Scholar Joseph Campbell, who famously advocated for the study of myths, notes how mythology is the underlying form of every civilization and the underpinning of each individual's consciousness. In his seminal work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, he discusses what he calls the “monomyth”, the similarities in theme, characters, purpose, and narrative progression of myths from different cultures, at different times, around the world and throughout history. Campbell writes: Perseus’ defeat of Medusa, one of the Gorgons, is well-known. Famously, to look upon snake-haired Medusa (the snakes were her punishment for being vain and proud of her hair) was enough to turn the viewer to stone, so Perseus cunningly used a mirrored shield to approach Medusa in her cave so that he could cut her head off without looking directly at her. Author and poet Rainer Maria Rilke visits the character and symbolism of Narcissus in several of his poems. Frida Kahlo, too, conflated reality and fantasy to construct a persona that dovetailed with her art. She subtracted three years off her birth date, claiming to be born in 1910, the year of the outbreak of the Mexican revolution. As Mexico’s primary female artist, who donned and depicted herself in traditional Tehuana matriarchal costumes, she proudly linked her personal life and art with the birth and independence of her nation. Scottish-Canadian animator Norman McLaren finished his career with a short film named Narcissus, re-telling the Greek legend through ballet.

Chista, goddess of wisdom and knowledge, she leads the mortals to the right way in life and the afterlife; she is also the goddess of religion in Zoroastrian mythology. [26] Naomi Iizuka's play Polaroid Stories, a contemporary rewrite of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, features Narcissus as a character. In the play he is portrayed as a self obsessed, and drug addicted young man who was raised on the streets. He is alluded to being a member of the LGBT+ community and mentions his sexual endeavours with older men, some ending with the death of these men due to drug overdoses. He is accompanied by the character Echo, whom he continuously spurns. I can’t feel this narrative at all. It’s not part of my conscious mind. For years, each time my therapist brought up the separation, I would bat it away, impatient. I don’t remember much from being that young; I only remember, later, the emotional memory of hating my grandparents and not knowing why. Because it felt natural, all I could remember knowing, I didn’t believe it was a constructed narrative. For all of us, that is a mistake. Hermann Hesse's character "Narcissus" in " Narcissus and Goldmund" shares several of mythical Narcissus' traits, although his narcissism is based on his intellect rather than his physical beauty.

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A man fell out of the sky, hibernated in a hard shell, then rose to become the painter of the heavens. Nemesis, the goddess of revenge, heard the pleas of a young man who had fallen for Narcissus but was ignored and cursed him; Nemesis listened, proclaiming that Narcissus would never be able to be loved by the one he fell in love with. Numerous minor characters in Norse mythology are said to be very wise, though there's often no instance of them demonstrating this supposed wisdom:

This is particularly true of religious ideas, but the central concepts of science, philosophy, and ethics are no exception to this rule. In their present form, they are variants of archetypal ideas created by consciously applying and adapting these ideas to reality. For it is the function of consciousness, not only to recognize and assimilate the external world through the gateway of the senses but to translate into visible reality the world within us," he suggested. Frigg, she is said to know the future, but never tells. The three following goddesses may be hypostases of her. You guessed it – ever on-brand, “King” has a secret feminist meaning. The music video features Florence Welch wearing a purple hooded cloak, looming over her male counterparts with an army of similarly dressed female disciples.Germano, David Francis. Poetic thought, the intelligent Universe, and the mystery of self: The Tantric synthesis of rDzogs Chen in fourteenth century Tibet. Madison: The University of Wisconsin. 1992. Odin, god of wisdom who nevertheless relentlessly keeps searching for more knowledge; associated with the runes Few poets have received as much personal admiration as Anna Akhmatova. Not only her work has been lauded, but many men and women were captured by her presence during and after her life. The most beautiful paintings and drawings have been made of her. One of the most famous ones is the drawing at the top of this article, by the Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani, with whom she had a short love affair in 1911. The power of the drawing lies in its determined lines, giving a vague impression of Akhmatova’s silhouette and the contrast between that and her profile, which was drawn with more detail. Natan Altman gives us (above) a slightly melancholic Akhmatova in a landscape of abstract crystals, symbolising the world of sublime and abstract dreams. Her profile is unmistakable and the sapphire-coloured dress and golden scarf, hanging loosely around her elbows, underpin her regal aura. Her wide cleavage adds a sensual undertone. All these different elements propagate her myth. Priestley, Leonard C. D. C. (1999) Pudgalavada Buddhism: The Reality of the Indeterminate Self. South Asian Studies Papers, 12, monograph 1. University of Toronto: Centre for South Asian Studies.