Growing Pains - The Maturity of Heloise and Abelard

[This entry was based off a series of medieval literature texts which can be found at this website: http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/aah/index.htm]

Growing up in a small town like Millersville, there were few people to meet, fewer friends to play with, and no way to burn off excess childhood energy. I learned to read at a young age to fight boredom, and thanks to the local library I spent my evenings fighting pirates with Peter Pan or solving mysteries with Nancy Drew. The written word is a powerful addiction, and as I grew older I found that letters, texts, or emails from a handsome young man who shares your interests and has a sense of humor to match can be equally attractive. As we grow wiser in the ways of the world, we replace our fictional ideologies with those we find in reality, putting our childhood behind us but never forgetting what they inspired us to accomplish.

The letters between Abelard and Heloise depict a story of forbidden love, obsession, and knowledge. Just as Eve represents the temptation of knowledge, Heloise represents the temptation of a bright, beautiful, “modern” woman for her time. Abelard falls for her, as any self-respecting scholar might, since their wit and intellects are a perfect match. Ultimately, it is vanity and pride that bring the lovers to misery. It is apparent through their letters which express the strong feelings these two felt for one another that even though they were forcibly separated by a vengeful uncle and by vows to holy orders, Heloise and Abelard would remain connected through their memories of love.

It was not until recently, in 1998, that the University of Massachusetts moved to ban romantic relationships between students and teachers, which had become morally reprehensible and seen as a lecherous professor taking advantage of a less powerful female undergraduate student (Dank). As Abelard states in Historia Calamitatum, “I should not have been more smitten with wonder if he had entrusted a tender lamb to the care of a ravenous wolf […].” I find it ironic that Heloise’s uncle was paying him to seduce his niece.

The letters between Heloise and Abelard are heavy with philosophy, spirituality, and infatuation. They also show the growth of both literary figures. Abelard wished to marry Heloise in secret to protect his honor and reputation, and she would rather have been his mistress than his wife. To tie him down in marriage would be to hold him back, to prevent him from taking the opportunities that would present themselves to him in the future. It takes a mature, selfless woman to tell the man she is in love with “no, I will not marry you and keep you from doing what you love.” When Fulbert discovered that Abelard had convinced Heloise to intern herself in a convent, he assumed that Abelard was ridding himself of Heloise and his responsibilities to her. Fulbert’s punishment for Abelard was a ruthless mutilation and castration, an action that most overprotective father figures would admire. Unfortunately, after all the care both Heloise and Abelard took to protect their dignity, Abelard would never be able to walk confidently among his equals again. After becoming the abbess of a convent, Heloise no longer thought only of protecting Abelard, but of providing for the women in her care. Abelard states in his Apologia exactly how their relationship has grown: “Heloise, my sister, once so dear to me in the world, today even dearer to me in Jesus Christ […].” Once both were installed in their respective religious orders, each recognized the futility of their marriage, though they remained in love with one another, it was a new love sanctified by their love of God. The letters between Heloise and Abelard were never meant to published, they were intimate glimpses into the affair.

Never underestimate the power of a fictional character to encourage even the most depressed teenager to wake up every day, just as an attractive professor may find his 8 AM class filled each morning (Dr. Indiana Jones comes readily to mind). The pain of lost love stings deep and we never forget the feeling of caring more for one man than we cared for ourselves. Heloise and Abelard wrote from their hearts, and their eloquence reveals a common sadness of love gained and lost. It is the journey each young woman must make to bridge that gap between childhood and adulthood.

Bibliography

Dank, Barry M., and Klaus de Albuquerque. "Banning Sexual Asymmetry on Campus." Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality 1 (1998): n. pag. Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality. Web. 19 Feb. 2010.

"The Love Letters of Abelard and Heloise Index." Internet Sacred Text Archive Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2010. .

Adventures in Awkwardland, Episode 17: Got a big job in the city.

I started my new job this past Tuesday. Growing up, working in the city, local government stuff. I didn't know what I was getting into when I accepted the position, but I've been having a pretty good time so far. The people I work with are quite nice even though I'm just temporarily filling in. But anyway, I see a lot of very odd things during the day. We're connected to the police department, so people come to pay their parking tickets, water bills, certain taxes, etc. with us. I never realized Lancaster was so... ... ... diverse?

Within the first hour and a half I met a 60 year old lesbian prostitute. That's right. I'm talking hotdogs and hallways, shriveled leather prostitute, but she actually turned down a solicitation offer from an equally work down looking man in our lobby.

