In the original myth Cronos kills his children because he fears his son will someday replace him. Indeed Zeus escapes and, once grown, imprisons his father. In this youngster’s version of the story, however, no children escape and the Titan’s reasons for this murder are purely arbitrary. No prompting could budge her. Of course her version of the myth, cheerfully reminding us of the matter-of-fact terror of childhood, reflects her position on the far side of the Electra complex. It is not difficult for a child to imagine that family, the locus of love and nurturance, could just as easily and arbitrarily choose to end life on the spot. To enjoy the deep comforts of family despite its flaws and potential for cruelty — to embrace life because of such contradictions — that is the lesson of the Greeks. Each in its own way, Emilitsa and Acropolis teach us the Greek insight into the value of the light and superficial over what is heavy and serious.
Brian Duff can be reached at bduff@une.edu.
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