Polymorphic Myths

There are often several versions of the same myth or legend. Although the characters are the same, their attributes and motives can vary. Sometimes a character is a hero, other times a villain. The plots can differ, too. It’s a reminder that stories, and perhaps the reality they reflect, depends on who’s telling the story.

Background

I’ve become interested in myth because, in Gabor Molnar’s lovely phrase, stories can bridge the gap between tech and humans. However, the mythological approach to understanding ogregores has various weaknesses. 

One is an anthropomorphic fallacy. We use mythic figures as models of organizational behavior but it’s not a good model because ogregores are so alien that they don’t behave the way individual people do. Our imputation of human-like behavior ends up being misleading. 

Second, powerful stories can be completely disconnected from what’s happening (pace caveats about slippery terms like “fact” and “reality”). For example, Americans tend to believe crime is up, even when official data shows it is down (Pew).

Third, and the focus of this post, different tellers can make disparate stories about the same characters and events. Below I will itemize examples from history, science, and (especially) mythology. I conclude (shock!) that stories express the needs of the teller—for meaning or explanation—and the context in which the stories are told.

I leave to one side multiple interpretations of the same text, such as Genesis or Hamlet. This exploration focuses on multiple texts about the same characters or events.

History

People with different ideologies or commitments might tell very different stories using the same characters, e.g. 

• Marxism and neoliberalism’s stories about the relationship between Capital, State, and Citizens
• The Soviet vs. Anglo-American narrative about WWII
• England and France about each other for the last millennium
• The basic story of Rosa Parks is that she was an ordinary person who worked hard at her job and was so tired when she got on a bus one day that she didn’t get up. Another telling points out that she was an anti-segregation activist and that her action was a planned act of protest (Vox).

Science

In physics, the variables labeled mass, space, and time have very different roles and interpretations in classical mechanics and general relativity.

The term "species" has different meanings and definitions depending on the context and the scientific perspective, such as biological, ecological, genetic, morphological, and phylogenetic species (Britannica).

There has been a long-running debate between gradualists and catastrophists in geology.

Myth and legend

To summarize, here are some protean myths and legends:

• Hera as a noble and long-suffering wife versus being vindictive and vengeful.
• Helen of Troy going to Troy with Paris, or not; living happily ever after with Menelaus, or hanged by Polyxo.
• Different roles for the mother, fairy and stepmother in Cinderella stories.
• Madame White Snake shifting over time from a deceitful spirit to a being who wants to love and be loved; and the monk Fa Hai changing from someone trying to save the husband’s soul to a villain trying to destroy their relationship.
• Merlin as variously a wise and precocious youth, a Christian prophet, or Arthur's mentor; Mordred as Arthur’s illegitimate son or perhaps his nephew—who was a loyal lieutenant or the one who betrayed and killed Arthur at Camlann
• Seth (Set) initially revered as a powerful protector deity, gradually becoming the antagonist. 
• There are stories about Jesus outside the New Testament, including the Quran and Italian folktales.

Greek myth

Hera can come across as vindictive, e.g. her persecution of Zeus’s consorts including Leto, Semele and Alkmene, and Herakles and Dionysos, the favorite bastard sons of Zeus. Homer depicts her being obstinate and jealous. However, she’s also portrayed as a long-suffering and admired wife, revered by the other Olympians and consulted by Zeus, according to Homer. The ancients had several interpretations of her, including the personification of the atmosphere, the goddess of the stars and the moon, and even confounded with Ceres and Diana. She was also rather mean and unmotherly (in our terms) towards Hephaestus. (Theoi.com).

Athena is wise and benevolent, especially towards her favorites like Odysseus, but can be ruthless (siding with the matricide Orestes) and vindictive (turning Arachne into a spider). (Theoi.com)

Prometheus has various attributes (Wikipedia). In Hesiod’s Theogony, he tricked Zeus in the sacrifice at Mecone, favoring humankind; that set up Zeus’s withdrawal of fire, Prometheus’ theft, and Zeus’ retribution. In Works and Days, though, Prometheus’ deception has darker consequences for people, prompting Zeus to take away the easy life they had. However (at least in Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound), he’d previously played a decisive role in Zeus’ victory over his own people, the Titans, thus changing from an ally to antagonist of Zeus. 

Helen’s story has several variants (Britannica). In one, she returned to Sparta and lived happily ever after with Menelaus; in another, she was driven out by her stepsons and fled to Rhodes, where she was hanged by the Rhodian queen Polyxo to avenge the death of her husband in the Trojan War. Stesichorus and Euripides tell a version where Helen never went to Troy at all; she and Paris were stranded in Egypt and the Helen carried on to Troy was thus a phantom, the real one was recovered by her husband from Egypt after the war.

