Narcissism and leadership in Nonnus's Dionysiaca
2001; Texas Tech University Press; Volume: 28; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1935-0228
Autores Tópico(s)Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices
ResumoTo get love for your own handsome shape is enough, to touch your beautiful body is what women want, not gold. The beautiful people. . . include all those who live out the fantasy of narcissistic success, which consists of nothing more substantial than a wish to be vastly admired, not for one's accomplishments but simply for oneself, uncritically and without reservation. Along with love, battle, and jealousy, narcissism must take its place among the prime themes of literature. However we conceptualize it, self-love will always be with us, in its healthy and unhealthy forms. In writing about warm-hearted and cold-hearted characters, we inevitably touch upon narcissistic issues. (1) In the last book of the Dionysiaca, Nonnus's epic on the career of the god Dionysus, there is an episode involving Dionysus, Artemis, and Aura, the virgin, nymph, huntress, and companion of Artemis (48.238-978). Aura is unwise enough to compare Artemis's body unfavorably with her own, scornfully piling insult upon insult (351-69). Highly offended, Artemis seeks out Nemesis, voices her rage at the contumely endured, and, demanding vengeance, says: I am ashamed to describe her calumny of my body and her abuse of my breasts (422-23). Nemesis promises satisfaction. Eros fires Dionysus with a passion for Aura, but all his advances are rejected. Aided by deceiving wine, he rapes Aura in a drunken coma (590651). Maddened by the loss of her virginity, Aura runs murderously amok, desecrates the temple and statue of Aphrodite, laments her fate, and rages against Artemis in particular (652-722). Later, pregnant with twins, she murders one of the delivered infants and eventually drowns herself in unbearable shame and d espair. Before Aura's death, Artemis, still furious, cannot forbear to mock her in a series of revoltingly callous gibes (749-87, 828-47, 858-64), thereby seeking to heal her own injury by utter degradation of its source. The nymph Nicaea, raped by Dionysus in similar circumstances, appears to offer Aura sympathy but has more pity for her own misfortune (811-27). Dionysus gloats to Nicaea about what he has done to Aura and has no compunctions about asking her to protect his soon-to-be-born sons (866-86). This entire episode, as is clear from even this summary, is marked by acute sensitivity to shame and insult, callousness, disproportionate thirst for vengeance, zealous mockery, self-absorption, and self-preoccupation. (2) Earlier in the poem's narrative we have episodes such as Dionysus's prototype, Zagreus, being killed while gazing at his reflection in a mirror (6.169-73). We also read of Dionysus's mother Semele valuing Dionysus only for the status he brings her; boasting of her superiority over her sisters at having Zeus for a husband; belittling their mates and progeny; taunting Hera, Leto, Ares, Apollo, Maia, Hermes, Hephaestus, and Heracles; behaving with crazy indifference to her imminent destruction, now that her greatness is proven; and generally seeming incapable of consideration for anyone (8.375-88, 9.208-42, 10.129-36). Hera's response to Semele's scorn is to drive mad Semele's sister Ino, whom, far from pitying, Semele later mocks (9.243-74). Zeus fears the mockery of his displaced father Cronos, if he should lose his cosmic supremacy to his monstrous challenger Typhoeus (1.383). Typhoeus, ridiculed and taunted by Zeus, elaborates upon the scale of his threat to the current cosmos and is besotted with the gran deur of the new world order he will install (1.444-80, 2.244-349). After the death of his son Zagreus, an angry Zeus launches a cosmic upheaval that almost extinguishes an innocent humanity (6.206-370). Oceanus utters grandiose threats to flood heaven (23.290-320). Speeches of derision and belittlement (e.g., 47.428-52, 498-522) are as common as ones of manic, grotesque self-glorification and far outnumber instances of pity. The Indian warrior Morrheus boasts that he will drag Dionysus home by the hair and put a 20-cubit spear through the hulls of Dionysus's ships; his audience applauds warmly (36. …
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