finally, he emphasizes how much more intellectual he was in comparison. Ajax may know how to fight, but Ulysses knows when to fight. Ajax would be deemed a pawn, while Ulysses is a schemer and general. The chieftains award Ulysses the arms. Ajax takes his own life.

Ovid Book 12: My Big Fat Greek/Roman Myth Wedding

Caenis, a young maiden, goes for a stroll on desolate seashore, where Neptune rapes her. Afterward, he grants her a wish. She asks to be changed into a man, so that she will not be raped again. Neptune turns her into Caeneus, a great warrior. Caeneus attends the wedding celebration of Pirithous, son of Ixion, and beautiful Hippodame. At this wedding, centaurs appear and start making a mess of things. A huge fight ensues and there are people dying everywhere. It is just about as crazy of a fight as any other scene in Ovid's work. 

Ovid Book 11: Orpheus' Salvation

Thracian women attack Orpheus with stones. Orpheus protects himself by charming the rocks with his songs. But the women drown out his music and tear his body apart. Orpheus’s shade descends to the underworld, where he joins Eurydice. Bacchus punishes the Thracian women for their crime against Orpheus by transforming them into trees.

Some might see this as a tragic end to Orpheus, however I would like to extend the idea that Orpheus truly wanted to be killed so that he may join his beloved Eurydice. He wanted nothing more than to be with her again, and although he had to suffer through the pain of his death, it was not so bad in the end for him. 


Often we see Ovid tell very morbid tales of the demise or rape of someone, and in this case, it actually doesn't end too bad for Orpheus. 

Lycaon and Werewolves

The most popular rendition of the story of Lycaon is about his deceit of Zeus. He served him the roasted flesh of a guest from Epirus in order to see whether Zeus was truly omniscient. In return for these gruesome deeds Zeus transformed Lycaon into the form of a wolf, and killed Lycaon's fifty other sons with lightning bolts. The reason he was transformed into a wolf was to embody his savage nature into that of an animal. 

I draw this comparison first by the name of Lycaon. Werewolves suffer from a disease known as lycanthropy. It is derived from Lycaon's name. Second, these creatures are supposed to be savage in nature, and are cursed to seek nothing but bloodshed. 

The picture to the left is from 1512 as drawn by Lucas Cranach the Elder. It depicts a werewolf attacking a home and slaughtering many people. 

Ovid Book 10: A Love that Could Never Be

The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is possibly the ultimate love tragedy. When Eurydice is killed by a serpent's bite, Orpheus ventures into the underworld to speak with Pluto and Proserpina. During this conversation they agree to allow Eurydice to leave with Orpheus so long as he does not look back at her as they exit the underworld. Unfortunately, Orpheus looks back at his wife and causes the deal to be broken. She was then lost forever in the underworld and he is forced to never return. 

This tragic tale ends with Orpheus playing music that is so sad, that all of creation weeps for him. This includes gods and goddesses. For what seemed as a sure win plan to retrieve his loved one, Orpheus ultimately failed and proved a lesson to all that they must heed the word of a god and not give into the whiles of human temptation. 

Ovid Book 9

The narrator offers two unusual stories of love. Byblis is in love with her twin brother, Caunus. When she realizes this love is unnatural and socially unacceptable, she tries to rationalize it by thinking of gods who have sex with their sisters. Her brother rejects her overtures and flees. Byblis tries to find him, and when she fails her weeping turns her into a spring. 

The second story concerns Iphis. Ligdus, an honest Cretan man, tells his wife, Telethusa, that if their infant is a girl she must be left outside to die. Telethusa cannot bear to do this, so she makes Ligdus believe that Iphis is a boy. When Iphis is thirteen, a marriage is arranged between her and a girl named Lanthe. The two girls fall in love. Telethusa prays to Isis for a miracle. Isis answers her prayer and, to the delight of Telethusa and Iphis, transforms Iphis into a young man.

This tale coms off as a bit taboo with the introduction of two female lovers. Its an instance in which i found Ovid to have quite the progressive thinking mind.

Ovid Book 8

Achelous tells a story about Erysichthon, a man with no regard for the gods. He chopped down a sacred tree for no reason, persisting even when the tree groaned in pain. Ceres called on Hunger to strike him. A powerful urge to eat gripped Erysichthon. He sold his daughter into slavery to pay for more food and eventually consumed mouthfuls of his own flesh, killing himself.

