A little Greek Mythology

One of my favorite books when I was around 12 years old was Edith Hamilton's book on Greek Mythology. One reason it was a favorite was that it was one of only two English language books that I had when spending three months in Germany in the 1960's, way before proliferation of multi language options and book stores. A prolific reader, I read those two books over and over again, just to have something to read. (The other book was a novel about a teenage girl who adores Pavlova and hopes to become a ballet dancer.) Usual disclaimer: these choice of books do not mean I was struggling with my inner reincarnated child (since reincarnation does not exist, as I have to remind dummies constantly) of either a ballet dancer or a Greek god or goddess hahaha.

I enjoy the lessons hidden in some of the myths, though. Here is one of my favorites. The "Gorgon" Medusa was an evil being with a head festooned with living writhing snakes. Looking at her would slay the victim by turning him or her to stone. Perseus was sent to slay her. He was given the following as tools:

Hermes gave him a curved sword and winged sandals,
Athena gave him a shield so bright that it was a mirror.
Hades a helmet that made Perseus invisible.

By sneaking up on Medusa (sandals and helmet) and by reflecting back on Medusa her own death inducing image while protecting his own eyes (via the mirror shield) Perseus was able to slay her with his sword.

Here is the wisdom to be contemplated rather than it just being a ripping good story, and the first example of a 007 having great techno tools to dispatch the bad guy.

A curved sword is more effective than a straight sword because it has a longer cutting edge, by virtue of its being curved. This is symbolic that sometimes an indirect way (a curve) can have more substance and potency. In a way it is like ensuring that you have the most potency in your counter thrust, and this could be understood as being smarter than your opponent too.

Winged sandals remind people to be uplifted spiritually, even when engaging in military action.

An invisible helmet is a reminder that modesty and discretion are often wiser approaches when confronting evil thuggery. Thinking you are the "good guy" but being a loud mouth is not wise.

And most important, the mirrored shield reminds people to reflect evil back onto the person who emits it, rather than imitate it. There's more of this around than people think. I've written before about how people's bad thoughts bounce right back to them, especially if they are directed toward the innocent. ZAP!!