Yesterday, I saw an asian with a blonde mullet. I'm talking full on anime hairstyles here, not just the typical early 90's redneck stuff. I think he was going for the Snake look, but if his hairdresser would just add some blue and he could have been Captain Planet.

Today was the weirdest. I wasn't in on the conversation until halfway through, but this guy was trying to get a parking permit for the car he drives. The car is in his mother's name, an automatic red flag when you're trying to get a parking permit, and he needed to show his license to prove he could even drive the car, and he'd like to pay by a check he wrote before he came in. So he goes into this long winded tirade about how he worked for the government on some top secret service missions studying the radioactivity of rocks during the early 90's and how his research was going to be published by National Geographic and what he found made a lot of top governmental people angry so they conspired to make him cause a car accident which resulted in his license being suspended for the past couple months and that's why he tried to pay a check dated June 2008. It's all George Bush's fault. Which one? Both. And how did they cause his traffic accident? Must have been the aliens.

Maybe next time he'll tell us he's a time traveler. I'd believe it easier.

The most awkward event is having men call me "honey" or "baby girl." I'm not used to it, and generally anyone I meet at my job is in trouble with their credit or bills. So when a motorcycle-riding viking with $200 in parking tickets and his water bill shut off asks for my number, I DO have standards and I know immediately to say "no thank you."

If you've started a new job as well, feel like sharing your awkward first day at work story, or have any awkward adventures to share, send them to: MyAwkwardAdventure@gmail.com

Ancient Greece in the News

There seems to be a plethora of treasures being unearthed in Europe and the mainland, but how many of these discoveries honestly make it to the museums? Obtaining rare antiquities is a difficult business, as any archaeologist will vouch, and interpreting the meanings behind those finds can take years.

On January 16, 2003, National Geographic published news that a group of researchers had found an ancient trading vessel at the bottom of the Black Sea, off the coast of Bulgaria. The ship is over 2.300 years old, and contained many clay jars and pots. The contents of these pots have answered many questions about the migration of goods across the world known by the Greeks; however they have also sparked many more.
The team of researchers analyzed the sediments around the shipwrecked vessel and discovered that the containers held remnants of catfish and olive oil. These foods would have made up much of the diet of the Greek army, which spread across the ancient world. Therefore, according to the data collected from the remains and also from radiocarbon dating and analysis, it would not be out of the question to assume that this ship was transporting goods from the Crimean peninsula back to Greece when it hit a spot of trouble and sank beneath the sea.
With this evidence, scientists and researchers have been able to determine that the Black Sea might have been a central location for trade rather than a secondary source. This shipwreck, combined with another Greek wreck found earlier in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Turkey, provides undeniable evidence that the Greeks had a far more spread out system of trade than previously recorded.

Bibliography:

Markey, Sean. “Ancient Greek Wreck Found in Black Sea.” National Geographic. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/0110_030113_blacksea_2.html

Adventures in Awkwardland, Episode 16: ID Card Got Your Tongue?

I heard this story while hanging out with a new group of friends, I don't know them very well but I intend to share this story anyway. I very nearly snorted Sam Adams out my nose, therefore, this tale deserves to be told.

Josh works at a local hospital here in town, I'm honestly not sure if he's a technician or a student. Not really important, he was in charge of taking a patient's IV statistics that night. The woman was on loan from the psych ward, she has bipolar disorder and one or two other mental illnesses which leave her uncensored and able to speak her mind. However she was also having heart troubles, and therefore needed to be in a special care unit for the night. As Josh was going over her charts, the woman began to flirt with him. She's about 60 years old, married (so she says), and veeerrry adventurous. Josh does his best to laugh off her advances, he's a good looking guy and used to joking with his patients.

Now, Josh needed to insert the IV in this woman's arm, and leaned close to her bed. While he's busy working on her arm, she grabs the ID card attached by a string to his pocket and shoves it in her mouth. The whole card. I imagine she looks like a cat caught swallowing a mouse. Since Josh is still working in the IV drip, there's not much he can do about the card. The other technicians in the room start to giggle and Josh tries his best not to lose it in front of the woman. When he's finished, he grabs the string in front of the lady's mouth and pulls his ID card. You better bet he sterilized the living crap out of that thing before reattaching it to his shirt.

The worst part? Not only does the entire hospital know the tale, but Josh is the only IV technician assigned to this woman's bed.

