Looking taboo

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Looking taboo is a motif (a recurring element) in mythology, folklore and works of fiction. A person is prohibited to look at something or somewhere for fear of dire consequences.

Contents

Notable examples

A notable looking taboo is in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice in Greek mythology. Orpheus, the son of Apollo and a renowned musician, fell in love with Eurydice, who was bitten by a snake and died. On the gods' advice, Orpheus traveled to the Underworld wherein his music softened the hearts of Hades and Persephone, who agreed to allow Eurydice to return with him to the living world on one condition: he should guide her out and not look back until they both had reached the upper world. As he was about to reach the living world, Orpheus looked back toward Eurydice in excitement to see his beloved, and Eurydice was trapped in the Underworld forever. [1]

Another looking taboo is in the story of Lot in the Book of Genesis. In Genesis 19, two angels in the form of men arrived in Sodom and were invited by Lot to spend the night at his home. The wicked men of Sodom demanded from Lot to bring his guests out so that they might "know" them carnally; instead, Lot offered his two daughters, who had not "known" man, but the men of Sodom refused. In the morning the angels advised Lot to flee with his family to avoid the destruction of the city: "Flee for your life! Do not look behind you, nor stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, lest you be swept away." [2] :465 While fleeing Lot's wife broke the looking taboo, looked back at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and was turned into a pillar of salt as punishment. [3] [2] :466

In Greek mythology Medusa had a hideous appearance so that anyone who looked upon her was turned to stone. [4] Athena loaned Perseus her polished shield for him to view Medusa's reflection without becoming petrified, so he circumvented the looking taboo and successfully beheaded Medusa.

In Japanese mythology, two stories involve a prohibition from looking at a female at certain moments: those of Toyotama-hime and of Izanami-no-Mikoto. In these stories the female deity is banished from "this world" because a male deity looked at her at an improper moment despite the prohibition to do so: Izanami was going to rejuvenate, and Toyoutame-hime was going to give birth. [5]

In European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk is a legendary reptile reputed to be a serpent king, who causes death to those who look into its eyes.

Classification

In Motif-Index of Folk-Literature this motif is classified under C300-C399 "Looking taboo": [6]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Orpheus</i> (film) 1950 French film

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<i>Sir Orfeo</i> Medieval narrative poem

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lot (biblical person)</span> Person mentioned in the Book of Genesis and the Quran

Lot was a man mentioned in the biblical Book of Genesis, chapters 11–14 and 19. Notable events in his life recorded in Genesis include his journey with his uncle Abraham; his flight from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, during which his wife became a pillar of salt, and being intoxicated by his daughters so they could have incestuous intercourse with him to continue their family line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese mythology</span> Mythology

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Izanami</span> Goddess of Shinto religion

Izanami (イザナミ), formally referred to with the honorific Izanami-no-Mikoto, is the creator deity of both creation and death in Japanese mythology, as well as the Shinto mother goddess. She and her brother-husband Izanagi are the last of the seven generations of primordial deities that manifested after the formation of heaven and earth. Izanami and Izanagi are held to be the creators of the Japanese archipelago and the progenitors of many deities, which include the sun goddess Amaterasu, the moon deity Tsukuyomi and the storm god Susanoo. In mythology, she is the direct ancestor of the Japanese imperial family. In Shinto and Japanese mythology, Izanami gave humans death, so Izanami is sometimes seen as a shinigami.

Eurydice is a 2003 play by Sarah Ruhl which retells the myth of Orpheus from the perspective of Eurydice, his wife. The story focuses on Eurydice's choice to return to Earth with Orpheus or to stay in the underworld with her father. Ruhl made several changes to the original myth's story-line. The most noticeable of these changes was that in the myth Orpheus succumbs to his desires and looks back at Eurydice, while in Ruhl's version Eurydice calls out to Orpheus perhaps in part because of her fear of reentering the world of the living and perhaps as a result of her desire to remain in the land of the dead with her father. Ruhl's script has been explicitly written so as to be a playground for the designer of the sets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katabasis</span> Journey into the underworld in literature

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Yomotsu-shikome, in Japanese mythology, was a hag sent by the dead Izanami to pursue her husband Izanagi, for shaming her by breaking promise not to see her in her decayed form in the Underworld (Yomi-no-kuni). Also recorded by the name Yomotsu-hisame (泉津日狭女), the name may have been a term referring collectively to eight hags, not just one.

<i>Metamorphoses</i> (play) Play by Mary Zimmerman

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orpheus and Eurydice</span> Ancient Greek legend

The ancient legend of Orpheus and Eurydice concerns the fateful love of Orpheus of Thrace for the beautiful Eurydice. Orpheus was the son of Oeagrus and the muse Calliope. It may be a late addition to the Orpheus myths, as the latter cult-title suggests those attached to Persephone. The subject is among the most frequently retold of all Greek myths, being featured in numerous works of literature, operas, ballets, paintings, plays, musicals, and more recently, films and video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orpheus</span> Legendary musician, poet, and prophet in Greek mythology

In Greek mythology, Orpheus was a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece, and even descended into the underworld of Hades, to recover his lost wife Eurydice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurydice</span> Wife of Orpheus in Greek mythology

Eurydice was a character in Greek mythology and the Auloniad wife of Orpheus, whom Orpheus tried to bring back from the dead with his enchanting music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Age of the Gods</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lot's wife</span> Person mentioned in the biblical Book of Genesis

In the Bible, Lot's wife is a figure first mentioned in Genesis 19. The Book of Genesis describes how she became a pillar of salt after she looked back at Sodom. She is not named in the Bible, but is called Ado or Edith in some Jewish traditions. She is also referred to in the deuterocanonical books at the Book of Wisdom and the New Testament at Luke 17:32.

In Japanese mythology, the story of the birth of the gods occurs after the creation of Japan (Kuniumi). It concerns the birth of the divine (kami) descendants of Izanagi and Izanami.

<i>The Medusa Frequency</i> 1987 novel by Russell Hoban

The Medusa Frequency is a 1987 novel by Russell Hoban. Written in a lyrical, often magic realist style, it crosses a number of genres including comedy and fantasy. It uses the story of Orpheus to "meditate on art and reality and love and fear and fidelity and betrayal".

<i>The Corridor</i> (opera) Opera by Harrison Birtwistle

The Corridor is a chamber opera composed by Harrison Birtwistle to an English language libretto by David Harsent. It premiered at the Aldeburgh Festival on 12 June 2009. The title refers to the corridor through which Orpheus and Eurydice passed as he was leading her from the underworld.

References

  1. Wikisource-logo.svg The full text of a literal English translation of Orpheus and Eurydice at Wikisource
  2. 1 2 Schwartz, Howard (2004). Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism. Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780195358704.
  3. 19:26
  4. Brill's New Pauly, s.v. Gorgo.
  5. Marina Shchepetunina, "The Power of Vision in Mythological Thinking: 'To See the Forbidden' in Japanese Myths and Fairy Tales", In:Vision beyond Visual Perception, 2017 pp.30, 34
  6. C300—C399 Looking tabu.