Classical Mythology in Paradise Lost: A Deconstruction of Mythologies and Deities
Through his epic poem Paradise Lost, Milton builds a theodicy full of intense, thought-provoking ideas of innocence, experience, gender, ecology, responsibility, human freedom, and the balance of right and wrong with knowledge itself. In the poem, Milton does a skillful job of explaining the ways of God to men in an attempt to make God’s actions that he commits throughout Paradise Lost explainable to a human being. In the process of explaining the actions of God to the reader, Milton also attempts to paint God in the best light, in order to have him appear as altruistic and benevolent as possible. This strategy is something that can be seen in many of Milton’s choices of language and imagery throughout Paradise Lost. However, one of the primary ways that this strategy is employed is the way in which Milton chooses to describe classical mythologies. Collett refers to Milton’s attitudes towards the classical myths as these myths themselves “com[ing] under attack within Milton’s poems” (Collett, 1). While Milton is aware of the poetic elements of classical myths and chooses to depict them throughout Paradise Lost, he uses these classical myths in order to invert the readers’ expectations through the use of these pagan myths and legends. Milton relies on these classical mythologies causing the reader to have certain expectations about the situations and the characters within the poem only to deconstruct those views by inverting these myths and denying them the true meaning that they would have within their classical traditions. This denial of the true meaning of these classical mythologies allows Milton to represent them as unstable to a reader in order to demonstrate the prowess that both God and Christianity hold over humanity, not only within Paradise Lost but within the future that the epic implies. It is through this constant inversion of classical myth and legend that Milton not only creates a pedestal to put his figure of God upon, but also allows for Milton himself to feasibly use the poeticness of many of these classical myths within Paradise Lost without requiring that the reader of the epic must believe in a truth behind the classical myths. This inversion of the classical myths and legends can be seen happening many times throughout the poem, but some of Milton’s more pointed references to Pagan mythologies take place within Book I— when Satan and the other fallen angels all land in Hell— and later in the depictions of Adam, Eve, the Son of God, and Satan himself. In the cases of all of these references, Milton chooses to take classical myths and represent them throughout the epic or change their endings in order to surprise readers and deconstruct the classical myths to bolster the image of the God that he has created.
I. The Fallen Angels as Classical Gods and Goddesses
The first depiction of classical mythology that Milton gives within Paradise Lost happens early on within the epic, occurring within Book I. After writing of Satan and the other fallen angels’ descent into Pandemonium, Milton then depicts a debate between the fallen angels as they attempt to decide what their next course of action should be. Notably, amongst these fallen angels are a multitude of Pagan gods and goddesses from varying religions: Moloch, an Ammonite God, “Chemos” (commonly referred to as Chemosh), a Moabites God, Baalim and Ashtaroth, collective titles for Canaanite fertility gods and goddesses, Rimmon, a Syrian deity, Belial, a Hebrew representation of the devil, and Beelzebub, a biblical representation of the devil that is derived from a Philistine god. The implication of the fallen angels all receiving names of deities from classical mythologies is that even the fallen angels that are unnamed are also other figures in classical mythologies. There are many reasons why Milton could have chosen to depict all of the fallen angels as pagan gods and goddesses, however, the most common interpretation of this detail, “accepted by almost all Church Fathers” (Collett, 3), seems to be “that after the Fall the devils become the heathen gods” (Collett, 3). Collett makes the point that Milton’s choice to name the devils after pagan deities creates an atmosphere that allows for these classical deities to be viewed as a figure that only heathens would worship.
While, logistically, giving the devils the names of classical mythological figures does give them a sense of place within the timeline that Paradise Lost creates, the inclusion of this detail in the poem also adds another, more complicated layer. This depiction of the devils as pagan figures demonizes the classical myths and portrays them as something evil and against God, just like the devils themselves. The devils themselves are a representation of the betrayal of God by Satan and his followers and the consequences that have come with those actions. By choosing to portray the devils as classical gods and goddesses, Milton has effectively created a scenario in Paradise Lost in which the pagan beliefs are portrayed as a direct opposition to God and are allowed to be viewed as completely secular. This belief wasn’t necessarily one that was uncommon in Milton’s time period, as Christianity and its widespread belief had effectively eliminated belief and worship in the old classical myths, but Milton’s portrayal of pagan figureheads as a foil to God is a rather clear statement in the fact that these classical gods and goddesses are in opposition to Christianity. This portrayal of classical deities twists the view of them for any reader who believes in the theodicy that Milton creates throughout Paradise Lost. By portraying these classical mythologies in opposition to God, Milton demands through Paradise Lost that readers give no credence to the beliefs of classical mythologies.
