The Melodious Swan

A nice swan picture.

Bibliotheque Municipale de Reims, ms. 993, Folio 155r

My Swan

Years ago, I lived in an apartment overlooking a small pond. Like many ponds, this one attracted creatures searching for food left by humans. Our rat-like landlord sarcastically referred to certain of the creatures as "wildlife," and forbade the leaving of bread. Of the many "non-wildlife" creatures calling the pond home, my favorite was an elegantly bad tempered swan who promenaded the grounds begging for handouts. He (or she) would loiter near my building's door, stretching its long neck and hissing menacingly if no treats were offered. Myth and folklore tell us

swans have a lovely voice. Though I never heard my swan sing, I'll hold my skepticism in check and take their word for it. What else does myth and folklore say of swans?

Two Swans

Photographer: Sangfroid

Greek Mythology

Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, was symbolized by a swan. Regettably, the swan image was utilized in a not so lovely way by the unstopable seducer Zeus. Following a quick swan transformation, Zeus mated with Queen Leda of Sparta, hatching two children named Helen and Polydeuces. Yes, that's the famously beautiful Helen of Troy, who inadvertently started the Trojan War when kidnaped by Paris. The Greeks told more than one version of Zeus as ardent swan. A second account claims the problematic goddess Nemesis as the mother of Helen. The goddess of retribution morphed into a goose, gambling a hapless bid to fool Zeus. The unfooled Zeus became a swan, and deaf to the poor goddess's objections, shamelessly did as he pleased. The resulting egg, being rejected by Nemesis, was left in a swamp and later found by a passing shepherd. The shepherd gave the egg to Leda, who hatched it and became the mother of Helen anyway in the weird roundabout way of myths and life in general. 

Leda and the Swan

Artist: Theodore Gericault

Constellation

Swans don't merely swim in ponds. There is a constellation in the Milky Way called Cygnus, or The Swan. The Greeks had a number of different myths regarding how Cygnus found it's way to the night sky. One version features two friends named Cygnus and Phaeton. Though very close, the friendship didn't stop Cygnus and Phaeton from constantly attempting to best one another. Their contending reached its zenith on deciding to race around the Sun and back to Earth. In a fit of competitiveness, the friends streaked too close to the Sun and plummeted to Earth, clinging to their charred and disintrgrating chariots. Though Cygnus landed safely, Phaeton was tangled in tree roots at the bottom of the Eridanus River. Cygnus tried mightily to recover Phaeton's body for proper burial, but could not manage to reach it. Desperately, he asked Zeus for help. Zeus, in his usual god-like way, offered to transform Cygnus into a swan, thus enabling him to reach his friend at the bottom of the river. Naturally, there was a catch. Cygnus would need to give up his immortality, remain feathered, and live the short years of the swan. Not hesitating, Cygnus chose to become a swan. Zeus rewarded Cygnus by placing him in the night sky as the constellation Cygnus. There's nothing like a really good friend to make life worth living. 

Cygnus

The Swan in German Myth

Phaeton was not alone in taking the form of a swan. The Valkyries, twelve goddesses who attended Odin and oversaw wars, could transform themselves into swans at will. After choosing their favorite warriors, and aiding them to victory, the Valkyries lead the brave fighters to the feasting halls of Valhalla. The Valkyries sometimes shed their feathers and appeared to men as human woman. If a devious man snatched the feathers, the unfortunate Valkyrie was compelled to cater and serve until her feathers were returned. 

Valkyies with shed feathers.

     

The Valkyrie Kara

The Valkyries were perfectly capable of falling in love. The Valkyrie Kara had a human lover named Helgi who she followed into battle. Flying over the pitched struggle in full swan regalia, Kara sang a song so enticing Helgi's opponents laid down their weapons and ceased to fight. Sadly, during another battle, the lovely Kara accidentally came to an abrupt end by the business end of a sword. The truly tragic bit was the ownership of the offending sword. Her husband, Helgi, was never the same after that event. 

The Swan in Hinduism

The goddess Saraswati

Is the swan revered with more enthusiasm anywhere other than the Hindu religion? The swans' very grace creates comparisons to spiritual people gaining worldly detachment equaling the birds' water warding feathers. The most spiritual are often called Paramahamsa or the Great Swan, who glide effortlessly between spiritual worlds like a swan in flight. 

 In Hinduism, the goddess of knowledge is Saraswati. This consort of Brahma represents not only music, literature, and art, but the sciences as well. She's associated with the color white, and is frequently pictured by a river denoting her early history as a river goddess. As you can see in the illustration above, her vehicle, or vahana, is a beautiful white swan. It's said if a swan is offered a mixture of milk and water, it will filter the milk and leave the water. This symbolises the ability to distinguish good from evil. 

Saraswati is a favorite of mine due to her association with the written word. One of her four hands holds the sacred book of Vedas. The Hindus feel such respect for books, accidentally touching a book with the foot elicits an apology in the form of a hand gesture called Pranama. The clumsy person touches the offended book (or any written material) with the finger tips, then carrys the finger tips to the forehead or chest. I wonder if such respect now includes the Kindle? I don't see why not!

