You will destroy a great empire.
Jan. 20th, 2006 10:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tellitslantIt's Friday! That must mean it's time for me to post meta before it all gets invalidated by new canon.
Mythology in BSG, Part I, or, How I Don't Really Ship Lee/Laura But Can't Help Getting Smacked In The Face With The Metaphor Hammer
(vaguely spoilery through 2x12, speculative for 2x13)
From what I can tell, the idea of using Greek mythology in the underpinnings of the series is something that carried over from TOS (wow, it feels odd to be writing that in a non-Trek context) but that has been considerably changed, especially in terms of how it relates to the characters. So.
If you're going to tell a story about a prophet, then you are going to have an Apollo, because Apollo is the god of prophecy. If your prophet is going to be female, then you really have three choices.* You could choose Kassandra, whose original agreement with Apollo was that she would become his lover if he gave her the gift of prophecy; when she reneged on her half of the deal, however, Apollo, instead of revoking his gift, allowed her to keep the ability to tell the future, but cursed her that her prophecies would never be believed. You could choose the Cumaean Sybil, who was granted as many years of life as grains of sand she could hold in her palm, but forgot to ask for eternal youth; her body withered, until she was no more than a whisper stored in a jar on the wall of the shrine (stories differ, but again, some myths say that this was punishment for her refusal to become Apollo's lover; vengeful little bugger, wasn't he).
Or you could choose Pythia, the Oracle at Delphi. The history of Apollo at Delphi is a little less than straightforward (and I should apologize in advance, as I'm writing this without any sources on hand), but here are some interesting bits and pieces.
Although Apollo became the patron deity at Delphi, things didn't begin that way. The temple and the oracle were originally tied to earlier, earth-goddess deities. The name "Pythia" is a reference to the chthonic serpent Python, who was the original oracle at the site, was the offspring of (either Gaia or Hera, depending on the myth), and was killed by Apollo, at which time the god made Delphi the site of his own worship. Pythia's prophecies, it is suggested, were influenced by vapours issuing from the ground on which the temple at Delphi was built. The Oracle at Delphi was also known for prophecies that were incredibly difficult to interpret correctly.
There are a couple of points about Pythia that particularly interest me.
Her power of prophecy is not actually related directly to Apollo. It predated Apollo, and its initial ties were to deities that were feminine, chthonic, or both. The chthonic aspect is intriguing, and one that held true through Apollo's reign at Delphi because of the source of the vapours – which issued from a fissure in the rock beneath the temple. The underworld is, after all, that mythical place where you're never quite sure if your feet are under you or not – chthonic deities aren't from the underworld in Hades, nor quite as in Tartarus, but that ill-defined underworld that was tied very closely to Gaia and her earth-mother femininity. That feminine aspect, though, is part of the reason why control of Delphi changed hands, so to speak – it was part of the general switch from worship of the sacred feminine to worship of the Olympian pantheon that was headed by Zeus.
I find it interesting that at one point, Laura had a female spiritual advisor, and that her relationship with Lee arguably changed immediately after Elosha's death.
If Roslin and Lee are tied together irrevocably, and they are, then it in turn makes me wonder about their relationship with another couple. Why is Roslin never paralleled with Baltar – who is, after all, also "an instrument of God"? And if Roslin is paired with Baltar, and Roslin's relationship to god/s runs through Lee, then isn't Lee in a way paired with Six?
And if Six is the one who's controlling Baltar, and if Lee is Apollo, whose power overthrew and subverted that of Pythia, and if Lee is suddenly placed in moral opposition to Roslin, then I think we could be setting up for something of a showdown. (As an aside, I actually doubt we're getting this showdown, at least any time soon, because I think that Roslin's imminent miraculous recovery from cancer is going to sideline moral issues temporarily. Akesios versus Loxias - Apollo's aspect as god of healing overcoming his aspect as god of prophecy?) In fact, we've already seen Lee and his morality influence Laura – in "Bastille Day," when he strong-arms her into admitting the need for elections (and if Cain's timeline of "six months" since the attack was accurate, then we're only a month away from said elections). Granted, Laura totally owns Lee immediately thereafter by including him in the Great Cancer Secret, but there's a clash of some very strong wills going on there.