Insatiable hunger can be seen as a bad characteristic amongst all people. This tale takes it to the literal sense and expresses a very similar lesson to the one found in the tale of King Midas.

Ovid Book 7

Jason appears before King Aeetes of Colchis to demand the Golden Fleece. Aeetes will give it to him only if he completes certain feats. Medea, who knows her father and the dangers that await Jason, is torn. She knows she should be loyal to her father, but she cannot deny the passion she feels for Jason. Jason promises to marry her in exchange for her help, and Medea uses her knowledge of magic to aid him. Jason succeeds and obtains the Golden Fleece. Jason asks Medea to transfer some of his strength to his aging father, Aeson. Moved by this request, Medea does something even better. She returns Aeson to youthfulness with her magic.

Pretending that she has been fighting with her husband, Medea seeks refuge in the palace of the aged Pelias. She says she could revive him as she revived Aeson and demonstrates her power on an old sheep. Pelias’s daughters ask Medea give their father youth. Medea tells them to cut their father with knives to empty him of old blood. The daughters cannot bear the sight of knives in their father’s flesh, so they strike blindly and unintentionally kill him. Medea flees and finds refuge in Athens until she must flee again following the attempted murder of the king’s son, Theseus.

The picture above is later in Theseus' life, but it is crazy to think that had Theseus been killed, the story of the Minotaur and the labyrinth would never have came to fruition. 

Transformations

Stemming from the earlier post about transformations, in mythology, folklore and fantasy fiction, shapeshifting, or metamorphosis is the ability of an entity to physically transform into another being or form. This is usually achieved through an innate quality of a mythological creature, divine intervention, or the use of magic spells or talismans.

We see this in tales of Native American skin walkers, legends of werewolves, vampires, and many other tales of beings that transform. Possibly my favorite tale is of the Beast of  is the historical name associated with the man-eating wolf, dog or wolf-dog hybrid which terrorized a small village in the south of France. 

Ovid Book 6

Tereus, the tyrant from Thrace, enters the narrative. He liberates Athens from barbarians and marries Procne, the daughter of the king of Athens, Pandion. The marriage is ill-fated. Juno, Hymenaeus, and the Graces do not attend the wedding. After five years of marriage, Procne asks Tereus for permission to see her sister, Philomela. Tereus sets sail for Athens to fetch Philomela. As soon as he sees Philomela, lust grips him. 

Back in Thrace, he repeatedly rapes her and hacks off her tongue to prohibit her from speaking. Philomela weaves a portrait of Tereus’s crime onto cloth and sends it to Procne. To get revenge, Procne slays Itys, her only child with Tereus, and serves him to Tereus as a meal. Procne and Philomela tell Tereus that he has eaten his son, and Tereus goes mad. He wants to kill the sisters, but they escape by turning into birds. Tereus becomes a bird as well. 

These transformations occur quite often in Ovid's work. It appears as though birds are the transformation for escaping certain death. Tereus is the embodiment of everything evil when considering his actions. 

Ovid Book 5

Phineus, the former fiancé of Andromeda, bursts into Perseus and Andromeda’s wedding banquet to contest the marriage. Phineus hurls his spear at Perseus but misses. Perseus retaliates, and a melee ensues. At one point, over a thousand men surround Perseus. He turns them to stone by pulling out Medusa’s head. Phineus pleads for his life, and Perseus promises that he will not touch him with his sword. He technically keeps his word but petrifies him with Medusa’s head.

Phineus is that jealous ex that comes back to be a home wrecker. In all seriousness though, Perseus needs to defend his marriage at all costs. His sly deception of Phineus is well thought out because if he were allowed to leave, he would return to do something once again. 

Ovid Book 4

As the sisters literally weave, they figuratively weave stories of unfulfilled love. While their love stories feature different kinds of people, they all center on frustrated longing. The two young lovers, Pyramus and Thisbe, are separated in life by the objections of their families. They come together only when it is too late, in death. 

This tale reminds me of the tale of the two lovers in Mexico. Their love was forbidden, so they took the form of two volcanoes and erupted simultaneously in light of their love for each other. 

