Ivan Hu, Period 7, 10/12/22

 Literacy & Learning

     When I first dove into the world of Greek Mythology, my young self always took the tales to the literal sense. I was completely fascinated by the whole concept that every single thing, trivial or significant, concrete or abstract, was represented by an almighty figure. After analyzing the stories of Demeter, Persephone, and Dionysus extensively in class, I was utterly shocked at how I did not recognize the connections between their actions and our human qualities until now as a high school senior.

    For instance, Persephone’s act of consuming the pomegranate seed from the underworld did not just imply that she had to return there every year. More importantly, it also emphasized her coming-of-age transition from being a child of Demeter to a woman that would lose her virginity (in terms of its alternate definition from Google Dictionary, “the state of being naive, innocent, or inexperienced in a particular context”) to Hades. I did not accept this interpretation at first, but it made more sense to me for this specific feeling of “less parental guidance and more self-reliance” has permeated in us even more often when we are in the process of applying to colleges in our final year before not being considered as a minor anymore (Fusaro 3.1). 

     Most parents in the world could relate to Demeter’s emotions as she loses control over the decisions of her daughter as she grows older, including mine. Personally, I began to depend less on my mother’s money when purchasing for what I want since I started working a part-time job this year. Subsequently, she would have to get accustomed to my choice with the ambivalence that she does not necessarily know what I use my money for anymore. Therefore, Persephone’s progression of life represents many aspects of people at my age and their parents as well.

     Examining the myth in this way has ultimately taught me that fictional works can be viewed with lenses that can portray society at that point in time. I found out that the ancient Greeks had many ways to describe love. Some of them were agape (self-sacrificial love), phileo (brotherly love), eros (sexual love), and storge (natural, familial love). The story of the vegetation goddesses focuses mainly on the disparity and conflicts between the latter two forms of love, which were both valued highly in the community back then. From my point of view, I considered this an example that supports critical love theory, which “provides commentary on relationships and love, what they are and ought to be. It wholly rejects the idea that there is only one way to love or to be loved, allowing room for authors to carve out their own unique perspectives” (Passerby Magazine). Without Ms. Fusaro’s lesson on critical perception, I would not have caught on this particular factor of the story.

Works Cited

Poles, Clemence. “The Best Critical Theory on Love.” Passerby Magazine, Passerby Magazine, 14 Apr. 2022, http://passerbymagazine.com/recommendations/the-best-critical-theory-on-love. 

A, Gct, et al. “The 8 Ancient Greek Words for Love.” Greek City Times, 14 Feb. 2020, https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/02/14/the-8-ancient-greek-words-for-love/.

Fusaro-Pizzo, Kristen. “Lesson 3.1 - Demeter Persephone and Dionysus.” 7 Oct. 2022, https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1DLe3eTjVHfZRSZwNM1JZ-PbYF1942MD9HC_bmiKg--o/edit?usp=sharing.