Mythology Interpretation Essay

Drew Kammerzell

Interpretation Essay Revised

Mythology Period 6

15 October 2008

 

Ceyx and Alcyone

 

            There are three levels of interpreting mythology. The first level is the natural or physical level. The second level is the social level, and the third level is the individual or psychological level. These three levels of interpretation are important because they make us look at a story from more than one angle and overall help us understand the story better. The love story of Ceyx and Alcyone is about how Alcyone finds out through a dream that her husband Ceyx has died while at sea.

             This story on the natural and physical level you could say is about the wind and the death of Ceyx. Ceyx realizes he must sail away and will be gone for quite some time, a couple of years more than likely. But Alycyone fears for him because her father is the god of wind and she knows very well what the wind is capable of out on the sea. So as time passes Alycyone worries but still believes that Ceyx is alive, when in reality his life has been taken while out at sea. The god of sleep, Morpheus, who has been notified that Alycyone still believes that Cyex is alive, she has it so Alycyone has a dream that Ceyx dies while out at sea. Alycyone wakes up only to find that the dream she had just had is in fact true. She goes out to she and ends up finding the dead body of her husband. But since she was faithful, Morpheus brings back Ceyx and makes him into a bird, and then turns Alycone into a bird so that they can continue to love each other.

            This story is very important on the social level for a multiple number of reasons. First of all, when Ceyx leaves and dies in the storm there is an emptiness or loss of strength back home. Because Ceyx was the breadwinner back home, without him Alycone may feel vulnerable and lonely. This is all true because in the beginning Ceyx is there and life is normal or the way it should be, but once he is gone things are now different. This can lead to things falling apart back home.

            This story however is probably the most important on a psychological level because it deals with all kinds of emotions such as love and fear, two very powerful emotions. The emotions felt in the beginning, when everything is normal, are happiness. But as soon as Ceyx leaves, the emotions and mind state changes for both of them. Alycone now feels alone, scared, worried, and very lost in life. Ceyx on the other hand may feel a sense of adventure or accomplishment since he is taking this great long voyage. And through out the story there is the emotion of love. At the end of the story when Alycone realizes her husband is dead, she is overcome with grief and sadness. But once the two are reunited as birds both of them probably feel renewed and may feel like they have been given a second chance.

             That is the story of Ceyx and Alycone and how their love endured the test of time when away from each other. The natural, the social, and most importantly the physiological level, all explained the different parts of the story.