Welsh myth of Ceridwen and Gwion

Here is an interesting Welsh¹ Myth of Taliesin.

According to the myth, Ceridwen was a goddess (sometimes she is also referred to a witch), who had an ugly son. To compensate for his lack of looks, Ceridwen decided to prepare a potion, which on consuming would make him have all the knowledge of the world. However, the pot in which she would be making the potion had to be kept on boil for a year. At the end of the year, it would give three drops to consume and the rest had to be thrown away as it would be poison.

After setting the potion to boil, Ceridwen appointed one of his servants by the name of Gwion to keep a watch on the pot. At the end of the year, the potion bubbled over and the three drops fell on Gwion’s fingers. Feeling the heat of the boiling potion, he put the finger in his mouth out of reflex. He soon realized that he had all the knowledge of the world, because he had consumed the three drops of knowledge. He also realized that when Ceridwen would find it out, she would not leave him alive. So he ran from away from there. But Ceridwen soon caught up with him and chased him.

Using the acquired powers, Gwion took the form of a hare, but Ceridwen became a greyhound. Gwion then became a fish and jumped into the river, but there too he was chased by Ceridwen, who had become an otter. Gwion then became a bird, but Ceridwen became a hawk. Seeing no alternative, after trying earth, water and sky, Gwion took the form of a grain of corn and hid in a stack, but Cardiwen ate him up after she assumed the form of a hen.

When Cerdiwen toke her usual form again, she realized that she was pregnant. She then decided to kill Gwion when he was born. But when the child was born, he was so beautiful that she did not have the heart to kill him. So she put him in a leather bag and set him in a river, where the baby was found by a prince and it is said that the baby grew up to be the legendary Celtic² poet, Taliesin.

This is an interesting myth when we see it in details.

• The very idea of empowering his ugly son with knowledge emphasizes that knowledge is more important than looks. She was sure that once he had the knowledge of the world, his looks would not matter.
• Brewing knowledge for a year goes on to show that it takes time to be learned and knowledgeable. Even in mythology and for a goddess, it doesn’t come easy. One has to work on it and allow it some time.
• Though the potion was being brewed for Ceridwen’s son, it ended up with Gwion. This goes on to show that knowledge will always reside with the one who has worked on it. It was Gwion who spent one year brewing it, so it was but natural that he should be the recipient of the knowledge and not Ceridwen’s son.
• Finally, and probably the most important inherent symbolism is that knowledge has the power to transform you, change you. Once you have tasted the fruits of wisdom, it acts as an agent of transformation. Gwion’s, ability to change from an earthling to a fish and then to a bird, is symbolic of his ability to experience life-changing instances due to the acquired knowledge.

Cerdiwen, though depicted as a vengeful crone, has her maternal instincts intact. While she had noble plans for her ugly son, she doesn’t kill her newborn once he was born. Again a very universal depiction of a mother.

An interesting myth with many dimensions of hidden symbolism.

Taliesin went on to become one of the most renowned bards who is supposed to have served in the courts of about three Celtic kings. He was highly regarded during the mid-twelfth century and was the author of many romantic legends. It is also alleged by many historians that he had also served in the courts of the legendary King Arthur.

It is not uncommon to find mythical (or magical) beginnings of certain historical characters. Such births only go on to add credence to such great knowledge and also gives the character a certain degree of respect and following, stopping just short of deification. In India, the noted poet Kalidasa too was supposed to have had a certain degree of super-natural support behind his poetic genius. According to legends, he was a born fool, who was married to an intelligent princess. However, when she found out the truth, he was thrown out of the palace. Later Goddess Kali was supposed to have blessed him with wisdom, the result of which were some of the master pieces in Sanskrit literature.

¹ The Welsh people are an ethnic group and native to Wales, which is part of

  the modern day Great Britan

² The Celts (pronounced as Kelts) were a group of tribal societies spread in 

   and around parts of Central Europe, France, Italy and nearby regions. 

   They had a very rich mythology, which is known as Celtic Mythology.

Diana and Actaeon

The myth of Diana and Actaeon is kind of a disturbing myth. Just why do people have to suffer for no fault of theirs? Mythology is replete with examples where characters undergo trials and tribulations for no fault of theirs, but this one still seems to be different.

Diana (also known as Artemis sometimes) was the virgin goddess of hunting and wildlife. From an early age she had decided to remain a virgin and thus as a goddess she remained unattached and was also at times worshiped as the goddess who protected girls who had not attained puberty.

