What I have learned

I learned many things this semester, and I credit most of them to this class. Sighing up for this class I was definitely banking on getting by on last minute papers written off of some of my favorite movies containing mythology. Being the loyal Brad Pitt fan that I am, I was armed and ready with the Blu-Ray edition of Troy and recently pirated movies such as Wrath of the Gods, and Percy Jacksons the lightning thief. I mean honestly who would expect to learn anything from a class teaching Mythologies stories featuring the beloved serial killing rapist Zeus, or two best friends with the master plan of kidnapping Hades wife? To my surprise Dr.Sexson didn't require me to BS my way through some ridiculous paper chalk full of third grade facts about the Trojan War learned from Brad Pitt. Now looking back on the semester I realize Dr.Sexson won, he taught me more than any other class to date. Or more importantly he taught me things that actually applied to life; he gave me a few secrets on how to live to the fullest. In my defense though I technically didn't learn anything from Dr.Sexson...he just helped me remember some stuff. I like to think of him as the arch nemesis of Google, in the never ending battle of restoring this nations youths memories.

The main thing I took away from this class is how unimportant I am, and I am so very grateful for this. Society, coaches, my parents have always told me how special it is to play football, how I have an opportunity to change the world. But this is obviously not true, no one in their right mind really actually looks at an average football player and goes…wow he truly made a difference in the world. Throughout history we have observed those on a quest to be legendary, we can all recite the immortal stories that will never die. But what I did not realize until this class was that a legend is only a legend because of the story. No one actually cares about the legendary person, we just want the legendary story. Mythology has to do with community and family, it expands beyond the “legendary” individual whether we like it or not. It’s the greatest illusion in today’s world, the illusion of success. I’ve been lied to all my life about what success is, success is throwing a game winning touchdown, success is graduating with a great degree and high GPA. But no, success is not about any of those things, it’s not about the sports car my grandmother will buy me for retrieving her favorite sweater from Las Vegas. What you do with those achievements is what matters.

True success is looking outward from yourself and making a difference, no matter the size in someone else’s life. Success is spending time with little bobcat fans after practice and games. Or taking the time to read a book to a bunch of kindergartners who only care about how cool the jersey your wearing is. Success is realizing how unimportant you are and how important others are. So I guess in the end my parents and coaches weren't technically lying to me about being important, they were just being the successful people that they are. If Dr.Sexson can make a classroom full of hormone blinded, inward-looking college students realize how unimportant they are, and how important everyone else is I think it is safe to say that Dr.Sexson is pretty darn successful and we can all hope to one day have the success he has had.

Displaced Myth

15x All-Star, 5x NBA Champion, 2x League MVP, 2x All-Star MVP Kobe Bryant is the greatest basketball player of his generation and arguably one of the best to ever live. Although Kobe Bryant holds many offensive scoring related records, he is best known for his defensive like mentality. Through physical play and the will to win Kobe Bryant has earned the nickname “Black Mamba” the assassin of basketball. No matter how great the foe or how large the obstacle the black mamba has the will to win and will annihilate any one on his road to basketball immortality. Kobe Bryant has slain and even humiliated some of basketballs greatest warriors such as Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, Lebron James, Derrick Rose, Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady. Most of all Kobe is known for his greatest intangible skill, the ability to play through injury. In 2010 Kobe tore a ligament in his shooting hand that should have benched him for the season, instead he played through it and won his second consecutive NBA title. Again in 2012 Kobe broke his nose, but instead of sitting the bench he put on a protective mask and did not miss any games. The man was almost as if immortal, never getting hurt and constantly winning. Suddenly last season a horrific injury took place, tearing his Achilles Kobe had finally found a weakness, after the injury he went out like a true warrior getting up and shooting his two free throws before being carried off the court.

Kobe Bryant is clearly the modern day Achilles.

Dissecting Calasso: Pg. 51

Calasso opens chapter three speaking about the island of Delos, which he referred to as a "hump of deserted rock." Laying down the foundation and setting for the story, the reader instantly gets a feel that Delos is no exactly a desirable place to be. He further isolates the island from the rest of the world depicting Delos as "drifting about the sea like a stalk of asphodel." After a little research it came to no surprise to find that asphodel was commonly referred to as a weed in desert like environments. I even found asphodel regarded as the "peculiar plant of the dead" on various mythology websites. Moving along further in passage we get a little foresight into what is to come, Calasso proceeds to rag on Delos a little more...(he might have a vendetta against the island) calling it "a place not even wretched slave girls would come to hide their shame." More importantly he states that Apollo was birthed on the desolate island, quite the polar opposite in my opinion. After reading this Calasso had me hooked, I mean who would've guessed the powerful and mighty sun god could have come from such an isolated wasteland? Calasso speaks about Leda and how she birthed Apollo in isolation, grasping the lone palm tree on this "godforsaken" rock. Further looking into the birth of Apollo I started researching Leda or (Leto) and quickly realized this was the same chick who Zeus lusted over in swan form. Leda was the beautiful daughter of the original Titans Coeus and Phoebe. Hera was tormented with jealousy of Leto (obviously because she sleot with Zeus). So the Queen of the Gods sent a serpent after Leto to vex her and to prevent her from finding a place to deliver her babies. Leto frantically went from place to place, but found no welcome anywhere, since everyone feared incurring the wrath of Hera. She finally found refuge on Ortygia (the first name of Delos), the island of her sister Asteria, where she gave birth to Artemis. Immediately after her own birth, the newborn Artemis precociously helped her mother through nine days of labor and delivery until her brother Apollo emerged. Calasso paints beautiful imagery of the birth of Apollo, when he emerged    

"Everything turned to gold, from top to bottom. Even the water in the river turned to gold and the leaves on the olive tree likewise. And the gold must have stretched downward into the depths, because it anchored Delos to the seabed. From that day on it drifted no more."

