Hi all. I was thinking, there are a lot of mythological and folktale references we need to understand other people''s writing. Here''s an outline of the Icarus myth complex by way of an example: Icarus and Daedalus escaped from the Island of Crete by Daedalus making fake wings which they wore and used to fly away. Icarus, despite being warned by Daedalus, flew too high. His wings melted/caught fire, and he fell into the ocean and died. Associated with the myth of Phaeton who flew his father Helios''s (Sun God) Chariot wildly, harming the Earth, so Zeus killed him with a lightning bolt and he fell burning into the ocean. Associated with the myth of Pegasus and Bellerophon - Belerophon tried to force Pegasus to fly up to mount Olympus, so pegasus threw Bellerophon, who fell and died. All of these contain an anti-hybris (arrogant pride, overweening pride) moral, which is also a pro-moderation moral. The sun/mount olympus can be any goal fatale, especially a beautiful woman or an ideal realm. In terms of this the myth is also connected with the folktale that moths love flame and commit suicide by diving into it. Similarly, phoenixes gain immortality by immolating themselves, and (the mythical version of) salamanders can live comfortably in a fire. Pegasus'' flight is often used as a metaphor for poetic imagination, and Icarus'' wings are viewed as the quill pen of a poet. So, what other big myth-complexes like this are there?

The Monomyth... =)

"The Hero of a Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell (1949) is a book that covers exactly this topic.

To be completely upfront, I haven''t read it yet myself, but it is on my reading list, and I have read some books that derive from it. Among the most recent derivative works I''ve read is:
"The Key" by James N. Frey (2000)

You should be able to find either of those at Amazon.com.


DavidRM
Samu Games