Chapter 5 of the series Myths and Dragons
[Part 1- The Known, Part 2- The Unknown, Part 3 - The Knower]
I’d like to have some fun and interactivity here too. So I want to ask you, when you hear “The Great and Terrible Father”, what comes to your mind?
Below is a list of associated representations in mythology for the known (taken mostly from Peterson’s Maps of Meaning). I’ve tried to organize them into setting or environment, characters, plot events, and abstract ideas. When one comes up in a story, it could mean any and all of the other things associated with it. Any story that makes allusion to any of these things involves all of them.
The known is explored territory, the organized social world, the island, the heights, the sky, The Great Father god, the king, the patriarch, the wise old man, the tyrant, the giant, the ogre, the Cyclops, the countryman, the ancestral spirits, culture, authority, custom, the crushing weight of tradition, daylight, the activity of the dead, the yin, Apollinian control, superego, the conscience, the rational, order, the hierarchy, the past, doctrine and dogma.
That’s a long list! But it certainly isn’t complete. Would you add anything to it?
Jordan Peterson uses two images to illustrate the extreme representations of the known, familiar territory. They are common and recurring roles in mythology. If you think of the word, “Father”, which one of the two below fits with what you think the word means?
1. The benevolent father that nurtures and mentors his children.
Here’s a modern example:
2. The tyrant father that oppresses and eats his children.
Here’s a modern example:
What do you think?
The Great and Terrible Oz, of course!
Regarding the two extreme father examples, I think we’re conditioned in the modern West to see tyranny as a bad thing, where historically a powerful authoritarian father was perfectly compatible of our definition of “good”.
“Oz” – an awesome example! And Dorothy is a good example of the female-hero, just to tie this into your last comment.
Authoritarian vs tyrant – I think we separate the two terms today due in part to the expansion of our language. Mufasa (Lion King above) is portrayed as quite authoritarian. He does not tolerate disobedience, and he is a lion, so you know he is eating some of his subjects! But, he’s still good.
I think we can separate the two terms based on what they serve (and what they are willing to sacrifice). The authoritarian is willing to sacrifice himself and serve his own child. The tyrant is willing to sacrifice his people and his son to maintain his power, thereby serving only himself, even in some cases above social order.
But again, I guess that demonstrates the genius of myth — ‘father’ can be a good and a bad example for behavior. Both examples are very useful.