Got an Awkward Adventure to share? Send them to: MyAwkwardAdventure@gmail.com

The Legend of Achilles

According to myth, Achilles' mother Thetis was a sea nymph, and therefore immortal. His father Peleus, however, was not immortal, which meant that any of Thetis' children would be only semi-divine and therefore wholly susceptible to pain, mortality, and general fatalistic death.

Thetis was understandably not very pleased with the idea of her children dying, and proceeded to attempt a “Make My Children Immortal” campaign using a “Do It Yourself” home kit. This involved shoving her children into fires, dunking them in boiling tar, dropping them down dangerous rapids and lightly broiling them in casserole dishes with diced onions and lots of oil. However, Achilles was saved from this tasty fate by his father who managed to stop Thetis from charbroiling his last son.

In disgust, Thetis tried the next best option by dipping Achilles into the River Styx, which would make him immune to all axes, arrows and anything spiky enough to puncture skin. However, she held on to his ankle to do so and as a result, Achilles' heel was left untouched. Thus his dodgy heel.

No one knows why Thetis forgot, or why she didn't just dip him in holding one heel and then hold the other one so the first heel could get a dunking. But it can be assumed she certainly kicked herself after Achilles was subsequently killed to death by means of said heel being penetrated with a poisoned arrow during his daring raid in the battle at Troy.

Reflections on Lysistrata

Lysistrata is a delightful anti-war skit written by Aristophanes in 411 B.C. It was exceptionally creative for the time, written when the view towards women was bleak and gender roles ruled the communities. Greek men were more likely to go off to war than to ever acknowledge a woman with a mind of her own.

Women were not respected as members of the community, often ignored, and the general male population assumed they did not have the mental capacity to understand matters of state. However, Lysistrata threw them for a loop when she organized widespread abstinence throughout Athens and barricaded access to the city funds in an attempt to stop the war with Sparta. If only life were that simple. The women felt very bitter and resentful to have lost so many husbands, brothers, sons, and potential lovers to the constant carnage. Lysistrata’s plan worked on a very small scale, spreading to Sparta and eventually frustrating the men on both sides into submission.

At the onset of the war with Iraq, a campaign against such action was launched called The Lysistrata Project. The Project, guided by the teachings of Gandhi, seeks innovative solutions to bring peace to the world. The women in charge of the site are, as would be expected, feminists, and will most probably be using gender bias to provoke interest in their cause. This is unfortunate, that such a goodwill organization must play the gender card in modern times. For the original Lysistrata, in a time where women were not seen as equals, a revolutionary idea to bring peace would have generated much attention. Today, gender based committees are more mainstream and passed over as just another outspoken activist group.

And so, in the here and now, women have achieved equality, but what good has it done us? Today, we would never be able to achieve that which Lysistrata initiated, we are too disorganized, too easily passed off as radical feminists, and too unwilling to push the boundaries on acceptable behavior. And, let's face it, as a culture we are too addicted to sex. However, if more women would read the literature of Aristophanes and accept the beliefs of Lysistrata, we may very well see a rise in the influence of women over issues of war and peace.

The Evolution of Athens, abridged

In the seventh century B.C. the governmental system of Athens began a radical new evolution. The monarchist autocracy was replaced by an aristocratic oligarchy, a government ruled by a few of the best and the brightest of the upper class rather than by a single monarch. This tookquite some time for the Athenians to adjust to; however in the end, it was best for the country. The aristocrats of Athens wanted to control the destiny, power, and new wealth of their state. The population was growing fast, spreading across the Mediterranean Sea. Their culture developed into a powerful force, adjusting to incorporate the cultures of the nations conquered by the Athenians while retaining their individual style.

Athens was developing into a powerful state and accumulating a great deal of wealth. Their trade and commerce was booming, aided in part by rich farmland and productive workers, but also by their new status as a sea power. The newly rising wealthy class wanted to share the power of the monarchs of Athens and threatened to stage a coup d’etat. They were willing to support a tyrant who supported their interests so long as they had a say in the government. A rebellion ensued, and Draco, the ruler in 621, imposed harsh penalties for wrongdoers. Under Draconian law, criminals of any sort were put to death. Citizens fell into debtor slavery. The laws were interpreted in such a way to cause extreme strife and hardships. Citizens felt enfranchised as they earned wealth, and joined the emerging wealthy class. This promise of wealth motivated citizens to work harder than slaves, so as to earn a place in the world even without the distinction as nobility.

