2.3.2 Mythological creatures in literary works
Cannibals appear in different forms in literary works. Appointed in classics like Homers The Odyssey 9 and the Brothers Grimm Hansel and Gretel, the human cannibalistic element is concealed skillfully by the authors with exchanging the human figure for a mythological creature. Frequently the literary executor of cannibalism resembles real issues that the authors faced during their lifetimes in their society.
The Odyssey tells the story of the king of Ithaca Odysseus and his decennial journey back home after the Trojan War. In chapter nine of The Odyssey he and four other ship crew members sail to the island of the Cyclopes. There they get trapped by one Cyclops and he eats the men in pairs. Odysseus …show more content…
Although a Cyclops is just a taller, bigger, one eyed version of the human and it seems obvious cannibalism is practiced, however the act represents an issue out of the imaginary world. Most people see the action of the giant as uncivilized and barbaric. With the escaping and blinding the Cyclops “[…] a victory of civilization over barbarism” is accomplished (Buchan, 2001, 16). These characteristics for the Cyclops may fit as premature prejudices, but completely exclude other possible reasons why the mythological creature reacts in this way towards the intruders. Buchan stresses the importance of the factor that the giants living by standards which distinguishes completely from the society the general public lives nowadays and back then lived in. Every single Cyclops is self-sufficient, therefore lives uninterested to socialize with others and does not consider a belief towards a god. Also the aspect of generational normality is nonexistent. In the world of the …show more content…
Their father and stepmother left them there, due to the fact the adults are unable to provide the whole family with nourishment. While trying for the second time to escape the forest, the children encounter a bread house. In this special housing lives a witch, the old women will try to fatten and eat Hansel towards the end of the tale. Intentionally a supernatural figure was taken from the mythology to dissociate from human cannibalism. To establish a link between cannibalism and witches one has to consider witchcraft in the time period Early Middle Ages in Europe. Western culture, specialized the fantasy image of witches so far that the feminine figure was taken from being an idea turned into a fleshier version (Röckelein, 1996, 32). Followers of the devil were able to practice black magic to harm fellow citizens (Levack 2009, 18). Laws were established to suppress any kind of witchcraft (Levack 2009, 91). Manuals maintained till this day, and serve as evidence for the practice (Levack 2009, 26). But cannibalism assembled with magic represents another considerable function. Witches consume or rather used human body parts to confer their spells, ointments, powders and broths/brews with more power, in order to gain supernatural abilities (Zika 1996, 88). However, proofing anthropophagy causes between archeologists the debate whether it actually took place or not
Cannibals appear in different forms in literary works. Appointed in classics like Homers The Odyssey 9 and the Brothers Grimm Hansel and Gretel, the human cannibalistic element is concealed skillfully by the authors with exchanging the human figure for a mythological creature. Frequently the literary executor of cannibalism resembles real issues that the authors faced during their lifetimes in their society.
The Odyssey tells the story of the king of Ithaca Odysseus and his decennial journey back home after the Trojan War. In chapter nine of The Odyssey he and four other ship crew members sail to the island of the Cyclopes. There they get trapped by one Cyclops and he eats the men in pairs. Odysseus …show more content…
Although a Cyclops is just a taller, bigger, one eyed version of the human and it seems obvious cannibalism is practiced, however the act represents an issue out of the imaginary world. Most people see the action of the giant as uncivilized and barbaric. With the escaping and blinding the Cyclops “[…] a victory of civilization over barbarism” is accomplished (Buchan, 2001, 16). These characteristics for the Cyclops may fit as premature prejudices, but completely exclude other possible reasons why the mythological creature reacts in this way towards the intruders. Buchan stresses the importance of the factor that the giants living by standards which distinguishes completely from the society the general public lives nowadays and back then lived in. Every single Cyclops is self-sufficient, therefore lives uninterested to socialize with others and does not consider a belief towards a god. Also the aspect of generational normality is nonexistent. In the world of the …show more content…
Their father and stepmother left them there, due to the fact the adults are unable to provide the whole family with nourishment. While trying for the second time to escape the forest, the children encounter a bread house. In this special housing lives a witch, the old women will try to fatten and eat Hansel towards the end of the tale. Intentionally a supernatural figure was taken from the mythology to dissociate from human cannibalism. To establish a link between cannibalism and witches one has to consider witchcraft in the time period Early Middle Ages in Europe. Western culture, specialized the fantasy image of witches so far that the feminine figure was taken from being an idea turned into a fleshier version (Röckelein, 1996, 32). Followers of the devil were able to practice black magic to harm fellow citizens (Levack 2009, 18). Laws were established to suppress any kind of witchcraft (Levack 2009, 91). Manuals maintained till this day, and serve as evidence for the practice (Levack 2009, 26). But cannibalism assembled with magic represents another considerable function. Witches consume or rather used human body parts to confer their spells, ointments, powders and broths/brews with more power, in order to gain supernatural abilities (Zika 1996, 88). However, proofing anthropophagy causes between archeologists the debate whether it actually took place or not