What are those Roman and Greek Myths pointing to anyway?

Most of us learn Greek and Roman mythology at some point in our schooling. Modern-day therapists of my generation are aware that Carl Jung was deeply immersed in mythology. He developed an entire system of therapy based on archetypes, which are energies that these mythological characters represent.

Through my work with clients, my studies with my teacher, dream worker Jeremy Taylor, who is also well-versed in mythology, and my own personal therapy, I have come to the painful yet powerful realization that these myths represent our lives, especially our messy, chaotic, and sometimes tragic family lives.

Children do get eaten by their parents. Fathers do get murdered by their sons. And fathers do cripple their sons, and, sometimes, rape their wives. Children do get raped and sometimes murdered within their families. Wives do betray husbands and vice versa.

Now, in the realm of mythology, we believe that these stories are not literal; that is, they are not reality. Except, in my years of working with many people who come for healing, I can say that sadly and tragically, these stories are not unusual in their families of origin. It appears that the myths are showing us our real-life horrors in explicit ways.

Persephone gets abducted by Hades, with the permission of her father, Zeus. Think about that. A mighty man, a man of the underworld, a man of dark powers, abducts a man’s daughter, with the man’s permission.

Ever since the institution of marriage was created, haven’t fathers agreed to marry off their daughters to wealthy, powerful men to improve political influence, gain power, wealth, and prestige? And, sometimes, daughters reluctantly and angrily go along with it, because in a worldly, practical, economical way, it makes sense.

And, in the case of Persephone, it leads to her spending 6 months in the underworld, which explains the dormancy of winter, and 6 months in the upperworld during spring and summer. An order comes out of it. With time, everything falls into place.

To me, this speaks to how, even in the face of the world’s absolute cruelty, humans remain resilient, hopeful, and still manage to create beauty and do good. With time, everything falls into place. Hasn’t that been true in your life when something tragic, terrible, and horrible happens? Over time, with enough work, one can see that it all makes sense.

When I was in graduate school, I was livid learning that Freud was aware that the women that he treated as “hysterical”, a clinical term for this condition at the time (in today’s diagnosis: Borderline Personality Disorder) had all been raped, molested, or abused in some form. He saw it plainly and simply and decided to bury that inconvenient truth. And, out of that, an entire system of thought arose. Some say, and I agree, that Freud denied the reality of what was happening. I see many parallels in modern mental health treatment.

Carl Jung, his most talented student, rejected Freud’s ideas as being reductionist. Freudian thinking didn’t work for him, and he split off and took his path at significant risk to his career and mental health.

I am definitely a Jung man, although Jung has his faults and has been portrayed as a womanizer. He was also a man of his times. I find his ideas soulful and honoring of the positive aspects of humanity and the potential for growth. Many branches of psychology and self-development have evolved from Jungian Psychology, including the New Age Movement, Depth Psychology, the Men’s Movement, Transpersonal Psychology, Sandplay Therapy, Archetypal Psychology, Psychodrama, and Active Imagination, to name a few.

So, how does this relate to therapy today, specifically the therapy I provide? Your history, your life, your emotions are perfectly yours. They are who you are up to this point in time and can be seen both in mythological terms and in personal terms. Everything that has happened to you is registered in your “mind”, your body, and your soul.

The very things that Greek and Roman myths, as well as Grimm’s Fairy Tales, point to can help you understand your history. Have you been murdered or betrayed by someone in your family? Did a parent try to “eat” you? Was there abuse? Did you witness a betrayal by one parent towards another? Did one parent go on an odyssey and not return for years, leaving you heartbroken and abandoned? Did somebody stab you in the back?

The tendency is to minimize, rationalize, or flat out deny these realities. It helps to see them in mythological terms, and then you can see that these are age-old and timeless stories. You are not alone. And owning them holds the key to your freedom. Once you can own what happened, process through the grief around it, and let it go, you are free. Never before. Our visceral human experience has to be honored. It deserves its due. The myths show us this. Myths show us the unspeakable. You get to see outright what is going on and how it affected you. Then, and only then, can you be free.