When Solon came to power as a liberal aristocrat in 594 B.C., his policy attempted to avert tyranny at all costs. He is credited as having laid the foundations for Athenian democracy. Many reforms were issued so that Solon would gain the popularity and support of the Athenian citizens. His first act changed the Draconian law code to a friendlier system. All debts were cancelled, and debtor slaves were freed. Under Solon, commerce livened as citizenship was granted to foreign artisans to create an explosion of culture and promote trade and commerce.

Solon also instituted a salary for public offices so that more citizens would run for a position in the public office. State office was open to the wealthiest citizens, regardless of birth. The upper two classes of citizens were able to participate in the Areopagus, a judicial counsel originally created to try homicide cases. Three Archons were elected to lead specific areas of life every ten years; however Solon briefly increased that number to ten. The ecclesia consisted of all male citizens over the age of 18 who were wealthy enough to be able to spend their lives working for the ecclesia, and nominated magisters. Solon also instituted the “boule,” a counsel of 400 men representing the four tribes of Athens. All male citizens over the age of 18 were able to participate in the popular court where everyone could vote, and class was determined by the agricultural production. Unfortunately, there was not enough land in Athens for this system to work to the maximum effect, so others, such as merchants or artisans, became angry when they earned wealth through other ways and still could not participate in the counsels. The birth of capitalism through private wealth and power fell upon hard times.

After Solon, tyrants such as Peisistratus and his son Hippias gained power. Peisistratus seized the power in the Acropolis after the death of Solon, thus entering the history books as a tyrant. He was driven out twice, but returned en masse with his supportive army and was welcomed by the Athenians who thought he has the blessing of Athena. Tyrant that he was, Peisistratus is credited as having created the first welfare state. His son, Hippias, became a cruel and harsh tyrant. With the help of the Spartans, he was overthrown. However, Sparta came to fear Athens’ drift towards democracy, and with the help of Persia, attempted to reinstate Hippias, but was unsuccessful.

A new leader, Kleisthenes, led between 508 and 501 B.C. He needed a new way to enfranchise his citizens due to public disputes over the land issue, and decided to re-zone the Athenian polis. He created ten new tribes to replace the traditional four, and seventeen demes, or subdivisions of the polis. Each deme had a socio-economic restructuring, and was required to vote for the best interests as a whole. In addition, Kleisthenes adjusted the rules of the boule so that instead of a counsel of 400, it became a counsel of 500, with fifty members from each of the ten tribes of Athens.

In 461 B.C., Pericles assumed power, and helped to usher in the Golden Age of Greece. He severely limited the power of the Areopagus, controlled by the aristocratic oligarchy, and replaced it with ten Strategoi, or general directors, who were elected by all male citizens over the age of 18 on a yearly basis. State offices offered a paid income, so that members of the lower classes would be more inclined to run for office. The General Assembly might pass all laws especially when in reference to foreign policy, and could even choose whether to hold a war or to remain neutral. The lower classes usually felt favorable towards war, because it meant, when won, an extra boost in the economy and in the national bank.

Under Pericles, the Athenian and Greek culture in general flowered and gained a sense of posterity. Pericles wanted to make Athens a city of value for future generations, and commissioned the Parthenon to be built in honor of Athena. Athens became an intellectual center of the world, as philosophers came together to understand nature and the development of reason.

Pericles led Athens from the end of the Persian War through most of the Peloponnesian Wars. An attack from Persia always intimidated the Greeks, even though they had deflected Persia in the past. There was no guarantee about the future. Therefore, the Delian League was created as a defense field, much like NATO today. Their goal was to unify Greece and to avenge the wrongs done by Persia. However, when Sparta and Persia joined forces, Athens used this betrayal to call together the Delian League to unite and become more powerful. Athens became a shining city, however democracy still frightened their enemies. Democracy was chaotic, and many did not like this government.

The war with Persia threatened western civilization with complete annihilation. Sparta and Athens overcame their differences and years of enmity and fought together. The Spartan women were able to run their state as independent members of their society, and the Spartan homeland was left untouched. Athens, however, was all but destroyed. A power shift occurred in Athens from the aristocratic oligarchy as the lower class warriors in the battle of Salamis wanted enfranchisement, like the rest of the country had the opportunity to achieve. All of these factors led to the eventual rise of Pericles, and the Golden Age of Greece.

The Greeks preferred democracy to the tyranny that oppressed them in the past, and were willing to fight many a battle to retain their freedoms. As master of its own fate, Athens connected economic and political opportunities for all, and reaped the benefits of their hard work and toil.