Bullfinch's Mythology

Serpents have always been associated with terror and evil. In the bible you can see that the snake convinced Adam to eat the forbidden fruit. In Gilgamesh the snake was the character that stole the plant of eternal life from him. “Among the rest, Python, an enormous serpent, crept forth, the terror of the people, and lurked in the caves of Mount Parnassus” “Since you cannot be my wife,” said he, “you shall assuredly be my tree. I will wear you for my crown; I will decorate with you my harp and my quiver” this sounds kind of greedy to me like sometimes you say that if you can’t have something no one can have it and you brake the object everyone wants. “Cruel wall,” they said, “why do you keep two lovers apart?” Sometimes you build up imaginary walls to stop loving someone but it is important to choose right the person you want to love and clear as many walls between you as you can. “My blood also shall stain your texture,” said he, and drawing his sword plunged it into his heart. The blood spurted from the wound, and tinged the white mulberries of the tree all red; and sinking into the earth reached the roots, so that the red color mounted through the trunk to the fruit.” This really reminds me of Romeo and Juliet when he thinks that Juliet is dead because she hasn’t woken up and commits suicide. When Juliet awakens she also commits suicide for seeing her love dead. This really has to take a lot of courage and the partners have to really love each other to commit suicide for one another. “Pan threw his arms around what he supposed to be the form of the nymph, and found he embraced only a tuft of reeds! As he breathed a sigh, the air sounded through the reeds, and produced a plaintive melody. The god, charmed with the novelty and with the sweetness of the music, said, thus, then, at least, you shall be mine.’ And he took some of the reeds, and placing them together, of unequal lengths, side by side, made an instrument which he called Syrinx, in honor of the nymph” The part that the man tried to hug the nymph and found himself hugging a bunch of reeds reminds me of a scene in the Walt Disney’s movie of Hercules when the friend tried to hug three and all of them disappeared. I am really enjoying reading mythology. Mythology teaches you how things were made by another point of view that is a bit out of what normally in culture you think about.

Adjoining: touching or bounding at a point
Forbade: prohibition, exclusion, omission, failure, neglect, or refusal
Deity: the rank or essential nature of a god
Heifer: a young cow
Gadfly: any of various flies (as a horsefly, botfly, or warble fly) that bite or annoy livestock
Thither: to that place




Definitions from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary