MYTH PORTFOLIO - SEMINAR 4 (MONSTERS) SHORT RESPONSES

Please complete each of the sections below. You should aim to write around
850-900 words in total. You may expand the size of the answer-boxes as
needed, but the completed document should not extend over three pages.

STUDENT ID /NAME: 20313976/ Jack Mallgrave

1. Choose ONE the images provided in the seminar. Describe and comment on
it, using your own observations and any relevant discussion from the
seminar. In what ways is this particular image ‘monstrous’ (or not)? (up to
500 words)
Your response: The eleventh slide in the Monsters Image powerpoint is a detail
of a red figure vase depicting the slaying of a Lapith warrior by a centaur. The
centaur depicted is characteristically designed, having the hind and fore-legs
of a horse and the torso and head of a man. The savagery of the “human”
aspect is made clear by the unkempt and wild nature of his facial hair and
structure. The centaur has a large, messy beard, a balding head, and appears
to have pronounced incisors, making his mouth especially grotesque. In Greek
mythology the centaur is noted for inhabiting the most untamed qualities of
both man and horse. Not only is the centaur an unnatural hybrid, he is a hybrid
of the violent and uncivil extremes in both of his components, man and horse.
It is because of the hybrid nature of the centaur that atavistically strikes the
viewer’s psyche as “monstrous.” However, the centaur is rendered additionally
monstrous in the viewer due to the feeling of uncanny resemblance within its
human half. If the hybrid nature of the centaur creates a sense of unhomely
dissimilitude, the human half, by stark contrast, provokes self-association with
the centaur, namely self-association with one’s dark, libidinal nature. The
centaur is made monstrous by the dual effect created by being simultaneously
inhuman and human.
The vase portrays a representative incident in Centaur history, one
showcasing the brutal and uncivilized side of the Centaurs. The Centaurs,
who lived in Thessaly were invited to the royal wedding of Hippodamia
and Pirithous, the king of the Lapiths and ruler of the region (much to the
Centaurs chagrin). Not being used to wine, the centaurs quickly grow
intoxicated. The wildest of the tribe, Eurytus, attempts to carry away the
bride. Theseus, after rescuing Hippodamia and being attacked in response
by Eurytus, kills the Centaur, provoking unrestrained fighting. The battle
is particularly gruesome and bloody; being a wedding, the famous guests
were all unarmed, and once the battle commenced, fought with whatever
make-do weapon they could find, from goblets, bowls, dishes, even the
antlers of a mounted deer. The Lapiths, after many casualties on both
sides, prevail, forcing the defeated Centaurs out of their homeland
Thessaly, and into refuge on Mount Pindus. The battle, which came to be
known as the Centauromachy, was depicted on the metopes of the
Parthenon’s southern side, and was seen by the Greeks as a quintessential
bout in the conflict between civilization and barbarism.
2. Is the category or idea of a ‘monster’ straightforward or unproblematic? You
may find it useful to draw on a modern example (real or fictional) for
comparison or contrast with the material disucssed in the seminar:
(up to 250 words)
Your response: We see that the label of monstrous is problematic even
within the Greek mythological canon; the race of Centaurs is not uniform,
a distinction that the label of monstrous fails to make. While perhaps,
according to canon, the majority of the Centaurs did indeed live up to
their supposed nature as violent and untamed, we see in the examples of
the wise mentor Chiron, and Pholus, the hospitable friend of Hercules that
Centaurs could defy their categorization as monstrous.
Outside the Greek mythological canon we see that the term is equally, if
not more, mystifying. Take what is perhaps the most famous monster of
the modern cultural imagination, Frankenstein. Throughout the 1818
novel, written by Mary Shelley, we see that the qualification of monster
that is almost universally levied at Viktor Frankenstein’s creature based
upon his deathly appearance fails to capture his character. The creature is
caring, intelligent, articulate, learning the use of language and the value
of morals from classical sources, such as Milton’s Paradise Lost; he is far
from the raging, child-eating monster that he is constantly assumed to be.
It is not until much of his humanity has been wrenched out of him by his
constant mistreatment from the world that his actions turn monstrous.

3. Reflection/Comment (up to 150 words): please use this section to reflect on

your own learning experience in the seminar. For example: Did you find the class
discussion useful? Were there areas that merited greater or different discussion?
Could you have prepared differently or better for the seminar?
Your response: I felt pretty well prepared for the seminar, more so than
any previous seminar, in fact. I had spent a fair amount of time looking
through theoi.com looking through the mythological bestiary, especially
Medusa, the Minotaur, and the Centaurs. Additionally, the lecture on
monsters before the seminar added significantly to my understanding and
to my preparation. I thought I made positive contributions to the group
discussion, and was engaged with that very discussion, as it added to my
understanding of the Bestiary. If I could have prepared differently, I would
probably have consulted the primary classical sources, such as Hesiod and
Ovid. In preparing for this write-up I read the passage from
Metamorphoses on the Lapith-Centaur battle which I found very helpful.