Three reinterpreted mythological stories by Paula Kuitenbrouwer
Paula Kuitenbrouwer’s short stories focus on three inspirational goddesses. Old religious or mythological stories come alive when we realize that they can reveal intimate truths about others, ourselves, and our society. Stories stays alive when we relate them to our lives.
Iphigena’s Escape
I am Iphigenia and my father is the charming, powerful Agamemnon. Agamemnon is sailing to the land of Centenarians. Unfortunately we find ourselves drifting on the Aegean Sea; there is hardly any wind on the water. Hunger and aggression increase by the hour; even ship rats are caught and eaten. In their frustration, sailors almost tear asunder their irreplaceable sails. Then, Agamemnon decides to offer me to appease the gods for filling the sails of his trireme. His ambition to reach the land of immortals is relentless.
Seldomly, I have prayed so urgently for divine intervention. Artemis, goddess of hunting and forests, orders the last three remaining ship rats to chew the ropes that tie me to the ship. That night, they work silently as to not wake up the sleeping soldiers. Free at last, I silently slide a cedar oar in the sea and invite the rats to sit on my shoulders. Slowly slipping into the water, I grab the floating oar, -the rats jump on it- and we drift away. I peddle with my feet till I am -hopefully- out of sight of my father’s ship. The sun rises and the sun sets and if it weren’t for the rats that seem remarkably relaxed, I would have given up hope.
Finding myself lying on a sandy beach, I spot my rats sleeping close to me. I am intermittently awake and asleep with exhaustion. When I open my eyes, I see how the rats lose their shape. I fear for their lives. Hours later, I open my eyes again, I see they have grown. Am I delusional with hunger or are they gradually shapeshifting into mouse-deer? By the time the sun goes down and I am able to sit up, I am in the company of three fawns that take another hour to morph into adult deer. They look at me with their amber-onyx eyes, jump up, and head for the forest.
‘I must thank Artemis and her deer’, I whisper when I am on my feet again.
The sea carries voices from far away, out of sight. It might be Agamemnon’s men cheering as the wind picks up.
It takes me one and a half years to return home.
END
P.S. Mouse-deer have existed: see link.
XXX
Hestia’s Return
I am Hestia, goddess of family, home, and the sacred fire; I keep hearths burning and I guard the health of families.
My father is Cronus. Mythology says he has devoured me and all my siblings soon after our birth. He did this out of fear to be overthrown by one of his offspring. Zeus wouldn’t have it and forced the old Titan to disgorge us. I can’t remember this all but what I do know is that Cronus never really lost his fear of losing his power to his children.
My siblings and I grew up and we all fled to different islands. I sailed to Ermioni, a small port town on the Argolid Peninsula and made it my hometown. Looking back, I see my life there was characteristically feminine and motherly; teaching, creating art, and home keeping.
Last week, I went to Pythia. Perhaps you know her better as the Oracle of Delphi. Pythia, in all her mysteriousness, prophesied something that I do not fully understand and neither the temple priests could explain to me. Something about Artificial Intelligence (what is that?) that will push men and women out of work and send them home. When the priest said home, my ears pricked.
Writers, artists, teachers, doctors, all those have me close to their hearts because they do womanly, motherly, homely jobs. To give them self-worth and have future generations (still) interested in education, AI companies will have to be taxed hard which will generate governmental funds to implement an unconditional basic income for those put out of work by AI. This unconditional income is needed for people’s self-determination and self-worth. It is hard for me to fully understand this.
Pythia was deep in trance when she whispered that AI companies will drive humongous changes in societies and that putting massive amounts of people out of work for profit is not something society is inclined to accept. This political stuff went way over my head but I do understand that apart from war and natural disasters, profound changes in society should be democratically driven, not commercially.
Still, it all puzzles me. However, from what I intuitively feel, it will be a matter of time for me -a rather insignificant Olympian goddess- to increase in importance. Home, health, harmony, and hearth will become -once again- the center of our lives.
Epilogue
From all ancient goddesses, Hestia (or Vesta in Roman mythology) is my favourite. In fact, I like her so much that I have drawn her. Have a look here to see how I have put her on a pedestal in an imaginative park.
XXX
CATCHING INSPIRATION
I am the nameless Muse of Painting, as painted in oil by Henry Siddons Mowbray (1858–1928). I am rather smitten by this portrait of me.
Anonymity befits me because there have been so many nameless painters in history. We painted for God, or we saw our artwork as a god-gift. We didn’t sign our artwork, because it came from something higher and better than us mere mortals.
In Mowbray’s painting I am at work, holding my paintbrush in one hand and the canvas in the other. My palette holds four colours Mowbray has used as base hues.
This is me at work, both painting and taking some distance to judge my artwork aesthetically and technically. This is the unique quality of being an artist; simultaneously creating and appraising how inspiration manifests itself after its transformation of a fleeting idea to a solid painting on canvas. I am the maker and the viewer, taking turns, and this is a very delicate position. Both qualities are in my portrait, and I think that is one of the strengths of this artwork.
XXX
Paula Kuitenbrouwer
Artist in Utrecht, Netherlands, at Etsy & at Instagram.
Paula Kuitenbrouwer, Drs. M.A. Paula holds an MA degree in Philosophy and works as an artist in Utrecht. She is the owner of mindfuldrawing.com, a website with academic essays, short articles, and most of all: artworks. Paula’s pen and pencils are always fighting for her attention nevertheless they are best friends; Paula likes her art to be brainy and her essays to be artistic. Contact Paula freely for commissions.
Contact me freely to discuss commissioning your favourite mythological figure.
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