As for legendary humans, Oedipus is noble but arrogant in Oedipus Rex, but a wiser old man seeking atonement in Oedipus at Colonus. Aeschylus and Euripides tell different stories about what happened to Orestes after his trial (Wikipedia).  Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides tell the story of Electra in very different ways (Michael Davis, Electras: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, h/t New Thinkery podcast episode).

Zoroastrianism vs. Vedas

I learned on r/AncientCivilizations (h/t a comment by u/Dominarion) that in Vedic Hinduism, the term "devas" refers to gods, while "asuras" are considered demons or anti-gods. In contrast, in Zoroastrianism, "Ahuras" are revered as gods, and "Daevas" are seen as malevolent spirits or demons. This inversion is notable in the case of Indra, a prominent Vedic god, who is depicted as a demon in the Zoroastrian context. The Persians were surprised to discover "Daeva" worship in India.

Fairytales

The Cinderella story has different versions across cultures, with major plot differences. The Rhodopis tale seems to be the root of the Western version, though without the evil sisters (Wikipedia). In the Chinese Ye Xian story, there is an evil stepmother and stepsister, but she’s helped by a fish and her mother’s spirit (Wikipedia). In the Native American fusion of Cinderella with Wabanaki folktales, the heroine must pass several tests of her character, demonstrating her courage, honesty, and respect (NativeLanguages). In the Grimm brothers version, she doesn’t have a fairy godmother, but gets help from mother who sends down two white doves (Genius).

Madame White Snake has had various depictions over time (Muhlenberg; Culture of Chinese; Wikipedia). The oldest versions paint her as a succubus, manipulating her husband and putting him into situations that threaten his existence. In modern adaptations there’s a shift from a deceitful spirit to a being who wants to love and be loved. The monk Fa Hai changes from someone trying to save the husband’s soul to a villain trying to destroy their relationship.

Arthurian legends

Merlin has different origins and motivations in various versions of the King Arthur legends (WorldHistory). Geoffrey of Monmouth depicts him as a wise and precocious youth with prophetic powers. Robert de Boron cast him as a Christian prophet. In Malory, Merlin is Arthur's mentor and a seer who can’t alter what’s coming. 

There are various versions of Arthur’s fate after the battle of Camlann (Wikipedia). According the Geoffrey of Monmouth, he’s mortally wounded and taken to the Isle of Avalon. In Layamon, only Arthur and his two nameless knights are left alive after the battle. Geoffrey offers the possibility that Arthur’s wounds would be healed. Other accounts declare that Arthur died in Avalon. 

There are also different relationships between Arthur and Mordred (DiscoveryUK). Perhaps he was Arthur’s illegitimate son, or perhaps his nephew; he betrayed and killed Arthur at Camlann—or perhaps he was a loyal lieutenant.

Flood myths

There are different flood myths (Wikipedia). The Gilgamesh story is similar to the biblical ones, though different gods bring the flood (Enlil) and warn humans about it (Ea) according to Wikipedia. The Hindu story is similar. In Zorastrian Mazdaism, though “Ahriman tries to destroy the world with a drought, which Mithra ends by shooting an arrow into a rock, from which a flood springs; one man survives in an ark with his cattle.” Plato’s flood myth in the Timaeus resembles the Gilgamesh version, with Zeus bringing the flood and Prometheus advising the culture hero—Deucalion, in this version—to build an ark.

Egypt

The Egyptian god Seth (Set) has a complex set of roles; there are also be regional and temporal shifts in his characterization (MythoHub; UPenn; Esoterica). Initially revered as a powerful protector deity, he gradually became an antagonist in various mythological tales. He was associated with chaos and storms, the counterpart to order and discipline. 

Hinduism

In the Hindu tradition, Ravana is widely portrayed as being an evil character, though he is also a learned scholar (Wikipedia).

Christianity and Islam

In addition to the canonical stories of Jesus and Peter in the New Testament, Italo Calvino retells some folktales of them wandering around Sicily in Italian Folktales (h/t Susan Tonkin).

In addition to the New Testament, Jesus and Mary are mentioned in the Quran (Wikipedia) (h/t Susan Tonkin). The Quran describes Jesus' miraculous birth, his healing ministry and preaching, and his ascension to heaven, but it rejects the crucifixion and resurrection. There are some hadiths that mention Jesus.

Update 29 Aug 2024: added reference to Michael Davis' Electras: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.

Update 31 Aug 2024: added the inversion between the Vedic and Iranian pantheons