Pyramus and Thisbe
A very
touching love story that is sure to move anyone who reads it is that
of Pyramus and Thisbe. Theirs was a selfless love and they made sure that
even in death, they were together. The tale has its origins in the Roman
Mythology. It is best recounted by Ovid and the passion of love that
blossomed between the two young lovers enthralls readers even today.
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Pyramus was the most
handsome man and was a childhood friend of Thisbe, the fairest maiden
in Babylonia. Pyramus and Thisbe were neighbors. They both lived in neighboring
homes and fell in love with each other as they grew up together.
However, their parents were dead against them marrying each other. Their
parents were totally against their union, leaving the young lovers with no
option but burn the light of love brightly in their hearts
and meet surreptitiously if they can. Over the years, the lovers could only
talk through a hole in their wall because their parents refused them to see
each other.
Finally, Pyramus got fed up
with his parents and so did Thisbe. One day while whispering through
a crack in the wall, they decided to meet the next night under a mulberry tree
near tomb of Ninus. They decided to elope then.
So, the next night, just
before the crack of dawn, while everyone was asleep, they decided to slip out
of their homes and meet in the nearby fields near a mulberry tree. Thisbe
reached there first, covered with a cloak. As she waited under the tree, she
saw a lioness coming near the spring close by to quench its thirst.
Its jaws were bloody, from a previous kill that day. When Thisbe saw this
horrifying sight, she panicked and ran to hide in some hollow rocks nearby. As
she was running, she dropped her cloak.
The lion, on hearing the
shriek, came near the tree where Thisbe was initially waiting. The creature
picked up the cloak in its bloody jaws. Then it tattered the cloak with its
blood-stained mouth, leaves it on the ground and goes away.
Soon after, Pyramus arrived
at the appointed spot and saw Thisbe's cloak, his love gift to her,
covered in blood and torn to pieces with the footprints of the lioness left
behind. He immediately thought that his only love had been killed by
a hungry lion. He is completely devastated. He thought that the lion had just
hunted down Thisbe and blamed himself to be the cause of her death. Had he not
been late, could the lion have killed Thisbe? Shattered, he prepared to kill
himself. Without any haste, he unsheathed his sword (her love gift to
him), letting the cold, hard steel pierce his broken heart. He pierced his
chest with his own sword.
Meanwhile, unknown to what
just happened, Thisbe was still hiding in the rocks due to the fear of the
lion. When she came out from her hiding place after sometime and came under the
mulberry tree once more, she saw the body of a man writhing in pain.
Thisbe, bringing courage to her heart, ran towards the man and was shocked when
he found her only love lying on the ground next to the blood-covered
Mulberry bush with his own sword impaling his chest.
She gasped in horror as she
asked the still breathing Pyramus what happened. Barely able
to stay awake, he told her what happened and she cried out in sorrow.
Pyramus died soon after leaving Thisbe totally shattered.
"What would I do in
this world without my Pyramus?" thought the grief-stricken Thisbe. She
resolves to finish herself too.
She brought out from
Pyramus' chest his blood-stained sword. Then she said to the dead Pyramus:
"Wait for me my love.
I'm coming to you."
Then she brought the blade
into her own soft flesh. Thus they died together, in love and peace.
It is said that this is the
reason why the berries on the Mulberry bush are red, instead of their original
white, in commemoration of the two young lovers and their great sacrifice.
The love story of Pyramus
and Thisbe continues to inspire lovers all around the world. The love between
the two remain one of the purest and truest ever seen in this world.
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Images
The Movie named ,
Pyramus & Thisbe (1937)
Cast : Charles Lefeaux Bottom (as Wilfrid Walter), Don Gemmell (Flute).
Pygmalion and Galatea
The story of Pygmalion
and Galatea is found in Greek Mythology, and in the famous work
"Metamorphoses", by the great Roman poet Ovid. Their love was so
unique that it is difficult to define it. But from this legendary love story, one
thing is clear, man can never love an inanimate object with as much passion as
he loves a living, breathing being. Love gives rise to desire and without this
passion any love remains unfulfilled.
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Pygmalion was a master
sculptor in the ancient city of Greece. All day he sculpted beautiful statues
from huge pieces of rock. In fact, his creations were so wonderful that whoever
saw them were mesmerised by their sheer artistic beauty and exact finish.