Celtic Swan Myth

The Children of Lir

Painting by: Shauna Bloomingdale

From India, we now travel across continents to Ireland. One legendary Irish tale is the Children of Lir. It features rivals to a thone, hapless children, swans, and an extremely evil step-mother named Aoife. It all started when the sea god Lir lost his bid for the kingship of Tuatha De Danann to Bodb Derg. To lessen Lir's disappointment, Bodb Derg offered a daughter (Aeb) in marriage to his former contender. The marrage produced four happy and healthy children. In the way of such tales, no one can stay happy for very long. Aeb died, and in her place, Bodb Derg sent another daughter to mother the grieving children. As the children loved one another, and their father, before all else, Aoife soon grew insanely jealous of the family bond that did not include herself. She tried wheedling a servant into killing the children, but the servant would have no part of her nefarious plans. The notion of killing them herself proved a wash, as she had neither the strength, the courage, or the stomach, to murder them personally. She then thought of the perfect solution. Using her special talent for magic, she turned her step-children into swans tethered together by a golden chain. When Lir learned of her actions, he hit the roof and transformed Aeb into an air demon with no hope for redemption. 

So what happened to the children? They spent 300 years as swans living on Lough Derrauaregh, 300 years in the Sea of Moyle, and finally 300 more years swimming the Imus Domnann. There's more than one version of their ultimate fate. One version records their returning to land and being blessed by a priest. Once again human and 900 years old, they died quickly, went to heaven, and were reunited with their mother and father. As for Aeb, she's still out there being an air demon. Yikes! 

One Last Little Thing! 

The Ugly Duckling

The Ugly Duckling

Art by: Fernl

A famous swan story is The Ugly Duckling. It tells of the hideous little duckling who turned into a beautiful swan.

If you'd like to read the story, go HERE. 

   

       

Barnacle Geese

Our ancestors were nothing if not imaginative. One example of their overactive minds were the tree growing Barnacle Geese. Being a Barnacle Goose was a tricky and dangerous existence. The birds, hatching from barnacles attached to shore growing vegetation, would drop to the water when mature and float away if not caught and eaten by hungry humans. If unlucky enough to land on the ground, they promptly died. The eaten Barnacle Geese were great favorites for Friday meals, since they weren't considered forbidden meat, but allowable fish. What a wonderful excuse for eating poultry on Friday and getting away with it! 

  

The Barnacle Tree

The Barnacle Goose myth was popular from the 13th to 18th centuries and was accepted by such knowledgeable experts as the sixteenth century English herbalist William Turner, and John Gerard, the author of Generall Historie of Plantes. If they believed in Barnacle Geese, then they had to be real!  

   

There really is a Barnacle Goose. As you can see, it's a striking black and white bird that would attract attention even without its interesting folklore. 

Into the West

When I started this blog, my very first post was about a mythological Irish horse named Enbarr. The amazing Enbarr not only possessed the talent of indestructibility, he could run across earth and sea without touching ground or water. Enbarr came from a land called Tir na nOg (Land of Youth). In 1992 a movie was made called Into the West , about two Irish traveller boys and a mysterious horse called Tir na nOg. The boys, running wild since the death of their mother, keep the horse in their father's apartment until it's stolen by a shady horse dealer. After snatching Tir na nOg back, they go on a journey across Ireland where it soon becomes clear the horse has an agenda of its own.

I remember watching this movie years ago and enjoying it a great deal. Though I don't recall all the details, I do remember the boys putting Tir na nOg in the service elevator and leading him into their father's apartment. Since I believe the movie is still available to rent, I recommend finding and watching it if you can. The movie has a very interesting ending.

  

The Salmon of Wisdom

Let's go back to Ireland to meet the Great Salmon of Wisdom. This wonderfully brainy fish (fish IS brain food) can be found in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. The story goes that a common salmon gobbled up nine hazel nuts it found bobbing in the Well of Wisdom. These were obviously not ordinary hazel nuts. They were hazel nuts bobbing in the WELL OF WISDOM. Eating these special nuts gave our friend the salmon all the knowledge found in the wide world. It also meant the first person to catch and eat the fish would gain all the knowledge the cooked salmon contained. 

A poet named Finn Eces dedicated seven years of his life to find this very wise salmon. Finally, after seven long years, he pulled it to shore. To be honest with you, if this salmon was so wise, why did it get caught?! This is a mystery I cannot explain. Finn Eces told his young apprentice Fionn to get out the pan and cook the salmon so Esos could become the wisest man in the whole world. As you may know, nothing ever goes as planned. In the process of cooking the salmon, Fionn burnt his thumb on a bit of frying oil. Placing the scorched thumb in his mouth, he soon learned all the salmon's knowledge was contained in that one drop of oil. Fionn, and not Finn Eces, became the brilliant one. 

        

When Eces saw Fionn, he noticed the glint of wisdom in the apprentice's eyes. Angrily, he asked Fionn if he ate a piece of fish on purpose. "No." Fionn countered back, " I only burnt my thumb on a bit of hot oil, and licked it off to remove the sting!" After that, all Fionn need do was bite his formerly burnt thumb, and all the salmon's knowledge would magically appear in his mind. 

  

Enbarr

Enbarr is a horse in Irish mythology whose name means imagination. He belonged to Niamh, the Queen of Tir na nOg (Land of Youth) and daughter of Manannan (God of the Sea). Enbarr could run across sea and land without touching water or ground. In addition, he could not be killed by man or god. There is a story about Niamh and Enbarr. Once, Niamh asked Fionn mac Cumhail if his son Oisin (a mortal) could travel with her to Tir na nOg. Oisin, being a good son, said he would return home soon. After living three years in Tir na nOg, Oisin became homesick. Borrowing Enbarr with the promise to not get off the horse or touch Irish soil, he set off to find his family. Upon reaching home, he discovered three years in Tir na nOg equaled three hundred in his own land, and sadly his family was dead. Travelling through Ireland, he came across workman laboring to move a boulder. Trying to help while riding Enbarr, Oisin fell to the ground and instantly became an old man. Niamh, who since had a daughter named Plor na nBan, returned to Ireland to find the missing Oisin. She found him gone.