I don't know why I don't see Lee/Laura as a truly viable pairing, when I have heard some pretty powerful arguments for it. I have difficulty seeing Lee as a strong character when placed against Laura. Writing this has made me realize, though, that while he can't quite hold his own, he's a lot more solid than I had given him credit for. I believe his opinions and feelings will play a big part in the upcoming conflicts, especially given his not-entirely-explicable current manpain. And Laura is not the sort of person who will change her plans for anyone, even the delicate sensibilities of her boytoy, so I need more of an explanation for her potential actions.
Of course, I don't believe that Lee is going to oust Laura any time soon, but I think that they're going to have an intense alliance of some sort in the not too distant future. And I think it might very well have something to do with the fact that so far, Laura's status as chosen of the gods has been due to her cancer, because the visions have come form the chamalla root; if she doesn't have the chamalla, then does she have the visions, and how are the visions tied to Apollo, and what do they mean. I also find it incredibly telling that one of Apollo's other aspects is god of colonization; he led colonists to cities (notably Troy, and if I were making a real stretch, I might compare the BSG exodus to after the fall of Troy), and several cities were founded by colonists dedicated at Delphi. So if Lee does end up having some influence on Laura, I suspect it will have something to do with Earth. But that one is possibly a bit of a stretch.
Obviously, this interpretation depends on the producers a) knowing Greek myth fairly well and b) actually following it. And they have demonstrated that their knowledge is rather superficial (ask me about Kara's idols in "Flesh and Bone" sometime *facepalm*), but I can't help but see the significance of Pythia as not only an Oracle, but an Oracle with deliberate ties to Apollo. And so – I don't ship Lee/Laura, but I'm pretty damn sure the sub/text is there for a reason.
*There were several other Sybils in Greek mythology – nine or ten – but not all were exactly high-profile, and not all were tied so closely to Apollo.
Next time, why Zeus is an entirely inaccurate descriptor of Adama (because it is), and possibly why you should not leave a girl with a Classics minor alone with BSG DVDs for too long. Oh wait, you already get the last part. ;)
Mythology in BSG, Part I, or, How I Don't Really Ship Lee/Laura But Can't Help Getting Smacked In The Face With The Metaphor Hammer
(vaguely spoilery through 2x12, speculative for 2x13)
From what I can tell, the idea of using Greek mythology in the underpinnings of the series is something that carried over from TOS (wow, it feels odd to be writing that in a non-Trek context) but that has been considerably changed, especially in terms of how it relates to the characters. So.
If you're going to tell a story about a prophet, then you are going to have an Apollo, because Apollo is the god of prophecy. If your prophet is going to be female, then you really have three choices.* You could choose Kassandra, whose original agreement with Apollo was that she would become his lover if he gave her the gift of prophecy; when she reneged on her half of the deal, however, Apollo, instead of revoking his gift, allowed her to keep the ability to tell the future, but cursed her that her prophecies would never be believed. You could choose the Cumaean Sybil, who was granted as many years of life as grains of sand she could hold in her palm, but forgot to ask for eternal youth; her body withered, until she was no more than a whisper stored in a jar on the wall of the shrine (stories differ, but again, some myths say that this was punishment for her refusal to become Apollo's lover; vengeful little bugger, wasn't he).
Or you could choose Pythia, the Oracle at Delphi. The history of Apollo at Delphi is a little less than straightforward (and I should apologize in advance, as I'm writing this without any sources on hand), but here are some interesting bits and pieces.
Although Apollo became the patron deity at Delphi, things didn't begin that way. The temple and the oracle were originally tied to earlier, earth-goddess deities. The name "Pythia" is a reference to the chthonic serpent Python, who was the original oracle at the site, was the offspring of (either Gaia or Hera, depending on the myth), and was killed by Apollo, at which time the god made Delphi the site of his own worship. Pythia's prophecies, it is suggested, were influenced by vapours issuing from the ground on which the temple at Delphi was built. The Oracle at Delphi was also known for prophecies that were incredibly difficult to interpret correctly.