Actaeon was the son of King Cadmus and was at the peak of his youth. He was brave and strong and was fond of hunting. Once he led a hunting expedition to the forests with his friends and hunting dogs. After a tiring day, all of them decided to take some rest. Actaeon, moved away from the group in search of water. Unknown to him, there was a secret place of Diana, who would come to rest and pamper herself in a spring. On that fateful day, Diana had just dipped herself in the pool and begun to let her attendants take away her clothes. Her bow and arrow and javelin were parked far away and Diana had just begun to relax her tired body, when Actaeon, unknown to the forest landed at the exact spot.

Not used to men, her attendant’s shrieked and all tried to cover the bare body of Diana, by using themselves as shields. But Diana was tall and beautiful and the attendants could not cover her enough. Actaeon had never seen such divine beauty and even before decency could enable him to shift his gaze, Diana threw some of the waters from the spring at him and said that he would never be able to tell any mortal what he saw. What she uttered was a curse, and no sooner had she completed her statement, Actaeon found himself running from there.

A painting by Titian

While running, Actaeon suddenly grew antlers and from two legs he had gone on four. When he reached a spring, he saw his reflection and shouted in disbelief, he had turned into a stag! But his voice had changed into the call of a stag. Soon he realised that he had reached close to where he had left his friends and the hunting dogs had heard his call. His friends had started chasing the stag and the dogs were after him, unaware that it was none other than their leader and friend. Actaeon had now suddenly become the object of the sport that he was leading till a few hours back. Soon, the dogs caught up with him and tore him to pieces without anybody even realising what had happened and why.

Death of Actaeon

As I mentioned earlier, this is a disturbing myth. Was Actaeon to be blamed for what he saw, unintentionally? Nowhere are his thoughts on what he saw mentioned. Did Diana act in haste? Let us understand the myth slightly better and understand the lesson it tried to impart, to the Greeks then.

This myth can be interpreted in different ways. This can be seen as the malevolent powers of the feminine power, especially of the one who is the embodiment of chastity. It tells man, that the beauty of a female has the power to trap and sometimes lead to ultimate destruction. Such beauty can make the hunter the hunted, even before the hunter realises it. It also serves as a lesson to the wayward not to take the feminine spirit as benign and for granted.

According to Greek mythology, stags were associated with spiritual qualities and were supposed to the favourites of the goddess Diana. Here Actaeon being changed into a stag seems ironic, especially when the very form leads to its destruction by dogs. However, the dogs represent the unconscious lust that is hiding deep inside every man’s secret thoughts, and such thoughts have not spared even those who have sought spiritualism.

In Hindu mythology, we see a similar malevolent aspect in goddess Kali. Even in her devastating form, she is referred to as Mother. She spares none, who have evil in their heart and actions. The all pervasive benevolent Mother changes into a malevolent form in no time and rests only on drinking the blood of the evil.

Valentine Day Love Story

On this Valentine’s Day, what better way to celebrate than read a love story? Love is in the air and mythology is replete with stories of love, passion and sometimes separation.

This is a Greek love story of Ceyx and Alcyone.

Ceyx was the son of the morning star and the King of Trachis, a Greek city. He was happily married to Alcyone, the daughter of the King of winds. Once, Ceyx decided to travel across the seas to consult with the Oracles of Delphi. Hearing this, Alcyone was worried, as she was witness to many a tragic scenes of tempest from her father’s castle. She requested Ceyx not to make the journey, and if had to, then she would accompany him. Ceyx would agree to neither and decided to go ahead with the journey, leaving his wife sad and lonely.

No sooner had the ship gone past Alcyone’s sight, it was caught in turbulent weather and all in the ship were drowned. Ceyx died with the single thought in his mind that he had managed to save the life of Alcyone by not letting her accompany him. Unaware of the tragedy, Alcyone would wait for her love and prayed to goddess Juno for the safety of Ceyx. Juno was moved by her plight and sent her messenger to the house of Somnus¹, the god of sleep. Juno wanted the god of sleep to appear in the dreams of Alcyone and inform her of the death of Ceyx.

Somnus commanded his son, Morpheus², the god of dreams, to do the needful. Morpheus, who could change into any form he desired, took the form of Ceyx and appeared at the bedside of Alcyone, and recounted the gloomy details of his shipwreck and death. Alcyone woke up in tears and called out for Ceyx.

Next morning, she went to the seashore and stood all alone in silence. At a distance she could see something floating towards her. As it came close, she realized it was the dead body of Ceyx. She rushed towards the body and before she could drown in the waters, she developed wings and started to fly! She had been changed into a kingfisher bird (halcyon). When Alcyone, tried to kiss the face of the dead Ceyx, she could not do so due to the horny beak. The gods took pity on her and soon Ceyx too was converted into a similar bird and both flew away together in the horizon.

No wonder they say that the bonds of true love can never be broken and even gods are moved by the plight of broken hearts!

