Addicted to Greek Mythology

"I'm think I'm addicted to Greek Mythology!" Sennen said last night and again this morning.

Here he merges two concepts that have been on his busy mind: Greek mythology and addiction. Addiction has come from observations about the Greek propensity for coffee and cigarettes and his mommy's afternoon torrent of iced black tea. In true Sennen fashion, no thread pulled can be left alone  - he must follow it through until he gets the entire concept . So he understands about caffeine and nicotine – as well as additives in cigarettes. I'm sure we'll get to the hard drugs another time.

Sennen's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Kress suggested to us when we asked for ideas for summertime activities for him that we read Greek mythology while in Patmos and that it would likely capture his imagination. One thing about Mrs. Kress is that she knows her students and she completely pegged Sennen. So, everyday we read a few pages of the giant hardback version of D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths which is pitched to probably an 8 to 10 year-old reading level. But Sennen doesn't back down from a challenge and with some time to explain different vocabulary words or to stop and digest concepts, he makes his way through the challenges like Heracles or Odysseus. Admittedly, Greek Myths don't all make sense – like why Cronus the Titan could swallow his children whole only to spit them out alive and unharmed later after being defeated. Part of the challenge has been helping a boy who takes things very literally and wants to understand inner-workings very precisely adjust his mind to accept things that include some very outlandish premises.

D'Aulaires is great because it has beautiful illustrations and in most cases, a page of text describes a complex illustration on the adjacent page. So all of Sennen's questions about the pictures get answered as we read – which he likes.

He also understands the idea that many of the stories were how ancient Greeks explained the world they saw – like echoes, volcanoes, weeping willows, storms, the sunset, and constellations. Long, beautiful and sometimes grotesque stories gave the meaning and color to the everyday. When Sennen can identify the purpose of the story his eyes light up and he says, "I get it! I get it! This is how they explained _____!" (most recently panic inspired by the demi-god Pan).

Now Sennen congratulates and thanks Apollo at sunsets and can identify that the gentle southeasterly wind that's cooling off the island comes from Eurus – the East Wind who doesn't often come out.

The problem with Sennen and Greek mythology is a common one we have with him – he wants deeper answers to things we either don't know about or which don't have more depth to offer. Given this is a boy who took an early interest in the idea of death and mortality, a large percentage of his questions surround Hades, god of the dead.

"Why is Hades the name of the place if the god is also named Hades?"

"How can Hades be on his throne in the underworld and also up on Olympus at the same time?"

"Why is there a pauper's entrance to Hades that people have to find? Why is it longer and harder just because they don't have money?"

"How do Poseidon and Hades' have queens if Zeus is the King of the Gods?"

"Why does Hera care that Zeus has so many wives?"

"How is Hermes the Herald of the Gods, but he also takes people down to Hades?"

And then there was the most interesting question of all:

"How does one religion disappear for another one?" 

It's a great question around which I am sure there are many theses, papers and books. How does a people go from have one set of steadfast beliefs about the workings of the world and universe to not just being forced, but truly adopting an entirely different set of beliefs and worldview? Or in Greece's case, how do you get from the Greco-Roman pantheon of gods to Christianity which share so little in common? An emperor in Rome decides to make a change for political reasons and marble temples come tumbling down, their parts used to build monasteries. How do the few have so much power over the many and how can an emperor change the fate and faith of millions over thousands of years? That's a hard one for an adult to wrap his or her brain around, let alone present to a child – and especially a voracious deconstructionist like Sennen.

But where Greek mythology opens the proverbial Pandora's Box for Sennen, it also – as I think Mrs. Kress intended – has more meaning in context. The stories mention Karpathos, Lesbos, Ikaria, Leros and Kalymnos – all neighboring islands some of which were ferry stops on the way here. Being here, these places are at least imaginable, even if none of the Olympians seemed to care much about little Patmos.

What's also clear is that for Sennen – more so than for Ailyn – Patmos and Greece are his ideal. "Why don't we just live here?" "I love our house here in Patmos!" "What's your favorite place for dessert? Mine's Greece!" have come out in recent weeks. Sennen likes mezzes for a meal, prefers more garlic and pepper in his tzatziki and doesn't really need to eat what isn't Greek. His biggest complaint with Patmos has been that he expected the houses and buildings to have more blue on them – the blue doors and trim are not satisfying. "I thought they would have sparkling blue – and more of it." 

I think the sea helps to make up for it – for nowhere has such blue water as Greece and he often comments on it.

Ailyn has her reservations. Patmos is clearly great for a summer – but she likes her Westlake Village house better and misses her friends and toys at home – especially Star Lilly, her animatronic unicorn. Ailyn wants to see her teachers and get back to her life at some point.

Sennen, on the other hand is willing to let go of his friends and teachers for a crack at Greek life. He wants to convince his grandparents, aunts, uncle and cousins to move here. And he would like nothing more than if Hermes or Apollo could quickly fly him home for dinner at Grammy and Zaide's (Emily's parents) or lunch at Bubbee's (my mom) and then right back to Patmos where he delights in the gifts of the gods!