Pygmalion himself was a fine and handsome young man. He was liked by all men
and women. Many women loved him for his great skill and looks.
But Pygmalion never paid
attention to any of these women. He saw so much to blame
in women that he came at last to abhor the sex, and resolved to live
unmarried. He was a sculptor, and with his with wonderful skill he sculpted a
beautiful ivory statue which was so lifelike that it was difficult to believe
that it was lifeless at the first glance. The beauty was such that no living
woman could compete with it. It was indeed the perfect semblance of a
maiden that seemed to be alive, and only prevented from moving by modesty. His
art was so perfect that it concealed itself and its product looked like the
workmanship of nature. Pygmalion spent hours admiring his creation.
By and by Pygmalion's
admiration for his own sculpture turned to love. Oftentimes he laid his hand
upon it as if to assure himself whether it were living or not, and could not,
even then, believe that it was only ivory. He caressed it, and gave it such
presents as young girls love - bright shells and polished stones, little birds
and flowers of various hues, beads and amber. He adorned his ivory maiden with
jewels. He put rainment on its limbs, and jewels on its fingers, and a necklace
about its neck. To the ears he hung earrings and strings of pearls
upon the breast. Her dress became her, and she looked not less charming than
when unattired. He laid her on a couch spread with cloths of Tyrian dye, and
called her his wife, and put her head upon a pillow of the softest feathers, as
if she could enjoy their softness. He gave the statue a name:
"Galatea", meaning "sleeping love'.
But what will be the
consequence of falling in love with a lifeless ivory maiden?
The festival of Aphrodite
was at hand - a festival celebrated with great pomp at Cyprus. Victims were
offered, the altars smoked, and the odor of incense filled the air. When the
festivities of Aphrodite started, Pygmalion took part in the ceremonies. He
went to the temple of Aphrodite to ask forgiveness for all the years he had
shunned her.
When Pygmalion had
performed his part in the solemnities, he hesitantly prayed for a wife like his
ivory virgin statue. He stood before the altar of Aphrodite and timidly said,
"Ye gods, who can do all things, give me, I pray you, for my wife" -
he dared not utter "my ivory virgin," but said instead - "one
like my ivory virgin."
But Goddess Aphrodite
understood what the poor man was trying to say. She was curious. How can a man
love a lifeless thing so much? Was it so beautiful that Pygmalion fell in love
with his own creation? So she visited the studio of the sculptor while he was
away.
What she saw greatly amazed
her. For the sculpture had a perfect likeness to her. In fact, it would not
have been wrong to say that the sculpture was an image of Aphrodite herself.
Goddess Aphrodite was
charmed by Pygmalion's creation. She brought the statue to life.
When Pygmalion returned to
his home, he went before Galatea and knelt down before the woman of his
dreams. He looked at her lovingly, with a lover's ardour. It seemed to him that
Galatea was looking at her lovingly too.
For a moment, it seemed to
Pygmalion that it was just a figment of his imagination. He rubbed his eyes and
looked again. But no. There was no mistake this time. Galatea was smiling at
him.
He laid his hand upon the
limbs; the ivory felt soft to his touch and yielded to his fingers like the wax
of Hymettus. It seemed to be warm. He stood up; his mind oscillated between
doubt and joy. Fearing he may be mistaken, again and again with a lover's ardor
he touches the object of his hopes. It was indeed alive! The veins
when pressed yielded to the finger and again resumed their roundness. Slowly it
dawned on Pygmalion that the animation of his sculpture was the result of his
prayer to Goddess Aphrodite who knew his desire. At last, the votary of
Aphrodite found words to thank the goddess. Pygmalion humbled himself at the
Goddess' feet.
Soon Pygmalion and
Galatea were wed, and Pygmalion never forgot to thank Aphrodite for the
gift she had given him. Aphrodite blessed the nuptials she had formed, and this
union between ygmalion and Galatea produced a son named Paphos, from whom the
city Paphos, sacred to Aphrodite, received its name. He and Galatea brought
gifts to her temple throughout their life and Aphrodite blessed them with
happiness and love in return.
The unusual love that
blossomed between Pygmalion and Galatea enthralls all. Falling in
love with one's creation and then getting the desired object as wife- perhaps
this was destined for Pygmalion. Even to this day, countless people and young
lovers are mesmerized by this xceptional love that existed between two persons
at a time when civilization was in its infancy.