It is said that every winter, for a period of two weeks, Alcyone’s father calms the winds and the waves, so that Alcyone in the form of Halcyon or the Kingfisher bird can safely make her nest on the beach and lay her eggs. Hence the phrase in English – “halcyon days” meaning a period of peace and tranquility, owes its origin to this beautiful love story!

The ancient people of the Mediterranean used to believe that Kingfishers built floating nests made up of fish bones on the sea. Wherever the nest drifted, the sea would turn calm, thanks to the King of Winds. Mariners in the earlier days used to carry a dried body of a kingfisher to ward off the evils of lightening.

This myth has been quoted in literature by Shakespeare and poets like Milton and Keats recounting the saga of love in different forms.

¹ Somnus – The words, ‘Somnanbulism’ (walking in sleep) and ‘insomnia’ (lack 

                of sleep) are derived from the word ‘somnus’

² Morpheus – ‘Morphine’, a drug to relieve pain gets its name from Morpheus

 

On this day of love, if you need more, please refer to my earlier articles –

Gods of Love

Valentine Day Love Story

Radha Krishna – A Divine Romance

A Greek Love Story, (we all know so well) 

Fallen Heroes

Lance Armstrong

The recent ban and subsequent confessions by the world-renowned cyclist Lance Armstrong, has shocked the world and more so, his fans. How could someone who people looked up to confess to all the charges of doping? A hero for millions, confessing on international TV, that he had cheated came as a crashing blow to many who had idolised him.

Rajat Gupta

Some time back, the same happened with the likes of Rajat Gupta, Tiger Woods and Ben Johnson, to name just a few heroes who came crashing down the pedestal they had been occupying.

Mythology is replete with such heroes who occasionally have displayed a fault in their personality. Be it Yudhishtir’s weakness for gambling and Bhima’s craving for food, from the epic Mahabharata. The grandsire of all, Bhishma too was criticised for his vow to serve the throne, which made him commit some grave mistakes. Or be it Lakshman renowned for his anger, a significant weakness in his character, from the epic Ramayan. Had it not been for pride and arrogance, then Ravan would be of heroic traits, instead of the certified villain in the epic Ramayan. Hercules, a Greek hero, known for his heroic acts (and thus the phrase – ‘herculean tasks’), was prone to bouts of anger, during which he would forget what he did. It was during one such bout, that he ended up killing his wife and children.

 

Macbeth killing Duncan

Literature has given us one such hero in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, who had all the qualities of heroism, but the same, came with an ambition which went far beyond morality. His ambition, adequately fuelled by his wife Lady Macbeth, makes him commit the crime of murder one after the other, all leading to his ultimate tragic end.

Tiger Woods

But Armstrong, Gupta, Woods and others are heroes of modern times. They are not characters from mythology or literature, but ordinary folks like you and me. When Armstrong won his battle with cancer and then went on to win seven consecutive Tour de France victories, then it sure was something beyond human capability, or so it seemed. Rajat Gupta career was every middle-class Indian’s dream. From a brilliant academic to the first Indian MD at McKinsey & Co., to a well-known philanthropist, he had it all, till his conviction on charges of insider trading, a crime that cost him a successful career and a jail term. Tiger Woods, a golf legend too had it all, victories, endorsements, a fairy-tale life, till all came crumbling down when his wife accused him of infidelity and later divorced him for the same.

Just what is it that goes in the making of such heroes and why is it so hard on their fans than them?

Yes, they cheated, but they cheated in a sport or to their spouses or organisation, not you and me. But, we still feel cheated.

Ben Johnson

Why are we disappointed when a hero fails either in an achievement or in character? Are these heroes really ‘god’ as we refer to them sometimes? Who has given them the demigod status? Did they ask for it or is it a big crime that they got swayed in the huge public adulation? Someone has very pertinently asked – “What is the worst thing about Armstrong’s alleged drug use: that he won unfairly, or that he spoiled the glamorous story we constructed about his triumph over cancer and subsequent victories?” I say pertinent, because it is we who make them heroes first and then expect them to live up to our glamorous construct. In them we see the ability to perform those feats that we as individuals can’t even dream of or couldn’t achieve, failed to be precise. They are the heroes who are just short of a new god that we see in the not-so-distant horizon. In their failure, we see a failed image that was nurtured for so long. The fans are hurt and disappointed. When the hero is caught cheating, our faith in him is hurt and it is hard on us to destroy the image, and when we destroy, we do it with far more vengeance than was expected.

We are in the 21^st century and there are no demigods anymore. Mythology and Literature is not reality, but should only be a point of reference, if at all. Reality is that all those guys who act, perform, play, sing, write or work are mere mortals, slightly better than you and me. Look up to them, but don’t worship them. Follow their paths for the better of it, but don’t worship the ground they tread.

The moral of the story is – Make no gods out of mortals and thou shall not be hurt!