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Applying the Psychological and Philosophical Approaches Project Essay

Lauren Vicente
March 7, 2022
HUM - 115
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The myths that humanity has created over thousands of years serve as guides and heralds of traits
we admire most. Writers very often use the adventures of a hero or heroine to exemplify these traits,
but the journey is equally important. In order to gain a full comprehension of the hero as well as their
travels, the reader needs to analyze the work in both a philosophical and psychological manner.
Philosophically, one looks at the topics and themes discussed in the tale that may be considered a
sacred or fundamental ideal to the society it originated from. Psychologically, however, the reader
would instead look at the characteristics of the hero or heroine, and how those traits evolve over the
course of the story. In this fourth module, we used the following tales as sources for analysis: Cupid &
Psyche, Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Oedipus the King (Rex), The Twelve Tasks of Heracles, and the Epic
of Gilgamesh. By using both psychological and philosophical analysis, this essay will show the similarities
and differences between these five myths, as well as link them to our modern narratives today.

Starting with the psychological approach, the protagonist themselves will be analyzed by looking
at their traits, both positive and negative, and seeing how those characteristics evolve over time. Taking
a first look at the myth of ‘Cupid & Psyche’ found in The Golden Ass by Apuleius, our main character is
Psyche, a beautiful woman who is in a wild love affair with a god, Cupid. A particular trait that
undermines her journey is that Psyche holds doubt in her heart and is unable to see the covetous nature
of her sisters, leading to betrayal. “But afraid of revealing something if the talk continued, and so
betraying his trust, she heaped gold and jewelry in their hands, called there and then for Zephyr, and
placed her sisters in his charge so he might return them.(Apuleius, 4. 28-31)” This innocence and timidity
is slowly undone as she sees the world have favor on her time and again. She overcomes her fear and
doubt by undergoing Venus’s trial.“She never faltered, nor had reason to regret obeying the advice so
carefully given, but accepted her instructions,..(Apuleius 4. 28-31)” Shifting to another female heroine,
Persephone and Demeter in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Persephone is also ignorant to the realities
of interactions between men and women, leading to her rape and forced marriage. “And the girl was
amazed and reached out with both hands to take the lovely toy; but the wide-pathed earth yawned
there in the plain of Nysa, and the lord Hades, Host of Many, with his immortal horses sprang out upon
her—the Son of Cronos, He who has many names.(Hymn to Demeter)” Demeter’s furiosity and anger
causes infertility and despair on earth, proving that women are not merely powerless. Demeter is
unmatched in her ability to strike fear,“‘And now tell me how he snatched you away to the realm of
darkness and gloom, and by what trick did the strong Host of Many beguile you?‘(Hymn to Demeter)”

In Oedipus Rex, we have a male protagonist with a very tragic origin that ultimately is his own
demise. Because Oedipus believes that he is in control of his own destiny, despite the prophesy, he
decides to struggle against it, almost arrogantly. As he adventures against his fate, he fulfills it, learning
that he has no power to change it. “ ‘Alas, alas! How dreadful it can be to have wisdom when it brings
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no benefit to the man possessing it.’ (Teiresias, Oedipus)” Another heroic warrior, Hercules, also
struggles against fate. The illegitimate child of Zeus, Hercules becomes the sole target of Hera’s
wrath after amassing godly strength and glory on Earth. Like Oedipus, he starts off with all odds
against him, rises in strength only to have it taken again from him by Hera. He then rebuilds his hero
status through the twelve tasks. “[2.4.12] Now it came to pass that after the battle with Erginus that
Hercules was driven mad through thejealousy of Hera and flung his own children, whom he had by
Megara, and two children of Iphicles into the fire; wherefore he condemned himself to exile, and was
purified by Thespius, and repairing to Delphi he inquired of the god where he should dwell.... And the
Pythian priestess told him to dwell in Tiryns, serving Eurystheus for twelve years and to perform the ten
labors imposed on him, and so, she said, when the tasks were accomplished, he would be immortal.”
Arrogance seems to be a common flaw, when looking at the hero in The Epic of Gilgamesh, another man
with supernatural abilities. Gilgamesh’s prideful and arrogant nature causes his own heartbreak after
losing Enkidu, and begins to wisen to the value to living life while he has it.“Bitterly, Gilgamesh wept for
his friend Enkidu; he wandered over the wilderness as a hunter, he roamed over the plains; in his
bitterness he cried, ‘How can I rest, how can I be at peace? Despair is in my heart. What my brother is
now, that shall I be when I am dead. Because I am afraid…”

