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The Sacred Absurdity of the Hero Archetype. Heracles / Hercules and Cinderella

Posted by Uljana Akca on April 19, 2021 at 2:53am
Views: 244
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Tags: Heracles, Cinderella, archetype, hero, philosophy
A video discussing how the hero archetype can be regarded as something absurd (and what this means) by looking at its appearance in the myth of the 12 labors of Heracles, and Cinderella. Why are traditional mythological heroes surrounded by bizarre beasts and objects, and why is Cinderella's behavior so absurdly complying? What does this teach us about the meaning of the hero archetype? And how can the mythological concept of heroism speak to our own time and existence?On the surface, these two tales are extremely different: The labors of Heracles is a myth of an immensely active and strong man, while Cinderella seems to be a fairy tale of a heavily exaggerated feminine passivity. And yet, there is indeed something essentially common to both, which should make us question our preoccupation with their gender as well. Both perform existential labor, and both are rewarded for it by forces that defy rational thought.Rather than a classical Jungian view on the matter, the video presents a philosophical take on the hero archetype. It is also a preview of my seven week online course The Philosophy of Myth and Archetypes, which can be found at uljanaakca.thinkific.com

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