II. References to Pagan Mythology and Other Epic Poems in Paradise Lost
Throughout Paradise Lost, Milton references a multitude of specific classical myths or stories. While there are far too many myths to point out all of them and discuss Milton’s deconstruction of every one of them, there are several myths that stand out, either because of the fact that they are mentioned multiple times throughout Paradise Lost or because of the significance which they are given within the poem. Throughout Paradise Lost, Milton makes references to other poems in the epic poem tradition. Many of these classical epic poems discuss Greek or Roman myths and legends— as the epic poetry genre first began in Greek and Roman cultures— and the use of these other epic poems throughout Paradise Lost not only allows for Milton to acknowledge the tradition of the genre he’s writing in but also to deconstruct the classical myths through reference to older epic poems. While Milton doesn’t solely focus his attention on the myths and legends written about in other great works of epic poetry, many of the myths and legends that Milton chooses to deconstruct throughout Paradise Lost are myths of the Greek and Roman traditions. Some of the most notable references to classical mythology within Paradise Lost occur in Milton’s references to Greek mythology, with Homer’s stories, Ovid’s The Metamorphoses, and as David Quint points out, even Icarus and Phaethon.
As Homer is one of the most well known writers of early epic poetry, his influence is present within Milton’s writing in Paradise Lost, and, as Aryanpur argues, is most prevalent in Milton’s references to The Odyssey. These depictions of The Odyssey within the text of Paradise Lost can be most often found within Milton’s descriptions of Satan, as there are “inherent similarities between the Odyssey and the story of the Fall as told in the Scriptures” (Aryanpur, 151). The Odyssey, at its core, tells the story of Ulysses and his attempt to return home. Satan follows a similar core storyline in Paradise Lost, as he attempts to return as close to his previous home as possible. This comparison between the figures of Ulysses and Satan can be seen in the fifth book of the Odyssey and Books II and III of Paradise Lost. Book V of the Odyssey depicts Ulysses struggling against tormentous sea— caused by Neptune— in an attempt to travel towards Ithaca. In a similar nature, within Books II and III of Paradise Lost, Satan struggles to travel through the exceptionally tempestuous Chaos, which is described as “ancestors of Nature, hold / Eternal anarchy, amidst the noise / Of endless wars, and by confusion stand” (Milton, 2.895-7). Through this similar theme of Satan and Ulysses both struggling against their own kind of seas in an attempt to return to the place closest to home they can get— Ithaca itself, for Ulysses, and Earth for Satan— Milton places Satan and Ulysses in relation to each other. This choice to equate the struggles of these two characters puts Ulysses and Satan on equal footing, causing the classical myth of the Odyssey and its hero Ulysses to then exist in direct opposition to God, just as Satan himself does. This allows Milton to have the opportunity to recognize the early works of the epic poetry genre without requiring that he place belief in the classical mythologies that are found within them. By allowing Satan and Ulysses to exist as equal figures, Milton has created a scenario in which he is giving homage to Homer and his works but is also demonizing the pagan mythology that is found within the Odyssey by equating the epic’s hero to Satan and contrasting Ulysses with God. This theme of Milton placing classical myths and deities in contrast to God can be seen in many of his other references to classical mythology throughout Paradise Lost, especially within the comparison that MIlton makes to the Greek myth of Narcissus.
