The Iphigenia Paradox

The Iphigenia Paradox

You know that her death is one of the most tragic/heartbreaking moments from the Iliad and you wish she wouldn't have been sacrificed. Then you find out that there's a version of this part in which she didn't die and a deer was sacrificed in her place. But then you remember that her death is relevant for the plot and that her importance resides in her absence during the rest of the book.

The Big Three & The Freudian Trio

Note: I know that Freud is a pretty much hated figure and his theories are criticized for various reasons. And I perfectly understood you guys, I partly blame him for all the "Yo Mama!" jokes when in the Myth of Oedipus dude literally gouged his eyes out after he found out that he actually fu- ANYWAY, this post is purely based on the trope inspired by one of his psychological theories and nothing else.

As you guys might have observed, there are a lot of franchises which contain at least one trio. What some of you might not notice though is that this trio is usually ment to respect the "Two Foils + Balance" unwritten rule, each character representing one of these three positions: The Id, The Ego and The Superego.

Freud defined the human psyche as consisting of three parts:

the Id, which represented emotional and instinctual desires;

the Superego, which represented the rules and social conventions;

the Ego, which reconciled the Id and Superego through conscious choices.

Likewise, the Freudian Trio consists of three characters: one who acts emotionally and instinctively, one who acts with cold, passionless logic and one who reconciles the two conflicting ideals. Sometimes the Id/Superego dynamics play out with just two characters, but in those cases the representatives of opposing sides must learn to negotiate with each other.

Now, the main reason why I decided to write this post is because when it comes the the Big Tree I observed that many people decide that Zeus is the Id because, according to them, he is "impulsive, greedy, prone to huge temper-tantrums, entirely motivated by his sex drive", Poseidon is the Ego because he "could be reasonable or nuts. But in general less impulsive than Zeus and less rigid than Hades" and Hades is the Superego (brooding, morbid, obssesed with rules and laws).

And I respectfully have to disagree with these choices, more specifically with the "Zeus = Id" and "Poseidon = Ego" one.

I understand the fact that Zeus is more prominent than Poseidon in the greek myths, and by extension people tend to believe that he is more impulsive than him whereas Poseidon is more cool-headed. But in reality, it’s quite the opposite. I know that Zeus haters don't like to hear that, but Zeus is pretty much capable of long-term planning and proves himself to be intelligent and strategic whenever he wants to. He is very cunning and the fact that he sleeps with many women isn't necessary because he is horny, but because he tries to create in the process powerful (but not powerful enough to overthrow him, of course) and honorable deities and heroes. After all, he is the Father of the Gods both metaphorically and literally. Poseidon, on the other hand, is way more short-tempered than him. He was the one who complained the most about the fact that he didn't get the sky and even joined Hera, Apollo and Athena in a failed attempt to overthrow him. Contrary to what people believe, Zeus has more beef with Poseidon than with Hades, who seemed very content with receiving the Underworld and got there right after drawing the shortest straw. Also, just because the myths where Poseidon brutally rapes someone are less common than the ones in which Zeus does it, that doesn’t mean that he is less of a rapey god than his younger brother.

The Ego is Zeus — god of law over men and hospitality, the mediator between other gods and the enforcer of laws (but not in a rigid/unrealistic manner), while the Id is Poseidon — as roiling and angry as the sea, causing trouble. It was Zeus, after all, who decreed that the gods should stop interfering in the Trojan War, and the one who swallowed the Goddess of Prudence.

Persephone: Why can't any man be as perfect as Adonis?

Hades: If I hear you talking about him one more time I'm going to...

Persephone: WHAT!? What you're gonna do? He's already dead!

Hades: I'm going to bring him back to life.

Persephone:...

Persephone: What?

Aphrodite: !!!

Hephaestus:...

Hephaestus: I hate this shit.

✨💖Positivity chain! List 5 to 10 things that make you smile and explain why! Then send this to others to let them know they make you smile✨💖

Sorry, but I don't smile.

What do many people think that the Myth of Hades and Persephone was like:

What was it actually like:

Blessed be you, girl

Promised to me by a man who can only feel hatred and contempt towards you

I am no good nor evil, simply I am

And I have come to take what is mine

Taylor Swift is his secret guilty pleasure. Also, he's the one who introduced Hades to AC/DC.

Zeus is a Taylor Swift fan do not @ me