Acronym for the Romans

Pluto

Apollo

Neptune

Tellus

Hercules

Egeria

Orcus

Nerio

Just to help me remember some of the few gods and goddesses within the few tales I've red.

Project Cadmus: Myth and Comics

I found this tale of the founder of Thebes to be most intriguing. Particularly because in the D.C. Universe there is a government agency by the name of Cadmus that is named after Cadmus of Greek and Roman mythology. The connection between the two is uncanny. Cadmus created men from the teeth of a serpent. Similarly, Project Cadmus was in charge of creating clones of super heroes and original super powered beings.

In the comics, the agency develops these beings as a sort of fail switch in the event that earth's super heroes ever went rogue. Essentially they grow these clones inside laboratories, in contrast to Cadmus planting the Serpent's teeth into the dirt. These spawns of the teeth would then fight until only five were left. These five, along with Cadmus went on to establish Thebes.

These kinds of connections are found in many comics and show a deep relationship between myth and modern lore that is inspired by the past.

Phaethon's First and Last Flight

When it comes to fate, the gods surely have much to do with the demise of humans. Book II of Metamorphoses tells the tale of Phaethon, who wanted to learn about his father. He is depicted in Ovid's tale as someone that showed no restraint when it came to taking his father's chariot into the air. There is a lesson to learn about patience and humbleness from Phaethon. His death at the hands of Jupiter can also be seen as a both a sign of mercy, and as a sign of care for the earth itself. Jupiter throws a lightning bolt at Phaethon, thus ensuring the earth's future. Despite this, the damage done is a symbol of consequence for insubordination. This is a recurring theme found within most of the Roman and Greek myths. Always respect the gods and listen to those with wisdom. Unless you'd like to die.

Ovid Book 1: A Master Narrative

In book 1 of Ovid's Metamorphoses, Ovid asks the Gods to inspire his work and begins to depict how the world was created. This is typically something I would find common in a master narrative. A master narrative is essentially a narrative about narratives of historical meaning, experience, and knowledge. This includes creation myths, apocalypse tales, and stories of a figure holding all mighty wisdom. In the case of the Greek and Roman gods, Zeus/Jupiter represents the all-powerful deity that commands the other gods. 

Within book 1, we encounter Lycaon, a blood-thirsty man that tries to murder Jupiter in his sleep. Because of the great disrespect that Jupiter feels coming from Lycaon, he punishes the earth and condemns humanity with a great flood. This purging occurs and leaves two people alive; Deucalion and Pyrrha. They represent the pious and most reverent of humans, which is why they survived the flood. Together, they were tasked with repopulating the earth. 

This tale is very similar to that of Noah's ark. A great flood comes and wipes out the Earth's population in order to purge the world of those that are considered irreverent of the wrath of the gods. In Noah's tale, sinners were the ones being purged from the Earth. 

• This picture depicts the great flood in which Deucalion and Pyrrha were the only survivors. The seas came up and swallowed the land. 

Greek and Roman Gods with Super Hero Bods

In class we discussed the Greek and Roman Pantheons of Gods to a great extent. Through this we learned of the names and attributes that accompany each of them. I could not help but make the comparison to the tales and images I've come to grow up with regarding the pantheon. There are so many different interpretations of each god and of their powers that they seem just about as consistent as any other comic book hero that receives a reboot. Its not just their names, but the way they are portrayed within the context of the culture and society. Many sculptures and images of these gods all portray the gods to have the figures that most people would find in comic books today. Chiseled physiques and amazing powers are all used to characterize each deity.

Modern culture gave way to some of the most creative and innovative myths to ever be told in the form of comic books. Along with comic books come an entirely new pantheons that have been amended numerous times since their inception. As time continues to pass new heroes appear and present themselves. There is a great deal of inspiration that comes from the Greek and Roman pantheons when it comes to creating a hero. The gods provided archetypes for each hero to portray.

• The image to the left is an example of the Greek Pantheon of Gods as portrayed in a Wonder Woman comic. Princess Diana of the Amazon derives her strength from the Goddess Hera, and is considered the fiercest warrior to walk the earth... in the Detective Comics (D.C.) universe.