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Images
The Movie named ,
Pygamalion & Galatea (2007)
Director:
John R. HandWriter:
John R. HandStar:
Jason Marks
(Pygmalion and Galatea, an Original Mythological Comedy is a blank verse play by W. S. Gilbert in three acts based on the Pygmalion story. It opened at the Haymarket Theatre in London on 9 December 1871 and ran for a very successful 184 performances
A creator struggles to come to terms with the emotional reality of his creations.)
Pocahontas and John Smith
Valentines
Day is celebrated all over the
world on 14th February. This day is associated with love. And when we are
talking about love, how can we afford to forget about two of the greatest
lovers- Pocahontas and John Smith.
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Pocahontas , an Indian
Princess was the daughter of Powhatan. 'Pocahontas' was a childhood
nickname referring to her frolicsome nature; in the Powhatan language it meant
"little wanton". Her father Powhatan was the powerful chief of the
Algonquian Indians in the Tidewater region of Virginia.
It was in April/May 1607
when the English colonists arrived in Virginia and began building
settlements. It was then that Pocahontas for the first time in her life saw
Englishmen. Among them all, she found John Smith, one of the leading colonists,
most attractive and developed a liking for him. The first meeting of Pocahontas
and John Smith is a legendary story. It is believed that John Smith was leading
an expedition in December 1607 when a group of Powhatan hunters took him
captive and brought him to Werowocomoco, one of the chief villages of the
Powhatan Empire. Smith was taken to the official residence of Powhattan and he
was tortured. It was Pocahontas who saved his life from the attack of the
Indians. Smith was laid across a stone and was about to be executed, when
Pocahontas threw herself across his body. Pocahontas then helped Smith to stand
on his feet and Powhattan adopted Smith as his son. This incident helped
Pocahontas and Smith to become friends with each other.
Pocahontas, after this
incident, made frequent visits to the Jamestown and passed on to the Englishmen
messages of her father.
In 1608, Pocahontas is said
to have saved Smith a second time. Smith and some other colonists were invited
to Werowocomoco by Chief Powhatan on friendly terms, but Pocahontas came to the
hut where the English were staying and warned them that
Powhatan was planning to kill them. Due to this warning,
the English stayed on their guard, and the attack never came.
In October 1609, after
getting badly injured due to gunpowder explosion, John Smith returned to
England. When Pocahontas made a visit to the fort, she was informed that Smith
was dead.
In March 1613, an
Englishman, Captain Samuel Argall kidnapped Pocahontas and informed Powhatan
that he would not release her, until Powhatan released
the English prisoners along with various weapons and tools that he
had confiscated earlier. Argall, arrived in Jamestown in April 1613.
In December 1613 Captain
Argall sailed up the Potomac River to a far Indian village to trade
Pocahontas with the Indians. He traded a copper kettle for Pocahontas. The
colonists hoped that Powhatan would trade the Indian prisoners and
the guns he had taken for Pocahontas. Powhatan sent back many prisoners and
promised friendship and corn, but he did not send back the guns. Captain Argall
felt that by not sending the guns, Powhatan had sent only a part of the ransom.
He did not send Pocahontas back to her father because of this.
Even though she was held
hostage, Pocahontas was free to go from house to house.
Pocahontas settled down in Henricus. She was given a warm room, pretty clothes,
and food to eat. It is here that Pocahontas fell in love with John Rolfe, an
Englishman. In April they were married. Pocahontas converted to Christianity.
She went by the name of Rebecca Rolfe, living an English life.
For the next eight years
the white men and the Indians were at peace. Pocahontas and John were very
happy. They had a baby and named him Thomas. Rolfe invented new ways of planting
and curing tobacco. He planned to send the tobacco to the Old World. In 1616
John and Pocahontas sailed to England to talk to King James about the sale of
tobacco in England.
In early 1617, Pocahontas
made a visit to London, where he met his friend John Smith after eight long
years and was shocked to see him alive. She is said to have been greatly
grieved at not being able to marry her first love. It was their last meeting.
It is said that overcome by
emotion and recollections, while on a return voyage to Virginia, she died of a
broken heart shortly afterwards in March on board.