One of the largest selections of classical myths that Milton chooses to focus his deconstruction on are myths that occur within the works of Ovid. Specifically, Milton focuses his attention throughout Paradise Lost on many of the myths that Ovid writes about in The Metamorphoses. In her article “Poetic Creation and Ovid’s Narcissus in ‘Paradise Lost’”, Maggie Kilgour focuses much of her attention on the significance that Milton gives to Ovid, and, specifically, the classical Greek myth of Narcissus, within the scene of Eve’s creation in Book IV of the poem. Kilgour describes Milton as representing Adam and Eve as one figure in their relation to classical mythology, saying:
Eve is a Narcissus who turns away from her watery reflection, while Adam realizes Narcissus's dream: “o utinam a nostro secedere corpore possem! / votum in amante novum, vellem, quod amamus, abesset.” (Oh that I might be parted from my own body! and, strange prayer for a lover, I would that what I love were absent from me.) ... Adam and Eve are originally not only one flesh but also one subtext, which divided becomes two new and different, though still intimately related, stories of creation. The original differentiation from oneness leads to reunion when the newly separated entities come together in a new whole, the couple. (Kilgour, 309-310)
This idea that Kilgour is discussing relates not only to Eve and her creation scene and its clear references to Narcissus, but also relates Adam to Ovid’s classical myth as well, portraying the two as a representation of Narcissus in different ways. Kilgour equates both Adam and Eve to the myth of Narcissus, offering the idea that the myth of Narcissus separating into two parts— one relating to Adam and one relating to Eve— is an image that is directly opposite of how Adam and Eve are originally created from the same flesh. This point is also particularly important considering the placement of the Narcissus myth within Paradise Lost. The story of Narcissus— as in the two sections that Kilgour discusses within the above quote— are from the story of Eve’s creation story and Adam’s view of Eve’s creation from his own body. In the case of Eve’s creation story, the scene itself is a moment where two beings— Adam and Eve— who have been turned into two from one flesh become one again through becoming a couple. This moment that Kilgour references as the main argument in her quote is striking, as this joining together of two beings is what causes the Narcissus myth to be inverted from its original meaning within Paradise Lost. After her creation, Eve sees her own reflection in a lake and is drawn to it, very similarly to the original myth of Narcissus. Milton chooses to invert the classical myth by having Eve eventually leave her reflection in the lake to go join Adam, despite viewing herself as more appealing than he is. While this action does require some prompting on the part of an angel and Adam himself, Eve eventually overcomes the classical myth, and, in doing so, leaves behind the folly that would have befallen her if she had committed the same actions that Narcissus had within the original myth. While Milton’s deconstruction of the classical myth of Narcissus is rather clear in the story of Eve’s creation, it is more opaque in the story of Adam’s creation, which is also an important part of Kilgour’s argument in the quote above.
Kilgour discusses Adam in relation to the myth of Narcissus as well, despite the comparison being less discussed then Eve’s clear relation to the myth. In her article Kilgour argues that Adam becomes Narcissus after the end of Eve’s creation story and argues that Eve becomes “Adam's image, as indeed both God and Adam remind her she is” (Kilgour, 334). Essentially, through choosing to leave behind her reflection and join Adam, Eve inverts the Narcissus myth for herself but, in doing so, becomes the image that Adam sees in his own more metaphorical lake. This view of Eve as Adam’s image is seen primarily in Book VIII wherein Adam is talking to Raphael about his own creation and his self-learned knowledge. Even within the text where Adam narrates these things to Raphael, the myth of Narcissus is still more opaque than it is in terms of Eve’s creation story. Eve sees her own image directly in the lake, just as in the myth of Narcissus, however, Adam’s image in the lake is Eve herself, something that is more subtextual then entirely clear within the text. Adam and Eve aren’t direct copies of each other, as they are people with their own characters, which is something that Milton makes clear throughout Paradise Lost. This means that Eve cannot truly be an exact reflection of Adam and, instead, the relationship of Eve as “Adam’s image” is something a bit more metaphorical. This relationship is seen primarily in the way that Adam and Eve view each other, as “where Eve originally is intensely aware of the distinctions between herself and Adam, Adam sees the similarities” (Kilgour, 335). Throughout much of Book VIII of Paradise Lost, Adam is defined by his need for something more, which can be seen in how Adam actually asks God to create Eve. Adam’s continual need for more of himself— which shows itself in the actual creation of Eve— and his priority of Eve— his “image”— above all else, Adam seems to fit the character of Narcissus rather well, in terms of his creation story and his deluded ideals of prioritizing his love for Eve above all else. However, Milton inverts the myth of Narcissus in the case of Adam’s creation story as well. The deconstruction of the myth within Adam’s creation is less of a choice to leave the myth behind— such as the one that Eve makes by leaving the lake and joining Adam— but an actual completion of Narcissus’ true wish. In the original Ovid myth, Narcissus demonstrates a “desire for achieving satisfaction through self-division” (Kilgour, 336). This self-division is achieved in the case of Adam, as God agrees to create "Thy likeness, thy fit help, thy other self, / Thy wish exactly to thy hearts desire" (Milton, 8.450-51). Through the creation of Eve directly from Adam’s rib, Adam achieves his own narcissistic desire to be able to attain true satisfaction through self-division. This, again, demonstrates Milton’s deconstruction of the original myth. By allowing Adam to achieve what Narcissus could not in Ovid’s original story, Adam becomes a successful version of Narcissus and relates the idea of the original Greek myth to failure and secularism— as Eve herself is a gift granted to Adam by God. This idea of Milton creating a successful version of a tragic story in pagan mythology is similar to the idea that David Quint discusses in his article about Icarus, Phaethon, and the two myths in relation to Paradise Lost.