Our secondary form of analysis for these five myths was through the philosophical perspective. By
looking at these tales, one can see which life-sized questions were being discussed for the audience and
how the author’s conveyed their own opinions on those matters. For example, it is widely believed that
the myth is an metaphor for how the soul can fall to its death by engaging in sexual love. Psyche was
regarded as the personification of the soul and love represented by Cupid. The moral of the story was
believed to be the dangers of excessive passion and sexuality, but this is only one interpretation. In
Hymn to Demeter, at the beginning of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Zeus asserts his right as patriarch
to make a marriage contract for Persephone without the knowledge of her mother, something that was
incredibly common for Greek women. However, Demeter’s reaction to the forced marriage of her
daughter and Rhea’s appearance in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter highlight the mother-daughter bond
as a challenge to patriarchal rule.

In Oedipus Rex, one will see a clear warning from authors against competing with fate, even in
ignorance. This is found specifically in the way the authors were warning against the dangers of
ignorance.“He warns his audience not that the gods are dangerous, though the prophecy of Oedipus
would come to truth regardless of any internal character change, but that the downfall of Oedipus was
from his own complete ignorance. (Uasal, 2019)” With The Twelve Labors of Hercules, you will see the
Greek ideal of man’s ability to overcome all odds, “Heraclitus argued that each of the labours represents
some aspect of man: the Erymanthian boar is man’s ‘incontinence’ or intemperance, the Nemean lion
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represents man’s determination to rush towards the wrong goals in the pursuit of something, the hind
of Ceryneia represents cowardice, and so on. That dung in the Augean stables is symbolic of the foulness
of humanity, (Interesting Literature, 2022)” Meanwhile, in The Epic of Gilgamesh, the question of life’s
ultimate meaning is brought to the forefront. Through journeying for a cure for his mortality, the
audience learns the importance of finding eternal meaning with the lives they already have. “She
answered, ‘Gilgamesh, where are you hurrying to? You will never find that life for which you are looking.
When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they retained in their own keeping. As
for you, Gilgamesh fill your belly with good things; day and night, night and day, dance and be merry,
feast and rejoice.(Gilgamesh, Sanders)”

Moving to modern day myths, let us apply these same types of analysis to a story that was
recently written, for this I chose the move “Silence of the Lambs” by Ted Tally. This movie is a horror film
involving an FBI Agent Trainee working with a convicted serial killer to help find a missing senator’s
daughter. Psychologically, the main character Clarice is used to being overlooked due to being a woman
in a male dominated work field. She over works to prove herself, but she ends up having the talent all
along. The other important subject, Hannibal is a cold and calculating killer that begins to become more
vulnerable as he connects with Clarice. Moving to the philosophical perspective, two major ideals stuck
out to me. First, I believe the author wanted to prove that while respect and decency definitely go a long
way, severe pain will often bring more pain, no matter how much good comes afterwards.

By using both the philosophical and psychological analysis methods, we were able to dive much deeper
into the five myths of this week’s module: Cupid & Psyche, Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Oedipus the King
(Rex), The Twelve Tasks of Heracles, and the Epic of Gilgamesh. By using these two tools, the reader can
gain a clearer understanding of the purpose behind a myth’s creation. One will also be able to gain
perspective into how a society values certain aspects of life and how it seeks to explain it. These tools
can help even with modern media today, as we saw with the prior analysis of “Silence of the Lambs”.
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References

Carnahan, Wolf. “The Epic of Gilgamesh.” Epic of Gilgamesh, 2015,

[Link]

Lye, Suzanne. “Like Mother, like Daughter: Rhea and Demeter as Models of Subversion in the Homeric
Hymn to Demeter.” Society for Classical Studies, 2021, [Link]
meeting/148/abstract/mother-daughter-rhea-and-demeter-models-subversion-homeric-hymn-
demeter. 

N/a, N/a. “Cupid & Psyche.” Cupid and Psyche, 2018, [Link]

Unknown, N/a. “A Summary and Analysis of the 12 Labours of Hercules Myth.” Interesting Literature, 8
Dec. 2021, [Link]
analysis/. 

Wasson, Donald L. “Oedipus the King.” World History Encyclopedia, World History Encyclopedia, 7 Mar.
2022, [Link]