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Images
The Movie named ,
The New World (2005)
Initial release: December 25, 2005 (USA)
Running time: 2h 52m
Box office: 30.5 million USD
Initial DVD release: August 25, 2006 (Poland)
Director:
Terrence MalickWriter:
Terrence Malick
Paris And Helena
Helen of Troy has captured the imagination of artists and
writers for ages. According to popular mythology, her beauty was the cause of
the Trojan War that would plague her part of the
world for an entire decade. This is why she was referred to as 'the face that
launched a thousand ships.' Her legendary beauty was the result of her divine
lineage. In most accounts of her birth, Helen of Troy was the daughter of Zeus, the
king of the Olympian gods, and a mortal woman named Leda, Queen
of Sparta. As the story goes, Zeus appeared to Leda in the form of a swan and
the pair conceived Helen. Instead of a regular birth, Leda gave birth to eggs,
which eventually hatched and yielded Helen and her siblings. Some accounts
reported that Helen was the only birth to result from this union. In some
myths, Helen is the daughter of Zeus and a goddess named Nemesis. The true
origins of the myth of Helen of Troy remain unclear. The first known record of
her name was written by the poet Homer.
This bust of Helen of Troy by artist Antonio Canova is on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum (photo by Yair Haklai).
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A long time ago, in the age of heroes, when
gods and goddesses still took a close interest in human affairs, a great
wedding was planned between a famous warrior called Peleus and a lovely sea
nymph whose name was Thetis. All the kings and queens of the day were invited
to the wedding feast, as well as all the immortal ones who lived on Mount
Olympus – all that is, except for one, for no invitation was sent to Eris, the
goddess of strife. Now strife is when people argue, and it was generally
thought a bad idea to invite strife to a wedding party, in case she caused the
happy couple to quarrel. Eris was extremely annoyed about being overlooked, and
as revenge she decided to play a spiteful trick on the wedding guests. Just as
the celebrations were at their height, she appeared in the banqueting hall
dressed as a serving girl. A silver plate was in her hands, and on it was an
apple on which she had written the words, “For the fairest of them all.” This
she placed on the table where the three loveliest goddesses were sitting; their
names were Hera, Athene and Aphrodite. Immediately as they saw the words on the
apple, a quarrel broke out between the three goddesses.
Hera said to the others, “I am the queen of
all the immortal gods, and it follows that I must be far fairer than either of
you two, therefore the apple belongs to me.”
“My dear Hera,” said Athene, “You might be
queen, but I am the goddess of wisdom, therefore I know absolutely everything
that is worth knowing. You must believe me when I say that you are quite
mistaken. Wisdom is beauty, and beauty is wisdom. They are one and the same
thing, therefore the apple belongs to me.”
“Darlings,” purred Aphrodite, “It’s quite
obvious that the apple belongs to me. I possess the power of love because, to
put it quite simply, I am so much more beautiful than anybody else.”
The goddesses carried on arguing
continuously for years after the wedding was over – for time means nothing to
the immortal ones. The king of all the gods, mighty and thundering Zeus, became
quite fed up with listening to their bickering. When, at length, he was at his
wits’ end, he suggested to the three lovely goddesses that they resolve the
question once and for all with a beauty contest. And that is exactly what they
did.
The three goddesses agreed on one thing:
that the most handsome and fashionably dressed mortal who walked on the face of
the earth was Paris, Prince of Troy. They decided to surprise him. One day when
Paris was out hunting on the foothills of Mount Ida, he discovered three lovely
goddesses standing beneath a tree. In all his life he had never seen such
dazzling beauty. For a moment he stood amazed, then Hermes, the winged
messenger of the gods, flew up to Paris and spoke to him as follows, “Hail
Paris, prince of magnificent Troy. Lord Zeus, the king of all the gods, sends
you his greetings. He wishes to bestow upon you a great honour. He asks that
you give this apple to the fairest goddess of them all.”
Paris, who normally had a keen eye for
beauty, found it hard to choose. Each goddess was so beautiful. Hera had the
most lovely milky white skin ever seen. Athene had the most dazzling, dancing
eyes. And Aphrodite had the most charming smile. Which should he pick?
At length, seeing that he was at a loss,
Hera said to him, “Prince Paris, give the apple to me and I will give you the
gift of great power.”
Athene, not to be outdone by this offer,
said, “Prince Paris, give the apple to me and I will give you the gift of great
wisdom.”