There are a couple of points about Pythia that particularly interest me.
Her power of prophecy is not actually related directly to Apollo. It predated Apollo, and its initial ties were to deities that were feminine, chthonic, or both. The chthonic aspect is intriguing, and one that held true through Apollo's reign at Delphi because of the source of the vapours – which issued from a fissure in the rock beneath the temple. The underworld is, after all, that mythical place where you're never quite sure if your feet are under you or not – chthonic deities aren't from the underworld in Hades, nor quite as in Tartarus, but that ill-defined underworld that was tied very closely to Gaia and her earth-mother femininity. That feminine aspect, though, is part of the reason why control of Delphi changed hands, so to speak – it was part of the general switch from worship of the sacred feminine to worship of the Olympian pantheon that was headed by Zeus.
I find it interesting that at one point, Laura had a female spiritual advisor, and that her relationship with Lee arguably changed immediately after Elosha's death.
If Roslin and Lee are tied together irrevocably, and they are, then it in turn makes me wonder about their relationship with another couple. Why is Roslin never paralleled with Baltar – who is, after all, also "an instrument of God"? And if Roslin is paired with Baltar, and Roslin's relationship to god/s runs through Lee, then isn't Lee in a way paired with Six?
And if Six is the one who's controlling Baltar, and if Lee is Apollo, whose power overthrew and subverted that of Pythia, and if Lee is suddenly placed in moral opposition to Roslin, then I think we could be setting up for something of a showdown. (As an aside, I actually doubt we're getting this showdown, at least any time soon, because I think that Roslin's imminent miraculous recovery from cancer is going to sideline moral issues temporarily. Akesios versus Loxias - Apollo's aspect as god of healing overcoming his aspect as god of prophecy?) In fact, we've already seen Lee and his morality influence Laura – in "Bastille Day," when he strong-arms her into admitting the need for elections (and if Cain's timeline of "six months" since the attack was accurate, then we're only a month away from said elections). Granted, Laura totally owns Lee immediately thereafter by including him in the Great Cancer Secret, but there's a clash of some very strong wills going on there.
I don't know why I don't see Lee/Laura as a truly viable pairing, when I have heard some pretty powerful arguments for it. I have difficulty seeing Lee as a strong character when placed against Laura. Writing this has made me realize, though, that while he can't quite hold his own, he's a lot more solid than I had given him credit for. I believe his opinions and feelings will play a big part in the upcoming conflicts, especially given his not-entirely-explicable current manpain. And Laura is not the sort of person who will change her plans for anyone, even the delicate sensibilities of her boytoy, so I need more of an explanation for her potential actions.
Of course, I don't believe that Lee is going to oust Laura any time soon, but I think that they're going to have an intense alliance of some sort in the not too distant future. And I think it might very well have something to do with the fact that so far, Laura's status as chosen of the gods has been due to her cancer, because the visions have come form the chamalla root; if she doesn't have the chamalla, then does she have the visions, and how are the visions tied to Apollo, and what do they mean. I also find it incredibly telling that one of Apollo's other aspects is god of colonization; he led colonists to cities (notably Troy, and if I were making a real stretch, I might compare the BSG exodus to after the fall of Troy), and several cities were founded by colonists dedicated at Delphi. So if Lee does end up having some influence on Laura, I suspect it will have something to do with Earth. But that one is possibly a bit of a stretch.
Obviously, this interpretation depends on the producers a) knowing Greek myth fairly well and b) actually following it. And they have demonstrated that their knowledge is rather superficial (ask me about Kara's idols in "Flesh and Bone" sometime *facepalm*), but I can't help but see the significance of Pythia as not only an Oracle, but an Oracle with deliberate ties to Apollo. And so – I don't ship Lee/Laura, but I'm pretty damn sure the sub/text is there for a reason.
*There were several other Sybils in Greek mythology – nine or ten – but not all were exactly high-profile, and not all were tied so closely to Apollo.
Next time, why Zeus is an entirely inaccurate descriptor of Adama (because it is), and possibly why you should not leave a girl with a Classics minor alone with BSG DVDs for too long. Oh wait, you already get the last part. ;)
