Hariharan Senthilkumar - Week 10: Power and Mythology
The Trojan Horse: https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/trojan-war
If there is ever one universal definition of power, I believe it would be: "History is written by the victors." I personally would expand this definition to say pretty much everything is written by the victors, or those in power, including our legends and myths. Many of the myths humans have told each other for centuries are influenced by who the victor was, reflecting how information is told in our world as well.
In Greek mythology, the Illiad talks about the Trojan War. The Greeks ultimately win the war after years of battle, help from gods, and stupid amounts of luck. The Illiad is also written by Homer, a Greek writer. It should come as no surprise then that the Trojans were depicted in a less-than-friendly way. Paris, the prince of Troy, was described as a pretty wife-stealer and was hated for starting the war. Prince Hector of Troy, though respected, was still considered inferior to Achilles. On the other side, the Greeks are glorified as divine heroes.
Take Odysseus for example. Odysseus is portrayed as a sharp-witted and insightful soldier who ensures a Greek victory. The thing is, Odysseus is a truly terrible person. Odysseus was undeniably intelligent and he did genuinely care about his family, but he was cruel and apathetic to a fault. He made false promises, he tricked innocent people into his cause, and he was extremely selfish and ready to sacrifice anything for his self-preservation. There is literally an entire book called The Odyssey that follows Odysseus's journey back home after the war and it details the various ways that Odysseus generally is a horrible person. And yet the original depictions of the Trojan War seem to skip over these inconvenient details.
Those who know of Hindu stories such as the Mahabharata would know about the conflict between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The Pandavas are the winners of the battle at the end which is likely why the Kauravas are cast as sinful and evil people. But the same issue crops up: the Pandavas were not always great people. Arjuna, who is arguably the most famous of the Pandavas, had countless affairs, viewed his brother Karna as an inferior person because of the circumstances of his birth, was insecure in his skills, and was generally a flawed person. Likewise, there were Kauravas who were good and decent people.
Does that mean I think that the Greeks should have lost the Trojan War or that the Pandavas should have lost to the Kauravas? Not necessarily. Just like in real life, these myths show us that every single person in all of these stories is human in every sense, meaning that they all have flaws.
I think that looking at mythology from a historical perspective is so interesting because these stories really do reflect the way we look at our world now. If the US lost the Revolutionary War, the British Empire would likely have painted the Revolution as a distasteful rebellion of a few discontented people. If women's suffrage movements hadn't succeeded, people may have viewed women's rights as a laughable idea. We are surrounded by the effects of those who won and those in power, and I think viewing these modern effects through the lens of ancient myths can be helpful.
Hi Hari! Growing up, Greek mythology was one of my biggest interests, and my parents would always tell me stories from the Mahabharata, so your blog was very thought provoking for me since it referenced both concepts in a completely different light than I previously considered. History is such an immersive subject (but it can also be very open-ended) so I think your point that history is only told in the perspective of victors holds a lot of truth. The way you deconstructed Odysseus’ character is particularly interesting; I don’t think a lot of people recognize his innate flaws, and often choose to overlook them in favor of glorifying his cunning and heroism. Your example of the Mahabharata was what struck me the most, especially since I never saw the Pandavas as more than heroes, or the Kauravas as more than villains when my parents would tell me these stories. I also loved how you expanded your argument to the real world, and your examples of the Revolutionary War and women’s suffrage really supports the idea that history isn’t always about what happened but about who gets to tell the story. Overall, I thought your blog was such a fascinating take on these commonplace stories!
ReplyDeleteHeyy Hari! I want to start off with saying how amazing this piece is! You're truly gifted at writing (I'm jealous of how well you tied these ideas together). My history teacher in middle school told me a similar thing that always stuck with me: "History is entirely biased, so we never know which side is truly right or wrong because we haven't experienced it ourselves. And chances are, we'll be biased too." He made such an interesting point because just like what you said, it can be applied in everyday life. I love the Greek Mythology and the Hindu lore (Jai Sri Krishna!) that you included to support your points. Honestly, it's shocking because I never knew the negative aspects of these people's lives because history has a habit of hiding things they dislike. While I was reading this, I was thinking, "But doing bad things doesn't necessarily make a difference because we all make mistakes." And you already answered that in the next paragraph! Truly a mind reader! On a serious note, you did an amazing job of highlight the inherent flaws that humans make and how they make a person grow and evolve. You made really interesting "what-if?" questions that made me wonder what really could have been the current world if not for the many mess-ups that people in the past have done? Bad deeds can sometimes be a blessing and a curse. It just happens to all of us in different ways. I absolutely am in love with this piece! Awesome job!!
ReplyDeleteHey Hari!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post this week and I loved your deep knowledge of history, specifically Greek Mythology, I could sense the passion which you have for this topic through your words and was impressed of how much you knew about the topic. I also was impressed of how you transitioned from that topic to Hindu stories and spoke extensively about a completely different topic demonstrating your knowledge of various fields. I also agree with your stance on the idea of power and that pretty much everything is written by the victor or those in power. So, when an event has no living first-hand viewers some of the details could be misconstrued. I truly enjoyed reading your blog this week and look forward to reading what you right next week!
Hi Hari! I think me and you share a passion for Greek mythology, as I also love the stories of these mythical idols and how deeply flawed they were. In fact, I also wrote a blog based on Greek mythology and spoke of the Illiad and Odyessy as well! I agree that many account of these stories conveniently gloss over the fact that Odysseus was a terrible person, and the story of Troy was written in an obviously biased manner. History is often biased, and it is well-known that the "winners" write history, so the true story is often lost. Flaws in even mythological people are essential; they show the true variations and ins and outs of humanity. It is important to consider the other side of history--the side that lost. Only then can we truly understand our past. Thank you for this great blog! Your writing, as always, was insightful and interesting.
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