But Aphrodite laughed and said, “Paris my
dear, don’t you listen to those two silly goddesses. What fun would you have
with power or wisdom? Give the apple to me and I will give you a gift that is
much more to your liking. I shall give you the love of the most beautiful woman
on earth.”
Now Paris no longer found the choice so
hard to make. He had long been in love with the most beautiful woman on earth,
whose name was Helen. It so happened that Helen was married to King Menelaus, and
Paris had thought up until that moment that the possibility of his winning her
love was beyond all hope, but now he understood that his chances could be
greatly improved – and so Paris gave the apple to Aphrodite. She giggled with
delight, but the other two goddesses were furious and flew directly back to
Mount Olympus in a great huff, where they complained long and bitterly to Zeus
about the unfairness of the competition. Zeus had a dark feeling that there was
trouble in store for humankind.
Paris set sail for the land of Sparta,
where Menelaus was king and lived with his beautiful Queen Helen. Menelaus
welcomed the famous prince into his palace, and while the two sat talking about
the affairs of the world, Queen Helen came down from her perfumed room, looking
as lovely as a goddess. The maid-servants brought her a seat and covered it
with a soft lambswool rug, and she sat before her silver work box, but before
she began to embroider, she glanced over at the visiting prince and questioned
her husband, “Shall I guess the name of this prince who has come to visit us?
Let us see if I am right or wrong? I have heard tell of a prince from far off
Troy who is famous the world over for his looks and fashionable style. Is it
he, Paris, prince of Troy who has come to stay with us?”
“My dear wife,” said Menelaus, “As always,
you are quite right. It is indeed, Paris, prince of Troy who is paying us the
honour of his visit.” Paris acknowledged Queen Helen with a nod of his head.
At dinner that night, Helen added a special
potion into the wine, so that anyone who drank it would forget all his cares,
and be happy for the rest of the evening. They feasted and made merry and while
Menelaus was busy laughing and joking with one of his generals, Paris spoke
softly to Helen.
“Most beautiful queen,” he said, “I beg
you, meet me tonight in the orchard beneath the palace walls and we shall sail
away together in my ship, and head directly for Troy, the most magnificent city
in all the world.”
And because the goddess of love, Aphrodite,
had wished it so, Helen could not help herself, and agreed to his suggestion.
When King Menelaus awoke in the morning,
and he discovered that his guest and his wife had run away together, he flew
into a rage, kicking the furniture and punching the walls of his chamber. He
swore before all the gods that his revenge would be truly terrible – so he went
to see his elder brother, King Agamemnon of Argos, and said to him, “My dear
brother, the honour of our family has been besmirched by this foreign peacock,
this perfumed playboy, this prancing Prince of Troy. Let us gather together all
the kings of Greece and combine our armies into the greatest force that has
ever been seen since the dawn of history, and let us sail to the far off city
of Troy, and teach Prince Paris some manners.”
Although Agamemnon was wise and he knew
that it is always a terrible mistake to rush headlong into conflict. He
suggested first, that they send an ambassador to Troy to request the return of
Queen Helen, whom he was sure had been abducted against her will. He knew that
Paris’ father, King Priam of Troy was a good man, and he was sure that he would
order his son to release her, and so they sent a message to Troy in the name of
peace and reconciliation, but Helen did not wish to go home, and Prince Paris
refused to return the lovely queen to her husband, saying that they had been
brought together by the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite herself; and so that meant
war. King Agamemnon, the brother of the wronged Menelaus, summoned all the kings
of Greece and prepared a navy of a thousand ships, the greatest military force
to ever set sail.
And that is the story of how the great war
between the Greeks and the Trojans was started by Prince Paris and Queen Helen.
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Images
The Movie named ,
Toy (2004)
Initial release: May 9, 2004 (Germany)
Writers:
Homer (poem), David Benioff (screenplay)Stars:
Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom
( Based on Homer's "Iliad," this epic portrays the battle between the ancient kingdoms of Troy and Sparta. While visiting Spartan King Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson), Trojan prince Paris (Orlando Bloom) falls for Menelaus' wife, Helen (Diane Kruger), and takes her back to Troy. Menelaus' brother, King Agamemnon (Brian Cox), having already defeated every army in Greece, uses his brother's fury as a pretext to declare war against Troy, the last kingdom preventing his control over the Aegean Sea.An adaptation of Homer's great epic, the film follows the assault on Troy by the united Greek forces and chronicles the fates of the men involved. )