In his article “Fear of Falling: Icarus, Phaethon, and Lucretius in Paradise Lost”, Quint brings up the Greek myths of Icarus and Phaethon and their relevance to Paradise Lost, despite the myths not being ones that are commonly discussed in relation to the poem. Both of these myths depict their main character, Icarus and Phaethon respectively, falling and ultimately dying due to mostly their own folly. Quint points out that “the myths of Icarus and Phaethon shape the metaphors of a poem in which falling is depicted as the failure of aspired flight” (Quint, 1). In the case of these specific metaphors, flight is not something that is necessarily guaranteed, but something that both Icarus and Phaethon hope to achieve. Naturally, the theme of Falling— both in the literal sense and a more metaphorical one— is a theme that is exceptionally prevalent throughout Paradise Lost. Quint discusses the comparison of the myths of Icarus and Phaethon by equating them to Satan falling through chaos in Book II, specifically as a metaphor to Icarus, and Satan again falling in Book VI as a metaphor to Phaethon. Quint also describes the Son’s triumphant Chariot ride in Book VI as a successful version of the Phaethon myth. The use of the stories of Icarus and Phaethon follow the common pattern of usage of classical myths that Milton creates throughout Paradise Lost. Both of these myths are referenced in specific ways and used as metaphors to specific characters in order to bolster the image of God that Milton is discussing throughout the poem. In the case of both of these myths, Milton uses them as metaphors to Satan falling, equating the classical myths to a figure that is in direct opposition of God yet again. Milton also makes use of an inversion of a myth in order to surprise his readers. This inversion can be seen in the way that Milton uses Phaethon as a metaphor for the Son, only the Son’s chariot ride in Book VI is a version of the classical myth that would only exist if Phaethon were successful in riding his father’s chariot, which he was not. Through the use of this inversion, Milton equates direct opposition of the original Phaethon myth to that of the Son of God. The Son of God becomes a successful version of Phaethon whereas Satan is representative of the true version of the Phaethon myth. Through these comparisons, Milton demonstrates how classical mythology is in direct opposition to God and, essentially, how God and Christianity— the religion that God represents— are a successful version of the failed pagan religions that existed prior to Christianity.
III. Conclusion
Throughout Paradise Lost, Milton references classical mythology many times for a multitude of reasons— in order to place classical mythologies and deities within the timeline he’s created for Paradise Lost; in order to, in some way, honor the classical epic poets and their works; or just in order to create a deeper analogy to a situation that a reader might already be familiar with. However, all of these references to classical mythologies within Paradise Lost exist for not only the previously discussed purposes, but also in order to invert the readers’ expectations through the use of these pagan myths and legends by deconstructing them and denying them of the true meanings of their classical traditions. Through Milton’s decision to name the devils as pagan deities and imply that all of the devils will go on to become the worshipped figures of pagan mythologies and legends, Milton creates an implication that all Pagan deities are in direct opposition to the Christian God that Milton has depicted within Paradise Lost. Similarly, Milton’s deconstruction of classical mythologies can be seen primarily in his focus on Greek and Roman mythologies and analogies to them throughout the text. Primarily, these analogies can be found within the similarities between the figure of Ulysses in Homer’s Odyssey and the figure of Satan, the myth of Narcissus from Ovid’s The Metamorphoses and its prevalence in Eve and Adam’s creation stories, and the myths of Icarus and Phaethon as an analogy for the Fall and Satan and as an opposition to the Son of God. Through inversion, deconstruction, and telling successful versions of tragic classical mythologies and stories, Milton creates a narrative in which the mythologies that he chooses to represent within Paradise Lost are presented as existing in direct opposition to God. This opposition puts God in a position of power over every pagan mythology and deity, bolstering the prowess of the God that Milton has created within Paradise Lost and the future that the epic implies. It is through these analogies that Milton creates not only a successful theodicy, but a narrative in which any form of pagan religion is condemned, due to its relation to Satan and the devils and opposition to figures such as the Son of God and God himself.
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