Thursday, October 11, 2012
Zeus Speaks
One of the more interesting things in the poem "On Seeing The Elgin Marbles" that many have hit on is the mortality note. However, I think this is more interesting when we consider this within the context of Ancient Greece. As some of you may be aware, the eagle is a symbol of and for Zeus (in at least one of the myths, he visits his conquest of the week in the form of an eagle and somehow manages to impregnate her. And people say Americans have issues!). Could then the speaker of this poem be Zeus himself? The lines "and each imagined pinnacle and steep/of godlike hardship tells me I must die" certainly lend credence to this reading. We could then further note Zeus as being the pinnacle of Ancient Grecian society, and that if at last he is dying, this ideal of Greece is crumbling as well--just as the Elgin Marbles are ravaged by "old Time".
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Wow, I never would have come to this conclusion if I hadn't read your post. It really puts the "sick eagle" line into perspective for me, I had a little trouble understanding it. Thanks
ReplyDeleteI would have never thought of reading "On Seeing the Elgin Marbles" in the same way you did. Looking back at the poem now I do see some of the points you made about the speaker perhaps being Zeus. This is definitely something to think about and it also reminds me of the fact that I need to review my Greek mythology.
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