It truly amazes me the capacity Calasso’s little stories can tell hold, in dissecting one short myth from Calasso I learn a valuable story that will remain with me for eternity!

All in all I would think it’s safe to say that things turned out alright for the once “godforsaken rock” Delos. ;)

Info found about Leda (Leto) found at Classical Mythology: Night of the Hunters: Artemis and Apollo | Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/cig/mythology/night-hunters-artemis-apollo.html#ixzz2iniOXVTO

The Women of Fula

Women of the Fula people in West Africa must have their faces tattooed before they are considered adults. The process takes several hours and is usually done with a sharpened piece of wood. Similar to a Fula boy’s whipping match if the girl cries or grimaces she is believed to be too young, and must wait to finish her tattoos and marry.

Mohican Myth

 In the beginning nothing existed, only darkness was everywhere. Suddenly from the darkness emerged a thin disc, one side yellow and the other side white, appearing suspended in midair. Within the disc sat a small bearded man, Creator, the One Who Lives Above. When he looked into the endless darkness, light appeared above. He looked down and it became a sea of light. To the east, he created yellow streaks of dawn. To the west, tints of many colors appeared everywhere. There were also clouds of different colors.  He also created three other gods: a little girl, a Sun-God and a small boy.

  Then he created celestial phenomena, the winds, the tarantula, and the earth from the sweat of the four gods mixed together in the Creator's palms, from a small round, brown ball, not much larger than a bean. The world was expanded to its current size by the gods kicking the small brown ball until it expanded. Creator told Wind to go inside the ball and to blow it up.

The tarantula, the trickster character, spun a black cord and, attaching it to the ball, crawled away fast to the east, pulling on the cord with all his strength. Tarantula repeated with a blue cord to the south, a yellow cord to the west, and a white cord to the north. With mighty pulls in each direction, the brown ball stretched to immeasurable size--it became the earth! No hills, mountains, or rivers were visible; only smooth, treeless, brown plains appeared. Then the Creator created the rest of the beings and features of the Earth.

                                    Story found at: http://mohican.wikispaces.com/Creation+Story

Sentry of the Island

On page. 8 of The Marriage of Cadamus and Harmony Calasso is telling the story of Zeus and Europa. Shortly after Zeus and Europa make love in Gortyn, Zeus disappears in the form of an eagle...modern day slang would refer to this as "hitting it and quitting it." But the oh so chivalrous Zeus at least had the decency to leave Europa a guardian on this wild and unknown island she found herself on. The next part, while many of you may have just read over really caught my attention. Calasso speaks of the guardian referred to as "Talos," the guardian bull of the island, but together by the master blacksmith and metal weaver Hephaestus. It is said the Europa could hear the bronze hooves coming from far away as Talos was running up and down the coastline. Calasso depicts Talos as a strong, giant, mechanical creature from nothing of this world.

I thought this was a really cool and interesting depiction of Talos, here we can see the artist viewed Talos as not only a giant golden hoofed beast (as Calasso said) but a mechanical beast from a futuristic technologie built by Hephaestus.

 

                This a more original sculpture of the guardian Talos, and in my opinion not as cool.

Hephaestus is said to be the son of Zeus and Hera. The only god to be born ugly it is said that either Zeus or Hera threw him from mount Olympus which in turn cause him to be lame. He is the god of fire and forge, and the metal worker for all the gods. His forge is a volcano and his armour and weapons are said to be unmatched. He is said to be a very peaceful and loving god, which would explain how he got such a babe of a wife....Aphrodite.

A Course of Action

As Professor Sexson went from story to story and myth to myth, one small phrase really stood out to me, immediately capturing my focus. Professor quickly muttered, "If you are genuinely committed to a course of action, miraculous things will happen, and all of a sudden the world and its little helpers will conspire to help you." I thought to myself, little helpers? What on earth is this crazy old professor rambling about? Although a little on the pessimistic side, at least my thought process was fully in tune with his lecture at this point. As I continued to listen, Professor Sexsons words started piecing together and piece by piece I began exploring deeper and deeper into my life... my story.
  Being a sports enthusiast, immediately my brainstorming on the topic of "life's little helpers" directly related itself to football. Are the professors words really true I thought, If someone wholeheartedly committed to a goal, a "course of action," would the world really conspire to help them? So if I wanted to be the greatest quarterback to ever come out of a FCS program, all I need is a genuine commitment to that course of action? Sounds too easy for such an astronomical goal, a relatively impossible feat to accomplish. But what does it mean to truly genuinely commit to a course of action, what does that even look like? Have I ever even witnessed or heard of something on the lines of wholehearted commitment? After really pooling thought into the phrase "genuine commitment" I realized its not something easily done. To let yourself be fully consumed by a course of action is easier said than done, and I have first hand experience with that. Can I genuinely commit myself to my goals and aspirations? I believe I can, and I believe the world is slowly conspiring alongside me as I become more and more emerged in the dreams that I am chasing. The course of action has been set, but will my heart set as well? Only time will tell if these words are the first steps to a miraculous story defining my life, or just myths that once danced in my imagination before turning into "what if.." and "once upon a time" stories for my future.